Belgrade
We left Belgrade in mid-afternoon, so my impressions are even more superficial than usual, but I will note that Serbia is very inexpensive. The dinar is weak, plus the only major tourist attraction we visited -- the ruins of the "white fortress" from which the city gets its name -- is situated in a public park, and was free of charge. Only the highest point in the ruins -- with its picturesque view of the confluence of the Sava and the Danube -- charged admission that was the equivalent of about 30 cents.
Confluence of the Sava and the Danube. As seen from the white fortress, Belgrade
It was near election time, and posters for the barely-distinguishable political parties were everywhere. Among these were more featuring the fascist Šešelj. In addition to the urban graffiti that typifies any city on earth, there are plenty of reactionary graffiti as well: Chetnik symbology, "Kosovo is Serbian," "1389," etc. We saw one or two buildings that had been bombed by the US from the air in 1999, but the city is bustling and active around them; it is obvious that Belgrade was not hit very hard by the wars that broke up Yugoslavia.
Our second stop was the "House of Flowers," where Tito lies buried. Not many locals come here; Serb nationalism rejects Tito as a Croat and Slovene as well as a Communist. Admission is free, and the scene is painfully sad: memories of a more civilized day. We signed the guest book. There had been visitors from all over the former Yugoslavia in recent days: Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia -- but it was obvious from the names that the great majority of recent visitors had been Bosnian Muslims.
