Sauntering around Lake Palić.

Sauntering around Lake Palić in Serbia.

June 2021.

Our first day in Subotica had been largely dedicated to checking out the city’s fabulous Art Nouveau architecture. With our mission largely accomplished, we decided to just wander freely and see where our noses took us.

Architecturally, the city continued to deliver way beyond its Art Nouveau masterpieces. Take for example the lovely Subotica Gymnasium, a public high school established in 1796. Built in the classical style, the school has provided curriculums in Latin, Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian and Serbian. During World War I a sizeable hospital operated out of the school for injured soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army.

Wherever we roamed, it seemed we were never far from a pretty or commanding church. The first to draw us in was the towering Franciscan Мonastery and Church of St. Michael. Built in 1730 on the ruins of a 15th century fortress, its twin towers are visible from pretty much anywhere in the city.

However, it was the curious sight of a giant painted egg that inspired us to approach. The accompanying plaque informed us that it is called Easter Egg from the Heart and stands as a symbol of friendship between Serbia and Croatia.

Franciscan Мonastery and Church of St. Michael.

Moreover, Subotica is a city packed with public art with countless statues, sculptures and monuments. One that stands out (not least due to its attention grabbing name) is the arresting Monument to the Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Fascism.

Created by the iconic Serbian and Yugoslav sculptor Toma Rosandić, the monument honours and indeed holds the remains of numerous liberation fighters who died trying to defend the city against German occupation in World War II. 

Always on the lookout for a peaceful green spot from which to watch the world go by, we discovered an absolute gem in Rustique Concept Bakery, a lovely place for a coffee and a bite that sits on Šandora Petefija Street.

The cafe overlooks a charming garden passage that sits between the two sides of the street. At its entrance there is a bronze bust in tribute to the Hungarian writer, playwright, poet and journalist Dezső Kosztolányi.

Elsewhere, a sculpture near Liberty Square speaks to a kooky annual competition that takes place in Subotica every July. It shows a man mowing grass using a traditional scythe. And that’s precisely what happens in the city every summer when several dozen contestants compete to show off their skills in this ancient discipline.

Mowing Statue.

Wearing traditional clothes, the winner is the one who mows the most grass in the neatest fashion in the best time. Not sure if it’s much of a spectator’s sport but it certainly gets points for kookiness. Apparently such competitions also take place in nearby Bosnia. And in The UK, which is a bit embarrassing because I had absolutely no idea.

Just across from the mowing sculpture, a number of food stalls specialise in local dishes and snacks. One that caught our eyes offers customers Hungarian Chimney Cakes, (Kürtőskalács), a crispy caramelised treat where sweet yeast dough gets spun and wrapped around a spit before being charcoal roasted and basted with melted butter 

Sometimes they are doused in chopped walnuts and sprinkled with cinnamon powder. Definitely a must try while in Subotica.

Eventually, our city centre wanderings drew to a close as we realised that time was rapidly ticking down on our Subotica adventure. With just an afternoon remaining we decided to get out of town and take the thirty minute bus ride out to Lake Palić.

Conveniently, the bus dropped us right outside Palić Water Tower, an Art Nouveau creation built in 2010 as an entrance to the Great Park which leads visitors to the lake. The pretty wooden pavilion on the left part of the structure steals the show with its engraved floral wreaths.

 Sauntering around Lake Palić.

Keen to get directly to the lake, we strolled down the park’s Central Alley. The first trees planted here date back to 1840 when development began to turn the area surrounding the lake into a resort.

Interestingly, several online articles claim that landscapers laid the park out in the English baroque style. While the end result is clearly lovely, I can’t say I particularly noticed its Englishey baroqueness. It is highly possible that I don’t know enough about such things.

At the end of the Central Alley the quite spectacular Grand Terrace lay in wait. Unveiled in 1912, this sweeping Art Nouveau event venue contains a number of exhibition and conference halls in addition to a ballroom.

The famed Hungarian architects Deža Jakab and Marcell Komor created the wooden beauty. It is one of several Art Nouveau delights the two constructed in the region including Subotica Synagogue featured in last week’s post.

Sauntering around Lake Palić.

From the other side of the terrace Lake Palić holds court as far as the eye can see. Covering an area of almost four square kilometres, historians reckon these waters formed around ten thousand years ago after considerable geological shifts.

Not everyone likes this somewhat boring and logical version. Rather, they commit to the old legend that the lake came about when a shepherd called Pal lost his prize lamb with a golden fleece. Wracked with grief, his tears created today’s salty waters. Classic.

I’m not gonna pretend for one minute that Lake Palić is the prettiest lake I’ve ever seen. Here and there the water channels an unpleasant murky brown. What’s more, there are signs warning visitors that swimming in the lake is strictly forbidden.

Instead, the charm of the place lies very much in its collection of historic buildings and art. Let’s start with the diminutive elegance of the Memorial Fountain.

Also created in 1912 by the duo Jakab and Komor, this drinking fountain contains a brief engraved history of the lake, as well as a tribute to the mayor of the time, Karolj Biro. It is a gorgeous piece, especially when one gets close up to check out the exquisite stone carvings of female heads, catfish, ducks and coots.

Memorial Fountain.

From the Grand Terrace and the Memorial Fountain we worked our way through the Great Park, which stretches along the lake in both directions. Considering the fine weather and the fact that it was the height of the tourist season I’d been expecting the lake to be busy. But actually it was really peaceful. So much so that we made sure to drop onto a bench for a spell of lazy lake-gazing.

Nearby, we spotted an historic music pavilion. For over a hundred years it has hosted informal and official concerts for the delight of lake goers. In its heyday between 1915 and 1940 some of the region’s best known singers and classical musicians performed in the pavilion.

Further along, we came across the highly impressive Women’s Lido, a semicircular cafe that also boasts over one hundred years of history.

Back in the early 1900s the lake’s beaches did not allow for men and women to bathe together. As a result, men would often come down to Ženski Štrand (the female beach) to watch/leer/catcall/ the ladies as they sunbathed and frolicked in the water. Some dedicated sleazeballs even came with binoculars.

Sauntering around Lake Palić.

In order to combat this, the local council built the Women’s Lido, a place where ladies could change, sunbathe and swim in privacy. Today it is the lake’s most popular eatery and was by far the busiest spot we saw.

By the 1930s Lake Palić had become such a hotspot wealthy folk began building homes for themselves along its shore. In fact, the area soon became awash with notable names in the worlds of business, art, sports and literature.

A handful of these historic structures remain, though a few sit abandoned. One is Bagolyvar Villa (The Owl Tower Mansion), a Swiss style abode where a number of original ceramic roof tiles hint at its former glory.

But how about staying in a fully restored villa? If that’s what you’re after look no further than Villa Lujza, an 1892 construct that once housed famous sportsmen and women who came to the lake to take part in the Palić Olympics, then the biggest sporting event in Austro-Hungary.

Villa Lujza.

Just across from the villa we stumbled upon a statue in memory of the man who established the event, the legendary Hungarian sportsman Lajoš Vermeš. 

Even just a cursory glance at this guy’s backstory makes for some entertaining reading. Basically, he was the multi-talented athlete of his time, a man who was a prolific competition winner in running, gymnastics, fencing, cycling, boxing and pole-jumping.

In time he began organising his own local and national competitions, all of which he competed in. During these events he supposedly broke countless records time and time again. But people soon cottoned on to the fact that there had been serious skullduggery at play.

Later, investigations showed that Vermeš had hired unqualified judges of dubious character. Scandalously, precious seconds got deducted from his finishing times and even added onto his rivals. At one infamous sports committee meeting, Vermeš became so enraged at not getting his own way that he pulled out a revolver and threatened several board members.

Nevertheless, his achievements remain undeniable. Not least for overseeing the completion of Hungary’s first indoor sports arena and for organising the country’s first official football match.

Lajoš Vermeš.

Finally, the heat of the afternoon wore us down and we resolved to settle somewhere for dinner and drinks. After a bit of poking around we decided on the well-reviewed Elitte Palić, a wooden restaurant tavern that had a relaxed air about it.

Happily, our choice proved to be a good one. Quiet and clean with amiable service and fine lake views, we were able to kick back for a few hours. First we ordered two cold draft beers before an excellent freshly-prepared dinner of grilled catfish and potatoes in spinach and garlic sauce.

To top it off, I couldn’t resist a large bowl of Shopska salad. This Balkan staple has long been a favourite of ours with its oil-drizzled chopped cucumber, onion, tomato and roasted peppers topped by a bed of grated brine cheese.

For the most part our views of the lake swept forth unencumbered. Just occasionally broken by the amusing sight of a family trundling awkwardly by in a rental bike. Rather them than me. What a great time we’d had in Subotica and its surrounds. After a decent period of travel in Serbia we were about to take things to the next level with a cross-country joint birthday trip. Until then…

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