Nomadic Tales My perception of small countries is that the chances of finding a secluded spot to pitch a tent without being seen are very low. The land tends to be expensive and fully utilized, and I imagined that landowners wouldn’t appreciate tents on property they’ve paid dearly for. I resisted the temptation to try even a single night of wild camping in Switzerland, fearing a hefty fine. However, I did camp in Luxembourg, not one, but two nights. In Kehl, Germany, just across the river from Strasbourg, I managed one night of wild camping, but it was far from comfortable. Two men walking in the distance kept watching me for about half an hour. Despite my green tent blending into the grassy ground with a forested backdrop, and being 400 meters from the road, they appeared suspicious, stepping left and right, perhaps trying to get a better view. Since wild camping is generally frowned upon in Germany, I usually avoid it, but I wanted to try anyway. I had spent a full week near ...
Nomadic Tales
Over the last three days in Montenegro, I’ve climbed a total of 4,250 meters. This includes starting from Peja, at 500 meters, over the Kulla Pass at 1,795 meters, on the first day.
Before reaching Mojkovac, while standing in front of Motel Krstac at around 1,000 meters altitude and browsing Booking.com for accommodation options, the SIM card I had bought in Kosovo suddenly stopped working for data roaming. That made the decision simple. I spent the night at the motel so I could go into town the next day to buy a new SIM.
In the city center, there was only one Telekom representative office. Other networks had no presence there. The door was locked, and no one was inside. I waited, hoping that maybe the employee was just on their way, even though the opening hours had already passed. Looking for an alternative, since no one was showing up to open the store, I bought a Telekom SIM from a newspaper kiosk across the park.
I inserted the SIM into my phone, only to find that I had no internet. A call to customer service revealed that the SIM was not yet registered and that activation could only be done at the Telekom office. This led to a back-and-forth mission between the kiosk and the representative office, all while staying on the phone with customer service. The Telekom employee, struggling to find a solution, even suggested that I go to Kolasin, the nearest town, if the Mojkovac office remained closed.Confused by the store’s hours, I went to a nearby shop to ask for clarification. After speaking with the call center operator, the shop assistant sighed, smiled ironically, and told me to follow her to the Telekom office. Since it was raining, I pedaled faster to reach shelter near the store. I last saw the shop assistant heading toward the Telekom office at a brisk pace, but when I arrived and turned around, she was gone.
Perplexed, I looked around, trying to figure out where she had gone. The only logical conclusion was that she had entered the nearby bar. And sure enough, moments later, both the shop assistant and the Telekom employee emerged from the bar.
Oct, 2022
Unforgettable Sights & Hidden Gems
Durmitor National Park – A Wild Beauty Worth Every Step
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| Black Lake (Crno Jezero) |
If there's one place in Montenegro that makes you feel both small and completely alive, it’s Durmitor National Park. Over the course of a few days here, expect sore legs, unpredictable weather, and views so stunning they’ll make you forget all of that.
One of the most rewarding climbs is Bobotov Kuk, at 2,523 meters, the highest peak in the park. It’s a long, demanding hike, but once you reach the top, the endless panorama of jagged peaks and deep valleys makes every step worth it.
If climbing peaks isn’t the goal, there’s Tara River Canyon, the second-deepest canyon in the world, where the water is so clear that you’ll be tempted to drink it straight from the river. Whitewater rafting here is not just a tourist activity—it’s a full-on experience, with rapids that shake you up just enough to keep things exciting.
Durmitor is the kind of place where plans change, where you might start the day with one trail in mind and end up somewhere completely different. But that’s part of the charm—you don’t just visit Durmitor, you experience it.
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Roadside Hacks
When the left support pole of my rear rack snapped, I knew I had to find a replacement quickly. The rack had three main connecting points (technically four, but two were only 20 mm apart and functioned as one). With one already broken, losing another would mean the rack’s complete failure. And that seemed likely, given how much it wobbled, so much so that the wheel occasionally rubbed against it.
The problem was that my rack was longer than any available replacements, and none of the new racks I found had mounting points for the extended section that supported my foam mat. So, I had to improvise.
I cut several spokes and packed as many as possible inside the broken tube of the rack. This reinforced the structure enough to stabilize the sideways movement and realign the two broken sections along a vertical axis, ensuring the load remained supported at the mounting point. The only remaining issue was the potential for vertical movement when riding over bumps, but that was easily fixed with zip ties.
What initially seemed like a disaster turned into a solid repair, allowing me to continue my journey. The fix held up surprisingly well, for another month, all the way until I got home.
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