September 10, 2015
A Rainy Day in Novi Sad
When it rains here, it really rains. I woke to rain, and it didn't stop raining all day.
I had told the people at the hostel that I was going to stay another night, but I changed my mind. The dorms didn't have any windows to the outside, and I felt like I needed some fresh air and a view of the world. There were windows to the common room, with curtains that didn't block the light. And the bathroom was kind of grubby. There were a couple of guys there, but they were out late and slept in, so we didn't talk at all and I didn't meet my goal of meeting other travellers.
So I checked out of the hostel, in the rain. I stopped by Tourist Information, which had been closed when I was there yesterday. They didn't have any useful advice on where to stay, or on the bike ride to Belgrade, and said the best thing to do one a rainy day is to visit the museums, which is advice I could give myself. I need to stop expecting anything useful from the tourist offices.
It was a raining pretty hard, and I had gotten soaked during my short ride. I went into McDonald's, counting on their Wi-Fi, had a cappuccino and croissant that were much better than I expected, and sat down with booking.com on my phone. I reserved another place, an apartment nearby, with a request for an early check-in and for instructions on how to get in if it normally requires a phone call (which seems to be common here). I had a reply pretty quickly, and was headed there within an hour. The place is off one of the alleys off the main street, so should be pretty quiet. An unexpected surprise is that it has a clothes washer.
I went out and bought some groceries, but couldn't find a small size of laundry detergent. I did a load of wash anyhow, using my Dr. Bronner's, which is just about used up. I hope everything dries tonight in this dampness.
I spent most of the day just hanging out. I didn't get to the fortress, which had been my main agenda item for today. I sorted out my collection of receipts, and searched the web for information on tomorrow's ride, and looked for boats to take through the upcoming section of the Danube called the Iron Gates. I didn't find much of the information I wanted.
I did go out for dinner, to a Chinese restaurant on the 4th floor of a shopping mall. It provided a nice view of the centrum, but it was too cold and wet and nasty to eat outside.
The food was okay, but definitely a local interpretation of Chinese. It didn't have even a hint of spiciness to it, but at least I had rice and not potatoes.
The reason I wanted more information on the route from here to Belgrade, is that the ride from Novi Sad to Belgrade seems to be universally recognized as awful. EV6 has you climbing a steep hill in heavy traffic. I've found a proposal for an alternate route http://www.rollglobal.org/2011/01/danube7/, but as far as I know, it is untested.
I also found another CGOAB journal where the riders saved some kilometers by sticking to the highway, and were satisfied with the outcome.
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=422107
I may try this last approach, especially since I don't want any unpaved roads after all the rain today.
Today's ride: 3 km (2 miles)
Total: 2,259 km (1,403 miles)
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