Change of Scenery - A Taste of Belgrade

Change of scenery  is more important than one may think. In my case, an 'escape'  to a place with a different decor and a different language  always inspires me, lifts my spirits, improves my health. It's worth the effort.

Duty Free area at the Ben-Gurion airport in Israel

The cheapest flight on the market starting with end of September, was to Belgrade , the capital city of Serbia, and of former Yugoslavia .  So, here I come, Belgrade.

Life in Belgrade ('belgrade' means  white city)  revolves mainly around three bodies of water ( river  Danube, river Sava, artificial lake Ada Ciganlija) , the old fortress Kalemegdan, , and Stari Grad (old town).  These places offer a lot of activities to all:  adults and kids, locals and tourists.

Sava river bank seen from the bankmost bridge

souvenir stalls at the entrance of Kalemegdan park and fortress

Oops! Belgrade doesn't have a metro ( only a mall named Metro..). I was rather disappointed as the Metro is the shortest, cheapest, fastest way to get around. Bus frequency is  pretty good here, but it may take some 20 or more minutes to reach your destination, and that's a lot of time when all you have is a week (albeit a week netto. I don't count the arrival day in the evening and the departure day before noon.).

On the other hand, the main squares  that make up the heart and center of the Old Town (Stari Grad) with its various  landmarks, are not far from each other. So, if you have good shoes and a good map,  you can do it on foot. 
English language, by the way, won't help you much here. I've got some knowledge of cyrillic letters, and that helped find streets and places.

Beautiful Moskva hotel in Terazije square

Amazing Sava Temple (in Slavija sq.) as seen from the little street with the same name

Zeleni Venac square, reminded me of the saying "all the roads lead to Rome". Yes, this square is a kind of Rome, as everything is here : buses to and fro (including airport bus), a McDonalds, a city market, a tiny flea market, little shops, banks, you name it; very colorful square- not far from the main railway/bus station, and from the other main squares (Republik, Terazije, Slavija) of the old town.

the roof covered market in Zeleni Venac

railway station building; looks good, but inside seems deserted

The symbol of the city is a very popular tall, greenish, bronze monument - the Victor statue - erected in honor of serbian victory over the turks in the first balkan war . It represents a naked man holding a sword in one hand and a pigeon in another. It has an ideal location - up on the fortress plateau - overlooking the confluence of Danube & Sava rivers, and the newer part of Belgrade . It can be seen from many parts of the city. 

the Victor monument

Me at the monument site

While walking on the bridge (bankmost) connecting the two parts of Belgrade, from the cosmopolitan USCE shopping center back to the old city, I looked up to see the guy - and there he was; a very distant but familiar sight.

Usce shopping center

on the bridge from Usce to town- 'Victor'  seen only by enlargement

More about Belgrade - in my next posts.