Novi Sad, Wednesday, May 26

We got off to a slow start today. The GPS insisted that we cross the Danube over a bridge that was closed for repair, but we knew our destination was on the same side as we were, so ew turned back to find our own way to the road we wanted as identified on the map. We ran smack into a Budapest traffic jam. It took us half an hour to go about four blocks and an hour and a half to get out of the city. I thought we would do pretty well leaving the downtown when everyone else was entering. So much for that theory.

Ray had arranged to meet Zoltan, a young man who is trying to keep alive the history and culture of the German population of Mezofalva. He gave us a tour of the church and cemetery and we were again on our way.

Our next stop was in Bataszek, where we had arranged to meet Laszlo Rudolf for lunch. Laszlo is the gentleman responsible for gathering all the church records in our collection. He was quite pleased to see us and took us to a nearby restaurant for a feast. His idea of lunch was a little bigger than ours! It was a real pleasure to visit with him again. He presented us with a couple of books for our library.

Then, it was on to the border. I had hoped for a quick crossing to make up some time, but it was not to be. We were about 15 minutes exiting Hungary and another 30 entering Serbia. Not bad, but not as good as I had hoped. We met Stasa, our guide in Serbia, quickly slashed a couple of the “bonus” stops from our itinerary, and drove on to Apatin.

Apatin was the main landing site for the Germans who came down the Danube to settle the Batschka area, immediately west of Banat. Many Banaters also came through there. Stasa’s friend Boris, a passionate local history buff, led our tour here. He took us to a couple of churches and the river bank where the settlers landed. Unfortunately, the original settlement site is now submerged in the river. Boris also took us to the home of the Adam Berents Society, of which he is an active member. Adam Berentz was a Catholic priest who led political opposition to the Nazi Party and later the Communist Party in the area. The Society is dedicated to his memory and to accumulating as much Donauschwaben history from the area as possible. They have a large collection of old books, many from the 1700s, and a couple dating even to the late 1600s. They have also gathered many old church documents, such as letters and diaries, which give a glimpse into the lives of the pioneers.

Stasa had arranged a dinner for us at a very nice restaurant on the Danube. When we first met him we asked if it was possible to back out, due to our large lunch. The restaurant had already committed significant resources to us, so we kept our date and were treated to our second feast of the day.

We made one last stop at a home built around the turn of the last century. A local family had recently purchased from the original family and is trying to restore it to its previous grandeur. Many of the furnishings are original and there are numerous artifacts and tools from more than one hundred years ago. They tried to offer us coffee and cookies, but we were way too stuffed and way to late to accept their hospitality. We finally rolled into Novi Sad about 10:30 and were checking in to the hotel about 10:45, only 2.5 hours behind schedule. That will give us a problem tomorrow, as Johannes has to have an eleven hour stop, meaning departure will be at 9:45.

The hotel is very nice. It is on the second floor of a downtown shopping mall and looks like it was fairly recently converted to this use.

Weather was great today. Warm and mostly sunny.