Belgrade, Serbia

July 30

Our morning tour was a Panoramic tour, and our afternoon tour was of the Royal Palace.

The Serbian capital and former capital of the state of Yugoslavia, is one of the oldest cities in Europe. Throughout history, Belgrade has been destroyed and rebuilt 20 times. Translated Belgrade means “White City.” Belgrade overlooks the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers.

We started with a walking tour of the Kalemegdan Fortress. We had some great views of the river.

drive to the fort

walking to the fort

"The Victor" if we hadn't sailed out after dark, we could have seen his front

We had a bit of free time here to shop use the facilities etc. We waited for the shopping mall to open since that is where the bathrooms were.

we walked the main street near the mall

We had a panoramic drive to the Church of St. Sava, one of the world’s largest Christian Orthodox churches.

waiting for the rest of the group

Greg woke him up - but he went back to sleep instantly

We went back to the ship for lunch and then went on our afternoon tour of the Serbian Royal Palace. Currently the Serbian government owns everything but allows the Royal Family to live in an apartment on the grounds. Originally home to Serbia’s royal family, it became the residence of President Tito before being returned to the royal family after the fall of the communist regime. Today, it is the home of Crown Prince Alexander II and his family.

We had a very good guide, but we could tell that she was being asked to deviate from the usual flow of the tour. She said that maybe it was because the Royal couple were there and having lunch and asked for us to not intrude. As we toured generally it was OK for people to wander to the next room, but one guy did that, and we were all asked to stay in the current room and not move on.

the side entrance that we entered

across from the palace

theater room

terrible mirror shot of us

Tito's favorite chair overlooking the theater room

The is the room where the guy was told not to move into the next room

a display of the Royal China - only out for Viking tours

they had champagne set out for us

the main salon

this is when the guide told us that the Royal couple would be coming out to greet us - she said "honest this doesn't happen very often with every group"

HRH Crown Princess Katherine came out first

she introduced some of their staff

she introduced Bill Nelson's wife Grace

HRH Crown Prince Alexander & HRH Cown Princess Katherine

she introduced these women as her sisters

photo of the postcard we were given

HRH Crown Princess Katherine Foundation was established with the aim of helping disadvantaged people including children, the sick, refugees, internally displaced peoples and the elderly. The "sisters" represent all walks of life coming together to support the foundation.

The Royal Couple spoke of wanting peace and the hope that everyone will learn how to get along.

Bill Nelson previously served as a United States senator from Florida from 2001 to 2019. He now serves as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Crown Princess Katherine and Lifeline Chicago continue supporting Drinka Pavlovic Children's Home, thanks to the Nelson Family Charitable Foundation.

Everyone could get their photo taken with the Royal Couple, however there was one couple that would not leave their side. (they stood one on each side of them and held hands behind them, so when a new person's camera was used, they'd be in the photo, but not next to the Royal Couple) Plus, not really that important to get our photos with them. We were all given a lovely glossy booklet on the Royal Compound and their Chairity.