Banja Koviljaca 2

Banja Koviljaca

I’m sitting on the porch. It’s pleasantly cool but temperatures are due to reach 90 again today. I still have a headache this morning, triggered by walking in bright sun in 90 degree heat and carrying my camera around my neck yesterday afternoon. Hopefully it won’t be one of those 3 day headaches that I sometimes get. But luckily we have no plans today other than maybe meeting with a couple for coffee or a walk. 

I am glad we chose to stay here for an extra night. I could easily be content here for another week. Our apartment is comfortable, location quiet and convenient, the dog sweet, and our host is kind. Yesterday when I asked her how much we will owe her for our 6 nights she said we can just pay for the 5 nights we originally signed up for. This attitude is so common in Serbia and Montenegro. People build or renovate spaces to rent to travelers but they don’t have a cut-throat capitalistic mentality. The apartments bring in money they otherwise would not have. In any case, we are grateful to be on the receiving end of their kindness. In Croatia and the coast of Montenegro (which are popular tourist destinations) we rarely encounter hosts with this mindset.

Banja Koviljaca is among my top few favorite places we have stayed on our trips. The town has about 5000 people but feels smaller because people are spread out amid the hills. The town was originally built by the Romans, then the Turks created a spa for women here in the 1700’s. The spa as it stands now was built in the late 1800’s. Some of the buildings have been renovated, others stand empty. A large round fountain is the centerpiece of the spa grounds and day and night people sit on the benches to gossip or convalesce. Kids run around the circle or race their scooters. In the evening there is often live music that we can hear from our apartment up the hill. The spa grounds have many tall mature trees, both evergreen and deciduous, and around the fountain are extensive flower beds. The main shaded walkway that leads from the fountain to the main street is lined with booths manned by people selling handmade clothes, wool sox and sweaters, honey, jam, and assorted other stuff, including some booths with cheap plastic toys from China.

The town itself consists of one main street lined with a few 6-8 story apartment buildings with markets, meat sellers, and small shops on the first floor, and a few modest restaurants sprinkled about. This small commercial area has not (yet) been ‘spiffed up’, which makes me happy as I prefer the feel and look of these ordinary storefronts instead of the shiny, trendy ‘planned’ look of more touristy and upscale places. Locals, tourists and stray dogs mill about. Prices here are  low compared with the US. Our 3 bedroom apartment is $25/night (cedar paid $35 for a place in a new high rise last month). Our dinners, which typically include a large bottle of mineral water, 2 main courses, homemade bread, and salads cost between $20-$25 ($30 at Contact, the most expensive place) total which is more expensive than what we pay in other Serbian towns. Groceries are also much much cheaper than in the US but locals complain about how much food prices have risen in the past few years.

As I wrote previously, the Drina river is just a short walk east of the main street , and the spa grounds abut the forested mountain that rises to 2555 feet. There is a road one can use to drive to the top where there is a monument honoring Serbs who staved off the Austrians in WW 1. There are also trails on the mountain for hiking and mountain biking.

Yesterday Jim and I did an 8+ mile walk up our little traveled, steep road (which turned into an unused weedy path) and cut across to descend on the main (narrow, small) road back down to town. We did not turn to walk the final mile or so to the top because we were hot and tired and both have been to the top before (by car, and for Jim, by bike). The walk was scenic- vast views below, and colorful farms and fields by the road. We saw numerous sheep, roosters, some BIG pigs, and lots of haystacks. When amid the trees the temperature was pleasant but in the sun it was hot! 

Last night we ate again at the Contact restaurant, and once back home enjoyed the singing (accompanied by accordion) drifting up from the spa grounds.

Today we had a leisurely time, our first slow day in over a week. I finally ordered a cappuccino, and paid only $1.50 in contrast to the nearly $5 I pay in Seattle on the rare occasions when I order coffee.

The only low point of today occurred at dinner. We ate again at Park restaurant, a place we enjoyed the first time around a few nights ago. But this evening there was a stray kitten mewing around the terrace, which did not bother us at all. There was only one other occupied table, an older couple who appeared to be locals. They were loud and crass and smoked a lot. They bothered us much more than the kitten. The waiter (maybe the owner) came out and picked the kitten up by its scruff and carried it next to the porch and put a bag and box over it presumably to try to kill it. The old couple laughed and cheered. A few minutes later the cat reappeared. The waiter repeated the process but this time used clear tape to try to seal the box. The old couple cheered again and the woman laughed and cackled and cheered. A few minutes later the cat appeared again. This time the waiter brought duct tape. I had lost my appetite by then and got up to get away from the place while Jim waited to pay. I understand why some people might want to kill stray kittens. But the fact that the waiter chose to do it while we were there, and that this couple was so sadistic was very disturbing to me. It was a relief to come back to our place and greet Leo the dog who is relatively well taken care of, not always a given over here.

Tomorrow we plan to drive to Belgrade where we hope to stay for only 2 nights. It’s a lively interesting city but we prefer the quiet and slower pace of smaller towns and villages.

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Below are photos of and around B.K. Including a board where people post death notices, spa shots, our apartment, the local church, a cappuccino that costs 1.50 compared with nearly $5 in Seattle, and the Drina river.