We're in Belgrade!

So I thought I'd shock everyone by updating more than once this month and here it is! We left our friends in Baka Palanka with very full stomachs and a bag of delicious home made krapfen (like jam donuts) to keep us paddling.  We paddled hard every day after into strong head winds but still managed between 30 and 40km a day. This has definitely been the toughest stretch so far, simply because of the worsening weather. Passing through Novi sad was pretty manic as we realized a big storm was building behind us. Knu looked more like a speedboat as we hauled ass to get the few km through the city and onto a safe beach to let it pass. Things have quietened since then and we now know exactly what to expect, with the rain arriving every evening like clockwork! In general its not that bad, and after a few days in a warm dry bed (our first since Vienna, and only 2nd in 2months!) we're already looking forward to getting back out into it. The main thing is now we're really hoping to hitch a ride on a barge, so we're gonna go hang out at the petrol station for the barges which is just outside the city. We even made a few new friends, mostly artists and musicians, who've taken over a disused building near that petrol station and turned it into work studios and apartments. Its incredible, this place has everything (it even has wifi!!). Hopefully there'll be a barge along soon. Otherwise we're gonna paddle on the few hundred km til the first of two huge dams, called djerdab 1 & 2,  and hope to get picked up there. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed! Oh, and we've got a nice fresh bottle of Jameson to try and sweeten the deal! So, we're off now to get ready. 

Colin & Andrea

: )

ps. A huge congratulations to Granty and Niall on their weddings and to Sylvia and Matthias on the birth of their beautiful baby girl, Melina : )

We needed flags for the boat in Serbia, so Jordan gave us his Serbian one and we got the other from and Irish bar!

Delicious fish paprikash

Our happy bakers!

Shika, (el bandito). It was his place we were hangin out in.

A very happy Andrea

No danger of going hungry with these guys around

When we got back after our feast, dja dja had this ready for us!!

This little fella got away with our bread and salami. We were too full to catch him, or care

Shica's house. He stayed during the floods and could fish from his bedroom! The water was at the top of the yellow sign

Back for more, this time meat paprikash

Delicious : )

We travelled on for a bit with Max who was travelling slowly from the Serbian border to Belgrade!

This place was stunning. There was an eagle sitting about 150m away tearing apart an unlucky bird!!

Chilling out by a nice cosy fire : )

Tasty breaky after Novisad

The Serbians dont try and cage the danube, they know it floods and so use the flood plain for grazing. Seems sensible enough!!

The Serbian flag on the mast, Irish one is down for the night

At least the bad weather made for a pretty sunset

In Belgrade

Happily scribbling away