We paddled from Grocka na Dunavu to Smederevo in Serbia on the 2nd of May, 2024. This was our 59th day of kayaking the Danube. For a change, we swapped places in Zucchini the kayak. Grocka to Smederevo: Just 17 kilometers A bit of a filler day, as we intended it all along. We’re going to paddle just 17 kilometers from Grocka to Smederevo. Smederevo is a city with lots of shops and such things. An excellent place to hunker down for Orthodox Easter, which is scheduled for this weekend—a full five weeks later than Catholic and Protestant Easter. NextContinue reading
Danube Trip
Ahhh, the mighty Danube!
I’ve had an obsession with the idea of kayaking the second-longest river in Europe – after the Volga – since 2013. In 2019, that dream came half-way true.
Jonas and I began paddling at the source in Donaueschingen, Germany. From there we continued downstream to the border with Austria, which we crossed. Then we paddled a short distance in Slovakia, followed by a lengthy stretch in Hungary. The original plan was to end in Budapest, but we had enough summer days left to continue another 200 kilometers. We came to a stop in the last Hungarian town on the Danube: Mohács.
We planned to continue this trip in 2021 after 18 months of traveling in Asia, but then 2020 happened. One day, the trip will continue into Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, a touch of Moldova, and Ukraine.
To the Black Sea. That’s where this river ends.
I wrote about each and every kayak day, which resulted in some 50 Danube-themed articles. I recommend you to start at Day Zero in Donaueschingen. If you’re searching for the statistics of our trip, look no further than the interactive Danube kayak map page with our spreadsheet. We did this entire trip while also working online on our non-paddle days, hence the name Kayak+Work.
The first half of the Danube trip was a literal dream come true. I can’t wait to continue this journey once the world opens up a little more again.
Kayak Trip Day 58: Belgrade to Grocka na Dunavu – The Worst Paddle Day… Yet!
Our 58th kayak day on the Danube was on Monday, the 29th of April, 2024. Somehow, we managed to paddle from Belgrade to Grocka na Dunavu in Serbia. Arriving in Grocka It was 17:31 and we had one last break at the latest Y-shaped stick we moored at. We had a six-minute break to let the pump leave our arms. I felt these weird cramps or spasms in my arms. Not the whole arm, just one string of muscle that refused to fall in line and protested today’s kayaking efforts. But we were only 3.6 kilometers away from our finalContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 57: Novi Banovci to Belgrade – The Last Capital on the Danube
Our 57th kayak day on the Danube was on Monday, the 22nd of April, 2024. We paddled from Novi Banovci to Belgrade in Serbia. Belgrade is the last capital city on the Danube River. I used to live in Belgrade back in 2015, which was part of my original inspiration for kayaking the Danube. Going to Veliko Ratno Ostrvo (Great War Island) was a major goal. Leaving Novi Banovci I woke up with a bright sunrise orange on my face. The curtains were slightly open right at the spot the sun poured through this early in the morning at 5:39. It was beautiful, so IContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 56: Stari Slankamen to Novi Banovci – Sailing Past the Loess Cliffs
Our 56th kayak day on the Danube was on Sunday, the 21st of April, 2024. We paddled from Stari Slankamen to Novi Banovci in Serbia. It was a shorter distance. Departing Stari Slankamen + Tisza Confluence We woke up at 7:00, had a coffee and a banana, and a look out the window. The sky was a bit overcast as predicted, but what surprised us was the roughness of the water. We observed it for a bit, stepped out on the balcony to confirm, and checked again with the weather forecast. No significant wind predicted for today. Ehm, thanks, forecast.Continue reading
Kayak Trip Day 55: Novi Sad to Stari Slankamen – Frozen Toes
Our 55th paddle day was on Wednesday, the 17th of April, 2024. We paddled from Serbia’s second-biggest city Novi Sad to the village of Stari Slankamen. This is about 40 kilometers and it was very cold. Low Expectations During our week in Novi Sad, we’d been keeping an eye on the weather forecast with a sense of dread. After more than a week of sunny weather, hitting above 25°C every day, a complete reversal of spring and summer was in the making. Just on Monday, we sought respite from the 31°C heat in the city by escaping to the canopyContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 54: Ilok to Bačka Palanka to Novi Sad – Goodbye Croatia, Hello Serbia
Our 54th paddle day was on Wednesday, the 10th of April, 2024. Our hosts in Ilok helped us cross the land border bridge between Ilok and Bačka Palanka to get the paperwork right. They dropped us off at a suitable launch spot on the Serbian side and we immediately began paddling to Novi Sad. This was our fifth day on the Danube in 2024 and our 54th day in total. Croatia to Serbia via the Ilok–Bačka Palanka Bridge With the hole in the boat patched and everything packed, we left our last accommodation in Croatia a little before 7:00. OurContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 53: Vukovar to Ilok, Croatia – Zucchini Leaks
Our 53rd paddle day was on Saturday, the 6th of April, 2024. We kayaked from Vukovar to Ilok in Croatia along the Danube. Our inflatable kayak Zucchini was unfortunately malfunctioning, which resulted in a lot of stops. This was our fourth day on the river in 2024 and our 53rd day in total. Excitement for Today + Taxi to Vukovar Kanu Klub Though the setback of having a leaky vent the previous paddle day made us doubt Zucchini, we were very enthusiastic about paddling to Ilok. It’s a big milestone; at 140 kilometers, we will have done 10% of whatContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 52: Erdut to Vukovar – Entering Croatia Legally
The events in this story happened on Wednesday, the 3rd of April, 2024. We paddled our inflatable canoe Zucchini from Erdut to Vukovar in Croatia. This was our third kayaking day down the Danube in 2024 and the 52nd in total. Though we had slept in Croatia the night before, we hadn’t properly entered Croatia on paper yet until Vukovar. Paddling Two Days in a Row + Zucchini Leaks The evening before we left Erdut, we looked at the map together. The challenges of kayaking to Vukovar from Erdut were mostly the distance and the fact that we would haveContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 51: Apatin in Serbia to Erdut in Croatia – Straddling Schengen
The events in this story happened on Tuesday, the 2nd of April, 2024. We paddled our inflatable canoe Zucchini from Apatin in Serbia to Erdut in Croatia. This was our second kayaking day down the Danube of 2024 and the 51st in total. Since Croatia is in the EU and Schengen and Serbia isn’t, we had to deal with immigration—on one side of the river… Preparing to Cross Back to Schengen Starting to Erdut from Apatin In the morning, we smashed a slightly underripe banana and a cup of instant coffee. Though we’d prepared a lot the evening before, weContinue reading