Blogs from Serbia, Europe - page 17

Location: Belgrade, Novi Pazar, Novi Sad Length of Stay: 4 Days Cost per Day: $55 I imagine when most people think Serbia or Serbians... their thoughts and images are of the negative variety... Serbia was actually another ok place... and probably a little better set up and organised for the international tourist trade... if the opportunity came up, I would probably be open to return to this one and explore further... Certainly there is an incredible and rich history here... Romans, Ottomans, Austro-Hungarians have all left their mark... thus some of the architecture is quite stunning... in fact its mostly all I have taken photos of... Those that speak English are very friendly... those that dont are not... unfortunately... Serbia does have a train network... The trains are cheaper than the buses however I was warned ... read more

Day 8-Sailing Day 8/24/10 Ditto on the weather. How long can this last? Today we sailed all day without stop. There were two river locks, known here as the Iron Gates, that we passed through. This, I guess was the technical highlight of the day. I missed the second as I chose to get a massage. We passed through the lock as I was getting my back rubbed down. I did not see a thing but Jackie said it was interesting as there was a large hydro power plant at the site and the lock bypassed the dam. The most scenic highlight was area known as Danube’s Gorges. These were impressive. We were also surprised to find their version of Mount Rushmore. I can’t remember who was the face carved into the mountain side but it ... read more

Day 9 Budapest to Belgrade So. To start with, anyone who said "yeah right" to my early night comment on the last entry may also now justifiably say "I told you so". But no gloating! Maybe we didn't get an early night but we did have a good time at Champs bar celebrating the world cup. Which we all agreed was positively the most boring game we have seen. We had a little wager (and when I say little, I mean 100Ft each, which is about 30p) but no-one won, so the waitress got a very measly addition to her tip. Oh well. I got the score right, I just picked Holland to win. Can't say anyone was too invested in the game though, as Thomas was watching it at the Spanish Institute and not with ... read more

Departure (21st June 2010) We left St. Pancras at 8.02am on Monday 21st June, bound for Paris on the Eurostar, while still finishing off wedding thank you cards. Some of you may have noted the French or even Bosnian stamps! Lunching in Montmartre didn’t make us feel very much like we were embarking on a year-long backpacking trip which would take us around the world. A quick change of train in Munich left us to enjoy our first night away from home in the sleeping car, headed for Budapest. Not long after we had arrived we were on our way again, the destination this time would be Belgrade later in the evening. Belgrade, Serbia (22nd - 23rd June 2010) We were greeted by heavy rain in the Serbian capital and a quick taxi ride was in ... read more

Eileen: Well, where do I start? Richard, Jane, Peg and Kristy went to the bar across the street after dinner last night and did not get in till 4:00 in the morning. Mugs and I were sleeping in our comfey beds. Who was the first one up this morning? Jane, two hours before everyone else who got up at 11:oo am. We went to the local grocery store to shop for breakfast and it was facinating. The bread is out of this world, Bread everywhere, every color, kind, shape and flavor. I think this is where the saying bread is the staff of life came from. Jane cooked us up eggs and bacon, we had bread , bananas and the best sweets we found in a window at street level with a woman standing in the ... read more