In a corner of western Serbia where the Bosnian border is a stone’s throw away, a little green train travels through the mountains. Never one to turn down a train or a trip through the mountains, I took a ride on Šargan Eight.

Three weeks ago I shared my first impressions of Belgrade. It was full of rash, uninformed opinions, but then, that’s what first impressions are. Now that I’ve left I thought I’d return to my first impressions and see what I think now.

Serbia’s Uvac Canyon is spectacular: incredible landscapes, dramatic cliffs, rare wildlife and an experience I will never forget.

I wanted to see an ordinary Serbian town so I went to Knjaževac. After a beautiful bus ride I arrived in a town where no one was expecting a young Australian backpacker. Now what?

As it’s become more popular, CouchSurfing has changed – and not for the better. But my faith in the project was restored when I spent a week in Niš, met some wonderful people and explored the city through the eyes of the locals.

Before I landed in Belgrade, I knew nothing about Serbia that would be useful to a tourist, so my time here has been eye-opening, educational and a lot of fun. Here’s a snapshot of my first two weeks of my Balkans adventure.

Meet Nenad, my CouchSurfing host in Nis. He loves coffee, movies and, oh yeah, last year he travelled through Afghanistan and spent a night with the Taliban.

When I arrived in Belgrade I thought it was ugly. It was a rash judgement, but not entirely untrue. Much of the city is in various states of disrepair, but there’s beauty to be found here. If history had been different, perhaps my photos would be of gorgeous historical buildings instead of graffiti and bomb sites.