Fall Is In The Air... Belgrade, Serbia
Street after street, corner after corner we enjoy amazing architecture! The buildings alone tell a story of Serbia’s history. Being from a country who is a mere 244 years old, our history is short. It amazes me how people we have met on this trip (all ages) can describe past battles (including dates and all countries involved) in the Balkans. The national pride of Serbian is evident.
Simple sights stop me in my tracks. Poor Barry… this quaint window scene had so much character. Throughout our walks, we see little gems like this. I guess the astounding part was what was in the background of this window with the flowing curtains, colorful flowers and fancy stamped cement window frame…
THIS!!! In stark contrast to the simple window, we took in the vision of this glorious architectural wonder… Saint Sava! Named for a Serbian Prince and Monk known as “The Enlightener”, this Orthodox Church and Temple sits on Vracar Plateau. Currently under construction inside and out, most articles state the building holds 7000 worshippers. One article claimed over 10,000!
In an attempt to give perspective as to how immense this building is, I took two shots that included a door. Can you imagine? The door seems teeny tiny comparatively speaking. Sava Church is an incredible, awe-inspiring work of art! Make sure and click on the photo so it opens up and you can see the door in its “entirety” …
The goal of these two shots were to allow you to see the top dome from the outside and then what it looks like from within. Impressive on the surface… magnificent from inside! Stained glass, gold… ornate and simple all at once.
Impressive experience. Can’t wait to see Saint Sava when it is completely finished. This will be our first stop when we return… unless we come back next month (very possible) and in that case, it won’t be finished!
Accept my apology in advance, I could not control myself… The elegant artistry of the interior had me snapping photos, one after the other. Let me warn you… there are four more after this one, of the same interior. I managed to spare you the 100 or so I actually took!
Ornate but not ostentatious, the beauty literally took my breath away when I entered the room…
On the left, you can get a better idea of the magnitude of this refurbishment. Despite the work going on, visitors and churchgoers filled the grounds of the Temple. The area was bustling with activity… to say I am in awe, is an understatement! As a reminder, click on the photo to get a better view.
This was probably an inappropriate invasion of privacy but it struck me as so special. The Priest was just outside the blocked off construction area, Using the aspergillum (brush), he sprinkled Holy Water on each of the guests in the seemingly never-ending line.
Nothing better than church bells ringing to complete the experience!
Just outside the main Temple were fountains, grassy hills, benches and this smaller church. Still large in structure, it was dwarfed by the powerful Temple. It was here that I made a complete fool of myself… thankfully, only to Barry! I saw everyone enter the church, then walk outside and to the left of the building. It looked to me like there were food booths, so I suggested to Barry that we get a bite to eat after we stroll the grounds a bit more.
Still laughing (really) at my ignorance… I’m not exactly sure what everyone was doing at these metal structures. In my defense, there was quite a bit of smoke billowing from this area and we do live in Texas. My assumption that this was a bbq or smoke meat was… well…. off base but made sense to me. I’m thinking they were lighting candles (maybe?) but there seemed to be a LOT of smoke for that! Hmmm… Tanja???
Adding to the experience, the fall colors! Each day, the leaves become more colorful. My favorite are the reds and oranges. The sun was hitting this branch just right…
Leaves are quickly falling off the trees creating a carpet of color! Honestly, every day ends with me saying, “it can’t get much better than this”… the sights, sounds, smells… the beauty, history and friendliness of the Serbian people… but then we go out for another round of exploring and we find it DOES get better! We definitely appreciate the weather cooperating with our wanderings!
Adding to the beauty are the interesting people. The Serbians seem to be hard working, resourceful and welcoming. This guy caught my eye. We passed him three times so I took advantage of the opportunity to snap a quick pic!
No day is complete without stopping for a leisurely cup of coffee… with shops lining every street we’ve seen, it isn’t hard to grab a seat. Personally, I love nothing better than outdoor cafes. Best place to people watch!
Coffee complete and time to move on! We headed off to explore Kalenic Pijaca, Belgrade’s biggest open air market. Who would shop in a supermarket??? Row after row of absolutely anything you’d need. There is no way to depict how expansive this marketplace is. Booth after booth of fresh flowers. If I lived here, my house would always be full of color!
Just to give a quick idea of the size of this place, I took a quick stroll down one portion of one side… The booths are quite close together, the aisles in between sections are narrow. Despite the crowded set up, I would absolutely be doing all my shopping in this place if I lived here. I love the idea of fresh fruits and veggies. On the perimeter we found meat markets and cheese shops.
There were areas with goods like toilet paper and paper towels. Another section had olive oils. Yet another spices. Clothes, eggs, seafood… everything my little heart desires!
Seems everywhere we look, we see a statue of someone important to the Serbian history. As a matter of fact, today we stopped at a wine shop (shock, I know) and started talking to the owner. Making small talk she asked if this was our first time visiting, etc… all the typical questions. We laughingly told her that we were visiting the only countries to accept Americans (true, but funny and a giant blessing in disguise). Then I explained that we have a friend who lives in the USA but is originally from Belgrade. Went on to tell her that our friend is making all kinds of suggestions for what to see and where to eat, including hopefully seeing her Aunt who sings in the Skadarlija area and wears a silk hat. She immediately knew who I was talking about AND the Great, Great Grandfather! Small world…
Tanja gave us this helpful hint… we didn’t use it tonight but plan to in the next couple of days. Wolt is like UberEats or DoorDash in the USA. We can order food (first order gets a discount) from local restaurants and the food will be brought to the door. Probably tomorrow will be a good day to try it since we will have a long and active day!
Barry was in the mood for Beef Stroganoff so we googled “Best…” and the number one place was Tchaikovsky Restaurant located in the Hotel Moskva, near our home. Out the door, crossed the street using the underground world, and walked toward the restaurant. Being in between lunch and dinner, we were able to pick a seat by the edge to watch people. We got a Greek Salad with the most delicious shredded cheese. Yum! Barry ordered Svinjska Rebra (Pork Ribs) and I ordered (with the help of our waiter) Glazirani Paciji file (Glazed Duck Filet). Mine was special… it was prepared with blueberry, cream, corn and rosemary. Very, very good!
Though we had no intention of having dessert, we decided to split one again… knowing that nothing will beat yesterday’s dessert! Tonight we had “the house specialty) Moskva Snit. It was Sour Cherries, Peaches, Pineapples, French Butter Cream, Almonds and Walnuts. Very good, simple tastes but nothing like our crazy food sensation yesterday. (PS You may have noticed, I remembered to take a photo halfway through eating this yumminess)
Tomorrow will be a busy day and we may be back late so… this post may be late. Have a good evening!
