Cycling Novi Sad to Belgrade, Serbia: In the Heart of the Balkans
23 - 27 September 2019
Novi Sad to Belgrade (23 September 2019, 93.7 km, 58.2 mi)
What a difference two weeks makes. Back in the first week of September, we were still cycling on smooth, paved, bike paths in Austria. And we had ridden on dedicated, well-groomed bike paths for most of the previous 2,200+ kilometers.
Well, we’re not in Austria anymore. Ever since entering Hungary, we’ve been riding more and more on busy roads, typically with no shoulder that would help us keep our bikes out of the way of the fast-moving cars.
Today’s route served up more of that kind of riding. During both the departure from Novi Sad, and the approach into Belgrade, we found ourselves on roads with narrow lanes and fast-moving vehicle traffic. Several times we had to move off the road to avoid close calls with cars. The worst ones were the cars that were passing in the other direction (coming towards us from the front). They didn’t seem to even take us into consideration when making their decision about passing a slower-moving car or truck. Surprisingly often, they would pull out into the oncoming lane even when they were in a no-passing zone. For the first 15 km out of Novi Sad, we just plugged along, keeping a close eye on the approaching traffic, both ahead and in our rear-view mirrors.
At 16 km, we finally turned off of Hwy 100 - the main through-road to Belgrade, onto a quieter road. Aaaaah. And right at the junction was one of the most striking churches we’ve ever seen. Technically I guess it’s a future church, since it’s still under construction. St. Mary Magdalene Church practically glowed, even in the dull, gray light of a cloudy day. Its spire, onion-domes, and roof were all covered with iridescent teal and gold, metal plates. We just had to stop and admire the shimmering beauty of it.
As we looked at the church, one of the guys working on the construction came across the road to talk to us. It turned out that he was the Construction Manager of the church, and he was very proud of his work. He mentioned that the colored roof was made of special aluminum imported from the Ukraine. When we told him it was beautiful, he said, “I know. I designed it that way.” He was pleased that PedalingGuy was taking photos, and offered to let him go inside the fenced off construction area to get additional pictures. I waited with the bikes but from PedalingGuy’s report, the inside was still pretty empty. But it’s clear this is going to be a church that people will admire when it’s done.
The glowing spire and domes of St. Mary Magdalene Church. Perched at the top of a hill along a busy through-road, this church definitely grabs your attention. Juzno-Backi, Serbia. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
After turning off the main road at the top of a big hill, we had a long, pleasant descent through expansive fields of corn, carrots and cabbage, interspersed with more apple orchards. But with 50 km still to go to Belgrade, we were back on a narrow, two-lane road with no shoulder. This time there were lots of busses and trucks in addition to the cars. And everyone was in a hurry. Our timing wasn’t great because we seemed to have arrived on a major artery road for suburban Belgrade right at rush hour. We put our heads down and focused on moving as fast as we could.
Then, a wonderful thing happened once we got to Zemun. With just about 10 km to go we finally got onto a bike path by the river. That was a huge relief. We biked through a greenway, that was lined with bars and restaurants along the water. I could feel my adrenaline level returning to normal, as we glided among the trees and playgrounds. When we reached the far side of the bridge over the Sava River, and entered the heart of Belgrade, all bike infrastructure disappeared. From there, we walked our bikes along the city sidewalks for the last kilometer to our hotel.
The hotel is in a great location, right next to Republic Square, the city’s main gathering place. We took an evening stroll around the square, admiring some of Belgrade’s most significant cultural buildings like the National Theater and the National Museum.
National Museum and the statue of Prince Michael, Republic Square. Belgrade, Serbia. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Exploring Belgrade (24-27 September 2019)
Belgrade is a dynamic and bustling city, and we were situated right in the thick of it. It’s a little bit grittier than Budapest or Bratislava. But no matter what time of day or night we went out, we found the Republic Square and its surrounding avenues crowded with pedestrians who were shopping, dining in the outdoor cafes, or visiting with friends on park benches. Most of the time there were also street performers singing, doing magic tricks, and even break-dancing. Like many European capitals, the people of Belgrade seem to really enjoy just going out for an evening stroll on the city’s main boulevards.
Early one evening we walked up the main pedestrian street, Kneza Mihaila, to the Belgrade Fortress, overlooking the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. There we saw The Victor Statue, commemorating Serbia’s victory over the Ottoman Empire in the Balkan wars of the early 1800s, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in WWI. The fortress is perched on the edge of a 126 m (415 ft) cliff, offering panoramic views of the Danube River below.
Admiring the Danube River from the walls of the Belgrade Fortress. Belgrade, Serbia. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Later we walked over to Tasmajdan Park to see some of the city’s other iconic buildings. We first approached the impressive St. Mark’s Church. It’s one of Serbia’s largest churches, and its Neo-Byzantine architecture dominates one end of the city park. Curiously, although the church’s exterior was completed in 1940, the interior is still incomplete. The plan calls for covering most of the walls with frescoes. But when you walk in now, you enter a cavernous nave surrounded by plain, white stucco walls. One exception is the gloriously colorful altar, whose mosaics shimmer in brightly-colored and gold-plated tiles.
The impressive altar in St. Mark’s Church, central Belgrade, Serbia. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
The other building that captured our attention was the Serbian National Parliament Building. It’s classical copper-topped domes, pale stone walls, Greek columns, and monumental entrance stairs give the building a stately ambiance. But what really caught our eye were the two, highly-unusual statues flanking the entrance. Titled “Black Horses at Play,” the statues depict muscular horses wrestling with equally-muscular men - and the horses seem to be winning. Although the artist never fully explained his intent, the urban legend is that the human figures represent the “common man” wrestling with the power of the state. Hmm.
In addition to its grand squares, forts and palaces, Belgrade’s charm also stems from the many small touches that give the city its character. On one street near our hotel, a lovely, marble, public fountain was very popular. Any time of the day, you could see folks using the fountain to grab a drink or wash their hands.
And we had fun sampling the wares of the various street vendors who set up shop along the pedestrian ways. I just had to try the roasted corn on the cob - which actually ended up being pretty tough and chewy (not recommended). And we became regular customers of The Berry Guy, who sold a variety of fresh berries. Every day we stopped by to pick up some blueberries for our cereal the next morning. Sweet.
Looking Ahead
With the end of our European tour so close, we decided it would be wise to take some extra time in Belgrade to think about our future plans. We spent the last two days in Belgrade considering options for what to do once we reach Constanța, Romania. Our major goals for 2019 were to make it across Europe twice by bike: once from south to north, and the other from west to east. Now that both of those goals are nearly complete, we have started to think about what’s next for 2020. We have long wanted to spend time in Africa. So we started thinking through some of the considerable logistics for a long bike trip there.
One promising idea would be to go to Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul looks like it might be a good jumping off place for Africa, as well as a good place for some major bike and minor body repairs. But the logistics for getting into Istanbul on a bike are challenging. Biking into the city has been described by some as one of the worst experiences they’ve ever had, because of the intense traffic, crazy drivers and lack of bike lanes or margins on the roads. We are thinking about taking a bus or car to get us into the city, and past some of the difficult bridges and traffic. We’ve got a lot to figure out in the next couple of weeks.
