Two Young Men on the Road

One of my friends from Turkey and his younger brother who easily broke away from life's commitments decided to hitch-hike across the Balkans starting from Ankara. Although they let me know earlier that they were about to arrive, I felt such a great sense of relief and joy only when I saw them safe and sound carrying heavily loaded backpacks here in Sarajevo. After having spent two busy days around the city, we joined them on their way to Croatia.

WW2 Museum in Jablanica

They were heading for the Rainbow Gathering which would take place somewhere close to Karlovac. We took Milou with us and it was the first time we'd travelled such a long way all together. I felt as if I was writing a story of our own road trip. Everything we had on the road was something to remember.

In Mostar

When you are on a road trip, you share everything and we shared everything we had on our way to Dubrovnik. It was an amazing feeling to do so. I particularly remember the moment when Ergin -the younger one of the two brothers- offered a handful of wild grapes and cranberries we'd picked from some trees by the River Neretva. That very moment got stuck somewhere in my memory to serve as the summary of our whole trip. 

Ergin sharing wild grapes with Milou

Soon at our next stop, we found ourselves in the middle of a get-together of famous artists and sculptors in Bosnia. It was a little bit weird, actually. Later in Dubrovnik, Milou was the center of attraction with her pigeon-feather headdress like a little Indian. Late in the afternoon there, the two brothers packed once again and took the first bus to Zagreb as they planned to attend the Rainbow Gathering 2011 somewhere there.

Milou with her pigeon-feather headdress in Dubrovnik