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
Accommodation in Croatia: Our Stays in Zagreb, Osijek, Erdut, Vukovar, and Ilok
What to expect of accommodation in Croatia as a digital nomad? We stayed in Croatia from the 15th to the 23rd of March and then again from the 2nd to the 9th of April, 2024. This was during the Danube Kayak + Work trip. These are the places we booked to work online, relax, and do fun day trips. Zagreb: Central Airbnb with Balcony Duration: seven nights For Croatia’s capital, we needed to find an apartment close to a tram station, the main train station, and the bus station. The reason? We’re traveling with a heavy kayak in a backpackContinue 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
Kayak Trip Day 50: Mohács in Hungary to Apatin in Serbia – We Meet Again, Danube
The events in this story happened on Thursday the 28th of March, 2024. We paddled our inflatable canoe Zucchini from Mohács in Hungary to Apatin in Serbia. This was our first kayaking day down the Danube of 2024 and a continuation of this trip in 2019. We intend to paddle to the Black Sea in 2024 this year. Since we’re crossing from a Schengen country to outside of the EU, this required some paperwork at the police. Our (Second) Stay in Mohács Hungarian Immigration + A Call with a TID Participant Leaving Mohács for Apatin: Day 50 or Day 1?Continue reading