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Pregnancy Cravings in Eastern Europe

“So what kind of fruit do you want?” the Serbian mom who lived at the hostel in Belgrade asked me. I looked at her all confused. “With my first one, my son, I couldn’t get enough apples,” she continued, “I could eat them all day long. And with her,” she nodded toward her daughter, “I [...]

“So what kind of fruit do you want?” the Serbian mom who lived at the hostel in Belgrade asked me.

I looked at her all confused.

“With my first one, my son, I couldn’t get enough apples,” she continued, “I could eat them all day long. And with her,” she nodded toward her daughter, “I could eat an entire bunch of bananas in one sitting. It was all bananas, bananas, bananas.”

“I haven’t really been craving anything yet,” I replied.

A week later in Sarajevo I turned to Wade, “Wouldn’t peaches be the best thing ever right now?” I asked, ”don’t they sound so good to you?”

He looked at me like I was crazy.

But I suppose cravings are meant to be illogical.

Chaya

Lucky for me, finding peaches in the Balkans in the middle of winter is impossible. It would be a good hunt for Wade and I to track some down. I soon abandoned the cheap produce stands and went to the biggest supermarkets I could find in hopes of scavenging some imported peaches.

But there were no peaches.

I ate peach yogurt, drank peach juice and tea but my craving just became worse. I began dreaming about peaches.

In Croatia, Wade fund an old dusty can of peaches on the bottom shelf of a food store. He was so excited he practically ran home and proudly presented it to me as if he were a returning war hero.

“That is the grossest thing I’ve ever seen,” I let slip out of my mouth as soon as I saw the moldy peaches floating in some kind of sickeningly sweet alchemy syrup. Wade’s face fell as his dreams of being a savior were swiftly crushed.

A real juicy peach was the only thing that would do. My mouth would water at its mere mention. At each new town we would find a place to sleep and then I would begin scouring the markets for peaches.

Finally in Tirana, Albania on a sunny day, we came across a good size produce market with lots of stands. My eyes grew big and I pulled Wade through the crowds.

There they were! A whole pile of peaches, the best thing I had ever seen. We bought a bag full for a million dollars and for the first time in my life I didn’t care I was being ripped off (I was being ripped off).

As soon as we stepped away from the market, I dug into my bag of treasure. I lifted a peach up to my mouth and bit down into it.

It was absolutely the best thing I have ever tasted in my life.

Read parallel entry from Wade at, Vagabond Pregnancy Update

Filed under: Albania, Food, Pregnancy, Travel With Family

About the Author:

After traveling on her own for three or four years, Chaya met up with Wade Shepard, the editor of VagabondJourney.com. They were married in 2009, and continue to travel the world together with their young daughter. From time to time Chaya blogs about family travel and life on the road. has written 102 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

Chaya Shepard is currently in: Xiamen, China

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  • Bob L December 15, 2009, 7:51 pm

    I am just glad you did not name your daughter Peaches…….

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    • Chaya December 16, 2009, 2:59 pm

      Hahaha we considered sheftali which is Turkish for peach for about a minute…

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  • Andy K. December 16, 2009, 12:32 am

    Loved the story. Cravings are powerful things.

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