Vukovar to Novi Sad- Day 10 - Saturday 6th September 2025 - Balkan-Georgia Trip - Day 10/34 - City 9/20 - country 7/11
- eusts6
- Oct 25, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 10, 2025
I was up bright and early, just cheese for breakfast as the ants had taken over everything else. My bread was now full of live ants. Check out was at 11:00, but I left at 10:30.
I made my way to the Riverside Café but stumbled upon Bar Dublin. Damn, I wish I had noticed that the previous day. I parked my heavy bags next to the bicycles, then waved to Alan and had three cappuccinos by the River Danube. I had to move my stubborn suitcase to the bus station. I passed a bright red Jugo 45 on the way; it always brings a smile to my face. I had 90 minutes to spare, so I read in the station and ordered a mineral water.
Because the buses to Novi Sad only ran every other day, I was forced to get a bus first to Belgrade, then to Novi Sad. The first leg of my journey brought me through endless fields of corn and sunflowers; this is a thing around here apparently. Soon we reached the border with Serbia. On the Croatian side, we were all marched out, lined up orderly, and told to face the camera for a mug shot. They stare into your soul without blinking and with a hard thud stamp your passport, handing it back through the gap under the glass without flinching or smiling. They get my second prize for miserable border guards! Then we shuffled off to no man's land and waited for the bus. We got back on the bus and drove a little bit; now it was time for the Serbian side. A guy with a shaved head got on, collected our passports, and promptly disappeared for what seemed like ages. He returned with the passports, and we were free to enter Serbia.
The continuation of the journey was, again, cornfields and sunflowers, and before long, Belgrade's skyline was visible in the distance. I saw familiar sights entering the city, but it stopped in Novi Beograd, a brand new station which wasn't there on my last visit.
The new station was clean but sterile and lacked any of the character that the old station had. A strange thing in Serbia is that even though you have a bus ticket, you must buy a separate ticket just to use the station, and then on top of that, you need to pay for stowing your bags. With about 40 minutes to go, I waited at the platform for the bus to Novi Sad, which was delayed by almost an hour.
The 90-minute journey to Novi Sad meant that it would be dark by the time I reached the city, but I did witness a beautiful sunset, one of many on this trip. It was completely dark when we reached the station. When I disembarked, it was wonderful. Novi Sad is alive with bakeries, the smell of baked goods wafting down the streets decorated with neon signs and shops marked in Cyrillic.
My Google Maps lied to me and told me I had reached the rental apartment. I was on an open street, both of us on the phone saying, "I'm here, I can't see you, where are you?" Eventually, the lady came out to meet me just as I had figured I needed to enter the courtyard where the Yugo 45 was parked. Block 47 next to the Yugo 45. The grey, drab commie block didn't look appealing from the outside, but when she put the key in the door, I entered a beautiful home that was once loved; I could feel it. I was welcomed by the hosts, the Filipović family, who welcomed me and warned me to avoid the protests.
Without hesitation, I went to the supermarket, Maxi, which is actually Delhaize, the Belgian company, if I go by the logo. I picked up peanuts called kikiriki here under the name "gud," some snacks called "smoki," a peanut-flavored bag of fried snacks, hot (ljuti) ajvar, bread, water, orange juice, red wine from Serbia, and some cold beer. I was sorted for a night in.
Actually, I didn't stay in but showered and went to the local bar right next to the building and had a couple of pints. The bar was crowded and noisy as they were playing basketball on TV, Serbia vs. Finland. I stayed for two drinks, then returned to the apartment to consume the lovely red wine.
#Bustravel #Vukovar #NoviSad #Belgrade #Beograd #Serbia #Croatia #Hrvatksa #Srbija #Србија #НовиСад #Вуковар #Хрваткса
In a word #Serbia
Comments