The White City: Reliving History in Serbia
After one of our longer flights (which isn’t saying much, because the flight was still less than 2 hours), we arrived in Belgrade. Belgrade (Serbia) is one of Europe’s oldest cities, with Ottoman architecture, Soviet style buildings and modern skyscrapers. Here, socialist blocks are squeezed between art nouveau masterpieces and remnants of the Hasburg legacy. Belgrade translates to “White City” reflecting the white stones of the Kalemegdan Citadel.
Immediately upon landing, we drove approximately 30 minutes to the Fortress for lunch at Kalemegdan Terrace Restaurant. Of course, I snapped photos along the way as we drove.
With views overlooking the river and the zoo, the terrace was a perfect place to observe the city from up above.
After lunch, we proceeded to visit the fortress. Some 115 battles have been fought over Kalemegdan, and the Citadel was destroyed more than 40 times. While fortifications began in Celtic times, what stands today is the product of 18th century Austro-Hungarian and Turkish reconstructions. As we wandered along the steep, cobbled paths, we visited St. Petka and Ruzica Churches, where we even stumbled across a Serbian wedding.
We continued walking through the park, eventually coming across Pobednik (the Victor) monument which was built to commemorate Serbia's victory over the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empire during the Balkan Wars and the First World War. A work of renowned sculptor Ivan Meštrović, The Victor is set on a Doric column designed by the architect Petar Bajalović. The 50-foot tall monument overlooks the confluence of the Sava and Danube faces the direction of what would have been the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The statue holds a falcon (on watch for new threats) and a sword of war, (ready to counter these threats).
Walking around, we also saw several military bunkers. Belgrade is a city that has been conquered by various cultures 44 times. Beneath the Kalemegdan Fortress also lies a man-made cave, built by 16th century Austrians. The gunpowder warehouse served as a defense spot of the Christian Europe from the Turkish Europe.
Here are some other sights from the grounds along the way...
Making our way towards Old Town, we visited St. Michael’s Cathedral, Princess Luubica’s Residence before strolling along Prince Michael’s Street lined with shops and cafes. Prince Michael street is a pedestrian zone, protected by law as one of the oldest and most prominent city landmarks. Here, the streets follow the central grid layout of the Roman city of Singidunum and under the Turks, it was lined with gardens, drinking fountains, and mosques. In the middle of the 19th century, the upper part of the street bordered the garden of Knez Aleksandar Karađorđević and, in 1870, the municipal authorities officially named the street Ulica Kneza Mihaila (Prince Michael Street).
In the evening, we toured the White Palace, the former royal residence of the Karađorđević dynasty. Built with private funds of King Alexander I as the residence for his three sons HRH Crown Prince Peter (the future King Peter II and father of HRH Crown Prince Alexander), Prince Tomislav and Prince Andrej, the palace is located in the Royal Compound in the Dedinje neighborhood of Belgrade. The ground floor houses a large hall, a number of drawing rooms, a library, and a dining room. Today, Crown Prince Alexander II and his family live here and as we were making our way towards our cocktail reception, the Crown Prince and Princess came to greet us and say a few words! Serbia is a country with a complicated past, but their vision for the future of their country is inspiring and admirable. One of the remarks that really struck a core with me was when the Her Royal Highness, the Princess said “There is a strategy for war, but not a strategy for peace”. Additionally, we learned His Royal Highness lived in exile for many years and as he described the moment he stepped foot on the Royal Palace grounds (which his grandfather built), I got chills. Their Royal Highnesses are truly unbelievable human beings and it was a great honor to meet them.
The following morning, we left for a full day of sightseeing. We started at Saint Sava, one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world and built on the site where the Turks burnt relics of Saint Sava in 1595. Saint Sava is not only the largest Serbian Orthodox church, it’s also the largest Orthodox place of worship in the Balkans and one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world. The total height of the church is just under 270 feet tall, with the dome being about 230 feet tall and the gold-plated cross giving it an additional 40 feet. The central dome is 4,000 tons and lifting it up during construction took 40 days.
Twenty-two feet below the Church of Saint Sava is the crypt, where the Church of Saint Lazar is located. The ceiling of the crypt is beautifully decorated with images of apostles, martyrs, and saints surrounded by gold leaves. As we entered the crypt, we were able to witness the end of a service and let me say… the acoustics gave me chills as the choir sang.
We then went diagonally across the courtyard to peek inside another building, this one with magical lighting.
From there we went to the House of Flowers, the resting place of Josip Broz Tito (Communist President of Yugoslavia). The museum is on the grounds of the Museum of Yugoslav History, housing more than 200,000 artifacts representing the history of Yugoslavia. The House of Flowers was built in 1975 as a winter residence of Marshal Tito near the residence he actually lived in. According to his will, Tito was buried in the central part of the residence in 1980. While visiting the mausoleum, we walked around an ethnographic exhibition and viewed presents that Tito received from foreign delegations, leaders, and children.
After a brief visit here, we boarded Tito’s famous blue train to Novi Sad. Decades after the death of the Josip Broz Tito and the fall of Yugoslavia, the blue train remains one of the most beloved symbols of a country that no longer exists. The train used to take Yugoslavia’s president, his wife and their entourage to Brijuni islands in Croatia—Tito’s favorite place in the summertime. It was on this train that he also hosted important guests from around the world including Queen Elizabeth II, Haile Selassie, Yasser Arafat and Jawaharlal Nehru. The blue train is also remembered for Tito’s last journey after he passed away on May 4 1980 when the train transported his coffin from Ljubljana to Belgrade. The original locomotives are named after famous WWII battles and each wagon tells interesting stories with art deco details, wool carpets, silk and velvet, and retro TV.
We disembarked the train in Novi Sad, about an hour away. Novi Sad translates to “old plant” and is said to be the Athens of Serbia for its rich artisan culture. It has been built, destroyed, and rebuilt over the centuries and is an interesting mixture of old Serbian heritage, Austro-Hungarian architecture and scenic beauty. During the 18th and 19th centuries, it became an important trading and manufacturing center and during that time, almost every Serbian novelist, poet, jurist, and published had lived or worked in Novi Sad at some point in their career. In 2021, it will become the first non-EU city to spend a year with the prestigious title of European Capital of Culture. While we mainly walked around on our own here, we passed the Name of Mary Church, the synagogue, and Bishop’s house.
After a long drive back to the Square Nine Hotel, we decided to have lunch at the rooftop Japanese restaurant called Ebisu. Warning: do not continue if you’re hungry… I started off with some miso soup which was as good as Japan with really fresh tofu and seaweed…
Then I had prawn tempura…
Vegetable tempura with sweet chili and soya sauce…
Noodles with seasonal vegetables, tonkatsu and teriyaki sauce…
And caramelized white chocolate custard with pear and hazelnut panna cotta served with popcorn ice cream.
Who would’ve thought we’d have amazing Japanese food in Serbia?! While our time in Serbia was short, we were met with very friendly locals, beautiful sights, and great food. From Serbia, it was on to Bosnia and Herzegovina…
Thanks for reading about my latest adventures. Stay tuned for what's to come and be sure to hit the subscribe button on the homepage to be notified of new posts. As always, follow my instagram @elissatitle for more pics.
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| Flying into Belgrade |
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| Cutest baggage claim... The suitcases come out of a car! |
Immediately upon landing, we drove approximately 30 minutes to the Fortress for lunch at Kalemegdan Terrace Restaurant. Of course, I snapped photos along the way as we drove.
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| Street art in Belgrade. |
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| Views while driving to lunch. |
With views overlooking the river and the zoo, the terrace was a perfect place to observe the city from up above.
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| Our lunch spot. |
After lunch, we proceeded to visit the fortress. Some 115 battles have been fought over Kalemegdan, and the Citadel was destroyed more than 40 times. While fortifications began in Celtic times, what stands today is the product of 18th century Austro-Hungarian and Turkish reconstructions. As we wandered along the steep, cobbled paths, we visited St. Petka and Ruzica Churches, where we even stumbled across a Serbian wedding.
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| Church from the outside. |
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| Another church along the cobbled path. |
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| Ceiling inside one of the churches. |
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| Mosaic windows. |
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| Victor monument from different angles. |
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| Bunkers at the fortress. |
Here are some other sights from the grounds along the way...
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Making our way towards Old Town, we visited St. Michael’s Cathedral, Princess Luubica’s Residence before strolling along Prince Michael’s Street lined with shops and cafes. Prince Michael street is a pedestrian zone, protected by law as one of the oldest and most prominent city landmarks. Here, the streets follow the central grid layout of the Roman city of Singidunum and under the Turks, it was lined with gardens, drinking fountains, and mosques. In the middle of the 19th century, the upper part of the street bordered the garden of Knez Aleksandar Karađorđević and, in 1870, the municipal authorities officially named the street Ulica Kneza Mihaila (Prince Michael Street).
In the evening, we toured the White Palace, the former royal residence of the Karađorđević dynasty. Built with private funds of King Alexander I as the residence for his three sons HRH Crown Prince Peter (the future King Peter II and father of HRH Crown Prince Alexander), Prince Tomislav and Prince Andrej, the palace is located in the Royal Compound in the Dedinje neighborhood of Belgrade. The ground floor houses a large hall, a number of drawing rooms, a library, and a dining room. Today, Crown Prince Alexander II and his family live here and as we were making our way towards our cocktail reception, the Crown Prince and Princess came to greet us and say a few words! Serbia is a country with a complicated past, but their vision for the future of their country is inspiring and admirable. One of the remarks that really struck a core with me was when the Her Royal Highness, the Princess said “There is a strategy for war, but not a strategy for peace”. Additionally, we learned His Royal Highness lived in exile for many years and as he described the moment he stepped foot on the Royal Palace grounds (which his grandfather built), I got chills. Their Royal Highnesses are truly unbelievable human beings and it was a great honor to meet them.
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| Cocktail reception in the palace gardens. |
The following morning, we left for a full day of sightseeing. We started at Saint Sava, one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world and built on the site where the Turks burnt relics of Saint Sava in 1595. Saint Sava is not only the largest Serbian Orthodox church, it’s also the largest Orthodox place of worship in the Balkans and one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world. The total height of the church is just under 270 feet tall, with the dome being about 230 feet tall and the gold-plated cross giving it an additional 40 feet. The central dome is 4,000 tons and lifting it up during construction took 40 days.
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| Saint Sava in Belgrade. |
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| Saint Sava from the other end. |
Twenty-two feet below the Church of Saint Sava is the crypt, where the Church of Saint Lazar is located. The ceiling of the crypt is beautifully decorated with images of apostles, martyrs, and saints surrounded by gold leaves. As we entered the crypt, we were able to witness the end of a service and let me say… the acoustics gave me chills as the choir sang.
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| Ceilings of the crypt. |
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| Ceilings of the crypt. |
We then went diagonally across the courtyard to peek inside another building, this one with magical lighting.
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| Gorgeous light and detailed ceilings. |
From there we went to the House of Flowers, the resting place of Josip Broz Tito (Communist President of Yugoslavia). The museum is on the grounds of the Museum of Yugoslav History, housing more than 200,000 artifacts representing the history of Yugoslavia. The House of Flowers was built in 1975 as a winter residence of Marshal Tito near the residence he actually lived in. According to his will, Tito was buried in the central part of the residence in 1980. While visiting the mausoleum, we walked around an ethnographic exhibition and viewed presents that Tito received from foreign delegations, leaders, and children.
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| Monument of Tito. |
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| A collection of batons given to Tito. |
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| Close-ups of the uniform. |
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After a brief visit here, we boarded Tito’s famous blue train to Novi Sad. Decades after the death of the Josip Broz Tito and the fall of Yugoslavia, the blue train remains one of the most beloved symbols of a country that no longer exists. The train used to take Yugoslavia’s president, his wife and their entourage to Brijuni islands in Croatia—Tito’s favorite place in the summertime. It was on this train that he also hosted important guests from around the world including Queen Elizabeth II, Haile Selassie, Yasser Arafat and Jawaharlal Nehru. The blue train is also remembered for Tito’s last journey after he passed away on May 4 1980 when the train transported his coffin from Ljubljana to Belgrade. The original locomotives are named after famous WWII battles and each wagon tells interesting stories with art deco details, wool carpets, silk and velvet, and retro TV.
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| Boarding the blue train. |
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| One of the bedrooms on the train. |
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| Bathroom with a bathtub on the train. |
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| Another bedroom on the train. |
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| Appliances and decorations on the train. |
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| I loved this blue hallway! It was incredibly narrow though. |
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| Another narrow hallway on the train. |
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| Seating area on the train. |
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| Detailing of the carpet. This connects two cars together. |
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| Getting off in Novi Sad. |
We disembarked the train in Novi Sad, about an hour away. Novi Sad translates to “old plant” and is said to be the Athens of Serbia for its rich artisan culture. It has been built, destroyed, and rebuilt over the centuries and is an interesting mixture of old Serbian heritage, Austro-Hungarian architecture and scenic beauty. During the 18th and 19th centuries, it became an important trading and manufacturing center and during that time, almost every Serbian novelist, poet, jurist, and published had lived or worked in Novi Sad at some point in their career. In 2021, it will become the first non-EU city to spend a year with the prestigious title of European Capital of Culture. While we mainly walked around on our own here, we passed the Name of Mary Church, the synagogue, and Bishop’s house.
 |
After a long drive back to the Square Nine Hotel, we decided to have lunch at the rooftop Japanese restaurant called Ebisu. Warning: do not continue if you’re hungry… I started off with some miso soup which was as good as Japan with really fresh tofu and seaweed…
Then I had prawn tempura…
Vegetable tempura with sweet chili and soya sauce…
Noodles with seasonal vegetables, tonkatsu and teriyaki sauce…
And caramelized white chocolate custard with pear and hazelnut panna cotta served with popcorn ice cream.
Who would’ve thought we’d have amazing Japanese food in Serbia?! While our time in Serbia was short, we were met with very friendly locals, beautiful sights, and great food. From Serbia, it was on to Bosnia and Herzegovina…
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| Flying over Serbia. |
Thanks for reading about my latest adventures. Stay tuned for what's to come and be sure to hit the subscribe button on the homepage to be notified of new posts. As always, follow my instagram @elissatitle for more pics.
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