March 23rd Onward to Serbia!
We tied up on the Sava River (named for Serbia’s patron saint – one of their kindlier ancient kings) flowing into the Danube where it reaches Beograd (as Serbians call it), the capital of what was once a much larger kingdom. Others call it ‘Belgrade’.
Last year, my blind companion lovingly insisted I seize the chance to walk around the city, knowing I wanted to describe it to my Serbian friend back in Wyoming, so this time I limited my exploration to the riverside area, since I was tired and needed less frenetic, fast-paced activity.
Smiled, as I observed two lovely black and white ducks – evidently a mated pair – drifting easily downward with the Sava River current, wisely conserving their strength.
Lots of trash floating in the murky waters: when was the Sava – or the Danube – ever actually blue? Perhaps before the advent of paper and plastic?
Beograd is one of the very oldest cities in Europe – thousands of years before Slavs, there were Celts, Mongols, Bulgurs (from northern Russia) and Turks, of course! Modern Beograd is a lively, relatively (but only relatively) cosmopolitan place, famous for political turmoil as well as nightlife. Wonderful food! Right now: riots.
I can see dozens of joggers along the riverfront, quaint-looking trams that remind me of photos from 1940s cinema newsreels, rather moderate auto traffic (rarely see American made cars in the Balkan countries) and – ALWAYS – the relatively enormous tour buses.
Great views of local city life. Rioting elsewhere in the city (we are being protected from it). Massive protests against the current regime and its unpopular president. Nothing very surprising in Serbia! But I keep track of it on bbc and pbs, more or less armed with stout reserves of skepticism.
Can see at least two suspension bridges bearing traffic and pedestrians between all parts of the city, a few tall buildings, church towers and steeples, some with golden domes like in Kiev or Moscow. Delighted to hear church bells now and then, like I remember in Italy, where they seem to ring constantly, in all tones, all depths, to my delight.
Can glimpse the lofty ramparts of Beograd’s ancient fortress, where [on the previous Viking cruise] we walked around for hours and I was rescued by a gentle couple from Taiwan when I needed to rest. They insisted on staying with me until I was able to go on! Impossible to forget. Life would not be possible for me without the surprising kindness of strangers!
Back on Top Deck of Ullur, continuing to watch city life below, sipping a warm coffee macchiato decaf. Surprise! Our handsome Romanian maitre d’ just clambered up the stairway with a stunningly beautiful young woman whom he proudly introduced as his fiancée. Her English infinitely better than my Romanian (ha ha). We exchanged spirited greetings, and they told me they planned a June wedding, with a honeymoon elsewhere! I felt honored to be introduced and wished them joy and good fortune.
Romanian, with its Latin roots, sounds very different from Serbian and Hungarian – more like a blend of Italian and Spanish. Managed to get out a “buona sera” as they left. It worked!! Ran into lovely fiancée a couple more times after that. We smiled and high-fived each other.
Later – After lunch: Beograd 1:50 PM
Ate with new Montana friends Jere and Patti, who described their adventures on the fascinating tour of the city and great fortress, which looms on a bluff overlooking the town. Joined as well by a lively retired couple from Melbourne, Australia. We covered many topics! Ranches (US). Stations (Australia). Aborigines, Maoris (New Zealand), the economy (sadly sinking Australian dollar). Royalty in general.
For fun, I asked them what sites they would recommend, what restaurants, etc., should William and Kate come to call. Asked: Have they visited Melbourne? Has King Charles? (Don’t recall their answer.) But we all had fun planning their itinerary, funny things for them to eat (sea bream? wombat roast?), nice activities for Harry and Charlotte, wee royals. (Did I leave out a sibling?) Talked about kids, grandkids, smelly penguins and chilly Antarctica, Aussie heroics in World War Two – Borneo, New Guinea … found, unsurprisingly, that we had more in common than real differences. We all wished a lot of things were better right now – in our world(s).