I remember visiting Belgrade when I was a little girl. It was part of Communist Yugoslavia back in 1959. I remember the city as gray and dark and wet and cold, the way all of Russia and Eastern Europe felt back then. On April 27, 2026, Dave and I spent a day in Belgrade by ourselves before joining our 19-day Adventures Abroad tour through Serbia, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzogovina, Albania, and Montenegro. In these post-Communist days, Belgrade was bright and busy, with vibrant stores and customers. Dave and I started the day with a glass of raspberry juice in a cafe.
The highlight of our first day in Belgrade was a walking tour led by a man who was the son of a Yugoslav university professor. The professor liked Tito, the dictator of Yugoslavia, so much that, even though the professor traveled to and had a chance to stay in America, he returned to Yugoslavia. Our guide spoke openly of his disdain for the current Serbian government, which was slow in aligning with Europe and getting admitted into the European Union. The only other member of the tour was a Dutch man who told us how unfairly the Dutch soldiers who were NATO peacekeepers in the Balkans War of the 1990s were treated, after they failed to prevent the massacre at Srebenica. He said the Dutch peacekeepers were such a small group that there was no way they could hold off the Serbians, who were intent on massacring some 3000 Muslim men and boys. There is still a street in the Stari Grad section of Belgrade, where we walked, which is named "Srebenica". This is what I love most about traveling--the serendipitous conversations about politics, culture, and war when people from different countries meet.
The cafe where we stopped had a full menu of Serbian country food with a strong Turkish influence--kebabs, rice, and cheese wrapped in layers of phyllo dough, coiled into circles, and baked.
We stopped for drinks (juice for Dave and me) at one of the thousands of sidewalk cafes that sprout in Europe in the spring.
We began walking at the old Post Office Building, with stripes of red and white stone, and then visited Sveti Marko Church, The church housed priceless Serbian icons and the tomb of Emperor Dusan the Mighty (1308-1355). Throughout the Balkans are many Orthodox churches, as well as Muslim mosques. The artwork in many of the churches is magnificent.
We walked down the broad, leafy main streets of Belgrade, as well as its narrow, hilly corners. Belgrade is the biggest city in the Balkans, with a population of 1.6 million.
I love the architectural style called Art Nouveau, Jugenstil (Germany, Norway), Sezessionsstil (Austria), Modernisme (Spain), or Nieuwe Kunst (Netherlands). There are many examples from the 1920s and 1930s in Belgrade.
We walked through the lobby of the Moskva Hotel, with its red upholstered chairs, grand piano, and heavy chandeliers. We could imagine swarthy businessmen making shady deals in the lobby.
Serbia uses the Cyrillic script also used in Russia, although much of the Balkans now uses the Latin script. Of all the European countries, Serbia has the closest ties to Russia.
We paused at a store selling many varieties of Turkish delight candy and baklava. The Balkans were ruled by the Ottoman Turks for up to 500 years (differing in various places). There is still a strong Turkish influence in food and design.
We passed a model posing for a photo shoot and a statue of Jimmy Stewart, whose classic American films are appreciated in Belgrade.
We stopped at the Ethnographic Museum, where I bought a doll for my collection.
I also saw a voluminously pleated skirt like the one my parents brought home for me from Eastern Europe when I was in high school. They couldn't understand why I wouldn't wear the skirt to school, along with the Eastern European leather shoes that turned up at the toes!
I loved the gravestones, furnishings, costumes, and carriages from the Yugoslavia of long ago.
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