Belgrade

Belgrade is trying to kill us. We have been having a great time undoing all the good work we achieved on the bike. Gillian and James have been here before (as has Kate) and we are lucky enough to have some good friends who have been embarrassing us with their hospitality and generosity. This has taken the form of many big meals, showing off a variety of Serbian cuisine. Below is an example of lunch on our first day, at a restaurant chosen by Zoran - one of the aforementioned friends. Bear in mind this is only for 6 people - it would be nice to think that it is larger than usual, but really, it's about average...

We have been doing all of James' favourite things, lunch at Kalemegdan, dinner in Skardalia, wandering around Knez Mihailova. They all seem to be as much fun as he remembers. We have also been on a tour out into the countryside to visit two Serbian Orthodox monastries from the 14th and 15th century. This was very interesting, and instructive, and it was good to get out of the city and see some of the Serbian countryside. Thanks go out to our guide Milica - who has a vast knowledge of the history of the region and the traditions of the Serbian Orthodox church - and driver Alexander. Of course the tour included an enormous lunch (despite our efforts at moderate ordering) and was followed by a large dinner, which included music from two bands playing traditional Serbian songs. Kate somehow managed to sing along. We will be rolling off the plane in Canberra.

Today sees us heading off to see St Sava, the largest Orthodox church in the world, and surely many other interesting parts of the city. We will have to be disciplined at lunchtime as we have a big dinner planned with James' work friends and colleagues.