We had heard great things about the Three Black Cats Hostel. A small black cat on the intercom let us know we had reached the right place. Pressing the buzzer, the large black metal door swung open. We squeezed into a lift that had clearly seen better days and slowly made our way up to the fourth floor. As we neared the hostel, we began hearing strange sounds - grotesque grunts and groans. Walking through the open hostel door, the source of the grunting became apparent. A small group of travellers were sat around a table watching Star Wars. The hyper drive was failing and Chewbacca was growling and grunting as he struggled to gain control. Unfortunately for us, the staff seemed more interested in watching Chewbacca than checking us in.
We were eventually shown to our room, only to find the bed linen hadn't been changed since the last occupants. "I'll change it later. Come and watch the film" were not words any of us wanted to hear. Danny had all manner of laptop paraphernalia on his bunk, which he chose to dump on the floor. Inspecting our bed linen closer, we decided it was unwise to linger any longer, due to a real danger of infestation. Ravenous, we went in search of food. A lack of vegetarian alternatives meant I was soon munching on greasy ham Burek. This was followed up by a generous slice of pizza. Our hunger satisfied, we sat down and had a cold beer. Catz was keen to sample the nightlife but Danny and I were in desperate need of an early night. Thankfully, the staff had found time between Star Wars episodes to change the bed linen and we all got a decent nights sleep.
The following morning, we booked a night train to Budapest, before exploring the Kalemegdan Citadel. Host to some 115 battles, the Citadel is located on a hill between the junction of the Sava and Danube Rivers. As we explored the parkland that makes up the upper Citadel, Catz did his usual thing of attracting the local weirdo. An elderly lady seemed intent at shouting at anyone that she encountered, and one of these people just happened to be Catz. We quickened our pace and managed to outmanoeuvre her amongst the countless walls that make up the Citadel. At the top of the hill we found a beer terrace where we stopped for a nice pint of Lav.
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Catz is exhausted having escaped yet another weirdo |
Danny and Catz - Kalemegdan Citadel |
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As we reached the Eastern side of the Citadel we stumbled upon Belgrade zoo. The zoo is not listed in Lonely Planet and we soon discovered why. Built in 1936, the zoo is one of the oldest in Europe. Some 2000 animals are squeezed into just 6 acres of land, caged within the concrete ruins of the Citadel. It was obvious that most of the animals were distressed and it was sad to see. |
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As we left the Citadel we passed numerous stalls selling everything from popcorn to old foreign currency. One banknote caught my eye. It was worth 500 billion dinar. The stall owner explained to us that during the 1990's, economic sanctions and gross mishandling of the economy led to the worst hyper inflation in European history. Bank notes became so worthless that it became cheaper to use them to paper walls rather than buy wallpaper, and smaller notes were only printed on one side to save ink. |
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That evening we made our way back to the train station, ready for our first ever night train experience. As Catz enjoyed a fag, Danny and I boarded the train. We found our numbered carriage and were surprised to find four sleeping berths. This was an unexpected luxury. All the lights were off and there was seemingly no one else onboard. Catz hadn't noticed us board the train, and we watched as he frantically searched for us. Stubbing out his cigarette, he limped back and forth along the platform in a desperate attempt to find us. Knocking on the window, we put him out of his misery, and he was soon boarding the train along with the other passengers. Just as we had settled into our sleeping berths we were disturbed by a station official. "You are not first class" he said. Bugger. We had got the wrong cabin. Grabbing our stuff, we hurried along the train to the third class carriages. We eventually found a cabin with three spare seats. |
Finding the correct platform wasn't easy |
Catz discovers we have to leave our first class cabin |
Danny got the rough deal. He was sandwiched between a chain smoker, and a younger chap, who literally could not stop staring at him. A glance to his left and a glance to his right, and then a look of sheer disgust towards us almost had me and Catz on the floor in fits of giggles. Danny gradually grew in confidence, coughing loudly and waving smoke away from his face. As time went by, his confidence grey further still. "Are you alright" asked Catz, suppressing a huge smirk. "No. I'm not alright" replied Danny. "I’ve got this dick head blowing smoke in my face and this guy can't stop looking at me". This put Catz and I into uncontrollable fits of laughter. To our surprise, Danny then spoke to the chain smoker. "Is that your bag?" he asked, pointing to a large bag resting against Danny's legs. "Yes" replied the chain smoker. "Can you move it please" asked Danny. "It too heavy" replied the chain smoker. With that, Danny got up and hoisted the bag above his head and into the over head compartment. The guy to Danny's left was now even more wide eyed. This was better than any in flight movie, and Catz and I were most disappointed to see both men leave the train at the next station.
With the carriage to ourselves, we played a few hands of cheat before getting some sleep. We were woken up at the Hungarian border. There's something very disconcerting about a large Hungarian man with a beard leaning over you in the middle of the night. Thankfully the only thing he wanted to see was our passports. As we neared Budapest, Danny farted. Only he didn't just fart. He followed through. This didn't come as a surprise to Catz and I. Danny had only bought one bottle of water during the entire journey. Ever true to his motto "look after the pennies and the pounds will look after you", Danny had refilled this bottle from any water source he could find - fountains were a particular favourite of his. Danny was asking to get the shits. And now he had them. The stench was unbearable. Danny waddled down the carriage towards the toilet. He returned with his boxer shorts in his hands. "What have you still got those for" Catz reasoned. "Look after the pennies and the pounds..." started Danny. "Danny, throw them away" interrupted Catz. To the disgust of Catz, Danny proceeded to wrap his soiled underwear in a plastic bag and put them back in his backpack. Thankfully there was not far to go and we were soon at our final destination, Budapest. We had done it. Twelve countries in fourteen days. Next (Hungary)
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