Blog

I manage to get a bit of sleep on the ground of the Ниш (Niš) bus station waiting room, mainly thanks to my backpack being super comfortable. I love that bag! There were two locals also sleeping in the room. But they were sleeping quite deep… At some point, one of them tried to wake the other up by shouting at him and shaking him, without much success. Even when he managed to make him fall to the ground, the guy didn’t wake up. The power of Rakija! He kept shaking him until he had enough, and threw a massive slap to his face that resonated in the entire room. The guy still didn’t react. Ok, that’s starting to be worrying. BLAM! Another slap, and this time the guy mumbles something. The first one had enough, so he went back to sleep on a chair, leaving the other one on the floor in the middle of the room. Later, he fell twice from his chair. They must have had a hell of a good time.

Finally the bus arrives, and I don’t know how those two managed to get in the bus. At least I could have a few more hours of sleep, until we reach the Градиње (Gradinje, Serbia)/Калотина (Kalotina) border. I’m not sure why, but my passport made seemed to amuse them. I guess they don’t have that many tourists coming by bus.

Stamped out, and back in the EU, in България! My 20th country! 😀

A last hour of bus, frustratingly driving along a railway, and I’m in the capital, София (Sofia). Oh Bulgaria! Everything is so much easier here! I directly go to a bus office to get my ticket for the way back to Ниш on 19 September, no problems I find a place to print out my bus tickets for İstanbul (Istanbul), no problems, София metro is brand new and clean and efficient, no problems, and the sun is shining bright. I feel also much more welcome here than in Serbia to be honest.

I spend the morning exploring the streets of София  and admiring its monuments, including the sublime cathedral. It has this lovely orthodox shape, and is in the middle of a wide place where there’s actually nobody around. A random guy asked me to take a picture of him wit the cathedral, and offered me to do the same for me. That’s where I got really lucky (again): I’m really not into having my face on my travel pictures, so I honestly told him I wasn’t interested. It’s only later that I realized this was most certainly a scam to run away with my phone, manipulating me like he was some kind of master of puppets. Phew! Not believing my luck once more, I took a mental note for the future: never accept that kind of offer!

In the afternoon, I check in at the hostel. This time for the laundry, I use the washing machine. However, I of course chose the one that was kinda broken, and wouldn’t do the laundry spinning. So I am once again in the situation where my cloathes won’t dry… Well, at least there’s a balcony where I can left them, after doing some manual squeezing for a good while. No chance they’ll be dry by tomorrow morning, so I choose to spend another night (after tonight) here, rather than in Пловдив (Plovdiv) as I originally intended.

In the evening, I talk with two german backpackers. Same story: « We really wanted to go to Montenegro, but with Serbia in the way it’s difficult ».