Day 8: The Sultans Trail from Belgrade to Sofia

#flashback September 12, 2025

Honest people and an overly expensive taxi

The rest day does me good. I even run short on time. From Smederevo, I will skip a part of the route. According to a special international taxi website, the price seems reasonable for the 60 km I need to cover. However, when I verify the price with a taxi driver, it turns out to be much higher. I consider the alternative by public transport again, but that’s not an option.

Frustrated and before I reluctantly take the taxi, I enjoy a coffee on a terrace. The coffee costs 120 Dinar, but I accidentally leave 1,020 Dinar on the saucer and walk away. I’m left with a headache from all those bills, my pockets are bulging, it feels like Monopoly money.

Not long after, I hear shouting behind me. I pay no attention, shouting is common here. Then I hear “Sir, sir”. I think I’m the only tourist in the vicinity, am I being called? The waitress returns my overpaid money… wow, how honest, she could have thought, “stupid tourist!”

Bird poop

With the taxi, I arrive in less than an hour in Svilajnac, from where I continue. I walk comfortably and the route is easy in terms of terrain (only asphalt) and elevation (none). After a while, I find a bench under some trees, the ideal spot to have lunch in the shade. At least… until I’m pooped on by a bird above me in the tree. An abrupt and filthy end to a peaceful lunch.

Argument in the kitchen

A few hours later, I suddenly hear a man calling from his balcony, ‘Do you speak German?’ It turns out Zoran works in Switzerland and is here on vacation with his mother. He says I can stay for dinner and that my tent can be in his garden. Why not? These are often the nice encounters, although his Swiss wife is not interested; she has family problems and doesn’t want anyone in the house right now. Although I can’t understand them, I can hear them discussing in the kitchen.

With his tail between his legs, Zoran returns; he is terribly embarrassed, but he has to retract his invitation. I say I completely understand and that it’s no problem. Indeed, not long after, I find a nice camping spot hidden behind a cornfield.