Day 12 9 Sep - Train journey to Nis in south west Serbia

Photo above - our train to Nis in southern Serbia. More photos to follow

Early train south

Another early start today as we are travelling 160 miles south through Serbia to Nis, one of Europe’s oldest cities. At 6.50am, after breakfast, we got a cab to Belgrade train station for the 7.30am train.

The journey should take around six hours, but it was clear right away that this is no express. It seemed to amble through the countryside, and stopped at every tiny settlement, where no one got on or off. The train itself was much like trains in the UK, but without the huge numbers of passengers. Most of the stations consisted of one small building and a short length of platform. One stop was literally four seats like a bus stop, and nothing else. I could see no settlement of any kind. The train still stopped though.

The journey continues

We passed through parched rolling countryside and farmland for most of the journey. Occasionally we went through a small town, but mostly it was small settlements and villages. After about Five hours, we suddenly started to climb quite steeply up a forested mountain side. We got up to about 150m then we were going back down into the valley and farmland, although there were wooded hills in the distance.

Arrival at Nis

We eventually arrived at about 3pm. Nis (population about 180,000) is one of Europe's oldest cities, with a fascinating blend of history and culture. It has the Constantine the Great Memorial Complex, marking the birthplace of the Roman emperor. An 18th-century Fortress, a huge site with panoramic views over the city, dotted with museums, cultural landmarks, and cafes.

Just outside the city is Crveni Krst concentration camp, which is the remains of a camp run by the Germans in WW2, which housed Jews and Roma. There was a large escape at one point, during which over 100 escaped. As a reprisal, the Germans executed many on a nearby hill, and also sent many women and children on to Auschwitz.

Skull Tower

The Skull Tower was built by the Ottomans in 1809 following The Battle of Cegar which was part of the first Serbian uprising. It is embedded with hundreds of real human skulls of the victims of the battle. We decided to take a bus there after settling in the hotel.

Again, here the public transport is free. We caught a bus right outside the hotel, and five stops later we got off for the short walk to the skull tower. Needless to say, since 1809, a lot of the skulls have been removed, and the tower damaged, so more recently, the town have encased the tower in glass, and built a small chapel around it to preserve it, and prevent further damage. You can walk around the tower and there is a small bit of supporting information.

Nis city centre

After, we caught the bus back into the centre, and wandered up to the fortress. Like the one in Belgrade, this is essentially a walled area, which now contains cafes and other types of entertainment, as well as an area to walk. We stopped at a cafe for a beer, then went in search of some food in the city centre.

Finally we headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow, we are travelling still further south, and crossing the border into North Macedonia.