Aaaaahhhhhh what a difference a nice bed, clean sheets, clean towels and clean clothes makes! Not to mention the comforting voices of family! Serbia was fantastic too. Our first day there we spent relaxing...didn't do a whole lot of anything. We had a lovely home cooked meal on the balcony overlooking a Serbian forest. It was great to catch up.
The next day I actually got some exercise in the form of doubles tennis on clay courts. That was fantastic...besides walking around every city we've been too, I haven't had much exercise on the trip. Was nice to work up a sweat and I hadn't played on clay in years. Good fun.
After that we got cleaned up and went for lunch in Belgrade and strolled through the walking streets and an old fort along the mighty Danube. There are still bombed out remnants of old government buildings around Belgrade, which is a bit dreary, but overall the city is nice. The weather was beautiful and people were out in full force at the cafe's and walking streets. It does help to know a bit of the local language, which we found out the hard way after our afternoon walk. After some drinks at a local cafe overlooking the Danube and the zoo, Keith and I walked back to the car...except the car was no longer where we had parked it. It had been towed, and it was only then that Keith noticed the "No Parking - Tow Away Zone" parking sign. I had noticed it before, but had no idea what it said....whoops! Not to worry, a short walk and a lighter wallet later we were on our way back to the house.
That night we were heading back downtown for dinner, the four of us and one of Keith's colleague's from Washington D.C., Mohammad Latif. Mohammad is from California via Pakistan and is the Regional Environmental Officer for Eastern Europe and Eurasia with USAID. I had spoken to Mohammad on the phone years before, but never met in person. He just happened to be in Belgrade as we were passing through so it was a perfect chance for us to meet. Mohammad is a whirlwind of a guy! Extremely nice and always on the go. Within 30 minutes of meeting him he was setting up a meeting between CJ and I and one of his colleagues in Montenegro. We were heading that way by train the next night anyway so it only seemed proper for us to meet him. Perhaps we'll be able to get some environmental contract work sometime in the future.
Dinner was good and we got a look at the superb Belgrade nightlife on the walk from the restaurant back to the car. The next day we spent in the back of the car driving through the Serbian country side. We visited a few monasteries and a couple different castle ruins. Serbia is truly a beautiful country. I've already forgotten the names of the villages and sites we saw there though. It's different when you're not planning the route yourself. Pretty nice too, after a couple months of reviewing maps and planning our days, we got to simply sit back and relax and enjoy the sites as they came. I'm sure once I review a Serbian map I'll be able to recall the towns and sites we saw.
Reluctanly we hopped on the train that night and headed towards Montenegro where we would meet up with our new contact Vladan in Podgorica. For the first time in the couchettes we had company...no more cabins to ourselves, this one was packed full with 6 people. On the bright side though, I think it was our last overnight train! Vladan picked us up at the train station in Podgorica, capital of newly independent Montenegro, and took us out for a Burek breakfast. We chatted about the history and environmental issues of Montenegro for a couple hours before we had to get on a bus to Kotor and head towards the Dalmatian Coast. The meeting went well and we hope to see Vladan again in the near future.
Next stop the Dalmatian Coast...which I think CJ already posted about...so perhaps the next stop will be Italia!
and by the way...we didn't get a chance to post any new photos or videos from Serbia...it'll have to wait a bit longer....apologies.
The next day I actually got some exercise in the form of doubles tennis on clay courts. That was fantastic...besides walking around every city we've been too, I haven't had much exercise on the trip. Was nice to work up a sweat and I hadn't played on clay in years. Good fun.
After that we got cleaned up and went for lunch in Belgrade and strolled through the walking streets and an old fort along the mighty Danube. There are still bombed out remnants of old government buildings around Belgrade, which is a bit dreary, but overall the city is nice. The weather was beautiful and people were out in full force at the cafe's and walking streets. It does help to know a bit of the local language, which we found out the hard way after our afternoon walk. After some drinks at a local cafe overlooking the Danube and the zoo, Keith and I walked back to the car...except the car was no longer where we had parked it. It had been towed, and it was only then that Keith noticed the "No Parking - Tow Away Zone" parking sign. I had noticed it before, but had no idea what it said....whoops! Not to worry, a short walk and a lighter wallet later we were on our way back to the house.
That night we were heading back downtown for dinner, the four of us and one of Keith's colleague's from Washington D.C., Mohammad Latif. Mohammad is from California via Pakistan and is the Regional Environmental Officer for Eastern Europe and Eurasia with USAID. I had spoken to Mohammad on the phone years before, but never met in person. He just happened to be in Belgrade as we were passing through so it was a perfect chance for us to meet. Mohammad is a whirlwind of a guy! Extremely nice and always on the go. Within 30 minutes of meeting him he was setting up a meeting between CJ and I and one of his colleagues in Montenegro. We were heading that way by train the next night anyway so it only seemed proper for us to meet him. Perhaps we'll be able to get some environmental contract work sometime in the future.
Dinner was good and we got a look at the superb Belgrade nightlife on the walk from the restaurant back to the car. The next day we spent in the back of the car driving through the Serbian country side. We visited a few monasteries and a couple different castle ruins. Serbia is truly a beautiful country. I've already forgotten the names of the villages and sites we saw there though. It's different when you're not planning the route yourself. Pretty nice too, after a couple months of reviewing maps and planning our days, we got to simply sit back and relax and enjoy the sites as they came. I'm sure once I review a Serbian map I'll be able to recall the towns and sites we saw.
Reluctanly we hopped on the train that night and headed towards Montenegro where we would meet up with our new contact Vladan in Podgorica. For the first time in the couchettes we had company...no more cabins to ourselves, this one was packed full with 6 people. On the bright side though, I think it was our last overnight train! Vladan picked us up at the train station in Podgorica, capital of newly independent Montenegro, and took us out for a Burek breakfast. We chatted about the history and environmental issues of Montenegro for a couple hours before we had to get on a bus to Kotor and head towards the Dalmatian Coast. The meeting went well and we hope to see Vladan again in the near future.
Next stop the Dalmatian Coast...which I think CJ already posted about...so perhaps the next stop will be Italia!
and by the way...we didn't get a chance to post any new photos or videos from Serbia...it'll have to wait a bit longer....apologies.
Rj with Uncle Keith and Aunt Chris on the streets of Belgrade
CJ on the banks of the mighty Danube
Burek business breakfast in Podgorica, Montenegro
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