Yesterday was sunny --what fun! Belgrade is the capital and a city of 2 million people. Serbian has been in many wars over the centuries. Our guide looked to be about 60 and had 6 different passports and never moved . Her mother had had 9. The war theme repeated itself many times. We took a bus tour of the town for two hours. Some bomb destruction from the 1990's war between the former Yugoslavian states is still obvious. After a potty/coffee stop, we had time for a little shopping. One-third of the population are heavy smokers and they can smoke everywhere. It was a shock to walk into a cafe and instantly smell smoke. Back to the ship for lunch. In the afternoon, Chuck and I took the optional tour of the Royal Palace and Tito's Memorial. The palace was modest in size and built early in the 20th century. Tito who was a communist dicatator had lived there for a short time before the communist reminded him that it was not appropriate for a communist to live in a palace! Now Crown Prince Alexander (grandson of the last reigning king) lives there. We toured the first floor and basement. Tito had a media room in the basement with a huge screen. He watched over 8,000 movies and was a great movie buff. The palace grounds were in the city. A short distance away was Tito's memorial which had been a House of Flowers (conservatory) that Tito built. He was buried there and was his 3rd wife. Our guide struggled to give a balanced picture of Tito--there was a bloodbatth at first, followed by prosperous, peaceful years, followed by lots of debt and war after his death. All in all, he kept the Russians out. Back to the ship for dinner. Chuck had the Venison Loin that was featured. He has a curious palate! We sailed at 8:30 PM.
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