Day 53 - 54 : Belgrade (Wrap Up)

It's not the prettiest city but there's something about the city that draws you in. There's beauty in chaos. It feels like a combination of Berlin, China, Russia and some parts of Western Europe all lumped together to create a chaotic mess but in a good way. 

Being Christmas period and with the Orthodox celebrating their Christmas later than the usual Dec 25 date, the street scene was really vibrant.

The main touristic parts would be to walk the main street of Kneza Mihaila - this is where the main shops and restaurants are located. During this time of the year, it was also beautifully litted up.

Groups of musicians can be found playing on this street and there's just so much energy and life.

Just outside the main city stretch lies a few architectural interesting buildings such as the below

National Museum of Serbia

National Theatre

Hotel Moskva 

House of the National Assembly of Serbia

Central Post Office

The New Court

Intended as residency of the Royal Family, the construction begun in 1912. From 1934 - 1948, the building served as Prince Paul Museum, the National Museum of Serbia.  After that period, the building underwent major renovations and was adapted for the needs of the Executive Council of the Republic of Serbia.

St Mark's Church

New Royal Palace

A royal residence of the Karadjordjevic dynasty and built from 1911 to 1922.

The other interesting sights that I saw here included

Belgrade Fortress in Kalemegdan Park

Located at one end of the Kneza Mihaila, and along the Danube River, it is in rather good shape, and has nicely been incorporated as part of a park now.

I was however surprised when I walked out 1 of the exits to find numerous artillery lined along the walls, and later realised there is a Military Museum. Even more surprising to later find a Dinosaur Park.

Cathedral of St. Sava
The Cathedral of St. Sava is the largest Orthodox cathedral in the Balkans, and one of the most important cathedrals in the world. Built in honour of St. Sava (1175-1236), the Serbian apostle and the first Archbishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the cathedral was constructed on the site on which relics relating to St. Sava were desecrated by  the Ottoman regime in 1594.

Architectural plans for the cathedral were drafted in the 19th century, although construction commenced only in 1935, before being delayed due to the start of World War II. While construction of the cupola was completed in 1989, the cathedral was not officially opened until 2004.

The inside was all filled with gold mosaic tiled pieces which would had taken painstakingly a lot of effort to stick them one by one to fill the cathedral.  

Even the basement was extremely impressive with stories drawn on ceilings to depict stories.  I was very impressed!

Zemun
Gardoš Tower
The Gardoš Tower is one of the four Millennium Towers that the Hungarian authorities built on all four corners of the world, in the most remote cities of the kingdom, as part of the celebration of the thousandth anniversary of the immigration of Hungarians to Pannonia.  

The 36-meter-high tower was built on the southernmost point of the kingdom, in Zemun, in the city of Belgrade, in 1896, on the Gardoš hill, on the foundations of the ancient Zemun fortress Taurunum from the 9th century.  The Zemun Millennium Tower, from the period of the Kingdom of Hungary, except the one in Hungary, is the only such preserved monument that has remained on the territory of other countries.

The view at the top of the tower is really scenic.

Walking around the Gardoš District, there was also a stretch of restaurants which I would never had expected to find. This looks like an area which would be rather nice to be at during the summer, where outside seating is possible.

The walk towards Zemun also brought me to a few interesting spots like the ones below. 

Monument to the Victims of Sajmiste Concentration Camp

This memorial commemorates the suffering endured by thousands of people who were imprisoned and murdered at the Sajmiste Concentration Camp.

I don't know what structure this is below, but it drew me in greatly.

Random buildings showcasing residential accommodation in Belgrade

Crkva Sv. Simeona Mirotocivog

Kula Geneks

I learnt about this building from Josh, an Asian living in USA and stayed in the same hostel that I was in.  

This distinctive high-rise structure is defined as an example of Brutalism architecture, characterised by its raw and unornamented appearance, featuring exposed concrete surfaces, bold geometric shapes and a focus on functionality.  

Constructed in the 1970s, the Kula Geneks Tower consists of two interconnected towers, each crowned by a rotating restaurant. It doesn't appear to be in use anymore with a number of areas closed off

Not far from Kula Geneks Tower was this abandoned building which also had some character.  

Someone actually drew a really good Charlie Chaplin within the 2nd floor of the building!

Took a quick detour to check out the town of Zemun, which was rather dead in my opinion 😅

But a cute small little town.

Food Recommendations
I didn't have too much time in Belgrade and also didn't try too many places as I was getting somewhat tired of the region's food and needed some Asian fix.  

Most of the listings I saw on Google maps didn't look authentic, but came across one called AhMee which looked decent - a Korean restaurant opened by a few Korean ladies which turned out to had only been opened for 17 days when I was there!

I settled for a Korean beef noodles - this is definitely not your instant noodles Shin ramyeon style as you can tell that the stock was made from scratch with noodles subsequently added in.  I even got complimentary items from Sarah, one of the owners of the store.  She's just so sweet!

Day 51 - 52 : Novi Sad (Wrap Up)

Following the instructions provided by Igor (hostel manager of City Hostel), I got into the hostel very easily. I had the room all to myself for the 1st night and on the 2nd day, 2 guys from Peru checked in - a father and son (Javier and Wayna) that is travelling around doing street performances. 

They have been in Novi Sad for a while and was originally staying at City Hostel, but had to move out for a couple days as City Hostel got booked out by a school group. They have chosen to move back to City Hostel as they said that the other hostels doesn't allow cooking. I also experienced some physical difficulties the 2nd day and almost needed to see a doctor and Igor was extremely helpful and prompt in providing the assistance required. 

It's not the nicest hostel I've stayed in, but for the empathy and concern for their guests, I would strongly recommend them.

Walking into the city centre, I got really good vibes from the city. It's dynamic and lively, and as it was still around Christmas, the city centre was all beautifully decorated with lights. Even rain on the 1st day of my arrival doesn't dampen the spirit of the city as well as Christmas.

I was offering to help a guy who was trying to take a photo of himself next to the fire with the City Hall back drop, and we got to chatting over 2 cups of hot wine in the square. We exchanged travel stories and he shared with me a lot of history about the buildings around the area. I later found out he was a fairly famous opera singer (Bela Mavrak). He seemed somewhat disappointed I didn't know him. 

That chat lasted probably at least 1.5hours. He seemed more keen on showing off about himself and talking about himself, and the apartment he has in town, and he even wanted to invite me to his house to see his antiques in the home. I declined politely since I don't really know him, but also it had been a really long day of travel and with very little sleep the night before, I was quite exhausted.

The key sights in the city centre include

City Hall

Roman Catholic Church of the Name of Mary

Bishop's Palace

Saint George's Cathedral

Trčika - a tram that had been converted to a restaurant

Danube Park - it had been nicely lit up with a huge ice skating rink in the centre. Even rain can't put a dampen on the spirits of those ice skaters

Petrovaradin Fortress which isn't in the city centre is also worth visiting for the views of the city.

I was also recommended to visit Sremski Karlovci for a day trip, which I was planning to do on the 2nd day I was in Novi Sad, but I was indisposed and had to only do it on my last day in Novi Sad, making it a really rush and tight trip.

Meals wise, I ate a meal at Fish & Zeleniš, which is famous for their seafood. Loved the atmosphere of this cafe!  I opted for a Mediterranean cream soup with vegetables and fish, as well as a Tuna in Pepper crust, pumpkin puree and broccoli.  

Also at Petrus Cafe Gallery Bar - Petrus is the 1st place on my travels in Balkans where a restaurant was fully packed, and it was 3 storeys high. I was very surprised.

I ordered a cocktail called Boracay - I gathered it was Rum, Pineapple, Lime, Angostura Bitters and a couple of other ingredients.  As well as a grilled chicken with extra portion of grilled vegetables.

Food and menu diversity seems to be more in Serbia as compared to Bosnia and it was much welcomed. I was starting to get tired of fried and grilled stuff.

Tips :
Google maps doesn't work very well in Novi Sad as it doesn't show the bus stops locations and the public transport routes.

Wayna suggested that I download the Moovit app, as it works quite well here. Live data is required, which is easily obtained by buying a Sim card from the mobile stores. I got mine from Telenor, paying only RSD 300 (About €2.50), which comes with 5GB data and last for 7 days, more than sufficient for what I need.