Belgrade > London

I only spent two nights in Belgrade. I had forgotten that most all museums in Europe are closed on Monday but I still managed to weasel into the Nicola Tesla Museum for a quick look. The cleaners left the door open and the guard didn’t seem to care. I only had one day in the city so I walked around and went to parks. The city, although kind of interesting, doesn’t really appeal to me. However, it’s definitely worth visiting.

From Belgrade I was set to fly Air Serbia to London. I was told it was easy to catch a bus to the airport from the central station which would cost 300 dinar. That’s approximately $3 USD. When I got to the bus stop area it was kind of confusing. It wasn’t really clear where the bus was supposed to arrive and depart. Numerous buses were constantly coming and going. There were buses on one side of the street, then the other side, and also over there. Of course I could have figured it out but I wasn’t in the mood for hassle. I kept getting conflicting information from people who couldn’t really speak English. I wandered in the direction of the taxis. That’s when a guy latched on to me. Where you want to go?

It was actually kind of refreshing in a way. One of the nice things about where I’ve been is that people really don’t hassle you anywhere. No one bothers you but on the other hand if you’ve traveled the world your kind of wandering why not. I mean shouldn’t these people be putting out a little hustle? It’s tough to make a living in this part of the world. Anyway, I had a good feeling about the guy. He wasn’t an official taxi driver but I liked his go get it panache. I asked how much? He asked, “Dinar or Euro”. I had some Euro so I said Euro. He wanted $20 Euro which I already knew was the standard foreign tourist price. He was ready to go. I didn’t want to mess with the bus off we went. I didn’t even bother to haggle over the price.

I normally always steer away from unofficial taxi drivers. Official drivers are bad enough when it comes to scamming and overcharging but my driver couldn’t have been better. He dropped me right were I needed to be and even checked flight status on the way. He helped make things easy for me and I felt good knowing I was helping the guy out. I think he was really happy to start the day with a 20 Euro airport run. That’s actually about what I’d expect to pay an uber back home.

To back up a bit, before the train the Belgrade, the night I spent in Bar prior to leaving Montenegro was good. I took a morning bus from Budva which gave me most of the day in Bar. I visited the old town and walked along the beach and waterfront. Not a bad place for a port town. Better than expected. Worth staying a night or two.

My hotel room in Bar was only $15 euros and great for the money. Very clean and well managed by a family living on premises. As a matter of fact everything in Bar was cheap. A good sized diner was $5 euro. I checked prices elsewhere that exposed what local Montenegrins really pay. Bar is not a tourist town for foreign tourists. But really, how does a business prosper by only charging $15 euro a night for a hotel room? The hotel was simple but very clean and well maintained with air conditioning, mini-frig, and plenty of hot water. I almost felt guilty as I did when I left the $10 euro a night apartment in Budva. Something doesn’t seem right. If you could even find a hotel for that price in America it would certainly be a horrible and scary place.

The fact is that making a living in Eastern Europe is tough. Tourism is seasonal and lots of people want to cash in on it. Some build legitimate hotels while others build out a room in their home and hang a sign out front. There’s plenty of accommodation everywhere which creates competition which drives down the price. With a glut of tourists in July and August the prices go up as places fill up. Outside of those months if you simply arrive inquiring they would rather sell you a room for something than have you leave and get nothing.

What puzzles me a bit is outside of life’s basics, food and shelter, name brand merchandise from abroad costs about the same as back home in the states. So, take an average worker who brings home $600 euro a month and you have to wonder how they make it. People are obviously poor but it’s not third world. Nobody’s starving and you don’t see a bunch of homeless people or anything like that. Aside of lots of ugly Soviet style concrete buildings and plenty of graffiti in the cities things look pretty good. There are some garbage issues here and there but for the most part it’s not that bad. People are resourceful and you see plenty of 1980’s Yugo’s still on the road. Still running!

My flight to London Heathrow today on Air Serbia was smooth and on time. Having passed through London on a number of occasions I’ve pretty much got it wired. I took the tube to Paddington where I collected my train ticket for tomorrow then walked less than 10 minutes to my hotel in Sussex Gardens. I quickly checked in, dumped my pack and changed into running clothes. A short 5 minute walk to Hyde park and I was off for a run. After the run I exited an entrance for a nearby a Pret Organic Coffee Shop where I purchased a healthy pre made salad and wrap for a picnic back in the park. I then returned to the hotel to wash up and get sorted. In the evening I went to a pub for a pint which is pretty much obligatory while in the city. Tomorrow I’ll catch a 10 Am train to Cornwall. I’m headed back to the sea. But this time the water will be much colder.