Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Day 16: Sun 12 Jun - Osijek to Ilok, Croatia

Ride: 86km

Poor old Osijek still shows the scars of the Balkans War. The centre of the city in particular must have been a real hot spot for the fighting. Even the cathedral copped it, with bullet and shrapnel holes still visible. 

Then each city we passed through during the day also had many bombed out buildings. Even more had bullet holes and shrapnel marks. Some must had been significant targets, maybe govt, as these were destroyed. One place, Vukovar, is directly across the Danube from Serbia so it must have received many artillery barrages as it is still quite damaged. Must have been hell to live through such a conflict. Back to more peaceful times.

Today was a bit hilly, max climb 8%, but not too onerous. The legs get a bit stronger and the fitness improves a little every day.  

Looks like just about everyone in Croatia has a relative living in Oz. As soon as they see Kev's flag and fluffy roo they say, "aaaah Australeeeee I got brother in Melbourne!!". Or something similar. It's really the only time we get a reaction out of them. There must be so many cyclists along this route; they get a bit bored with them. 

Tomorrow is another border crossing, this time into Serbia.

Just stopped for lunch at Vukovar that was a hot spot during the Serbian / Croatian war. The damage from yet another senseless was is everywhere. Beautiful old buildings now in ruins.

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