Serbia Blog, Written June 20, 2008

Greetings from Budapest Hungary. I wrote this a few days ago and since then have landed at the lovely home of Bettina and her lovely family. I have met some great souls here in the wild bike messenger community and have been gearing up for my ride northwest to Slovakia then Czech Republic. More later on Hungary, here's the skinny on the rest of Serbia....

Photos of Serbia are at http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AauGbRi3aNYO&notag=1

So the divine plan of yummy goodness I left off with involved me taking some time off the bike and away from video cameras and microphones. I’ve been going non-stop since Italy for the most part and the broken bike racks, flat tires and lack of inspiration were clear signs to relax.

I made it to Bobo’s book signing and launch event and he was so grateful for my support, and especially Mirela’s long drive from Sarajevo. Mirela showed up just as it was wrapping up but was able to meet, and was warmly welcomed by, some of Bobo’s fans and supporters. I did not know much of what was being said as several speakers came up talking to the crowd in Serbian. But I knew it was important and meaningful and I was told later that most of the speakers were quite famous philanthropists, artists and leaders in various positive movements in Serbia.

Mirela brought a bunch of amazing famous pies and cakes from Sarajevo that disappeared as fast as they came out. After that we hit a café for a last drink with Bobo and his lady Zorca. It was at the café where we learned a few more things about Bobo. What I had seen of him living at his house for a few days was a man struggling to get by as a spiritual novel writer, living the artist life.

But just about a decade before he had two successful businesses with a brother and owned a big flat in the capital Belgrade. But just like that, the famous dictator Slobodan Milosevic decided to take it all away and he was left with nothing. But, like and my bankruptcy of 1999, we used the even to ask ourselves what we really wanted and used the event as a pivotal turning point towards living the life we really want to live. Since then he has written several books and seems quite content in his own unique way.

Mirela and I drove Zorca and Bobo back and I gave them both a huge hug. I was amazing to meet Zorca and Bobo, and we vowed to meet again my next trip to the Balkans. The hug I gave Bobo caught him off guard and I think I might have injured him a bit, but he smiled warmly after it settled in. We waved goodbye and drove off together towards Novi Sad where I left my bike after my wild adventure into the city.

I kept my room for the day before in Novi Sad so we dropped off Mirela’s bag, took a shower and hit the town for some fun. Now that I had Mirela with me the town was bright, cheery and tons of fun. We found a gypsy bar with amazing musicians and delicious wine, walked the fairy tale streets of Novi Sad chatting away, and ended up at a Red Cow Irish Bar (in honor of our friend Nevena in Sarajevo) bar to grab my first Guinness beer in over 6 months (I love Guinness!) and chat while overlooking the people walking by.

Yesterday we slept in until 11AM, something neither of us had done in very long time. Mirela, like me, is a very ambitious and hard working person. She not only works with the European Union full time but also has two part time businesses in accounting and interior design. Needless to say, we were both happy to just lye in bed and take cat nap after cat nap while listening to Novi Sad’s busyness go bay out the window.

Mirela decided to take today, Friday the 20th of June, off work and was happily supported by her coworkers to stay the night and today with me. This gave us time, and me the opportunity, to finally give Mirela her first camping experience. It’s hard to believe someone as natural, simple and fond of nature had never gone camping but this was about to change. We did some research at the tourist office and found a lovely lake in the north of the country on the border of Hungary, near the town of Subotica.

We went out to the sad sight of my bicycle in the back of the hotel to start packing up. She is looking so tattered! The cheap Serbian tire was flat, the rack bent and with a fresh break in the Croatian welds, and the seats soaked in water from the rain. I was happy to pack her up and not think about riding until I got to Budapest to get my shipment of parts, including a new SRAM drivetrain.

Mirela was so excited as we drove north and the weather cleared up big time with tons of sunshine, scattered clouds and perfect temperature. We were hoping to be able to make a fire and BBQ so we picked up fresh veggies and aluminum foil for the cookout. But when we made it to the campsite, we had a few challenges. For one, the campground was closed. I guess they don’t open until July, so we just drove right in and served ourselves up a chunk of grass.

Yep, the place was closed, the water just trickling out of the cobwebbed pipes, and our BBQ pits were nonexistent. But Mirela was so happy to just finally be camping and I went to work teaching her to set up the tent, blow up the mattress and set up the nest for a good night sleep. Mirela was like a little girl, all bouncy and giggly inside the tent for the first time. It just so happens that I have a new Sierra Designs sleeping bag and new mattress coming to Budapest so I decided to donate my current setup to Mirela to support her new passion of camping! Of course, she was stoked!

With my beat-up bike still in the car we walked over to the lake hoping to take a swim in the setting sun. We found a lakeside café playing rock and country music and serving ice cold beers in lounge chairs so we thought we were set. I was just ready to jump into the lake, which did not look all that inviting due to tons of algae, when the waitress gave us the shocking news that it has been poisoned by illegal dumping. It’s such a shame because Sebria has no real natural tourist draw card and this could have been it.

Luckily the sunset was stunning, the cold beers and music just right, and the company divine. We hit the town for some dinner, a full moon walk on the lake before getting a perfect night sleep and waking up naturally to the peaceful sound of dozens of birds singing lovely songs outside our tent. We were both extremely content, but I was already starting to get sad again as I knew I would once again, for the 3rd time, be saying goodbye to my lovely Bosnian princess Mirela as I made my way to Budapest.

We got to the train station for my 10AM train, which was fortunately late, giving us more time to just be together. I don’t usually go into much detail writing about my travel romances. Most people can “read between the lines” of my adventures to figure out some bits and pieces. But in this case, the fact that Mirela and I have had three different adventures together does not take much reading between the lines to figure out that we really like each other.

Fortunately Mirela is a wise and strong woman. We both know that I’m on my path, doing the work I am called to do in the world, and am soon out of reach from quick drives in her VW Polo. As we shed our last tears at the train station it was quite a surreal experience. Like the SMS she just wrote “It was like saying goodbye after being together for a very long time, but feeling we will only be apart for a short while”. Who knows…

We had quite a funky scare getting on the train. There was a mad dash to get my bike and kit all on the train as there was no storage area. The bike was in many pieces and just as the train pulled out I lost my breath because I did not see the entire rear section of my bike! I looked all over but it was nowhere to be found! Then I went to call Mirela and a man picked up her phone and hung up. I thought for sure she lost her phone and some stranger had it. As I was rushing up and down the isles, and Angel handed me back my camera that fell off my butt pack (whew!), and I found the bike part in the bathroom! Then I got an SMS from Mirela saying she was fine but that somehow the lines while roaming are being crossed and she’s reaching somebody different calling me and I’m getting some strange man!

I settled into my seat, dripping in sweat, and let the adrenaline finally mellow out. Of course, as it did, the tears flowed as we exchanged the last few SMS messages with my remaining credit on my Serbian phone line. I don’t know what will become of Mirela and I, but we both know that we will meet again someday, somehow. For now I just celebrate a unique connection with a special woman from Sarajevo!

And, although I’m still a bit sad, I am getting excited for Budapest and the adventures in Hungary! From the train I can see people on bikes (a rare scene in Serbia and most of the Balkans), and quiet back roads once again! I have great new friendships to form up ahead, cultures to explore, and I’ve got a nice network of people hosting me in the capital.

To close on Serbia, I have come to the conclusion, with the help of Mirela, that it’s not the country and people of Serbia that created this emotional blockage so much. In fact, my last blog was pretty dark on Serbia. I really think it comes down to the fact that I did not plan enough and line up a good network to play with in advance like I did in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia. I made an assumption that Bobo was going to be a hub of active, fun, adventurous people but that simply was not the case. So it might be more a matter of expectations not being met than reality, if that makes any sense to you.

So I’d like to give Serbia a second chance one day, but for now I don’t have many regrets how it turned out. I made some great new friends Bobo, Zorca & Yasmin. I helped Bobo launch his book and inspired several people with our story. And I had a lovely two adventures in Belgrade, Novi Sad and the north with my Bosnian friend Mirela that I’ll never forget!

The train is pulling into Budapest on a Friday afternoon!

Peace,

Jamie