The Belgrade heat is becoming very wearing and I find myself getting very tired, and feet feeling the heat. Normally I don’t feel my feet, but by now I even had blisters on my toes and those I could feel. Sight seeing has been reduced to four or five hours a. day and the judicious use of well used public transport.
The hostel this time was a very nice one , and it was everything the website had said it would be, the only disappointment was my room was very tiny. I couldn’t stand my suitcase square on to the bed as the door wouldn’t open. It was literally about 1.3 metres in width , with the bed hard up against each wall. Room size therefore 1.3m x2 m. I loved the hostel though , it was fresh, clean and the proprietors friendly as were the other occupants. The kitchen well equipped, with a free breakfast, laundry etc.
The hostel was well placed to access the city area, for museums, parks and general sight seeing. First thing to do as always find the supermarket! Getting instructions from the ever helpful receptionist it sounded fairly easy.
I set out as instructed, enjoying the new sights and taking in the little things like foot paths that need repairing, how the natives drive!
I have been struck by the number of shoe shops in the cities I have visited in this part of the world. There are many, mostly small owner operated, I think.
Prices appear to be mostly fairly low in my eyes, but undoubtedly expensive on a serbian wage. Shoes in Europe generally don’t fit me because the sizes are too small , for I choose to go barefoot when ever I can which has resulted in wide feet.
Walking up hill seeing the the usual tatty, graffiti scribbled walls, cigarette butts every where along with the inevitable rubbish a sad comment on the society, but one they can do little about. I spotted the supermarket name also tatty , with no mention of what it was. The entrance certainly distinctive. The rusted old escalator looking completely dead, and decaying if that is at all possible. The filthy concrete steps leading to a dingy but wide walkway, equally appalling in its filth. Once in you started to see small shops , and even a large bedding shop, it had some beautiful goods for sale that I found very tempting! Nearly missed it, but noticed the supermarket door tucked in an alcove. I love going around the supermarkets in the various countries, they are all different. In these east european countries they don’t seem to encourage you to spend heaps, as there are generally just baskets or pull along baskets, trolleys are there but seem to require paying for before they can be used.
The problem is more likely to be that everything has to be carried home. There are no big carparks like we have at home, where large trolleys get filled and taken to the car. It is where the back pack is very useful.
The prices of the goods appeared to be very cheap to me, but a comment to the hostel manager, had him saying no they were not! It is very much relative to a persons income or lack of it.
I kept walking up streets with unpronounceable names , and from my point of view unreadable as well. Belgrade showed some class as I continued to walk through the streets. I was intrigued by the sight of hundreds of swallows ducking and diving the length of the streets ,high above the shoppers. I assumed they were swallows because of their wing shape. They reminded me of the ones we had on the farm,always nesting in odd but safe places. Along the street were the high end retailers, and many many cafes, restaurants, and eateries with their umbrellas out to ward off the heat of the sun. It really was the only place to be in this weather.