Serbia > Cathedral of Saint Sava

Serbia - The Marcus church in Belgrade

I wake up to the alarm at half past seven. I slept well last night. Although today is our last day, we can take it easy. We don’t fly back to the Netherlands until late afternoon. At half past eight, the breakfast buffet is still not busy. The staff are happy to prepare our coffee and attend to our room. From the seventh floor of the hotel, we once again look out over a sunny Belgrade. It promises to reach 35 degrees today—warmer than the past few days.At half past nine, we check out of the hotel. We can leave our carry-on luggage behind. When we step outside, the heat is still bearable. We walk past the market hall and the Moskva Hotel toward the parliament building. We were here two days ago, but just behind the parliament building is the Serbian Orthodox Church of Saint Mark, which we missed during our earlier city walk. The church was built in a Serbian-Byzantine style near the site of an older Saint Mark’s church from 1835. The church was completed in 1940. Inside, the ceiling, dome, and pillars are adorned with the most beautiful colorful mosaics. Many mosaics include gold.

Serbia - The Cathedral of Saint Sava

From the church, we walk a few blocks to the Nikola Tesla Museum. Nikola Tesla, born in 1856 into a Serbian family in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, was the inventor of the alternating current generator. The museum is smaller on the outside than I expected. People are lined up to enter, but we decide not to go in.We continue to Slavija Square, a major traffic hub in the city. In the center is a huge fountain, with traffic circling around it. A few blocks south of this lies the Sava Cathedral. The Cathedral of Saint Sava is the largest Serbian Orthodox church building in the world. Saint Sava is the founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church. He is one of the most important saints in Serbia and also the patron saint of education and medicine.The cathedral stands on the Vracar plateau, the site where the remains of Saint Sava were reportedly cremated. The enormous dome is decorated with beautiful golden mosaics. The cathedral is immense. What a marvel.In one corner, people are descending stairs.

Serbia - Inside the Sava Cathedral there is room for 10,000 worshippers

Could there be a crypt? When we also go down, we enter the lower church. The crypt contains a burial church dedicated to Saint Lazar.We walk around the outside of the cathedral once more and then look for a terrace for coffee and cola.On the way back to the hotel, we pass the Belgrade train station again. This is where our city tour began on Friday. We still have some time, so at the same little restaurant as on Friday, we order a beer—then for the start of the weekend, now to close off the weekend.At half past one, we’re back at the hotel. It doesn’t take long before bus 72 appears. Although this bus line has many stops, it stops in front of the hotel and goes to the airport. Moreover, the bus ride is free. Since the beginning of this year, all buses in Belgrade have been free of charge.Unfortunately, the bus is already full. We have to stand. At every stop, more people get on. It seems the bus is really full.Without too much trouble, we arrive at the airport. Customs and carry-on baggage control go smoothly. In the departure hall, we wait until the departure gate appears on the boards, which happens only one hour before departure.A message appears that there is a half-hour delay. The plane has not yet arrived. When boarding finally begins, the process is slow. This doesn’t matter much because the plane cannot take off yet. Only around half past six—more than an hour later—do we depart for Schiphol.After that, the flight goes according to schedule. At quarter to nine, we are back on Dutch soil. We take the train home.