Belgrade
On Friday, we started the day with a tour of Belgrade, Serbia. Our tour guide's name was Milan. The name Belgrade means "white city" and comes from the white limestone walls of the fort that was built to protect the city when it was founded. During the years, the area has been taken over by different groups, and has endured so many wars, that it is hard to remember it all. Serbia has a very complicated history.
Our tour guide Milan has been a tour guide for 15 years. His father was a tour guide and his grandmother was a tour guide. Before being a tour guide, he sang for the Belgrade Opera for 16 years. He also has a PhD in Art History and is an Art History professor at a local school.
Some of the facts Milan shared with us during the bus ride portion of the tour:
- Serbia was once attacked by Attila the Hun (not to be confused with Attila the Hungarian, our former bus driver)
- there is a large Russian influence here, and the Serbian language is very close to the Russian language
- the religion is mainly Eastern Orthodox, called Serbian Orthodox
- the average salary in Serbia is $500/month (in US equivalent dollars)
- the architecture is similar to the Russian style of architecture, particularly the aforementioned "brutalism"
- the city is beautifully and strategically situated on the Danube and Sava Rivers
- the city is the crossroads between the Balkans and central Europe
- there are lots of wineries here, where they produce over 800 different kinds of wine
Serbia is a part of the former Yugoslavia, where Tito ruled. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Tito was the ruler of Serbia. There is a very interesting remembrance of Tito here. They say that he was a very charismatic figure, and knew how to play the game of politics well. He made everyone think he was on their side. There is a joke that goes like this: Tito's driver came to a crossroads and didn't know which way to turn. He asked Tito which way to go, and Tito answered, "Signal left and turn right."
Most people here recognize that Tito was well liked in the rest of the world, but admit that he was not liked here at home. They say that he was responsible for about a half million deaths. Also, they say that being communist was a "democratic choice": you could choose to support Tito and be communist or be shot. Also you couldn't be a communist and go to church. If you did, you would lose your job.
Some famous Serbians: Nikola Tesla (who invented the Tesla coil), Karl Malden, Johnny Weismuller (Tarzan), and Serbia's most famous athlete, Novak Djokovic. They are very proud of Djokovic, and rightly so. Djokovic is currently ranked as the number one tennis player in the world. He has won 16 grand slam titles, including many Wimbledons. He is from the city of Belgrade and has some restaurants here. He keeps his trophies in one of the restaurants. He is very generous and has donated to many charities in the area, especially orphanages, and never seeks publicity, but likes to keep a low profile.
Milan told us stories about the infamous Yugo car that at one time was one of the most common cars in Yugoslavia. He said that it was so unreliable, that it was said to get excellent gas mileage, since it was always broken down and couldn't be driven.
Our first stop where we got off the bus was at the temple of St. Sava. Sava was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk. He is considered the founder of Serbian Orthodoxy, and is the patron saint of Serbia. The St. Sava Temple is the second largest Orthodox temple in the world. It holds 10,000 people.The temple was under construction so we were not able to go inside the main portion, but we did go down into the crypt and took some pictures.
Our tour guide Milan has been a tour guide for 15 years. His father was a tour guide and his grandmother was a tour guide. Before being a tour guide, he sang for the Belgrade Opera for 16 years. He also has a PhD in Art History and is an Art History professor at a local school.
Some of the facts Milan shared with us during the bus ride portion of the tour:
- Serbia was once attacked by Attila the Hun (not to be confused with Attila the Hungarian, our former bus driver)
- there is a large Russian influence here, and the Serbian language is very close to the Russian language
- the religion is mainly Eastern Orthodox, called Serbian Orthodox
- the average salary in Serbia is $500/month (in US equivalent dollars)
- the architecture is similar to the Russian style of architecture, particularly the aforementioned "brutalism"
- the city is beautifully and strategically situated on the Danube and Sava Rivers
- the city is the crossroads between the Balkans and central Europe
- there are lots of wineries here, where they produce over 800 different kinds of wine
Serbia is a part of the former Yugoslavia, where Tito ruled. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Tito was the ruler of Serbia. There is a very interesting remembrance of Tito here. They say that he was a very charismatic figure, and knew how to play the game of politics well. He made everyone think he was on their side. There is a joke that goes like this: Tito's driver came to a crossroads and didn't know which way to turn. He asked Tito which way to go, and Tito answered, "Signal left and turn right."
Most people here recognize that Tito was well liked in the rest of the world, but admit that he was not liked here at home. They say that he was responsible for about a half million deaths. Also, they say that being communist was a "democratic choice": you could choose to support Tito and be communist or be shot. Also you couldn't be a communist and go to church. If you did, you would lose your job.
Some famous Serbians: Nikola Tesla (who invented the Tesla coil), Karl Malden, Johnny Weismuller (Tarzan), and Serbia's most famous athlete, Novak Djokovic. They are very proud of Djokovic, and rightly so. Djokovic is currently ranked as the number one tennis player in the world. He has won 16 grand slam titles, including many Wimbledons. He is from the city of Belgrade and has some restaurants here. He keeps his trophies in one of the restaurants. He is very generous and has donated to many charities in the area, especially orphanages, and never seeks publicity, but likes to keep a low profile.
Milan told us stories about the infamous Yugo car that at one time was one of the most common cars in Yugoslavia. He said that it was so unreliable, that it was said to get excellent gas mileage, since it was always broken down and couldn't be driven.
Our first stop where we got off the bus was at the temple of St. Sava. Sava was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk. He is considered the founder of Serbian Orthodoxy, and is the patron saint of Serbia. The St. Sava Temple is the second largest Orthodox temple in the world. It holds 10,000 people.The temple was under construction so we were not able to go inside the main portion, but we did go down into the crypt and took some pictures.
After visiting St. Sava Temple, we visited the area of town that has many shops and streets that are pedestrian-only, where we walked around and had some free time. Joe and I went to a cafe where Joe got a coffee and I got a hot chocolate. I decided that when you order a hot chocolate in Europe, they should ask you, "Which candy bar would you like to have melted down for that?" because the hot chocolates here are so rich and thick, and tastes like a melted-down candy bar.
After our break, the group took a short walk to the nearby Fort. As we entered through the medieval gates, Milan pointed out the bullet holes and cannonball dents in the thick metal doors. Once inside the fort, we walked through a park and arrived at an overlook. From this vantage point, we had a beautiful view of the Danube River and the Sava River, and the flat land that stretched out beyond the rivers.
After our morning tour of Belgrade, we returned to the ship for lunch. In the afternoon, Joe and I took a bicycle ride (with a small group). When we were preparing for the bicycle ride, one of the tour guides noticed my New Orleans Saints shirt that I was wearing. He asked me if I was from New Orleans. I said yes. He said, "I love your football team." To which I of course replied, "So do I!"
The bicycle tour started out along the Sava River and then went through parts of Belgrade, ending up at Sava Lake. The tour guide said they call it the Sava Sea, since Serbia is landlocked, and this makes them feel better, like they too have a seashore. The lake was very nice, but the beach area was all pebble. The tour guide joked that this was done during the communist time because they require you to feel a little pain. We stopped partway through the bike ride to sit by the lake and enjoy a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade, then continued back to the ship. It was a great ride, with beautiful weather - sunny skies, temps in the 70s, low humidity - perfect weather.
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