Serbia

Three days in Belgrade. Kalemegdan Fortress where the Sava meets the Danube, the Tesla Museum, and a lot of very good Serbian food.

We landed in Belgrade late, after a flight from Lisbon, and the St. Regis took care of the rest. A driver met us at arrivals with a sign, and we rode into the city in a Mercedes, watching the lights come up over the river. The hotel sits in the Kula tower in Belgrade Waterfront, and our room was high and quiet, which is exactly what we'd asked for. We were too tired for anything fancy, so we walked the promenade to Restoran Kolo and ate the prebranac, baked beans that the reviews call the best they've had. It was the right first dinner: warm, cheap, and very much a Serbian kitchen.

The next morning we went up to Kalemegdan Fortress before the crowds. The walls run along the edge of the old city, and from the tip, by the Victor monument, the Sava river meets the Danube directly below you. It is the single best view in Belgrade, and it is free. From there we walked down the Knez Mihailova, the pedestrian street of bookshops and cafés, to Republic Square, then took a Bolt across the city to the Nikola Tesla Museum. Tickets are sold in person, in cash, and the tours fill fast, so get there early. The demonstration with the Tesla coil was loud and funny, and Tesla's ashes in their golden orb made a fitting end to the visit.

Lunch was at Manufaktura, with red umbrellas over the terrace. The stuffed pljeskavica is the signature, and the peppers stuffed with kajmak were the dish people kept asking about. In the afternoon we took a short ride to the House of Flowers, Tito's marble mausoleum, and the Museum of Yugoslavia, which has a strange and wonderful collection of relay batons and state gifts from around the world. Then we walked through the Dorćol design quarter and Skadarlija, the old bohemian street, before dinner.

Dinner was at Iva, on the garden table. Iva is a modern Balkan kitchen that has held a Bib Gourmand two years running, and the oxtail with homemade gnocchi is the dish to order. We finished with the cheesecake and walked back to the hotel slowly, past the lights on the river, feeling like we had seen the city properly.

Reflection: Belgrade is a city that surprises you one street at a time. It is worth three full days, and the fortress view alone would be worth the trip.