{"id":2680,"date":"2026-04-10T17:06:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/the-joy-of-a-forgotten-snickers-and-the-curse-of-the-shortcut\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T07:51:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T05:51:58","slug":"the-joy-of-a-forgotten-snickers-and-the-curse-of-the-shortcut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/the-joy-of-a-forgotten-snickers-and-the-curse-of-the-shortcut\/","title":{"rendered":"The joy of a forgotten Snickers and the curse of the shortcut"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Day 16: the Sultans Trail from Belgrade to Sofia<\/h2>\n\n

#throwback September 20, 2025<\/p>\n\n

silence by the river and a second breakfast<\/h2>\n\n

At 8 AM I leave Sanja’s place, and she doesn’t even come out to wave goodbye. Her curtains are still tightly shut, but the town of Pirot<\/a> is already wide awake. It’s a real hustle and bustle, and the little shops are doing great business on a Saturday morning. <\/p>\n\n

The route starts along the Nisava River<\/a> and it gets quieter and quieter. At first I still run into joggers, but after a while there’s no one left to see, except for a shepherd. After over an hour, I spot a table under a tree on the bank, where I have my second breakfast. I’m hungry again\u2014I often get that way when I’ve walked a lot the day before\u2014and it’s important to give in to that hunger. The fresh bread with typical Balkan spreads (a kind of p\u00e2t\u00e9) tastes delicious. Meanwhile, I write my little piece. <\/p>\n\n

Today involves a lot of climbing. Repeatedly, dripping with sweat, I have to stop for a moment, cursing what I’m doing in this heat and wondering why I’m putting myself through this. I promised myself a break when I reach the highest point. The view isn’t as beautiful as hoped, but there is a tree. The only one in the wide area. I sit down in the shade, happy and for far too long. <\/p>\n\n

Boiled grapes and an echo of happiness<\/h2>\n\n

In my bag I find a forgotten Snickers; I bought it a few days ago but completely forgot about it. I let out a euphoric shout that echoes through the mountains\u2014this is pure bliss! <\/p>\n\n

To stay well-hydrated, I snack on my by now boiled grapes every chance I get; even though they’re warm, they still provide sugar and moisture. Besides that, I use powder from Decathlon<\/a> to turn my water into an isotonic sports drink<\/a>, which is really ideal in this heat. At least I never feel weak or shaky. <\/p>\n\n

To Dimitrovgrad in the pitch dark<\/h2>\n\n

Then I make a huge mistake. I see a slightly shorter route on my map and decide to take it. The climb is incredibly steep and I almost collapse. Once I reach the top, half-dead, I run into an impassable, overgrown path. I have to go all the way back… I could just cry! <\/p>\n\n

Meanwhile, it’s getting dark and my booked room can no longer be canceled. I decide to keep walking instead of camping. I just never expected it to get so dark; I really can’t see a thing, but with my headlamp I arrive safe and sound in Dimitrovgrad<\/a>, located near the Bulgarian<\/a> border. <\/p>\n\n

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Day 16: the Sultans Trail from Belgrade to Sofia #throwback September 20, 2025 silence by the river and a second breakfast At 8 AM I leave Sanja’s place, and she doesn’t even come out to… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2681,"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-2680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs-en","tag-long-distance-hike","tag-serbia","tag-sultanstrail"],"yoast_head":"\nThe joy of a forgotten Snickers and the curse of the shortcut - FOOTSTEPS OF FREEDOM<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A day of extremes on the Sultans Trail: from a euphoric find in my bag to the despair of an overgrown 'shortcut'. 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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. 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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":2643,"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/a-little-gift-in-dimitrovgrad-rest-in-a-cool-cocoon\/","url_meta":{"origin":2680,"position":2},"title":"A little gift in Dimitrovgrad: rest in a cool cocoon","author":"Marnix van der Lijn","date":"13 April 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"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. 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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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I hear people walking past my tent. It\u2019s Saturday, and it turns out to be a group of teenagers who\u2019ve decided to hang out on the viewpoint above. 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