From Sarajevo we had a long bus ride (11hours) to Nis (pronounced Nish). We left at about 8:40am, crossed the border into Serbia and arrived in Nis after 7pm. The driver didn’t speak English, and it felt like if we were 5 seconds late back on the bus after a break, he would have left without us. We were the only Australian’s onboard, but there were a few equally confused English. We were very grateful to Jasmin for packing up our dinner as the lunch break was only about 20 minutes or so, not long enough to order and eat when you can’t even read the menu.
The hostel in Nis (Downtown Hostel) was great, all new, small (only 11 beds) and the staff were very helpful. We met an Austrian couple, an American and two Frenchies. Connie (Chinese/American from Texas living in London) joined us for dinner at a small take away burger joint recommended by the hostel. The burgers were called P
ueskavica, and we could see the ladies hand making the patties. After choosing beef you choose other toppings, we had mayo, homemade chili sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, onion and grilled veggies. We bought 2 pints of beer from a shop nearby and ate by a fountain in the main street. The food was delicious, and a steal for €3 for the both of us including drinks. We then ate choc jam donuts (the first we have seen since leaving Australia) from a bakery for dessert and walked down to the old fort, the main tourist attraction in Nis. It was great talking to Connie as she had come from where we were headed, and she was on her way to Sarajevo and Croatia. The night was a bit noisy, the hostel is next to a river bar that had loud music until 3am, on a Tuesday! At about 6am the jack hammers started, some street works making it a difficult night for Christine. Surprisingly Damien didn’t hear all this and had a great night’s sleep!
After breakfast the next morning we wandered around the town in daylight and then visited the Skull Tower, a monument built after the Čegar Battle (1809). It was built by the Ottomans using 952 skulls of Serbian Soldiers as a warning to the Serb
ian people. The Serbs view it as an inspirational monument celebrating the courage of their soldiers. These days it only has about 50-100 skulls remaining and a building has been constructed around the tower to protect the remaining skulls. It’s a bit gruesome but very interesting. Nis also has a WWII concentration camp which we didn’t visit as there is no English commentary. Instead our last few hours and Serbian Dinar was spent in a Coffee shop (€1 coffee or €1.20 for a liquor coffee, easy choice).
We then headed to catch our bus, 4 hours to Sofia (Bulgaria). The Austrian couple from our hostel were on the same bus so much of the trip was spent chatting to them.
The hostel in Nis (Downtown Hostel) was great, all new, small (only 11 beds) and the staff were very helpful. We met an Austrian couple, an American and two Frenchies. Connie (Chinese/American from Texas living in London) joined us for dinner at a small take away burger joint recommended by the hostel. The burgers were called P
ueskavica, and we could see the ladies hand making the patties. After choosing beef you choose other toppings, we had mayo, homemade chili sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, onion and grilled veggies. We bought 2 pints of beer from a shop nearby and ate by a fountain in the main street. The food was delicious, and a steal for €3 for the both of us including drinks. We then ate choc jam donuts (the first we have seen since leaving Australia) from a bakery for dessert and walked down to the old fort, the main tourist attraction in Nis. It was great talking to Connie as she had come from where we were headed, and she was on her way to Sarajevo and Croatia. The night was a bit noisy, the hostel is next to a river bar that had loud music until 3am, on a Tuesday! At about 6am the jack hammers started, some street works making it a difficult night for Christine. Surprisingly Damien didn’t hear all this and had a great night’s sleep!After breakfast the next morning we wandered around the town in daylight and then visited the Skull Tower, a monument built after the Čegar Battle (1809). It was built by the Ottomans using 952 skulls of Serbian Soldiers as a warning to the Serb
ian people. The Serbs view it as an inspirational monument celebrating the courage of their soldiers. These days it only has about 50-100 skulls remaining and a building has been constructed around the tower to protect the remaining skulls. It’s a bit gruesome but very interesting. Nis also has a WWII concentration camp which we didn’t visit as there is no English commentary. Instead our last few hours and Serbian Dinar was spent in a Coffee shop (€1 coffee or €1.20 for a liquor coffee, easy choice).We then headed to catch our bus, 4 hours to Sofia (Bulgaria). The Austrian couple from our hostel were on the same bus so much of the trip was spent chatting to them.
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