Croatia-Hungary-Serbia or from Mur and Drava to Danube

ICT - Day 1 Legrad (HR) - Barcs (HU) 110 km flat

Under the shining sun, we leave Legrad in the south direction, near the confluence of Mur and Drava. Throughout the day, we ride along Drava with varying distances, a mostly uneventful day through numerous Croatian roadside villages with typical single-story houses and well-maintained meadows and gardens. Since 1919, Drava has formed the border between Croatia and Hungary, and here it is wild and untamed, similar to the Grünes Band in Germany, and has been protected as a nature reserve. As three-quarters of Drava is in Croatian territory, the EuroVelo 13 mainly passes through Croatian territory in this part. Only in the evening, we change to the Hungarian side to Barcs for overnight stay. This area, as a former border region, is remote - we mostly encounter tractors on the well-paved country roads. The farmers mostly wave at us friendly, as even though the well-marked EV 13 passes through here, they do not often encounter foreign cyclists. No one comes towards us on this day. What greatly annoys and disturbs us is the newly constructed border fence on the Hungarian side. What was needed for it and how glad were most people when the walls and fences at the borders in Europe fell. And now Hungary has built a long border fence again out of fear of refugees, against all rules. And yet in 1956, many Hungarians were fleeing after the Hungarian uprising, which was reminded to us last year by the monument at the Andau Bridge, and now a border stone pointing to the escape of 400 soldiers. After 80 km, we pass the suspension bridge of Kriznica, which leads to the Croatian enclave. It was built in 1968 so that Yugoslav soldiers could quickly retreat over the Drava. In 2017, it was completely renovated as a crossing for cyclists and pedestrians, but it is now officially closed, which no one seems to really care about. You can also cross by ferry. We stay on the right side of Drava, the landscape remains unchanged. The last 10 km, we ride on a slightly busier road with headwind (after the wind was mostly our friend today) and reach the town of Barcs on the Hungarian side via a bridge over Drava. There, we have a nice accommodation on the outskirts of the city.

ICT - Day 2: Barcs (HU) - Donji Miholac (HR) 100 km flat

After spending the night in Barcs, Hungary, we cross the Drava back to the Croatian side, where we stay all day until Donji Miholac. Just like yesterday, we ride through long roadside villages where many people are busy mowing their lawns. The plots around the houses are also large. After about 30 km, our tour leads to a roughly gravelled road that runs close to Drava, but we rarely catch a glimpse of it through the trees. Later, we can ride on the dam for a long time, making good progress. Just like yesterday, we hardly encounter people outside the villages. On a poorly passable section, I stumble briefly and fall with my bike - luckily without any consequences. There is also an old watchtower on the dam, from which you can look out over Drava and the Hungarian side. Along the way, beautiful resting places for cyclists have been built with EU funding. Who uses them? For Dominique, this is the perfect opportunity to inflate her tires to the right pressure. In the early afternoon, a thunderstorm is brewing in the sky. Before the first downpour, we just manage to reach a café, the first one since Barcs. Nevertheless, we have to continue riding in the rain. Shortly before the destination of the day, we turn onto a "bike path" that becomes almost impassable after a few kilometers, also due to the rain. When the path becomes hardly visible in the high grass, we turn around (to Jannik: actually, we turn around). A good decision, because ten minutes later, the sky opens its floodgates, and we have to wait for a while next to the main road before we tackle the last kilometers to Donji Miholac. We arrive at our accommodation completely soaked, but after a shower and a first beer, we feel good again.

ICT - Day 3: Donji Miholac - Bezdan (SRB) 95 km

Today we take a three-country tour, almost like at home. Here we go from Croatia to Hungary, back to Croatia, and finally to Serbia. From the center of Donji Miholac, it is not far to Drava and thus to the Hungarian border. Drava is now history for us as it is no longer a border river but continues its course in Croatia and flows into the Danube near Osijek. Therefore, we will meet it again as part of the Danube on the ferry at Stara Palanka in a week. But that is still in the future, although we already encounter the Danube today, but only in the evening. On the Hungarian side, the EV 13 is new and perfectly built, so we make good progress in the first 25 km. But as so often, the signs become less frequent and the paths become worse - or is it the other way around. Not a big deal, we find our way back to the main route with a few detours and enjoy Hungarian strawberries along the way. On a lightly trafficked road, we return to Croatia - as usual, it is characterized by agriculture with long roadside villages. In Beli Manastir, an unattractive characterless small town, we take a break before we make our way to the Danube. Past corn and wheat fields as well as vineyards, we cycle towards the memorial of Batina, which rises above the Danube. It commemorates the Battle of Batina (1944), in which Soviet and Yugoslav forces liberated the area from German troops. Shortly before that, our EV 13 and EV 6 meet. Before we can cross the Danube, we have to pass the Croatian border control. We now finally leave Croatia. On the Serb side, there is a longer line at the border control, but we can ride past it with our bikes after the ID check and make our way to the accommodation in Bezdan. The place is anything but attractive but offers a nice accommodation and a good restaurant right on a tributary of the Danube. In this natural oasis near the water, with lush vegetation, we end the day comfortably with fish and beer.