Saved by the Bel(grade)!: Belgrade Chill

The weather has been beautiful in Belgrade (with the exception of a few flash hail storms...), so we've been enjoying the outside. In one playground near our apartment they have an enormous blow-ups that you can use for 15 minutes for about $1.25 per person. The kids love it!

And there are plenty of other playgrounds for little explorers.

One of the coolest things about being here is all the work-related events that keep us busy and give us a chance to see lots of different things. This one was a smaller group of us at a place called Imanje 4 Pera in Perlez, Serbia, which is about an hour north of Belgrade. There was a private pool, lots of seating, BBQ and drinks. The pool was a bit chilly, but Burke still spent most of the day swimming. The rest of just enjoyed a super-relaxed day of sunshine, good drinks, food and company. One person described the day as "Belgrade Chill" and it totally fits.

Pool and bar

Little loungers (don't be fooled by Holden in a swimsuit and in a chair, he put his toes in and said "no way!")

A delicious BBQ with lots of different salads, chicken and cevapi

Lots of space for lounging

Cow crossing on the way back to Belgrade!

We regularly pass by a couple of buildings that were bombed in 1999 by NATO. Most of the buildings that were impacted have been repaired / rebuilt, but there are a few places throughout the city where they haven't been rebuilt because of disputes over ownership and lack of funding.

A larger farmer's market called Kalenic Market is a short walk from our apartment and has a great selection of in-season fruits and veggies, a bunch of fish markets, fresh flowers, and... shower heads? Hmmmm...

About $1.82 per KG (that's less than $1 per pound of strawberries!!)

Don is REALLY excited to buy some cherries

Little bakeries and shops line the outside of the market

Fish is very expensive compared to other foods because the country is land-locked so everything is imported

It's like I always say, it's not a proper farmer's market if I can't buy a shower head...

These enormous tomatoes were about 10 cents a piece!

Lunch post-market! Šopský salad: tomato, cucumber and red onion with delicious cheese.

One of the best parts of living in the city center these past few weeks has been exploring restaurants. This one was super good - it's a B&B called Smokvica (or Fig). There was a gorgeous garden to sit in, but unfortunately they allow smoking and it was pretty overrun with smokers, so we ended up inside to avoid it. The food was still delicious.