Belgrade Marathon

My plan for Saturday was to visit a Toastmasters meeting. There was one big problem: all the buses were shut down for the Belgrade Marathon. The finish line for the half marathon was right outside my door.

So I started walking towards the place where Toastmasters.org says the meetings are held. I was hoping I would be able to get outside the marathon zone and find a bus or taxi to get me to the meeting on time. Unfortunately, the route of the marathon very closely followed the bus route to my destination.

I walked across a bridge that was part of the marathon route. This would have been a good time for me to take photos. Saturday was by far the nicest weather since I've been here, sunny but still a bit chilly. The view of the river is striking, and the view on the bridge was unusually festive because of the marathon. There were lots of ordinary pedestrians walking across, and a steady stream of marathon runners. In the middle of the bridge was a tent with lots of water bottles, a DJ, a drummer, and a team of people cheering and encouraging the runners. (Note: During my one week here in Belgrade, I've come to associate drumming with the political protests that have been going on since the recent presidential election. So I was a little nervous as I walked toward the crowd of people in the middle of the bridge.)

Once I crossed the bridge, I stopped at the big shopping mall (Ušče) to plan my next move. I sat down and enjoyed a cup of tea and dialed the phone number listed for Toastmasters Beograd. 

Luckily, the woman who answered the phone speaks English. Not so luckily, I discovered that the meetings were no longer held in the location listed on the web site. I had spent 20 minutes walking in the wrong direction, and my phone said it would be a 40 minute walk to where she said the meeting was held. But the new meeting place is only a 10 minute walk from my apartment, so I'll have an easier time going to the next meeting.

I decided to eat lunch at the mall and then head back to my apartment to take care of some errands. On the way back, I ran into two of my coworkers on the bridge.

I have a feeling that, besides the marathon, this is what a typical Saturday feels like in Belgrade. Not what I planned, but still good fun.

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