Our day was absolutely wonderful with no untoward mishaps or anxiety or stress. We were well fed last night despite our wandering cockroach, we had a huge apartment with two bedrooms, kitchen living rooms, dining room, large bathroom with a jacuzzi (we did not take advantage of all that space, unfortunately). We watched Argentina win their match against Netherlands, we slept well, and had an outdoor breakfast on the patio with a breeze from the Danube.
Our first destination was directly to a bank in the middle of the town, and then to the sprawling fortress on the shores of the Danube. Smederevo was a medieval fortified city and temporary capital of Serbia in the middle ages. The fortress was built in a very quick couple of years between 1427 and 1430, which is the year 6938, the number of years elapsed since the world was first created, according to the Orthodox calendar. The dimensions of the fortress are huge, with walls several metres thick and the perimeter around the walls over 1.5 kilometers. Most of the inner fortress is a park, with a castle in one corner. The most entertaining character who lived in the castle was the tyrannical wife of the despot who built it. She bathed only in milk and was quite horrid. to everyone around her. The fortress was built as a barrier to the Turks, but after 20 years, the fortress finally surrendered to Sultan Mehmet I. It was the Turkish headquarters until 1805, and remained intact until it was damaged during the Second World War. There is a lovely view of the Danube from the towers. I saw a heron fishing near two fishermen. Frogs were swimming in the moat. Everything looked so very peaceful. Why had we been so worried about coming to Serbia?
The reason we headed so far east was to visit the furthest reaches of the Roman Empire. The Danube was the border of the Roman Empire, and along the boundaries were built towns to house legionnaires, and often parallel towns to accommodate the people who followed the army. The Emperor Hadrian decided to built more comfortable lodging for his armies, so amphitheaters and baths and all the usual Roman trappings were found in each settlement. Viminacium was the capital of the Roman province Moesia Superior. Seventeen Roman emperors were born in what is now Serbia, which is rather astonishing. The site is stunning, probably because it was covered up for so long and was not excavated until recently, so is remarkably well preserved. There is an extensive bath complex, an amphitheatre with remains of frescoes and bones of camels and a bear, a necropolis, palaces, and more modest homes. We entered underneath a tomb complex to see frescoes from the third and fourth century. According to the Romans, heaven is full of birds and peacocks and a servant to take care of the deceased.
Most entertaining to me is the evidence of the Dacian campaign on Trajan's column in Rome. I have passed that column so many times in Rome and never get up close to examine the pictures. The reliefs are representations of the God of the Danube and of legionnaires crossing the river. To be at the site of the town, from whence the legions left on their campaigns against the Dacians to the north of the Danube was very exciting. The Huns attacked and destroyed the settlement in 440, but it was rebuilt and only in the sixth century was finally destroyed by the Avars. It is amazing to imagine that the Romans had extended their reach so far, and that they built up their cities with every possible comfort for their soldiers and their settlers. It appeals to me to be reminded that a legionnaire has the possibility to rise in ranks to the level of emperor, I never thought the Romans to be so democratic.
The city of Viminacium is immediately next to a power plant and not too far from the coal mine tearing up the hill behind. Most of the site is covered by sunflowers and other fields and the archeological digging has just begun. They have used electronic devices to map out the extent of the remains, and know exactly where to find each building. In the nearby coal mine, the 1,000, 000 year old skeleton of a mammoth was discovered in 2009, and another dating from 180,000 years ago in 2012. The skeletons are on display near the Roman ruins.
We headed towards Belgrade later in the afternoon; we had simply been too excited at the Roman site, and our guide was enthusiastic and knowledgeable and took care of both Serbians and English speakers in our little group. Our ride through the fruit orchards outside of Belgrade led us to a row of ladies selling apricots, peaches, nectarines and watermelons. My father would always tell us of the wonderful watermelons of his youth, and we are desperate to buy one, but without a proper knife, we chose not to buy one. We stocked up on everything else for sale and were entertained by the competing ladies, who were equally entertained by our visit.
Driving into Belgrade was not easy. Lots of cars, and speed limits of 30 and 40 kph. I am so afraid of a ticket or an encounter with the police, that I followed all posted signs and consequently irritated all the cars that queued behind me. Finding our hotel in the centre of town was rough, and I was much relieved to park my car underground and leave it for a day or so. Our hotel is modern and clean, but small and charmless. The city looks grey with too much evidence of socialist building projects. My guide book tells us that although the city looks uninviting, we must give it a chance, that there are delightful little corners and great people, so we plan to look for them.
My father called when we arrived. He is so very excited that we are here. He suggested we go to the University of Belgrade where he studied law in 1941, but I discovered that the university has spread all over the city and the original building where he went to school is no longer used as the law school. It is in the centre of the city on Student's Square. He liked to eat at Terasie Square, which we found near the Hotel Moska. The military academy he attended in Zemun was standing until it was bombed by NATO in 1999, but there remains a building there, no longer in use. Why would I bleive that anything would be the same after 74 years? He suggested we stroll around the Kalemegdan fortress nearby and try various dishes he remembered, as well as desserts. As always, he loved to listen to music, but it is summer and the concert season is off, although there are many festivals happening.
We found our way to Skadarska where the street was lined with restaurants and musicians, and enjoyed our meaty dinner and rambunctious patrons and music and felt entirely comfortable late into the evening. I suppose we should not be surprised that the Serbians are friendly and helpful and we are enjoying our second day in the country.
Our first destination was directly to a bank in the middle of the town, and then to the sprawling fortress on the shores of the Danube. Smederevo was a medieval fortified city and temporary capital of Serbia in the middle ages. The fortress was built in a very quick couple of years between 1427 and 1430, which is the year 6938, the number of years elapsed since the world was first created, according to the Orthodox calendar. The dimensions of the fortress are huge, with walls several metres thick and the perimeter around the walls over 1.5 kilometers. Most of the inner fortress is a park, with a castle in one corner. The most entertaining character who lived in the castle was the tyrannical wife of the despot who built it. She bathed only in milk and was quite horrid. to everyone around her. The fortress was built as a barrier to the Turks, but after 20 years, the fortress finally surrendered to Sultan Mehmet I. It was the Turkish headquarters until 1805, and remained intact until it was damaged during the Second World War. There is a lovely view of the Danube from the towers. I saw a heron fishing near two fishermen. Frogs were swimming in the moat. Everything looked so very peaceful. Why had we been so worried about coming to Serbia?
The reason we headed so far east was to visit the furthest reaches of the Roman Empire. The Danube was the border of the Roman Empire, and along the boundaries were built towns to house legionnaires, and often parallel towns to accommodate the people who followed the army. The Emperor Hadrian decided to built more comfortable lodging for his armies, so amphitheaters and baths and all the usual Roman trappings were found in each settlement. Viminacium was the capital of the Roman province Moesia Superior. Seventeen Roman emperors were born in what is now Serbia, which is rather astonishing. The site is stunning, probably because it was covered up for so long and was not excavated until recently, so is remarkably well preserved. There is an extensive bath complex, an amphitheatre with remains of frescoes and bones of camels and a bear, a necropolis, palaces, and more modest homes. We entered underneath a tomb complex to see frescoes from the third and fourth century. According to the Romans, heaven is full of birds and peacocks and a servant to take care of the deceased.
Most entertaining to me is the evidence of the Dacian campaign on Trajan's column in Rome. I have passed that column so many times in Rome and never get up close to examine the pictures. The reliefs are representations of the God of the Danube and of legionnaires crossing the river. To be at the site of the town, from whence the legions left on their campaigns against the Dacians to the north of the Danube was very exciting. The Huns attacked and destroyed the settlement in 440, but it was rebuilt and only in the sixth century was finally destroyed by the Avars. It is amazing to imagine that the Romans had extended their reach so far, and that they built up their cities with every possible comfort for their soldiers and their settlers. It appeals to me to be reminded that a legionnaire has the possibility to rise in ranks to the level of emperor, I never thought the Romans to be so democratic.
The city of Viminacium is immediately next to a power plant and not too far from the coal mine tearing up the hill behind. Most of the site is covered by sunflowers and other fields and the archeological digging has just begun. They have used electronic devices to map out the extent of the remains, and know exactly where to find each building. In the nearby coal mine, the 1,000, 000 year old skeleton of a mammoth was discovered in 2009, and another dating from 180,000 years ago in 2012. The skeletons are on display near the Roman ruins.
We headed towards Belgrade later in the afternoon; we had simply been too excited at the Roman site, and our guide was enthusiastic and knowledgeable and took care of both Serbians and English speakers in our little group. Our ride through the fruit orchards outside of Belgrade led us to a row of ladies selling apricots, peaches, nectarines and watermelons. My father would always tell us of the wonderful watermelons of his youth, and we are desperate to buy one, but without a proper knife, we chose not to buy one. We stocked up on everything else for sale and were entertained by the competing ladies, who were equally entertained by our visit.
Driving into Belgrade was not easy. Lots of cars, and speed limits of 30 and 40 kph. I am so afraid of a ticket or an encounter with the police, that I followed all posted signs and consequently irritated all the cars that queued behind me. Finding our hotel in the centre of town was rough, and I was much relieved to park my car underground and leave it for a day or so. Our hotel is modern and clean, but small and charmless. The city looks grey with too much evidence of socialist building projects. My guide book tells us that although the city looks uninviting, we must give it a chance, that there are delightful little corners and great people, so we plan to look for them.
My father called when we arrived. He is so very excited that we are here. He suggested we go to the University of Belgrade where he studied law in 1941, but I discovered that the university has spread all over the city and the original building where he went to school is no longer used as the law school. It is in the centre of the city on Student's Square. He liked to eat at Terasie Square, which we found near the Hotel Moska. The military academy he attended in Zemun was standing until it was bombed by NATO in 1999, but there remains a building there, no longer in use. Why would I bleive that anything would be the same after 74 years? He suggested we stroll around the Kalemegdan fortress nearby and try various dishes he remembered, as well as desserts. As always, he loved to listen to music, but it is summer and the concert season is off, although there are many festivals happening.
We found our way to Skadarska where the street was lined with restaurants and musicians, and enjoyed our meaty dinner and rambunctious patrons and music and felt entirely comfortable late into the evening. I suppose we should not be surprised that the Serbians are friendly and helpful and we are enjoying our second day in the country.
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