Bus to Belgrade

And so ends my cycling along the Danube.  Immediate thoughts still linger on the crazy drivers and the stress they have caused!  Hopefully those will fade and the good times will come to the fore! I do remember fondly all the beautiful autumn leaves and the slow and reflective ever-moving Danube.  All the cute dogs, loved by their owners, primped or not - but none like Roxy - and sadly all those stray dogs that lie around on the streets, unloved and so sad looking - most have no will to bother, there was only a couple of occasions I was freaked... 

So this day, I had to pack up and get Hennie down the bus stop and catch the bus back to Belgrade.  Of course, I rocked up there about 40 mins early as usual, so had time to have a bit of a look around.  One thing I did spy was the workers off one of the cruise boats moored at the jetty...  They had unloaded bags and bags of rubbish, some sorted by the clink of bottles and the three skips were filled to overflowing... Now that was something I hadn't thought about...  I wonder if the tour companies pay for the garbage to be disposed...  wonder how much just gets slipped over the side in the dead of night...  surely not!
Eventually the bus arrives, bus driver looks at Hennie and says, No... (sign language) he can't take the bike... thankfully there were 2 ladies there speaking good English and said that I will have to wait till the 5pm bus that has carriers on the back!  No way I say!  I must get to Belgrade before then!  I put on my old-lady sad look and then they start to discuss - I butt in and say I can take off front wheel and put her in a bag...  Da Da Da!  so I had already kept the plastic bag at the top incase it was needed and bling blam, she's in her bag with a little help from some guy and she's shoved into the luggage compartment and away we go.  I could have waited until 5pm but that would mean getting into Belgrade at 9pm and I was not going to be doing that...  It cost $24 for 2 bags, a bike and me for a 400km journey...  and by half way, the bus was full and for the last 50km there were a couple of people having to stand.  Public transport is popular here. 
It was a bumpy, jerky trip as the driver had to keep suddenly hitting the brakes to avoid head on collisions as witnessed from my bike, but eventually we arrived around 3pm and again with the help of another kind soul, all my luggage and Hennie was dragged onto the footpath...  there's no waiting around for buses, even at this final stop.  So out of the bag she came, wheel back on, panniers loaded on and away we went...  walking because on a Sunday afternoon (probably every afternoon) its madness in Belgrade.  And it was uphill...  I really wonder how I got on without Map.Me app...  We struggled along, noticing one major street being closed to cars and people out walking with their kids and their dogs and eventually we arrived at the Hotel Marquise.  I was welcomed and quickly signed in and Hennie was unloaded and taken down to the garage for a well earned rest.  She has carried me 1297km (maybe I should do a little 3km ride tomoz) and deserves a good rest.
After a shower, I strolled out into the streets, looking for somewhere to have some dinner.  By now I was hungry because apart from one coffee and a small apricot danish I haven't eaten since breakfast!  I tried to find a nice little place without too much smoke belching out and was happy with my choice - especially as they had Haloumi on the menu - as a starter, which meant I had room for dessert, so tried the Chestnut torte - yummo!  Ready for bed!
Didn't take any photos along the way - dang, I sat on the wrong side of the bus and had the sun in my face and a very dirty window anyways...  But here's a few snaps before we left Donji Milanovac.

a great place to sit and watch the birds at Petrovic apartment

Preparing for winter - I heard one guy chopping wood all Saturday afternoon,
and had started again by 8am Sunday morning.

Rosemary bush - rather old I reckon

Sharing a War Memorial tradition with us - 1941-1945

Farewell Danube - hope one day your air is much cleaner

Waiting patiently at the bus stop