Danube River Cruise - Part 9 - Belgrade, Serbia - May 22

 Belgrade, Serbia - May 22

We looked forward to our visit in Belgrade and made arrangements for a visit with Vuk, who had lived with us for a school year in 1991-92.  We appreciate his postponing his move to Norway by one day, so we could have this enjoyable visit in Belgrade.

A highlight of our Danube River Cruise 

was spending the afternoon with Vuk and his lovely wife, Ivana.

(Vuk, Sam, Narene, and Ivana)

 We had a nice walk along the river
from our ship to this nice restaurant by the Sava River.

The soup and vegetable plate were delicious,

but the time spent together was the best part.

 Our walk was enjoyable, too.

We passed by this historic "Riverside Rampart," which was

 "built in the Twenties of the 15th century to defend the town from the rivers."

 

 

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In the morning, we had a city tour in Belgrade with our "Fun For Less" group.

We went to the Kalemegdan Fortress and the St. Sava Cathedral

and then had some free time on the pedestrian street.


Belgrade Fortress

The fortress was destroyed and rebuilt over and over for 16 centuries,

but still stands as the symbol of Serbia's capital . . .

"the symbol of the city that keeps raising and growing.'"

On our walk to the Belgrade Fortress (Kalemegdan fortress)
and Kalemegdan Park.

 

 The Victor
The statue of The Victor (back, right) is one of the 
most famous landmarks in Belgrade.

Statue of The Victor (another view)
Located in the Belgrade Fortress at the place where 
the medieval castle once stood.
The statue holds a falcon in one hand
on watch for the new threats on the horizon,
and a sword of war in the other hand
ready to counter these threats.

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The ever-present souvenir stands near places of interest to tourists.

The Olympic Circles.
The 1984 Winter Olympics were held in Yugoslavia,
in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina.

An interesting wall seen from our bus 
on our way to Sava Cathedral.


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 Church of Saint Sava

Monument of Saint Sava in front of the Saint Sava cathedral.


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View of Belgrade's waterfront.



Local Entertainment on the Ship

 
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The next day was a cruising day watching the scenery along the Danube River,
which will be featured in the next blog entry.

Danube River Cruise - Part 8 - Novi Sad in Serbia - May 21

Danube River Cruise, continued.  

The Danube is Europe's second longest river, after the Volga.  

It is located in Central and Eastern Europe 

and flows through 10 countries, more than any other river in the world.  

Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for 1,770 miles passing through or bordering Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine before draining into the Black Sea. 

Our cruise included Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, and Bulgaria.  

Cruising in Serbia, May 22.

Enjoying the view from the bow of the ship.

Zezelj Bridge opened in 2018.

Originally built in 1961, but destroyed during the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

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Cruise Director on the ship.

The outfit she is wearing is representative

of the area where she was born in Bulgaria.

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Novi Sad

Second largest city in Serbia

We had a walking tour of Novi Sad in the afternoon; 

and then in the evening, we visited the Petrovaradin Fortress 

 where we explored the fortifications including the underground tunnels.

Our local guide in Novi Sad

Museum of Vojvodina

Saint George's Cathedral - Orthodox church

 

Bishop's Palace (Vladicanski Dvor)
A bishop still lives here,
so tourists only can see the exterior.
Like so much of the city's heritage, it is from the
second half of the 19th century after the previous one was destroyed in 1848.

 The Name of Mary Church, Catholic

 

City Hall

McDonald's, of course!

 

Nice decorative facades on the buildings.
(A bank on the street level.)

Serbian National Theater


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Petrovaradin Fortress

In the evening, we toured this fortress.

The fortress has never been taken by any enemy and

now serves as the museum, five-star hotel, and fancy restaurants.

Our first view of the Petrovaradin Fortress was from our ship.

A view of Novi Sad as seen from the site of the Petrovaradin Fortress.

Another view.

Reversed Clock Tower at the Petrovaradin Fortress.

The minute and hour hand on the clock are reversed,

with the small hand showing minutes and

the big hand showing hours.

It was created this way so fishermen on the Danube River

could see the time from a long distance.

We had flashlights as we toured underground

through the tunnels of the fortress.

The bricks at the side were used as an alternate way

to go from one one level to another.

A fireplace (the light placed so we could view it).

Some of the hallways led to a dead end

for the purpose of trapping an enemy

who might have gotten that far in the fort.

 Shining our flashlights on the outer wall of the fortress

at the conclusion of our tour.

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We looked forward to the next day in Belgrade when we had made arrangements

to spend time with Vuk and his wife.

Belgrade will be the next blog entry.