Vojvodina is entirely flat -except for the Fruska Gora mountain range- with the soil being rich and highly benevolent to human life. 'Put anything in the soil, and it will grow', said a 27 yr old medicine student in the town of Sremski Karlovci. 'Nobody has tried with bananas yet, but I'm sure they'll grow if someone ever plants them'.
An overland trip between Beograd, the Serbian capital, and Subotica, Yugoslavia's Northernmost city, takes about 3 and a half hours. Through the bus window, large extensions of green, wineries and farms appear uninterruptedly. (The people make jokes about their countrymen in the Backa region growing pigs all of their lives; while in the Srem farmers make good use of grapes by fermenting wines and rakija).
Culturally, too, Vojvodina was set apart from the rest of Serbia: there's hardly a Turskish motive in its town and cities, with the Austro-Hungarian influence being more evident. (in Subotica, the superb Old Town Hall features captions in both Serbian and Magyar).
Sremski Karlovci, 10 km from Novi Sad, is a pleasant, quiet town full of surprises to the visitor. Once the spiritual and cultural center of the Southern Slavs, the town left its mark in European history by housing peace negotiations between Christian and Muslim powers at the end of the XVII century. In 1791, the first Serbian secondary school (Gymnazium) opened here.
Today, Sremski Karlovci retains a strong sense of history in its landmark buildings: the Gymnazium, the Orthodox Cathedral boasting a rich iconostasis in the interior, and the neoclassical Palace of the Common Funds. Add the nearby Danube river, and the town makes a perfect, picturesque retreat for anybody.
There are frequent buses and trains from Novi Sad to Sremski Karlovci. I made it there on a pleasant evening, and I was able to walk around town in a couple of hours, meeting the local people. Whatever the historic value of its buildings and monuments, it is the people of Sremski Karlovci whom I am most grateful to. Their hospitality, their kindness and friendship, was unrivaled.
Karlovci makes a good base and a gateway to explore the Fruska Gora mountains. As I left the town on a clear, sunny day of June, carrying a small backpack and a bottle of water, I expected to reach the Orthodox monasteries enclosed in the woods. The Fruska Gora National Park is becoming a popular destination in Yugoslavia, offering both nature and culture to the visitor.
By the evening I had made the 3 km walk to Strazilovo, gateway to the National Park. Hiking through the mountains, I reached an asphalt road leading to Velika Remeta monastery. As night fell in the Fruska Gora, I was able to hitchhike a ride to Iriski Venac, where I found a hotel to spend the night.
I found the weather here very pleasant. At 9.00 p.m., winds were sweeping through the forest, and a dense fog started to encircle everything around. People believe in the healthy powers of the Fruska Gora, and even politicians come here to breath the healing air of the mountains.
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