OUR STORY

Next stop was Belgrade, Serbia. Eckhard drove us to the Podgoritsa airport. Podgoritsa is about one hour's drive from Utjeha. The airport at Belgrade is larger than Podgoritsa's airport but still really modest in comparison to the airports that most of us are familiar with in the US. One or two baggage carousels not ten or twenty, ten check-in counters not forty or fifty. In any case the quality of air travel in the Balkans is every bit as good as we experience in the US and the folks who serve you are competent and friendly, not something you could always say about service here in the US now.

Arriving late in the afternoon in Belgrade we checked into our luxury suite that Lana found on line. Not a hotel but a private apartment it was pleasantly opulent and way beyond what we expected. A suite actually with three rooms, a bedroom, fully equipped kitchen and a living room with all the items you would expect to find in a 5 star hotel. The view of the city was impressive. Keep in mind that Belgrade was bombed by NATO in the mid 90's. No evidence of that there now.

The next morning we explored the inner city. Had breakfast at the Hotel Moskva which features pastries delicacies in the traditional, classic French style and just about anything you could imagine to order including bacon and eggs with toast ala American. The wait service, mostly men, speaking perfect English were so professional and accommodating that I almost wept to know that his kind of service still exited on the earth. And all this in Serbia, a county that was considered an ethnic ogre by the US and the NATO countries only ten years before. Who would have guessed?

Lot's to see in Belgrade. Unfortunately we only had time for a town walk that took us to the Kalemegdan fortress overlooking the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers. From the ramparts one can see the city sprawl along the Danube. The famous Stambol Gate is located on the fortress grounds as well as the Kalemegdan citadel and a military museum. On our return walk we past through the Stari Grad (old town center) on our way to our luxury apartment. Did you know that Nicola Tesla is buried here? A museum that displays his many inventions and other curiosities is also here. Unfortunately we didn't have time to look at it. Lonely Planet has some excellent information on this city and here is their link:

Belgrade - Lonely Planet

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