Monday, Sept. 26

Our first full day was fabulous!  It was a warm (low 20s) and sunny day, just perfect touring weather!  We started off with a guided tour of Belgrade.  We drove past the many landmarks of Belgrade.  We stopped to see the Cathedral of Saint Sava, a huge cathedral that is still being built.  It will take at least ten years to finish it.  We also visited Tito's memorial and learned more about this communist leader that was admired by people around the world.
After lunch we headed out into the country, driving past fields of corn and wheat as well as fruit orchards and vineyards.  We visited an ancient Orthodox monastery with an ancient Byzantine church that contained beautiful, well preserved frescoes.  Then we went to the lovely little town of Sremski Karlovci for lunch and a short walking tour.  This was followed by a trip to a family farm that produces wind and honey.  We had lots of laughs as we sampled 7 different wines and three types of honey. Funny how the volume of our voices went up a few notches!!
Next we drove to Novi Sad, Serbia's second largest city.  It had a lovely feel as we walked through the pedestrian street and watched the people that were "out and about".  It was great to see so many people out with their young children.
It was pretty quiet on the bus as we travelled back to Belgrade in the dark.  Perhaps the wine had something to do with putting everyone to sleep on the way back!!  It was a long day so we were happy to call it a night when we returned at 8:30!
Good night!