.....everything I've read warned of taxi scams at the airport--prices of up to $40 to the city center, so I researched and found the A1 Line bus stopped across the street from my hotel and only cost $3.12 so I left the airport, found the bus immediately, and got off at my stop downtown. I had to look a little for my hotel which was maybe 100 yards away but they don't have street signs here.
I was hoping for the best with my hotel and it worked out fine. I booked it online and my reservation was waiting for me but they seemed a little surprised to see me walk in with a backpack. It's a really nice, clean room--completely refurbished--with breakfast and Internet and around $66 a night. The Internet is a little sketchy but works really well in the elevator lobby on my floor and they have couches there.
I unpacked and took a quick walk along the Sava River--Belgrade is at the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers--to the old fortress but it started raining and was getting dark so I just basically started getting my bearings around the Old Town. I'll explore more tomorrow.
Belgrade so far is nothing like Zagreb. The city has seen better days with lots of what I call old Soviet-style architecture--much of it bare concrete. And many of the painted buildings were painted concrete-grey--which in overcast weather does look kind of dreary.
I changed into dry clothing at the hotel and ate at the restaurant there which I thought was amazingly good and very reasonable although almost deserted when I was in there.
Serbian beer has a reputation as being very good and I found that to be true tonight.
I was hoping for the best with my hotel and it worked out fine. I booked it online and my reservation was waiting for me but they seemed a little surprised to see me walk in with a backpack. It's a really nice, clean room--completely refurbished--with breakfast and Internet and around $66 a night. The Internet is a little sketchy but works really well in the elevator lobby on my floor and they have couches there.
Belgrade City Hotel
I unpacked and took a quick walk along the Sava River--Belgrade is at the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers--to the old fortress but it started raining and was getting dark so I just basically started getting my bearings around the Old Town. I'll explore more tomorrow.
Belgrade so far is nothing like Zagreb. The city has seen better days with lots of what I call old Soviet-style architecture--much of it bare concrete. And many of the painted buildings were painted concrete-grey--which in overcast weather does look kind of dreary.
It was raining pretty hard when I got to the Belgrade Cathedral when I got there so I spent a little time inside. They don't allow photographs inside and I try to respect those requests, but it is, as you'd imagine, very ornate and beautiful inside with lots of gold-tint. The Serbian Orthodox Church places a lot of emphasis on the Saints, so the artwork inside was very icon-oriented.
A urban monastery is located across the street.
Serbian beer has a reputation as being very good and I found that to be true tonight.
Tomorrow I'll start over with the Old City and hope for better weather (I did bring an umbrella with me).
No comments:
Post a Comment