Serbia

Our ship sailed through the night and this morning when we woke we were docked in Belgrade Serbia. 

It has a prime location at the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers and has suffered a tumultuous past, with the remnants still very visable.  There are many blocks of flats left over from the Communist era that are grey and depressing with rusting balconies.  The locals refer to them as Commi Condos. The roads and pavements are pot holed, broken up and in rubble in some places.  There is graffiti everywhere.  It is grimy and dull.  We saw 2 government buildings that were bombed in the war with Croatia.  These will be demolished at some stage but are a stark reminder of that war.

We visited Kalemegden Fortress which is set above the city and surrounded by parkland.  It has been fought over at least 115 times and razed to the ground 44 times.  The current fortress dates back to the 18^th century.  There is a military museum and a large open air display of tanks dating from WW1.

We visited the Orthodox church said to be the biggest in the world.  It is currently being renovated.  Built where the Turks were said to have burnt the relics of Saint Sava the son of the founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church.  The church has 3 choir galleries that can hold 700 choir members and the ground floor can house 10,000 people.  In an Orthodox church there is no seating.  You stand during a service which last anywhere between 1 ½ to 4 hours.  There is limited seating around the edges for the elderly or infirm.

We also visited the lively pedestrian mall area which is filled with shops, cafes and restaurants. that part was really the only bit of Belgrade that you could say anything good about.

We were told we had to carry our passports at all times and produce to them to any officials who requested them.  We did not feel very comfortable about that at all, however, we were never asked to produce our passports

When we returned to the ship for dinner it was a Taste of the Balkens dinner and we also had a tour of the galley.  Such a small space to turn out nearly 200 meals at breakfast,

 

 

 

 

 

lunch and dinner. 

We had quite a feast with Hungarian goulash, meat filled dumplings, cabbage rolls, Hungarian salami and sausages.  It is a mixture of cuisines from Greece, Russia, Turkey, Hungary and Austria.  Sweets such as baklava and Viennese cakes and pastries and strong Turkish coffee.

 

After dinner we were treated to a performance of music and dancing from a traditional Serbian group.  It was excellent.