the lord has risen and I have fries

Posted on April 24, 2022 by Christoph Rehage

lizards and butterflies

The road is as narrow as in Bulgaria, but there is much less traffic. The sun is so warm that I take off my jacket and my sweater, and I put on my shades.

When I sit down to eat a little bit in the shadow of a building, I see my first butterfly of the year. It shines in bright yellow as it dances in the air.

The air tastes like summer. And then, right after the butterfly, I see my first lizard.

I get a phone card in a roadside shop. Many of the signs inside and outside of the shop are in Turkish. They cater to truck drivers from Turkey who take this road to Central Europe. I see them when I’m walking, thundering past me in their trucks or resting on the roadside.

no food in Pirot

When I get to the town of Pirot, nothing is open. No restaurant, no shop, nothing. It’s because of the Orthodox Easter holiday. I haven’t prepared for this, and so all I’ve had to eat all day are some bananas and some bread.

There’s a fortress in Pirot. It’s from the 14th century, and the European Union has funded its restoration. I leave the Caboose at the foot of the fortress and go up. A group of young women ask me to take a picture of them. There are some info signs here and there, and they seem to circle around the subject of the Turkish subjugation and the Serbian liberation from it. It reminds me of Bulgaria.

Natali

After the fortress, when the sun has gone down and I am still hungry, I end up in a bar called Natali 010. Half a dozen men are sitting around drinking beer, and Natali, the owner, makes me a huge portion of french fries.

Two hours later I am back on the road. I have spent a nice time with Boyan, Igor, and Micky in the bar, and now I am beschickert.