Day 9 - Serbia

We started the day in Zajecar, in far eastern Serbia, whose industries are mining, manufacturing, public service, and healthcare.

We went to the market and wow, the vegetables were huge. They looked almost good enough that I’d try them, lol. We bought kilos of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and cherries.

Breakfast at Rivendale, an Irish Pub with a Serbian twist.

The influx of Chinese companies and people has led to “Walmart” type stores in Zajecar and Bor which are very low cost stores called “Chinastores”. Imagine if TEMU or Rotita had a storefront and you get the picture. Socks are .80, hair clips for .25 and keychains for $1.

This is unusual as most stores are for one specific thing, ie., paint or paper or seeds or bathroom items. The superstore is kind of a new concept here.

We haven’t mentioned cats yet! There are a lot more dogs and Julie and Chip have six dogs. But we ran across this guy napping this morning. And these two at breakfast yesterday.

This afternoon Julie, Chip, and I went Kayaking on the Timok River, which runs at the edge of their property, under highway 36, twice, and around through neighbors’ property. I’m adding pictures and a video but it won’t do the river’s peacefulness justice. The trip was sweet!. Even when we ended going backwards. I caught Julie, but it happened to me 3 or 4 times.

Meanwhile, Martha and Holey Moley (the name for her incision; which can’t get wet with river water) stayed at the house and set up shop for work and a Sopranos respite. Notice the big bowl of fresh cherries for munching. There might’ve been beer and a fly killer handy.

On the way to dinner, we visited Gamzigrad (Serbian Cyrillic: Гамзиград, pronounced [ɡǎmziɡraːd]) which is an archaeological site, spa resort, and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Serbia, located south of the Danube river, in the city of Zaječar. It is the location of the ancient Roman complex of palaces and temples Felix Romuliana (Serbian: Феликс Ромулијана / Feliks Romulijana), built by Emperor Galerius in Dacia Ripensis. The main area covers 10 acres.

This site is 13 km from Julie and Chip. If you ever visit, you can stop in for coffee at their house. It’s a Serbian thing! As an aside, when we were on the quads last night, a farmer was clearing a field and we stopped to say hi. He invited us to his house for coffee, even though he was in the middle of a job which he obviously wanted to finish before sunset. We graciously declined.

And then we went to dinner at DVA BRATA (Two Brothers). We shared Serbian food, and yes, people, I ate it as it’s mostly meat and potatoes.

And Julie forgot to ask about parking so she got a ticket, lol.