September 25, 2024
Miles: 48.29. Total: 7,228 miles /11,631 km
Despite my host's excellent instructions, and despite hauling so fast I placed on some Strava segments, I missed my ferry by about 30 seconds. So I settled in with some stray dogs at the cafe in Stara Palanka (Serbian for "Old Podunk") and wrote some blog posts.
When the ferry did come, I met another cyclist, a Frenchman named Vincent. We were both heading south on the EuroVelo 6, so we decided to ride together for a while. He is a therapist and design thinking practitioner who hosts a podcast on dismantling the patriarchy, so of course we had nothing to talk about. :)
Through fields and towns the miles pleasantly clicked by. We passed an AirBnB called the Memphis Vila, featuring the Memphis font emblazoned across the carport. Portuguese and Brazilian workers were staying there, and I praised them on their choice of lodging.
Our lodging was also pretty sweet: an apartment in the town of Dobra. Like many Serbian towns along the Danube, the original Dobra had been flooded in a flurry of damn-building during the 1970s. Our host was born after that, and indeed was preparing to go off to his first year of college in Belgrade tomorrow.
Ever the frosh dorm Resident Fellow, I reassured him that he would flourish in college. But he seemed apprehensive, and explained why: "I love my village."
Having just taken six photos of some random AirBnB named after my hometown, I empathized.
Comments