cycle scribbles: Belgrade

We rode over the Sava river into central Belgrade and were greeted by a looming mass of ugly, blocky, derelict buildings and four lanes of roaring traffic so dense we were forced to hop off and walk our bikes along the crooked, wonky, crumbling pavement. Thus our expectations for Belgrade started low. However, things were feeling much better even by the time we reached our hostel a few minutes later, and when we headed out for a proper wander we had a great time and found some lovely spots. The city is patchy, with lovely old buildings mixed in with bleak Soviet-style square blocks and a few huge glass-facade jobs. We wandered through Kalemegdan which is a lovely big park and fortress located at the edge of the city centre where the Sava river meets the Danube. The park was filled with people wandering and sitting, a few playing chess, many in conversation. I love the way so many people in Belgrade's public spaces seem to be in deep conversation. In particular, there are pairs of older men having intense, soulful-looking discussions so that Matthew and I have been constantly speculating (with greater and lesser degrees of plausibility) what they might be talking about. I now think of Belgrade as The City of Talking Men. I wonder if these men ever meet at each other's homes or talk on the phone, or is all important discussion and debate reserved for park benches and cafe tables? We wanted to get some photos of them - this was a bit awkward but Matthew managed to sneak some paparazzi shots.

In addition to the many conversations being had in Kalemegda, we stumbled upon a pair of musicians playing folk music on a double bass and accordian while a long line of people holding hands danced around them. This appeared to be an informal affair with passers-by joining in the dancing and lots of others clapping and jiggling along. We got a little video which I've uploaded at the bottom of this post, plus here are a couple of photos: