A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and a lot of food!

Our third day in Serbia included a trip to Fruška Gora mountain with some new friends from work. The ride was a little over an hour and we went to a vegetarian ranch Ranč Dobro Pras  (the Good Pig Ranch). The scenery was breathtaking and we enjoyed some hiking, horseback riding and relaxing.

Nice hat, Don Cooley!

Burke was all about the nettle soup!

Chickpea goulas

Homemade grain bread, hummus and nettle soup

Dessert bars... not sure what was in them, but they were good!

Wednesday was the first day of work for me (it was great!) and the first day of school for the kids (they’re a little tired, but adjusting and enjoying it), so we just took a short walk down our street for dinner at a tiny pizza joint called Pizza Fabrika, where they have a super nice owner and wait staff. It’s already became a go-to for us!

We love egg on pizza!

Thursday was quite the eating adventure… We were running a little late and so I quickly looked for a close by place on Trip Advisor and found a restaurant that had super high ratings and we were off! The restaurant Restoran Potkovica, for in English: the White Horse and we quickly realized it’s called that for a reason… yup, they’re known for their horse meat. Don took one for the team and gave it a try. The taste was fine (it tasted pretty similar to beef), but the emotional scaring will surely last a lifetime… 

This is when we realized why it's called the White Horse...

This guy came outside for a smoke... with his baby. Classy.

Here we go...

Eater's remorse

We also got our temporary car, which is an Alfa Romeo crossover. We’ll be driving it for about a month until our car comes in, but we couldn’t get over the fancy racecar gear shifts on the steering wheel. Aside from that, we were terrified of driving through central Belgrade where the streets are narrow and there are a ton of one-way streets, but after a little practice we are basically pros.

To start our weekend we slept until noon (tough life!) and then wandered our in search of some vegetables :). We found Pizza Bar, which was right next to the Temple of Saint Sava, a beautiful Serbian Orthodox church that is one of the largest churches in the world. The church is not yet finished, (it’s been under construction since the late 1800’s), but is absolutely stunning inside and out. 

Lasagna!

Vegetables! Finally!

Outside the Temple of Saint Sava

Inside the Temple

The church crypt is finished and really beautiful with painted ceilings and gorgeous chandeliers

We had the cutest little photo bomber

A small religious parade / movement came through the streets while we were walking

A little seesawing

After the Temple, we headed down to Kalemegdan park and the Belgrade Fortress where we tackled about ½ of it. The fortress was built in 535 A.D. and is really amazing to see and walk through.

A much needed minion pick-me-up

After a full day of walking and exploring, we were a little thirsty, so we headed over the a local beer festival (in a warehouse) to hang out with some work friends and enjoy a few drinks. Entry into the festival was a little less than $3 (including a souvenir glass) and tastings were about $1.

Don looking smokin' hot walking the Belgrade streets

Beerfest!

As a bacon lover, I find this disturbing. Also, I almost got run over by a tram trying to get this picture...

Sunday was rainy and low-key… we went on a big shopping adventure to get a bunch of things for our apartment and then walked to find a place for dinner. We ran into some nice people on the street and asked them if there was a nearby place to eat and they pointed to a sign 100m ahead and said it was a good place to eat. We headed that way and before we knew it, were sitting in a very fancy restaurant and VERY under dressed. Thank goodness Serbians are so hospitable - the staff at Bevanda was really sweet to us. The restaurant specialized in seafood and we shared some tasty appetizers and then amazing grilled whole fish. Despite the embarrassment of our classy clothes, we had a great meal and fun night!

Rockin' the hoodie at the fancy restaurant 

Black risotto

We got to pick our fish

Preparing the fish tableside

Red snapper and grouper - was AMAZING!!

After a week in Belgrade, we're starting to get more comfortable. We've figured out public transportation, have driven a car (yikes!), been to work, been to school, seen a bunch of cool things and are almost done with jet lag. So far we've found people to be extremely nice and helpful with a high degree of English fluency, so it hasn't been too tough to get around and try things out. On the down side, driving is a little scary (super narrow roads and one-way streets) and smoking is everywhere (yuck). Week 1 = done!