Today was a well earned rest day and Belgrade felt like the perfect place to take it. The city had a great feel to it, the weather was superb and it was so good to be out of lycra. After a cracking breakfast of ham and eggs, which has become my go to breakfast choice whenever available, I set off to take in the sights. All I knew about the place was coloured by news reports of demonstrations against Slobodan Milošević in the early 1990s and bombings as part of the Kosovo War and didn't know what to expect.
I headed first up to the Kalemegdan Fortress, standing high above the confluence of the Sava and the Danube rivers...
...with its towering Victor monument built to commemorate Serbia's triumph over both Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Steeped in history and dating back to the 2nd Century, it is a defining feature of the city and has witnessed a turbulent and tumultuous time of it. Got chatting with some Slovenian visitors who couldn't believe I had cycled from London; always makes me feel great that.
Next stop was the House of the National Assembly where I the first of my short videos to pupils at Michal's school in the Czech Republic. This was the first of many such vids as I continued my travels onto Istanbul.
and close by, the National Theatre.
There were a lot of barriers in place in front of the Parliament Building and some cameras being set up, and it turns out to be a large environmental protest rally that was taking place later that afternoon.
Totally loving the trams that navigate their way around the city, always having to keep an eye out so my tyres don't get struck in the tracks.
For some reason, I often found myself cycling through Sava Square with it's brand spanking new huge statue of Stefan Nemanja, the legendary founder of the Serbian state.
It had only been installed a few months earlier and was a point of much controversy nicknamed 'Saruman on a Kinder Egg' by some. It was absolutely enormous, around 75 ft high and impossible to ignore and reminded me of those Soviet style mega monuments you often see, and was set to become a new defining statue of Belgrade.
I got a message from Michael to say he was also in Belgrade and staying in Skadarlija, which turns out to be the hip area of town. I headed over and we hung out for a few hours drinking beers and eating two main meals. Definitely a cool vibe and better place to stay than my hostel, but that was fine. I was leaving tomorrow and happy with my choice.
I planned my route out for the next day and even booked ahead with accommodation and took one final whizz around the local area, including the rather fab St Marks' Church in Tašmajdan park.
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