Here and There Blog

Back to the contrasting images in Belgrade. This building was bombed by NATO in the late 90's and still has boarded windows today. The banners in the street are for an upcoming Beer Fest which shows that life is festive and goes on even when reconstruction lags in other areas. Inside the courtyard of several buildings are more murals, depicting an inner beauty to the city that you don't see from the streets. Then you have the ridiculous amount of money that was spent on building the Temple of Saint Sava, the founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church. This building isn't old or historic and only completed in 2020 after an initial ground-breaking in 1935 followed by interruptions of conflict and war. The building is huge and a good picture would probably need to be done by drone. The interior is spectacular. The estimated cost is 100 million Euros and 50 million was from private donations. The government of Serbia contributed 40 million and Russia 10 million. I hope this pays of...

Belgrade was a stop that I had been curious about. I didn't know much of what to expect other than a reputation to watch out for pickpockets/theft, the usual big city dangers. We were required to carry our passports in Belgrade which was different than the other stops, even in Golubac. Arrival into Belgrade showed that this part of the Danube was industrial and that artwork/murals were going to be part of the experience. There isn't a distinctive style to Belgrade, it's a mix of old and new, run down, neglected, cared for, and artistic depending on which direction you're looking. I liked this shot because it showed a mix of an art gallery in front with one of the older buildings in the back. Older neglected looking exterior with a completely different architecture. Side of a building. While the art is great, I had to wander around bags of trash to get the picture. I cropped those out so you could focus on the cool part but you can still see some of the bags in the lower...