Serbia and a journey within

November 1, 2026 • 5 min to read

A little cottage in the middle of nowhere, slow mornings, fresh fruit and time to reconnect with myself. My stay in Serbia turned out to be more than just a stop on my journey. It became a lesson in letting go of control and learning to simply be.

Table of Contents

Plans and controlling

I always thought of myself as someone who doesn't follow strict plans and is quite spontaneous when travelling. Now I don't think that's entirely true. Maybe I didn't plan every single part of my travels, but I did like to have some level of control.

Over the past few months, I've been observing what happens to me when I let go of control and don't have a plan.

Serbia and time with myself

When I sold my belongings, packed Cookie and everything I owned into my car, I had just one goal in mind - to get to Serbia. I rented a little cottage there, in the middle of nowhere. Not in a famous town or anywhere particularly busy or popular.

I travelled by car, with two stops along the way - one in Slovakia and another in northern Serbia. I realised that this was my first trip abroad in my own car. And my first trip this far away.

Of course, I felt a little stressed (also because I was travelling with Cookie and wanted to make sure he would be okay in the new environment).

On the other hand, I felt excited. I knew this trip was the beginning of a completely new chapter in my life.

A warm welcome

I remember the moment when Cookie and I finally arrived in Serbia. The owner welcomed us and was extremely nice. He showed me everything and seemed a little worried that I might not like the place because it wasn't luxurious. But for me, it was perfect. A wooden cottage with a hammock hanging on the terrace and several fruit trees all around.

I felt like I was in a little peaceful heaven.

We were also welcomed by a female dog, who instantly became friends with Cookie. This made me feel calmer because I had been worried about how he would adapt to the new environment.

Slow life

During my stay in Serbia, I had to learn how to slow down all over again. It was extremely difficult after such busy and intense months. However, at some point, I managed to create new daily routines, and that helped.

After waking up, I would go for a walk with Cookie and then collect fresh fruit from the garden. During my stay, the fruit season kept changing. First, I started by picking one type of plum, then another variety ripened, followed by pears, blackberries, apples and, finally, grapes.

After collecting the fruit and playing with the dogs, I would feed Cookie (and sometimes his friend too. Although I wasn't sure if that was her second breakfast :D) and prepare oatmeal with fresh fruit and coffee.

Having breakfast in front of the cottage, under a tree, became another ritual. Along with my morning coffee. I know these sound like very simple activities, but I found them so pleasurable, and they were important for starting my day well.

There were other valuable parts of my day too, such as taking a nap, practising yoga (I finally started at some point. Not from day one!), reading and writing.

In between these activities, I was observing myself. And you know what? I struggled with being alone with myself. Of course, I had Cookie, but I mean being without other people around. My body was so used to being surrounded by people and constantly being in an active mode.

So, initially, I was sending multiple messages to different people and calling friends.

After that phase, I finally realised what I was doing. I was running away from myself. So I stopped being so socially active and allowed myself to simply be.

Of course, I did meet some people and spent valuable time with them, but I tried to focus more on just being with myself.

Serbia will remain a peaceful place in my memory. I also had some lovely experiences with the locals, who even invited me for coffee (without speaking any English! We managed to communicate using only Serbian and Polish) and gave me fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from their garden. People in the neighbourhood were nice too - they would greet me and Cookie and smile at us whenever we went for a walk.

To be honest, I didn't want to leave that place, but I had to because I had a medical procedure waiting for me in Kraków.

Obviously, what I experienced wasn't a true representation of Serbia, as I only got to see this little town - Negotin. But I will have fond memories of that place. It will stay in my mind as somewhere I could slow down and have many moments of inner reflection.

Reflection

When was the last time you spent time alone? I forgot to mention that I also took a break from social media. So, when was the last time you spent time alone, without social media?