We paddled from Smederevo to Ram in Serbia on the 7th of May, 2024. This was our 60th day of kayaking the Danube. We are now entering the border area between Serbia and Romania. Leaving Smederevo for Ram We left the apartment in Smederevo and walked to the rowing club. Once there, we started unpacking Zucchini and inflating her. Some kids showed up in sports gear. And then more and more kids showed up. They’re probably members of this rowing club and they have a practice today. We finished setting up Zucchini, and we even took our time by makingContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 59: Grocka to Smederevo – Headwind + Switching Places
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
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
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