111. Do You Ever Feel Like a Plastic Bag?

Day 111
Location 19: Belgrade, Serbia
Feb. 19, 2023

On my way to the Belgrade bus station, a clear garbage bag floated in the wind. It was reminiscent of the white feather motif from Forest Gump that, much like Tom Hank’s titular character, whimsically drifts through the world, taking the ups and downs of life in stride. 

This symbolic reminder to relax and go with the flow was timely because the Belgrade bus station was a shit show. 

I mean "shit show" metaphorically, as the chaos of mandatory printed tickets, no signs (not just no English signs, but no signs period), and the treatment of departure times as suggestions had me feeling like Forrest when he found out AIDS-ridden Jenny was pawning off a child on him. I also mean it literally because there were no toilet bowls. So any attempt at a prolonged squat over the literal hole-in-the-ground "bathroom" surely would, in fact, be a shit show.

After putting solving the 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle that is the Belgrade bus station, I watched Gladiator during my journey to Sofia, Bulgaria.

Every time I’ve watched a movie while traveling, there's been a strong connection between myself and the protagonist. Like when I watched Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy ride an overnight bus to New York while I myself rode an overnight bus to Barcelona. Or when I watched Ray take a train in In Bruges while I myself took a train into Bruges. Unfortunately, in the case of Gladiator the connection to my current situation is limited. The only overlap between myself and Maximus I can think of is that I, too, am a beloved general of the Roman army and was chosen as heir to the thrown before the late Emperor's untimely death. But besides that, the similarities are pretty thin.