I slept in on a beautiful sunny Saturday morning since the drive to Belgrade was less than two hours — the scenic back road route to avoid tolls! And it was nice to have the sunshine on the drive since I’ve had heavy fog every morning for the last few days. Central Serbia is still very flat and focused on farming.
I arrived in Belgrade about 10 am and was able to check into my apartment early. It was a beautiful and modern new building with underground parking. Conveniently, there was also a grocery store and other shops on the ground floor. The room is spectacular and I’m happy to stay for two nights!
After I got settled, I walked to the city center. There was some type of festival today with lots of activities for children. Roller blade and scooter races in the street, bounce houses, dance performances, etc.
I enjoyed a delicious salad with grilled “Miroč” cow cheese, grilled pear, walnuts, and pomegranate dressing for lunch.
Afterwards, I connected with my afternoon “free” tour group nearby. About 15 folks from around the world, including a 50-ish “Yoko Ono” with a Julia Child voice! And she must have taken 500 selfies during the 2.5 hour tour.
Our guide, Duschon, was good, not great. He did have a few funny lines, but the tour was actually pretty boring compared to many others I’ve taken.
We started in The Republic Square, a common meeting place for locals. They generally say, “Let’s meet at the Horse,” referring to the Prince Michael of Serbia bronze statue in the square. The Prince became ruler upon the departure of the conquering Ottomans when they finally left in 1867. Unfortunately, the Prince didn’t get long to reign – he died in 1868.
The Communists took over after WWII and remained in power until 1990. And it’s very easy to pick out the Soviet era architecture – all of it bland and utilitarian!
Serbia has been officially named the Principality of Serbia (1815–1882), the Kingdom of Serbia (1882–1918), the People’s Republic of Serbia (1945–1963), and the Socialist Republic of Serbia (1963–1990), before becoming the Republic of Serbia in 1990. The state’s name also changed as part of larger federations, such as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) and later the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2003), which became Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006).
- Belgrade was actually destroyed a total of 44 times throughout its history! Sounds like a lot of rebuilding, and that’s why the architecture is all over the map. No two buildings alike!
- Serbia uses both the Cyrillic and the Latin alphabets. So if you want to be confused, come here!
- The city’s bohemian quarter, Skadarlija, is known for its traditional restaurants, bars, and vibrant atmosphere.
- Christmas is celebrated on January 7th, 13 days later than December 25, because Serbia uses the Julian calendar.
Belgrade Fortress
one of four we saw on our tour!
Gggg
the only mosque remaining in the city
I have seen a green Turkish flag a number of times along my travels (unlike the actual red Turkish flag).
This green version is the flag of European Turkey. Turks and muslims of the Balkans still use it, especially on religious and some national important days when you can see the green flag hanged on mosques and other important buildings in the Balkans. Many Turks in Turkey with their roots in the Balkans will keep a green flag in their homes and especially in their hearts to remember the homelands they left in the Balkans. Many are also confident to raise it again when we’ll return.
Dinner tonight was a simple “in the room affair” – fresh bread, butter, jam, meat, and cheese. Cheap and good. Sure would have been nice to have a decent bread knife…
Before you go…
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” — Wayne Gretzky
A Captain’s Adventures 