you
I've been on a lot of trains this season, so today here in Belgrade, I'm
taking a different kind of train. There's no better way to explore the large
beautiful old fortress of Calamagdan. Belgrade, or Belgrade, where the doonab
kisses the sava, of course referring to the two intersecting rivers for which the
city is situated on, is one of the most underrated cities in Europe. I'm not sure
why. Maybe it's politics, maybe it's the economy, maybe it's the fact that
Westerners like myself still think there's a war going on. Believe me, when I
tell people I'm going to Serbia, the first thing they ask me is, is it safe?
Yeah, I know. It's not the Middle East people, it's Europe, folks. In fact, it's
more or less the center of Europe, which in the past has always made a
strategic location for fighting European countries to set up shop. The capital of
Serbia is situated on the southern east Europe on the Balkan Peninsula. It is one
of the oldest cities in Europe. The first record of the name Belgrade dates back
to 878 AD, and since ancient times it has been an important focal point for
traffic and intersection of the roads of eastern and western Europe. It has been
conquered by 40 armies and raised up from the ashes 38 times. The sky above
Belgrade is wide and high, unstable but always beautiful, says Serbia's Nobel
Prize laureate, Evo Andic. But the greatest splendor of that sky above Belgrade
are the sunsets, and in every time of the year frequently come the days when the
flame of the sun setting in the plain between the rivers beneath Belgrade
gets reflected way up into the high celestial dome, and it breaks there and
pours down over the scattered town. Then, for a moment, the reddish tint of the
sun paints even the most remote corners of Belgrade. Nice. With 1.6 million
residents, most of them my fans, and a lot of them my friends, I can't help but
feel the need to help the underdog by stopping all the negative rumors people
spread about this beautiful city. So, Dobro Jutro, my friends, Dobro Jutro.
When you love, you do it somehow. When you fall, try not to drown. When you scream, don't make this sound.
Blink once if you're alive, blink once if you're alive.
Kelley Magden, the most beautiful and biggest park in Belgrade, also the most
important cultural and historical complex in which Belgrade fortress stands
high above the San Van Dunab confluence. The name Kelley Magden applies only to
the spacious plateaus surrounding the fortress, which was turned into a park
in the 80s of the 19th century. When the fortress served as Belgrade's chief
military stronghold, the plateau was a place for which the enemies were kept
under observation and where preparations were made for combats. Its name derives
from the Turkish word Kali, fort, and Magden Field. The Turks also called it
the Contemplation Hill. Its conversion into a park began when the fortress was
surrendered to the Serbs in 1867. The planned development of Kelley Magden
began in 1890 when the military authorities handed the park over to
the Belgrade civilian authorities. Monuments to many famous cultural and
public persons were erected in the park and Kelley Magden now includes a
military museum, our pavilion, a zoo, a children's amusement park, a large
number of sports fields, and many restaurants. Next, we visit St. Saba.
