A trip through eight countries with my ex-colleague (and temporary flatmate), on the way to visit her Japanese boyfriend who currently lives in Novi Sad, Serbia.
Getting started (2022-08-28)
1. Amsterdam Central Station, from where we were supposed to take the Nightjet sleeping train to Munich2. Annoyingly, our train was cancelled without warning. So we took seven different trains instead. This included a three hour wait at Cologne Central Station, which you see here
Salzburg, Austria (2022-08-29)
3. Arriving at Salzburg Itzling station. Being rather tired from a whole night’s travel, we didn’t have as much time to explore Salzburg as we would have liked4.5. The Salzach river and Salzburg’s Old Town (Altstadt), with Hohensalzburg Fortress6. Alter Markt7. View from the fortress8.9.10. It’s like there’s a whole other town in the fortress11.12.13.14. Salzburg’s Old Town seen from the bottom of the fortress
Bratislava, Slovakia (2022-08-30)
15.16. Bratislava Castle (Bratislavský hrad – a bit like ‘burg’, ‘hrad’ obviously means both ‘castle’ and ‘town’)17. View of the Danube, with some of Baratislava’s many newer neighbourhoods on the opposite bank18.19.20.21.22.23. The main square (Hlavne namestie)24. Hlavne namestie25.26. The Church of Saint Elizabeth, which is know as the Blue Church
Bratislava, Slovakia (2022-08-31)
27. Bratislava Castle seen from the street where our hotel was located28. A small market (which wasn’t quite open yet) behind our hotel29. A communist-era mosaic on one of the buildings of Bratislava University30. The Slovak Radio Building (Budova Slovenského rozhlasu), which was completed in 198331. Tram stop at Bratislava Main Station (Bratislava Hlavná)32. Waiting for the train to Hungary
Szeged, Hungary (2022-08-31)
33. Arriving in Szeged34. Szeged Station35. Inside Szeged Station36. The Votive Church and Cathedral of Our Lady of Hungary (Szegedi dóm), which was built between 1913 and 1930)37. One of many buildings in Szeged that was built in the ‘Secessionist Style’, which is the name for Art Nouveau in former Austria-Hungary (you can see more of them in my post on Romania)
Szeged, Hungary (2022-09-01)
38. There is a lot to see in Szeged and I wanted to do some more exploring in the morning. Unfortunately it was raining very hard, so we went straight to the bus station, which was right next to our Airbnb (actually it’s visible behind the trees on this picture)
Subotica, Serbia (2022-09-01)
39. Arriving at Subotica bus station, about 50 kilomters from Szeged40.41.42.43. There are a lot also a lot of buildings in the Secessionist Style in Subotica, such as the city hall44. Subotica is a pretty green town45. The town hall again46. Unfortunately some of Subotica is in need of renovation (more than the other places in Serbia I visited, though the weather may have played a role in Subotica looking somewhat greyer)
Skopje, North Macedonia (2022-09-02)
Now three of us, we drove 500 kilometers south from Novi Sad to Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. For me, this is where Europe starts to get exotic.
47.48. Macedonia Square (Ploshtad Makedonija), with one of the many giant statues of ancient heroes such as Alexander the Great49. Skopje Fortress50. Opposite Skopje Fortress51. Skopje was levelled by an earthquake in 1963, and as a result, most of the buildings are of the concrete 1970’s or more recent neo-historical style52. Post Office of Macedonia (Poshta na Makedonija)53.54. The Mother Teresa Memorial House (Mother Teresa was an Albanian from Skopje) 55. The Bridge of Civilisations in Macedonia and Archeological Museum, which was completed in 201456. One of the many statues on the Bridge of Civilisations, with the 13th century Stone Bridge in the distance
Skopje, North Macedonia (2022-09-03)
57. Macedonia Square58. Macedonia Square59. Stray dogs on the square on the other (northern) side of the river60. The northern side of the river is where most of Skopje’s Albanians, Turks and Gypsies live, and where you’ll find the Old Bazaar, which was still quiet on Sunday morning61. Another market, this one on the south bank62.63.64. Back in the Old Bazaar65.