🇩🇪 -> 🇷🇸 With Flixbus From Hamburg To Belgrade

I get up in the morning: Today I need to get my coach from Hamburg ZOB to start my journey towards Belgrade. It's been a month already since I booked this trip, rather spontaneously. What does Belgrade, and Serbia in general, have to offer? I don't know, so "let's find out!" is what I told myself when booking this trip.

Hamburg ZOB definitely isn't the coziest of all places, so it is really just a place you would want to go to 30 minutes before your coach departs and not often else. Since it's right next to the central train station, you could recommend this place to your enemies for a first visit, if you want them to leave the city as quickly as possible.

But I'm not her wae to discover every corner of the bus station, but rather to get my coach to Berlin, which will be my first stop. It's the Flixbus line 050, which only has 2 stations: Berlin ZOB and Hamburg ZOB.
I've already taken this line in January when I was in Berlin for a weekend trip. Back then, the coach was packed with people. Today its virtually empty – around 10-15 people, spread across 2 decks. I have no allocated seat, so I walk straight up to the second deck, right in front, where I have a panorama view.

But it is not just about the view, but also a task. I love to play a "game" called Kennzeichensammler (license plate collector app), where you collect the areal code of license plates you see on the street, like [D] HH for Hamburg, [D] B for Berlin or [SRB] BG for Belgrade. On my way to Berlin I spot what I would guess were a dozen new license plates.

As is typical for Germany, of course we need a lot of construction sites on our road. So because of that, we arrive in Berlin around an hour late. But since my connection has a layover of around 2 hours, this is actually quite welcome. Berlin ZOB is an hour away from Berlin central train station, a short tour through Berlin wouldn't make any sense now.

The next coach I take, was to Budapest, Hungary. This is probably the most tiring part of the journey, since it was an 11 hour journey, almost exclusively at nighttime. I am lucky enough to have 2 seats for myself, so at around 1 in the morning, I decide to lay down a bit, in a somewhat uncomfortable baby-position. The way I place my head against the window, with a very thin rain jacket becomes uncomfortable very fast. The fact I cannot stretch my legs, makes it no more enjoyable. Somehow, I still fall asleep for a few hours. Not the best sleep I've ever had, but better than nothing.

When I wake up, I look at my phone, on a map. We are almost in Budapest, just 2 more hours to go. Since there were no passengers to get on or off the coach in Brno, Bratislava and Győr, we even arrived half an hour early. I have to kill some 2 hours somehow, yet again. Since the bus station seems quite central, I am thinking, weather I should lock my luggage somewhere and discover the city a bit, but I decide against it. I'm afraid I'll have some problem with the lockers for luggage. I instead spend the next 2 hours at the bus station's building. I just watch the people walk by and exchange a few messages with my friends at home.

When it's time to get to the right terminal, I find a big group of Americans on a guided tour. Surely, they must be here for another destination and not Belgrade. Turns out, this thought couldn't be any more wrong. I also see a girl group of mostly German friends my age, that will get into the same coach to Belgrade as me. Let's see, if I'll start a talk with them later on.

This coach is packed. No more free seats. This situation isn't unusual. But what is, is the fact that the coach is almost exclusively American, partially German. There are almost no Serbians or other eastern Europeans in there.

Our first stop: The Hungary-Serbia boarder. When I get off the bus, I'm a bit surprised by the boarder guards. They have some sort of "huge phone" in their hands, which they use to not only scan the passports, but also take a picture of the passport holders face and take fingerprints. I really had no motivation for this procedure. Luckily, it turns out to be a procedure exclusively for our American fellow travelers, that need a visa. People with either a European ID card or passport were let through immediately, no questions asked.

The first city in Serbia, where the coach makes a stop is Novi Sad. It's a lovely town a bit further up the Danube river. Maybe I'll also be making a day trip there during my stay in Serbia. This is also the station where the Americans get off the coach. Now, there's so much space! and Belgrade is just around the corner!!

While I was still in the EU, I used my mobile data to look for the directions from Belgrade bus station to my hostel. It seems like quite an easy task: About 15 minutes to walk. I take a few screenshots, since I won't have internet at first in Serbia. While we have free roaming in the EU, this isn't the case outside the European Union.

Turns out, my planning goes up in flames and leaves nothing but a bit of sad ashes… The coach stops at another station. Without internet, Google Maps refuses to give me directions from here. Luckily, the German friends group is still here, so I ask them, if they can help me out. One of the girls points out, there is free WiFi at the bus station: My salvation!
While buses are free in Belgrade (as far as I've read; I still have to test it out), I decide to walk. Yes, it's now 5 kilometers instead of 1, as I expected before. Yes, it is 35°C. Yes, I do have 2 heavy bags to carry. But if I now look up a bus connection using the free WiFi and then get off at the wrong station, I'm finally lost. So I just let Google calculate my way by foot and start walking.

The first half is quite easy. I feel a bit silly with one backpack in the back and one strapped around me in the front, but I just don't think about my looks in this moment, as I just want to get to my hostel.
What surprises me is the fact that the city looks really modern. It's not as old as I thought it would be.

Right before I am about to cross the Danube bridge, my feet really start hurting. I make a short pause, but I have no other choice than to keep walking after 3 minutes. After I crossed the bridge, where I sadly couldn't enjoy the view because of my tired feet and self, I'm almost there. Just a few more hundred meters.

On the first half of my walk I saw many people take shelter from the sun even behind the smallest of shadows. At first it looked quite funny for me, as I wasn't exhausted yet. But now, that I am, I totally understand them.

Before I get into the hostel, I withdraw some cash, down the street. This, at least works flawlessly and without much of a detour.
Once in the hostel, I check in, get into my room, where I am greeted by another room-mate from Russia called Igor. We chat for an hour or so – a bit in German, a bit in Russian, but mostly in English. After that, he has to leave – and I have to sleep!

! [About me]
I'm Revolwritings. This is my account where I want to share about my travels. If you want to check out my other posts, take a look at my main account (@revolwritings), where all my posts (including this one) get shared and reposted.

I'll be in Belgrade, Serbia for around 2 weeks now. If you're interested in reading more about my journey now, and my future journey, leave a follow!