A new home

I didn't reach Split. Around 23:00 I stranded in Trogir - a jewel of a walled town with a wide waterfront promenade that encloses a maze of medieval streets. I found a nice little hotel, dumped my stuff and hurried to get something to eat. In a street as wide as a table I found a nice fish restaurant. But I felt somewhat alone eating my grilled Dorade since a very extended German family next to me was loudly reminiscing about the boat trip they had made that day. The most sensitive activity when travelling alone is the evening diner. In Chinese restaurants they put you at least next to the aquarium...

The next day I drove to Dubrovnik. After a short lunch I left the coast behind to go to Bosnia. That means nothing more then driving up the hill. During the Bosnian war the Bosnian Serbs bombed Dubrovnik to pieces from this rim. But time has taken revenge: nowadays Dubrovnik is completely restored in its old glory, many buildings in the Bosnian Republica Srpska on the other hand have slowly fallen to pieces.

From Bosnia to Montenegro is only a 30-minute drive. I crossed the border around sunset and hurried to get to Niksic - the second biggest city of the country. But with only one hotel. And with the annual high school ball that same night in the disco of this same hotel :-( ... So I decided to go out myself. That was a good idea. Pretty soon I was the mascot of some local machos. They showed me Niksic nightlife. And I got drunk enough to sleep tight :-)

The next day I drove to Beljo Polje where I would spend the night in the mountain house of Erik and Sevda. Erik had arrived that same day (from Vienna). Before evening fell we made a nice walk through the hills and discussed the social fabric of this predominantly Muslim Slavic region. We went to bed early. The next day we drove together to Kosovo. Erik had driven this more often, but I wasn't prepared for the beauty: each turn would provide another magnificent view. This continued until we reached a height of 2.500 meter and then - when we drove over Rozaje pass - suddenly there it was: Kosovo. I stopped. The road seemed to disappear in the depths before me. Below was the city of Peja. In the distance you could see the mountain rim that split Kosovo in two from North to South. Behind that was Pristina.

I lost Eric in the heaviest hail shower I have ever experienced. It started with sudden darkness and a loud tick. I thought somebody was throwing stones at my car (I was in Kosovo after all) but then I saw that all cars started looking for shelter along the side of the road and I realized that this was going to be serious. And it was. The hail was as big as cherries. I was afraid the windshield would break and moved to the back of the car. Sitting there I couldn't do anything but grin at the other drivers.

At 20:00 'o clock I arrived in Pristina. Without any problem I drove straight to Kuvendi i Bujanit (not that I have a good memory, Pristina is simply very small) and parked my car. Unloading took 20 minutes. When I was ready I went to the balcony and made the picture above. Arriving in my new home felt good. Very good.