The program of the 5th day contained a visit to Beograd, which distance from Novi Sad is 85 km. These two towns are connected with the highway E75 which starts from Greece and ends in central Europe. In order to cross this part between Beograd and Novi Sad you have to pay tolls (2,5 € for motorcycles) about 30km before Beograd.
Because of the short distance we started at 9.30pm and in less than an hour we entered the outskirts of Belgrade. Having set the GPS, we left the central axis, shortly after the area Zenum, which is known for its fish taverns. Moving along the river, but without watching it we got to the bridge connecting the two sides of the river Savva and essentially we got into the old part of town, region Stari Grad. Random point of destination that we set was Republike Square and stopped at the beginning of Knez Mihailova, the central and most famous pedestrian street of the city.
Being lucky, nearby was the office of the Tourist Information, so we visited it to get information about accommodation. The helpful staff proposed the Hostel Hedonist, which I found it from Greece, but did not know where it was. Giorgos Z, however, the day before had checked from booking.com an apartment with less money. So we ask her if she could find where was the office of the company Crystal Code (Zmaj Jovina 4). She served us gladly and we went to the office which was nearby.
Eventually we decided to stay in an apartment that was about 10 minutes by foot from the main pedestrian street and the price was at 75 € / 4 people. A young servant-whose grandmother was from Thessaloniki led us to the place that we stayed and we really get impressed once again. The only disadvantage was that it did not have parking space for motorcycles. Initially we decided to put them in a secure area for payment, but finally we have been told that they do not accept bikes. So we parked them on the sidewalk which didn’t care us.
It was 1pm and we had many things to see in Belgrade. So we changed clothes and we left without a second thought! Our first destination was the fortress Kalemegdan. Following the main pedestrian street Knez Mihailova, we passed through a park where is the Statue of Liberty surrounded by beautiful gardens. We passed the first gate to get to an area where the outdoor war museum in Belgrade is. In particular, we saw several tanks, tanks, machine guns, antitank, mines, torpedoes, and others. The adjacent building houses also other exhibits that we haven’t visit due to lack of time.
Passing through the second gate, we reached the highest point of the castle and the city’s too. For that reason, the view of the rivers Sava and Danube is unique! We made a stop to rest in the shade of one of the many trees that exist there. Then we walked around the walls where Sakis realized he had lost his camera! He spend a lot of time searching it but he could not find it, no matter he tried hard, and asked everyone ... The worst thing is that with it was lost and the photos he has took all these days! This was the worst and basically the bad luck! The unlucky Sakis could not stand it and decided to look further, putting in his mind a lot of scenarios...
Wanting to reach the lower tier of the walls, we followed a different path that eventually brought us near the Tower Naitsa... which is known as the Tower of Rigas Ferraios! We visited him (ticket 300 serbian Dinars / person) and we were informed about his life and his death which are connected with that city. Rigas Ferraios was imprisoned and strangled on this tower, and in honor of him a museum was built with the co-financing of the Greek government.
Time was passing and having in mind Sakis we got back where he waited us clearly embarrassed... we tried to do a bit of fun, to make him forget it. I believe that the good psychology and mood of the journey helped in this. We took the road back through the central pedestrian zone. Initially we wanted to drink a coffee, but the plan changed as we wanted to visit the boutique of Red Star Belgrade. As we walked on the road we have good opportunity to see some more beautiful corners of the city. Stratos and Sakis bought a shirt.
At 8pm. after asking few locals we arrived at Skandaljia, which is an area with restaurants similar to the Plaka of Athens. We chose a shop with traditional cuisine and gypsy music. What attracted our curiosity was the wall with the colorful flowers. Really impressive work! Returning, we stopped at something outdoor sellers to buy some bronze candle-lamps. The 2 sellers that were side by side were cursing each other for the customers!
As we were getting tired, we returned to our room to take a bath, before our night exit. About 11.30mm we left the appartment for a drink. Our destination was a road known as «silicon valley», for obvious reasons. Still, I wasn’t really impressed. The scene was as follows: a simple road, untapped, where cafes and bars exist. Maybe it's because of the season or the time... although I believe that locals don’t visit this area any more. We found a bar that played good music and was located at an elevated area. We sat down and started talking about the trip and the next days... It was 2am when we got home.
In general, from all those areas we passed that evening I noticed that there was a lot of people walking, but in the area of «silicon valley» was relatively less. Instead, the Revolution Square had a lot of people giving you the feeling that there is a centre of nightlife. Hopefully, as it was summertime, many people entertain on the Danube side which is properly configured. Before I sleep I thought all I had seen in the Serbian capital. There were little clues proving that you are in the Balkans. The route towards West is very fast, but with trying to maintain some elements of it tradition. Beyond this, however, is an impressive city worth visiting for more than 2-3 days...
