Weekend experiences - From shine to despair

You never know what's waiting for you around the corner.

You relax in a beautiful moment, and then, surprise. And surprises are rarely pleasant. Just because something happens when you don't expect it, it's an inconvenience...

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This weekend we had a company-organized stay at a Spa hotel Fruške terme, on Fruska Gora.

After arriving at the hotel and entering the rooms, we went down to the restaurant next to the reception where we relaxed and socialized with colleagues, before dinner with organized music.

In the restaurant opposite the hotel where we had dinner, played
The tambura orchestra created a very nice atmosphere.

We were in the restaurant until it closed, and after that wr met in one of the rooms and made a plan, where to have an after party.

We found a restaurant that is open much longer and stayed there until the early hours of the morning.

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After waking up and having breakfast ( the buffet table of this hotel is highly recommended), we went to the pool and enjoyed the indoor and outdoor pools, saunas and salt rooms.

I didn't mention, the temperature was around 0°C, so the water temperature was very pleasant for swimming in the outdoor pool.

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When we finished the spa treatments, we went on an organized walking tour through the forests of Fruška Gora.
We chose a 10 km long trail.
https://ecency.com/hive-193552/@duskobgd/actifit-duskobgd-20231216t153843104z

The path we chose led us past two old Serbian monasteries, Novo Hopovo and Staro Hopovo.

By the way, there are many monasteries on Fruška Gora, 16 have been preserved to this day (out of a total of 35 built).
In the immediate vicinity of the Staro Hopovo monastery, we visited a smaller cave "Beli kop".

There was no time to stay in the cave for a long time. We took pictures and continued on.

We moved on muddy forest paths where leaves attacked and we bypassed fallen trees.
We did not dare to go over the trees that were placed as a bridge, we used a concrete structure to cross.

We refreshed ourselves at the source of fresh water and continued towards the goal.

The climb at the end of the trail made us very tired. The big slope, along with the wet and muddy ground, meant that we could barely make progress, but with short breaks to catch up, we reached the finish line.

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After the walk, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch.

On the menu there was a local specialty - Sarma: sauerkraut, rolled up in packets, filled with minced meat, rice and onions, with long cooking on low heat, Is a superb specialty that we inherited from the Ottomans who were in this area until the end of the 19th century.

We enjoyed a good lunch and when we finished, we headed to the hotel for another Spa tour.
Again, saunas, hydromassages, warm indoor and outdoor pools.

Maximum enjoyment.

In the hotel, I noticed a special part (Adam & Eva), the first of that type that I saw in the Spa.. but I bypassed it, because I was with my colleagues, and by the way I'm not even a nudist😀

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The next day, I parted ways with my colleagues and went back to my apartment to go to the vote. Parliamentary elections were held in Serbia on Sunday (unfortunately, the same government was voted in again).

After the vote, we went to Novi Sad with our family members, where we visited the Christmas market and all the attractions that were set up outdoors for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
We drank some mulled red wine and rum punch and bought our favorite cakes at one of the stalls.

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On the occasion of the upcoming holidays, we treated ourselves to lunch in the wonderful Novi Sad restaurant "Veliki".

We enjoyed the recommended dishes: rolled chicken with plum and apricot, turkey fillet with cherry dressing, pork leg on pork belly, pihtje...

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If I had written this post after lunch, on a Sunday afternoon, I could tag it with #weekend-engagement and write on the topic given by @galenkp : "If you could re-experience any weekend from 2023 which would it be and why?"
I would probably write about this one, but...
(As Lord Tyrion says in GOT, "Anything before but is a lie"), homecoming also happened.

Right before the toll ramp for exiting the highway, the car started to stall, to lose power.
I tried turning off the engine, restarting it, removing the terminal from the battery to restart it, nothing.
He couldn't go at all, and there was a 90km road ahead of us.
I had to call a tow truck...

So instead of hanging out with the family, the weekend ended with towing the car to the mechanic.

And so, from a great time and a weekend full of good impressions, it ended with an ugly moment.
I was transported by a tow truck service, but now, for me, an unpleasant situation is coming.
After the diagnostics I scheduled for Wednesday, I'm waiting to hear how much money I'll need to get the car back up and running.

Fortunately, colleagues from the company came to meet me and during the failure of my car, they provided an backup car, so that somehow I could function.

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That's it for me this weekend.
Thank you for stopping by, to read and see what I've been up to.
I hope that you had only good moments, that none of you had bad luck over the weekend that took money out of your pocket...
Until the next holiday weekend, I greet you.