Belgrade, Serbia-- Final destination In Europe; and... Land of Murphy's Law!

 My early experience of Serbia is one of Murphy's Law: that is to say, absolutely everything that could go wrong, has! Or at least this is certainly how it seems!!

To explain: 

Even though I swore off of Airbnb (after their refusal to refund a booking in Brasov where I could NOT stay at ALL... owing to black mold, broken toilet, leaking roof, etc etc), I had already arranged my stay here in Belgrade well ahead of time. It was to be a shared space in an apartment with a woman named Marija, in a good neighborhood of Belgrade. The night before my scheduled arrival, I contacted her on Whatsapp to firm up the logistics...namely, the fact that, since she was out of town (OMG! Deja-vu of the Brasov horror!), she would leave the key for me under her door mat. It dawned on me then, though, that most likely the building itself was locked, as they typically are! She then acknowledged that yes, that was the case... and merely suggested that I buzz different apartments to gain entry! When I responded that this was entirely unacceptable, her response to ME was that I was being "difficult", and promptly cancelled my booking, without bothering to tell me she was doing it!! UNBELIEVABLE! Clearly, something was VERY off about the woman, and it was a heck of a good thing I would NOT be staying with her after all!! Still, when Airbnb notified me my reservation was no more, my anxiety went through the roof, and I had to scramble like mad to find another booking immediately!!! After a few tries, I secured a place, but only for 5 nights...still, at least it was a start! (I was going to be at Marija's place for 16 nights--the whole length of my stay in Belgrade.) 

THe next morning, I was contacted by the driver who was to pick me up at my Timisoara Airbnb and take me to Belgrade. I had been told he would pick me up at 10:00 a.m.; a few minutes after 10, he called and told me to be outside and waiting for him "in 5 minutes".  As it turns out, the driver (named "Igor"--and yes, I had to exercise maximum self-control to keep from laughing when he told me!!!) came a half an hour later. Annoying, yes...but NOTHING compared to the horror that followed his late arrival! He proceeded to "make up" for lost time by driving like a complete and utter MADMAN!!! SO dangerous, SO irresponsible, with 3 passengers in his van!!! He must have been going at least TWICE the speed limit... passing cars in front of us every few minutes on the two-lane highway... always by going into the oncoming lane of traffic, frequently while oncoming cars were not that far away from us!! I asked him to please stop doing it, explaining that it was quite dangerous...to which he responded that he was a professional driver, AND he wanted to get home to his children. I WANTED to respond that they wouldn't take it well when they found out their father had died in a terrible auto accident, (taking the passengers with him, of course!!) but I held my tongue... fearing that, if I angered him, Igor's mad driving would get even worse!!! My heart was in my throat for the full two and a half hours of this terrifying journey.  He ALSO refused to let me have a bathroom stop, though I told him it was urgent...he kept insisting that we were "almost there" when of course we WEREN'T!! It really was a nightmare...

When we DID arrive at my Airbnb--me, feeling like my bladder was about to burst-- my new host, Marina, did not want to let me in, protesting that I was much too early and the cleaning woman was still setting up the place. I literally had to BEG to be let in, explaining that I needed a toilet URGENTLY! As it turns out, she wasn't present--a neighbor was--she asked him to let me in (the cleaning woman was already gone). WHAT a relief!! What's more, the place was clean and ready for me...so thankfully I was allowed to stay. Needless to say, I did NOT tip Igor!!!! 

What can I say about the unit? It is cute-- a cool little studio, charmingly decorated--but rather on the dark side, being subterranean. It appears that, whomever stayed here before me, was feeding all of the neighborhood cats, because three of them came inside to visit. One particularly pretty one made a nuisance of itself, though... meowing and begging for food, trying to jump onto my counter... when I pushed it away, it scratched me!!! SO...NO MORE CATS!!! I have to keep both door AND window closed now to keep them out... 

It is pretty, it looks sweet...or so I thought, until it scratched me!!!

Pretty NASTY scratch, to boot!! 

But wait, dear reader, as you have not heard about ALL the travails.. and mind you, I have only been here 2 days so far! Really quite unbelievable!

Another point about the apartment: the induction electric burner went out on me today, and I was bummed not to be able to melt cheese on my pita bread. When I contacted the host, Marina, she seemed to imply that it must be MY fault because everything was "ready and working" before I showed up!!! Of course....

Anyhow, yesterday--my first full day here--was particularly hellish. One of the passengers--a Serbian--mentioned on our way here that foreigners were required to "register" with the Belgrade police within the first 2 days of their stay, or risk the possibility of a 170 Euro fine when exiting the country. When I mentioned this to Marina, she brushed it off, responding that this was only required of hotels... (and she expected me to BELIEVE this?!? Not a chance! Clearly, she didn't want to take responsibility for this herself, as she was actually required to do!!!!)  Thankfully, my friend here, Mukti, researched this for me, and told me that in fact I had to do this registration within 24 HOURS of arriving!!! She wanted me to rush down to meet her at her local precinct, a good half an hour away from my Airbnb. I pointed out that I did not have the means to get there, no cash (dinar, in Serbia), no working phone...(of COURSE my Vodafone service has failed me for the umpteenth time!!)... so, she kindly arranged for a "Car:go" vehicle (Belgrade's equivalent of an Uber) to come get me. 

As it turned out, the police precinct was VERY busy, and we wound up waiting in a line for close to an hour and a half before we were helped! BUT, good news is that I got my certificate of "approval" for my stay in the country, thank God!

The next challenge involved getting a Serbian SIM card so I could have mobile data again. This was another nightmare... I started Google maps from Mukti's apartment, but when I set out for the A1 mobile service store, what should have taken a mere half-hour took me twice that long! Without data, the arrow didn't point, and I made numerous false starts--in the pouring rain, mind you! And on foot-- before finding the right direction..which I lost repeatedly. But, incredibly, I finally found the store and paid yet another small fortune for this new SIM card and 23 GIGS of data to last me for my remaining 15 days in the country. 

When I left the store, I put on my Google maps... but, unbelievably, another NEW problem: It did NOT show me directions via public transportation, and I needed to take the bus back to my Airbnb!!! I found young people to ask for help, as I always do....and yes, thankfully, they spoke good English. But alas! They ALSO informed me-- with a laugh--that Google Maps had not been working in Belgrade for several weeks... and while you get could get walking or driving directions here, you could NOT get public transportation directions, which is, of course, what I need the MOST!!! SO... the mobile data was pretty much useless to me, after all that!!!! WOW. You see what I mean about Murphy's Law being alive and well in this strange land!??!

The young people WERE, at least, able to find the right bus for me to take, and I DID eventually make my way back to the Airbnb... 

Two hours later, the POWER went out!!! I know, I know, you think that I MUST be making this up!!! I SWEAR I am NOT!!!  It DOES seem unreal, to be sure... 

But wait! There is--I kid you not--still one final episode to round out the Murphy's Law account: 

I went to the local supermarket--called Maxi--to purchase some groceries. No one in that store spoke a lick of English! When I got up to the cashier, I saw her look at my produce (numerous fruits and vegetables) and immediately set it aside. Why??? Because, as it turned out, I was supposed to weigh each item on a scale over in the produce section and tag the items with the prices BEFORE I got to the check-out stand!! OMG... I was horrified, embarrassed... apologetic... it took both the cashier AND another helper to cart all of the items back over to the produce section and weigh them for me...meanwhile, I stood waiting dumbly, mortified, giving my best, apologetic smiles to the some half-dozen people behind me in the check-out line. Yes, I felt awfully foolish!! I am sure they were cursing me out in Serbian...good thing I couldn't understand a word!!!

To her credit, the cashier didn't seem impatient or annoyed... for which I was extremely grateful! And now I know better for the next time... 

Anyhow, there you have it...the sum of it all... and since I WILL be here for another 2 weeks before I leave Europe for Mexico, I REALLY hope things will improve from here on out...God willing!!!! 

Cat number two, of the three that trespassed into my subterranean apartment!
 

A beautiful building in the central city square, passed on my way to the A1 Mobile store. It stopped raining long enough for me to take the photo!