Day 09 - A Belgrade Pause

This morning in Belgrade we took the included walking tour, winding through the city’s historic center. After about an hour or so on our feet, Donna and I quietly slipped away from the group and asked our guide where we might find a real locals’ café—someplace not on any tourist trail.

She pointed us toward Kapetepnja, a spot she described simply as “where we go.” That was all the invitation we needed.

Inside, we were the only tourists in the place. The building once housed a department store, and you can still feel that old-world grandeur—high ceilings, wide open space, and a touch of early-20th-century charm. Now it’s a warm, lived-in hangout where people settle in for slow afternoons with coffee, pastries, and friends.

Donna and I shared a slice of carrot cake, and I ordered a cappuccino, Donna had green tea. The real joy, though, was watching the staff laugh with each other, teasing back and forth with that familiar ease that comes from years of shared shifts and shared stories.

Belgrade is a city built in layers—Roman roots, Ottoman touches, and Austro-Hungarian architecture all overlapping. Even in a café like this, you feel that cultural blend humming in the background.

One detail made us smile: on the table sat a little chewing-gum disposal kit—something we’ve never seen before. Such a small thing, but it speaks volumes about the thoughtful routines of daily life here. I’ve included a couple of photos.

For 30 or 40 minutes, we turned off our QuietVox, stepped out of “tour mode,” and let the room simply unfold around us. No script, no schedule—just the city revealing itself in its own quiet way.

As we walked back out into the street, both of us knew: this is one of those small, unscripted moments you treasure. Not part of the excursion list… but absolutely part of the journey.

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