Day 11: The Sultans Trail from Belgrade to Sofia

#reflection September 15, 2025

I’m no longer 18…

Okay, I regret to admit that I am no longer 18. I have asked too much of my body. The high temperatures and long distances have taken their toll. All I want to do is sleep, and I’m utterly exhausted. So, a change of plans. Nothing is obligatory, and I can’t fully complete this trail anyway, and ultimately, I am on vacation.

On the map, I see that there is a campsite 5 km away by the banks of the Great Morava River. I think I’ll just spend the night there and won’t go hiking today. I drag myself out of bed, make some coffee, eat my yogurt, and head outside. It’s still wonderfully cool; it rained heavily last night, and it’s a bit misty. However, it quickly clears up, and the sun breaks through again. Today it will be close to 30° and tomorrow it will even be warmer.

From terrace to terrace, chilling!

My plan is to have a long lunch in the city, do some shopping, and then walk to the campsite, but then I see that there is also something in the city referred to as a campsite. Just like at the monastery, it’s a picnic area where you can spend the night. There are no facilities, like a toilet, but I do see an outdoor shower. Bingo! That’s what I’m going to do; it even saves me that hour of walking. Total relaxation today.

And so it happened… I sit for a long time in the shade at a picnic table in the park and write a bit. Then I walk to a small restaurant where I enjoy a Serbian burger – they really have good meat here – with a salad. I sit there for a long time again. Then I stroll over to the next terrace for coffee. I watch people and pigeons, entertaining myself with nothing. What a pleasure.

My deceased friend called this ‘nixing.’ When I, Marnix, put myself in a state of being where I follow exactly what my body and mind are asking at that moment: my head almost switched off, completely in the now, content and happy.

Against the darkness, I stroll to the campsite by the river. I make another soup and after reading a few more pages, I fall into a deep sleep in my tent in the city park of Cuprija located by that beautiful river.