The cabin was hot, so we opened the window. But the noise from the
train was loud as it was the next thing to our carriage. We took in the dusk,
then played some card games. We then went on to our separate bunks. Still being hot, but with the shutter being down to save the
morning night pouring in, I put a loo roll between it and the window ledge.
That gave me some respite from the heat. At 05:00 we were awoken by Romanian
border control. Passport then customs questions. 30 minutes later we had the
same on the Serbian side. We then drifted off again. Prior to this, at one
station (presumably Timisoara) we heard LeAnn Rimes play into the night – odd.
We woke properly at 08:00, but, as guessed, the train wouldn’t
arrive at its scheduled time. However, the Vojvodina was beautiful. Severely
flat, covered in corn crops or sunflowers, it was a rural idyll. We travelled
along at a leisurely pace until Belgrade was in the distance. We passed over
the mighty Danube (or Dunav), which was a good 400-500 meters wide. Forest on
one side, and urbania on the other. At a snail’s pace we meandered through the
city to our station. Another glorious day to welcome us to a new city.
We departed our train then went to reservations. We needed
information on our separate train journeys on Friday. The lady there, speaking
great English, said that there was a straight through train to Sarajevo. That
was for 08:15. For the Ljubljana train too, it was straight through at 10:20.
Neither needed a reservation.We left the Austro-Hungarian inspired building of canary yellow
and walked uphill to the centre.
The geography of the city does explain why it
was a favoured bastion for all past empires and nations. Before we reached the
main shopping street, we turned back and could see New Belgrade across the
Sava. New bridges connecting to something akin to a financial centre. Around us
were the odd Soviet block, but they were dominated by their Austro-Hungarian
counterparts. We walked up the shopping street, very similar to Cardiff on a
sunny afternoon, and left it by one block to reach our hostel.
We climbed the five flights of stairs to it and were warmly
received. Our room was just being prepared, so we were told to wait. We checked
up on the Internet, whilst the hostess took our passports. 15 minutes later we
were in our room. It was a double, but small yet comfortable. We showered then
went exploring. We continued our walk up the modern shopping street, with table
and chairs scattered everywhere for all the cafés and restaurants. At the end
we crossed the road in to the park that contained the Kalegdan Fortress. We
wondered through the trees and souvenir stalls to reach the western part of the
outer wall. The views were exceptional. High walls meant you could see down, as
well as across. New Belgrade was on a hill too; in the distance, Zemun. Just
before the Sava linked up to the Danube proper, a part of the Danube seeps in a
kilometer beforehand creating an island – War Island to be exact. A massive
forest engulfing the island at the confluence of the two rivers. The Sava a tad
greener than the Danube, a duller green/grey.
We walked clockwise around the walls, we passed Ali Pasha’s tomb
in the grounds, an Austro-Hungarian wooden house, then a church. The
fortifications were robust, especially its buttresses. We found a café in the
walls so stopped for a beer. The views behind us were awe inspiring.
As the
heat progressed, we walked back into town, via the purchasing of souvenirs,
then found a café to eat in. Service was slow but my savoury pancake was to die
for. We then went shopping for the first time on our trip. Liam bought a nice
top, and I saw some English books on the area’s history. After a walkabout, we
returned to our hostel.
After a refreshing sleep we then went out for dinner. This was on
Liam as a thank you. We walked past Republic Square on to the Skardarijia. This
was a cobbled street on a low rise hill that was dimly lit. It has about 15
restaurants on and was pleasant in the evening sun. We went to one on the
corner that had a band playing. The waiter took our drinks order and offered us
a starter. This is where the feeling of Skopje began to return. He brought over
some toast and hummus, then took our main meal order. We both ordered steak.
Our candle was lit, and we were sat on homemade log benches and table. It was
lovely appreciating the hustle and bustle.
Then our true starter arrived, a massive portion on prosciutto,
cream cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, butter/cream and starch muffins. We ate a
quarter of it. Then our beef came. It was massive and
lovely, but we ordered a salad too. We didn’t touch that. We declined dessert.
We left then walked down the leafy street and turned left. We
reached a bar with an outside area and had some cocktails whilst chatting. We
left at 22:00 and slept.
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