Belgrade to Niš - Day 15 - Thursday 11th September 2025 - Balkan-Georgia Trip - Day 15/34 - City 12/21 - country 7/11
- eusts6
- Nov 2, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 10, 2025
I woke up at 05:45 and packed up everything and was out the door at 06:00. I made my way down the rain-soaked streets towards Hotel Moskva where I picked up a taxi without a problem. The driver was confident and friendly, but so confident he insisted that there were no trains to Niš.
So there I was, an hour too early for the train in this brand new sterile station. I ordered a cappuccino and an apple juice and waited for the track to be announced. While waiting, I noticed a Serbian tour guide with a bunch of people following him like ducklings as he explained in English that we needed to wait and see where our train would leave.
I made my way down to the platform, happy that I had bought a first-class ticket for this, my last city in former Yugoslavia. The entire station was well-organized and clean.
The train arrived at 07:15, and a few of us boarded the train. We were to leave in 15 minutes for our destination, which would be a 7-hour trip as the train stopped every few kilometers.
It was a very pleasant journey, even if it was long. I wanted to savor every moment and every small village with brightly colored vegetables and chickens scurrying around, with bright green rolling hills in the background. I even managed to get a bit of sleep.
I picked up a taxi just outside the station, and he dropped me right in front of the hotel. This hotel was quite welcoming, and I will say it is one of my favorites on this trip. It was more than a room and had a decent-sized fridge as well as a large kitchen. I went to the nearby supermarket and picked up stale maize bread and cheddar cheese, which I really enjoyed. I also bought some "smoki" snacks and peanuts, "kikiriki" in Serbian.
After the late lunch, I walked towards the city centre, recognizing some places from my visit in 2019. Not far from my hotel, I saw a large post office "pošta," and as I saw the postcards in the display, he rudely told me to take them, even though the cabinet was sealed and they were just for display!
I found the old gate to the city fortress and entered, and I was able to buy postcards there. I had located another post office close by, so I quickly sat down to write my postcards and buy stamps. While I was on my way to the post office, which brought me past the market as well as the bus station where I had to be the next day.
I was completely sweaty at this stage, but on the way back, I decided to stop for a nice white Serbian wine in the Irish bar "Crazy Horse," close to where I stayed back in 2019. In fact, Stanislav and I had been here a few times, especially for their breakfasts.
I wandered slowly back to the hotel, and as I had never done it before, I bought fresh popcorn and peanuts from the street vendor for only 150 RSD. I swear these were the tastiest I ever had. I passed by a restaurant where we had eaten back in 2019. Everything on this street is in Cyrillic; it seems more prevalent than in Belgrade.
There was a very inviting wine bar close by, but I was far too smelly and sweaty at this stage. I just returned to the hotel for a long, warm shower and had wine, beer, and rakija in the garden, speaking to some Swedish tourists before retiring.
In a word #Nostalgia
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