“Serbia and the Mokra Gora Railway”

• August 15, 2020
• By Daryl
• 6 Comments

The rain was pouring down, and lightning flashing just before the the cracking of the bone l-jarring thunder rippled across the canyons.
We have thirty minutes before our train leaves the station. We try to run between the rain drops as we race to our car from our hotel. We have a five-second drive across the street. The rain has slowed during our drive. We still had to run like the wind, but the rain is still hitting us as we approach the staircase that takes us under the tracks and up the hillside. More running to the station as our nimble feet sprint, this time catching every spattering drop heading our way. 

We stand for the ready as the train heads into the station. We must get a window seat for our photos. As the train empties out, the crowd pushes into the train car.  After an eternity, the train lurches forward with a clank. The insides of the train cars are lined with wood and new hardware.The stylish cabins and homes fade from view and the old wooden Church with its cemetery just outside, soon passes by. The first of 22 tunnels darken our view, soon a new world opens up. Quaint farm houses with their chicken coops, just out of smells reach, come in to view and passes.

The trees all glistening from the fresh rain that passed and left a fresh smell that spread like the fog over the mountain tops. The creeks have a new supply of nutrients, flowing to all below. The little villages come in to view, down below, with grass so green the cows are always smiling. 

We make stops at the old railway stations with the old locomotive engines standing like stallions waiting for their chance to ride again. Another old wooden Church still in use, stand as a testament of God looking over this land. What a grand land it is with all its glory and trees growing tall, after being denuded a hundred years ago for the hungry steam engines.

Another village with its wooden church guarding over it flock. A stone church can be seen close to the creek in the distance. We have come to the end of the line. Now we head backwards, back to the station we started from. A meal at the station restaurant ends our day, as we reflect on what we just experienced.