This article should undoubtedly contain beautiful stories, revive memories, and carry the excitement from that day to today. While doing these, it should take me, who is trying to put words into words, into a world of happiness. Let’s see if he can do it. I know it’s been a long time since the events happened, but I don’t know why I couldn’t sit down and write about those beautiful memories. One day, that day falls at the end of July; Almost 3 weeks had passed since our arrival in Romania, and the so-called holidays appeared at our door. We had to make a plan immediately and try to make the best use of this opportunity and see new places. Of course, we did our best. We seduced our dear friend Samet, who has not been in Romania for a week yet, and prepared a 10-12 day program including Belgrade and Novi Sad in Serbia, Timişoara, Arad and Sibiu in Romania. Before our departure, we did extensive research on where to visit, how to get there, what to eat and drink. Because it would be our first trip to Europe on our own. Plans were made and set on the road. We agreed to meet Samet in Belgrade on July 26. We left Dragashani early in the morning and reached Belgrade after a hitchhiking ride of about 10 hours. After settling into our hostel, we started looking for a foreign exchange office to convert money, but no luck. It was after 19.00 when we arrived in the city, and 20.00 after we settled in the hostel. As it was the weekend, foreign exchange offices closed early. After a long search, we realized that all of them were actually open, but we were looking in the wrong place (detailed information about money issues is at the end of the article). After this issue, we went to McDonalds, a rainy day friend, to fill our stomachs and use the internet connection. Less than 10 minutes passed and Samet came to us. We hugged and kissed and then threw ourselves into the streets of Belgrade. In the middle of summer, the heat is sweltering and the streets are teeming with people. Especially since Serbia is a country that does not require visas for Turks, you come across people speaking Turkish every step of the way. So much so that you deeply feel the version of “Are we in Turkey?” experienced by someone who has been to Sultanahmet at least once. Belgrade in particular and Serbia in general actually remind one of a European country rather than a Balkan country. Geographically, it borders four EU countries, Croatia and Hungary in the West, Bulgaria and Romania in the North and East. As far as I have experienced, the villages, roads, city centers, living standards, the atmosphere on the streets, and the way people dress are not much different from a standard European country. It is clear that it is at least a little higher than Romania’s situation. That night, feeling unbearably tired and sleepy after being on the road for hours, we throw ourselves into bed without lingering too long to start our city tour early in the morning. The next day starts energetically early in the morning. We immediately go in search of something for breakfast. We find dozens of small shops around Republic Square selling pastries, sandwiches, etc. selling Our pastry is already famous around here, you can find all kinds of it. The prices are very affordable. As in Romania, the only thing that bothers you is the price of all drinks except beer. People are amazed when a small bottle of fruit juice costs 1.5 times the price of the big pastry you buy. We need to open a parenthesis here. If you are coming to a new city for touristic purposes, the first thing you should do is to find a tourism information center. In the past, I would research the place I was going to on the internet and see where to visit, but nowadays all I do is go to these offices and buy one of the city maps distributed free of charge. There is already information on the map that meets all your needs, such as where to go and where to go. The employees in the office are also very attentive and helpful, unlike those in Turkey. Thanks to these maps, you can easily travel anywhere without getting lost. I highly recommend! (detailed information at the end of the article) We have our breakfast with our pastries in our hands and people watching with the view of Cumhuriyet Square. After breakfast, we have a long list of museums to visit. While we were talking about which one to start with, a crazy rain started. Wanting to have a place to lay our heads, we immediately head to the National Museum in the square we are on. We are lucky that since Sunday is public day, entrance to the museum is free. This is a museum where religious motifs predominate. You can find plenty of historical crosses, Bibles, pictures and paintings. It didn’t attract us much, but we tried to look at and understand each object as much as we could. Our second stop; Ethnography Museum. A large, magnificent building on the same street as the National Museum, at the corner of Studentski Park. I don’t really remember the entrance fee. I didn’t take any notes. Because we enter free or at a discount every time with our EVS Volunteer card. Usually they don’t understand what the card is, it doesn’t have any validity anyway, but we say, ‘Look, we’re coming from another museum, we didn’t pay a fee there.’ Since there is no one who speaks decent English, after a 20-25 seconds of mutual disagreement, they let us in to see what you are up to. When you enter, you can see the traditional clothes on the lifeless mannequins on the first and second floors. If you are not very interested, I recommend you to pass directly and head to the third floor. On the third floor, there are very successful presentations on a wide range of items such as the interiors of traditional houses, fishing equipment and tobacco machines. I recommend that you examine each one closely, one by one. When you come to Belgrade, you will most likely hear about one museum that everyone talks about; Nikola Tesla Museum. It is a museum built in the name of the unfortunate Serbian scientist, the beautiful man Tesla, where the facts or models of the devices he invented are exhibited. Everyone was very proud of it, so we decided to go and see it. On a Sunday, it was open until 13:00. We caught up in a hurry. There is a flood of people inside, it is not clear who is doing what. Excuse me, it’s a tiny place anyway, we were wondering where the box office was and where the queue was and then we found the place to buy tickets. Ticket costs 150 RSD. This is the only money I regret paying during our entire trip. We bought the ticket and sat in front of a cinema system. Everyone is Turkish anyway, maybe there are a few foreigners mixed in… They opened it and we watched an unsuccessful Tesla documentary for 20 minutes. As if that wasn’t enough, a blond young university student came out from behind him, all the employees of the museum were students studying in the physics department at the university, the man started talking by trying to make a meaningless British accent as if he were UN members, holding the tools in his hand and explaining etc. I understood two sentences – I didn’t understand. I mean, I’m not a guy who is far from science or anything like that, I’m a guy who knows what an induction motor is and what a Tesla coil is. But no one, including me, understood anything the man said. He talked for 5-10 minutes, then immediately said let’s move to the side. After a few small fluorescent shows, he said it was over. I said, what can God do to you? This is a monument of nonsense. Look, I wrote a whole paragraph to describe this museum. If you have a fantasy of looking at the globe containing Tesla’s ashes from 5 meters behind, go ahead, otherwise it’s a waste of time, energy and money. Oh man, I’m relieved. It was lunch time, we were hungry. We are tired of visiting museums. And in between, St. Mark’s Church and the National Assembly buildings made us very dizzy. We were just going to have dinner when we saw another museum, so we decided to go into that and eat later. Itself; Historical Museum of Serbia. It’s not written on the map you’ll get from the Information Office, but it’s a visible place. Right around the corner of Nikola Pasic Square, next to the National Assembly building. A large area with documents and photographs about the war years. Try to enter without buying a ticket at the entrance, just because we are students and stuff like that. No, if they say you don’t need a ticket, don’t force it, it’s not a place worth that much effort. It’s a place where you’ll find things more like theater decorations than a museum. Finally, we move on towards lunch. There was only one thing we ate during the 4 days we were in Serbia, and that was the legendary “Pljeskavica”. In short, we can describe it as a Serbian hamburger, it is a dazzling thing with its price, taste and size. You will see small restaurants selling this almost everywhere, but it can be eaten decently and cheaply in one place. I am writing the full address, make a note of it; Trg Republike, Tc. Staklenac Makedonska 5. In short, it is the corner of the park diagonally opposite Republic Square. Its name is “Pljeskavica Bar”. Open 24 hours. You can enjoy a can of Cola + Pljeskavica for 220 RSD. They are already preparing it before your eyes. I’m sure the moment you eat, you’ll start talking about having the next meal here. After dinner, we throw ourselves towards the castle. You can reach the castle by following “Knez Mihailova” street from Republic Square, which is also Belgrade’s Istiklal Street. Cafes, shops, bookstores, street artists, vendors, etc. Everything is located on this long street. Belgrade is a city built at the intersection of the Danube and Sava rivers. The castle in question, “Kalemegdan”, was built on the hill overlooking this intersection. It is a place whose history dates back to before Christ. Of course, it has developed and changed by constantly changing hands throughout history. It attained its current form during the Ottoman period. You will feel the Ottoman breeze when you enter. For example, there is the tomb of Damat Ali Pasha right in the middle of the castle. The castle consists of different sections within itself. Several churches, museums, observation decks, various towers, etc. The most important and must-see parts are undoubtedly; Military Museum, Zoo and observation deck. During the day, we can only spare time for the Military Museum and the observation deck. The Military Museum is definitely a must-see. There is a discounted entrance fee of 150 RSD for students, but it is a wonderful museum that deserves every step of the way. It has a structure scattered within the castle walls, layer by layer. You see astonishing things in every corner. Especially, like me, war materials, tanks, planes, ships, engines, cars, documents, uniforms, etc. If you are keen. You will see very successful exhibitions about military history from the pre-Ottoman period to the present day. This is a museum that should be spent time. When you enter, it would be beneficial to enter knowing that you will spend at least 2 hours here. Take water and snacks with you, my advice. Also, a general note: This is true almost everywhere, but all museums are closed on Monday. It would be beneficial to make your planning with this in mind. After the museum, we throw ourselves on the terrace, that is, on the highest walls of the castle, to watch the unique Danube view. There is a crowded but quiet and serene community here that accompanies you in the landscape. We spend hours here, chatting and enjoying. For our dinner, we say, let’s spend money and have a decent meal at a nice restaurant. There is a place called ” Skadarlija ” street. A place like Bar Street in Eskişehir. A street full of restaurants and cafes with Fasıl-style live music. Very nice. We enter one without wandering around too much. We heard that it is very famous, we want a portion of Hangicici along with the Serbian beer Jelen. We enjoy our meal in this small but cute place and have the best conversation possible. Our third day starts with the zoo. You reach here from the northern gate of Kalemegdan. Discount, card etc. This is the only place in Belgrade that is not mentioned. We pay 300 RSD per person and enter. This is a zoo that does its justice with every step. Of course, the truth or wrongness of zoos is debatable, but I try to visit zoos in different places and every time I encounter disgraceful sights. But this is truly a very successfully designed place. The animals look happy and healthy. It is an area where you can see hundreds of animal species in a wide range. It will take at least 2 hours, so plan your time well. I think everything that has happened so far can be considered among the standard things that every tourist who comes to Belgrade does. What followed is already etched in my memory as the most fun part. As we leave the zoo, we go to the “Milan Muskatirovic Sport Center”, which is a few streets down. Don’t worry, we have no business here. There is a huge shop right under the building where you can rent a bike. They rent a very sturdy bike for 24 hours for 500 RSD in exchange for any ID card. As you will see on the map you will receive from the Information Office, there are bicycle paths in every corner of the city and along the riverside. These are very successfully constructed roads. They all connect to each other. It is no different from a driveway and offers you unique views of the city that cannot be seen from anywhere with every pedal you turn. With our bikes under us, we are heading towards our first target, “Ada Ciganlija”. Luckily, it starts to rain halfway down our road. We immediately take shelter under a bridge and wait. We hope that the rain will stop and we will have fun cycling. After waiting for half an hour, we come to the conclusion that the rain will not let up and continue on our way. We get wet to the core with every pedal we turn, but we also experience the peak of fun. We arrive at the island, but there is no place to lay our heads. Then we take shelter in the garden of one of the indoor cafes on the beach. We are literally like sausages. We spread our clothes as much as we can in case it dries a little, but it is not possible. We said, since we are so wet, let’s go in and swim, what difference does it make? We went there for a while and thought we’d try it, but the water was ice cold. Every drop that falls makes him colder. We quickly returned and dried ourselves with the cafe’s sofa cushions. We had to linger here for more than an hour. It was still raining and all our clothes were wet. The sun showed its face for a while, and we threw ourselves on the road again. We both applied and dried. Thank goodness, the sun came out soon, as if the sky had not just split open… We toured all around the island, dipped our feet in the water for a bit… On the way back, we realized that this bicycle path went all the way to the other side of the city. We were ready and said to ourselves, why don’t we go? We didn’t stop, we continued, we crossed to the other shore, we even stopped for a while and buried Pljeskavica. The sun has set. It’s time to return. We said let’s deliver the bikes, have a drink and go out tomorrow, but when we returned to the bike shop, it was already closed, so we had to keep the bikes. Fortunately, since the rental is for 24 hours, the price is the same. That night, we had a drink accompanied by live music, our bikes in hand, and returned to our hostel. The next morning we got up early and returned the bikes. After breakfast, we jumped on the tram and hit the highway for our next route. This is a very important warning; You can get on the trams without printing a ticket, but they come to check frequently. Be aware that if you are caught, you pay a fine of 10 Euros per person without hesitation. It has been confirmed by bitter experience. So when you get on, go directly to the driver and buy your ticket. Let’s come to the end of the Belgrade section with this warning, the next article will be about Novi Sad, Timişoara, Arad and Sibiu. It is also useful to know the following about Belgrade: – In Serbia, the word “Menjacnica” is used instead of the concept of “Exchange Office”. You should look for this word. You can find dozens of exchange offices on “Knez Mihailova” street, which I can call the center. 1 Euro is 120 RSD (Serbian Dinar); 1 TL is equivalent to approximately 42 RSD. But it is a very important issue; Do not come here with Turkish Lira because you will not find a place to convert it. Likewise, do not come with Romanian Lei! Always EURO. One last thing, when dealing with money matters, there will be too many thousands and hundreds in the sentence, you will be confused, angry and tense; Calm down and try to get used to it. – There are several “Information Offices” in Belgrade, but the closest one is located under the columned building at the intersection of Republic Square and Knez Mihaliova in the center. There is a huge “i” sign anyway, it is impossible for you not to see it. – I don’t think I need to give much detailed information about accommodation, you can find cheap and nice hostels in the center on booking.com. Prices range between 5-7 Euros. I also recommend DownTown Central Hostel. I also recommend you to visit the Places to Visit in Belgrade page. Mavimore Turizm is a travel agency registered with TÜRSAB. Document number: A-8307