What’s hot in Serbia: a canyon tale
This time we decided to visit our great friends and “Pljeskavica” masters (traditional Serbian minced meat — it’s that good it should have been on Voyager )— the people of Serbia. A truly magnificent place on Earth, Serbia is one of the severely underestimated gems in the Balkans. Maybe not part of the EU and maybe humans are largely ignorant but, boy oh boy, does Serbia bring the amazing nature and people we are desperately looking for! We decided to give it a weekend ride and explore the area of Vlaska Planina and Greben.
We really wanted to cross borders on bikes (I mean , f**k you trucks, beating you on border-check queues is the sweetest revenge we get for all those times you overtook and nearly hit us on the road. F**k yeah! ) so we started from Bulgaria with a relaxing 15 km downhill towards the border. We were leaving the premises of the European Union and the queues were significant so here is a little tip — cross borders on bikes — we overtook all the cars and trucks to be first in line — and no one seemed to mind (never look at people’s face when you take their spot in the queue — if you don’t look it seems as if everyone is fine with you being an little prick).
Border checks were easy peasy and we continued with our pleasureful downhill. But as all things in life, the joyful downhill promenade ended to be replaced by an off-the-beaten-track gravel pavement where uphills are NOT scientifically taken to be gradual or shit like that. We started our climb, and frankly gained-attitude wise — it wasn’t that bad. Temperature wise, however, it was pure hell, at least for our pale winter skins that have not been experiencing summer rays for a year. We did a 5 km climb and we had to stop — we were severely overheating.
Things were really tough and moral was low but then, there is always Karma behind our backs — looks like we were good boys and we had a nice little gift — thick shade to chill under! It was someone’s cottage and the gigantic walnut tree shielding a delightful handmade table. What a gift!
Eventually, we managed to shake off the thermal stress and kept on. It was a tough climb but yet again — very rewarding. We discovered (literally by chance) the Poganovo Monastery.
Things got better and better as near the monastery there was a restaurant where we attacked the famous Pljeskavica! We had an amazing meal but were too full to bike on. So we decided to “chill” a bit.
The day was soon over and we had to camp for the night. We have chosen an amazing place to camp — near the beehives (it was already dark and we realized our deeds by the break of dawn). No bees were harmed during our camp night!
The next morning we started early — by 04.30 we woke up with a single thought in mind — DO NOT overheat. However, as always, the plan has changed. Houston, we had a problem! Ivan’s cable was damaged and so was his front derailleur. He was stuck on a single gear…tough, we had to go back!
Going back was much more enjoyable. Here are some of the things we have seen on the way:
Eventually we managed to get back to the Bulgarian side. We have realized that summer has come to the Balkans so stay tuned for some summer Balkan adventures! Safe trip!
