Day 538
I was up early and packed quickly. I had an early bus to Belgrade. The ride was uneventful as I slept thru most of it.
This was my second time in Belgrade and I had picked a hostel very close to the train station. At first I thought that I would wander around for a bit and see what had changed, but it was just too hot. I ended up at an internet cafe with super slow internet.
Eventually I ended up back at the hostel to shower and watch movies. After dinner I joined a large group of people for drinks at the hostel.
I was doing the normal backpacker meet and great (aka backpacker hell) explaining my back story and answering the same questions. This time I had a different answer for one of the questions, when would I be going home. I had just booked my ticket home about an hour before and I was finally able to say October 20, and yes, I was very very excited. A jack ass 19 year old Canadian guy who heard that I had been on the road for just about 18 months at this point and that I was happy to see the end actually said "well, travel isn't for everyone." Travel isn't for you, ass hole! Luckily he went out with a group of people while I stayed in and chatted for a bit longer before calling it a night.
Showing posts with label Nis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nis. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Finally
Day 537
When I woke up I decided to forget the bus and walked for about 1.5 hours to see the thing I came here to see.
In 1809, when Serbia was under Ottoman control, there was an uprising in which 10,000 Turks were klled. To punish the Serbs the Turks had 959 heads of the Serbs killed in battle built into a tower. Over the centures some people made off with the skull and there are only about 50 left in situ. This is one of hte creepyist things I have sver seen. You really have to see it ot believe it. I've seen a lot of creepy things on this trip, but this about takes the cake. I took a load of pictures.
When I was done I had some Serbian bbq from a roadside stand and then headed back to the hostel. I could have left for Belgrade, but I was being lazy. I also meant to write in my journal, but ended up taking a nap instead. After dinner I watched a movie online and then called it an early night.
When I woke up I decided to forget the bus and walked for about 1.5 hours to see the thing I came here to see.
When I was done I had some Serbian bbq from a roadside stand and then headed back to the hostel. I could have left for Belgrade, but I was being lazy. I also meant to write in my journal, but ended up taking a nap instead. After dinner I watched a movie online and then called it an early night.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Dissapointed
Day 536
When I woke up I went to the small market thing a few doors down and bough some eggs for breakfast. By the time I was ready to go to the city center the guy who owned the hostel said that he would come with me and show me around a bit. We had to wait some time for the bus, but it eventually came. We walked around the 18th century Nis fort. This is really just an overgrown park with random ruins it it and some cafes.
After picking up a map at the tourist office he went back to the hostel and I headed to the site I had come here to see. It was closed as it was Monday. This made me very angry and meant that I had nothing to do for the day. I picked up some food at a supermarket and then took a cab back to the hostel. The whole bus thing was just so confusing. I took a nap and then got up to eat. I watched a movie on the computer for a bit. Eventually the guy who owned the hostel and some of his friends had a bbq in the back yard and invited me to join them. It was really yummy and they were really nice guys. Around 2 am I went to sleep.
When I woke up I went to the small market thing a few doors down and bough some eggs for breakfast. By the time I was ready to go to the city center the guy who owned the hostel said that he would come with me and show me around a bit. We had to wait some time for the bus, but it eventually came. We walked around the 18th century Nis fort. This is really just an overgrown park with random ruins it it and some cafes.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Keep Off!
Day 535
I'd had some crazy dreams the night before, including one that I thought I was awake at 4 pm. It was actually 8 when I got up. After showering and some breakfast I headed out to see the town.
My first stop was the city art gallery. It was a nice collection, but really quite small. All of the paintings were by Bulgarian artists. I actually hadn't meant to go there, I thought it was the icon gallery. That turned out to be a few doors up the road. The nice woman working there let me take pictures even though it wasn't really allowed. It was a small collection, but really quite nice.
I then popped into the St. Constantine and St. Elena Church. A little girl was being baptized and she was not happy. They stripped her down to nothing and then stuck her right in the baptismal font. I would have been just as unhappy as she was if someone did that to me. The most interesting bits were the fresco's, but no photos were allowed.
It was hot out and I had been walking uphill all day. I was really happy when it as time to head back down the hill. I spent some more time online before going back to the hostel. I had them call me a cab and it cost 3 leva, that guy the day before was really trying to rip me off!
The train was packed and I worried that I wouldn't get a seat, but I managed to find one. Once in Sofia I bought a ticket to Nis, Serbia. I tried to spend the rest of my Bulgarian money but couldn't. I should have exchanged it, but hindsight is 20/20. When I boarded the train and went to my assigned seat there were two men in the compartment who had obviously been drinking. The bigger of the two men did not want me in that compartment for some reason or another and shoved me out of it several times. I just started screaming, I don't know what. Well it was probably something like that's my seat and you can't touch me with profanities thrown in. A woman from a near by compartment came first and then the conductor. He made the man let me sit down. I was getting really dirty looks and feeling uncomfortable when the guy lit up a cigarette. I pointed to the no smoking sign. He didn't care. The conductor walked by outside and I motioned to him that the man was smoking. The conductor made him go outside and then moved them to a different compartment. The train wasn't even in motion and it was an eventful ride for me.
Once I crossed the boarder into Serbia a mother and her 10 year old daughter got on the train. I don't think that the little girl had ever seen an ipod before (I was watching a movie) and sat next to me and screamed "tv" when she saw what was on the screen. I gave her one of the ear phones and put on Shrek, she liked that for a while but wanted to play with it herself. We ended up watch the Simpsons before she wanted to listen to music. She was very disappointed with my collection though, she asked if I had any Hannah Montana!
When I got to Nis it was one am. The near by atm didn't work and it took me about 30 minute to get a cab. At least the guy understood that I needed to go to an atm first. He didn't know where the hostel was though and wasted quite a bit of money looking for it. At one point he was even looking on the wrong street. I didn't tip him. I was happy to finally get to where I was going after such an eventful evening. I was even happier when I found out that I had the room to myself again!
I'd had some crazy dreams the night before, including one that I thought I was awake at 4 pm. It was actually 8 when I got up. After showering and some breakfast I headed out to see the town.
My first stop was the city art gallery. It was a nice collection, but really quite small. All of the paintings were by Bulgarian artists. I actually hadn't meant to go there, I thought it was the icon gallery. That turned out to be a few doors up the road. The nice woman working there let me take pictures even though it wasn't really allowed. It was a small collection, but really quite nice.
It was hot out and I had been walking uphill all day. I was really happy when it as time to head back down the hill. I spent some more time online before going back to the hostel. I had them call me a cab and it cost 3 leva, that guy the day before was really trying to rip me off!
The train was packed and I worried that I wouldn't get a seat, but I managed to find one. Once in Sofia I bought a ticket to Nis, Serbia. I tried to spend the rest of my Bulgarian money but couldn't. I should have exchanged it, but hindsight is 20/20. When I boarded the train and went to my assigned seat there were two men in the compartment who had obviously been drinking. The bigger of the two men did not want me in that compartment for some reason or another and shoved me out of it several times. I just started screaming, I don't know what. Well it was probably something like that's my seat and you can't touch me with profanities thrown in. A woman from a near by compartment came first and then the conductor. He made the man let me sit down. I was getting really dirty looks and feeling uncomfortable when the guy lit up a cigarette. I pointed to the no smoking sign. He didn't care. The conductor walked by outside and I motioned to him that the man was smoking. The conductor made him go outside and then moved them to a different compartment. The train wasn't even in motion and it was an eventful ride for me.
Once I crossed the boarder into Serbia a mother and her 10 year old daughter got on the train. I don't think that the little girl had ever seen an ipod before (I was watching a movie) and sat next to me and screamed "tv" when she saw what was on the screen. I gave her one of the ear phones and put on Shrek, she liked that for a while but wanted to play with it herself. We ended up watch the Simpsons before she wanted to listen to music. She was very disappointed with my collection though, she asked if I had any Hannah Montana!
When I got to Nis it was one am. The near by atm didn't work and it took me about 30 minute to get a cab. At least the guy understood that I needed to go to an atm first. He didn't know where the hostel was though and wasted quite a bit of money looking for it. At one point he was even looking on the wrong street. I didn't tip him. I was happy to finally get to where I was going after such an eventful evening. I was even happier when I found out that I had the room to myself again!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)