The next leg of our trip was to explore Montenegro and Albania for close to a week. However, once we realized that in order to get to our destination of Tivat/Kotor we needed to fly through Serbia and the Nicola Tesla Airport we thought why not pit-stop for a day in Belgrade. We didn’t know much about the country other than it being the birthplace of Jeff’s childhood hero, the one and only Nicola Tesla. Serbia was dramatically cheaper than any other location we are travelling to, so we stayed in a Hilton that cost less than $100. It was fantastic, completely modern and importantly well-soundproofed.

Every staff member we interacted with, was kind and helpful. From advice on where to shoot and eat, to help with a difficult online check-in, they met all of our needs. A special shout out to both Andrea the shift leader and the numerous concierges.

In an extremely rare occasion, we decided to go separate ways for part of the afternoon. Jeff claims it was coincidence that the Telsa museum was less than 500m from our hotel and he ventured forth on his own while I took myself on a self-guided walking tour of the neighborhood.

We regrouped for dinner in the Skadarlija district, a cobblestoned set of streets littered with one local restaurant after another. Most featured outdoor seating, misting fans to break the sweltering summer heat wave, and lots of mixed meats. I tried the goulash and we both had a plate of grilled sausage and beef patties that would be an insult to call them hamburgers.

We broke our meat coma by walking down to the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers where the Belgrade Fort was perched. We worked our way around to the Statue of Victor and relaxed by a dive bar with a view that was situated nestled in the fortress walls. I wasn’t feeling great and was the target for endless barrages of bugs, so I wasn’t anxious to wait for blue light. Jeff did a test shot in the sunset and I immediately knew from his look that some waiting was unavoidable.

We waited until the lights came on the fortress and I jumped in the dress for a quick shoot. Jeff kept to his word and completed the image in a few minutes. We quickly packed up and decided to hop a cab back to the hotel. This proved inefficient at best. The driver took us down closed streets and progressed slowly to our hotel in a combination of non-moving weekend traffic and furious zigs and zags when the road was semi-clear.

We would have liked to have had more time in Serbia, but we were off to our next stop Montenegro.