(Especially since I had never planned on going to one of the places in the first place!).
I am flying into Germany for a few days, then hopping on down to the beautiful Croatian coastline for a few weeks of whirl wind sightseeing, then back up to Germany to get my fill of beer, Bratwurst, and perhaps the odd castle. And if I have any spare time in between, I will cross a few boarders ,( most likely Bosnia & Herzegovina,or Slovenia , but perhaps Austria, or Montenegro. ) One way or the other, it should be a good experience, as it will be far from the usual every day around home. ( So long as things don’t get any worse in Serbia while I am in the neighboring country that is).

Bummer! Ahh well, Mexico is as good as any place to try out a new passport I reckon. Been there a couple of times, the views are lovely and the people even more beautiful. Where abouts in Mexico are you heading?