{"id":2663,"date":"2026-04-09T08:43:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T06:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/bravo-on-the-trail-and-a-one-night-stand-at-sanjas\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T07:51:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T05:51:58","slug":"bravo-on-the-trail-and-a-one-night-stand-at-sanjas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/bravo-on-the-trail-and-a-one-night-stand-at-sanjas\/","title":{"rendered":"“Bravo!” on the trail and a “one-night stand” at Sanja’s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Day 15: The Sultans Trail from Belgrade to Sofia<\/h2>\n\n

#throwback September 19, 2025<\/p>\n\n

Breakfast at 10 degrees <\/h2>\n\n

After an incredibly wonderful night’s sleep in my tent\u2014I was already asleep before 9:00 PM\u2014I head out at 6:15 AM. It’s going to be another hot day, and this way I can cover quite a distance before the blazing sun starts burning me alive. <\/p>\n\n

At 9:00 AM, I arrive in Bela Palanka<\/a>, where I eat my breakfast at a picnic table; I hadn’t been hungry before then. I don’t last long, because it’s still freezing cold, not even 10\u00b0C, even though the mercury will later rise to 32\u00b0C. <\/p>\n\n

At first, the town startles me a bit; it looks dilapidated and bleak, but the further I walk, the nicer it gets, and I actually really like the atmosphere. The market is friendly and people are chatting animatedly with each other on the street. <\/p>\n\n

To warm up a bit, I drink coffee in one of the many ‘kafeterije,’ and even that early in the morning, it’s already bustling and cozy. There is a lot of smoke, though, because you can still smoke indoors here. <\/p>\n\n

32-degree heat, 37 kilometers of asphalt, and unexpected encouragement<\/h2>\n\n

Today I want to try to reach Pirot<\/a>; it’s still quite far, but I’ve seen that I have to cover a lot of asphalt, which goes fast. The sun is burning intensely and there’s hardly any shade, but it seems like I’m starting to get used to it. Drink plenty of water and just keep going. <\/p>\n\n

The route is beautiful and, what’s different from usual, when I walk through a hamlet, people shout “bravo” to me as many as three times, even though I’ve become used to no one ever greeting me or saying anything.<\/p>\n\n

I made it! With 37.6 km on the clock, I go looking for Pension Sanja in Pirot. It’s tucked away somewhere and hard to find, and I’m so glad when I finally arrive at my destination with the help of some kind neighbors. <\/p>\n\n

Sanja: The landlady you fear<\/h2>\n\n

But then… Sanja is the kind of landlady you fear. She only speaks Serbian and treats me like I’m mentally disturbed. I have to show my ID card. I give her my passport, but she says that doesn’t count. She calls someone and eventually agrees. <\/p>\n\n

“Your bike isn’t allowed upstairs,” she snaps. She doesn’t care that it’s a hiking trailer. Okay, I’ll leave Wheelie<\/a> downstairs at the bottom of the stairs and take out the things I need for the night. I don’t want to pick a fight with Sanja. Google Translate then translates her question: “One-night stand?” <\/p>\n\n

\u201cYes,\u201d I say, \u201cOne-night stand, please!\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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Day 15: The Sultans Trail from Belgrade to Sofia #throwback September 19, 2025 Breakfast at 10 degrees After an incredibly wonderful night’s sleep in my tent\u2014I was already asleep before 9:00 PM\u2014I head out at… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2664,"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":[236,235,234,65],"class_list":["post-2663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs-en","tag-long-distance-hike","tag-serbia","tag-sultanstrail","tag-wheelie-en"],"yoast_head":"\n"Bravo!" on the trail and a "one-night stand" at Sanja's - 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Na een loopbaan in de commerci\u00eble wereld, coaching en training, en jarenlange inzet in de vluchtelingenopvang, koos ik op mijn zestigste voor een radicale wending: ik gaf mezelf een sabbatical en trok de wereld in \u2013 te voet. Wat begon als een plan om 10.000 kilometer door Europa te wandelen, groeide uit tot iets veel groters: een nieuwe manier van leven. In negen maanden legde ik meer dan 5.500 kilometer af, met alleen mijn tent, schrijfboek, wandelkar (die ik liefdevol \u2018Wheelie\u2019 noem) en mijn barefoot schoenen. Al lopend ontdekte ik dat dit mijn pad is: een nomadisch bestaan, schrijvend onderweg. Ik geloof in het ritme van de voeten, in eenvoud, traagheid en aanwezigheid. Reizen zonder haast, leven met weinig, en onderweg de verhalen vangen die zich aandienen. Mijn missie? De schoonheid van vertraging, vrijheid en verbondenheid tastbaar maken in woorden. Ik b\u00e9n onderweg. En daar voel ik me thuis.","sameAs":["https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/marnix_footsteps_of_freedom\/"],"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/author\/cheersmarnix\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-08-at-20.00.20.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":836,"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/a-tough-trail\/","url_meta":{"origin":2663,"position":0},"title":"A tough trail","author":"Marnix van der Lijn","date":"19 May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"May 19, 2024 After a long, lazy morning, I set off late\u2014but that\u2019s allowed now, I tell myself with a smile. The trail is tough today. Stunning, but really tough. It\u2019s a wildly uneven forest path full of bumps, dips, and constant changes in elevation. Probably the hardest route so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs ENG"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs ENG","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/category\/blogs-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-19-meer-vlonder.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-19-meer-vlonder.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-19-meer-vlonder.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-19-meer-vlonder.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-19-meer-vlonder.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-19-meer-vlonder.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2756,"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/catnaps-and-hungarian-vibes-the-lead-up-to-the-sultans-trail\/","url_meta":{"origin":2663,"position":1},"title":"Catnaps and Hungarian vibes: The lead-up to the Sultans Trail","author":"Marnix van der Lijn","date":"23 March 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Day 2: The Sultans Trail from Belgrade to Sofia #throwback September 6, 2025 Special conversations on the night train Miraculously, I feel quite rested after my catnaps in my seat on the night train. Before arriving in Vienna, I have another pleasant conversation with my tablemates. I'm sitting at a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs ENG"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs ENG","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/category\/blogs-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_5230-e1774245228449.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_5230-e1774245228449.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_5230-e1774245228449.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_5230-e1774245228449.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":264,"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/sleeping-in-a-graveyard\/","url_meta":{"origin":2663,"position":2},"title":"Sleeping in a graveyard","author":"Marnix van der Lijn","date":"8 May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"May 8, 2024 I hit the trail around 11 a.m.\u2014it\u2019s getting later and later, haha. And then, once I\u2019m walking and that wonderful feeling sweeps over me, I always think: why didn\u2019t I start earlier? The weather is stunning. Today it\u2019s more forest, but also wide, open farmland. A beautiful\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs ENG"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs ENG","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/category\/blogs-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-8-meertje.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-8-meertje.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-8-meertje.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-8-meertje.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-8-meertje.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-8-meertje.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2623,"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/setting-off-on-a-new-adventure-the-sultans-trail\/","url_meta":{"origin":2663,"position":3},"title":"Setting off on a new adventure: the Sultans Trail","author":"Marnix van der Lijn","date":"22 March 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Departing for Belgrade from Amsterdam via Vienna and Budapest to hike the Sultans Trail long-distance path from Belgrade to Sofia.","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs ENG"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs ENG","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/category\/blogs-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-22-at-20.08.35.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-22-at-20.08.35.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-22-at-20.08.35.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-22-at-20.08.35.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-22-at-20.08.35.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2724,"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/between-grief-and-a-rugged-gorge-emotions-and-a-5-star-dinner-in-the-wild\/","url_meta":{"origin":2663,"position":4},"title":"Between grief and a rugged gorge: emotions and a 5-star dinner in the wild","author":"Marnix van der Lijn","date":"5 April 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Day 13: The Sultans Trail from Belgrade to Sofia #throwback September 17, 2026 A lump in my throat at the cemetery After a good night in bed number 1, I get up on time and head out feeling fresh. At the cemetery just outside the village, I witness a heartbreaking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs ENG"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs ENG","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/category\/blogs-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-05-at-20.00.19.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-05-at-20.00.19.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-05-at-20.00.19.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-05-at-20.00.19.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-05-at-20.00.19.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1599,"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/my-first-interview\/","url_meta":{"origin":2663,"position":5},"title":"My First Interview","author":"Marnix van der Lijn","date":"10 June 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"#throwback - May 30, 2024 I wake up, quickly eat my Gr\u00e4ddfil with muesli, and hit the trail. Coffee can wait \u2014 first I need to get out of these bushes. I brew a cup later on, at a disc golf course, where I discover a new sport I never\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs ENG"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs ENG","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/category\/blogs-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-30-fietsen.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-30-fietsen.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-30-fietsen.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-30-fietsen.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-30-fietsen.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-30-fietsen.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2663"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2672,"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2663\/revisions\/2672"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}