BELGRADE

For days there was only goodness along the Danube: robust cliffs, cutesy beach towns and lots of sunshine. Then the atmosphere changed. Big open mines--for miles and miles--rough and poor towns, industrial areas, trash dumped everywhere. I pedal as fast as I can to get out of this area, uncomfortable at the max. Belgrade is waiting at the finish line of the first cycling stage.

Less communista than fashionista, Belgrade is taking me by surprise. I am not blind to the bombed buildings, the beggars, the Tito-era architecture and the overwhelming unemployment numbers but man, are they a bunch of hedonists here! Smoky basement dens, bakeries on every corner, pedestrian streets with sprawling outdoor cafes, city beaches with nightclub barges (Belgrade does not have enough land to fit all the hotspots), white linen courtyard restaurants with dinner for less than 8 euros, Barbie-style girls wearing Balkan Bling (including many shocking anorexic examples), and smoking and drinking 24/7 (according to my observations I am the only non-smoker in Serbia).

Belgrade is not 'hip' per se but very happening. And I might not blend in with the bleach-blond, pursed-lip catwalk look of the local ladies, I sure fit the sidewalk cafe culture seamlessly.

PS. Did you know I have not had a single less-than-wonderful glass of wine in all of Bulgaria and Serbia (only drinking the local stuff)? And that it is 28 degrees Celsius?