(Backup) Serbia? Who goes to Serbia!?!

Well, the short answer, not too many people which made it a great time for us!  

Day 2:

We went to visit Golubac fortress.  Unfortunately we couldn't go in the castle as it was under construction, but if you are ever in this area, it is a really cool castle so stop in!  It is built right along the Danube river, and its history is long.  There has been evidence of people living here for (almost) as long as time.  

 

  

We hit the road again to go into Belgrade where we spent night two.  Belgrade is the capital of Serbia, and a vibrant city full of history and character.  We are a late lunch after we eventually found our hotel, and greg parked the car in a garage about 1 km away.  Not too bad, but not easy to haul the bags around.

In Belgrade we went to see Kalemegdan Fortress, which is an old citadel.  It is a very large Fortress surrounded by a big park that has a lot going on.  While we were there a band was settling up for a rock concert, and there was some sort of basketball expo going on as well.  We walked around, went up an old bell tower to get a nice view, and found an old Roman well to explore.  We didn't actually find the castle area, the park is really big and at that point we were all hot and needed to cool down, so we found some water and a dinosaur park in the shade.  The kids had a great time checking out the dinos, and we enjoyed a break.  

 

 

We left the Fortress area and got a taxi to take us up the hill to Saint Sava Temple.  This is the Balkans biggest (and the worlds second biggest) Orthodox Church.  It is inspired by Hagia Sophia, so I really wanted to see it.  Okay here is the other secret to Serbia, it is under construction!  The church is not finished, the outside looks great, the inside is a construction sight, the crypt is finished and open, and they have set up a little chapel for pilgrims.  I think if you come back here in a few years things will be finished and it will be great.  It is great right now, just under construction!

 

 

We walked back to our hotel, which (I forgot to mention) is in a walking section of town,  they have recently closed down some of these streets and made them into a pedestrian area which makes it a really nice area to stay.  There were lots of great restaurants and cafes and bars to choose from, and lots of shopping if that interests you.  

Next stop Croatia!