G & J away from home

Sunday, 3 May

Onboard

I got up at 5am and discovered we were already tied up at Belgrade.  Found my walking shoes and headed up to the Sky Deck to go for a walk (12 laps, approximately 20 minutes).   The view was very pretty (though a little hazy) but the two dance bars that were still going at full volume on the river were a bit off-putting.  Goodness knows how the people on that side of the ship slept through it.

After my walk I dashed down to the stateroom to get the camera to take a couple of photos of the Sava River (where we were docked).

Good morning, Sava

This is the view down the Sava toward the Danube (which is running across the middle of the photo). Looking the other way the bridges over the Sava were reflected in the water.

Bridges over the Sava in Belgrade

Belgrade

We had a city tour from 8.30 - 11.30, Gary opting for one of the standard tours while I went for the 'gentle walking' tour.  There was still quite a distance to cover but very few steps and no rush.

This is a photo from Gary's camera as I was never fast enough to get a shot of this lovely hotel:

Hotel Moskva

Hotel Moskva ... (English: Hotel Moscow), is a four star hotel in Belgrade, one of the oldest currently operating in Serbia.

Apart from offering hospitality services, Hotel Moskva is one of the most recognizable Belgrade landmarks, a valuable architectural monument placed under governmental protection since 1968.

-Wikipedia 

Nine of us from the ship and one local guide wandered around Kalemegdan Park in which the much rebuilt fortress of the same name stands on the cliffs above the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers.  It was a lovely park - a little bit wild in the gardening style with a feel that winter had only just left - which was fairly bristling with sculptures, especially busts of (no doubt) famous people.  As many of their names were in the Cyrillic alphabet I'm not sure who any of them were but I was quite taken with this chap in the hat:

The 'hat man' sculpture

In its life as Yugoslavia the country used both Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, but now of the countries formed from the break-up of Yugoslavia only Serbia still does this.  (Info from our guide.)

While sauntering along the paths of the park we saw a squirrel - quite a spiky-haired chap compared with those I'm used to seeing.  He was very fast so my photo of him is blurry.

Squirrel

He went up into the tree and had a fight with a crow (not sure who the aggressor was in that) and they both ended up in the next tree.  Not something I'd seen before.

Building detail

As we drove around the city in the bus I was able to snap a few photos of interesting buildings or the interesting details on the buildings.  Many of the buildings were very run down and Gary's photos include some that had been bombed during the fairly recent conflicts.

Impressive St Sava, the largest Orthodox church

The Orthodox church of St Sava (after whom the river is named) is imposing and very beautiful - but also unfinished.  Relying on donations to complete the work most of the outside seems to be done but the inside is still under construction.  Despite this it is already consecrated and has a temporary altar.

As we approached the church we overtook Gary' tour group so I was able to further document Gary with his secret service look going on.

Caught up with secret service Gary

St Sava - interesting rooflines

The unfinished interior

As our tour party was sent off for some free time to stroll around the shopping area of the old city I caught sight of Gary off in the distance and headed after him.

Gary disappearing down the street

By the time I got to the corner he was disappearing down the street.  (A click on the photo below will load a larger version in which Gary's dark red sweatshirt can be seen on the left - a long, long way ahead.  He assures me he was dawdling!)

The DNA fountain

There were plenty of fountains in the old city area including this memorable one with a DNA sculpture in the middle of it.

I settled down on one of the many benches in the area and read my book until our time was up.  Gary told me later he kept walking and walked all the way back to the boat.  Certainly I was surprised to find him already settled in the cabin when I arrived home from what was 'lite' version of the city tour.  It's entirely possible he was trying to make the most of the internet connection!


Onboard

Some photos of the boat (more properly 'ship' but let's not fuss about it).

Our ship, with the gangway out ready for us to reboard

As well as enjoying doing the tours and seeing bits of Europe we are very much enjoying the boat itself.  The most surprising thing to date has been how fast the boat races along.  Perhaps I was imagining canal boats in the UK but this is nothing like that,  No put-put-put for us on this trip!

From the back - the club lounge is the glassed-in deck

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