Sunshine in Belgrade!
No matter where we walk, it seems every street is a treasure. Today, we headed in a direction we have not explored, for some reason. Every day we are geared toward a certain direction… always turning right as we leave our apartment. A bold move, we turned left! and then right… and on up the street to a new neighborhood. Always in awe of the architecture, today was no exception. My photos do not do it justice…
Our first street was a dead end… which was fine because it ended in the parking lot of St Mark’s Church! This Serbian Orthodox Church is located on the edge of Tasmajdan Park. There are grassy areas around our apartment, but we did not realize there was a giant sized park so close to us. We will be heading back tomorrow to fully explore the grounds.
For two weeks, we have gazed at this church from our balcony. Lit up at night, bells ringing, it has kind of been part of our day to day life. It’s the first thing we see when we wake up and the last thing before falling asleep. The two tone Serbian-Byzantine style is remarkable. Built between two wars (WWI and WWII), it is protected by UNESCO. So different to see it up close, from the ground…
One of the more simple domes we have seen so far, the ornate lower part made up for it. The crown chandelier is similar to those we have noticed. Every time I walk into one of the churches or cathedral, I am rendered speechless. Hard to believe, right? But it’s true… the workmanship that was needed to build these elaborate structures! Works of art…
With no one in the church, we were able to really stand and take it all in. Ordinarily, there are crowds of people… today, very serene. We spent quite a bit of time marveling at the frescos, the gold, the wood work… tile work… classic design.
Still awe-inspiring, this building is not quite the same from the ground. This is the street side of the beautiful dome that is our apartment view. Originally the Parliament of Yugoslavia, then serving Serbia and Montenegro… as of 2006, it is the Parliament of Serbia.
Continuing our walk, we changed direction. Heading back toward the Danube River, we passed by my favorite stairs that lead to the Belgrade Fortress. Somehow I felt like a princess walking down the regal staircase. Maybe it’s because they are situated right in front of the French Embassy… Click on the photo on the right to see the three ladies who oversee the river… they are cut off as they are (I think)
Something fun about walking down the train tracks… like being a kid again. Of course we could have gone slightly to the left and taken the sidewalk, but what fun is that??? Also, we would have missed the “street art”. Love graffiti…
Throughout the past couple of weeks, we have passed by this old structure a few times. Yes, it’s old… graffiti on the sides, cement and paint chipping off… slightly moldy… but I love it. Wouldn’t it be fun to live in this old beauty???
More sights as we head toward Barry’s “happy place”. The train tracks were lined with cement posts covered with fall leaves. We’ve been blessed to see them go from green to red/orange/yellow over the past couple of weeks. Again we pass steps leading up to the Belgrade Fortress. There are several pathways to the top. On the right is a close up of the leaves, showing the berries that grow on these vines.
We reached the shores of the great Danube River… deciding on a restaurant was easy. Tanja has been giving us so many recommendations! We’ve had Toro on our list to try, so today is the day! Toro is a Latin Gastropub. Outdoor seating on this warm, sunny day is just what the doctor ordered! Now… wait until you see what I ordered :-)
Meant to be “share plates”, my picky eater husband preferred to order from the grill. The grill is single serving size… so… I asked approximately how many items would be appropriate for me to order on my own. The waiter said, “two or three”. So, of course, I picked three… First, the beetroot salad. Oh my! Was this the tastiest salad ever!!! Beets, very fresh goat cheese, crumbled caramelized nuts with a beetroot, vinaigrette dressing. The taste combinations… amazing! A little spicy tuna sushi… and only the rice was mine, the fries were Barry’s. The rice was a chicken/sausage fried rice with cashews. Delicious! A glass of wine… bottled water… I waddled down the steps and walked on down the Danube!
This area of town has restaurant after outdoor restaurant… this one was quite colorful and caught my attention.
Yep… despite the fact that I JUST waddled out of Toro restaurant… Barry sweet talked me into having dessert. He has not stopped thinking about these sweet treats since we visited last week. He has tasted desserts in every restaurant (very out of character) to see if any compared… no one has come close. So, here we are! Lafayette for dessert… again. But this time, I decided to try something new. The chocolate egg. Barry had the Fraise au Chocolat, which is baked chocolate mousse with strawberry jelly, ruby mousse and mint ice cream. He ate every bite…
Look at this deliciousness! The waitress gently tapped the top of the egg and it cracked… exposing the deliciousness! Appropriately named “Chocolate Nest”… this is a chocolate egg, filled with white chocolate mousse, mango and passion fruit “yolk”. Again, the taste combinations… to die for!
Now we, obviously, needed a REAL walk… I literally hurt… but the scenery helped take my mind off of my full belly! We could see the fortress from down below. Equally as amazing as walking thought it, on top of the hill. Love this new perspective!
Today we chose a new route home… as has been the case each day, no matter what street we take, we always find new, hidden gems. Every street has unique architecture. Seeing so much variety has us walking miles and miles without even realizing it!
Continuing down this new street… more fun things to see! By this point, we had eaten too much but walked over four miles… and there’s more walking to do. I’ll spare you photos of every building and store front. Believe me, I’ve taken them but…
Tomorrow we will be visiting a new area. Can’t wait! Until then… stay safe!
