Blogs from Serbia, Europe - page 27

Evo jos smo u Beogradu, za tacno 12 sati krecemo za Mumbay preko Istambula! Pozdrav Cabra!... read more

We arrived in Belgrade at pretty much six in the morning. The journey was terrible and worsened by the fact that what was a dribbly nose turned into a full blown cold. We had the name of a hostel written down called New Morning hostel which said on the website that it had a twenty four hour reception. We stood outside the main entrance knocking and ringing the bell for about half an hour until we gave in. Our next choice was over the other side of the town so we walked through the deserted centre to get there. Lonely Planet quoted prices that were not only affordable, but cheap. That wasn't the case inside the hotel Royal, we couldn't afford anything, even when he reduced the price for us. We didn't have a backup written ... read more

We finally extricated ourselves from Sarajevo ... yay! Last night I had the worst sleep ever. I couldn’t swallow because my glands were so swollen, I had heartburn, and I couldn’t stop coughing. I knew I was keeping Mike away and tried to do anything I could to stop: I ended up sitting upright, propped up with a pillow against the wall, sucking on a candy cane hoping the mint would soothe my throat. I must’ve been quite a sight! We woke up at 6:45 this morning (brutal) and caught a bus to Nis, and then planned to go to Sofia from there. It ended up being a bus ride from Hell that never ended: 7 hours passed, then 8 hours, 9, 10 ... 11 HOURS LATER we arrived in Nis, and we weren’t too happy ... read more

Just had to stop and write a quick entry while I sit in front of the biggest and most incredible church I’ve ever seen - the St. Sava Orthodox Cathedral. I always wanted to see the Taj Mahal; now I don’t know if it’s necessary! This thing totally blew my mind. It’s white with green domes and gold crosses, very simple but astoundingly huge. It’s under construction so it’s basically empty inside, with dark, cold stone (it’s freezing inside). But there’s music playing and people praying and bowing and lighting candles amid the scaffolding. Wow! So, once again, everything changed in a matter of hours last night. I went out to dinner and had a delicious meal (chicken and broccoli tagliatelle), then considered staying out for one more drink but wasn’t really in the mood ... read more

Journey and Arrival I wokeup in the train with an old Serbian couple in my car, and sleep wasn't coming back. The old lady seemed releived that I was alive and promptly forced me to eat lots of food, literally shoving it into my face. It was hard to complain, it's quite nice :D The highlight of this train journey was unquestionably pasing through Nis. The train passes along at the equivalent height level of a 2nd storey building across an ad-hoc Serbian city that's not so far removed from what one imagines of the favelas of South America, with buildings placed almost randomly and squadrons of old ladies which bags across their backs, carrying items across the town. Only 2 and a half hours late, we arrive in Belgrade, not quite as bad as Marija's ... read more