Sept 15 - Down to the Niš bus station, to sit around amongst the chain-smokers in the waiting area. Aside from the smoke, we do make a note that the station is really very clean, people to seem to take care of public places in this town. For some reason, there are a lot of helicopters moving back and forth over this airspace, and at one point, a group of parachuters can be seen descending to the west at the local airport.
It is about three hours north through valleys and gentle hills. Much more forgiving terrain than much of what we passed through in BiH and Montenegro just west of here. It is dark and stormy for much of the ride, summer is officially over in the Balkans.
Belgrade has a population of about 1.4 million, the largest urban center we’ve visited since Vienna. As such, it is by far the largest city within the original borders of Yugoslavia. It was, in fact, the capital, and continued to function as the de-facto capital for some time after Yugoslavia began to fragment in 1991. The densely populated older core district, thick with multistory buildings, is where our apartment is tucked away. About every ten minutes a military jet screams overhead, but the middle of downtown seems to me a strange place for them to pass so low. “They should be stopping that tomorrow” our host assures us as she hands us keys to the flat.
We eat at a sushi place owned by a Cuban family, then walk around our small part of the city.
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