End of the third leg
Trip Start
Jun 02, 2002
1
122
Trip End
Jan 13, 2004
Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro
Thursday, November 9, 2006
I mentioned before that Belgrade has about 30 museums, I think that only about 4 of them are actually opened on a regular basis. I had wanted to visit the Yugoslavia History museum, but surprise, it was closed. No biggie, right behind that is Titoīs grave. Around the stone itself were rooms that I think were filled with his possessions. None of it was in English. The grave was a large white marble slab in the middle of the room. In case you were asking who the heck Tito was, he was the communist leader of Yugoslavia for about 26 years. It was after his death in 1984 that things really began to fall apart. As far as I could tell people remember him fondly. I was a bit confused as to why I was the only person there. It was actually a bit creepy and I didn't stick around for very long.
Further up the hill is the museum of I donīt know what. I asked them where the bathroom was and somehow ended up with a personalized tour from a guy named Veljko. The museum consisted of gifts that various peoples had given to Tito. The pieces from Ethiopia were the best. There were also some local costumes from various rural groups in Serbia and the former Yugoslav states. Towards the end of the tour Veljko told me that he has a few family members living in the U.S.
M- Have you ever been there?
V- Yes, twice, Miami, New York, and San Diego.
M- Did you like it?
V- Russia is a good, big country, but America is best. One day I will live there and get good job.
M- Good luck, I hope that you do.
V- My brother make marriage with American Woman. I marry American woman one day too.
With that he looked me up and down and waited a second for my reply.
V- You take my picture, remember me and come visit in Beograd.
I took the picture, thanked him for the tour and headed back to the city center.
There was a rumor around the hostel that about 15 minutes away there was a little town/suburb called Zemun that would make you feel like you were in the Belgrade of 50 years ago. All it would take to travel back in time was to take a bus over the Danube.
Zemun did not look at all new and sparkly as the woman at the hostel told me it would. However, there were some really beautiful old buildings. I found a stunning little church, but no information on the name or when it was built. There was also what they had labeled as the Danube Quay. Basically it was run down promenade area on the water. It was nice to walk around and be the only tourist in the area. Then again, there really havenīt been many any where.
After strolling through the market of mostly socks and veggies my bladder was calling out to me. I found a cute little bar, and used the restroom while I waited for my beer. The ambiance was quite odd, there were cans from long forgotten Serbian beers, American west memorabilia, and pictures from the wars all over the place. I was the only non-Serb there.
I didnīt find Zemun to be all that interesting, but for about 30 cents each way it was worth the cost.
When I got back to town I popped my head into the National Museum. I wonīt tell you about it, not really worth it.
I still had hours to kill and did so by seeing Borat. Itīs good, go see it now.
While trying to figure out how to purchase tickets a very nice girl named Hellena helped me out. She even invited me to join her and her friends out for drinks later on. It was a offer I would have love to take her up on, but my bus was leaving and I had to go.
Everyone has been shockingly friendly, often going far out of their way to help me out. The Latin map and Cyrillic street signs can be very difficult. There were also no large buildings to help navigate.
I am shocked at how beautiful Belgrade was. I expected a lot of rubble. I did learn that the city has been rebuilt 40 times. Perhaps that is why the people were able to just pick up the pieces and get over it. I never felt one bit of hatred because I am American. In fact, it was quite the opposite. People wanted to work on their English, they wanted to tell me about their trip to the U.S. It was amazing.
That evening I boarded an 8 hour long bus with two Aussies I had met at the hostel. I had just been handed my next clue and it directed me to Sarajevo.
Iīm sorry this one is a bit boring, I think it may be time for me to take a nap!
