Last week we had the opportunity to add a couple of really useful experiences on how to smoothly survive a snow blizzard in the valleys of Old Mountain – Stara planina. Not only did we witness butterfly-like snow crystals ranging up to a couple of cm in diameter and some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, by the end of the day we were also able to feel the taste of them. On top of that, we learned how to correctly mount snow chains on our tires, a lesson kindly taught by a Slovenian skier coaching the Serbian team. The only setback of the day was the fact that we didn’t make it to the slopes at all. No harm done, however, as the mountain tops were embedded in an apocalyptic fog we already had to struggle with the whole previous day, while the snow kept pouring down for hours on the road beneath the tops. Last, but not the least, we had the most interesting encounter with the local police who came to our assistance in the snow blizzard to write a report on a car incident we participated in!
Sometimes things are just not ment to be. And who knows for what unknown benefits and avoided pain… If we had made it to the Stara planina skiing center on this particular day, maybe it would have been a disappointment gliding around in a thick fog, or perhaps it could have been hazardous to continue according to the plan as we were about to force the rental car tires rolling uphill on the most dramatic ascent of the road from Kalna to Stara planina ski center situated at the village Crni vrh, embedded in 15 cm of pure new snow probably hiding some lurking ice patches beneath as well. Who knows, in the wakes of all the drama, the whole plan was somehow doomed to failure.
Giant flakes mixed with sticky sleet were bombarding the car windows as we were heading towards the slopes of Stara planina. Just before we reached Crni vrh at approximately 800 m altitude, the snow turned into beautiful flakes of hundreds of different shapes forming a scene of the most romantic movie.
So, we decided to stay in Crni vrh for coffee at the guesthouse “Hajduk Veljko”. And petting some really cute local dogs (see picture). Good decision – yes! It gave us some time to rethink the status of our car equipment while observing the other skiers struggling to get uphill from Crni vrh on regular winter tires. I admit they did put up a show, especially one company that came back all the way sliding downhill with the precision of curling bowls during the winter Olympics games This is when I suddenly realized that we would need snow chains, and that I had never seen anything such in my whole life. You could probably easily read the confusion on our faces, because a very nice and helpful guy came to our rescue. The guy obviously knew what he was doing, being a former professional skier, now training the new Serbian talents. He was Slovenian so I guess he had survived a couple of minor snow stormes in the Slovenian Alps.
Based on the detailed instructions provided by the Slovenian pro we turned the car to drive a couple of hundred metres downhill in order to then stop and check and, if necessary, rearrange and tighten the snow chains, before heading uphill again towards the awaiting beautiful skiing slopes of Stara planina. As we were busy pulling the chains around the tires, suddenly, a car facing downhill – very incautiously, I must say, and probably dangerous, too – rolled beside us in unnecessary haste. As if aiming at hitting a predestined target, he touched our rear-view mirror with precision of an artist as he just slammed it off, leaving a broken frame and hanging mirror behind. There it was dangling like a piece of arrangement waving funny on a spring from a plastic box.
The incident only increased our motivation to get to the slopes, no matter what. We desperately tied a belt around to put the mirror back into place and called the rental car company who unfortunately insisted we should call the local authorities in order to get the incident properly registered. Fine, I thought, let’s just do it and hurry up to the slopes! It turns out, however, that in this country procedures are a bit different from the efficient life in Sweden, where everyone is always in a panic rush running to some important event just asking for a digital signature somewhere just to eliminate any unnecessary communication, time-consuming effort or social encounters. In Serbia, people take the time. They invest hours of valuable time in tasks that would be regarded completely insane and cooperatively illegal in the West where time-stealing and socializing without improving the sales figures is regarded a serious crime. But, no, in Serbia, everyone takes the time. That is, if they want and feel like doing so.
This day we were extremely lucky to meet the two most kind and charming traffic police officers/intendents. Our heroes Kristina and Bojan arrived after more than one and a half hour’s drive through the blizzard just to finalize the most impressive, and refreshingly analog, report on the incident, including inc notes, measuring the road, and finally creating a complete reconstruction of the car incident. I admit, they did have modern cell phones, of course, but in this country people know how to value and appreciate old methods including writing while using pen and paper. Unfortunately, neither we or the couple of locals, who had gathered to socialize with us, had recognized the irresponsible driver who had hit and, luckily limitedly, damaged the car. The only thing we had was a piece of a registration number revealing the possible destination of the car.
But what a colorful and cheerful day anyways!
