Dear Kurtzes, In September 2013, my wife and I took a one-day road trip in nearly the opposite direction from Novi Sad to Zrenjanin to the Serb-Romanian border villages to Timisoara and back. We thoroughly enoyed our experience and will have life-long memories of visiting my ancestral homeland. That said, it is vitally important that you do some research ahead of time and plan your trip so that you don't wind up stranded somewhere in the Romanian countryside twiddling your thumbs. [Do bring a wireless phone that will work in the area; signal strength seemed reliable throughout.] My biggest caution would be that it was a 14-hour day spent mostly in the car on a table-flat landscape, and yet that really was not enough time to soak it in thoroughly or do many side trips/research. You could see more or go slower by breaking it up over a couple days, but then you'd have to spend the night in a small town. Most of the villages are rather nondescript farming hamlets which hold more value for ancestral nostalgia than for sightseeing. Perhaps your best bet for an overnight accomodation would be Jimbolia (quaint) or Zrenjanin (less appealing to us). In my opinion, it is important that you know where you want to visit instead of playing it by ear. In my experience, nostalgia can best be found in the places your ancestors actually set foot, and the more histroically intact the better. Try to identify those targets before leaving the USA; the Banat towns have changed enough over the years so that it appears the on-the-ground research value is rather limited. The cemeteries are in quite good shape, but good luck finding your ancestors' gravestones in a short visit. Many old Catholic churches still stand in some stage of decay, but you will need to identify the local who holds the door key. Looking at cities: Timisoara is an attractive and interesting city well worth more than the few hours we could offer to it. Novi Sad has a solid touristy zone, but is otherwise somewhat gritty. Belgrade gets a bad rap maybe for good reason, but the pedestrian promenade and the fortress overlooking the Danube are well worth an afternoon and a sleepover. The biggest takeaway: It really helped to be with a local guide to deal with driving, directions, the border crossing (seemed intimidating), and the steep language barrier. We hired Stasa Cvetkovic of Novi Sad who I highly recommend [Stasa is on the Banat list]. Whoever you travel with, be sure to let them know ahead of time the places you wish to see, how badly, and what you hope to see there. Local eyes can help you fine tune the itinerary for the best outcomes. Expect to have a terrific journey. Happy travels! Charlie Tiller St. Paul, MN [Tiller, Kovacs, Kampf, Fechter and others in Deutsch-Zerne, Hatzfeld and surroundings] > From: [email protected] > Subject: BANAT Digest, Vol 9, Issue 27 > To: [email protected] > Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 01:01:09 -0700 > > Message: 2 > Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 20:10:09 +0000 > From: <[email protected]> > Subject: [BANAT-L] Timisoara visit spring 2014 > To: " [email protected] " <[email protected]> > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Should my husband and I have any concerns about a one day car trip from Timisoara > > to Jimbolia to Zrenjanin, Serbia to Banatski Despotovac then back to Timisoara, Romania. > > This is our first trip to Europe. We have booked four days in the Banat before a Danube river cruise. Thanks for your help. > > > > M and C Kurtz > ************************************

Charlie, Many thanks for posting your insightful and well reasoned comments on visiting the Banat. Dave Dreyer ----- Original Message ----- From: "Charlie Tiller" <[email protected]> To: "Listserve Banat" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2014 8:46 AM Subject: Re: [BANAT-L] Timisoara visit spring 2014 > Dear Kurtzes, > > In September 2013, my wife and I took a one-day road trip in nearly the > opposite direction from Novi Sad to Zrenjanin to the Serb-Romanian border > villages to Timisoara and back. We thoroughly enoyed our experience and > will have life-long memories of visiting my ancestral homeland. That > said, it is vitally important that you do some research ahead of time and > plan your trip so that you don't wind up stranded somewhere in the > Romanian countryside twiddling your thumbs. [Do bring a wireless phone > that will work in the area; signal strength seemed reliable throughout.] > > My biggest caution would be that it was a 14-hour day spent mostly in the > car on a table-flat landscape, and yet that really was not enough time to > soak it in thoroughly or do many side trips/research. You could see more > or go slower by breaking it up over a couple days, but then you'd have to > spend the night in a small town. Most of the villages are rather > nondescript farming hamlets which hold more value for ancestral nostalgia > than for sightseeing. Perhaps your best bet for an overnight accomodation > would be Jimbolia (quaint) or Zrenjanin (less appealing to us). > > In my opinion, it is important that you know where you want to visit > instead of playing it by ear. In my experience, nostalgia can best be > found in the places your ancestors actually set foot, and the more > histroically intact the better. Try to identify those targets before > leaving the USA; the Banat towns have changed enough over the years so > that it appears the on-the-ground research value is rather limited. The > cemeteries are in quite good shape, but good luck finding your ancestors' > gravestones in a short visit. Many old Catholic churches still stand in > some stage of decay, but you will need to identify the local who holds the > door key. > > Looking at cities: Timisoara is an attractive and interesting city well > worth more than the few hours we could offer to it. Novi Sad has a solid > touristy zone, but is otherwise somewhat gritty. Belgrade gets a bad rap > maybe for good reason, but the pedestrian promenade and the fortress > overlooking the Danube are well worth an afternoon and a sleepover. > > The biggest takeaway: It really helped to be with a local guide to deal > with driving, directions, the border crossing (seemed intimidating), and > the steep language barrier. We hired Stasa Cvetkovic of Novi Sad who I > highly recommend [Stasa is on the Banat list]. Whoever you travel with, > be sure to let them know ahead of time the places you wish to see, how > badly, and what you hope to see there. Local eyes can help you fine tune > the itinerary for the best outcomes. > > Expect to have a terrific journey. Happy travels! > > Charlie Tiller > St. Paul, MN > [Tiller, Kovacs, Kampf, Fechter and others in Deutsch-Zerne, Hatzfeld and > surroundings] > >> From: [email protected] >> Subject: BANAT Digest, Vol 9, Issue 27 >> To: [email protected] >> Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 01:01:09 -0700 >> >> Message: 2 >> Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 20:10:09 +0000 >> From: <[email protected]> >> Subject: [BANAT-L] Timisoara visit spring 2014 >> To: " [email protected] " <[email protected]> >> Message-ID: <[email protected]> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" >> >> Should my husband and I have any concerns about a one day car trip from >> Timisoara >> >> to Jimbolia to Zrenjanin, Serbia to Banatski Despotovac then back to >> Timisoara, Romania. >> >> This is our first trip to Europe. We have booked four days in the Banat >> before a Danube river cruise. Thanks for your help. >> >> >> >> M and C Kurtz >> ************************************ > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message