October 12, 2010 -
Bright and sunny and we docked very early. Our view from our large window was looking up under the walkway! This is the 2nd largest city in Serbia and they have the 2nd largest Serbian fortress with 16 km of underground passages and over 400 cannons and once housed 50,000 soldiers. The city is surrounded by flat plains.
In 1999 NATO bombed the city for 78 days. There are three bridges: Pontoon (no longer exists), Blue (which is too low at certain times when the river rises and ships have to wait until the water level decreases) and Rainbow and Liberty bridges. We walked through a nice green park dedicated to Empress Sissy of Austria with swans - Dunavaska Park. Toured the Serbian Orthodox Church of St. George and the catholic church. The synagogue from 1909 was built by architect Lipold Baumhorn. It is now a concert hall and offers Jewish services on holidays only. There are not enough Jews in the city for regular services. Thousands were deported during WWII and sent to concentration camps; it is said they were pushed into the Danube River. The town has a population of 10,000. The code to use the toilet at MacDonald’s is 0217#, if you are ever in the area! The Zmaj Jovina walking street was quaint and full of cafes and small specialty shops. They are known for their “kibbitz-fenster” – a window which extends into the street by about 2 feet so you have a better view of who is passing beneath you on the street – makes for better gossip when you can view those around you. There may be four windows on the 2nd floor but one window will jut out further into the street than the other windows. Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj wrote poetry and newspaper for youth. We saw the Serbian National Theater.
During WWII, citizens were not allowed to come to the Serbian Orthodox church; religion was suppressed. It was a beautiful baroque church with ornate paintings. There are no pews or chairs on the church. Women/children stand on one side of the church and the men on the other. On special occasions, the men are allowed to go near the altar. The Catholic and Orthodox way to cross yourself is reversed – Orthodox first touch their right shoulder, left and then middle and Catholics do the opposite. The city claims to have over 16 minorities living together.
We visited the 1895 Neo-Gothic Katedrala (Catholic cathedral), City Hall constructed in 1896, the tourist office and walked over the bridge to Petrovaradin Fortress. It dates back to Roman times built between 1692 and 1780 by the Austrian army. The fortress is on the ruins of a 13th century Roman forts which also served as the center of power during Ottoman rule (1526 – 1686). We walked among the barracks, found a newly restored 5* Hotel Leonardo built into the barracks and enjoyed the many views of the city and art galleries and Danube River below. The Novi Sad City Museum and Underground Military Galleries are also here but we did not have time plus they were not offering the underground paths, tunnels and walled gates without a group of ten – supposed to be over 10 miles of them.
It was quite a steep walk up many steps to get there.
Back over the bridge, we went to the Vojvodina Museum – the best museum in town. It has four permanent exhibits of archaeology, history, ethnology and modern history. The central treasure are two 4th century golden Roman helmets, supposedly in better condition than those in the Louvre in Paris. It was huge! An entire floor of the museum showed how the country was won, lost, items found from the Bronze Age and then on to their furniture, costumes, descriptions of their customs, jewelry, hats….lots of interesting items. Well worth the $1.50 to get in!
The city market was just around the street so we ran over there. Fruits, vegetables, underwear, long underwear, shirts, sweats, flea market items, kitchen items…you name it - was fun to walk around. Back to the ship for sailaway at 1:30 and we had a nice lunch - smoked trout today and it was delicious. Plus the soup and salad buffet and a dessert. Plenty of food onboard!!!
We had a private tour of the engine room and captain’s area, which is a 6x6’ room on a hydraulic lift so they can lower it when the river is too high and the ship cannot pass under bridges. The engine room is not very large but very loud. They use two engines – one for when sailing and one for when we are docked.
I rested on the upper deck wrapped in a blanket. We passed bucolic country scenery with cows, pigs and horses on the farmland by the Danube. Nice bluffs on the one side and flat farm land on the other. In for tea at 5PM (first time we’ve had that) and then we arrived in Belgrade, Serbia, their largest city.
Belgrade is located in south eastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. The Sava and Danube rivers embrace the city on three sides and that is why the city has from the ancient times been the guardian of the waterways. It is also called the Gate of the Balkans and the Door of Middle Europe. In its long and turbulent history, Belgrade has frequently changed its names and masters. Its Slavic name “Belgrade” has lasted for the longest time, means white city. It is the city that most battles were fought for and the city with the highest number of symbolic names as well.
We docked on the Sava River, under the white-stoned fortress. Big War Island is an island in between the Sava and Danube rivers, which is now swamp and marshlands. We took the bus up to the walking street and headed into the Kalemegdan park. We found vendors selling their old money – 50,000,000,000 notes!!!! 50 billion notes. Can you imagine!? There was an exposition from Epson showing digital prints of the masterpieces in the art world – Picasso, Monet, Gauguin…they looked like the exact paintings! And the view of the city from above was very nice. We continued down the Knez Mihailova walking street, explored a modern art gallery with a video, people-watched as all ages walked and ate their roasted chestnuts and popcorn and came upon the Republic Square (Trg Republike) where they have the National Museum and National Theatre.
We had some difficulty crossing the streets to get back to the ship as Secretary of State Clinton was in town and apparently she was on the same time schedule we were. We never saw the motorcade but there were masses of policeman standing around the entire city enjoying their free time on taxpayer’s money. The French group hosted the Swiss Ambassador for a meeting and dinner.
After dinner we really enjoyed a folklore show of Talija: a 4-man band of two clarinets, and accordion and piano players and four dancers in traditional Serbian dress (vest is called a Jelek). They presented five regional dances in the various costumes of the region. They had on Opanci footwear, leather “genie” shoes with the rounded up front of the sandal. You can tell the region that peasant is from by the type of opanak-shoe they wore. When they were changing, we had a fashion show of Sirogojno sweater jackets – the wool is from Iceland and the designs are Serbian. Approx $250 for a sweater.
Ajvar – a delicious Serbian specialty – contains red pepper prepared in a traditional way. Ajvar is a kind of salad that may be used as a side dish and is prepared in open pots on wood stoves.
Slatko – traditional specialty and every welcoming ceremony begins with it. Hand-made and contains whole fruits that are easily recognizable in the thick syrup. It is served in a small dish with a glass of fresh water.
Rakija – traditional spirit that is mainly made of plums but other fruits and even vegetables may also be used. The Serbs use brandy for many purposes and it has a very important role in everyday life and in religious life as well. It refreshes and strengthens the body and is considered to be a medicine for a number of ailments.
