Belgrade, Serbia
2024
This time my travels to Belgrade brought me to attend the wedding of a dear friend and a colleague from the student times. I was super excited because it has been years now I haven’t visited this city. My trip started with a nice treat on the AirSerbia plane with the famous plazma cookies.
Β Landing and crossing the river Sava, we passed by an example of brutalist architecture: Western City Gate, also known as theΒ Genex Tower. The building is designed to resemble a high-rise gate greeting people arriving in the city from the West (the road fromΒ Belgrade Nikola Tesla AirportΒ to the city centre leads this way).
Another example of the communist/ socialist architecture from the time of Tito’s Yugoslavia is the Palace of Serbia, located in theΒ Novi Beograd. It was used by theΒ Federal Executive CouncilΒ ofΒ Yugoslavia.Β When I was a student, I had a chance to attend the conference inside this massive building. I was not a fan. π
Our hotel was located in Skadarlija. We were lucky enough to have a decent booking as the city was completely crowded by the Ramstein fans that came to attend the concert happening 2 days in a row. Down the street is a market with home grown fruit and vegetables.
Β It was the time of cherries! π
As the day was already long, we decided to eat in Dva Jelena. A popular restaurant in super popular Skadarlija – bohemic Balkan chic. This means you eat and drink, smoke, drink some more, and enjoy the local music.
In Skadarlija you can find super popular rakija. A local drink made of fruit distillation. It is strong but cures body and soul.
Hotel MoskvaΒ is aΒ four star hotelΒ inΒ Belgrade, one of the oldest currently operating inΒ Serbia. The building has been opened in 1908 and as such represented a major investment of theΒ Russian EmpireΒ in theΒ SerbianΒ economy. I mostly wanted to visit the lobby to enjoy the art nouveau. Little did I know, that the hotel is full of Russian emigrates due to the current Putin’s Brutal Aggression on Ukraine.
My afternoon walk continued towards The National Assembly of Serbia. Not the best memories from that building – politically speaking, so moving on.
And the rest of the government buildings – including the building of the former defence headquarters destroyed by USA/ NATO forces in 1999.
In the same quarter of Belgrade called VraΔarΒ (literally translates into doctor witch) π there is The Temple of Saint Sava. It was the first time for me to see the new painted frescoes inside the temple.
This Serbian Orthodox church is dedicated toΒ Saint Sava, the founder of theΒ Serbian Orthodox ChurchΒ and an important figure inΒ medieval Serbia. It is built on the presumed location of St. Sava’s grave.Β
Β Nearby is the St. Mark Orthodox Church, located in theΒ TaΕ‘majdan park. It was built in theΒ Serbo-Byzantine styleΒ in theΒ Interwar periodΒ between 1931 and 1940.
The interior of the church contains Sarcophagus of the EmperorΒ DuΕ‘an the Mighty – theΒ king of Serbia in the 14th century. DuΕ‘an conquered a large part of southeast Europe, becoming one of the most powerful monarchs of the era. Under DuΕ‘an’s rule, Serbia was the most powerful state inΒ Southeast Europe, one of the most powerful European states and anΒ Eastern OrthodoxΒ multi-ethnic and multilingual empire that stretched from theΒ DanubeΒ in the north to theΒ Gulf of CorinthΒ in the south, with its capital inΒ Skopje.Β He enacted the constitution of theΒ Serbian Empire, known asΒ DuΕ‘an’s Code, perhaps the most importantΒ literary workΒ ofΒ medieval Serbia.
RED RIDING HOOD 