Serbia. Can mosquitoes survive 70°C heat?
Intro #
Serbia has long intrigued me as a travel destination for various reasons: its culture, the many friends who have recently settled there, the friendly locals, the unique vibe, and the stunning nature. This is a short story about my spontaneous trip to Serbia with a mobile sauna.
The first Czech Whisking Championship was behind me, and after a few days of rest, I selected the best whisks I had left after the competition, bought firewood, loaded everything into the car along with the sauna, and set off towards Belgrade.
Location #
The most important part of the preparation was choosing a suitable location. The requirements were as usual: a large body of water, seclusion, space to set up the sauna, and, ideally, a view. Several locations were in the running, varying in distance from Belgrade and natural surroundings. The most interesting places are near the borders with Romania, Bulgaria, and Bosnia. However, this time we decided to set up by the Danube in the Fruška Gora National Park, which is much closer to Belgrade than the other options.
For those interested, I’ve provided links to a few alternative locations at the end of this post.
Unexpected Turns #
The forecast promised a hot day, so we decided to leave Belgrade early to reach the site before other visitors arrived to the beach and to accomplish as much as possible in the cool morning hours.
On the way from Belgrade, we immersed ourselves in the Serbian reality, discussing topics like the fate of lithium mining in the west of the country, where one of us has a summer house, joking about President Vučić and his refrigerator, and many other things that you can only learn from the locals. We planned a friendly recreational sauna session, and the vibe was accordingly relaxed.
Our mood took a hit when we parked and got out of the car. It quickly became clear why the beach had looked deserted from the window. We hadn’t accounted for the storm that had passed a few days earlier, turning the entire shore into a swamp, and the hot weather had created ideal conditions for mosquitoes to breed. We were forced to find another spot. Fortunately, we came across a spacious area around a restaurant. There were no other guests we could disturb, and the hospitable owners kindly allowed us to set up the sauna for free and even provided us unlimited water supply for bathing needs.
The Experience #
We kept the sauna sessions short, with constant ventilation and plenty of water.
Conclusion #
We wrapped up the day with heartfelt conversations with the restaurant owners over a traditional Serbian fish soup called čorba, and we set our whisks afloat on the Danube.
And to be honest, the mosquitoes followed us everywhere. Neither direct sunlight nor midday 36*C heat could scare them. This particular year they had super powers. The only refuge was the steam room, where they would fall on the bench after a few minutes.
I have a feeling that my Serbian sauna adventures are far from over, and I’ll be back soon—maybe with a few more banya programs and for a larger group of people. Hopefully omitting the mosquito part.
EXTRA: Promising locations for a mobile sauna #
I haven’t tried them myself, but all of them were on my list and recommended by locals.
Stara Palanka
Obrenovac
Zavoj Lake
Rovni Jezero
Palićské jezero
Banja Koviljača
Please drop me a message if you visit any of these locations with your mobile sauna.