Belgrade--The second week: August 28, 2012

Ahhhh!  How lovely it is to explore without sweating.  Sunday night there was a weather change.  Thunder, lightning, rain, and now the weather is a comfortable 24 C (79F).  This is the most comfortable weather we've experienced in the Balkan Peninsula in months.  Monday clouds painted a dramatic sunset. 

The weekend was a different story.  Despite the over 40 degree centigrade (104F) temperatures, Dan and I tramped all over Belgrade.   We went to museums.  The Museum of Applied Arts had an exhibition of 18th-20th century furniture and nothing else.   We went to the Ethnographic Museum to see the Pirot kilims, but only a handful were on display.  Most of the museums seem to be mired in a very long process of renovations that never end.  The highlight and an extremely interesting stop was at the Nikola Tesla Museum.

We took a bus to Zemun and not finding much to keep us there, we walked the several kilometers back to Belgrade.  Along the way, I made Dan pose for yet another portrait in nice light.

I submitted this portrait for my online photography class and while the instructor liked the portrait, he wondered if Dan ever smiled.  The shiny spots are the beads of sweat that kept oozing out of his face.

We visited some notorious landmarks such as the Hotel Jugoslavija where celebrities such as Tina Turner, Richard Nixon, and Queen Elizabeth II have stayed.  In 1999, it became collateral damage as a result of a NATO bomb strike on the adjacent building.  All the windows in the hotel were broken and it has been vacant since.  

We walked through parks.  Sadly, the Botanical Garden is also involved in a long renovation project so most the garden was not very serene.  Near Tashmajdan Park we visited churches and other memorials from the 1999 NATO mission reminding us that children are the innocent victims of war.

It was so hot that afternoon that even ownerless dogs found their way to the shade of the park and kids swam in the fountains.

We've been using our Bradt guide and a Belgrade Restaurant magazine to determine where we will eat.    The magazine critiques restaurants; some are good and some are bad.  One "bad" critique was for a floating restaurant called Dijalog.  The other night when we were taking photos, we discovered Dijalog.  A bad review really sinks the boat in Belgrade.

Mostly, we'e really enjoyed the restaurant selection in Belgrade.  Our only miss was a "Mexican" restaurant called Zapata--the food was okay, but not anywhere close to real Mexican cuisine.  The magazine reviewer liked the food.  Obviously, the reviewer has never tried real Mexican food.

Our time in Belgrade is coming to an end.  Tomorrow the three of us will go to the village of Ecka located about 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Belgrade.  Dan is conducting a "train the trainers" class there for Serbian lawyers.  

Belgrade, Week 1: August 24, 2012

Our first week in Belgrade, Serbia, has come to an end.  So far it seems like a very nice place to live.  There are more than 2 million people in the city, and as a result, there is a lot to offer.  There is a Tourist Office that can advise you as to what is going on or what tours are available.

We're staying in a small apartment in the old city area of Belgrade.  The location is great; it is close to many, many restaurants and transportation choices.  Dan's office is about a 20-minute walk from the apartment which normally wouldn't be so bad, but this week the temperatures have been quite hot.  Today, it is 104F (40C).

From this apartment, we look into the building across the street.  Each day the cat and dog that live in that fourth floor apartment creep onto the small window sill to check out the outdoors.  I don't think Kali has noticed them.

Last weekend, we took a walking tour of the old city on Saturday and on Sunday a bike tour of the rivers and New Belgrade.  The old city of Belgrade is definitely more photogenic than New Belgrade with its many buildings of socialist style architecture.

Some scenes from the photogenic fortress in the old city 

 This statue marks the center of old Belgrade.  It is a meeting point.

 Sights on the pedestrian street

Belgrade sisters - they are dressed exactly alike--even their jewelry

An evening exercise class along the Sava River

I'm impressed with the bike trail which travels the distance of the Danube River through Serbia.  I believe it connects Hungary with the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria.  Serbia's riverfront is vibrant with restaurants, clubs, bicyclists, joggers, fishermen.  It is the perfect place to be at sunset.

I'm keeping busy catching up on emails, reading photography articles, and taking an online photography class.  Fortunately, I have a couple of models, willing or not, available.

When we first arrived at the apartment in Belgrade, Kali immediately began looking for a place to hide. The only safe spot she found was behind the couch where a feather duster had been secreted.  And, that is where she mostly stayed for about 2 days.  Now she has transitioned to her new surroundings and seems to be quite relaxed.

The Sava River at Sunset

Tonight we went on a kayak tour of the 6 Bridges of Belgrade on the Sava River.  It was so hot today and the river at sunset was the coolest spot in town. The kayaks were inflatable, canoe-like boats.  There was no rudder and the paddles were flat, but we managed to not be last in the group of five kayaks.  In fact, we were second in the line so the other participants were completely inexperienced kayakers.  

On our walk back, we stopped for some night photos of the old city of Belgrade.

 Kalemegdan (the Fortress)

The steeple of  Belgrade Cathedral

Brankov Bridge

The mosquitos on this side of the river are really bad and hungry at night.  We have the bites to prove it.