Above: Subotica synagogue in the daylight next morning.
Bus ride to the border
My time at Nepliget station went surprisingly quickly as I explored the optimum way of spending my last little bit of Hungarian forints, then boarded the full-sized bus about 20 mins before departure. I was surprised to find it perhaps one-quarter full.
The ride to the border at Roszke took about 2h. It took us about 15 mins to get out of the city and from there it was an awesome highway (unlit) all the way, without a turn!
Border crossing
On the Hungarian side, there was a line for cars (long), another for buses (nearly none) and a third for trucks (super-long). Unfortunately, cars and trucks partially obstructed our access to the bus lane.
Even though we got to the border queue around 2100, we finally reached the Hungarian checkpoint at 2140. We had to wait for the bus in front to be completely processed. Then we waited while staff smoked and drank coffee in front of us! We were finally let into the checkpoint office for processing at 2225. The processing was swift and we were let through to Serbia at 2335.
I was surprised that the Hungarians were quite strict with inspection of exiting cars, eg. opening their boots. Normally, authorities don’t care as much about what people take out of the country. And the human smuggling southbound isn’t much of a concern. So I wonder why.
On the Serbian side, with no queueing, we were done in 5 mins at the road barrier without having to enter the office.
Arriving in Subotica
It was another 30 min drive to get to Subotica station, which was dead quiet after 2300 (about half hour later than scheduled). I didn’t see any ATMs and had no Serbian dinars. There was one taxi that didn’t hit me up for a ride. Another that I approached was already booked. I decided to walk the 15 mins to the Garni Hotel, reaching it about 30 mins before the reception closed.
I asked the receptionist if Subotica was pronounced as “Subotitsa” or “Subotika”. She said I was the only foreigner didn’t assume the latter! The former is the correct pronunciation!
Around midnight, I settled into bed. This is my latest night so far. I thought about the bus ride and how it could possibly be economic for the bus company. Two drivers, working from about 0600 ex Belgrade and returning to Belgrade around 0145 next day. The company maintains an apartment in Budapest for a long turnaround rest from 1315 (subject to border congestion) to 1900.