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Serbia
Serbia and Montenegro
Bec2004-09-15 15:44:35
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Belgrade
It took six hours for the train to reach Belgrade from Zagreb. I arrived in the afternoon and found a room for 12 $US at the Centar Hotel just across the Savski square in front of the train station.
When the finishing touches were put on this building in 1932, it was the Parliament of a Yugoslavia that included Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. Now, because of the excessive domination exerted by Serbia, it only serves Serbia and Montenegro.
The main Post Office in the background is another important Belgrade landmark along Revolution Boulevard.
Moving north along Revolution Blvd past the post office and the Parliament brings us to Republic Square where the National Museum and the National Theatre, shown here, are located.
The Kalemegdan Citadel occupies strategic heights overlooking the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. The site was occupied by Celts from the 3rd century BC to the first century of our era when they were replaced by Romans who stayed until the 5th.
Much of what is seen today dates from the Ottoman occupation that lasted from the 14th to the 19th centuries.
Finally, this panorama, overlooking the Veliko Ratno Ostrovo Island around which the Sava flows before joining the Danube, explains why this site has been occupied and fortified since the third century BC. Use your browser's slider to see the rest on the right.
I tried in vain to get transport to Kosovo but no trains nor busses went there when I was in Belgrade. Just asking about ways to reach Kosovo got me dirty looks from the several travel agents and officials I asked. They all complained that they did not control anything in "that dangerous place" but nobody volunteered that Kosovo should be independent from Serbia.
I had no problem however to get a sleeper on the train to Bar in Montenegro.
Copyright Bernard Cloutier
All rights reserved.
Please visit my website
See photographs from:
Serbia Montenegro Gallery
