Eurotrip Leg 8 - A Little R & R in Belgrade and Conclusion

This part of the blog is probably going to be the least interesting for everyone, but hey its gotta be done, or else the blog isn't complete. Basically the 5th, 6th and 7th were identical days of laying around, reading, sleeping and walking about town a little bit... we're tired from travelling and walking so much.

January 5th we came back from Novi Sad by bus and got back to the residence around noon, we had a bite to eat, did some reading, and pretty much updated our blogs/emails/other internet crap all afternoon and into the early evening. We had planned on going to a club, but cancelled those plans due to the fact of being exhausted from the night before, getting colds (both of us), and the insane freezing rain that turned the streets into skating rinks, literally a centimeter thick. Aka, we're bums.

January 6th was a bit more lively and we managed to drag ourselves out of the house a bit more. Brian and I did some more walking about town and got some shopping done for a few friends/family members. We went for lunch and cigars at a restaraunt and cuban lounge called Que Pasa? which I had been to before Brian got here, again the food was good, and the cigars even better. After Que Pasa, we headed for a stroll and eventually made our way home after buying a few things. Our friend Tammy was coming into Belgrade, and met us for supper/coffee/tea, we went to the well known Hotel Moskva, which has some dark history related to the Black Hand and some Mafia ties, it was a good change of pace. After that Tammy had to head to see her family as it was Orthodox Christmas Eve, and me and Brian crashed back at home, him going to sleep, and me sitting up reading and on the internet (wired from 400 cups of tea).

Today, once again was low key, we slept in until 11, hung out around the house, and headed out to Trg Republicka around 2pm, did some last minute shopping and ate at a Serbian restaraunt, had turkey sandwich and fries, cup of tea, bottle of water and a mean good 4 Scoop Banana/Strawberry Gelato with whipped cream on top. After that we walked around Kalemegdan Fortress and along the cliffs overlooking the Sava and Danube Rivers, got some last minute photos before the plane ride early tomorrow morning. Plan for the rest of the night is to lay low and relax. And up at 4 am, urgh.

Conclusion: One helluva trip where we got to meet great people, didn't kill each other or get killed by others, a great part of the world that is very underrated, and the people put to shame what we do to welcome foreigners and tourists in North America.

Things I will remember:

Belgrade:
- Being able to see Rob & Cathrine again
- University students who showed me the city (particularly Ogi)
- Day out on the town with Tammy
- The directions back to the mansion: Dedinja, Uzicka ##. (Not putting in the address)
- Kalemegdan Fortress and the history behind it
- NATO bombed buildings still standing
- Nightclub Boats on the Sava and Danube & Ridiculous amounts of techno and electronic music
- The 2 most important words: Pivo & Jivali
- Meeting with the Governor of the Bank of Serbia
- Many friendly animals that my aunt and uncle take care of
- Hotel Moskva, weird place, definately from a different era
- Folks from the embassy that allowed us to join them for a Canadian Christmas dinner

Budapest:
- Budapest Parliament Buildings (Amazing)
- Budapest Royal Palace & Old Town of Buda
- The pitch black stairs of our hotel at night
- Bathing in a 500 year old Turkish Bath
- St. Stephen's Basilica
- 2 Americans we met from Santa Barbara at ClubInside that were hilarious

Prague:
- The amazing views and beauty of the city, even in January
- Old Town Square
- The Church of Our Lady (Looks like a castle)
- Astrological Clock
- Insano fireworks on New Years nearly killing people
- People pushing on Charles Bridge, and the many injuries that occurred
- New Years Eve Night at Karlovy Lazne
- Russian friends
- Prague Castle
- Charles Bridge
- The night of food poisoning and upchucking

Novi Sad:
- Tammy and Jovana, how much they did for us, and the fun we had in Novi Sad
- The Hotel Novi Sad, nicest hotel in Novi Sad, which we got at half price because Jovana's dad owns it
- Novi Sad being quiet like Regina
- Serbian Volleyball
- Bar hopping with Tammy and Jovana and being the only tourists (stares anyone, haha)


A Special Thanks to These People, without them the trip would not have been the same:

- Aunt Cathrine and Uncle Rob for everything, organizing and allowing me to come, and going out of their way for me.
- Brian Warren for giving me someone to trust and have fun with while travelling.
- Tammy and Jovana for being friendly, kind and giving.
- Ogi and Jelena for introducing me to many new friends and showing me how hospitable Serbians are.
- The residence guards that must be sick of ordering taxis for me and letting me in at the early hours of the morning.

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