The first things that flashed through my mind were the Kosovo war, NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Tito, the movie "Bridge" and the theme song "Ah! Goodbye, friends.
Almost all of them are related to war, and this area is called "the powder keg of Europe".
As a matter of fact, the whole Balkan region has been troubled in history.
Take the present Serbia as an example. In the 7th century, Serbs settled in the southwest of the peninsula, remained dormant for hundreds of years under the command of the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire, and finally became independent kings in the 12th century.
In the 16th century, it was destroyed by the Ottoman Empire. Some Serbs struggled for survival under the Ottoman rule, and some were dormant under the protection of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was hundreds of years before they stood up again, but the war continued.
The latest one was NATO's massive bombing of Belgrade in 1999 because of the Kosovo issue, and half of Belgrade was razed.
This is the 44th time in Belgrade's history. The city experienced 115 wars and was razed 44 times, but today it has become a famous city that never sleeps in Europe.
At this point, Belgrade, one of the four cities, has appeared. It is also the place where we stayed for the longest time on this trip.
Belgrade means the city of white in Serbian. "Bell" means "white" and "Glide" means "castle". The origin of the name is that a long time ago, a group of businessmen and tourists appeared many white houses in front of them when they took a boat trip to the Danube.
Today, when we walk along the Danube River, most of the houses we see are red-roofed houses during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the white ones we see are flocks of white swans.
The most famous white building is Saint Sava Cathedral in Old Bay City, the largest Orthodox church in the world.
Under the influence of the Eastern Roman Empire, most people in the Balkans believed in the Orthodox Church. Although religious belief was restricted to a certain extent in the Yugoslav era, today, whether in Belgrade or other parts of Serbia, we can feel the unique charm brought by the Orthodox Church.
We have been to St. Sava Cathedral in the morning and evening. In the morning, the green roof and white walls are bright and clean as new. At sunset, the afterglow reflects the hazy glow, which is warm and quiet.
The first floor of the church is covered with scaffolding. It is said that the church has been built for 8 years and has not been completed. Therefore, people in Serbia are worried about the efficiency of moving bricks.
The underground palace on the first floor is magnificent, and the contribution of religion to art in a certain sense can't be underestimated.
After the pilgrimage to religious buildings, I walked all the way up and down the Old Bay City, and arrived at Tito's last resting place, one of the big bosses in eastern bloc.
Tito's tomb and memorial hall are built on a high ground. There are some embassy buildings nearby, and the Iranian embassy is the closest. When chatting with the embassy post, he told us that their embassy is the best, and it is incredibly quiet. Birds can be heard every day, and the tone is quite proud.
Tito's relics are the main exhibits in the memorial hall, and there are a considerable number of them, including some trophies captured during the war with Nazi Germany. It must be said that the German equipment still looks good now. The staff in the museum pointed to several guns in the cupboard (from Italy, Hungary, Russia and Germany respectively) and said: Germany is the best.
So my father gave us a lesson on the spot: After the Treaty of Versailles.
A friend will definitely ask: Did you go to Kara Mei Dan Castle?
yes. Sure!
I did some homework before I went. For the sake of remembering, let's call it a castle and two rivers.
One Castle: There are about 2 castles or ruins of ancient castles in Serbia, most of which have been destroyed by the war, and most of them have been preserved during the Ottoman Empire. Kara Mei Dan Castle is also a site left by the Turkish rule, which has experienced more than 1 battles, large and small.
Two Rivers: Sava River is the mother river of Serbia, which originates from the Julian Alps, flows through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, and finally joins the Danube River in front of Kara Mei Dan Castle.
The Danube flows through this area to create the middle reaches plain, and the widening of the river channel promotes the increase of water flow here. Abundant water resources and fertile land also make it an important agricultural area in Hungary and Serbia.
Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade along the river are the economic centers of all countries. The dangerous terrain, economic lifeline and large agricultural area make Belgrade the front line of the war.
Kara Mei Dan is built on this military fortress. Its excellent geographical location and Turkish-style construction technology make it look like a huge shell, guarding the Bay City.
There are many young people sitting on the wall of the castle. The boys are chatting, and the girls are watching the sunset while taking selfies. This place should be the best sunset view in Beicheng.
So we also learn from them, sit next to each other, lean gently, stroke the evening breeze, the river is clear, and the sunset disappears little by little among the distant mountains, and the moment is fixed at 8:15 pm.
As a free traveler, the family took time to walk around Laobei City. The scars of NATO bombing in some neighborhoods are impressive. Abandoned buildings stare at the world with black holes, just like skeletons. Huge posters are printed with photos of Serbian female officers, and their eyes are firm. In the square in front of the parliament building, there are pictures of Serbs who died in the Kosovo war, whispering the pain of the country's unhealed wounds.
Turn a corner, take some more roads, and the painting style will gradually warm and freehand.
We walked to Knez Mihajlova, which was named in 187. This street is the most famous commercial street in Serbia. Apart from the 19th century buildings along the street, it is full of people, many people and many local people. In this country with a population of only over 7 million, it is really hard to see such a densely populated place. The four oriental faces of our family are really eye-catching, and we have to be noticed from time to time.
Children's English is good and they can communicate simply. Most of them have chestnut curly hair and brown eyes. The same feature is that they all have long legs. A little boy whose height is similar to mine is only 7 years old. No wonder the average height of the Serbian team in this World Cup is the highest (187cm)!
Not far from Dagong Street is * * * and Guo Square, where young girls and boys are dating in the afternoon.
A few more steps will lead to the famous Skadarlija pedestrian street. This small bohemian street completely retains the amorous feelings of the second half of the 19th century. Although the old houses along the street are all old, they are still full of romantic style. The cobblestones are paved with one foot deep and one foot shallow. Every restaurant has a live band, some elderly men and women dance lightly, and some sing softly to the melody of the band. Here, it seems that time has gone back.
because we didn't reserve a table in advance, we finally failed to eat the top three casa nova restaurants in Beicheng. The waiter was sorry to tell us that there was still room, but it might take more than an hour to serve food. We were already hungry, so we resolutely chose to give up waiting and switch to another unknown restaurant. As it turns out, those who survived in this street were not idle people, and we still had a satisfactory dinner at less than half the budget.
The city of Belgrade can be simply divided into Old Bay and New Bay, which are bounded by sava river. On Day1-3, we live in Old Bay. The above-mentioned Saint Sava Cathedral, Kara Mei Dan Castle, Tito's Tomb, Parliament Building and Pedestrian Street are all in Old Bay, and the transportation is basically by walking. As for navigation ... Google is in hand, and I have it all over the world.
On the last day, when Day11 returned to Belgrade from Montenegro, he lived in Xinbei City, where the site of our bombed embassy in the former Yugoslavia was located. From 1999 to 218, this site has a suffocating weight.
When our family arrived at the site, they met two junior students from Guangdong, and looked at the flowers piled up in front of the monument and the messages of blessing and remembrance from people all over the world, and the last trace of sadness in their hearts vanished.
The apartment I stayed in for the last night was in Zemeng town. This area was once the last border of Austria-Hungary, and now it still completely retains the architectural style of the imperial period. The blue Danube River flows slowly, white swans swim freely in groups, and the red-roofed houses are scattered.
I am full of longing for Austria-Hungary because of the movie Princess Cece, and I am full of longing for Vienna in 187 because of the movie Fangfang. In Zemeng, this feeling of being satisfied with joy reached its peak. This town used to belong to my favorite princess Sisi. This is the Austro-Hungarian Empire that I visited!
above, Belgrade, End.