Besides Hungary, both of us had never been to the other four countries.
After Croatia, we now were going to visit Serbia.
Church of Saint Sava, Serbian Orthodox Church and one of the largest Churches in the world!
More about it later...
From the Viking Lif we got onto a bus for a ride towards Kalemegdan Fortress.
Here you see the early 15th Century
Nebojša Tower (Nebojša meaning Fearless in Serbian).
To the left of the River Sava you see Great War Island
Click on this link for informative history via my Pinterest to video:
Belgrade, Serbia - 15th Century Kula Nobojša / Nobojša Tower
Entering Kalemegdan Fortress and you also see the ClockTower
Kalemegdan
The Inner Stambol Gate, named after Istanbul and built in 1750.
It was the main gate of Kalemegdan Fortress and within the second city wall with the Clock Tower visible again.
A better view of the
Clock Tower and its centuries old walls.
Yes, the weather was perfect!
Serbia has survived about 20 wars... Belgrade is therefore called Europe's most resilient city.
Ravaged and rebuilt 20 times in its history, many of the city's finest buildings have been gloriously restored.
Overlooking the confluence of the River Danube and Sava.
To the left, closer to the Sava River you still can see the
Nebojša Tower from the photos above so you see what distance we walked and climbed.
View from
Kalemegdan Fortress over the River Danube to New Belgrade
The towering statue from the 1928 Victor with a falcon in his left hand and a sword in his right hand... but naked.
After walking through
Kalemegdan Park we reach Belgrade's city center.
Old Belgrade is a beautiful city but traffic with its trams etc. can be quite hectic as there is only one street level.
So we found us a nice spot on a terrace for a cappuccino and a tea for me, with some linden honey!
Pieter is wearing his t-shirt: I DO MORE BY 7 AM THAN MOST OF YOU ALL DAY
Saint Michael's Cathedral, Belgrade click for more info about this
Serbian Orthodox Cathedral.
The confluence of Sava and Danube rivers good visible here.
From above it looks more like a city...
By bus we pass over the Sava River and you see another view of the
Serbian Orthodox Cathedral or St. Michael's Cathedral.
Sava River
Such a lovely day and this is almost the end of the bridge passing the Sava River.
This beautiful building is the
House of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia just click link.
Church of Saint Sava... Serbian Orthodox Church with its 82 m tower and the gold plated cross alone is 12 m from that total height.
National Library of Serbia with a statue of
Nikola Tesla
Only a week later we would be riding in a Tesla electric car... click link above for more.
Karadordev Park and National Library
Too bad, the Church of Saint Sava was closed, due to still ongoing completion.
President Putin did lay some mosaic tiles early this year.
So instead we walked around the building and entered the Crypt where they also have massive wall and ceiling frescoes!
The Russians donated 5,000,000 Euro for the Church's completion...
By the end of 2020 it should be done...
Viking Lif from Vukovar, Croatia to Belgrade, Serbia (when I did not have any signal, later Google Earth connects the dots - hence over land and straight...
We left Vukovar by 23:00, close to midnight on June 7.
Dearest Mariette,
ReplyDeletethank you for wonderful pictures of Belgrad, you did a really interesting Trip in June!
Wishing you a lovely and good new week,
sending Love and hugs, Claudia xo
Dearest Claudia,
DeleteYes, Belgrade was a wonderful city to visit and to learn from its rich history, even though one of many wars.
Hugs,
Mariette
Liebe Mariette,
ReplyDeleteherzlichen Dank und liebe Grüße
Elisabeth
Liebe Elisabeth,
DeleteAber gerne, reise nur unkompliziert mit!
Liebe Grüße,
Mariette
It was a really fine day! All these historic buildings look extra beautiful under the blue sky. I didn't know Serbia went through so many wars. Belgrade is a very resilient city indeed. Too bad you couldn't go in Church of Saint Sava but frescoes are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLove your husband Pieter's t-shirt :-)
Have a great new week, Mariette! xo
Dearest Tamago,
DeleteYes, a perfect day and we feel blessed for having had such a wonderful opportunity to walk around and learn of Serbia's tragic but rich history.
Saint Sava Church is worth another trip in the future somehow...
Thank you for the compliment of Pieter's t-shirt!
We went biking on the 15th on Sea Pines, Hilton Head, SC so we had a great time.
Hugs,
Mariette
Hi Mariette! Interesting things to see.
ReplyDeleteDearest Anne,
DeleteIndeed, very interesting and especially in regard to culture and history.
Hugs,
Mariette
Hello Mariette, With all the problems and wars in Eastern Europe, one wonders when they got the time to build so many beautiful buildings, but luckily they managed it. The statue of Tesla is of a type set into a base so that it looks like the rest of the body is trapped in the base--an odd look!
ReplyDelete--Jim
Dearest Jim,
DeleteIndeed it makes one wonder about the time to build such beautiful buildings over the ages. But there was no sport, no leisure time back then... just hard work!
Haha, the statue of Nikola Tesla, looks like even him being the descendant of both ethnic Serbs parents, he got later kind of 'sucked up' by the United States of America for their own gain.
It seems that Nikola Tesla's mother liked to tinker with appliances and make tools, and could memorize Serbian epic poems. Tesla attributed his creative abilities to her!
Who knows what that artist who created the statue had in mind...?
Hugs,
Mariette
It certainly looks like it was absolutely gorgeous weather at the time you were there. My husband wants to now start visiting the part of the world you are posting about. Really love that despite so much conflict, they've been able to rebuild and preserve their architecture and identity.
ReplyDeleteDearest Tammy,
DeleteYes, we were so very lucky with the weather, our entire 29 days in Europe!
Oh, how wonderful that you both will get to explore this great Eastern Europe part of the world.
Both of us love their culture, music and above all their architecture.
Yes, they have managed to hold on to their true identity and now more and more of the great architecture is being restored.
Hugs,
Mariette
Serbia is stunning.
ReplyDeleteDearest R's Rue,
DeleteYes, I only can add an exclamation mark to that!
Hugs,
Mariette
Dear Mariette - it is so lovely to see these photos of Belgrade looking so splendid. I went there so many years ago that I have almost forgotten most of what I saw. I was with my two sons who were very young at the time, and we were en route to Brasov where we visited Dracula's Castle.
ReplyDeleteDearest Rosemary,
DeleteGuess it would be time for you to go back and enjoy an even better looking country than what you got to see back then.
Love those historic buildings being nicely restored and it makes a wonderful country to visit and enjoy.
Several of our Viking Lif passengers did continue with an extension of their trip to Dracula's Castle.
Hugs,
Mariette
Oh my dear friend, my heart goes out to you and I'm so glad your dear dad went peacefully, it's all we wish for our parents. I can feel that it must be very specialy sad when both parents are suddenly not with you anymore.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind and sweet comment in regards to my struggle whether I should continue or not blogging. You were a lot of help and I so appreciate it.
Love always,
Fabby
Dearest Fabby,
DeleteAs for my Dad's passing, we both feel so blessed for having made this 66th trip back home to visit Parent(s) as we appear to be the only ones that said their goodbyes to him in a timely manner.
Dad was oh so happy to see us on May 21, straight from the airport to see him first. He talked for hours and we could have stayed all day if we had not gone to meet our generous hosts!
But we kept coming back for more visits and each one of them was valuable, he told us he was ready to go as he knew he could not reach his centenarian dream. He was entitled to go and meet back with Mom!
You are one of the kindest bloggers I've known over the years and we are kindred spirits in many ways.
Know that I value and respect you for that!
Hugs,
Mariette
Tom and I love river cruises and have been on three so far. A great way to travel. I don’t think I have ever known anyone who has been to Serbia! Such an interesting place. Janey
ReplyDeleteDearest Janey,
DeleteWe have made only some harbor cruises (Sydney twice) and a Meuse River Cruise for Mom & Dad's 60th Wedding Anniversary.
Also a short 4-day cruise on the Mississippi River and now this Passage to Eastern Europe on the River Danube.
It was a very rich and cultural trip with lots of history, good and bad but seeing it still shine like it does makes one rejoice in human resilience.
Sending you hugs,
Mariette
I'd never heard of anyone visiting Serbia, but you've shown us some lovely places Mariette. The fresco in the church is stunning.
ReplyDeleteDearest Sami,
DeleteAfter Budapest in Hungary, this ranked 2nd on the list!
We both were very impressed and my next post will reveal also some stunning nature.
Hugs,
Mariette
Dat wist ik niet, 20 oorlogen daar...
ReplyDeleteToch jammer dat wij op school niet zoveel geleerd hebben over Oost-Europa, Het hield zowat op bij Oostenrijk. Zo'n soortgelijke "dikke toren" hebben wij ook gezien in Estland (Estonia) daar noemden ze het ook gewoon de Fat Tower..( ze hadden ook een dunne. Pieter zijn shirt is geweldig!!
Beste Marian,
DeleteJa, wij wisten dat het daar àltijd al gewelddadig toeging maar precies 20, daar schrik je van! Pieter las er veel over en we praten samen. Ik moet nog veel inhalen met lezen 'ooit'.
Denk dat het Communisme gewoon doodgezwegen werd ook, echt jammer en wat dacht je van de Katholieke Illustratie destijds met haar enorme censuur?! Hun waren ook tegen de Byzantijnse en Orthodoxe Katholieken.
Eerlijk gezegd vinden wij beiden dat die het juist veel beter uitbeelden qua ritueel en ze hoeven ook niet celibatair te leven, een belangrijk punt!
Ze hebben ook verreweg de móóiste kerken maar je kunt er niet zitten; alleen maar staan...
Estland zal ook geweldig zijn geweest om te bezoeken en ja de benaming van eeuwen geleden was meer simpel voor gebouwen.
Ja, heerlijk die tekst op zijn shirt! Past bij hem, zijn leven lang een harde werker geweest.
Liefs,
Mariette