A beautiful start to the day for my last full day of walking on the E4 this year.
There were a number of strange noises in the night. First, a sound like a pack of hounds but I expect they were birds, then there was a lot of crashing around in the undergrowth and this morning the turf by the trees where I was camping was all dug up, wild boar maybe?
A cold start, low mist clung to the ground beneath blue skies softening the lines and obscuring the base of trees, giving everything a grey wash until the sun rose high enough to light up the yellowing leaves of the trees by the river. Ducks ran and flapped into the air as I passed. Gradually Ram castle became visible on a promontory in the river beside a hill. People were fishing from boats in front of it. When I arrived, the castle gates were closed with various signs indicating no one was allowed in and if they were they needed a hard hat. Scaffolding indicated some restoration was in progress. In the village shop where I stopped for a drinking yoghurt (typical at breakfast here) and chocolate a lady who spoke English told me the castle would open at 10:50. Given I still had 26 kilometres to walk this was too late for me so I headed off up the hill.
There was an excellent view from the hill back up the river to a "u" shaped island left by the higher water level created by a dam some distance away. Higher up the path the view was hidden by pine trees so I took a diversion off my planned route to view the river downstream. The river looked like silver in the reflected light from the morning sun, appropriate as I was heading for a place which in English means "Silver Lake". Sunlight was also reflected off flakes of mica in pieces of schist in the track, schist being the type of rock that forms the hill here, which forces the Danube into a narrow valley. Romania is now on its opposite shore. Going off track through the trees to regain my planned route I dropped down to the village of Zatonje briefly joining the Eurovelo cycle route 13 as I did so. This cycle route follows the path of the old Iron curtain, I first met it in Austria.
After the village the route follows the south side of Silver lake formed of an abandoned channel. Initially the lake was hidden by what appeared to be holiday homes, but later the water and the trees on the opposite shore were visible, their leaves turning as autumn approached.
The village of Srebrno Jezero or Silver Lake is a popular spot for tourists. For the first time in Serbia I encountered people enjoying a walk, a Sunday stroll by the lake. Much of the village appears to be under construction, including the Bankers B&B where I am staying. However, I enjoyed a good dinner at a lakeside restaurant carefully watched by two cats...
A GPS trail of my route can be found on wikiloc.com, on ViewRanger.com as johnpon0025 and on Wandermap.net. Today I walked 32.5 kilometres.
There were a number of strange noises in the night. First, a sound like a pack of hounds but I expect they were birds, then there was a lot of crashing around in the undergrowth and this morning the turf by the trees where I was camping was all dug up, wild boar maybe?
A cold start, low mist clung to the ground beneath blue skies softening the lines and obscuring the base of trees, giving everything a grey wash until the sun rose high enough to light up the yellowing leaves of the trees by the river. Ducks ran and flapped into the air as I passed. Gradually Ram castle became visible on a promontory in the river beside a hill. People were fishing from boats in front of it. When I arrived, the castle gates were closed with various signs indicating no one was allowed in and if they were they needed a hard hat. Scaffolding indicated some restoration was in progress. In the village shop where I stopped for a drinking yoghurt (typical at breakfast here) and chocolate a lady who spoke English told me the castle would open at 10:50. Given I still had 26 kilometres to walk this was too late for me so I headed off up the hill.
There was an excellent view from the hill back up the river to a "u" shaped island left by the higher water level created by a dam some distance away. Higher up the path the view was hidden by pine trees so I took a diversion off my planned route to view the river downstream. The river looked like silver in the reflected light from the morning sun, appropriate as I was heading for a place which in English means "Silver Lake". Sunlight was also reflected off flakes of mica in pieces of schist in the track, schist being the type of rock that forms the hill here, which forces the Danube into a narrow valley. Romania is now on its opposite shore. Going off track through the trees to regain my planned route I dropped down to the village of Zatonje briefly joining the Eurovelo cycle route 13 as I did so. This cycle route follows the path of the old Iron curtain, I first met it in Austria.
After the village the route follows the south side of Silver lake formed of an abandoned channel. Initially the lake was hidden by what appeared to be holiday homes, but later the water and the trees on the opposite shore were visible, their leaves turning as autumn approached.
The village of Srebrno Jezero or Silver Lake is a popular spot for tourists. For the first time in Serbia I encountered people enjoying a walk, a Sunday stroll by the lake. Much of the village appears to be under construction, including the Bankers B&B where I am staying. However, I enjoyed a good dinner at a lakeside restaurant carefully watched by two cats...
A GPS trail of my route can be found on wikiloc.com, on ViewRanger.com as johnpon0025 and on Wandermap.net. Today I walked 32.5 kilometres.
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| Walking beside the Danube at first light |
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| Castle ruins at Ram |
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| The silvery Danube from the hill by Ram |
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