Continuing our free-time exploration:
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| We again passed the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, for a closer look |
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| Играју се црни коњи/Playful Black Horses (1937-1938, by Toma Rosandić), one of a pair |
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| The second Playful Black Horse; the Serbians are reported to joke about everything and our local guide described the statues as "one horse being pushed and one being pulled, but if a horse ever gets into the National Assembly, you will never get him out" |
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| This exterior windshield sunscreen works well enough! |
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| Историјски музеј Србије/Historical Museum of Serbia (est 1963, building 1932- 1934, by Petar and Branko Krstićas in Modernist in Art Deco style, the Privileged Agrarian Bank) |
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| Споменик Николи Пашићу/Monument (1998, by Zoran Ivanovićto) to Nikola Pašić, a Serbian statesman with posts including Mayor of Belgrade and Prime Minister of Serbia up through World War I |
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| A Corvus cornix/Hooded or Gray Crow watches a dog in the Nikola Pašić Square Fountain (1959, by Hranislav Stojanović) where a custom has developed for students graduating from elementary and secondary schools jump into the fountain |
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| Roasted corn vendor |
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| „Зелени венац“ пијаца/Green Wreath Market (est 1847, buildings 1926) is the oldest market still in operation in Belgrade; only open on Saturdays |
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| The McDonald's in Belgrade do not use Serbian Cyrillic to shout out their name |
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| So in Belgrade we find the future in waste collection (household waste, organic waste, mixed recycling), with large underground containers that are emptied only when full (they can be electronically monitored) |
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| Конак кнегиње Љубице/Residence of Princess Ljubica (1829-1830, by Hadži Nikola Živković) is typical of city houses in Serbian-Balkan style, and was built for Prince Miloš of the Obrenović Dynasty |
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| Саборна Црква Светог Архангела Михаила/ Holy Archangel Michael Orthodox Cathedral (1837-1840, Neoclassical style) |
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| Façade of Holy Archangel Michael Orthodox Cathedral |
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| Looking back up the steps to the bank of the Danube River |
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| A coffeehouse with a bust of Tito |
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| Seems to be a memorial to the fallen seamen of 1941-1945 |
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| I have neglected to show the oatmeal raisin cookie that always accompanies the specialty cookies |
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| The chef at the buffet in the dining room, with the pickles and fruit and cheese |
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| Meat options are roasted chicken and roasted pork shoulder ... |
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| ... as well as, stuffed bell peppers and lamb kebabs |
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| Cured meats and stuffed mini peppers along with Hungarian wax peppers |
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| Salad greens, beets, and pepper salad |
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| More salad greens, Serbian coleslaw, and marinated tomatoes |
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| Desserts: Lokum/Turkish Delight and Bakclava |
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| Desserts: Doboš Cake and Poppyseed Cake |
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| Fruit platter and Semolina Pudding (with apricot jam) |
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| Taste of the Balkans décor |
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| The "restaurant" or dining room on the Viking Ullur |
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| This was how we were served the appetizers ... |
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| that also included flatbread with three spreads: Körözött/Hungarian cheese spread, Vinete/Romanian eggplant dip, and Ajvar/Serbiab roasted red pepper spread |
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| Roasted chick and pork shoulder with Balkan fries and Croatian rice and peas |
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| We were served every dessert! |
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| We sailed away from Belgrade after dark; view toward New Belgrade (KSS) |
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| View back toward Бранков мост/Branko Bridge (1956, a continuous steel box girder bridge) |
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| Fireworks from the foot of Belgrade Fortress (KSS) |
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| The same fireworks?! |
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| Belgrade Fortress |
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| The Victor statue |
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| Bye, bye, Belgrade! (KSS) |
Tonight's enrichment lecture: Serbia Today, was advertised to portray Serbia as a crossroads of the world with various civilizations, religions, and cultures that existed (peacefully together?) over thousands of years.
As we know, World War I is said to have been started by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo, Bosnia, by a Bosnian Serb. This gave the Austro-Hungarian Empire the excuse they needed to invade Serbia, even though the event took place in Austro-Hungary-controlled Bosnia-Herzegovina. Were the Serbians always the victims?
During World War II, the Serbians were victims of genocide from many fronts.
Serbians claim to have fought only wars of liberation, including in the 1990s. Yet in the 1990s, they did not have the support of the UN and NATO. Why? The Serbian answer seems to be because they had ties to Communism. (Yet, during World War II, the Allies supported Tito's Communist Partisans in hopes of stabilizing the Balkan region.) Granted, the Serbian people probably did not know what the Milošević government was doing, but they remain miffed that France was part of the NATO bombing of 1999.
Is Serbian nationalism actually resentment against the slights of all the other identity groups in Yugoslavia? The Serbian Republic seems to have wanted to carry on the Yugoslav name, but everyone else fought to be independent from Yugoslavia.
Of the countries we are visiting on this trip, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, and Hungary, only Serbia is not a member of the European Union/EU.
Well, I only had one ear open for the lecture, so I am probably off base. The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.
Next: Vukovar, Croatia.
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