{"id":2643,"date":"2026-04-13T20:42:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T18:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/a-little-gift-in-dimitrovgrad-rest-in-a-cool-cocoon\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T07:42:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T05:42:07","slug":"a-little-gift-in-dimitrovgrad-rest-in-a-cool-cocoon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/a-little-gift-in-dimitrovgrad-rest-in-a-cool-cocoon\/","title":{"rendered":"A little gift in Dimitrovgrad: rest in a cool cocoon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Day 17: the Sultans Trail from Belgrade to Sofia<\/h2>\n\n

#throwback September 21, 2026<\/p>\n\n

Sleeping in the last century<\/h2>\n\n

<\/h2>\n\n

I arrived at the guesthouse in the pitch dark yesterday. For a moment, I thought I\u2019d found the male version of landlady Sanja, but luckily that wasn’t the case; we could communicate in German and he even managed a smile. <\/p>\n\n

It feels like I’ve ended up in the last century; everything is very old and dated, but it has its charm. I’ll take the fact that the shower only gives a few trickles and the temperature is hard to control, because the bed is truly excellent. The room has no AC, but it’s lovely and cool. The walls are almost a meter thick and my sleeping quarters only have two small windows, intended just to let light in\u2014you can’t see outside, so it feels like a cozy cocoon. <\/p>\n\n

Pure luxury: in bed until eleven-thirty<\/h2>\n\n

After three days of hiking an average of 30 km in the blistering heat, and lured by the perfect mattress, I decide to roll over and stay put when I wake up. I’m giving myself a rest day as a gift. I stay in bed until eleven-thirty. I make coffee, text, read a bit, and doze off every now and then. What luxury! <\/p>\n\n

When I go outside, I hit a wall of heat\u2014what a difference from the cool room. It’s a cloudless day and by twelve-thirty it’s already sweltering. I’d better head out very early tomorrow to beat this. Finding a restaurant is quite a task. I walk around for a while but can’t find one. There are plenty of shops and fast-food joints, but today I really want a good meal and a nice place to sit down. <\/p>\n\n

Google Translate and a Michelin experience for a pittance<\/h2>\n\n

On the map, I see there’s only one restaurant in Dimitrovgrad<\/a>, but one is enough. They only have a menu in Serbian and I can’t make head or tail of it. Google Translate makes things a bit clearer, but the translation is abysmal. No matter, I eat excellently: a large salad, a meat platter, and coffee and cake for dessert. Converted to euros, all this costs \u20ac11.20. I can certainly afford that! <\/p>\n\n

With a full stomach, I take a short walk and pick up some groceries at the supermarket for tomorrow. I take a short siesta, wash some clothes, and happily potter around in my cool green room. This was quite the gift! <\/p>\n\n

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Day 17: the Sultans Trail from Belgrade to Sofia #throwback September 21, 2026 Sleeping in the last century I arrived at the guesthouse in the pitch dark yesterday. For a moment, I thought I\u2019d found… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[236,235,234],"class_list":["post-2643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs-en","tag-long-distance-hike","tag-serbia","tag-sultanstrail"],"yoast_head":"\nA little gift in Dimitrovgrad: rest in a cool cocoon - FOOTSTEPS OF FREEDOM<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After days of toiling in the blistering heat, I treat myself to a rest day in Dimitrovgrad. 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I actually manage to hit the trail on time today! I want to arrive at the hostel early enough to do laundry\u2014that\u2019s the main reason I booked a room. 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