Slovenia-Croatia-Serbia: A Balkan handful

I thought my skills at reading Italian were half decent, so why can I not understand some of these road signs? And the names to some of these towns are very different from what I had been seeing in Italy thus far. After leaving Venice and riding east, I unknowingly entered the small country of Slovenia, and only found out after the man at the gas station told me so. Ok, so what now? I knew absolutely nothing about Slovenia, except that it was on my way towards Zagreb, Croatia.

Entering Slovenia was the beginning of a new phase on this journey across Europe. Everything I had visited up to that point, countries like Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy, were so popular I felt I knew something about them even before visiting. For Slovenia, though, and anything that came east of it, I knew nothing about. Slovenia marked this imaginary boundary from the most sought out travel destinations to the west, and the more adventurous places to the east. I was actually excited for it.

I was pleasantly surprised by the mountainous landscapes of Slovenia and well maintained roads to ride a motorcycle on. In the capital, Ljubljana, the city streets were wider than most other European cities I had visited and there was enough space for traffic to transit effortlessly. I suspect this is the reason there weren’t hundreds of scooters and motorcycles swarming the streets as there are in places like Rome and Barcelona.

As I walked the city center, alongside the Ljubljanica river, across the squares and in front of churches, I perceived a relaxing ambiance. No one seemed rushed or in a hurry, there were no loud and obnoxious noises around, actually, the sound of the river flowing was soothing. When I noticed the city was not heavily packed with visitors to the point that walking becomes a challenge, I literally began laughing out loud; it was perfect! Ljubljana had just the right amount of people to make it intriguing, but not overwhelming; it’s a colorful, calm place to visit, walk around, and eat a cream cake!

I entered and exited Slovenia through mountain roads, it was great, and will have to return for a visit to Lake Bled, which sounds and looks amazing. For now, however, my passport was stamped out of the Schengen zone and I was in Croatia.

One of the ways I can sometimes engage in conversations about places I know very little about is through football. Usually, if the place in question has a football team, I’ve heard of it. It’s bad, I know. Such was the case with Croatia, I knew of a few teams and the names of several players, and the capital’s name, but no more.

I arrived in Zagreb, the country’s capital, where I would end up staying for over a week and get to know how to navigate the city center, where to eat, which parks I liked for reading, which I liked for naps. I got to discover a few lookouts of the city, and even felt I was no longer on a 6 month trip, but perhaps that I lived there. Up until I was spoken to in Croatian, of course but, as in Slovenia, most people spoke English here.

During my stay in Zagreb, I made a day trip to Plitvice Lakes National Park about 2 hours southwest of the capital. These series of large, blue-green colored lakes were almost the perfect body of water to visit.

It is imperative to arrive early to beat the crowds and enjoy as much as possible the narrow wooden walkways around the lakes, immersed in vast green nature, and the gorgeous vistas left and right while riding the ferry across Kozjak lake. Plitvice is, without a doubt, a wonderful place to visit, especially if the number of waterfalls on your list is short. One way this could be an even better experience is if swimming in the lakes was allowed; it’s almost cruel to be in such a magical place and not be able to go in for a swim, quite tempting to trip over a branch and into the water, though.

Thanks to Dooby and the staff from Lobagola Bed and Breakfast, we sorted out yet another motorcycle problem of mine, and I was able to leave Zagreb. It was definitely bitter-sweet leaving this city, it had grown on me, it had so much charm, and I would miss the most drinking beer or wine while relaxing at one of the hillside rocking benches at the art park overlooking part of the city.

Having the beginning of the World Cup around the corner, I made the decision to draw a more direct route from Zagreb to Moscow, with some flexibility built in, but definitely would have to leave many places for another visit, such as the coast of Croatia and many of the Balkan countries, like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Albania. My next destination was Belgrade, Serbia, and for a reason I cannot yet understand, I was weary. In my mind, Serbia was synonymous of insecurity, and while this may or may not be the case, it was entirely an unfair thought to have since I had nothing to argue for it. This is one of the particularities for which I enjoy traveling, to discover through one’s own eyes the vibe, the atmosphere, and essence of a specific place, rather than allowing dubious judgement tell us what to do or where to go.

The road from Zagreb to the Serbian border was quite uneventful, a flat, straight road. My first concern was with Serbian customs, but after stamping my passport I was waved through without an issue. After navigating patched up, ill-maintained roads, I was reaching Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, and although nothing immediately stuck out as appealing to me, I decided to look passed the big city traffic and stay the night. The fact that it was in the evening and I wouldn’t reach another place before nightfall also played a role in that decision.

I cannot recall the number of places I’ve visited that initially were not attractive, but after some exploration, I discovered they were a worthy experience. Such was the case of Belgrade and its city center. I walked and dined at one of the many restaurants available on the Skadarska walkway and then rushed to the old Belgrade Fortress just in time to watch the sunset over the junction formed by the Sava and the Danube. This hot and humid city was unexpectedly pleasant.

Sitting on a beaten down ledge of this old fortress, I ponder on the idea of how much I have enjoyed these countries I knew nothing about. I came in blind, hoping for the best, and I have not been disappointed one bit.