Bike Map Holder

I take a sip of white wine and smiling to Lars who has already drained his glass of blackberry. I think last week and the wonderful cycling and walking trips we have done. We are in a local wine cellar in the village where we Sicevo taste wines and spirits and meet smoked cheese and local bread. I feel so relaxed and I wonder why I have not done this trip before?

It has been 20 years since the last time I was in Serbia. A few months ago, I read in a magazine article on Serbia and its national parks, cultural heritage and opportunities to travel. So I decided to spend my summer holidays in the country of my ancestors. As a passionate lover of outdoor I had an idea to have an active vacation, so I started doing some research. I bought the book Bradt Travel Guide Serbia (http://www.bradtguides.com) and there I found the local adventure travel company (ACE Cycling and Mountaineering Center http://www.ace-adventurecentre. com), which has offered customized trips in Serbia and Montenegro.

Anyway, I landed at Belgrade airport on Sunday afternoon with my cousin and friend Lars Tanja Misa where ACE was already waiting for us. I felt much more at ease when I saw his smiling face and warm welcome. I knew this guy looks after us well. Soon we were on our way to Sokobanja Spa is 250 km from Belgrade. A joyous crowd spoke of the Serbian people, history and nature and we have not even noticed that we were already in front of our pension Sokobanja. We met with Sasa who heads ACE Center with his brother Misa. We enjoyed a welcome drink in the restaurant at Pension Sasa gave us some hand-made booklets with art cards of our daily itineraries. Leaflets were made just for our visit and I'm still a mine as a souvenir.

The next morning, Sasa and Misa put our bikes in the courtyard of retirement and we were ready for an adventure. Each bike has a label with the name on it and all the bicycles were equipped with bags and cardholders, where we found maps with the routes identified for each unique visit. After a journey of 15 minutes Sasa sign to us and we jumped off our bikes and the parked against a small hut. A few minutes later, we met Golub awaiting us in a watermill. The mill was a couple of hundred years, but surprisingly it was still in good shape. We have seen how the proposed water wheel below the small house which was then transferred to the rotation of massive stones that seed corn and grind into fine flour. Golub makes bread herbal juices and herbal for us so we enjoyed this short break with all our senses. We continued our walk through the countryside and villages. When we arrived in the village of Josanica (another resort) the next surprise awaited us. Misa had set a wonderful picnic in the shade of some trees. It was just what we needed something to renew our energy before reaching 5 km long section of land on the slopes of Mount Rtanj. The ride was excellent, in particular 8 km downhill to finish. But that's not all. In Sokobanja we took a short walk from the main pedestrian street and we arrived at the old Turkish bath. The next moment I fell into hot water and I felt how my body celebrates this natural gift. I felt like in heaven. hot mineral water comes from the earth and filled with marble bathrooms planned round in the old Turkish style building. There are two pools, one for men and another for the ladies, but as we were the only guests this time, a lady who works there allowed us to bathe together. It was the perfect ending to the first day in a country where my roots are.

The next day we left our bikes to rest and we hiked about six hours time Ozren Mountain. Our path followed a small river and our first stop was Ripaljka waterfall. Our goal was a small church appeal forests.