From Croatia to Serbia

This is what it looked like as we sailed along the Danube on our ship.  It was fascinating to watch the world go by while learning so much about the places we were seeing.  Very often we had one country on the starboard side and a different country on the port side.

The sign says "Passport Checkpoint".

While we were cruising, the ship's officers kept our passports in case authorities in any of the countries requested to see them.  We were not aware of any passport checks until we came to the border with Serbia.  The evening we arrived, two Serbian officers came on board to check our passports.  We had what they called a "face check".  We were called to the registration desk room by room so they could make sure our passports matched our faces.  Some of us were laughing because so many of our passport pictures aren't really that good and don't look much like us anyway.  There were no questions though; we each got an official new stamp on our passport and were on our way.

This was our first glimpse of Serbia.  It appeared more prosperous, as did Hungary, that some of the other countries we visited.

This was our guide in Belgrade, a very confident young Serbian woman who spoke perfect English and had a wicked sense of humor.

In Belgrade we toured the Kalemegdan Fortress (which means "white fortress") as well as the large park that surrounds it.

Reminders of war…

With peaceful activities going on now:

Playing tennis…

and playing with their dogs.

Walking into the park…

Overlooking the river and the city….

This is the Victory Monument at the Kalemgdan Citadel.  It was erected in 1928 to memorialize Serbia's liberation from the Ottoman Empire.  He is the Victor.  In his left hand he holds a falcon to watch the horizon for new threats; in his right hand he holds a sword to be ready for any challenges.

Walking out of the park, going to visit the rest of the city…

More photos of the City of Belgrade next time.  We saw a lot on our one day there!