The question of being alone on a trip has bothered me quite a bit before I decided to give it a go. What if I would start feeling lonely and there will be no one to talk to? What if I would not be able to find a wifi spot to talk to W. when I start missing home?
So far, none of my concerns have come true. I got to know some people from Poland already on the plane. They were going to Belgrade for the weekend in a group of ..32 (!), because they found a bug in the Air Serbia system and decided to go wherever it’s the cheapest. Usually, I don’t drink alcohol on the plane, but being surrounded by such a party-craving group of people, I decided to go with the flow. ;-) Monika invited me to stay at their accommodation, but I really wanted to reach Albania as soon as possible and stay away from busy cities.
Anyway, after landing, I followed the familiar way to the main train station, got rid of my luggage (what a relief!) and I went for a stroll. After some walking down the Danube river, I noticed a deserted hovel with strange, large, white letters painted inside. Of course I had to check what it was!
Inside, I met a French girl staying in Belgrade for the whole summer taking care of what turned out to be a garden! Yes, this empty hovel was being turned into a modern, design, hipster-like city garden. Guess what, they even had (stolen) wifi inside.
I stayed there for a while and enjoyed this special type of atmosphere of doing what you feel like (reading a book, writing a diary, sitting and thinking, just floating your boat) without being asked any questions. Do you feel like staring at the flowers? Do it. Reading a newspaper? Fine. Checking your Facebook? Why not. Sitting and watching the half-destroyed walls? Even better.
Having chatted a bit with the French girl, I decided to go and eat something before the long, overnight train journey.
And where did I end up?
In a huge warehouse converted into a club/restaurant/workshop centre. ;-) I spent the remaining time in Belgrade at this place and shortly before the departure of my train, I headed off to the train station.
In case you ever end up in Belgrade, the luggage room is right between the bus station and the main train station in the centre of Belgrade. It costs 150 dinars per day.
In the next post, I’ll describe the unique experience of travelling Montenegrin trains.
