THE ROAD TO SERBIA

Written by MOTORBIKE EUROPE Road Writers -

To take a motorcycle trip in Serbia is like entering the forest, out in the wilderness. Serbia, now an independent state, was a republic in Yugoslavia. The Republic of Serbia, which has an area of 77.474 km², also contains the autonomous province of Vojvodina.

Belgrade is the capital of Serbia, and was the capital of Yugoslavia from 1918, to 4th February 2003. After that, it was the capital city and administrative center of the Federation of Serbia and Montenegro, until Montenegro's secession in 2006. The city has 1,576,224 inhabitants, and lies on the banks of the rivers Sava and Danube.

Belgrade was officially founded in 1403, but is one of the oldest cities in Europe, with a story that is 7000 years old. The name itself means "The Beautiful White City".

Serbia's climate varies between a continental climate in the north, with cold winters, and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall patterns, and a more Adriatic climate in the south with hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters, with heavy inland snowfall.

The NATO bombings of 1999 caused lasting damage to the environment of Serbia, with several thousand tons of toxic chemicals stored in targeted factories being released into the soil, atmosphere and water basins, affecting humans and the local wildlife. The Danube river is the largest source of fresh water.

If you're taking a trip through Serbia, check out the Arla Barka Hotel, a renovated houseboat floating in the Danube in Belgrade. Enjoying the calm river motion of the floating hotel, is great way to relax after a hard day in the saddle.