Have you ever heard of Amazon situated in Europe? I have to admit that I haven't, until a few days ago when I found myself in that nature reserve. I have been here many times, but this name Amazon of Europe is new for me. Surrounded by the Danube and small canals, the town of Apatin situated in the north of Serbia has always been a wonderful place to visit. Hunters and fishermen are frequent guests in the area, as well as those interested in good food. The famous Apatin fish stew was and still remains the backbone of summer cultural events, where tourists from the surrounding area, but also from abroad, enjoy these summer evenings.
It happened to me too, I was present at the four-day event, where exhibitors were selling their handicrafts, where fish stew was cooked, many concerts were held in the open air and there were thousands and thousands of visitors. I was so happy to be surrounded by a lot of people again, I think we all missed that. But in this post, a completely different atmosphere will be shown.
Pure nature, no people and crowds, only forest, water, boats and mosquitoes. Oh yes, mosquitoes. My body is no longer accustomed to mosquitoes, and every sting causes redness, itching and leaves a stain on my skin. And believe me, it’s a mosquito invasion, today I’ve already started to be in mild despair from them.
Mosquitoes benefit from this climate and they have a lot of water area for their larvae - the environment that perfectly suits them. And where there are mosquitoes, there are birds that can feed on them, such as swallows. Birds, in addition, like to eat frogs and small fish, which are abundant in these canals. There were swans swimming that did not want to get close... also herons and storks are frequent guests on these waters. The boats are mostly old and abandoned, but I see them as one interesting window into the past of this zone.
The swans that did not want to get closer
We spent some time in this place, it was nice to walk on that old wooden dock. It swayed a little and creaked underfoot, but it withstood my weight, I didn’t fall into the water. Although, two years ago when I last visited this place, I swam in this water. There are a lot of water lilies and water grass, so it is not so pleasant for swimming for those who are afraid of invisible objects in the water. Maybe snakes? Frogs? Okay, we'll stay dry this time.
But what is actually this Amazon of Europe thing? I saw it on the boards that can be found in the area and searched for more information. According to the source, I found out that this is a kind of so-called green belt that is made up of 700 kilometres long waterways. It is crossing 5 countries: Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia. It is formed from the lower courses of the Drava and Mura rivers and related segments of the river Danube. This course is among Europe's most biologically significant riverine regions.
In this Amazon of Europe river network, there are 12 protected areas that show the beauty and ecological value of it. In this post, we are situated in the area called Gornje Podunavlje, wich is a special Nature Reserve. Also, Kopacki Rit is so close to us, that is a Nature Park at the Danube-Drava confluence in Croatia.
If you are a fan of biking, it is a perfect place to meet all this beauty on the two wheels. There is a BikeTrail that is very well marked so you dont get lost, just follow the stages. We were here in the stage 14 and later we found the spot of stage 15 too.
The road in this part is asphalt. We are surrounded by forests, lots of greenery, fields with cereals, corn, sunflowers ... If you want to see where you are if you already suspect that you are lost, you can climb a lookout tower, as this young gentleman did.
Right not far from this lookout tower, I went down a small road that I saw. A beautiful house with a typical rural construction for this area. The traditional style has been preserved, it looks nice and tidy, it can be seen that the owners take care for the cultural heritage.
Another interesting thing that can be seen in this area are the bees. Beekeeping has flourished in the last few years, and that makes me happy. We know very well how important bees are for the whole ecosystem. Working with them is beautiful, but not easy. When I was a child, my parents had beehives too. I have fond memories of that period. But, as happens many times, various diseases attack the swarm of bees, so one season we lost all of them in one of the plagues. Fortunatly, many new young beekeepers are present in the zone nowadays.
I hope you enjoyed the tour of this small part of Amazon that you can find in Europe. More precisely, in the protected zone of the Gornje Podunavlje - Upper Danube. If you decide to come by bike, I want you to enjoy and maybe you can make a post here on the Hive platform about this region :)
Enjoy the ride!