Serbia is the 100th country/territory that we have visited together! We had a full day of walking and exploring the city. First up was St. Sava Temple (named after the founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church), whose construction began in 1935 and is still ongoing. Its work was interrupted several times by invasions, bombings, and wars, but started again in 1985. Today’s adults used to play inside the shell of the church, thinking at that time (since there was no internet to explain it to them) that it was an old palace. We were not allowed in the main upstairs church, as intricate mosaic work is being undertaken on the 4,000-ton dome. But the photos are from the crypt, which are impressive enough! You may not give the beautiful chandelier in the first photo much notice, but it is the first we have seen in the world, after many years of travel, in which every single bulb was in place and lit, with none needing replacement! That is truly remarkable, in our book. Following is a photo of the church’s exterior and several others from the pristine, clean, beautiful crypt.
Next up was the Belgrade Fortress, built in 279 BC. For many centuries, the city’s population lived inside the fortress’s walls, so the oldest history of Belgrade is here. After the fortress is a shot from the battlement walls, and the next shows why the fortress was strategically built here: you can see the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers. After that is a famous statue in Belgrade’s biggest park called Fontana Ribar. It dates to 1906 and is dedicated to the fishermen of Belgrade. It looks sort of horrific, but is apparently very popular!
Following that are some shots of the busy pedestrian area that leads down to the river and the fortress. There were pretty flowers and fountains everywhere, and in looking UP, beautiful old turn of the 19th century buildings, all with statues and beautiful carvings. But you don’t see them, really, if you don’t look for them.
The last six photos are from a pretty residential street, along with a traffic circle with fountains and George Clooney advertising Omega watches, but he doesn’t look particularly happy doing so. There are some gourds laying on a sidewalk that look as though they were set up for a still life painting. There were some cute llamas (or alpacas?) in a shop window, and we end with an image on the front of a residential building. It says, “Danger…Police.” Does that mean an officer lives there? That you are in danger? Or that there are frequent shootings there, on a quiet residential street? Or what? A mystery, for sure.
