Getting to Belgrade involved a taxi ride, a bus ride, a tram ride, and some walking, but we eventually made it to our hotel. This batch just shows some of the tram ride. More importantly it starts with fellow traveler Cathy from Australia showing proof of the fact that she and her daughter hike both the Appalachian Train and the Pacific Crest Trail...!
As soon as we arrived we were met by our local tour guide, a fast talking (and walking) fount of information about Serbia and his hometown. Lots of important/famous buildings & people. Long history. Complex culture. (Did you know that Belgrade has been the capital of seven different countries?) And there’s life on the several pedestrian streets we walked along…
Situated at the confluence of three rivers, Belgrade is of geopolitical importance, and of course there’s an ancient fortress with a long history (the white walls explain the name “Belgrade”). What about the naked man statue? What else…?
Our tour ended there at the river, so we walked back through the fortress, stopped for lunch, checked out the Moscow Hotel, and eventually made it back to our hotel…
That evening, several of us ventured out for dinner in a bohemian neighborhood (?) which of course included a few pix…
The next morning – May Day – we started out by visiting the Church of Saint Sava. Lots of impressive mosaics, glittery gold, and godly grandeur. (Sometimes plants eat buildings and restaurants are closed.)
Some of us left the group and went to the Nikola Tesla Museum, which honors Serbia’s greatest inventor. The tour (in English) started with a movie about Tesla’s life, then followed with more explanations and demonstrations of some of Tesla’s discoveries. Not only was it all very well done, but the exhibits we were then allowed to browse through were interesting and not too much. Great man, meaningful ideas, inspiring life…!
Then, we went to the big demonstration that had been planned for the day. Understandably, Intrepid discourages what could be a dodgy activity, so we didn’t push the agenda. However, it was exciting and fun, and not to be missed. The people, students, unions, and a concerned public, were protesting corruption in the Serbian government. Check it out…
After awhile, the horns and whistles became somewhat tedious, so we continued a walk around the city that eventually led back to the fortress and a nice sunset. There was more than a couple street performers and lots of people having a good time…
Finally made it back to the hotel, but since the next day would be mostly on the bus, there was no rush…