Interlude in Belgrade

I just sat down and ate my first meal of the day and it is almost 9 pm back where I started the day at 3 in the morning, traveling by 4. I am a little tired, but after the meal I will head back to the hotel and clean up my presentation material for tomorrow. Presentation matters when it comes to delivery of training and the approach can be either a help or a hindrance and this poses challenges in my line of work as I never know who I am really going to be training, nor the local customs when it comes to what is acceptable. The "culture" advice is usually much to general and doesn't cover the nuances and variation within the group.This week's delivery is for a division of a very large and global professional services company.

So, here I am in Belgrade, Serbia.

The hotel is a long way from the center (where I am eating dinner) which is a bit unfortunate as I can't just "go for a walk" as it requires a taxi trip first. It is about an hour walk and I am a little uncertain of the safety of the streets between. After clearing out most of the immediate work at the hotel, I grabbed a taxi and the first scene I was met with was this,

It looks pretty bad, but on further inspection, it seems that it was a celebration for a football win, but I am unsure. I went in to the crowd a bit but didn't really find anyone I was so interested in talking to in order to ask. I have found myself in the middle of protests before and these days with crowd mentality and the internet, one can't really know what is going to happen. Before I walked into the crowd to get a closer look, I spent a moment to look at the faces of the onlookers, a good indicator of the mood.

After the entrance and smoky welcome to Belgrade city, I headed into Main Street, the shopping district. It is interesting as pretty much all major European cities have one of these and they are all relatively similar with the same shops and general layout, but this one was much more run down than those of Copenhagen or through Germany. It is easy to see from the level of degradation and styles of the buildings that the history isn't that far in the past.

The buildings are gorgeous however, just quite rundown. I assume that over the coming decades the renovation work will get into full swing as it has in pretty much all the other locations that I have visited. It takes time though, and a great deal of money and resources to spend on upgrading the facade, something that isn't the most functional part of the building. Again, presentation matter though and as these types of cities aim to increase tourism, the value in development will be seen. There are a lot of Asian tourists here that I have seen so far.

I am sitting out on the street alfresco dining and just a moment ago, an elderly man came through begging for change. Out of 6 tables, 3 gave him something from their pockets - something that doesn't often happen in Finland. I wonder how much of that is held in the memory of recent times gone where people understand hard times better than many others in this world.

At the end of Main Street is the Belgrade fortress, which was first built in 279 BC. Yes. BC. 2300 years old. Of course, it has been built several times throughout history as it has seen man wars. As I walked around a little, there were tanks and cannons on display. The location is positioned on a ridge at the point the two main rivers running through Belgrade meet, the Sava and the Danube and it commands the view.

Instead of the militaristic view, I thought I would give a different perspective of the fortress instead, one much more fitting for the beauty of the surroundings.

It is nice to see what has likely see a great deal of death over the 2300-year history of the location be repurposed as a place where lovers and friends meet to spend their time. One thing that has really stood out in my brief time walking through Belgrade tonight has been that they are very affectionate and couples kiss a lot, as couples should.

I think this next image is my favorite of the evening, two friends talking while looking out to the city and the rivers below.

I am planning on heading each night for a walk and a little bit of an adventure, but it is always touch and go depending on how the day's training goes and what needs to be adjusted for the following sessions. At least I have had a chance on day one to see something of Belgrade and now I will head back to the hotel (I don't know how to find a taxi) and do my final prep work.

While work travel is tiring and far from glamorous, it has its moments.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]

All of these shots are unedited other than maybe a crop.