Leaving the EU, again!

Day 127 - The long long winding road

In the previous blog we commented on our crossing out of EU soil into Serbia. We soon realised this was a non-event compared to our second attempt to leave the European Union, from Hungary into Croatia. Although Croatia only has EU pending status, no green card was required for us to drive, so we presumed, passports and all we’d be ok. However, this boarder crossing was more eventful. This time the search was much more thorough. Boxes and bags had to come out of the van. Glove boxes, car doors and the dirty washing were all searched. We even had to empty our pockets. Of course, because the van was not full of heroin, illegal aliens or false passports we were alright. Despite the guards’ systematic efforts, we were able to have a bit of a joke and shared some of our left over Christmas chocolates.

Once the van was reloaded we were on our way to Croatia’s capital. This wouldn’t have been an issue if we hadn’t decided to take the A roads. We thought we would try and save some money by avoiding the toll motorways. At this time of year this was not a pleasant drive. The roads were windy and baring remnants of left over snow. By the time we arrive in Zagreb after this three hour slog, Toj was well and truly exhausted and had to go to straight to bed.

Day 127-129 & 133-135 - Zagreb

We had already re-planned to visit Belgrade by train from Zagreb whilst we left the van. The hostel was a bit out of the centre but had parking at least. In a converted semi-detached house, this hostel, ‘Meli Mrak’ would prove not only to be our home for a short while but also kindly for the van during our next train adventure. We had two days before heading to Belgrade, which was a short period spent exploring the city and having our first experiences of Croatian culture. One thing we immediately noticed was how cold it had become, between -6 and -8 degrees. Normally we would expect such temperatures to attract a sympathetic grasp from an Anglo audience. However, we were made aware that this was no worse than in parts of the UK this winter.

Due to our limited time we did something, which under normal circumstances we would not subscribe to. We engaged in a whistle stop tour of Zagreb’s old town guided by a free tourist information guide. It is an unusual experience seeing the side of a city the tourist board wants you to see. Every street, building and sign post was significant in the grand narrative of the city’s life. It was all names and dates of a chronology, but nothing was offered of the modern-day Zagreb we were in. Therefore we enhanced our walk with a Toj brand fictional tour, inspired by Phil’s exemplary tour of Bratislava.

Once we had fulfilled our sightseeing quota the guide book was put down and we began to wander freely to see the somewhat confused make up of Croatia’s capital. Zagreb is in part ‘European’ and in part ‘Eastern’ but is not definitely completely either. There is a sense here that a new, youth driven culture is emerging out of an old ex-Yugoslavian country. That being said, they still enjoy watching that eastern European favourite sport – Handball. The Handball ‘World’ Cup was being help in Croatia whilst we were there. Zagreb had every convenience you would expect from a modern capital, along with enough historic and beautiful buildings to keep the tourist happy. Our time spent in Zagreb was time spent witnessing the procedures of change and becoming and EU country.

Also during our time at this hostel (like with most hostels we stayed in) we met some more weird and unusual characters to speak of. One in particular to mention was a 40 year old looking American man, resembling somewhat that of the infamous adult movie star, Ron Jeremy. Following talking to our Ron look-a-like, we discovered he had been living and working in Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, as a youth cheerleading coach, and was now just beginning travelling. During our chat he offered us some sound local advice for our upcoming visit to Ljubljana. This consisted of “It’s a pretty little place, just walk around. Yeah just walk around, take some photos. It’s smaller than Zagreb!”

During our first two days in Zagreb, we were blessed by a piece of good fortune in the shape of a kind member of hostel staff. We had discussed with him our campaign and our plan to leave the van somewhere safe in Zagreb whilst we visited Belgrade. Having cleared it with the boss, he had arranged for us to leave the van on their drive whilst we went to Serbia, “as long as we went back of course”.

Days 129-133 – Belgrade

It had begun to feel like we were making a habit of crossing non-liberal boarders. For some reason things seem to be a lot easier when you’re not driving a 2 tonne mental box with plenty of room for people, drugs and guns. They didn’t even ask why we already had stamps for in and out of Serbia in our passports over a matter of days. Our rather slow but fairly comfy train trundled along without event. There was the odd sight of people alighting from the train on either side and wandering down the tracks. Half way through the journey, the alphabet changed from roman to that scary one terrorist used in the 80s American action films – Cyrillic.

That aside we arrived in Belgrade without any real stress and wandered out of the train station in search of our hostel. Green Studio hostel was to be found on the fifth floor of a rather dishevelled apartment block, like most of central Belgrade. Walking the door we were met with a large loft space and a few people lounging around. To say this place had a laid back atmosphere is like saying the weather was cold. The weather was freezing and these people were so chilled out no one seemed to know who worked there, namely us. Turned out they all pretty much worked there! In this low season we were two of three guests staying there. We were shown to our beds, dumped our stuff and got ready for a night on the town.

By now we are used to being in a place where we can’t speak a word of the language. Not being able o read the letters was however a new problem. It was particularly a problem when the map provided by the hostel and Tourist Info was in the Roman alphabet. Having to reply on the skills of the cartographer behind your shiny tourist map, and not the Cyrillic road signs, is no guarantee of finding your way.

So it was dark and it was very cold (so cold 300 locals slipped and were badly injured the weekend before, during their New Year celebrations), it wass the middle of Belgrade and we were lost. Luckily we only wanted a quiet drink after our journey and if there is one thing we can find it’s a good bar. A few quiet drinks later and it was still dark, it was the early hours, it was still Belgrade and we were lost again! Eventually we found our hostel and the same group of staff were no longer lounging and were now having up having a party. We joined the fun and spent the night talking to some incredibly interesting folk. The hostel owner provided us with complimentary beer and with a Serbian spirit that very much resembled our old Hungarian friend Palinka. Before we knew it, it was 5am and we said it was time for bed. This first ‘quiet’ night ensured we didn’t see much of Serbia’s capital the day after.

The days and nights we spent in Belgrade were eye opening from start to finish. A polluted city, sitting on the confluence of the Danube and the Sava,
was covered in frozen solid snow that was like cracking the top of a crème caramel. It is not a beautiful city but is it a city with a beautiful outlook, in some ways physically, but in many ways culturally. Looking at the old castle and fortifications, as an example, you have history, ancient, modern and contemporary all thrust side by side. There are exhibitions of modern war machines, then playful current sculptures, furniture and cinema. The place is historic but habitable to say the least.

This seems like a common and important these, running throughout this capital, where recent history still hangs in the air. People in Belgrade are very aware of their history but also conscious that life must go on and want to be involved in this readily changing world. Thus the strict boarder policies of the EU and neighbouring European countries (Serbians need a visa to leave) and continued heavy Russian presence (economically regarding the oil crisis) is a big issue. Yet the people of Belgrade are also concerned with creating a new, independent Serbian culture.

If you wander Belgrade’s streets at night you will often hear music emanating from derelict spaces. Once built during years of communist rule and then left to ruin since. These are now Belgrade’s clubs, bars and the progress of its culture. In one such bar we bumped into a Russian guy from the hostel called Nikolai. After a long time in Belgrade he was heading home and his best Serbian friend was saying good bye over a few drinks. We joined them for a while and it was genuinely an emotional affair. Talk raged from how they met to when they’d see each other next and how they couldn’t or wouldn’t have been friends years ago. Despite the history, people were just getting on with it. We were told we were guest of a Serbian and wouldn’t pay. If he were able to come to Manchester we would reciprocate.

Walking the streets of Belgrade in the day similar can be seen. Luxury shops, American chains and every other convenience and finery you’d expect from an European city. Own other streets you will pass rows of men selling found and broken objects on the floor and the buildings around them looking near to collapse. The past and present way of life is always present to be seen. It is important to say that because of this in between social, economic and cultural situation, Belgrade is a rarity. It is a very exciting, but very affordable city for the ‘western’ travellers. A fact which is positive for is and negative for them, in the old fashioned sense. We did however take advantage of this when it came to our shopping, drinking and eating.

It was a surprise for is both to discover that Serbian food is pretty fantastic. So we ate like kings while we were there. Feasting on grilled meats, fresh salad, warm bread (which can only be described as an oven bottom muffin) and very cheap pints of beer - all for a fiver a head. Unbelievable and filling, the best kind of meal.

Travelled = 3039 Miles (not including the train journey!)