Fascinating Belgrade

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Hi Everybody!
Yesterday, we took a train ride from Sofia, Bulgaria to Belgrade, Serbia. We covered 200 miles in 11 hours on a train that had no air-conditioning. We bought the best available first class tickets which meant that we had white satin covers on our headrests. We did have assigned seats but no one seemed to pay attention to that. The train ride was long and hot! The good part was that we made a couple of excellent friends. One was a University student returning home to Belgrade from a 45 day trip to the Middle East. His name was Miklos, and he was extremely helpful. We thoroughly enjoyed his company. We met Miklos before we boarded the train. Our cabin mates were Serbians and consisted of Lily, the mother her daughter, Natasha age 12 her nephew, Bogdan age 11
The children spoke enough English for us to communicate. They asked lots of questions and helped the time to pass. I gave them each a U.S. dollar and other little trinkets. They gave me a Serbian magazine and a pen. We shared our snacks. When they left, they wanted us to take their Coke and water. I taught the children the 7 coin math probabilty game,and we played it many times. I was very sad to see them go. We hope to keep in touch!
I absolutely love Belgrade!!!! This is a city that you need to put on your agenda. It is located at the crossroads of the East and West. The first written mention of this city was in 878 in a letter written by Pope John VIII. The city is located on the Danube and Sava Rivers. It is the capital of Serbia and reminds us of Budapest. The people are friendly and seem happy. We walked to the Republic Square today and to several parks. The tallest building in Belgrade is a building that was the Communist Party Building when they were in power.
This week, the city is celebrating their Beer Fest and expect half a million people to be in attendance. We went tonight and had a blast! The Belgrade Fortress was situated on a hill overlooking the area of the Beer Fest. It is the largest fort that I have ever seen and was in great condition. This city has been destroyed many times by wars. It still has many beautiful old European buildings. I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to come here. If I had come last month, I could have seen the Rolling Stones in concert here. Families from grandparents to newborns were together tonight enjoying the fellowship of the beer fest. Bands played constantly. Huge tents were set up with every known type of European beer, food stalls, carnival rides, and activities for everyone. All of the vendors were busy except the water tent!!!
Belgrade has been the first place that I have enjoyed shopping! They were glad to take my money,and I was glad to give it to them! They seem very appreciative of my business.
We bought bus tickets to Romania today and airline tickets to Montenegro. We are in hopes of renting a car once we get to Bar, Montenegro. From there, we will drive to Croatia and Slovenia.
Take care,
Everette

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Comments

[Mary Beth]

MMMmmmm....beer
As Homer Simpson would say, and so would I! I'm happy to know that y'all are having such a wonderful time and getting a chance to share experiences with the locals. Getting to meet people has always been one of my favorite parts of travel. The hot train rides make the experience even more unforgettable! =)