Set the alarm for 06:00 but didn't need it because we woke up at 05:30 again.
Packed
up, then down to check out, breakfast started at 07:00 but we asked if we
could pop down 10 minutes early because we had to be at the bus station
at 07:15 but they wouldn't let us. The station was about a 10 minute
walk so we were going to have to rush, and I don't like rushing. I
wanted to skip breakfast but was overruled.
Grabbed a plate of the
usual, shovelled it down then practically jogged to the station, made it
with plenty of time to spare. The weather was grim - cold, grey,
overcast and raining. We were very lucky to have the sun yesterday.
When
Song first told me a couple of years ago that we would be travelling by
bus in Eastern Europe I had visions of brown 1950's buses spewing
diesel fumes, people smoking and carting goats and chickens in cages. In
reality the coaches are comfortable, modern, reclining seats, toilets
and wifi. One had a free coffee machine. We also like the fact that we
can relax, read or watch TV, and see a lot of the country.
We drove
out of the city, past lots of 1980s tower blocks that were a bit the
worse for wear - rusty windows and balconies, crumbling concrete. Quite a
few abandoned buildings as well.
Drove for about an hour and a half
through fields and hills, not particularly spectacular, then came to a
long queue of trucks - Bulgarian border control. Sat in the bus for
about an hour, then got off, passport checked, back on the bus then on our
way. For about 100 meters before we stopped again for Serbian border
control. Luckily it was only about 10 minutes because there were only 4
other people on the bus.
Drove through fields for a while then
through a gorge, sheer rock faces either side and a river along the
bottom. It was still raining and the hills were covered in cloud.
After about another hour and a half we arrived in Nis.
Stepped off the bus and were greeted with a smell of burning plastic and a general chemical aroma.
Walked
about 20 minutes to the hotel. Song decided to give the roll I'd bought
yesterday to a stray dog, having already given hers to another stray at
border control. There are quite a few stray dogs around.
Checked in
then headed out in the light rain and pollution to get some food and
have a look around. We only stopped here so we wouldn't have to do 8
hours on the bus so didn't expect much in the way of things to see - one
of the 'attractions' according to Tripadvisor was a nazi concentration
camp. Thought we'd give that a miss.
Stopped for a coffee that cost
$1.70, then found the number 2 place in Nis to eat; we always try to eat
the local food. I had my first beer, a local one called Lav that cost
less than the coffee - $1.60 for half a litre. Song ordered fish chowder
to start, and we ordered a meat platter to share. We also had a couple
of bread rolls and a Serbian salad.
The meat platter was huge - 3
different types of sausages, pork wrapped in bacon, ham and skewers. It
also wasn't very nice. We ate about half and took the rest with us, Song
wanted to feed more of the stray dogs.
The meal only cost about $20
though. Serbia (and most Eastern European countries) still allow
smoking in restaurants, and most people smoke. It's pretty disgusting,
and we passed several restaurants looking to see if there were any free
of smokers but there were none. It was a relief to go back outside to
the cold and wet.
One of the local attractions was a tower embedded with human skulls. Thinking that's something you don't see every day we
decided to pay it a visit. Even though it was still raining we decided
to walk, it took about half an hour. It was a tower embedded with human
skulls.
Hopped on a bus back to visit the other attraction, the
fortress. It was basically a gate and some old ruins out in the open and
filled with rubbish.
If you ever visit this area and are thinking of visiting Nis, I highly recommend not doing so, go somewhere else.
At least our hotel was good - king size bed, modern, spa bath etc.
Tomorrow is back on a bus and onto Belgrade - we read that there have been protests there. Hopefully we'll avoid them.
