Belgrade to Sarajevo

Reluctantly, we left the comfort of Gill`s house and set off South East along quiet, hilly roads to Valjevo.










The following day, we set off in torrential rain towards Užice. Expecting the weather to improve, we climbed steeply into the mountains to the South. In Valjevo, the temperature was about 5 degrees, so it should not have come as much of a suprise when the rain turned to snow, especially for a Geography teacher and pair of mountaineers!











Having to push our bikes on all but the flattest stretches due to our slick summer tyres, meant that progress was slow, but with all our warm clothes on, we foolishly continued on into the worsening blizzard. Eventually, after getting soaked to the bone and loosing all feeling in our fingers we accepted defeat and turned around, having spent over 3 hours covering only 20km!

We stopped off in a shop to defrost half way down and the two girls working there, taking pity on us, served us tea in yogurt pots and allowed us to sit by the wood burning stove untill we could feel our fingers again.

We decided that the inspirational phrase "better to freeze travelling than rot sitting still" that we had read on one of the Serbian cycle route signs was not necessarily true and we vowed to spend the rest of the evening rotting in a warm room...










...but not before we had spent almost 4 hours changing our worn out break pads, cleaning and oiling the bikes and changing our slick rear tyres for meaty Marathon XRs with super grippy deep treads!!!

Predictably, the following day dawned sunny and clear. But with more than a nip in the air and sore legs and shoulders from yesterday, we decided that a 80km day over a 1200m pass was too much, especially as the snow from yesterday would probably now be frozen solid. I am not ashamed to admit, therefore, that we bundled the bikes and luggage onto a train and arrived into Užice at midday. As it turns out, buying our tickets from bemused guards and getting the bikes onto the train with no common language was no easy task (thank you George). I think it is safe to say that no bicycle has been on that stretch of railway in the last few years anyway!!

Standing on the train as it passed through the beautiful limestone scenery on such a lovely day made us feel that we were perhaps being a bit soft. So, as soon as we had extracted the bikes from the busy carriage, we started peddling up the hill towards the border with Bosnia and Hercegovina.











In Mokra Gora, we stayed in a house owned by a lovely old lady who spoke no common language, but made sure we had everything we wanted and spent the whole evening making wool to knit gloves and hats with.

We were greeted at the border the following morning by some very friendly border guards, who after jokingly asked to see our bicycle driving licence stamped our passports and wished us well. Their dog, called Dracula, was a very well behaved creature who proceeded to follow us for about 2km at a speed of 18km per hour! He was not barking or being aggressive, but obviously just needed a bit of exercise. We were starting to get worried that we would be arrested for stealing the guard`s dog, however!










We passed through Višegrad, with its famous bridge over the Drina, then continued up the spectacular, beautiful river valley to Goražde.

The scars of the war were obvious everywhere: Signs warning of land mines along the road, and bullet holes and mortar blasts littered many of the buildings and streets.

The next day brought more persistent rain and a steep climb out of town. Having learnt our lesson, we checked the forecast carefully and were quite sure that there would be no snow!

About 10km after setting off and at an altitude of 1050m, however, we did hear thunder approaching!

We were obviously passing through some very beautiful scenery, although we saw nothing and fearing for our non-waterproof camera, took no photos... except one of the tunnel:

Between Prača and Pale there is a tunnel. Fine you might say ? How about a single lane tunnel with no lights that is 1 km long?

Add in an uneven road surface and you are getting the picture. It has traffic lights (well it would have to), but even with new batteries in your headtorch and bike lights, you can`t see a thing unless a helpful bus happens to come along behind you...
...dayglow vests may look a bit sad, but never have we been so glad to have them!!

Having survived the tunnel, a quick downhill stretch took us through another dramatic gorge and into Sarajevo before the light faded.

The hostel that we planned to sat in was full due to the Jazz festival, but we were welcomed into the brand new `Hostel Residence´ across the road. This fabulous place used to be the Swedish ambassador`s residence (hence the name) and we all know that the ambassadorś receptions are noted in society for their host`s exquisite taste...!

We really can`t recommend the hostel highly enough; the best we have ever stayed in!

Sarajevo: