Monday, September 17
Our day started with a return to the Moscow Hotel. For lunch we ordered a bowl of tomato soup and spaghetti carbonara (we haven’t had really good carbonara since we left Italy). Our meal came with a basket of bread along with some house made spreads. It wasn’t easy to tell exactly what they were but one had red pepper, one had eggplant and we have no idea what was in the third. They were all really good. Deborah loved her soup and the carbonara was decent. Why would anyone want to leave Rome? For dessert we split a piece of the Moskva Schnit; it didn’t disappoint.
We waked off lunch by taking a turn around the neighborhood that’s called London. It’s not clear why it was so named – it doesn’t resemble London at all but we did find quite a few embassies. There was a large banner across the street from the British Embassy protesting the NATO bombings from 1999. It’s still a heated topic of discussion and an ever present issue.
We circled back and found the one remaining synagogue in town. The building survived Word War II because the German’s used it as a nightclub. Virtually the entire Jewish population of Belgrade was killed in Nazi concentration camps. Today the Jewish population of Belgrade numbers around 30. Because of continued anti-semitism that number is expected to get smaller and smaller.
(Temple Sukat Shalom)
The synagogue was originally built by members of the Ashkenazi sect but now supports a Sephardic congregation. The grounds also host a kindergarten. The interior is fairly large but plain. We had a nice look around before heading back out. The $2.00 entry fee also covered entry to the Jewish cemetery but it was several miles away and we did not see it.
Our last stop was at one of the coffee shops we frequent to purchase some krofne. Krofne are Serbian donuts and they are supposed to be filled with some sort of fruit jelly. The ones we got were made out of a bread dough that was fried and topped with chocolate but had no filling. They weren’t very good and were hardly worth wasting the calories. They’re reputed to be a popular pastry but we’ve had some trouble finding them. We’ll continue to look in the hopes of finding a better version.
Distance walked: 4.8 miles
Tuesday, September 18
We took a free tour of Zemun. Throughout its history Zemun was a town unto itself but in 1934 it was absorbed into the municipality of Belgrade. The interesting thing about Zemun is that during most of the 500 years that Belgrade was occupied by the Ottoman Empire Zemun was part of the Habsburg Empire and, as a consequence, has a completely different character from Belgrade.
We met the free tour near Republic Square and took a bus for the seven mile trip over to Zemun. Our group consisted of three couples and a tour guide. The ride took just ten minutes and we were deposited near Zemunski Park which played an important role until the middle 1800s. The park was the demarcation line between the Ottomans and the Austro-Hungarians. Anyone traveling between the two realms was required to be quarantined in this park for several weeks to help prevent the spread of diseases. The park contains Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches that ministered to those who were waiting to be released. We visited the Orthodox church. It was rather small but was nicely decorated.
We meandered through town for a while and saw the main street. It looked very European and would not have been out of place if it had been located somewhere in Hungary. Nearby we saw “The White Bear”. It’s the oldest Kafana in town and was opened in 1717. Today the tavern is closed and efforts are underway to turn it into an official historic site.
Next we walked up a steep hill via several series of stone steps to get to Gardos Tower. This tower was built in the late 1800s as part of Hungary’s millennial celebration. It is one of a number of towers that were built at the time and is the only one that is outside of present day Hungary. The view from the top of the hill was wonderful. We could see the entire town of Zemun, War Island, the far side of the Danube and parts of Belgrade. For two EURO you can climb the tower but we didn’t have time for that during the tour.
(View of Zemun from the Top of the Hill)
Finally we walked down through the main market square and along the waterfront. There is a large marina there and many land based and boat based restaurants all along the waterfront. Our guide took the other two couples back to Belgrade on the bus but we stayed to eat lunch and look around some more.
We chose one of the waterfront restaurants and got a table overlooking the river. For our meal we ordered river fish: Deborah got Carp Cutlets and I had Smoked Trout. Both came with a combination of spinach and sliced potatoes. The food was good but river fish do tend to be rather bland. The best part of the meal was the view from our table.
(Carp Cutlets)
After lunch we walked around the main square and checked out the booths. Zemun is not a touristy area so most of the booths were selling practical things like housewares and clothing. Nearby was a large farmers market where local farms sell their produce directly to the public.
After a little more sightseeing we got on the bus and headed back Belgrade and our apartment.
Distance walked: 6.8 miles
Wednesday, September 19
I had an appointment to play tennis with a coach over at Novak Djokovic’s tennis center. The tennis center is located near the Lower Town along the Danube River. We’d seen the tennis center on a previous day and I was able to arrange an appointment by email.
My coach was a very engaging fellow who had actually traveled with Djokovic for seven years and worked as a coach and hitting partner. He had lots of interesting stories to tell and I listened with interest as he relayed an insider’s view of 2017 when Novak had a terrible year on the tour.
The center is first rate with good quality red clay courts and an active development program. I learned that Novak had been there just two days before. Unfortunately he is no longer in Belgrade as he is scheduled to appear at the Laver Cup in Chicago. I was disappointed not to have seen him.
(Playing at Tennis Center Novak)
Distance walked: 3.2 miles