Sremski Karlovci is located about 30 mins bus ride away from Novi Sad. The town square is very small and easily navigable in just 10mins.
One of the bigger reason for coming here was to visit the wineries. I had gone to the Visitor information centre to pick up some information and on the map were listed a lot of wineries to visit, many which were outside the city centre. Those that were in the city centre weren't really open when I was there.
There was also a panoramic view point, but when I tried to climb up, I encountered a gate midway which was locked.
I then decided to walk to the Chapel of the Virgin Mary of Peace, where there were also a few wineries on the way.
The Chapel of the Virgin Mary of Peace was built on the place where one of the most important world events in modern history happened. This is where the Karlovci treaty was concluded on 26th January, 1699 after the great Vienna war (1683-1699).
The representatives of the powers in war met here for the negotiations : Austria, Poland, Venice and Russia on one side and Turkey on the other side, with the presence of the English and Dutch diplomats as the mediators. After long and difficult negotiations the Karlovci treaty was concluded. For the first time in the history of the official world diplomacy, the round table was used for negotiations.
The Chapel got its present appearance by the decision of Vienna War Council (1808) and was built in 1814.
Unfortunately it was also closed and I could only take a pic from outside.
It was starting to get to be a rather disappointing trip, but then I came upon Vinum Winery which seemed open.
I walked in and asked if they were available for visiting and Wine tasting, and one of the colleague kindly made his time available for me. I was later told that because it's the year end, it's a busy time for them to get deliveries out for the festive holidays.
Jovica whom is the oenologist, provided me with the wine tasting, and was occasionally joined by Milan, whom I later found out is the Sales Director.
It was starting to get to be a rather disappointing trip, but then I came upon Vinum Winery which seemed open.
I walked in and asked if they were available for visiting and Wine tasting, and one of the colleague kindly made his time available for me. I was later told that because it's the year end, it's a busy time for them to get deliveries out for the festive holidays.
Jovica whom is the oenologist, provided me with the wine tasting, and was occasionally joined by Milan, whom I later found out is the Sales Director.
Together the both of them made my day and the trip to Sremski Karlovci extra special. They were super nice and shared with me stories of history in the area and of their neighbouring countries. Milan also later brought out some pears and cheese for me. He even offered to let me follow him to Subotica if I wanted, when he was going there for a delivery 2 days later.
Jovica later showed me around the winery and I learnt that they were a boutique label with grapes produced about 10km away on their own vineyard. Only 6 staff work in the winery, I was super surprised!
My favourite wine would have to be the Mustra, a mix of muscat and traminer. Slightly sweet but not overly sweet with fruity notes. As well as Bermut, a fortified dessert spiced white wine. I also like it because it is not overly sweet.
I was hoping to try other wineries, but as I needed to also get into Belgrade today, I decided its best to head back to Novi Sad to collect my luggage and make my way after lunch at the 4 Lions Restaurant (came highly recommended by one of the staff at the hostel).
Jovica later showed me around the winery and I learnt that they were a boutique label with grapes produced about 10km away on their own vineyard. Only 6 staff work in the winery, I was super surprised!
My favourite wine would have to be the Mustra, a mix of muscat and traminer. Slightly sweet but not overly sweet with fruity notes. As well as Bermut, a fortified dessert spiced white wine. I also like it because it is not overly sweet.
I was hoping to try other wineries, but as I needed to also get into Belgrade today, I decided its best to head back to Novi Sad to collect my luggage and make my way after lunch at the 4 Lions Restaurant (came highly recommended by one of the staff at the hostel).
They only had a Serbian menu, so I asked for their suggestion and they said Karlovačka Šnicla - pork stuffed with ham and a kind of cream cheese and then deep fried. It was good but also very filling.
With the travel time to and fro, I reached the Central bus station about few mins before 4pm and bought a ticket to Belgrade that departed at 4pm.
It was extremely tight in timing, as I barely made it on the bus - it was just pulling out from the platform when I reached the gates, thankfully it was the closest platform to the gates and I managed to get the attention of the driver to let me on the bus! Otherwise I would had to buy another ticket! Phew.
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