A ‘Former Yugoslavia Rail Adventure’ continues, with visits to Serbia, Macedonia and Kosovo

After touring Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro in May 2016 (see Feb. ’17, pg. 6), my “Former Yugoslavia Rail Adventure” with Explore! continued to Serbia.

Serbia

The train journey from Podgorica, Montenegro, to Belgrade is long — 11 hours long — but it is considered to be one of the most scenic routes in Europe. By the time our group arrived in Belgrade, I admit that I was antsy, but the scenery was, indeed, fantastic.

In Belgrade, we spent three nights at Hotel Prag, enjoying 2½ days of sightseeing. It was the longest stay of any stop on our tour. 

On the morning after our arrival, our local tour guide met us at our hotel, which was well located, with many of Belgrade’s key sights within walking distance. (The only problem with touring on foot is the hills. Belgrade is chock-full of steep ups and downs.) 

During our morning sightseeing tour, our guide made stops and provided interesting commentary at Sveti Marko Church; the National Assembly and other nearby government buildings; Trg Republike, with its bordering National Museum and National Theatre buildings, and the Church of St. Sava, a magnificent but, as yet, unfinished structure. Most of the group then took a long hike to our next stop, while a few of us (like myself) took a taxi. 

We reconvened in Stari Grad (Old Town) at the foot of Knez Mihailova, Belgrade’s lively, pedestrian street with its multitude of cafés, restaurants and exclusive shops. Our guide led us through Kalemegdan Park, an extensive and well-maintained hunk of greenery with plenty of snack stands plus playground equipment, clowns and a miniature train ride. 

We passed the outer walls of the Belgrade Fortress on our way to the terrace above the junction of the Sava and Danube rivers for the panoramic views of Belgrade, its waterways and its bridges. 

The tour ended with the guide encouraging us to take some time to explore Belgrade Fortress. Dmitri, one of our Explore! guides, told us that we had free time for the rest of the day, so I took the local guide’s advice and spent some time wandering inside the walls of the fortress. 

Later, outside in the neighborhood, I made photo stops at St. Michael’s Cathedral and the Residence of Princess Ljubica before strolling back down Knez Mihailova until I reached the elegant Hotel Moskva with its cream-colored facade and green ceramic decorations. I then turned downhill and headed back to Hotel Prag to rest.

That evening, Dmitri and Elena, the other Explore! guide, had a real treat for our group. They escorted us to Skadarska (or Skadarlija), a cobblestoned strip that is the heart of Belgrade’s nightlife. At Dva Jelena (Skadarska 32), we were feted with a typical Serbian meal, including music and dancing.

A few more Belgrade sights

Our second day in Belgrade was reserved for a full-day excursion to the city of Novi Sad, Serbia’s laid-back town where the Exit Festival, a music festival that was started as a student social movement in 2000, takes place each year. Novi Sad is a big city, but the most interesting areas, for me, were the Petrovaradin Citadel and the pedestrian thoroughfare called Zmaj Jovina. 

After a 90-minute train ride from Belgrade, we arrived at Novi Sad’s railway station, where our local guide met us. She took the group by public bus to Petrovaradin Citadel, where the views from its terrace, with a unique clock tower, were terrific. The guide shared many interesting stories as we investigated the grounds. 

Next, we traveled to Zmaj Jovina. On a long walk, we admired the colorful architecture and made stops for more detailed visits at the Bishop’s Palace, the Serbian Orthodox church and Liberty Square. 

At the end of the day, we returned to Belgrade for dinner and our third night at Hotel Prag.

In the tour’s original itinerary, our third day in Belgrade was scheduled as free time for the full day, ending with an overnight train journey to Skopje, Macedonia. However, because of recent flooding, the train was not in operation. So we went with Plan B. The group had a half-day of free time in Belgrade followed by an 8-hour bus journey to Skopje. 

I found the change in the plan to be fortuitous. I don’t know about you, but I would rather spend eight hours in daylight on a bus than 12 hours on an overnight train. 

I used my free time to take a walk past the University of Belgrade and Studentski Park, headed for the Ethnographic Museum. There I spent a couple of happy hours viewing the well-planned displays of artifacts, clothing and full-size dioramas of furnished rooms complete with dressed mannequins representative of earlier eras in Serbia.

Macedonia

Our hotel in Skopje, OK Hotel, was converted from a section of an old hospital. We arrived pretty late, and most were too exhausted to worry about dinner, but Dmitri took the few of us (including me) who were hungry to a place frequented by locals that was just behind the hotel. We had a basic dinner out on the patio.

In the morning, I awoke to a view from my window of the Millennium Cross in the hills. 

Our morning guided tour began at Tvrdina Kale Fortress. After a brief exploration of the fortress and taking in the panoramic views from its walls, we began a leisurely walk downhill into C˘aršija, the old section of Skopje that houses the main historic sights. 

We made brief stops for photos at Sveti Spas Church, Bit Pazar (a busy market selling anything and everything) and Mustafa Pasha Mosque before reaching the town’s ancient domed hammam (Turkish bath) that marks the border of C˘aršija. 

Crossing Kameni Most (Stone Bridge), we entered Ploštad Makedonija, Skopje’s main square. There were statues, monuments, gleaming buildings and evidence of construction everywhere. Only the Skopsko sign atop a building in the midst of the square was familiar from my visit 10 years before. 

The group made a brief visit to the new Holocaust Memorial Center, where we saw a short documentary film. The experience was emotional and moving.

The morning tour over, our local guide recommended a visit to the nearby Memorial House of Mother Teresa and the Museum of the City of Skopje. The museum is housed in the old train station, and the hands of the clock in front of the building are locked on 5:17, the time at which Skopje’s great earthquake struck on the morning of July 26, 1963. 

Dmitri declared free time, and I started by following the local guide’s advice. For the rest of the afternoon, I wandered around near Ploštad Makedonija and crossed back into C˘aršija while exercising my camera shutter. 

That evening, Dmitri and Elena once again hosted an included dinner, this time at the National Restaurant Makedonska Kuka (Str. Mitropolit Teodosij Gologanov, near Alumina), where we enjoyed a typical Macedonian meal.

Bitola and beyond

The next morning, the 13th day of our tour, we were again on a train, this time journeying south to the city of Bitola. Upon our arrival, a bus took us directly to Heraclea Lyncestis, an important archaeological site. The Roman ruins and the beautiful mosaics there were well preserved and impressive. 

Returning to Bitola, the group was given an orientation of the town during our stroll down its pedestrianized Širok Sokak. We saw colorful facades and much evidence of the city’s Ottoman-era sophistication. 

For a pleasant change, our night’s accommodation was on the edge of nearby Pelister National Park at Hotel Sator. 

Our time in Macedonia was nearing its end, and there was just one more city on our itinerary there — and what a jewel Ohrid, on the shore of gorgeous, shimmering Lake Ohrid, was! 

Dmitri and Elena were both from the area, and they were bursting with pride. 

On arrival, we got a view of Car Samoil’s Castle, in the hills above the city. In the afternoon, our tour leaders became our guides, and we stopped for photos or visits at several sites, including Gorna Porta (Upper Gate); the classical amphitheater; Plaošnik, and Sveti Jovan Kaneo Monastery, set on an isolated cliffside that juts into the lake.

We took our last evening meal in Macedonia at the Restoran Belvedere (Kej Marsal Tito No. 2), where our included dinner consisted of local fish specialties. 

Continuing to Kosovo

The next day was the penultimate day of our “Former Yugoslavia” tour. We would be heading back north for a night’s stay in Pristina, the capital of Europe’s newest nation, Kosovo. 

After a relaxing drive, with a stop for a pleasant, long lunch, we reached the Macedonia-Kosovo border. About an hour later, in the early evening, we reached Pristina. 

This final portion of the tour was constructed so that the group would end in the last of the seven current countries that comprised Tito’s Yugoslavia, but no sightseeing was scheduled. The tour officially ended after breakfast the next morning, and most of the participants were soon on their way to the airport and homeward bound shortly thereafter. At least our final hotel was a real winner. 

The Hotel Garden was a new, stylish 4-star property near Pristina’s bus station. After we checked in, Dmitri got some restaurant advice from the hotel’s concierge. Although each group member would need to make their own way back to the hotel after dinner, Dmitri arranged for our bus driver to take us to a spot near the historical area of the city from which we could walk to the recommended restaurant. So at least we got to see a tiny bit of Pristina on the way to dinner. 

Established inside an old Turkish home, Liburnia (Meto Bajraktari) was tastefully decorated and a popular place favored by locals. I ordered a meal of seasonal specialties.

On my own

When I reviewed the tour itinerary before booking, I viewed the lack of sightseeing in Pristina as a weakness, so I booked an extra night at Hotel Garden. The day that the tour formally ended became an extra day for me to see what I could see.

When researching Kosovo prior to the tour, I read that the city of Prizren, less than a 2-hour bus ride south of Pristina, was a charming and picturesque destination. So, early on the morning of my extra day, I hopped on a bus, at Pristina’s bus station, bound for Prizren. The drive was interesting because it gave me a sense of life in nonurban Kosovo. 

Prizren turned out to be as charming and picturesque as advertised. I appreciated the chance to see the sights, including the Kaljaja (Fortress), overlooking the town from on high; the Orthodox Church of the Virgin of Ljeviš, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the old Ottoman bridge; the Clock Tower; the Archaeological Museum (a former hammam); Shadervan; Sinan Pasha Mosque, and three churches that signified Prizren’s multiculturalism. 

I returned to Pristina late in the afternoon and decided that I had enough energy, and that there was enough daylight left, to sample some of the attractions of Pristina, itself. 

I took a taxi to the Newborn Monument, the iconic symbol of Kosovo’s hard-earned independence. From there I walked to the Zahir Pajaziti Monument, then strolled along Bulevardi Nënë Tereza, Pristina’s lively pedestrian street. Toward the end of the street, I took pictures of the National Theatre, the Skanderbeg Monument and Ibrahim Rugova Square. 

Hopefully, you can tell from my enthusiasm that I think Explore! (phone, in the US, 800/715-1746, www.exploreworldwide.com) has a genuine winner in this tour. The “Former Yugoslavia Rail Adventure” allows its participants to explore these less-visited countries of Southeastern Europe and enjoy the blossoming and revitalization of their distinct traditions and cultures.

The details

The basic cost of the tour was $2,098, and I additionally paid a single supplement of $386 plus $503 for airfare from London to Ljubljana, with return from Pristina. Also, I paid separately for my international airfare to London. 

Explore! requires its clients to purchase travel insurance, so, for $217, I purchased a policy that met their minimum coverage requirements from Arch Insurance Solutions, Inc. (New York, NY; 877/722-1959, www.archinsurancesolutions.com). 

In most areas of the Balkans, food was very reasonably priced. All breakfasts were included in the tour price, as were three special dinners. Independently purchased dinners that included two courses and a nonalcoholic drink generally ran $10-$12 per meal. Lunches cost about half that much.

This tour offered a quality itinerary at a reasonable cost. With the area having so much to offer in terms of amazing scenery and landscape, fascinating history, ancient ruins and historical architecture, I don’t think the tour can fail to fascinate even the most experienced traveler.