I woke up again early in the morning. Our room had a breath taking view to the flea market, the river and you could see a part of the central square. Perhaps the view deserved the money we gave; otherwise the hotel was mildly acceptable. While the sun was rising, I was sitting and watching the city from above while I was writing the trip-diary. It's very nice to wake up so early when traveling. You see the part where you are from another point of view...
At 7:30am Giorgos Z came to wake us up in order to go for breakfast. They had woken up early too, as an old woman had hit the door and told him some things about the bikes. Somewhat nervous, they went to the parking, but finally there was no problem. Moreover, when we got to reception, we discovered a mistake that had been made with the consultation and the price of room as breakfast was not included... gone mad! We went to make trouble, but eventually they cooked us an omelet, which Giorgos Z and Stratos had not even touched! We departed with the worst impressions for the accommodation services.
Our next destination was the monastery Sopocani (20km). The route for the most part was mediocre, full of patches and potholes. The landscape in many places was beautiful. Arriving at the monastery we were impressed by its architecture and its surrounding area. Builton the top of a green hill was standing proud din the walls. Initially we thought that it was closed, but it was open. In deed preservation projects of the unique and impressive frescoes were carried out. We wandered for a longtime and we were lucky to find a young man who told us some things about the frescoes. We left from the monastery to go to Nova Varos.
We followed the signs to Sjenica through a route with fair condition roads and many turns. The landscape had a lot of vegetation, but we could not fully enjoy it because of the bad road condition. The situation started getting better after Sjenica, with the altitude to increase gradually, reaching 1400m. In general, we drove to an area where the altitude didn’t drop below 900m.
Shortly before the Nova Varos route was unique! The road was in good condition passing through an area full of tall trees, making driving fun. We were looking desperately for somewhere to sit down for a coffee. Unfortunately, the few villages we passed lacked such facilities. We decided to stop a tan opening of the roads hotly after entering the forest. On the out skirts of the beautiful town of Nova Varos there is an area with hotels and restaurants with beautiful views. I wish I knew earlier! The city lies at 1000m. and gives you a very good impression, it seems neat and tidy. Interestingly, the houses have roofs that blend harmonious with the environment, with no high-riseapartment buildings.
Arriving in Nova Varos, we followed the direction to Uzice. Beyond the condition of the road improved significantly, while a few miles further we found the shores of Lake Zlatarsko Jezero. The dense vegetation was stretching up nearly to the band. The lake has a dam. Arriving there, we made a stop at the restaurant. Of course it had spectacular view of the lake. Manywere those whowere swimming, and there were some free campers.
Our next destination was Mokra Gora. Following the signs to Uzice & Belgrad we drove through a comfortable route, in good condition for about 40km. Approximately 4km. after the village Cajetina we found the crossroad that lead west to the border with Bosnia. We met the village Kremha and beyond there, in a stunning wooded landscape; we approached the final destination of the day. Mokra Gora is known from the film «Life is a miracle» of the famous Serbian film director Emil Kustorica. This is a movie that takes place at a railway station in 1992, they ears of war. The project was filmed in the village and some of the scenes were maintained.
As we arrived, we headed directly to the train station. We had read about the operation of a small train (associated also with the film), who run an amazing journey of unique points of view! We were very fortunate as at the time we reached, after 30 minutes was starting the last voyage! We took tickets 600 serbian dinars/person and until we depart we started discussing with 3 Serbs motorcyclists. There were the first to encounter in the country.
Just in its time the little train started. With speed not exceeded 40km/h crossed a wooded mountain area in most parts of which the sight impressed even the most demanding visitor! The cameras were on fire! During the journey there were details in English that informs about some elements of the train, the journey and the film. The journey lasts about 2 hours and includes stops at some station sand attractions. Indeed, one station is the building where the movie took place...
Despite being lucky to catch the last train, the train engine broke down. This led to delay until the next train arrived and we preceded the scenic route. At about 8.30pm we returned to the village, clearly happy and full of beautiful pictures. It was time to search for accomodation. We were inside the terminal, as we found that there was a hotel reception. We went there and happily discovered that a building of the station was turned into a hotel. The price was very good, 48€ for a room that could accommodate 4 people (apartment). Simple and beautifully decorated offers a beautiful feeling, possibly because you knew you were in an old station. The place had a restaurant with delicious but not expensive Serbian cuisine (10-15€/person). We sat up until late, enjoying the cool breeze, the view of the old train and of course the beautiful discussion...
