The update on the "Hellas Express": a journey on the night train from Skopje to Belgrade

With an Interrail Global Pass you can use the train as well as the connecting buses.

There is no surcharge in the seat carriage.

Reservations in the couchette coach cost EUR 6, which is best paid directly to the couchette coach conductor when boarding. Sometimes it is even said to be less, some said that the conductor charged more depending on his mood. Maybe you can bribe him for a private compartment, who knows. Three friends of mine paid 10 EUR for a whole compartment. A little adventure, which I'll tell you about in a moment.

Railway station in Skopje.

The building is actually very functional and sensible. The station and large parts of the city were designed by "Kenzo Tange", a Japanese architect who rebuilt part of the city in so-called "brutalism" after the great earthquake in Skopje. The railway station is located above one of the main thoroughfares, has capacity for I think 8 tracks, which would easily be enough, and below it is the city's main bus station, including long-distance buses. As I said, perhaps not exactly beautiful, but easily accessible in terms of transport, a good station infrastructure with ticket counters and large waiting rooms etc. ... ...

.... Only all this is hardly used. Upstairs, some of the tracks have been removed, the waiting room is hardly used because no trains are departing and even the French Wikipedia article on Skopje's main station says that the escalators don't work. I can say: it's true!

After a short wait, the train arrives. We board the couchette car. Three guesses who is on duty there. The infamous couchette conductor! What luck! And let me tell you: he's in a great mood again... I tried to push my way in a little at first for fear that there might not be enough beds. But that wasn't the case. However, I can't say what would happen if demand really outstripped supply...

There is a blanket but no bed sheet. For the first time on the night train, I sleep on the bare bed. That doesn't bother me so much, but new problems immediately arise. I wanted to ask for a good night's sleep because we were approaching midnight. Jeremy, however, was of the opinion that the border controls would be coming soon and we would be woken up anyway. So it wasn't worth going to bed. There would be "some nice 8 hours sleep afterwards", he said. But I knew for sure that it would take another hour or so, as planned. And that 8 hours would only just be enough for me personally, regardless of the Serbian railway conditions, which would cause the odd noise. It got even better. Jeremy was also of the opinion that we should definitely leave the window open all night because "it gets hot immediately". But we had already cooled down to outside temperature. He turns out to be very selfish. I try to ask if I can change compartments. Jeremy can even understand that and tries to ask the conductor. But of course he doesn't feel like it. I'm a bit annoyed because there were still plenty of free beds in other compartments. There was even a completely empty one further back. What the hell. My expectations are sinking... We stop on the open track. Everyone else in the compartment is chatting animatedly, exchanging Greek and Serbian "raki", a kind of schnapps. We must have stood there for quite a while. A train had broken down in front of us, said the American. It's around half past midnight or 2 a.m. when we get to bed after the border control. Even Jeremy corrects his statement to "some nice 6 hours sleep" - 6 hours sleep. After all, plus the delay. At least I fall asleep quickly.

But not only is it very loud through the open window, at some point I wake up shivering. I put on several jumpers and a jacket, still freezing. I wonder how the others can stand it. And where the heat is supposed to come from that Jeremy talked about when it's night time and only 15 degrees outside. At some point I quietly close the window. When the American wakes up in the morning, he opens it again. I actually sleep quite well for 6 hours, but in the morning I'm very restless and it's cold, so it's a rather used night. Earplugs and a sleeping mask do a good job.

So my tip for windows on night trains (based on experience from more than 20 night train journeys): ventilate properly in the evening! If it's cold then, the train won't heat up on its own. And your body cools down while you sleep anyway.

We arrive in Belgrade-Topcider at around 10.45 am. About 150 minutes late. To be honest, I wonder what the train actually made up for. I was sure that there had been more delays in between.