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.

Ohrid in Summer, Part 2: June 28, 2012

I met Bobbie, the boatman, at 8:00 a.m.  Just as last evening, I got into the boat and Bobbie moved the boat a few meters away from the dock.  He stopped his engine and poured me a cup of rakija.  Bobbie says that in the morning rakija gets the blood flowing and the heart beating.  He says it is better for your heart than running 3 kilometers each day.  With a rakija for each of us, we set off again toward St. Jovan of Kaneo.  Another stop was made for the preparation of Turkish coffee, and then we were off again.  More rakija was offered and declined.

The old city of Ohrid is even more beautiful in the morning from the water.  It is quiet and calm and most people are still sleeping.



After St. Jovan of Kaneo, we traveled in Bobbie's boat toward Tito's former residence.  There wasn't much to photograph, but the residence sits on a hill above the lake and it is nestled in a forest of large trees.  A new presidential residence sits nearby.  Presidents really know how to live.  The boat trip lasted about 1-1/2 hours and was a very good way to begin a summer day in Ohrid.

I checked out of our room and picked up Dan about 2:00 pm.  We drove about 27 kilometers farther west to visit Sveti (Saint) Naum Monastery.  This monastery sits very close to the border with Albania.  Approximately 30% of Lake Ohrid is in Albania.  Sveti Naum is in a lovely location above Lake Ohrid.  The current structure was built in the 16th century on much older foundations.  Free-range peacocks stroll the grounds and sit on the church rooftops.

After our brief sightseeing detour, it was time to drive back to Skopje.  When we arrived in Skopje, we decided that we'd make it easier on ourselves and park the rental car in a nearby parking space to empty it of our luggage and accumulation.  About 20 minutes later, we returned to the car to drive it back to the rental car agency--the car had been booted.

We've never parked a car in Skopje so did not realize that the parking space was in a pay lot and that even at 9:30 p.m., there was a parking fee.  We called the phone number on the sticker on our window but no one spoke English.  Dan called his co-worker who called the city parking department for us.  She told us someone would be there in about 15 minutes.

The parking guy showed up within 5 minutes on a Skopje City Rent-a-Bicycle.  Dan paid him 1,100 MKD (about $22 US), and he removed the boot.  He was tough and said ignorance of the law/rules/sign was no excuse.  We appreciated his efficiency.  If he worked in the ministries responsible for our Visas, we'd have them by now.  Last week Dan got his permit to legally work in Macedonia, but at this point he is (we are) still illegally residing here.  He's still following the myriad steps necessary to get our resident Visas.