Walk around Belgrade

We set out on foot to tour some of the fabulous sights of Belgrade with our personal tour guide, Jasmina.
We visited the Kalemegdan fortress, which is known as the largest and most beautiful park on Belgrade. The fortress stands above the Sava and Danube rivers. The park's massiveness is overwhelming. The fortress has been in existence since the 14th century. As we walked through the park, it was amazing to think about the time and effort it took to build such a magnificent place. Bricks and stone make up the fortress. Within the fortress park, we visited several churches and art buildings, and took in the sights. (To see more about Kalemegdan visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalemegdan)
Here are some of the beautiful sights from our walk.


There was a church we entered that had fabulous chandeliers made entirely out of bullets. The church was dark and unlike the churches we are use to at home, yet very beautiful. All the churches here have beautiful mosaics and paintings on the ceilings. When we exited the church, we thanked the lady for opening the doors for us to let us in. (no pictures were allowed inside the church). Doug said he was going to take a picture of the outside of the church...and he did, but he also was interested by the sign on the door of the church:

We had the chance to listen to a concert by the police band that was performing in the gazebo in the park. Concerts happen at the Kalemegdan often during the spring and summer months. the we walked to another building within the park and listened to a talented young lady who is graduating from the performing arts school. She has a beautiful voice. Even though she was singing in a language I could not understand, the expression she put into her opera music was entertaining.

After walking the Kalemegdan, we walked through the Pedestrian Zone and to a cafe to rest our feet for a while. Jasmina told Doug and I that we were "typical Americans" because we ordered Coke to drink. Sadly, I am not a coffee drinker, and I'm not overly fond of liqueur, so Coca cola is a safe bet. We had a wonderful chat with Jasmina, talking about the differences and similarities between our two countries. I enjoy telling people about what I do for a job. many people in other countries are amazed and baffled that children with physical and cognitive delays attend school with typical children.

We arrived home from our walk around 10:00pm. Both with tired feet, we showered and headed to bed after talking to Hannah for a bit. All in all, a good day in a beautiful city with much history.