My Images of SEE – 22:57, Fri 12th August

One of my preparations was to exchange currency. With Euro’s for Ljubljana in tow, I decided to trade those in for Dinars now – as I will need them next week at any rate. So I spoke to the lady on reception to change my notes & to pay for the room. Her, and the guy with her, were both very polite. This proved by their help in calling the train station for me, to see if I needed to reserve a seat for the Nis to Sofia train (luckily we didn’t).

I then changed then packed. Liam went ahead, downstairs, to book a taxi to the train station. Whilst downstairs waiting, we could appreciate the views that the hotel boasted of the west of Nis – terracotta roofs flowing down the hill, to a green plain stretching out towards the airport.

Our taxi collected us, and delivered us to our destination for 200 Dinars. I asked a woman at the desk for the platform for the Sofia train. “1 or 3”. Great. So we waited on the platform. After 10 minutes a short train arrived. I asked a more official looking person. He said it wasn’t this one, but it would arrive in 25 minutes (that was its departure time). Anyway, we waited as the crowds grew for the train. 

When it did arrive, the embarkation was scruffy and there was a distinct lack of seats. So we perched in the gangway, forced to stand. However, we were next to an open window which was pleasant. This proved a plus over the first 2 hours of the journey, as the scenery was spectacular. 

Serbia is very green, hilly & mountainous, and dramatic. Its population is also sparse. We chugged along through wide, open valleys, and deep, narrow gorges. All in splendid sunny weather. The train itself was similar to last nights – 2 carriages of seats and one sleeper. It travelled (when it did) at approx 50 mph.

Before we got to the border, some seats came available so we grabbed them. At least we had comfort, although the water situation was looking tense. Anyway, the border control was quick on the Serbian side (unique?) but on the Bulgarian side it was a rather more sedate affair. I think we settled into the notion that we were always going to be late. 

By the time we left the Bulgarian side of the border, we were an hour late. However, the last leg of the journey went like a breeze. Bulgaria was a lot flatter, but agriculture was still dominant here.

We arrived at 19:00 at the dated, yet platformed, station. I got cash, and some liquid, and then we walked to the straight road that would take us to the hostel. At first, it looked grim but as you got further into town it became pleasant, and akin to Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin. After 20 minutes of back breaking walking, we found our location. Sort of. We went down the wrong way of the road, but returned and found our side door. Tucked behind old Soviet constructed façades, we witnessed a quaint old Inn. It was quiet, as it was off the street, but bustling, as there was a hive of activity. We went in and a woman welcomed us. She took our passports and aid to grab the complimentary pasta and beer whilst she sorted our stuff out. After a welcome refreshment, and catching 10 minutes on the wifi, the girl talked us through our accommodation, house rules & the city map.

A lad called Damien, of Sofian heritage but an English-speaking world upbringing, took us across the street to an apartment, which our room was in. It was lovely and big, but the fuchsia walls were garish. Once he left, we left for beers. However, once purchased, we saw a sign for McDonalds. So we followed our hunger the 500 meters to it, and then returned to fill ourselves and relax. A group of Spanish people returned, and offered us a drink. We politely refused, as we were shattered. We then slept.

My Images of SEE – 10:41, Fri 12th August

After coffee, we meandered our way back to the square, and to an Italian restaurant facing into the square. I had a pesto lasagne which was lovely. However we didn’t spend all of our time there, as we were harassed by a wasp. So we went over to Trend for a beer until 19:45. We then slowly walked back to the train station, bidding farewell to Skopje. We arrived at 20:10 and went direct to left luggage. We paid our 77 Denars and collected our belongings. We then went up to Platform 4. The train was already there, but the lights were out as people boarded. We just followed. The toilets look vile, however, in my condition, I think I can bear it. We found a cabin that was free and put our bags in the overhead holders. The cabin was old school in its set up. 3 chairs in a row, twice, with a sliding door and curtains to boot. It was dark outside now.

At 20:45 on the dot, we left. But that was about as much luck as we got last night. We had a nice and bouncy ride out of Skopje, when we suddenly stopped 10 minutes. 3 minutes later we continued, discovering our delay to be a road crossing. We bumped along to the border, 10 minutes late, and had our passports checked; the lady asked if we had anything to declare. 10 minutes later we stopped on the Serbian side. A repeat of the border procedure here too. Then we were still waiting. And waiting. The drilling began. About an hour later I saw, 2 carriages down, a worker drilling then climbing into the roof. They then came into our cabin. We had to move as they suspected something up in the roof. How odd. Didn’t look like there was enough room.

1 ½ hours later we had the all clear and departed. We were in a cabin with two local women, who Liam noticed were fascinated with my piercings. We then moved into another carriage as ours was shut off! So we knew that we would miss our connection, and confirmed this by the guard. So we sat there glum. It then dawned on us that we would need a hotel. So we fretted over that as the guidebook said that Nis train station was 2km out of the city.

At 03:05 we arrived at Nis. In vain, I asked if the Sofia train was late at the desk. It had gone. So we walked out of the station, and right, to the main road. It was quiet. We looked right and noticed two adverts for a hostel and a hotel. We opted for the hotel as it took credit cards. This was our 3^rd country, albeit unintentionally. We walked up a road off the main road; a wall had daubed on it a swastika. Our fears were raised. We then reached a junction, so decided on left. We then saw a pack of dogs. Fears raised more, but subsided once passed. The road was quiet and claustrophobic, and odd car would pass raising our heartbeats should they stop near us.

At another junction, we saw a sign with further directions to Hotel Tami. We walked 200m, then left at the lights for 1300m. We hugged a park to our left that curved left then straightened out. The odd car still passed, and we were now walking up hill. After what seemed like an eternity, we saw a sign pointing right. After 2 minutes up hill we saw in big red neon lights the hotel sign. What a relief. 

A fast pace took us to its doors. They had rooms, a twin, for €65 – excellent. It was 4* too! We handed over our passports then went upstairs to collapse. I returned to collect our passports and was relieved that they took Euro’s for Dinars. We drifted off at 04:30 until 09:00. We then had breakfast and prepared for the day.