Novi Sad

Day 440 (September 20, 2019) – Novi Sad, Serbia

We left Budapest from the main train station. We were headed to Novi Sad in Serbia. It was going to be a long trip. We spent down the rest of our Hungarian Forints at a bakery and a convenience store inside the train station and departed before noon. The scenery along the way was pretty but repetitive. Lots and lots of farmland.

Departing the Budapest Train Station.

On our way to Serbia.

This was the view, more or less, for hours on end. 

We had to stop on the Hungarian side of the border to get our exit stamp before crossing the border into Serbia. This was the most dramatic border crossing we had seen in a long time. There was a barbed wire fence stretching off in a perfectly straight line for as far as you could see. It really felt like we were off to someplace new. On the Serbian side we had our passports checked again and then switched to a Serbian train to go the rest of the way to Novi Sad. It was past seven and already dark out by the time we pulled into the Novi Sad train station. I always hate arriving someplace new after dark. It’s disorienting and things always seem scarier than they are in the daylight.

Switching trains in Serbia.

Train rides become less exciting five or six hour in.

At least we got a great sunset on the way.

Our first order of business was to find some money. We didn’t have any Serbian Dinars on us, and we needed to take the bus. We also didn’t have a SIM card, so our phones weren’t too much help. That was unfortunate because our train arrived late, and we didn’t have a way of contacting our Airbnb host. We walked around the train station for a while but no luck. We decided to cross the street over to some buildings that we saw in our search for an ATM. We eventually found one, got some cash, and then walked all the way back to the train station again to find our bus. This bus was ancient and a bit rickety, but at least the ticket was cheap. Of course, we knew which buses to take but we forgot to write down which stop we were supposed to get off at. We took a guess and ended up getting off a stop too early, but we could easily walk the rest of the distance to the apartment. It was so late by the time we got settled in we didn’t even bother to find dinner. We just called it a night. It had been a while since we’d had a proper travel challenge like this.

We only had one day to explore Novi Sad and we wanted to make sure to see everything. We were so tired from the trip there that we allowed ourselves to sleep in, but we started out with an early lunch at a funky little restaurant nearby called Kombinat. We were excited to find that things in Serbia were quite a bit less expensive than elsewhere in Europe, which gave us more financial flexibility.

Downtown Novi Sad, with the Name of Mary Church in the background.

We spent the afternoon walking all around town. The main square is centered around the Name of Mary Church. It was cool out and the sun was shining, and all the restaurants had their outdoor seating in full swing. There was also an outdoor market that we walked through but we wouldn’t be in town long enough to have a use for fruit or vegetables. We also visited the Gallery of Matica Srpska, which is an art museum that had free entry that day. They had some cool paintings, all of which were from Serbian artists. After the museum we needed a pick-me-up, so we stopped at a café for a cup of coffee. That’s were we got our first real introduction to Serbia’s café culture. It was the middle of the afternoon and the place was packed with people drinking coffee (and for others, something stronger) and just about everyone had a cigarette in their mouth. People were hanging out, chatting, and smoking the afternoon away. In any case, the coffee was good.

Walking around town.

Some interesting art from the Gallery of Matica Srpska.

Our grand tour continued across the Danube River to Petrovaradin Fortress. Like any good fortress, it’s up on a hill on the bank of the river with a nice view of the city. We exhausted ourselves walking around the grounds and decided to head back home to take showers and get ready for dinner.

Novi Sad's Petrovaradin Fortress on the Danube River.

The view of Novi Sad from the top of Petrovaradin Fortress.

There was a craft beer bar just down the street from us, so we stopped there on our way to dinner. The beer was just ok, but it was inexpensive so we couldn’t complain too much. We went to a little Serbian restaurant for dinner. It was pretty good, but we were a little skeptical at first because no one seemed to be there when we arrived at quarter to eight. However, by the time we left around nine the place was packed. I guess people eat late here. Full of food and couple beers we called it a night and returned to the apartment. We would be leaving the next day for Belgrade. It was a short stop, but I feel like we saw a lot of Novi Sad. It was a nice city.

Novi Sad's town square at night.