4 words to describe this ride: Tough Roads, Serene Estuaries
Belgrade has been witness to many changes—empires, countries, cultures, religions—but one constant is traffic. The way out of Serbia’s capital was treacherous.
“[Cyclists,] Please use pedestrian sidewalk to pass the bridge!”
Eventually, cars gave way to unpaved dike roads. These roads were home to territorial dogs that loved nothing more than to chase cyclists. The trick is to stop riding and put your bike between you and the hound then firmly say something like “No!” I was chased three times today.
“Attention: at certain times of the year the cycling path is full of nasty thorns that will even the strongest tire!” I have no doubt that a cyclist lobbied for this sign
Today’s road quality was the worst of the entire trip. Roadside memorials for mowed down motorists abound in Eastern Europe and in particular, Serbia. After a couple hundred of these solemn gravesites, riding through quicksand was still better than cycling with cars.
After what felt like an endless ride punctuated with stops to pull branches out of my spokes, I arrived at the ferry crossing in Stara Palanka. Just after the ferry stop on the left was a pension with a restaurant. That’s where I stayed. It was no two-star hotel but it was a clean room with food.
Dinner was frozen fish nuggets. Frozen, as in they arrived at the table still cold and solid. My host took the fish back and let them swim in the hot oil a while longer.
My room had posters up of all of Serbia’s basketball stars. In other words, all of my favorite Sacramento Kings players were looking right at me. Since there is a dearth of hoops-talk in Dublin I ignored the fact that my hosts didn’t speak English and started talking Serbian basketball with them. The language barrier was no problem at all. Peja plus three fingers, Vlade plus a mimed behind the back pass, Djokovic plus “best Serbian,” and so on.
Tomorrow I’ll ride through the Danube Gorge.
Today’s Miscellany
Something must’ve made me happy here. Perhaps I’d just finished with the hay road, or maybe I was reminded how lucky I am
The ride from Novi Sad to Belgrade is hell. If you aren’t hell-bent on cycling every mile then I recommend taking a train instead.
I tried to avoid this leg’s crushing hills via a detour but I must’ve missed a turn. I ended up on a longer route with bigger hills through the Serbian National Forest, which included a monster 8%, 10km long winding hill climb with heavy truck traffic.
A brutal, brutal climb out of the Serbian National Forest
During the climb I was more or less irate and mumbling angry things at myself and the signage (or lack thereof). But by the time I reached the top I felt a sincere sense of accomplishment. Just a couple weeks ago I was hopping off The Green Machine to walk up hills that were a fraction this climb and now I concurred it from the saddle. This alone was worth the climb but it is the descent through the forest is what makes this detour special.
The forest offered a moist crisp breeze after the hot traffic-filled climb. There’s no pleasure without pain, or something. Deep in the forest is an abandoned Soviet cable tower that was striking and strangely beautiful. There is a hotel nearby the tower too.
Farther along today’s route is another detour that the EuroVelo signage urges you to take. Ignore them! It’s for a “weekend village” with nice views of the Danube. I assure you that these views are no nicer than any of the hundreds of other times you’ve seen the river by this point. The detour’s signage is unclear, and, of course, the climb up out of the detour is not only steep and unpaved, it is also filled with bloodthirsty mosquitos!
Part of the not-so-quaint detour
There’s heavy traffic from this detour on until about 10km outside of Belgrade where the EV6 signs took me off onto a quiet side road that led to a river path into Belgrade. The maps told me to take a cyclist elevator from the bridge that crosses into Belgrade back down to the water. The elevator was out of order and regardless it looked like a death trap even if it had worked. So I rode straight into Belgrade city center from the bridge.
Once I made it into Belgrade, I found a park bench, kicked my feet up, and searched for a hostel. The Happy Home Hostel was nearby with good reviews and a price tag of 10eur. That’ll do!
There’s no designated bike parking at the hostel, which almost put me off of the place but the attendant offered a rarely used door to which I could affix my bicycle.
The silliest spot I’ve left my bike so far
The host initially seemed short and just this side of rude. I convicted him of all sorts of crimes against hospitality. Then during his unwitting appeal, he informed me he’d just received terrible news and wouldn’t be able to give me the wifi info for a bit. The guy wasn’t being rude, he was suffering and trying to keep it together. A good reminder for not to ascribe malintent where another explanation would do.
After getting cleaned up it was onto the Happy Cow app, as always. Mandala Restaurant had the kind of reviews that only a masochist would ignore. And holy shit where they spot on. This is one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to.
The way into Belgrade
I sat down at the restaurant, which was quite literally out of a movie set. There were a cast and crew filming some soap opera just a couple of meters to my left.
A spicy Sazerac cocktail — this is my first cocktail of the trip somehow — and a carrot lox tartine to start. The tartine is large enough for two normal people or for one glutton, like me. You’d be an idiot not to order this dish.
Now, as a mushroom connoisseur, I’m used to a certain experience at restaurants: I order a dish named Mushroom X, only to find that despite being named as the lead, the mushrooms were in fact cast as extras. This is a form of fungicide that I simply can’t bear, and luckily for me, Mandala Restaurant agreed. I was treated to a heaping portion of grilled oyster mushrooms for the main course. They were slathered in a sweet BBQ sauce, with roasted potatoes, blistered cherry tomatoes, leeks, and you get the idea.
Then I ordered the chocolate berry for dessert. Another great call by me. Although I must admit to a sneaking suspicion that the success of my order had less to do with my prescience and more to do with the skill of Manadala’s chef and line cooks. Anyway, this dessert was gorgeous — a massive portion fit for three normal diners or, again, one glutton. Ganache, cherries, raspberry sorbet, and cookie crackers that if I’m honest would have been an addition via subtraction.
It’s my last day in Croatia. Up early at 6:15 am to relieve a certain pressure in my lower abdomen and get things ready by 7:30 for the pensioner breakfast.
I awoke with a little residual anxiety from yesterday’s roadside cyclist memorial. I’m a big fan of living and an even bigger fan of not getting killed by some idiot in a car. But I faced this fear as I clipped into my pedals and it melted away.
A Serbian poppy seed baklava and a mushroom pastry just over the border in Backa Palanka helped too. One bite into this mushroom pastry and I could tell that Serbia and I would get along just fine.
There’s lots of human activity in Backa Palanka. People walking between the central market and cafes, kids running around, old guys mosying in pairs with sandals on and with their bellies sticking out — an all-around pleasant environment. I even managed to find a calisthenics station where I completed today’s pullup challenge.
I stopped to pick up a sim card at Telenor on the advice of my friend, Simon. I think it was five euros for two weeks and 15gb of data. Telenor opened two hours late so I had some time to explore Backa Palanka. Back home this delay would have annoyed the hell out of me but in this context, it gives me an excuse to explore somewhere I’ll probably never visit again.
Anyway, today was a welcomed short ride from Ilok to Backa Palanka to Novi Sad. Aside from an hour of riding out of Backa Palanka on The 2, today’s ride was full of freshly paved bike lanes through a nature preserve with chirps, croaks, and ribbits that were so loud that I had to stop and take them all in. Then I passed through a god awful active cement plant on the way into Novi Sad.
Hello, particulate silica dust, meet Shane’s lungs. You two will be neighbors for a long time
I met a 66-year-old German man outside of Backa Palanka on the front end of a five-year worldwide tour; next stop Africa. We rode together for a kilometer or so then, I kid you not, he said he was having problems with his heart so he wanted to go very slowly and asked that I go ahead. Now that’s either a very desperate attempt to put distance between himself and me or a sign that his trip isn’t going to last five years. Either way, I made sure he was ok then headed onwards.
World’s worst selfie with the world tourist
Today was filled with what must have been seven or so pull-up challenges. Every few kilometers there seemed to be another calisthenics park. Nearly every time I stop for the challenge a curious or helpful Serbian walked up to ask me what I was up to on or to offer directions—I’m loving it.
After all the pullup challenges I made it to a vegan restaurant called Bananas Veggie & Raw in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second city. The food is good and I highly recommend it. Just try and arrive earlier in the afternoon than I did.
Hello, Novi Sad!
“Can I do the daily menu?”
“We out.”
“The Vegan Mac’n’Cheese then.”
“We out, sorry,” with a smile.
“How about the tortilla soup?”
“No tortillas.”
I’m laughing at this point.
“Ok then. Tofu scramble and the borscht?”
“Yes.”
Hooray! But I’d forgotten one very important thing: beer. So I ran inside after her and said, “And one beer please.”
By this time she is full-on laughing, “No beer today, just wine.”
“I’ll take the white.”
It was a good wine for under two euros so I really can’t complain.
Borscht + The First Lady of The United States
It’s not just the wine, I’m liking Novi Sad too. It has an old Soviet feel juxtaposed with a waterfront revitalization along the river. It’s buzzing with people, fancy buildings, and buses that have got to be Lenin first editions.
After dinner, I wandered around to find the city’s synagogue. It’s a beautiful building that has tragically been walled off by Novi Sad’s busiest road. There are no direct crosswalks from which to reach it. This building deserves better. I walked up to a plaque on the building’s front that read “FROM THIS BUILDING ON APRIL 26th, 1924 NOVI SAD JEWS WERE DEPORTED TO NAZI EXTERMINATION CAMPS”.
That sent a chill down my spine, the specificity of it. A single day that can be pointed to. The day before, Novi Sad had a Jewish community, by the 27th it did not. I shivered as I read those words and imagined the terror those people experienced.
As I walked past the synagogue I saw bicycle inspired street art that charts the history of cycling in the city. I commend those who advocate for cyclists in Eastern Europe because there is a lot of work to do and if they manage to do it, Eastern Europe will become an ideal place to ride.
I ambled away from the street art and into Beerokrate, a craft beer pub nearby where I started with an IPA recommended by the bartender. It was just ok. The next round was a Serbian wheat beer—perfect for a summer evening.
From my perch outside Beerokrate, I noticed people running into their friends or other acquaintances. Each time they were pleasantly surprised.
It just happened again as I wrote this in my journal. A dad and his daughter were riding their bikes past Beerokrate when they were stopped by a pair of the dad’s friends. Then an old woman was flagged down by two young women she knows to stop and chat. It’s nice to see people happy to interact.
That’s the stuff – like biting into a wheaty orange.
I should have mentioned my Croatian pension host in an earlier entry. On my way out of the pension, he went to his car to get me some change. It was a nice Mercedes so I complimented him on it. He told me that he has a German car and speaks German because he and his family drove there at the outbreak of the war and stayed there for years before moving back. If you happen to be in Ilok, Croatia, then you simply have to stay at his pension.
My friendly host
I’m excited for tomorrow because I’ll finally reach Belgrade!
With all the beaches and boat parties one hears about, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that Croatia is still a relatively poor country with an economy that is something like 80% made up of tourism, which is concentrated along the coasts. In the northeast, where the EuroVelo 6 runs, the towns were decimated by the civil wars 28 years ago and many of them look as if the bombs went off this week.
A water tower that was badly damaged during the war
After a great big descent into Ilok, there is a nice pension hidden in plain site up there on your left. I only found it because I stopped to take a look at my map when a man from two stories up in a voice that sounded at once German and Eastern European said, “D’yew need a rhooom?”
“Yes, for how much,” I shouted back while straddling my bike.
“Vierzehn euro.”
“I’ll think about it.”
A quick perusal of the Booking app returned nottamuch so being the great negotiator that I am, I called back up to the window and without offering a lower price said, “I’ll take it.”
Feeling peckish after the day’s ride and with no good-looking restaurant’s in town, I hiked back up the hill to a grocery store. On the way I found a bike touring couple in search of a cash machine. They seemed either high, uninterested in talking, or perhaps both so I moved on.
Tonight’s dinner consisted of a block of sheep cheese, tomatoes, a bell pepper, a loaf of bread, two cheap Croatian beers, and a roll of mentos.
The evidence
The ride from Osijek to Ilok was tough. It consisted of 8% inclines, hot unshaded hell roads, and plenty of missed turns.
One such missed turn spit me out onto a freeway like a truck driver would a sunflower seed hull. I stopped to see whether the freeway took me in the right direction and according to the map, it did. So I soldiered on quite pleased with myself.
About an hour into the freeway ride the shoulder disappeared and the lanes narrowed. Semi-trucks whirred within six inches of my cheekbone, each sending a gust of wind that did its best to throw me off the road. Still, I soldiered on. Then I noticed a small roadside memorial. A cycling tourist who must have taken the same wrong turn I did was struck by a four-wheeled (or maybe 16) death machine. The memorial included a photo of the young man with his fully-loaded touring bike. My stomach lurched and I felt nauseous. I pulled off the road to reassess my route as soon as I could.
I found a detour and thereby managed to avoid becoming the subject of a roadside memorial too. It added 10km to my ride but I did not give a good god damn so long as it avoided the freeway.
A sigh of relief once I’d reached safety
The roads in Eastern Europe are dangerous for cyclists despite what my maps say. “Quiet country roads” don’t kill cyclists but semi-trucks sure do.
Today I faced a choice: Serbia or Croatia. The Serbian route is shorter but I’d heard tales of mean wild dogs. Croatia is rumored to be prettier along this stretch but according to my map, it has landmines—a forceful reminder of the civil wars.
I said goodbye to Hungary in the only way that seemed appropriate: a final sweetbread and coffee breakfast while I considered my options.
Then I was off on a wonderful ride giddy as my wheels purred along well-paved roads past sunflowers galore while my imagination went in every direction.
I rode up to the route’s decision point. Straight on to Serbia, or right on to the ferry to Croatia.
Left: Serbia — Right: Croatia
I chose Croatia and I’m glad that I did. The country’s north-east is a world apart from the white sand beaches that “Croatia” evokes for your average study abroad kid, or your rich spring breaker, or, for that matter, your middle-class spring breaker who had extra loan money left over and chose to buy a ticket to Yacht Week. If that’s what a student debt crisis looks like then sign me up. 25 years of peonage is a small price to pay in return for two days on a drug and alcohol-fueled floating funhouse. But I digress…
After a quick ferry crossing, I explored the route’s last Hungarian town, a place called Mohacs that boasts a nice market, a pretty church, and some Silver-Surferesque statues. Lunch was had at the Spar in town: an apple and some hummus.
Said pretty church
From Mohacs to the border crossing it’s mostly canals, small country roads, and a bit of hell road riding too. Today’s route unfurled through mostly poor towns with crumbling war-ravaged buildings pocked-marked from shells and shrapnel.
I came to my first hard border before I crossed into Croatia. I rode up past the semi-trucks to the border control window and took out my passport to get it stamped. The agent looked up over his glasses and asked in a thick accent, “Vayeryewh going?”
“Black Sea,” I responded in the weird half-accent I’ve thoughtlessly started using. I’ve somehow concluded the half-accent makes it easier for non-native English speakers to understand me.
Without looking up from the passport as he flipped through its pages, “And vayerdeedyewh come from?” But before I could respond, with his gaze ascending and his eyes widening, he exclaimed, “Dublin? On bicycle!? On THAT bicycle?!”
I laughed, agreed, and with my best Steve Martin impression said, “Yes, I’m a wild and crazy guy,” which is not a good thing to say at a border crossing. After a quizzical look, the officer stamped my passport and wished me good luck.
Crossing into Croatia
It was easy-riding from the border on through town after town to Osijek, which has a great river walk. I stayed at the Hostel Street Bed & Bike for 20eur. After unloading my things and washing off the day’s ride, I fired up the Happy Cow app and found a restaurant called Vege Legge, which I got to just before closing time. I recommend it for the hungry cyclist who wants big portions of veg food at reasonable prices.
Osijek is Croatia’s fourth-largest city at just over 100,000 residents so I explored it on foot after dinner. I took the river walk on my way to a wine bar called Vinska Musica where I enjoyed a local glass of Cabernet Sauvignon by Vina Belje, a Croatian vintner.
Not quite ready to call it a night, I walked mapless back to the hostel to see what I’d find. Lucky me, I stumbled into Gajba, a small craft beer place on a pedestrian strip. I ordered a Beckers Pale Ale upon the bartender’s recommendation after I’d asked for “a good local beer, please.” The verdict? Absolutely delicious— a perfect balance of fruitiness and bitterness.
I asked for the large because at this point, as has no doubt already become clear, this trip transformed me into a spendthrift, sugar-addicted, alcoholic. So much for the health benefits of cycling a few thousand miles.
Which brings me to final point of this already long entry: insofar as there can be one best thing, this trip is it…it’s been an immersive history and geography lesson filled with unforgettable trips with Abby, I’ve learned to better embrace solitude, it’s given me frequent chances to solve problems, I’ve learned how to camp and to tour, I’ve met strange people and made friends, I get to exercise all day every day, and I have the privilege to explore small towns that I will probably never see again…It is hard to believe it’s only been a month and a half. It feels like I’ve lived a few different lives over these six weeks.
Today’s ride was smooooooth sailing. Up at 7:30 am, out by 8:30 am, a quick stop at Lidl for breakfast and to stock up for lunch, then onto canal and dirt roads for the 100 or so km ride to Baja.
Baja is a river town (obivously), but more so than most of the other towns so far. I arrived at around 3 pm and the heat plus a 12 euro room in town both ensured that I’d end the day’s ride here in Baja.
Tomorrow I’ll have to decide whether to stay on the EuroVelo6 main route in Serbia or to venture into Croatia for a few days. My gut says to head into Croatia.
I tolerated a white bread and dry corn flakes breakfast at the Unity Hostel then slipped into my still-damp bib shorts and left in search of a bike shop from which to procure chain lube.
All appeared to be going well enough—The Green Machine felt especially light and spritely: ‘I guess those rest days paid off,’ I thought.
The Green Machine waits restlessly in anticipation of today’s ride
Then, as I reached the edge of Budapest and stopped to take a photo of a skatepark beneath a highway, it hit me. My handlebar bag was missing. It’s the only bag that matters, the whole kit and, yes, the caboodle too! It housed my irreplaceable trip journals and my passport, among other important items. An immediate panic-induced shot of acidic bile jolted my stomach and a cold sweat smacked my face.
‘Where did the bag go?’ Then reflexively, ‘Who took it?’
After 30 seconds of anger at the alleged thief, I realized that in my haste to get my bags out of the elevator and onto my bike I probably left it on the hostel stairwell.
So I pedaled like Lance from the outskirts of the city back to Unity Hostel. “Please let it be there, please let it be there,” I mouthed as I rode.
‘How much would I pay for my bag to be where I left it when I arrive,’ I asked myself, ‘$1,000?’ Luckily, I didn’t have to answer this query because my bag was right where I had hoped it would be at the bottom of the staircase. WHEW.
My sincerest apologies to those I’d convicted of a certain type of thought crime.
The pitstop that saved my passport
At this point I rechecked my luggage and left Budapest for the second time in half as many mornings. The ride out of the city was a mix of nice river roads, a detour that a concerned cyclist posted directions for (thankfully), and a hellish freeway that lasted an hour with semi’s whistling inches from my left ear.
Despite the hectic start to the day, I felt good and wanted to ride into the evening so I flagged down a couple of cyclists coming from the opposite direction to ask if they’d passed any campsites within 25km. They said that campsites were few and far between, in the truest sense of the phrase, so I stopped at a pension with an open room for 16eur.
I recommend staying here at the EuroVelo 6 Stop Pension. The husband and wife who own it are gracious hosts with supremely comfortable lodgings for the weary rider.
The Eurovelo 6 Pension
The pension was near a Lidl, which I rode to and picked up some food for dinner: hummus, bread, and bulgur did the trick.
A good day. Funny how it can take losing something to come to understand just how important that thing is. Thanks to this morning’s mishap I now know I’d be in despair if I lost my journals. They’re the only irreplaceable things I have with me on this trip aside from my health so I was at first self-critical over having lost them, that was until I reminded myself that even loving parents forget their own children sometimes.
The Day’s Miscellany
Three pullup challenges, two of which with the same design
Last night at camp I met a Turkish man and his daughter who are taking a cycling trip to celebrate her high school graduation. I’ve been wondering about what it’s like to cycle into Istanbul so I walked up to them and introduced myself. This turned out to be a great move. They cooked up a pot of Turkish tea and we talked for a couple of hours before calling it a night.
We decided to ride into Budapest together this morning. Throughout the ride I listened as my new friend told me about Turkish politics and history. Turns out that they were even more directionally challenged than me. Every 10 minutes we just had to stop to check the map and ensure we were headed in the right direction. This didn’t help much, we often made the wrong turn regardless.
We braked for breakfast pastries then again for lunch and beer.
What was supposed to be a short 35km ride ended up taking all day due to our (fun) stops and (frustrating) wrong turns. We made one last stop for a drink along the Danube just before Budapest then parted ways as we crossed into the city. They went on to meet with a friend working as a Turkish attache in Hungary and I was off to find Abby’s and my Airbnb.
After hauling my bike and gear up four stories into the Airbnb, I immediately smelled a gas leak in the kitchen. After some sniffing around I found that the source of the leak was the meter. The host assured me there was no leak but the stench of mercaptan told me otherwise. There was no way in hell we’d be staying there.
I booked a last-minute room at Hotel Memories Oldtown. It was so much better than any comparably priced Airbnb. I recommend this hotel.
The ticking time bomb
My new gas-free digs
Abby’s flight was scheduled to arrive after 10 pm, so I was on the hook for dinner alone. I wasted no time picking a restaurant, Napfenyes for their vegan sarmale is a no-brainer.
I woke up at 7:30 am, so I don’t think Budapest is gonna happen. I decided to explore Komárom and Komárno instead of pushing hard to make it to Hungary’s capital.
Komárom and Komárno are on either side of the Danube, one in Slovakia and the other in Hungary. Komárno is the bigger city and sits on the Slovakian side. Both towns have interesting histories as shifting borders for various empires, kingdoms, and countries. Komárom was the last stand in Hungary’s 1848 uprising.
I visited Fort Monostor, a sort of Hungarian Alamo, where the last stand…stood. Fort Monostor has a dark history too. It was taken by the Nazis and used as a concentration camp for the Roma.
From Fort Monostor it was off to the other side of the river back into Slovakia. I spent a good 40 minutes tooling around in Komárno where I found a redeveloped old-town. Someone must have put some serious dough into this square. There are restored buildings, statues of local historical figures like Maria Theresa, hotels, and restaurants.
Just outside the square, I met two American bike tourers from DC on my way out of Komarno. It is nice to stop and talk with other cyclists as I get lonely after a few days of not crossing paths with another English speaker.
Soon after Komarno, there is this really cool viewpoint. It’s a wood-paneled stand-alone spiral staircase with a fitness park at its base. You have to go up to the top of this tower where you’ll get panoramic views of the Danube.
Today’s ride was a mix of great paths, more sand, a scary highway called The 11, and a delightful ferry ride. I got a beer, peanuts, and some cookies while I waited for the ferry. The cookies were good as hell and the Czech IPA hit the spot.
There was a split second here where I thought I’d have to swim across
Ferry snacks
After the ferry, there was still 15km to the campsite. This was some of the best riding so far on the trip. All downhill, a bike-only path, along the water, a fitness park, deep greens and blues, good looking people everywhere, and a clear line of sight up to the imposing Visegrád Castle (the former summer residence of King Matthias). I’ve taken to calling Hungary, Hungary the Beautiful. The country has amazing natural beauty.
Some of my family members are Hungarian, so it has been a little weird seeing people who look vaguely like my relatives. I saw one kid today who I swore was a carbon copy of my little sister at 10 years old. I’ve seen about five or six versions of my grandpa too, despite him being Transylvanian.
One last note from today: there is a group of German ladies I’ve been trading places with since yesterday. I caught up to them today while they were picking fruit and veg along the side of the trail. They kindly picked me some baby corn, a fruit I don’t remember the name of, and some apples. Delicious!
After I set up camp, I ventured back along the path to find some dinner. I ordered a veg burger from a kiosk and to my surprise “veg burger” meant a huge slab of grilled cheese in place of a patty. I must admit, it was tasty.
Visegrád views
Today’s Miscellany
Said veg burger
Bridge views of Esztergom Basilica as I crossed back into Hungary
Esztergom Basilica is probably worth visiting. I was over-eager to finish the day’s ride so I skipped it and missed out
This marks my first day in Hungary. The ride out of Slovakia was frustrating despite its gorgeous scenery. I pedaled past adolescent sunflowers eager to outcompete each other for the sun’s rays like newborn puppies blindly in search of a teat. The roads were so full of sand and gravel though that I couldn’t look away from them to admire the sunflowers’ glow for more than a just couple of seconds at a time.
Perhaps the prettiest invasive species on the planet apart from people
I’m spending tonight at a campsite here in Komárom called Hotel Thermal on the recommendation of my Polish friend, Simon. Thermal baths included in the price of admission.
Once I checked in and set up camp, I headed straight for the baths to relax. Today’s sandy ride was especially hard on my knees.
After returning shivering from the baths to my tent, I met a nice family from Belgium who offered me a chair in which to read and a beer to drink. Both of which I gladly accepted.
The object of many-a-curses
Tomorrow it’s on to Budapest (I hope), one of my favorite cities.
“Sunflower fields forever.” – John Lennon, first draft
Today’s Miscellany
America’s cultural contribution to this part of Slovakia is the name of a 24-hour roadside strip joint called the Hollywood Club.
