Yesterday, we went shopping. We went all over downtown Novi Sad. Looking in stores for fabric, shoes, and wallets for Alex took a majority of the day. He is starting a new job and is decking out his wardrobe for his new job. Before we started, we grabbed some gyros from a street vendor. Holy delicious. The highlights were finding the red boots from How I Met Your Mother... 
...Going into the cathedral in the middle of Novi Sad... 
... And watching street performers and artists. 
After a delicious dinner and ice cream, we went home for a long night's sleep.
When I say long night's sleep, I mean a long night of sleeping. We left the house around one in the afternoon. A nice relaxing morning for everyone. We headed to go pick up Alex from his fathers house, in a village outside of Novi Sad. I finally grabbed a picture of the water fountain the village uses! I was happy about this and marked it as a success. If you can't tell, they are filling up an incredible amount of jugs. A very clearly important part of their town. 
After that, we headed to a little house in this same village. I didn't know what was happening. Language barriers have left me in the dark more than once on this trip. So I followed the 3 boys into this cellar of a house. As we descended the steps, I asked Florian what we were doing. He told me this village is known for its wine. And this man made it. So we were stocking up on gifts.
We got to the bottom of the steps and he opened a wooden door into his wine cellar. I got pretty excited immediately. I could tell this was a real deal. The man showed us around, let us taste many flavors of this years wine, and finally Alex and Florian bought their wine. He was a very nice man with an obvious talent. 
After this stop, we headed to Belgrade. It's a bit of a drive to Belgrade, but finally we arrived. First stop was the "temple." David made sure to explain as we walked towards it the difference in the name. There is a church- small villages have these and it doesn't have a bishop. A cathedral is bigger and has a bishop. But a temple is massive and will be visited by the Orthodox version of the Pope. Sure enough... Massive. It is being built off of donations alone. Apparently Russia just donate millions towards the project. Florian estimated 150 feet from floor to ceiling, at least. But the size is not the most impressive part. What is amazing is the inside. It is not finished yet, but the part that is done shows you the effort. The walls- top to bottom- will be handmade mosaic artwork. I'm talking carefully piece by piece created beauty for all to see. The temple should be done in 7 years. Start planning your trips people because this is will be worth seeing. 
Next to the temple is a small building. It's the temporary baby temple until this one is finished. However, the inside was still beautiful. Top to bottom painted artworks and a chandelier hanging in the middle of the room. On one side was a tomb of the Orthodox version of the Pope. (I'll find out the official term for this. Stay tuned for that in the upcoming posts.) 
Next we drove past embassies and the capital building. The American embassy has been burned so many times, they had to move it out of the area. We also saw major buildings that were destroyed. "Gift of NATO," David commented. Again, such a melancholy feeling. Florian commented on how they haven't been rebuilt yet. David pointed out, "We had a lot to fix." But the capital building shone brightly and beautifully for us to see. 
Lastly, we walked through the outdoor mall in Belgrade. It was like a bigger version of Pearl Street Mall in Boulder. Very pretty lights hanging over the street, musician playing on the side of the sidewalk, and stores and vendors grasping for attention of the walking people. Alex stocked up on his favorite drink and off we went- homeward bound.
Tonight we will drive through the night to get to Switzerland in time for church. Relax for the rest of the day. Then Monday, as plans are now, Stef, Florian, and I will head to London! Here we go!
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