Day 10 7 Sep - Exploring Belgrade, Serbia

Photo above - Dom Sindikata building in the centre of Belgrade, an entertainment hub in the city.

Night train to Belgrade and a border crossing

Well we survived the overnight sleeper train. We stopped at the capital of Montenegro, Podgorica at about 9.30pm. After that, decided to try and get some sleep. I dozed on and off but it was very hot and sticky, with no air con so had to have the window open, making it very noisy.

At almost exactly midnight, there was a knock on the door, “Police!”, although it turned out to be just the train guard warning us we had arrived at the border. We then had three people come to the compartment, immigration from Montenegro, customs asking if we had anything to declare, then Serbian immigration for a final passport stamp. All was well, but it took a while for them to pass through the whole train. Eventually we attempted to have another go at getting some sleep, and returned to our bunks.

First sight of Serbia

Awoke at about 6am to find we were passing though wooded hilly countryside, with regular short tunnels. We eventually came to a town called Valjevo with an imposing church. After this the landscape flattened out and we passed between small towns and small farming areas.

Officially called the Republic of Serbia, the country is landlocked and has borders with Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro. It has a population of about 6.6 million, in an area approximately three fifths the size of England. The majority of the population are Christian. It was the Principality of Serbia in the 1800s, the Kingdom of Serbia from 1882, and became part of Yugoslavia from 1918, finally gaining independence in 2006.

Arrival in the capital

We eventually arrived in Belgrade at about 8.30am. Belgrade, located in central Serbia, is the capital and largest city, with a population in the region of 1.2 million. We learned as we arrived, that the funeral of Ratko Mladic, the Serbian commander sentenced for war crimes in the 90s, is to take place this very morning in Belgrade, which is quite surreal, when you think of how much his actions impacted on the areas we have been visiting.

We got a cab from the station to the hotel. This is a busy modern city, lots of traffic, complicated road systems near the station, and some new looking skyscrapers. After breakfast, at 10.30am, we set off to walk around the local area.

Walk around the city

We begin in the city centre at Republic Square a central meeting point and home to the National Museum and National Theatre, we saw the parliament building, city hall, and the Presidential Palace. All three of these buildings look out on to a public park, which has recently been cordoned off by police as it is a central point for the gathering of protestors. We also saw some provocative pro Serb graffiti in the city, which had appeared in the last couple of days. All this maybe in anticipation of the funeral mentioned above, which not surprisingly has divided the country and opened old wounds.

We walked through the main pedestrianised shopping area, and then saw an old community cinema. Finally, we made our way to Kalemegdan Park, which is the site of an old fortress, and still has some parts of the original building intact. From here, you can enjoy sweeping views of the confluence of the Sava and Danube.

We then stopped for a beer, and some people watching, in an outdoor cafe, before returning to the hotel. Later we went back out to a cafe just around the corner for some food.

Tomorrow, we will explore more of Serbia’s capital.