Day Forty-Two

23/06/25 - Day Forty-Two

I have been dreaming of this day for a while now, especially when the going gets tough - my arrival to Belgrade! Eager to get there I made minimal stops, and pushed hard on the pedals to get there quickly. I had become very impatient in my excitement to get there, every stroke was an intense effort. As a result it was not a fun day, a type 2 kinda day, which started off with a long hill. My mindset was all wrong, I yearned to be there. It was the hottest day to date aswell at 33 degrees, which didn’t help!

I made it happen though, and with the 55 miles complete, it was a surreal experience arriving to Jakob coming out of his block to fetch me off the street. It was bloody great to see him! We had a lot of catching up to do, so we chatted endlessly as we sat atop the old fortress overlooking the city, basking in the evening light. We went for a beer and a pizza, before meeting his Serbian friends Bozidar and Milan. They were good guys and active in the current student led protests, which had been happening over the last year or so. They were young and passionate, knowing a great deal of Balkan history, impressing me and Jakob. Already from speaking to Jakob, my preconceptions about Serbia - and Serbians - were changing.



 

 











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