Day 8: Gray Belgrade

According to the weather report, our eighth day was supposed to be sunny. However, the clouds lingered throughout the day, making the gray concrete skyscrapers look even grayer against the gray sky. The green spaces in the parks were longing for moisture, adding to the overall desolate atmosphere. Fortunately, the streets were not as crowded with honking cars as they were the previous evening.

One advantage of the cloudy weather was the pleasant traveling temperature, which saved us from sweating in the expected 33 °C heat. We spent the first 30 minutes walking through the concrete blocks of Belgrade, occasionally encountering monumental buildings with grand column architecture tucked between the skyscrapers.

Our first stop was the bakery, where we indulged in another sweet breakfast that we enjoyed in a small park. After refueling, we continued past various government buildings, including the Serbian National Council, and through the city center. There was likely a political rally taking place, as the building was heavily guarded by police and the military.

Our main destination was the Belgrade Fortress. On the way there, we also passed through a bustling market, where a wide variety of fruits and vegetables were on display. Once at the fortress, we walked around the premises and explored old military equipment in a trench. The highlight for me (Christian) was stumbling upon a small dinosaur park, which brought back memories from my childhood. I named some of the recreated dinosaurs for Steffi, although they had forgotten the most important one: the Velociraptor! Despite that, this unexpected visit brought me great joy.

For lunch, we decided to try local cuisine and enjoyed meat patties and pork with peppers and onions.

Feeling tired from all the meat, we set out from Republic Square in search of more sights and eventually discovered a charming little alley in the bohemian style. We stopped for a coffee to recharge, but only Steffi got one. I ended up with a mistakenly ordered hot chocolate, which made me even calmer. We leisurely strolled back to our accommodation, passing by the Church of Saint Mark along the way. Unfortunately, we couldn't see the inside of the church because there were two or three weddings happening at that time.

Just before reaching our accommodation, we bought some snacks for tomorrow's train ride to Budapest and prepared for an earlier wake-up and travel.