The Beginning.

Bright eyed and bushy tailed we all rolled out of bed, ready for the start of our 3 week road trip. Maybe not so bright eyed or bushy tailed, but we were on the bus at 9, headed for the third largest city in Serbia.  About one and a half hours into the trip we sensed a foul order, about two minutes later, we were pulled over on the side of the road. Mind you, the heat wave has yet to break, so as we wait for the replacement bus, we have to face the tough decision of standing outside in the beating heat (this heat wave is never ending) or sitting on the bus in the shade without air conditioning. After an hour of waiting our new bus arrived. We forged on to Nis.

Prior to arriving in Nis we made two quick stops. First we stopped at a local archeological dig site. Here is where Roman Emperors came to relax in the summer. It is also said that the Emperor Constantine was born here (A picture of his bust above on the left). This area was a work in progress, they have hopes of opening a museum in 2013. We then headed to Skull Tower (part of the tower, above right). This monument is very grim, but helps to show the rough past of the region. Skull Tower was once a large cement tower of over 900 skulls cemented together. Today there are about 100 skulls left. The skulls were from the Serbs killed in the 1809 Battle of Cegar.
 

In all honestly I was shocked upon arrival. We were told this was the third largest city in Serbia, in my opinion it was about as big as my town back home. After dropping our stuff in our rooms and setting the air conditioning on high (this is the first time with AC since being home, sorry Mom and Dad that our AC is broken, and you all have to deal with the heat wave back there), we headed to the pedestrian area. So far, I have realized that despite the size of the town, there is always a strip of outdoor cafes, that is one thing I will miss, being able to sit down and watch people pass as I enjoy the company of friends and sip a nice Turkish Coffee (or whatever the local coffee is called, its hard to be politically correct for all the countries).  On the street, Mladen led us to a traditional Serbian restaurant. The food was amazing.

Once dinner was over we headed back to the hotel for naps. Later in the night we all met up on the pedestrian street, and enjoyed the nice weather, the beautiful location, and each other’s company.