Belgrade

Wednesday, May 28

This morning, we began by walking the short length of Skadarlija, the narrow street billed as the city's bohemian quarter.  It was quiet at the start of the day, but we understand that it doesn't stay that way once the restaurants fill, the pubs open, and the music starts.

 We continued on several blocks through downtown to see the large St. Mark's Orthodox Church.  Under its five domes are important icons and the tomb of the Serbian Emperor Dusan the Mighty (14th century).

We arrived at Republic Square, in front of the National Museum and the Opera House, to join the city's walking tour.  For close to three hours, we walked through the old parts of the city and learned a bit about its history, culture, and contemporary life from our young guide, Mina, who loves her city and is eager to have others know and love it, too.  She shared  some of Skadarlija's lore as we wandered there before moving on to see the one remaining mosque in this city that once had 200.  We moved through Dorcol, an old neighborhood, and made our way to Kalemegdan, the landmark fortress we'd visited yesterday.

 Like the fortress, Belgrade itself has seen much warfare and destruction; other than the fortress, though, the oldest buildings of the city are actually not very old.  Among the things we took in while at Kalemegdan, were landmarks along the riverfront below the fortress.  Mina showed us the city's most important bridge, which connects it to New Belgrade.  During the 1999 Serbian - Kosovo conflict, NATO's bombing of the city included civilian as well as military targets.  When the warning sirens signaled approaching attacks, the citizens gathered on the bridge to shield it with their presence.  They brought musicians and a festive atmosphere ensued, so it's now referred to as the Party Bridge!

After the tour, we visited the beautiful St. Michael's Orthodox Cathedral and then just sat for a while in the shade of the Students' Square near our apartment.  Deciding that we were pretty "walked out", we called it quits mid-afternoon and headed to our digs for some R and R.

Tonight, we had another of those experiences that make travel so special.  Our niece, Eileen has friends in New York who are from Belgrade.  Dusan Lakic and his mother Vesna had each given us lots of information to help us plan our trip, and shortly before we left we found out that Vesna and her other son Milos would be in Belgrade while we were here!  Though they arrived at midnight last night, and we're leaving in the morning, we were able to connect this afternoon and make plans to meet for dinner this evening.  We sat outside on a street lined with lively restaurants and cafes and had a fine dinner of Serbian dishes.  The best part of all, though, was the opportunity to spend time with Vesna and Milos, talk to them about some of the things we've seen, learn about this country from the inside, and make two new friends.  As we learned on our visit with Spaso's family in Nis, Serbian hospitality is extraordinary; though we had invited Vesna and Milos for dinner, unbeknownst to us, they took care of the check, insisting that this is how guests in their city are treated.  It was simply amazing and a terrific end to our visit to Serbia!