Monday 16 May
The Topdeck tour runs its own coach bus, which took us from city to city and it was a nice change from the hassles/joys of navigating public transport. It was a half day’s drive from Budapest to Belgrade, Serbia, with a smooth border crossing. On arrival into the city, we picked up our Local guide and took a driving tour of the city. Then he took us on a walking tour of the old fortress and gave a brief but informative lesson on the recent history of the country, the breakup of Yugoslavia, and the rebuilding of the capital after the nato bombings. Then we went to the hotel to check in, meeting up later in the evening for dinner and drinks.
Since Belgrade was a metropolitan city, and the only major sights to see where the fortress and Orthodox church, both of which we had seen on arrival day, I had no pressing agenda for the following free day. After a leisurely morning and breakfast, I joined up with the Kiwi girls and we spent the day wandering the shops and streets. We took a break at one of the cafes along Skadarlija, the charming Bohemian street, soaking in the brilliant sun on the open patio. Then we made a stop at the local post office, so I could get another package of chocolates and souvenirs sent back home to make more room in my suitcase. After the post office, we stopped by a pastry shop to pick up some local delicacies, then headed over to the park for an impromptu picnic. Unfortunately, the clouds started to roll in and it got a bit chilly, so we decided to call it a day and headed back to the hotel for a rest until dinner. After having a delicious dinner at Tri Sesira (caution: massive portion sizes!), we wanted to check out the famous nightlife of Belgrade, and headed over the river to one of the floating dance clubs. They looked very stylish on the outside, and were very swanky on the inside, but the amount of rules prevented us from having any fun; we were allotted an 1m space at the bar and was told in no uncertain terms, that we couldn’t spread out from that spot. One of the girls in the group happened to lean her elbow on an adjoining table and was immediately scolded by a passing waitress. Additionally there was no actually dance floor, just a bunch of tables laid out in a grid, that prevented people from moving or mingling together. Quite unimpressed, we shortly walked out and headed back for bed.
