My husband, who is a native Serb, our 10 year old son and I are spending 8 months in Belgrade, having moved from England. This is day 45, 46 & 47.
DAY 45
Our friends planned a weekend away for us all and we set off from Belgrade in lovely sunshine to a small 'banja' (spa) town, called Vrdnik [1]. Banja Vrdnik has natural hot springs and is in a beautiful region of Serbia called Fruška Gora, [2] about 1 hour from Belgrade. Fruška Gora is actually a small mountain rising out of the flat plains of Vojvodina and has been a National Park since the 1960s. Fruška Gora has gentle slopes, forests, farms, vineyards and many monasteries.
Vrdnik, Serbia
We arrived in Vrdnik and after we had settled in to Hotel Termal, [3] which is in the typical 1970s mountain style, we went for a walk past farms, orchards and chatted with a local shepherd who was tending his sheep.
On the way back we passed by a local shop, which seems to be run by some dodgy geezers from Peckham! 'Only Fools and Horses' is really popular in Serbia.
Would you hand your cash over in this establishment?
Bathing in the hot mineral water is the main draw of this town. Next stop the huge indoor 'bazen' (pool) for us. The natural hot spring water was 30 degrees with a cocktail of healing minerals. People in Serbia will often spend time at a 'banja' (spa) for therapy. Some of the guests have their stay as therapy prescribed by the doctor on Serbia's national health. It's definitely not a party hotel!
Most people seemed to walk in the water or gather in small groups and chat, they're not here to swim. There were other kids as well as Aleks, but it was all very peaceful and calm. After two hours in the pool we had dinner, which was very typical, tasty and basic. There is always soup to start, and the waiters are friendly, efficient and serve the food from a trolley. Dessert was only an healthy apple, so we decided to get in the car and head to the posh new Ethno Hotel to have cakes. I had the most delicious 'orasnice' (walnut cookies).
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vrdnik
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fru%C5%A1ka_Gora
[3] http://www.termal-vrdnik.com/banja/
DAY 46
A must see in Fruška Gora are the many orthodox monasteries that sprung up here when the Turks invaded Serbia. The monks fled to Fruška Gora to preserve the holy relics and manuscripts and were accepted by the Austro- Hungarians who occupied this part of Serbia at that time.
Vrdnik Monastery
We walked to Vrdnik Monastery [1]. The church has a cool exterior, with white render and is classical in style. The interior is exquisite and houses a few small relics of Sveti Tsar Lazar (Saint Lazar), [2] an important medieval Serbian ruler/saint. As an aside, the Serbian Orthodox Church in Birmingham is dedicated to Sveti Tsar Lazar.
A nun from the monastery opened up the church for us and we bought a few trinkets in the little shop. We lit candles and headed back to the hotel.
It was snowing on the way back, so we warmed up with 'topli nes' (frothy milky instant coffee) before heading to the pool. It's very healthy in the pool, but I noticed there were no lifeguards, only one attendant! We swam in the indoor pool but there is an outdoor pool too, also with hot spring water, but it is only open in summer. In the cold weather the steam was rising from the water!
The outdoor pool with hot spring water is only open in summer.
After lunch, Aleks and I had a snowball fight outside the hotel, as it had been snowing all day and had settled well. Dragan crept up on Aleks and made a stealthy attack. We all got a bit chilly, so It was about time for another swim. I decided 'when in Rome...', so I walked around in the pool and hardly swam at all!
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vrdnik-Ravanica_Monastery
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazar_of_Serbia
DAY 47
We woke up to clear bright sunshine and a snowy landscape, so after checking out of the hotel we walked up to a hamlet with little mining cottages. Coal was mined here in the 20th century. Aleks was sad to leave Vrdnik, especially the pool. I think it did us all the power of good.
Near the disused coal mine in Vrdnik
Vrdnik