Thursday, October 27, 2011

It's right behind Sava

I haven't been here that long, but so far it seems to me that everything is "right behind St. Sava".  When asking for directions to our new apartment (estimated move-in date is Nov.20), "you'll find it right behind St. Sava".  The market? "oh, go to St. Sava and you'll see it- it's right behind it". Restaurants? "you have to try the pizzeria right behind St. Sava; it's the best". The problem is that St. Sava or as pronounced in Serbian S (svetog Save) is HUMONGOUS. Here is a video Phil and I made trying to find it:


and of course, it's right there. You can't see it from far away, because Belgrade is very hilly. I was definitely not expecting that. The Embassy (and my bubble) are right by the river, but two blocks up from there, it's like San Francisco. Once you hit the flat part, you can see and appreciate the cathedral, but to get there, I was literally out of breath and sweating.

According to what I have heard and read on Wikipedia, St. Sava might just be the largest Orthodox cathedral in the Balkans and one of the largest in the world. Here's a cool fact in case you didn't know: Orthodox churches don't have pews or any other sitting place. You have to stand the for the entire service.

St. Sava is the main attraction of this really nice park with benches and tree lined pathways, along with one of the main roads; where I will be taking the bus around the city once we move. It is also one of "Belgrade's Top Ten Places to go", according to my guidebook.


Here are is another pic of St. Sava during the day time.

  


So back to the whole, behind St. Sava thing, after you walk the path in the picture, you are literally thrown into a maze of tiny little streets with no names. The streets are so small, that only one car can go at a time even though they are meant to be two-way; and cars have to park in the sidewalk. There is no grid or logic and things are really hidden. To find the market, I eventually just looked for people with those plaid flea market bags that exist everywhere but in America. I really should get some of those too.





4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love flippin' serbia!! Keep sharing the stories, I am highly entertained. Expect an email soon. Miss you already!
-Ellen

Anonymous said...

Orthodox churches do have pews. I have seen them in Greece and the U.S.

Anonymous said...

Guess where i live :)...........

Anonymous said...

"The streets are so small, that only one car can go at a time even though they are meant to be two-way; "

They are actually one way streets, I drive down them every day several times a day :) in a landrover too, so not that small :)