Maks & Fil’s Great Dash to Serbia

A short film about our cycle trip from London to Belgrade during August 2015.

Two brothers, two bicycles. Seven countries and two thousand five hundred kilometres. A trip from London to Belgrade, Serbia. Powered entirely by pedalling. 5 00:02:01,30 –> 00:02:04,20 The idea for the trip came to me in a dream. Fil and I were gliding across a turquoise sea

On the back of an elephant, supported by a tower of turtles extending into an infinite abyss. And yes, that was when I knew that we had to cycle from London to Belgrade. After days of planning and training our trip commenced on 28th July, 2015.

The first leg would see us leave London behind to reach the coast. The road to Essex presented a few obstacles but we always found time to get that daily physical activity in. We made use of the famous hospitality of other cycle tourists.

And our hosts in Colchester even made us a meal made out of vegetables from their own garden. After a short shower, we reached the port of Harwich and it was time to board a ferry and set sail for Holland. I was not delighted with them going on this trip.

Actually I was very much against it. However, when Maksim installed that tracking device on his phone I was… a bit happier. When we arrived in Holland it was like we’d stepped onto another planet. Sunny, peaceful and flat. We found cycle paths in every direction we turned.

And we fully enjoyed Holland’s encouragement and respect for cycling. As we enjoyed the stories and hospitality of our Dutch cycling hosts we forgot the dull ache in our legs, and relished each new day. Everything was going well. A little too well. Oh my god, dude. Oh my god, dude! Oh my god!

First stack of the trip. Maksim Mijovic. Time: seven days in, forty seven minutes. Eight days in. Off the kerb. Grazed knee, broken wrist fractured rib, possible haematoma. 41 00:05:14,70 –> 00:05:16,70 The injury was a very difficult time for me.

I was in a lot of pain. Especially the broken rib. 43 00:05:21,20 –> 00:05:24,30 But I knew I had to stay strong, for my fans around the world. 44 00:05:25,30 –> 00:05:28,50 And, in fact, it just tightened my resolve to get to Cologne. 45 00:06:08,50 –> 00:06:12,00 I think Maksim really struggled with the physical aspect of the trip.

But, that was to be expected. I mean, he was never really the muscular type. I cycled the whole of Slovakia with just one leg to give him a chance to catch up, really. Food is scarce. The predators scope a prey in the distance. And he’s off to catch his target!

The un-suspecting prey knows nothing! The predator gains him! For us, Germany was a country of two extremes speed and heat. Good road and weather conditions allowed us to hit 55km/h at times. But as the relentless sun pushed temperatures up to the 40 degree mark our endurance was tested to its limit.

Well, it’s so damn hot that my phone just turned itself off and went on strike. And when it tried to turn it back on, it turned itself off. Again. So now we have no navigation. We tried every method under the sun to cool down. Even distracting ourselves with conspiracy theories.

German motorway signs are exactly the same as Serbian motorway signs. Yet another piece of conclusive evidence that Serbs invented the world! None of these distractions worked as well as a cool breeze, though. So we upped the speed and pressed on to our next resting point; Ingolstadt.

We’re currently in the Audi forum, which comprises the design park, factory line and the museum in which we’ve just been, which was absolutely brilliant. In Ingolstadt. In the 18th century it was also the birthplace of the secret society the Illuminati. welcome to day 18 of the epic cycle tour through Europe.

Here we are, bottles ready, helmets on, ready to get going. Y-you’re helmet isn’t on. Oh f*** off. Unceremoniously made it into Austria this morning. Fil stopped to change his top for a second time in the space of 10 minutes and stripped off in front of a bunch of German grannies.

Wanted to give the locals something to look at. Absolutely. Just as soon as we entered Austria, the weather went to absolute s***. But let me ask you, is electrical tape the most useful thing that we brought on this trip? Yes. What Austria lacked in weather, it made up for in scenery.

Meander after meander, through evergreen sloped valleys formed an enchanting backdrop for our approach to Vienna. Here we are today in Linz, Austria with our lovely hosts Michaela and Herbert. And here’s the view from the balcony of their beautiful flat and they’ve been so kind as to cook us a traditional Austrian dish.

So who’s gonna tell us a little bit about this lovely dish? This is marjoram beef. Marjoram beef. With bread dumplings. With some bread dumplings. Yeah. We hope you like it. I’m sure we will! Thank you very much! Let’s eat! Nice to meet you. Yes indeed! Cheers. Have a nice trip. Thank you.

As we neared the 3 week mark on our trip we wondered how those that we’d left behind were doing. Honestly? I actually really, really missed Dilip. Like, a lot. Filip. His name is Filip. Oh yeah, yeah, Filip, Filip. Yeah, no, I really, really missed Fil. I didn’t really miss him much at all.

I just told him I did, because I thought that’s what he’d want to hear. I was fine! Actually, it was quite refreshing! After 22 days on the road, we were looking forward to meeting our parents in Vienna. Of course we’d missed them during this time.

But more than anything, the prospect of being looked after beckoned. We’ve arrived in Vienna, and here we are in the appartment. And now, join us for an episode of Mijovic’s through time. Wait, who do we see here, in this painting? Unfortunately, the back door of the flat was recently smashed.

But not to worry. Because a security measure was invented to thwart any would be perpetrators. Here we are in the middle of Vienna. St. Stephen’s cathedral is in front of us. And we’re just waiting for mum to buy some souvenir trinkets.

The next day, we said goodbye to our parents and set of eastwards until all that could be seen were our flashing tail lights. Getting back on the road is always hard, especially on one’s backside. But we were driven on by the prospect of an unexplored country

And the strange and wonderful things we might see there. We’re in a Slovakian TESCO. It’s really weird. Same brands, F&F, Clubcard, same fonts Wow. Welcome to day 25 of the cycle tour. Here we are in the lovely country of Slovakia.

Which is currently no man’s land in between where they speak English and where they speak Serbian. We haven’t got a clue what the hell’s going on, but we’re somehow getting along. And there’s also no electricity, typically of Eastern Europe. Power cut this morning.

Day 26. We’re just about to cross from Slovakia into Hungary. And I can’t say how much we’re happy to leave Slovakia, the country of terrible roads. Cycling through Slovakia and Hungary had been hard

But we were now a mere 5 cycling days away from Belgrade and we could feel the goal in our grasp. After a long day’s ride, we’ve finally made it into Budapest. Opposite us you can see the famous and beautiful Hungarian parliament building.

In the distance, on the hill, the monument to the Soviet liberators. And next to it a palace whose name I don’t know and frankly won’t find out, because tomorrow we’re gonna hit them baths and chill. First we set up in the penthouse crib. Then, after taking care of some routine business

It was time for the bathing to commence. We were going to get full body massages for relaxation but then we saw that the masseur was a stout, hairy man, who was also naked for some reason. So we decided to skip, and hit the club instead. We’re in a Hungarian club.

They just sold us a carrot. Why are we eating carrots? He’s dropped his carrot! Welcome back to Budapest, sadly for the last time. For today is, of course, day 28

And it is time to leave Budapest, and once again enter the backwaters and countryside of Hungary. 154 00:15:15,90 –> 00:15:20,35 Alright, welcome to day 30. Very excited today because it’s gonna be our first day in Serbia.

Just a little ride to the ferry, over the Danube and then 20km left in Hungary until the Serbian border. Ferry’s about to kick off and that filthy doyle over there’s brought a truck-load of pigs on the ferry. Stinks like pigs! Well, here’s the first glimpse of Serbia.

We managed to cross the border in an unbelievably painless 5 minutes. X And we dove straight into the best things. We have Smoki (crisps), unbelievable. Bread, cheese, some pate. Yoghurt. Yes you can see an Eurocrem bar and chocobanana in there, that’s right. Oh my god… Welcome to day 31

Of the epic cycle tour. And today… is the final day. As we began our final run, our eyes scanned the horizon eagerly for the first signs of Belgrade. Just stopped to fill up, at the petrol station. Very important to keep filling up. Here we are in the Kalemegdan fortress.

Right at the foot of the statue known as ‘Pobednik’ or ‘The winner’, ‘Champion’. And here is another champion, and a third champion. Cruising through the heart of Belgrade, cumulative exhaustion delayed any kind of emotional response. All that remained now were a few kilometres to our aunt’s flat

And the end of our epic journey. We were given the traditional welcome of bread, salt and brandy. Although, this proved too much for some. And with the festivities underway, it was finally time to relax. I don’t know what to do when I get up and think “I don’t have to ride 100km today”.

How will I assimilate into society again? These are questions that remain to be answered. Goodbye, dear viewer.