Day 224 – EU – Serbia [Rest Day in Nis]

03/10/20

 Rest day in Nis (Serbia, Europe)

Lovely summery day in beautiful Nis, a perfect end to an otherwise very contrasted week

Nis, 3rd largest city of Serbia, is a truly beautiful and pleasant city. Today’s weather was perfect to enjoy a stroll. I went around the old city’s streets, by the river banks and into the Nis Fortress gardens, the lively city centre and its many bars and restaurants. I enjoyed a lunch outdoors, taking in all the sun and warmth, it felt like the end of summer, everyone was outside.

It is only my 4th day in Serbia and I am agreeably surprised how warm the welcome is. From the 1st day in the country, where I ran into Vlasina Rid under rain and hail storm in the cold, where I was welcomed by a host who brought me food for free. To the subsequent hosts who all went out of their way to ensure I was ok and that if I needed anything they were a phone call away. It feels good to be in this country. I am being looked after!

I spent quite a while re-working my itinerary for the autumn/winter in Europe. I am still working towards a finish in Istanbul by the end of February / beginning of March. But as you all know there are many unknown. Europe is going through the second wave of Covid19, the situation is changing every day. I sort of have a fixed plan, stage by stage, till mid-January. By then, the finish to Istanbul will depend on whether Hungary still operates with closed borders or if it is possible to run through it. Here is the map of the plan, with key dates, as of today.