After asking four different shops where to get a tram ticket, a local told me I had to find a kiosk. Several street later, I finally came across a kiosk that sold tram tickets, only to find the lady spoke insufficient English to understand "2 trams tickets, please". I admit, Cinthia and my usage of Lonely Planet's Eastern Europe phrasebook has been almost non existant, so I wasn't about to come out with sufficient local dialect to make myself understood. Thinking a little too quickly, I turned around and asked the nearest young couple walking past....."How do you say 2 tram tickets in Croatian?". They both laughed.....and replied, "Well in Serbian you say it like this.......". Of all the stupid mistakes to making, asking a Belgrade resident how to say something in Croatian. It may seem an innocent mistake, and obviously it was, however if you remember that the Serbs and Croats through chairs at each other almost every Australian Open (with sometimes Bosnians joining in, but they have no tennis players to support) it should be remembered that these countries still don't particularly like each other. It is at least 100 times worse than saying where is Australia, is that near New Zealand?
Ironically the languages are very similar, and it is probably the same words in each language, I'm not sure, however each country now claims ownership of certain words, and as seperate countries, it is possible the languages may diverge further, however in these globalised days, I doubt it. I think the only word Cin and I understand in this region is "Da", which means "Yes", and is the same in Russia. I'd like to claim our major cultural learnings are more than trying the beers of each country, however there is only so much one can learn each day.
The tram ride itself was interesting, as ticket issues are not something Melbourne alone faces. In Belgrade, you need to place the crappy little ticket in the top slot, and then pull the slot forward, like a one armed bandit. It doesn't seem intuitive, and a local had to show Cinthia how to do it.
Ironically the languages are very similar, and it is probably the same words in each language, I'm not sure, however each country now claims ownership of certain words, and as seperate countries, it is possible the languages may diverge further, however in these globalised days, I doubt it. I think the only word Cin and I understand in this region is "Da", which means "Yes", and is the same in Russia. I'd like to claim our major cultural learnings are more than trying the beers of each country, however there is only so much one can learn each day.
The tram ride itself was interesting, as ticket issues are not something Melbourne alone faces. In Belgrade, you need to place the crappy little ticket in the top slot, and then pull the slot forward, like a one armed bandit. It doesn't seem intuitive, and a local had to show Cinthia how to do it.
Dinner is makeshift again, however we dinned well for lunch and breakfast, so no issues there. Tuna, bread, ham and cheese, yoghurt, the basic staples from your standard Mini market.
Earlier today we enjoyed a hotel breakfast, after a couple of weeks of hostels in Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia. Post that we headed to the main sight of Belgrade, Kalmegden and Belgrade fortress. The fortress overlooks the junction of the Danube (one of Europe's major rivers), and the Sava river. Both rivers are large but placid, cutting Belgrade into several sections. The fortress itself claims to have been fought over 113 times, which is quite a history. As recently as WWI, there were Austrian-Hungarians and Germans to the North, and French, English, Greeks, Italians and Bulgarians south of the Danube helping the Serbs defend their territory.
We walked around the fort precinct for a while, and given we had some spare time, I managed to convince Cinthia that I needed to visit the War History Museum. OK, I may not be a train gunzel, however I won't deny I am a little bit of a war buff. Whilst Cinthia sat and listened to Harry (stating war pictures and looking at guns makes her sad) I proceeded to work my way through the 50 odd rooms. It was mainly in Serbian with the odd English translation, however I still found it fascinating.
The museum did not only cover the 20th century history, it traced back as far as possible, and showed the evolution of different races, conflicts that occurred, castles that were constructed and fortified, and the changing regional map. It also showed the evolution of hand weapons, armour, guns, and heavy artilery. the museum covered both major wars with about 10 rooms each, however the last room, only 1 room, covered the 1990's conflict. This was disappointing, and perhaps fairly tainted, as it only showed 2 main themes- weapons captured from Albanian 'terrorists', and the total military size of NATO, in comparison to Yugoslavia.
We spent the afternoon strolling around, banned from entering Belgrade cathedral by a fierce looking 90 year old due to our shorts and flip flops, partaking in Belgradians favourite pastime of sitting in a cafe, and also taking some photos of the buildings.
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Another train, and whilst there is only 1 border to cross, Cinthia tells me she has learned this train will split and form 2 trains mid journey. Ours to Sofia, Bulgaria, and another to Skopje, Macedonia. We are hoping for a better sleep this time.
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