Belgrade - Episode One
As discussed, you will be drip fed my day today because (a) it was long, very long, and (b) I have lots of photos.
I lay in bed this morning looking at Trip Advisor to see whether there were any cycling tours to get myself around the city and oriented. My first experience of this sort of tour was on the Blue Bikes in Zagreb, and found it very useful (and actually started my love affair with cycling).
Yes, an e-bike tour! The tour started at 9 in Krajl Milana 8. As I paid for the tour online, it was 8, and my phone GPS told me that it was a 20 minute walk away. Quick Shower. No dorucak, no coffee, walking quickly.
After doubling back a few times (road closures etc) I found the place with 15 minutes to spare. I waited. Wandered back and forth along the street so that I wouldn't miss the place opening. By 9.15 I was concerned. I lady wandered by and tutted and said 'Kasne' told me that they should be there at 9 (yes!) and promptly rang them to tell them to get there pronto. Funny!
BUT! turns out that it isn't a 'tour' tour, you know with people, but you just get a bike and a tablet with an app and a GPS and explanations as you cycle around. I admit to looking at the guy and saying 'holy shit, you're joking'. Which made him laugh but made me more nervous. Imagine! Brand new city, no idea of the layout, and heading out with no clue but with a tablet. He said it would take me about 4 hours, but because he was late, I could have the bike for the day... My Lord, talk about out of my depth! It took me ages just to work out how to flick between the map and the dialogue. And then when I came to a 'thing' to remember to lock the bike, remove the tablet, juggle my phone... And the whole GPS thing was counter intuitive in terms of working out which way to turn, and when I got the hang of it, I couldn't work out whether I was still working counter intuitively or intuitively, and which was which! Which meant lots of double backs after taking the wrong turn.
There were 16 sites of interest, I admit to skipping half of them when I got to 5 hours on the bike, nothing to eat, 34 degrees, numerous wrong turns. (who needs to look at a sports stadium anyway).
The seat was inclined to rotate, and at one point, the tablet fell and the screen cracked. Holy Shit (again!) (sorry Mum and Dad but it really was stressful to the point of maniacal laughter - especially going up one narrow street with an ambulance with it's siren on behind me).
But here are some highlights:
House of parliament and some other government building - can't recall because my brain was fried with the stress of it all, trying to get the bluetooth headphones to work, plus fit my sunglasses on, which when I was wearing couldn't quite read the map. It was like a comedy show.
St Marc Church - built in 1931-1940 - built in the style of Serbian Byzantine architecture. Most churches were destroyed during the Ottoman era.
St Sava Cathedral - the largest Orthodox cathedral in the Balkans, it was constructed on the spot where the saints relics where buried by the Ottoman regime in 1954. The frescoes are de rigour for the Orthodox churches. A large part of it is under construction. Frescoes on the walls, altars and ceilings - And here's the thing - you don't pose sitting on the floor of the church - if you do, it sends the security guy watching into a lather. He went pink in the face and the hapless Chinese lady had no idea what he was saying to her. She wanted that photo.
Did you know that in Serbia when you meet someone, you kiss them three times - the father, the son and the holy ghost! There were a lot of people kissing the feet of Jesus on the cross, and other icon pictures. I didn't.
Then the tablet voice had me cycle through the streets of imposing wealthy homes, including the various embassies. Danish, USA, 'others' (sorry, didn't recognise a lot of the flags). There were signs saying no photos anyway. Around Belgrade's version of Hyde Park, through another park with homeless people in tents and people practicing martial arts (the bluetooth guy didn't mention those two things as 'points of interest').
Don't know what this little church was called but it was near Prince Milos (with a 'sh') Obrenovic's residence - it was pretty, and there was a toilet nearby with cold water to fill my bottle. Plus, plus. By then I was dripping down the back of my legs, down my neck. I reapplied sunblock, stood in the shade for a few minutes and determined to go on.
Then at the next bit of shade, when I looked at the map again, and realised I was only half way there, I determined that I would still go on, but in a different direction, no matter what the bluetooth guy told me. Actually I took the the headphones off and put them in my backpack, was like a homing pigeon, headed for Belgrade E-bike office, told the guy I was done, thanked him profusely in Serbian, apologised for the cracked tablet but explained that the seat swivelled (and the bike bucked), and left. Whew. Figured I had four days to find the other 'points of interest'.
By then it was 2:30, found a seat in a cafe in Republic Square (newly renovated) with jets of cold mist and drank fruit juice and ate a salad. Bliss.
I lay in bed this morning looking at Trip Advisor to see whether there were any cycling tours to get myself around the city and oriented. My first experience of this sort of tour was on the Blue Bikes in Zagreb, and found it very useful (and actually started my love affair with cycling).
Yes, an e-bike tour! The tour started at 9 in Krajl Milana 8. As I paid for the tour online, it was 8, and my phone GPS told me that it was a 20 minute walk away. Quick Shower. No dorucak, no coffee, walking quickly.
After doubling back a few times (road closures etc) I found the place with 15 minutes to spare. I waited. Wandered back and forth along the street so that I wouldn't miss the place opening. By 9.15 I was concerned. I lady wandered by and tutted and said 'Kasne' told me that they should be there at 9 (yes!) and promptly rang them to tell them to get there pronto. Funny!
BUT! turns out that it isn't a 'tour' tour, you know with people, but you just get a bike and a tablet with an app and a GPS and explanations as you cycle around. I admit to looking at the guy and saying 'holy shit, you're joking'. Which made him laugh but made me more nervous. Imagine! Brand new city, no idea of the layout, and heading out with no clue but with a tablet. He said it would take me about 4 hours, but because he was late, I could have the bike for the day... My Lord, talk about out of my depth! It took me ages just to work out how to flick between the map and the dialogue. And then when I came to a 'thing' to remember to lock the bike, remove the tablet, juggle my phone... And the whole GPS thing was counter intuitive in terms of working out which way to turn, and when I got the hang of it, I couldn't work out whether I was still working counter intuitively or intuitively, and which was which! Which meant lots of double backs after taking the wrong turn.
There were 16 sites of interest, I admit to skipping half of them when I got to 5 hours on the bike, nothing to eat, 34 degrees, numerous wrong turns. (who needs to look at a sports stadium anyway).
The seat was inclined to rotate, and at one point, the tablet fell and the screen cracked. Holy Shit (again!) (sorry Mum and Dad but it really was stressful to the point of maniacal laughter - especially going up one narrow street with an ambulance with it's siren on behind me).
But here are some highlights:
House of parliament and some other government building - can't recall because my brain was fried with the stress of it all, trying to get the bluetooth headphones to work, plus fit my sunglasses on, which when I was wearing couldn't quite read the map. It was like a comedy show.
St Marc Church - built in 1931-1940 - built in the style of Serbian Byzantine architecture. Most churches were destroyed during the Ottoman era.
St Sava Cathedral - the largest Orthodox cathedral in the Balkans, it was constructed on the spot where the saints relics where buried by the Ottoman regime in 1954. The frescoes are de rigour for the Orthodox churches. A large part of it is under construction. Frescoes on the walls, altars and ceilings - And here's the thing - you don't pose sitting on the floor of the church - if you do, it sends the security guy watching into a lather. He went pink in the face and the hapless Chinese lady had no idea what he was saying to her. She wanted that photo.
Did you know that in Serbia when you meet someone, you kiss them three times - the father, the son and the holy ghost! There were a lot of people kissing the feet of Jesus on the cross, and other icon pictures. I didn't.
Then the tablet voice had me cycle through the streets of imposing wealthy homes, including the various embassies. Danish, USA, 'others' (sorry, didn't recognise a lot of the flags). There were signs saying no photos anyway. Around Belgrade's version of Hyde Park, through another park with homeless people in tents and people practicing martial arts (the bluetooth guy didn't mention those two things as 'points of interest').
Don't know what this little church was called but it was near Prince Milos (with a 'sh') Obrenovic's residence - it was pretty, and there was a toilet nearby with cold water to fill my bottle. Plus, plus. By then I was dripping down the back of my legs, down my neck. I reapplied sunblock, stood in the shade for a few minutes and determined to go on.
Then at the next bit of shade, when I looked at the map again, and realised I was only half way there, I determined that I would still go on, but in a different direction, no matter what the bluetooth guy told me. Actually I took the the headphones off and put them in my backpack, was like a homing pigeon, headed for Belgrade E-bike office, told the guy I was done, thanked him profusely in Serbian, apologised for the cracked tablet but explained that the seat swivelled (and the bike bucked), and left. Whew. Figured I had four days to find the other 'points of interest'.
By then it was 2:30, found a seat in a cafe in Republic Square (newly renovated) with jets of cold mist and drank fruit juice and ate a salad. Bliss.
Maybe it's an omen. Give up biking and just walk! Very funny to read however...
ReplyDeleteit was hilarious, but with no-one to laugh with me!
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