Lucky Again

Monday, Aug. 22, 2016--Belgrade

The rain came in the night.  When we awoke, it was still slightly raining.  Then it rained a bit harder as we ate breakfast.  By the time we had showered and gotten dressed, it seemed to be dryer and brighter.  I checked the Doppler radar for the area, and it confirmed that all the rain had passed.  We headed out just an hour later than we had left yesterday.  And it never rained again all day.

Because it was cooler today, we wore long pants and headed to churches.  We started with St. Mark's Church which is large and beautiful with a really nice and huge pressed metal circular chandelier.  Then we headed to St. Sava Temple which is one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world and still under construction with little finished inside.  Outside that church, I took a photo of Wes standing with a statue of Nicola Tesla who invented the alternating electrical current and who is probably best known for creating the Tesla coil which sends bolts of lightning into the air.  Next, we returned to St. Michael's Cathedral which we were not allowed to enter on Sunday because of wearing shorts.  It isn't that large, but it is beautiful inside.  Finally, we went to two small, old churches that are part of the Fortress:  Ruzica Church and the Church of St. Petka.  The former is a nice, old church that is beautiful inside and out with nice old frescoes on the ceiling and ivy growing on the outer walls.  A strange feature is chandeliers made from rifle bullets.  The latter has walls and ceilings covered with very detailed mosaics made of tiny irregularly shaped tiles.

While walking from church to church, we passed a small storefront space that was filled with people sitting in chairs and others sitting at computers lined along the back wall.  The sign said, "Refugee Assistance Center."  Our guess is that the computers were being used to stay in contact with relatives at home and that those in chairs were awaiting their turn to use the computers.  We have seen other signs that there are recent refugees here in Belgrade including a sign in a park stating, "Dinner Served Here at 5:30."  Click here for photos of refugees in the city.