Now that I am back home, it is time to sift through all the photos and recall every little detail.

I remember that the very next morning after reaching Belgrade, I had got up early and decided to go for a walk. Alone, mind you. Not that I refused to take the L&M along, he was the one who refused to go. It was too cold, he said, and he preferred to sleep in. After all wasn’t this a holiday? Besides our plans for the day started only at 11 a.m.

It was indeed cold by our tropical hometown standards. But cold or no cold, I was not going to stay cooped up in the hotel room all morning when the outdoors waited. So I donned my jacket and set out on a walk on my own.

The streets were empty unlike the previous night when it was bustling with people out to enjoy the evening. The streets looked so clean unlike the littered ones back home. After walking up the slight incline outside the hotel, I decided to take a left turn and I am glad I did so, for a little ahead I came upon a park.

On researching later on I found that the park, called variously as Academic Park, Studenstski Park among other things, has quite a history behind it. The area and that surrounding it used to be a Turkish cemetery at one time. It also used to be a farmer’s market outside the fortress before it officially became a park. In 1969 it was the site of an archeological dig. Fascinating, right?

Whatever its history, right then it was a wonderful place for me to walk and enjoy the invigorating cool air. There was a continuous stream of fur babies and their humans entering and leaving the park. It was fun to watch them meet and greet their pals and frolic for a while before doing their business (duly picked up by their diligent owners) and leaving for their respective homes.

There were a couple of statues at the park as well. But what really thrilled me where the trees. Not just the ones in the park, but the ones that grew along the roads as well. They were quite fascinating being different from the ones that grow in my part of the world.

And now I will shut up and leave you with some pictures from the park.

© Shail Mohan 2022