Stage 5: Zagreb – Beograd

We’re on our way to Beograd and we’ve decided to stop along the way at the

Jasenovac concentration camp

This memorial site is located in southern croatia, along the border with Eastern Bosnia’ Republika Srpska. During the second world war the Ustaše regime, in charge of the Independent State of Croatia Nazi puppet state, liquidated in this camp an unknown number of people (figures range between 50.000 and 600.000). The vast majority were Serbs, followed by Roma people, Jews, uncooperating Croatians, Bosnian Muslims and Slovenes. The camp is now stripped of its original buildings and is just a big meadow with artificial hills and a lake, the centrepiece is the Jasenovac monument by Bogdan Bogdanović.

Beograd, first impressions

Beograd is a mess, but is a real city, maybe the first we’ve met on our way, the first sight of the metropolis are the brutalist Western City Gates, followed by traffic, cyrillic signage, more traffic and more cyrillic signage. While crossing the bridge on the Sava, the city looks very layered and, this time, definitely NOT tidy or well kept. But it looks very lively. We guess this is our first real glimpse of the East.