After riding my motorbike for over 130km from the easternmost part of Serbia,
I arrived in the little town of Knjazevac. Situated between three mountains and located 300km
away from Belgrade, Knjazevac serves as the primary town when visiting the
Stara Planina mountain range, a mountain stretching across two countries.
I actually stayed at this hotel behind me, which is supposed to be the only hotel in this town of Knjazevac.
I was upgraded to an apartment which (has) such magnificent view!
After the last episode, it was tough riding especially the last leg of the journey and I was just so
excited to finally be able to sleep properly. I'm going to have breakfast and stop over to this lovely restaurant.
Do you have a menu for breakfast? But it's not translated.
It's okay, do you have a sandwich? Do you like tortillas? Tortilla, yes.
(He was asking where I am from) Indonesia. Indonesia?
Jakarta! Jakarta, yes!
So this is the fancy breakfast. Tortilla with bunch of french fries and I think this portion itself
costs 200 Serbian dinars, which equals $2.
The first city that we're heading to is called Pirot, I think. So we're going down south and to the west,
and try to get to the city of Leskovac. I don't know how's the the scenery is
gonna be because we are quite literally in the region of Stara Planina mountain range.
Stara Planina, after which the Balkan peninsula was named,
literally translates to the old mountain.
Located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula, the range extends 557km from the Bulgarian-Serbian border
spreading out eastward through central Bulgaria all the way to the Black Sea.
This is the main central area (of the town), I think!
It's quite lovely. We're going towards the petrol station topping up before hitting (the road).
Oh look at these people on the street, they're already hanging out drinking.
I am supposed to be going this way...
Pirot, yes!
(Pointing to the Premium 95 petrol) Yeah. Full? Yeah!
(He overfilled the petrol tank)
Yes, five litres I think.
Oh, look at this greenery, scenic (views). So scenic!
The first small village that we pass by.
Zdravo (hello)! Zdravo zdravo (hello hello)!
The price I pay for renting this scooter itself (€50-€80/day) is more expensive than renting a car per day! (€28-€50)
*Laugh in pain* 😂
That is because there is not much competition in between all of these motorbike renters
and it's not a preferred mode of transportation (hence the expensive price to rent).
We are also close to the border of Bulgaria. Serbia itself is surrounded by I think eight countries
different type of borders from Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, (BiH, Albania, Montenegro).
Look at these!
The karst rock formation and definitely this kind of road is prone to landslides, so you have to be careful.
This kind of road reminds me of the one in the Northern Vietnam and I love this kind of road!
Oh, look at those! The river stream to the right.
Wait, wait wait wait! So Stara Planina is that way? oh my god!
Can you see those (peak)? Oh, that is pretty! Change of plans!
Oh, welcome to the range of Stara Planina!
To the right is considerably (one of) the highest mountains in Turkey. Sorry, I meant in Serbia 😂
The spacious meadows, pristine nature as well as picturesque landscapes covered in dense
coniferous forests make Stara Planina one of the most beautiful mountains of Eastern Serbia.
Being the largest mountain in the region, this unspoiled nature
has its highest peak at more than 2000 metres above sea level.
This looks so idyllic with the flowers and river stream. We are extremely lucky with the weather
also with the light showcasing that mountain (peak) and mountain region. Oh ho!
Oh absolutely stunning!!! Ah look at that! Oh my dear!
I have no any other words to explain the joy of this other than, wow!!
First of all, look at this behind me!
It's insane, and this point of view surrounding it. Let me show you!
Zdravo (hello)!
Oh, look at this, even the path to this!
Welcome to the point of view of Stara Planina mountain.
What is this? Oh my god I have lost for words to even talk and vlog!
but it's insane! It is insane (awestruck in disbelief)
change of plans, I'm not going down south yet. I think this is worth spending the time (on).
The rock formation from right here all the way.. It's stunning! Oh my god!
Look at this wild, wild nature behind me. According to the locals, this range is called grandma's tooth.
The peak Babin Zub has a unique morphological form with the characteristic western vertical cliffs and
one cliff resembling an old tooth thus the name Babin Zub which translates to an old lady's tooth.
The cliff is around 200 meters high and is only accessible only to experienced climbers.
(Let's) get back on the road and go to the nearest town called Pirot.
I like driving like this passing through several villages and you know looking at the old houses.
Some are new, some are old, some are abandoned,
some still have people. I think it's great! It sort of gives an insight into life..
Oh, look at the shepherd and sheep!
An insight into life in the countryside.
I've decided to stop because I cannot help but think of the banana that I didn't manage to eat.
So with the beautiful, I think magnolia flowers? (I could be wrong!)
When one is starving, a banana even tastes very good!
Welcome to the city of Pirot (Southern Serbia).
So the speed limit here is 30km/h, I didn't realize that!
Pirot is a small city it seems. People like to cycle around here.
I'm assuming that some of these are local tourists.
I don't have any accommodation book so I'll just see whatever I find.
Thank you so much for watching today's episode. I hope that you enjoy this very scenic type of ride
as well as the beauty of Stara Planina mountain ranges that we've been so blessed with the weather, with the clarity.
I hope that you also can appreciate this very little moment that I share with you.
Yeah, if you like this type of video if you would like to support a creator like me
Please make sure to check out my Patreon page listed on the link down below.
I hope that you can also continue watching the rest of the journey because I'm still amazed by all of the surprises Serbia has given me so far.
Make sure that you also comment, let me know what you think. See you again next time, bye!
For more videos about discovering Serbia on a motorbike, head over to the DW Travel channel.
I just did a 200km motorbike ride from Belgrade to Tara National Park and did many fun activities!