Anyone viewing my Balkans itinerary would probably question why it appears so erratic and illogical. For example, rather than minimising the often stressful and unpredictable border entries, my itinerary and the Post-Yugoslavia construction of new countries necessitate that I entering Serbia twice during my stay.
My Macedonian hosts in Ohrid were also curious with regards to the glaring absence of beaches, the hook for many tourists visiting Bulgaria and why countries like Croatia were left off the list. There are three reasons as to why I started in Albania, will finish in Belgrade, Serbia, but between this, make a spiralling detour over several hours south to Montenegro, completely detouring the more touristed Dubrovnik, nearby in Croatia and popular Kotor in Montenegro for the lesser known Bar (Montenegro).
1. Exit Festival in Novi Sad, early July – a huge music festival with something for everyone; more on this when it occurs
2. an 8 day Bulgarian Trekking tour – only available mid-June
3. a sudden fascination with travelling on one of the only Eastern European train trips, the Bar to Belgrade. Is anyone else obsessed with watching virtual train journeys on Youtube?
In addition, as a solo itinerary, there have been some challenges in addressing my interests in visiting Spomeniks[1] as many of them are some distance from main cities and difficult to reach via public transport.
So it was with the excitement of a great discovery when I realised that I could break my trip from Sofia to Sarajevo with a night or two at Niš (pronounced Neesh), the third largest city in Serbia.
After the casual charm of catching both local and international buses in Albania, I found myself caught out with the differences in each country and had quickly transitioned to being prepared for just about anything when catching international buses from city to city. At Skopje, I had planned well, as per usual, pre-booked and printed out my ticket online and even visited the station the day before and checked with a staff member of which platform I would catch it at. All was good until the driver looked at my printed out ticket and gestured wildly that I needed to go back to the ticket desk and get – another ticket!! With my luggage already on-board I tapped into my running experience and pelted into the station from desk to desk until one staff member printed out the ticket required and at another desk, I paid for a ‘platform pass’. Fortunately the bus was still loading luggage when I returned and my heart returned to normal.
From Sofia to Niš, the only surprise was paying for your luggage to be stored. Not expensive, but I had cleverly used up all my coins, avoiding the issue of leftover coins (only notes can be exchanged into another currency). I was directed to the nearest exchange office just to get change. At least I was able to help another woman out who only had notes too; I figured I couldn’t use the coins beyond Bulgaria (except in the unlikely event that I return there), so I may as well help someone else.
At the border crossing, as a newbie to arriving in Serbia, I watched and waited as everyone exited the bus at the border, not once but twice. I pondered what the two border officials, one male, one female were talking about as they mumbled to each other and skimmed through all my passport pages before climaxing with the heavy handed stamp.
The highlight in Niš for me was the Bubanj Memorial Park and its gigantic spomeniks, nicknamed The Three Fists. Despite travel advice to take the bus, I decided to walk the one hour journey to the park, allowing me to pass through many residential areas and the rather overgrown ‘old cemetery’.
Many who plan to visit Bubanj combine with a trip to Crveni Krst concentration camp. This prisoner camp became known as Red Cross and was established to dissidents, rebels and groups considered 'undesirable' (such as Jews and Roma) after the German invasion and occupation of Serbia in 1941. In 1942, 105 prisoners escaped the camp and killed 11 German guards. Five days later, random executions of prisoners occurred on a hillside area called Bubanj. The Memorial Park commemorates the execution of more than 10,000 citizens of Niš and people from Serbia and other parts of the country. The three fists are each unique and symbolise men's, women's and children's hands that defy the enemy, symbolic of the fact entire families were killed at Bubanj.
I skipped the concentration camp visit but did also make the journey to the infamous Skull Tower. It really is a 3 meter tall tower made of human skulls, although there are only 58 of the original 952 left. Another reminder of the violent capacity of the Ottomans, it was built as a warning against anyone rising against the empire, using skulls of Serbs killed by Ottomans during the Battle of Cegar during the First Serbian Revolution in 1809. A chapel has been built to house the skulls in 1892.
With towering Communist apartments, pretty 19th century monasteries and orthodox churches, Roman ruins and fortresses, intersected by shopping malls and McDonalds stores, Niš is a crazy mix of values, politics and history.
[1] The spomenik (the Serbo-Croatian/Slovenian word for 'monument') is a sculptural monument, commissioned and built during the 1950s-90s during Tito’s Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to honour its people during the National Liberation War (1941-1945) and other battles. They also celebrate the revolution that defeated the crimes.
Key elements:
Abstraction - inspired by art movements from Western Europe
a move away from the figurative heroic Social Realist sculptures of the past
symbols of a new tomorrow; the idea of moving forward; positive symbols such as the three fists.