13 Oct Traveling Rings in Mokrin, Serbia
On an especially warm day for autumn, a cattle farmer strolls by with his cow as rafter of turkeys peck the freshly laid mounds of sand. The farmer offers a quizzical look at the construction project taking place beside his family’s farm. Not much has changed over the years in Mokrin, a sleepy town of about 4,000 inhabitants in Northeast Serbia merely a stone’s throw from the Romanian border. An unlikely addition to the town is underway — a brand new set of traveling rings.
To be honest, I never thought I’d find myself in Serbia — let alone be in a rural town with the sole task of building a set of traveling rings like the ones at Muscle Beach Santa Monica. When the opportunity presented itself I didn’t hesitate to emphatically say “yes!”
A few months prior to the trip I was contacted by a person named Cedric asking what it would take to build a set of traveling rings in Serbia. Normally I respond to emails like these with information and positive words of encouragement, even though the chance of receiving a response is low. This time it felt different. Cedric, an American tech entrepreneur, seemed very keen on making this project happen and suggested a timeline that, frankly, felt overly ambitious. I still had one pressing question: why Serbia? The answer was a place called Mokrin House.
Mokrin House is sort of a modern oasis in a rural setting built for freelancers, entrepreneurs and digital nomads. The grounds are pristine, the food exceptional, the staff friendly and the guests a motley mix of interesting global citizens. I almost feel a sense of reservation writing about this place out of fear it’ll become overrun with the wrong crowd… but alas, it’s too special not to share with others.
Ivan, the owner of Mokrin House, was instrumental in coordinating with the local council on permits and hiring the contractors to build and install the rings. Even though Ivan had never used traveling rings (or even seen them for that matter) he was enthusiastic about getting them built in his town and, hopefully, attracting some of the international rings community to Mokrin. Cedric was more than happy to donate the materials for the project, which he describes as an act of “giving back” to a locality he enjoys visiting. The goal was to create an active community and meeting place for people of all ages.
On day one of the construction I realized that communication was going to be essential to get this installed properly. Armed with my smartphone and the latest version of the Google Translate app I showed up each morning to oversee the installation. The crew were all great but I was honestly not anticipating this amount of setbacks — most of which were unforeseeable and not the fault of any one person involved. Were there issues? Absolutely. The important thing was that everyone had the shared intention of getting this apparatus installed in under two weeks. As many locals told me, Serbs have a way of solving issues no matter how unconventional the solutions may be.
Each day (some) progress was made. I was especially excited to see the rings attached to their swivels and chains connected to the top header.
While we waited for the final delivery of sand I decided to slap on some “warning” stickers to make sure nobody tried to use the rings before the installation was complete. Curious onlookers were still eager to give them a go.
On my last day in Mokrin the rest of sand was finally delivered. The rings were finally ready for use!
I’m proud to say that these rings are the most faithful to the Original Muscle Beach traveling rings. If you like the “big” rings in Santa Monica you’ll like these. There are 10 rings in a row, spaced 8 feet apart with butter smooth bearing swivels. You can perform all of the tricks you’re used to and more.
When you visit be sure to stay at Mokrin House and explore all the quaint town has to offer. Oh, and don’t forget to watch out for the turkeys while you swing.
Location info
Google maps: Mokrin, Serbia traveling rings
How to get there: Take a bus from the central station in Belgrade to Kikinda (Кикинда) (about 2.5 hours) then transfer to a bus to Mokrin () (about 30 minutes).
Where to stay
Mokrin House: www.mokrinhouse.com
Svetog Save 25
Mokrin, Serbia
+381 69 623 678
Special thanks to Cedric Dahl and Ivan Brkljac for donating and coordinating for this project. Thanks to Zlatko, Maya and everyone else at Mokrin House who took great care of me! Thanks to Kendal for the photographs and daily encouragement.