Rovni Lake and Velika Stena Viewpoint near Valjevo, Serbia

On Wednesday we had guests I was meeting for the first time. Two friends of my fiancé’s sister came to see our place for the first time and to look around the area a bit. He is from another country, our neighboring Croatia and the girl is from the heart of Šumadija, so this whole region was pretty unfamiliar to both of them.

In the morning we all had coffee together, a little homemade rakija, made a toast, had breakfast, there was still plenty of food left from the lavish Easter table, and we added a few things that day too, like a simple but beautiful, old traditional dish called cicvara. Something neither of them had ever tried before, so both the name and the taste were new to them. ☺️ And they liked it, they were honestly delighted with all the food.

We took a little walk around the yard, the property, showed them the surroundings with an easy stroll down the street and back, and I was so happy for them to see the ethno room, or more precisely old house where my fiancé's mom keeps all sorts of things, old tools, rugs, blankets, a Smederevac stove, old wooden beds, a wardrobe, beehives, some torn sombrero, and even little toys from Kinder Eggs from the nineties. There's nothing you won't find in there.

Since the two of them came by car, and my fiancé had to rush off to his afternoon shift, his sister and I went with the guests to Valjevo. Since they love nature, what immediately came to mind was the artificial lake Rovni and the viewpoint you reach through the forest, not too difficult, but still gives you that feeling like you've done a light hike. The day was changeable, the sun would come out for a moment and then hide behind the clouds again, but it was pretty warm and no rain.

My fiancé and I had been to that viewpoint a couple of years ago on our own, then last year we went again with his sister, my sister and her boyfriend, so I knew the way there well and played the role of a tourist guide. 😊

We just went through the town and immediately started going up the gently winding roads through the nearby village. Along the way we first stopped by this waterfall, we hadn't seen it before, so it really felt refreshing. The water was roaring so loudly that it was hard to hear your own thoughts. We snapped a few photos and then continued on.

The second stop was right by the dam, those huge thick walls holding back the lake. There's a small stop there, a parking space for a few cars and signs everywhere saying not to cross the barrier on the dam and that the area is under video surveillance, but of course we didn't listen, so we went around and took a little walk, looking at the lake head on, right from the middle. The color of the water kept changing from dark gray to lighter shades, shifting into greenish tones, depending on how the sun was cooperating with the clouds.

Do you see this huuuuge concrete "espresso cup" on the side? It might not look as big as I'm describing it in this photo because it was taken in 0.5, but it really is massive, and I assume it's there to take in a huge amount of water if the level rises to the point where it could overflow the dam. I also assume that's never actually happened because it's quite high compared to the water level, it's always been like that whenever we went.

By the way, this lake was built under the excuse that the city of Valjevo and the surrounding area needed it for water supply, while it seems the story is a bit different. There are strong claims that it was actually made because of lithium mining, something that people, especially those from the area but also any reasonable person in this country, have been fighting against for years.

Also, a very sad thing is that the Valjevo Gračanica church was submerged under the water. To this day, no one really understands why that had to be done or if it had to be done that way.

I used to question myself whether it was even right to go there and admire the beauty of the viewpoint while a sacred place lies under the water below, but now I see that part a bit differently. More like a kind of pilgrimage, I make the sign of the cross and look in the direction where it once was, where it still is.

Here's what the view looks like from above. The viewpoint is called Velika Stena and it's located within the village of Stubo, if I'm not mistaken. It was our third stop and the main destination we had set out for that day.

It's quite high up, and not secured at all, which is a bit surprising since a lot of people come here when the weather is nice. There are also quite a few little things people have brought to make it more interesting, though it has slightly taken away from the natural look of the place. But then again, people will always find a way to mess with something.

Every time we've gone up there, even though I wouldn't say I have a real fear of heights, I never go anywhere near the edge. Not even a meter or two. I always pick one of the benches in the middle and sit where I feel safe. That's why I’m not in this photo. I'm behind them and behind the phone camera. (:

Here I am, or rather my new sneakers, because if they were the old ones they definitely wouldn't be this bright and white.

I think the submerged church is somewhere in the direction of the left branch in the photo, just behind that bend, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Why didn't they build the another dam there and preserve the church? There had to be a better way, there just had to be.

On the way there and back, we came across these cute little signs. The first one says: Welcome, private property, please take care of it as if it were your own. And the second one is a reminder not to throw trash, with the name Velika Stena written below.

The path itself is fairly easy, with a bit of uphill and downhill here and there, but nothing too demanding. At one point, even before you reach the viewpoint, you already get a really nice view of the lake from the side. All around there's juniper with its berries, beautiful forests and little plants like hellebore, sticky bedstraw, wild mint and wild strawberries.

And here I am, I picked a bit of wild mint here, but I managed to lose it somewhere along the way, probably when something else caught my attention. I was even second guessing whether it really was mint or not, I wasn't completely sure because the smell seemed a little unusual. They assured me it was, so if they lied to me, then I'm now sharing that same lie on to you, hihi. (:

On the way back, we stopped at a local tavern known for its huge, beautiful plane trees outside. That's where we had some fresh Valjevo beer on tap, which supposedly comes straight from the brewery right next door. At least that's what they say, that there's a pipe running directly from the brewery into the place where we were sitting. So once again, if they were fooling me, I'm now doing the same to you. xD But it does sound pretty cool, right?

By that point, the day had already gone quite far, evening was setting in, so we headed back home for lunch, although it was more like dinner since it was already around 7 pm. We skipped lunch altogether. Lunch was beer.

And that would be all for this little trip.

Thank you for reading.

Sending hugs and kisses to everyone! ❤️

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