SERBIA

We started at the exit of Sofia (Bulgaria) and shortly after an old Serbian man picked us up to Pirot - Serbia. He was a really nice guy and we passed through the border without any problems. What was interesting was that he had dreamt about a Bulgarian passport all his life because of the tranquility it would have given him.(???) His other dream was to go to America and he also said that he would pursue his dream until it comes true. He was cool and was swearing exclusively much! Just like a typical Serbian! Anyway, he dropped us at the exit of Pirot after a tunnel due Nish where some guys were making some construction works. We waited there for half an hour and when the guys finished their work they picked us up in their 4x4 towards Nish. On the way we stopped at Nishava River for a bath. The river was incredibly clear and tidy and one of the boys said that according to the latest surveys, the river is one of the cleanest in Europe. After that, they even showed us a place for camping near their place in Jelesnicka Gorge. They told us more about their work and how they were putting optical cable in the tunnel. They were from all over Serbia and it was definitely great to spend time together!  In the evening they stayed with us and Mitre, the driver of the SUV, he told us about his experiences in the Andes, Morocco, Siberia and many other places. He is a climber and a mountaineer. In addition, he speaks English very well and when we could not understand each other in a Balkan language, we used English for better talk. We made a bonfire and after we had dinner, we slept in our tent, but they went back to some house which was pretty close to our “home”. In the morning, we awoke to see the beauty of the nature around- tracks and streams and much more!

The place where we camped was really busy in the morning! Tractors loaded with tables and benches started coming from dawn! Until we got up, a stuffed with potatoes pig was already grilling on a fire and it was yet 8 o’clock! There were also bottles full of rakia and all kind of alcohol! 

Meanwhile, we packed our bags and got ready to hit the road. We got to the guys’ place, they were really very kind and wanted to show us the beauty of Serbia. Mitre took a rope and a harness and climbed a pretty big rock around 100 meters high. After they drove us back to the main road where we continued our hitchhike towards Nish.

After long waiting a truck driver gave us a ride to the entry for the highway at the pay tolls. He was a really cool guy and we got along very well. We should not forget that we are all brothers and sisters in all Balkan countries. He dropped us near the musical festival Guche, but eventually we decided not to join 100 000 drunk Balkan people. We went to camp close to the entry of the highway in a park and shortly after we started pitching the tent, another Serbian came to us. He appeared to be a shepherd and got really excited when he heard about our journey. He did not stop swearing for a second, though being nice and funny, it was hard to make him go. In the morning we left for Nish and after 2 hours and a half waiting some gypsies stopped. They were very proud with the fact that they were honest and sincere and not stealers. They were selling different metal goods for a living. The car was really old school and was fuming all the time inside and outside. They even dropped us at the exit of Belgrade which was not their direction.

Then a boy- worker took us after he was coming back from work to Bosnia and left us 40 km away from the border. After two long hours of waiting we came upon some other Bosnian guys who were coming back with a taxi from Romania and changed their route a bit to drop us at the border. We passed it on foot and said “Goodbye” to the hard for hitchhiking Serbia!