Day 8 - Serbia - 1

You may be wondering who Is Julie and why is she in Serbia. Julie and I have been friends since college. Julie was the resident assistant on my floor when I was a freshman at UT. Julie, her sister Joan, Carol, Ginger, and I have been friends since college.

Julie and Chip lived in Serbia when they and their family were younger, returned to the states for the school years, and then returned to Serbia in 2019. December of 2019. Yowza.

During their time in the US, they lead summer teams each year to Serbia, working with a pastor there who was developing a camp for church groups. They ended up building a house next to the camp property and have a ministry to pastors and missionaries in the Balkans. And just before Covid hit, they moved to Serbia, permanently.

Wiki: Serbia, officially the Republic of Serbia, is a landlocked country located in the Balkans and the Pannonian Plain. It borders Hungary to the north, Romania to the northeast, Bulgaria to the southeast, North Macedonia to the south, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the west, and Montenegro to the southwest. Serbia claims a border with Albania through the disputed territory of Kosovo. Serbia has about 6.6 million inhabitants, excluding Kosovo. Its capital Belgrade is also the largest city.

We had to go to Bor and register our visit with the officials. Apparently this is a throw back to communist times. Here’s a funny thing, men cannot wear shorts in official buildings. Soooo off Chip went to buy some pants just to register us. I’m thinking we owe the Bells a special dinner at least for all the trouble we’re causing.

Bor’s industries are copper and gold mining that were state run but are now owned by Chinese companies; leading to a large Chinese population in the area. Lithium is another hot commodity in this area.

Breakfast was a true Sebian meal. Cheese pie and meat pie, they do not mix the two, plus a cherry pastry, which cannot be on the same plate as the pies. Salty and sweet do not mix here. I am not food adventurous at all, but it was all very tasty!

Lazar Canyon: This is the deepest and longest canyon in eastern Serbia. The mountain peak in one of the pictures is Bulgaria.

Lazar’s Cave: The cave exhibits a long history of mining, with evidence of copper metalworks in the cave dating back 5,000 years. The cave has been popular for tourism since at least the 19th century, when it was one of the three most popular caving destinations in Serbia. And Martha is a Spelunkin’ Duncan who actually knows the difference between a stalactite and a stalagmite (tites hang from the ceiling).

And then we got back to the house for beer!🍺