The weekend trip to Serbia was an unforgettable experience

---

At this time exactly a month ago, I was in Serbia. I flew to Belgrade, but I had time to see the Beograd. I planned to take the train to Valjevo and the Gradac River Canyon. Many websites refer to Gradac River Canyon as a pearl in Serbia. I had not heard about it and most probably would not have known anything about it were it not for an invitation. 

A friend of mine was turning 40, and she had decided to celebrate her birthday there in nature. The night before leaving for Serbia, I barely slept. The globetrotter (me) was so nervous.

“Have I understood everything correctly, or will I face some unexpected challenges because I have overlooked some covid rules?” The same question repeatedly spun in my head.

It was my first trip abroad in 3 years. No wonder I felt entirely out of “the traveling game.”  At the airport, everything went smoothly and easily. It made me aware, once again, of how thoughts can create a world of fear, worry and turbulent emotions.

The weekend trip to Serbia was an unforgettable experience; surrounded by wonderful nature, many pleasant encounters, and so many gastronomic orgasms that I lost count. That place was so heavenly that I felt compelled to document it through a blog post—a small advertisement for the small family-run business, Skok_po-Skok, and the nature in Gradac River Canyon. If you are ever in Belgrade and have fancy an experience in nature, Gradac River Canyon is worth a visit. You can either drive or take a train from Belgrade to Gradac River Canyon.

If you take the train, I recommend allowing for extra time and having patience. The train ride takes much longer than they say. You also need to allow for some flexibility about when they say the train will leave. On our way back from Valjevo to Beograd, we waited a whole hour in Valjevo. “Had we not looked at the timetable properly, or had the timetable not been updated?” I guess I will never find out. Luckily, I am not easily annoyed about such things, but my plan to see a bit of Belgrade before returning to Norway did not work out as planned because of that delay. 

So if you are going to take the train, keep this in mind. If you take the train to Valjevo, a short taxi ride will take you to the Gradac River and the wonderful Skok_po_Skok.

PS. Driving from Beograd to Skok_po_ Skok is faster, but do you experience the beautiful Serbian nature from a train that runs 19 km per hour because the train tracks are too old? I guess not. The Serbian landscape was absolutely worth a slow train ride.

---