After having come back from Sarajevo I decided that I wanted to see all of the countries of the former Yugoslavia. I sat thinking about which of the countries of the former Yugoslavia I had been to before and then deciding which I still needed to visit.
I realised I had been to Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina), Pula/Zagreb, Rijeka, Dubrovnik (Croatia), Podgorica (Montenegro), and Ljubljana (Slovenia) and that I still needed to visit North Macedonia and Serbia.
This visit crossed off Serbia and I now only need to do North Macedonia (I’ll try and get to Skopje).
When I was planning this visit the cheapest flights I could find were with Wizz Air from Luton. I saw that National Express had a service from Peterborough to Luton Airport so I promptly booked my flights and then my coach tickets. Now it was just playing the waiting game. I had booked my tickets on April 10th so I had 2 months to wait until this trip.
This gave me some time to look at what to do (even though I didn’t really look. I had a quick look but that was it. I’ve stopped doing detailed planning for when I am in the places I’ve decided to go. It makes me walk around and see where my feet take me). I may have also spent time looking at other places to go during the rest of the year. I digress though.
It came time to leave for the airport and thankfully this was a morning coach to the airport. I was so glad it wasn’t the 03:05 service. It gave me a chance to have some decent sleep.
I got to the bus station and boarded the coach and decided I would try and sleep whilst I could. I think I slept for about an hour. The coach journey should only have been just over 2 hours but it took just over 3 hours because of traffic. I was glad about that because it meant less time sitting in the airport. I am not a fan of Luton Airport and didn’t want to have to sit there for almost 6 hours.
We got to the airport and I decided I would just try and get through security as fast as possible so I could get some food and drink and just sit until it came time to board. Security took a while. It was way worse than Stansted. I couldn’t get onto the wifi. I couldn’t get a decent mobile signal inside the airport either. It was as bad as I remembered. I hope that it takes another 8 years before I get back to this airport.
I found somewhere to sit where there was a plug and I had some food and drink and just sat and watched the people going by. I was also overlooking an apron and I could see planes come and go. It was nice to just relax.
It came time to board and I was just wanting to get that delicious middle seat that was assigned to me. I was dreading flying Wizz as I didn’t have a good experience when I flew from Venice to Yerevan and back . This time around, it was surprisingly OK. The seat had ample room (or I’m getting slimmer – I’ll go for that) and it gave me a chance to have a nap. The flight was a little choppy on the climb from Luton and I wasn’t overly keen on it (especially with all the news recently of flights in turbulence). We were delayed 50 minutes because of thunderstorms over London and a controlled number of take-offs. I just wanted to be gone already.
Before we took off we were asked not to eat nuts or products containing nuts since there was someone with an allergy on board. I could hear groans around me. There was a father on here who let his kid run around the plane and play with the emergency exit doors. I was ready to drop-kick the kid and the father. What a moron and bad parent!
We landed and I got through immigration and customs pretty quick. I was glad as I needed to get out for the bus so I didn’t have to wait for 40 minutes for the next bus. I was confused as to where I needed to buy a ticket and I found a worker at the airport and she said that in the evening they don’t charge for going from the airport (I wasn’t convinced). There were no tickets available from the driver and nowhere to buy tickets. I just got on and sat there on the journey to Brankov Bridge. It was supposed to take 50 minutes but it only took about 30 minutes because of the time of night.
I took a slow walk to the hostel as I told them I would be there between 21:45 and 22:15. I got to the hostel about 21:30 and I messaged them to make sure I was in the right place and to make sure someone was coming. They turned up at about 22:05. I was happy they got there as I was desperate for the toilet.
I checked in but couldn’t pay as they didn’t have any change so I said I would get some in the morning and pay then. They showed me around the hostel and I was slightly weary of it. They showed me the bed and it wasn’t good. Some of the slats were on the floor. I sat on the bed and another one dropped. I moved a little and then another. I decided that once I was on the bed I would have to not move around. At least the room was cold when I got in. It was 25 degrees when I got in and it wasn’t fun with the humidity.
During the night the AC went off and it was stifling. I hated it. I didn’t get much sleep and I wasn’t looking forward to the next day as it was going to be 30 degrees and to be hot in the night too wasn’t fun.
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I got up all sweaty and went for a shower. The shower was at least decent. I headed out to get some cold drinks and then came back to the hostel to pay for the stay. I paid in cash since they didn’t accept cards. Not even sure why in 2024!
I went back out to go find some souvenirs but I didn’t find the shop it said on the map so I carried on walking and got some more drinks and a public transport ticket from one of the kiosks. I went to check where the meeting point was for the walking tour. I got distracted as I found the souvenir shop and decided to just get them when I saw them. After I had bought them it started to rain so I decided to head back to the hostel since I had about 90 minutes before the tour started.
I made it back to the hostel in time for the heavens to open. I just sat indoors until the rain finished and then headed out to the meeting point. On the way there I saw a whole load of souvenir shops (typical, right). I sat waiting for the guide for about 20 minutes and it was nice to sit in the sun and people watch.
The guide turned up and there were 4 of us on the tour. I don’t know what it is about doing walking tours these days but I really struggle to take in what is said about the city. I really listen to the guides but it just doesn’t seem to stick in my head. I mostly do the tours now so I can get some good pictures of the city. This walking tour wasn’t any different. I really struggled to keep in my head what was said. I think I need to start recording them when they talk.
We walked along the main street and stopped by the meridian pyramid that marks the centre of Belgrade and then we carried on to Kalemegdan Park.
I had seen this was by the hostel and I wanted to go here so it was good the guide took us there. The park is really nice. It is well-kept and full of statues. I was glad we went here and I was glad to walk around it. It affords some awesome views across Novi Beograd and along the Danube.
We went to the church there also. It is a Christian Orthodox Church dedicated to those who served in the world wars. Inside the chandeliers are made of bullets that were used in the wars. It was pretty cool to see.
From here we left the park and then went walking along the streets again and came across a statue of a boy atop a fountain. This boy was said to have stopped the Ottomans from getting water and the Ottomans killed him and this then made the Serbs rise up and force the Ottomans out of the city.
We walked to the Bohemian area and this is where the tour ended. I went for the tram (since I had bought a ticket) to go back to the park as I saw there was an option to do a boat tour. I got to the park and there was no stand there for the boat tour anymore. I was gutted. A boar tour would have been good.
Instead, I did the next best thing and I jumped on the tram to see what was around and where I could go back to (I love to do this as you get to see so much more when you don’t plan to the last second). What I didn’t realise was the tram I was on was a circular route and after 45-ish minutes I ended up back where I got on. I got off and then walked back into the park to get some pictures of the view.
I then went and got some food. Once I was done here I walked part of the route from this morning. Once I had done this I walked toward Republic Square and decided I would go back to the park for sunset so I could get some good shots. I must admit, I did just that too. I got some great shots.
Once I was done here I decided to head back to the hostel and retire for the night. I made sure the AC worked this time and it was so nice to be able to sleep in the cooler temperatures.
Total steps: 21,467
Total miles: 10
Below are some pics from today
I had to go to the check-in desks so I could get my documents checked. I did this and then sat for about 30 minutes to charge my phone and headed towards security. I decided to go outside and get cool as the airport was roasting.
I went through immigration and then through security. I got something to drink so I could get a carrier bag so they wouldn’t moan about me not having an airport duty-free bag. I got on without issue.
The flight back was fine. I tried to sleep but couldn’t. I was hoping I would since I had to wait for about 3 hours for the coach back to Peterborough.
The coach back was empty and it was nice not to have a busy coach as it meant I could sleep. I got back to Peterborough and it was a nice cold 8 degrees and breezy. I enjoyed the walk home for sure.
I got home and just went straight to bed as I was shattered.
Belgrade is a cool place to visit and I want to go back to see more as I only stuck to the centre of the city due to the short amount of time I had here.
Total steps: 31,880Total miles: 14.83
You can view all of my Belgrade pics here