The glorious weather persists and we were on the road by 09:00 for a guided walking tour of ‘Downtown’ Belgrade.
Our first stop was at Saint Marks Church, an Orthodox church quite close to our hotel. A part of the interior was in the process of being refurbished and on the open floor covering an area of around 25 square metres were sections of glass mosaics. These sections were somewhat like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that were being progressively carried by workmen up to a super-high scaffold to line the upper dome of the church with a representation of St. Mark. In the corner of the church was the tomb of Tsar Dushan the Powerful (1308 – 1355).
St Marks Orthodox church, Belgrade
St Marks Orthodox church inside, Belgrade
The next viewpoint on our travels was at the National Assembly (Parliament) where in front of the impressive green domed building were two bronze statues of men carrying horses; supposedly a symbolic representation of Serbian ‘people power’. On the opposite side of the square were the City Assembly Building and the Presidential Palace.
We walked further westwards and came to a small square where we encountered the National Museum and its close neighbour the National Theatre.
National Museum, Belgrade
National Museum plaque with 4 'C's
National Museum statue, Belgrade
Apparently the theatre features concerts, opera, plays and ballet where the cost of attendance is heavily subsidised to encourage Serbians to attend. We were told that a typical concert ticket for a Serbian may be as little as two Euros. Foreign visitors do not get such generosity!
We then made our way to the Dorcol district of Belgrade which is famous as the formerly Bohemian region and now is the night spot called Skadarlija where the restaurants are famous for the late night revelry. A giant brick chimney is the sole remaining relic from the first brewery in Belgrade. In this old part of the town taxes were levied on home owners in accordance with the number of windows you had that faced onto the front street. Poorer people had to board their windows to reduce costs!
A nearby street district is referred to by Belgradians as ‘Silicon Valley’. This has nothing to do with technology per se but more to do with silicone breast implants which are readily available through cosmetic surgery in this part of town.
Skadarlija area, Belgrade
Restaurant in Skadarlija area where we had dinner
During World War II a significant amount of damage was done to the buildings in this district by German bombing. We were shown one building that did survive this destruction and is reputedly the oldest building in Belgrade.
Brewery chimney, Skadarlija area
Original building, Belgrade
The nearby Bajrakli Mosque has an interesting history having been built by the Ottoman Turks and later ‘reconstructed’ by the Austro-Hungarians as a Catholic Church only to be reconverted to be a mosque in more recent times. The original minaret still remains.
Our furthest destination from our hotel was about 3km west and at the Belgrade or Kalemegdan Fortress. This consists of a walled (mini) city enclosing a pavilion, a zoo, the Ruzica Church, the Military Museum and the Fortress.
Kalemegdan Fortress, Belgrade
Kalemegdan Fortress, Belgrade
View from Kalemegdan Fortress, Belgrade
The view from the high wall is down to the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers and across to the district known as New Belgrade. The Stari suspension bridge across the Sava River is a most impressive structure of civil engineering with the shiny supporting cables giving it the appearance of a gigantic harp. Tourist boats catering for sight-seeing or acting as floating bars and restaurants abound on the Sava.
On the banks of the Danube just below the confluence is a very large indoor stadium dedicated to tennis and its coaching. The new building was significantly financed by Novak Djokovic who is not only presently number one in the world of men’s tennis but an absolute hero in Serbia.
During a leisurely stroll back through the Knez Mihailova pedestrian mall we stopped for cool drinks sampling the local/domestic beers. In the mall was a trig point where we checked our GPS units for their accuracy versus the accepted longitude and latitude. They were spot-on but the altitude was significantly out. In addition it gave the accepted acceleration due to gravity at that point, it being 9.8060226 m s-2 (down).
We then diverted to the Nikola Tesla Museum. This museum founded in 1952 is dedicated entirely to the ingenious Serbian inventor Nikolas Tesla (1856 – 1943). Tesla is credited with many inventions principally to do with electromagnetic induction and the use of A.C. in the design of electric motors and related systems. At his death he was the holder of 30 very significant patents and he contested many of his ideas with Thomas Edison, a man who felt that A.C. had no great practical applications. Tesla was supported in the development of his inventions by the financier J.P. Morgan as well as George Westinghouse, the founder of the home appliance company.
Nikola Tesla Museum, Belgrade
Nikola Tesla Museum - coil discharge
Nikola Tesla Museum
Nikola Tesla Museum
In the evening our group returned for dinner in the Bohemian quarter and enjoyed (although didn’t finish) massive meals whilst being entertained by local Serbian musicians. The special local drink is a highly alcoholic plum brandy very much like slivovitz.
We then caught a bus back to our hotel and before heading for bed did some final preparations for tomorrow’s long bus trip when we leave Serbia and enter Bosnia with our destination being Sarajevo.