Belgrade, Serbia
Murphy's Law states what can go wrong, will go wrong and that was the case for my trip to Belgrade. I flew from Tirana Albania to Belgrade Serbia on Air Serbia. My orignial 3:00am flight got cancelled due to mechanical problems and I got changed to a 3:30pm flight. Same day but different schedule so I had to cancel my 10:00am walking tour and be my own tour guide in the city but that was light. It actually pays to be nomadic.
First order of business was to get Serbian Dinars from the ATM. I would need 400 to get the A1 Minibus from the Airport to the city centre. From there I walked to my hotel because I didn't research public transporation is free in Serbia so I could have taken the bus. Half an hour later I was checked in at my hotel. I stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott in Belgrades City centre. At 12,000 Bonvoy points it was a no brainer on where to stay.
After being settled, I went downstairs to eat at the hotel. I looked outside to a scene I did not expect. A large crowd gather in the square protesting the government. I sat there thinking, "yep, only you would show up to a country with conflicts." After I got back to reality, I slowly watched the police dispurse the crowd. About an hour later I was out on the same square.
My time in Serbia would be different than most of my other trips. Serbia is one of the basketball powerhouses of Europe and is lesser known for carrying a lot of sneakers you cannot get your hands on in the US. I have a few stores I go too that don't ship internationally but lets just say I came away with a haul. Three hours and a few stores later I was back at my hotel figuring out how to break down boxes.
I woke up day two and did a 6:00am walking tour so I could finish at 10:00am and head across town for a pair of Airmax95 neons I didn't have time to pick up last night. Then I got food. I got back to my hotel in time for check out and here is where my day got longer. The hotel asked me if I wanted a taxi to the Airport for Euro40? I declined and opted to take the bus. Little did I know, there was a protest on the route and the bus would not be going in the same direction. I had no service, so I couldn't look up other options and there was no Uber. Then came the longest two hours of my life asking everyone for directions and no one spoke english on the street. I then started to going into businesses for assistance and then got steered into the right direction. Sitting at the airport, I now realized, always take the taxi.
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