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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