2022 in Serbia (Belgrade)

October 2, 2022 : the Balkan sightseeing trip began from Sofia, Bulgaria, and headed westward into Serbia:

"background"

Belgrade (Serbian: Beograd) sits where the rivers of the Sava and Danube meet:

• more than a million live here
• its name means "white city", to speak of the white walls around the Kalemegdan stronghold
• has two rivers: Sava and Danube (Serbian: Dunav), flowing through it

"sightseeing"

our sightseeing leader came from Belgrade and took us to the following "must-sees":

• Kalemegdan Park
  • a "park" with a stronghold where the two rivers meet
  • the park also had a tall stone marker called Pobednik or "the winner"
    • for the wins against Ottomans and Austro-Hungarians
  • many weapons lined up for show around the stronghold
• Ulica Kneza Milhaila (Prince Michael street)
  • the main shopping street (like any other big town in the world)
• Trg Republike (Republic Square)
  • the main town hub

stayed overnight in a neighbourhood known as Šumice:

• had the evening meal at a spot called Ustanička
• took a walk along the streets
  • saw a lot of "Kosovo is Serbia" writings on walls by those who call themselves "RSRD"

"westward"

went westward into "New Belgrade" towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, but not before seeing the:

• Belgrade Waterfront
  • an undertaking on the east side of the Sava River to "make Serbia great again"
• Sava Centar
  • a large ballgame field and "house of song"
• Western City Gate (Geneks Tower)
  • a "brutalist skyscraper" built in 1977
  • two tall buildings that link together at the top

then on the road in the hinterlands:

• saw a group of 6-8 old farmers happily drinking flasks of Jelen (deer brand) beer on a Monday morning (wanted to take a snapshot of that but was not ready!)