To Veles By Train

Or how 4.5 hours with an almost-three-year-old can be more tiring than I thought.

The train is scheduled to leave in 10 minutes, and I still haven’t found the entrance to the station. I know it has to be around here somewhere. And why can’t I see train tracks? Are you kidding me?! I have been living in this city for over a year now, and even though I’ve never traveled by train before, I certainly should be able to locate the station!

I frantically call my friend who is already there waiting for me. She has my ticket and is standing at track two. The train has arrived, so I must hurry. I should be able to find the entrance in the tunnel.

As I later find out, the train tracks are above the tunnel structure. But that is no help to me now. Under the tunnel is a six-lane road with two traffic lights on each side. I make a wild guess as to which side of the road I have to be on. I wait for the lights to turn green and run. When I pass a dark hole with a dark empty space behind it, my gut tells me this is the entrance.

I go in. Still no signs.

The escalator is not working – of course. I run up two stairs, pass a ticket booth and emerge on the platform of track two. My worried frown turns into a smile. I made it!

°°°

We jokingly decided to travel to Veles by train last week. There is nothing to do there; It’s a sleepy and polluted town. But as they say, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. I had never traveled by train before in Macedonia, neither had the almost-three-year-old son of my friend. It was going to be an adventure!

I was rather enthralled. Traveling by train is very normal in my home country, both for commuting and for day trips. But this is not the case in Macedonia, so I was curious. While driving through the mountains, I had seen the tracks down in the valley next to the river, but I’d never seen a passenger train… ever. I once scared Boyfriend – who was driving – into a near accident when I saw a train gliding through the country side and let out an involuntary loud, exciting shriek. It turned out to be a freight train though. We got into a fight and the train wasn’t even worth it.

°°°

We enter the train which consists of two wagons. The compartments are on one side of the passageway and have six seats. The train is very full and there are just a few seats left, but we manage to squeeze into a compartment with four women.

It’s very hot inside. We take off our jackets and sweaters and open the window at every stop. I stuff my shoulder bag between the cracks of the seat cushion as good as it gets, trying to block the hot air which originates from beneath the seat. But to no avail. I alternately move my legs from left to right, depending on how I think I can dodge the hot air best. The old lady across from me is constantly wiping her forehead with a paper towel.

So far, this trip certainly reaches up the expectations of being an adventure!

In the meantime, the little boy is all around. He doesn’t seem to be bothered by the heat at all. He will not sit still. Not for five seconds – literally. Even though he accidentally kicks lady 1, stains the pants of lady 2 and falls into the lap of lady 3 when the train suddenly jerks to a halt, he keeps bustling around without a pause.

After about an hour, we arrive in Veles, all flustered and ready for some fresh air. Why again was I so excited to travel with this train? I barely had time to look outside, between trying to keep my arm pits dry and not get hit by mini-sized boots with dinosaurs on them.

Veles is how I remember it from an earlier visit to drop off a friend: gray, smelly and lacking a center-as-we-know-it. We walk around in search for a place to drink a cup of coffee. Well, we saunter. Walking is not really a word you can use while going around with a boy who is interested in everything from stains on the wall to colorful shoes behind a shop window. Just as well, I suppose, it’s not as if we are in a rush.

After a rather tasty and certainly cheap coffee in a restaurant (costing the equivalent of 47 eurocent), we buy some snacks in a small stall and head back to the station. The message that the train has thirty minutes delay doesn’t bother us. The sun is shining and we’ve got an entertaining little boy with us who is still not tired of running around and proves this by alternately going on a quest and returning to us to receive a new snack.

On the way from Skopje to Veles, we still had high hopes to have a compartment for us alone, but after one look at the filled platform, we know we won’t be so lucky. As it turns out, this train is indeed just as crowded. But we have the luck on our side, it’s not a sauna this time! Though I could have done with some more leg space. The open grouping of two-seaters on each side of the corridor is rather tight. Especially for three people on one seat, even though one of us is small.

The dirty windows provide even less opportunity to look outside, but I do catch glimpses of the admirable arch bridges which are part of the highway. It provides a whole other perspective on the landscape, just as I had hoped.

Back in Skopje, I step out of the dark hole into the fume-filled tunnel with a big sigh and a smile on my face. This is indeed another adventure to add to my been-there-done-that-list. I’m not disappointed! When I arrive home half an hour later, I really need a nap. A look at the clock tells me it’s only 14:30. Who knew traveling by train could be so tiring…

Do you also want to take a train from Skopje to Veles?
According to the current timetable, valid until 10.12.2011, trains leave at:
06:05, 06:48, 09:00, 13:20, 14:30, 15:20, 16:40, 17:00, 19:20, 19:43, 22:40 and 02:25.
Travel time may vary, just as the ticket price. My return ticket for the 09:00 train cost 120MKD,
equivalent of €1,80. Expect a trip to last between 45 and 70 minutes.