After a busy first day during our trip to the Balkans, we decided to visit another city in Serbia. Our plan was to leave relatively early and visit Novi Sad as a day trip.

Novi Sad is Serbia’s second largest city and just an hour and a half away from Belgrade. We took a bus to get there which was pretty cheap but not the most comfortable ride. Lucas didn’t seem to mind and ended up sleeping during most of the way there and back.

Here are some of the things we did:

• Novi Sad Synagogue
• Strolled around the city center
• Petrovaradin Fortress
• Novi Sad City Museum 

The Novi Sad Synagogue was on my list of things to see during our visit. I noticed it while passing by on the bus to the city center. It also happens to be right across from the Nov Sad Tourist Informaton Center. FYI- The synagogue is no longer in use and is currently used for concerts and events.

The synagogue is a very nice building. It’s hard to see in a photo since large trees (directly in front) made it practically impossible to photograph from across the street.

Once inside the grounds, we couldn’t figure out a way into the synagogue. Kim and I were told that the synagogue was open until 2:00pm and I wanted to see what it was like inside so we walked around, looking for a way in. We found an open door on the side and Kim peaked in. She saw some musicians practicing. Right after this a man came over to us and said the synagogue was not open for visitors today due to the music practice. We only had this day in Novi Sod so visiting some other time was not possible.

I decided to go in for a look around. The musicians didn’t seem to mind and some even smiled when they saw me. The synagogue appeared to be well taken care and in excellent condition inside.  It was definitely worth stopping in for a quick look.

Novi Sad’s city center is much smaller than Belgrade’s. It’s also was much quieter in terms of foot traffic/ people walking around. We spent some time wandering  around the city center and also visited a couple of shops. I found the architecture similar to that of Belgrade’s but some of the buildings were even more impressive. Kim and I didn’t buy anything but couldn’t resist getting Lucas a little bag to keep his travel toys together in.

We got our first glimpse of Petrovaradin Fortress while still on the bus  into the city. The best views of the fort are when you are driving in and out of the area. You could really get an idea of just how big the fort is. The fort was a really fun place to explore. There are great views of the Danube River from the top as well as views of the roads below. You can also get an idea of how thick the fort’s walls are. Inside, we saw some cafes, art galleries and a small museum. I would’ve liked some more time here but it was toward the end of our visit and going up and down steps with a stroller got old pretty quickly.

Our last stop of the day was to the Novi Sad City Museum. The museum was very small and did a good job mainly explaining the fort. It also had an exhibit about other forts within Serbia. The museum talked about the importance of the fort and also had some old weapons and other interesting artifacts on display. The most interesting item was a canoe or boat that was made from a hollowed out, humongous tree. Overall, I found the museum worth a quick visit.

That wraps up day 2 of our trip to the Balkans. Check back for more about the trip in future posts!