Day 8 - Skopje (MK) to Belgrade (SRB)

Saturday 27th May
------------------------

Turns-out my bungalow was right next to the motorway so didn't sleep brilliantly. After the massive dinner yesterday, I decided to skip breakfast and head for Kosovo and beyond - asap.

Got through the border as usual, just had to run back from the border and buy the normal 10€ insurance. All seemed very calm. Kosovo seemed fine, not the lawless mess that I expected. The scenery was nice but it is very much a country under construction. Prishtina was very chilled as capital cities go. There is a fake statue of liberty on top of one of the buildings as you enter the city and there is even a street named after Bill Clinton. The Americans are obviously a big influence on the region. People were very keen to talk when they knew I was from the UK. It was typically, "why are you leaving the EU?" or "do you know Jesse-J, can you introduce me?" All good.

Stopped for a coffee in the centre or Prishtina and discussed options for getting onto Serbia. Was again told by the coffee girl (I was her first paying customer) that you can't get directly into Serbia from Kosovo but that the border was only about 45 mins away. We had a decent chat, she described the Serbians as aggresive bullies. Decided to give it a shot bearing in mind the alternative was to ride to Pec and then Montenegro and then God knows how into Serbia. Prishtina is nice and given the circumstances, not at all a bad place to be.

As I neared the border I thought it might be wise to fill up so I headed into a petrol station. Noticed that they had painted the concrete green but took little notice until I felt the bike vanish from under me. The bike slid until it stopped by the door to the shop whilst I did an Aikido roll next to it. No real damage done. My mirror needed straightening, my crash-bars took the brunt with my water-bottle exploding under the strain (it was attached to the crash-bars). I didn't even suffer a strain, scratch or a bruise. Before I knew it, the bike was picked back up by the staff (as was I) and they looked worried as water poured out of the side of the engine. I laughed as I knew it was only the water bottle.

The bike sustained no damage other than a slightly scratched rear pannier and a moved mirror and handguard. The guys at the petrol station felt guilty and gave me a free bottle of water. They also confirmed that I may or may not get through the border.

The road turned to shit - it was gravel, off-road fun for many, many kilometres. Eventually I got to the border which was very small and had only a few vehicles ahead of me. Unfortunately it really dragged-on and all I really thought was that I may have just wasted 3+ hrs getting to Belgrade. Anyway, whilst in the queue, I hatched a cunning plan.....

As I got go the Kosovan-side of the border, the nice guy with the yellow crooked teeth predictably said "you will have a problem with this passport, it has a Kosovo stamp in it - they (the Serbs) will not let you in." Hence my sneaky plan...  The fat Serbian-guy running his side of the border asked me for my documents. By this time I had hidden my passport and offered-up my Polish ID card. Whilst not a passport it can be used to cross the EU, only this was not the EU.... The guy asked for my bike documents and didn't seem to have an issue with Polish ID and UK bike paperwork!

My gamble paid-off, I was in Serbia! My UK insurance randomly covers me here so no need for yet more green-cards, not than anyone asked. The scenery / roads were immediately stunning. Densely forrested mountains and lovely sweeping roads with little or no traffic. I don't think many people travel this way due to the semi-closed border. It was amazing - really enjoyed the next chunk of miles, felt like rural Russia.

After a while, I got to Nis (birthplace of Emperor Constantine) where more significantly the main road to Belgrade picks-up. This road was a dream - got to Belgrade swiftly paying a few £ in tolls. The weather was hot/cold and wet/dry. Just as I started to dry-off there would be a monsoon for 2 minutes and then it was dry again for ages dryng me off.

As it was a long day, I chose to skip the centre of Belgrade and go for the camp-site that TomTom had found. Got there - it was an Industrial estate..... Decided to ride the 12 miles back into the centre of Belgrade to have a look and to find accommodation. It was OK. Some bold communist era architecture and some grand boulevards as per Bucharest, only not as good and with tram-lines all over the place. There were also 100's of Police everywhere expecting trouble due to some football final match. Couldn't find a decent place to stay with at least semi-safe parking so I headed slightly out of town to the Zenom region (or something like that). Here I got a class apartament for about €25 (or all my remaining Serbian Scoobys) and it feels super secure.

Hit a local bar for some "happy pig" pork sausages. It was an amazing experience. The bar-man, Alexander, was a dude (Sogi if you're reading this, he looked just like your dad). He explained about the 5 wars he had been in and his dislike for the British. Once he heard I had Polish citizenship, he was my best mate. His brother wanted to fight me because I wasn't Sebian, but once we exchanged a few broken Russian / Polish words then we were mates and everyone kept buying me drinks. It was fun, but a bit menacing. After being accused of being part of MI5 for the 5th time (and listening to some pro-Serbian war songs together with some high-quality guitar playing). It was time to go to bed. I think my drink-count was conservative despite only spending €7.

Serbia is "little Russia". Men are men, food is robust and they have no time for NATO or any political correctness. They liked me as I have Serbian man's shoulders and I could pass for a Serb. When they heard I was going to Zagreb tomorrow "full of women and gays" was the response. I will miss Serbia - fierce national identity and not giving a shit about anything.

Tomorrow, back onto Croatia via Novy Sad. My swing-arm bearings are now creaking - told my mechanic to grease them 2 services ago but he said it was too much work. Will now need new bearings when I get home. Enjoyed today though - been the most interesting in terms of human interaction and understanding all sides of the debate. Can't believe that another war is not imminent....

Mileage: 2407
Country count: 12 (GB, F, D, A, SLO, HR, BiH, MNE, AL, MK, RKS, SRB)
Beers: 26 + 0.5l of red + Blueberry Schnapps + 3 Raki + 4 Pokojnice shots
Fines: 0
Bribes: 0
Ass pain: 3/10
Mechanical issues: 1 (headlight bulb & fuse)
Accidents: 1 (witnessed) + 1 guy reversing into me + 1 crash in Kosovo petrol station
Coldness: 2/10