Changes....

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Day 40
2523km
Ilok, Croatia

It is our second day in Croatia and also our last. Tomorrow we will have a short ride into Serbia. We are starting to notice some not-so-subtle differences, like the weather: it is cold, windy and rainy. Yesterday was trying pretty hard to dampen our spirits as it rained pretty hard from the beginning to the end of our ride. Today was dry, but a dark sky threatened us all day. No rain fell, which was a welcome relief, and the morbid weather was the perfect setting for what consumed our attention for most of the day – bullet riddled buildings leftover from more than a decade ago when Croatia was at war.
All around us, we could see structures half destroyed and left unrepaired mixed in with restored buildings where people had found money to build new lives. It was kind of surreal to think that here we were, free to bike through streets where bullets flew not too long ago.
Another noticeable difference is our pathways which have altered from straight forward and paved to random bike-route posts on busy roads and wash-board dirt tracks that leave the teeth rattling in our heads. Well, we have had it pretty easy – bring on the rough stuff!