Belgrade, Serbia

Belgrade, Serbia

The train got us into town only a little bit late because of the border crossing. You never can tell how long the customs officials will take, but our train was packed thin and we got through rather quickly. At the station we had to get a reservation for the night train to Podgorica, Montenegro. We already had a ticket to get there, but you need reservations for each leg of the trip which cost you a few bucks extra. Normally, the ticket is good for a month, but once you use the reservation, you have to go, and if you don't, you only lose the reservation price. Sounds good and it would be neat if the airlines could do something like that. I am sure there is a good reason why they don't. Next, we put our bag in temporary storage at the train station so we could walk around on foot with only our daypacks. The few bucks was sure worth it and the bags came back in fine condition, even though the place was totally sketchy.

The town of a Belgrade has had an interesting past through WW1 and WW2. With the formation, and the breakup of Yugoslavia, there is a burning feeling around. Some like it, some don't, and right now people are kind of getting along. I just remember the activities in the 90's in the news and the ethnic hatred driving most people. So, fitting enough, our day's plan took us to the Military Museum. This museum is situated right in the tip of land where the Danube and the Sava rivers connect, and is inside the massive fortress on the land.

First of all, the rivers colliding made an impressive sight. The Danube was a little muddy and must have been a different temperature since when it collided with the Sava, which was clearer, it disappeared and must have gone under it being colder. I suppose. We saw this from a distance of about a quarter mile from up high. These natural phenomenons sure look cool!

The fortress was used in the wars and is still in decent shape. The wars took their toll, and you can climb around the place wherever you want. It's a little different than the USA where a fall or injury could land the place in legal troubles for eternity. Most places we go to just want you to use common sense. The problem with that runs another problem. There is a lot of trash everywhere. There are a few Europeans that must think that trash can go just anywhere. Cigarettes, trash, napkins, etc.

There is no way to talk about the Military Museum in great detail. It was too large to comprehend, and most labels were in Serbian. The museum was laid out chronologically and featured weapons mostly used in the area. I could not believe how many items they had on display from the medieval and Ottoman times. They were mostly just out to see and not behind glass protected, which surprised me. Right as you start, you see what was used from the beginning of the village and maps explaining what forces moved in from where. All of this was cool until you got to the United Nations exhibit. Unknowing, after you have visited the past events the UN presentation was throughly displayed. Yugoslavia was well represented and portrayed in a positive light. Then.... Came the NATO exhibit. Wow! All the communist involvement and dealings were passed over until the involvement in the 1990's. There were numerous detailed accounts of the bombings and civilian pictures of the dead. Nowhere, was the ethnic cleansing of Albanins mentioned, conveniently. Most impressive was the F-117 stealth airplanes's wreckage on display behind the glass. There were also cluster bomb fragments displayed mentioning how they are illegal to use in war. Chillingly, there was the US soldier's jacket with the name Carpenter and flag patch in a case as well. There was another display of the shot down F-16 pilot's helment and flight gear as well. As a US citizen, this was truly something out of the ordinary and left me feeling a little out of place in a museum like this. I would like to look up and read the details of the crashes since I was very young when this all happened. I remember it all being in the news but I think at the time, as a nation, we were more involved with the Monica Lewinski situation. These items were displayed as trophies and not documented in the best of light.

Just to wrap up, we walked the fort a little more, got some dinner, and made our way back to the train station. We were hopping on the train to Montenegro, which would be a long grueling ride through the night.