Although the bed was very comfortable, we didn't sleep very well - perhaps because we might still be on a Sydney time schedule or perhaps because we were worried about missing the plane if the alarm didn't go off.
The hotel had organised a pre-packed breakfast that we could pick up from reception at 5:30am to eat back in our room.
It only took 15 minutes to get to the airport and the check-in was very quick. So were there in plenty of time.
Abu Dhabi airport is poor compared with what we saw a couple of years ago in Dubai. Terminal 3, where we were catching our flight this morning, is undergoing reconstruction. It needs it. Let's hope they can organise air bridges. At least they should build it so the planes can park at the terminal. The gents toilet near the departure gate was badly overcrowded and filthy.
There was a shuttle bus from the departure gate to take us to the plane on the tarmac. It was a smaller plane than most jets - it took only about 60 passengers.
As you might expect, most of the passengers on our flight were Serbian. We were one of the few English speaking people on board. However all the announcements were in Serbian and English and the flight attendants all spoke good English.
Suzy had read online that the seats were cramped and so we weren't particularly looking forward to the 5hr 30 min flight. There was no entertainment but they did serve a meal soon after we took off.
Suzy pointed out that all the hostesses were tall, young and beautiful. On the other hand, the passengers were generally old, short, noisy and long way from being considered beautiful.
The plane reached Belgrade at about 12:30pm local time. There is a two hour time difference between Abu Dhabi and Belgrade.
Our hotel driver was waiting for us when we got through customs. It took about 15 minutes to reach the hotel which is located in the centre of town near the parliament building and a large central park.
After settling in, we needed to find somewhere to have a late lunch. After getting directions from Vladimir at reception, we decided that the hotel restaurant seemed like the best bet. It was a good choice.
Next we took a stroll through the streets of Belgrade. We headed towards the long pedestrian mall which had probably originally been a street thoroughfare and is now a very pleasant paved mall. There are plenty of shops and open-air cafes.
Apparently it had been raining for last couple of days. Although it was still overcast, we only saw a few drops of rain during our walk. However the temperature was a big difference to Abu Dhabi - we'd gone from 40C in Abu Dhabi to only 15C in Belgrade.
Suzy was tired and sore by the time we got back to the hotel and so she had a sleep before we went out to dinner. At about 7pm, we went out to look for a suitable restaurant for dinner based on advice we got from the hotel. They'd marked suggestions on a tourist map.
After getting lost a few times, we gave up and went back to the hotel restaurant. Belgrade doesn't seem to do tourism locations too well from what we saw. It also makes it hard to find out where you are if the street signs all have funny cyrillic characters.
The hotel restaurant was very good once again. I ignored the fact that I ordered rice with my chicken and got vegetables instead. There are frequently problems with language.
I found it strange that the menu did not include wine. There was almost every other type of cocktail, spirit or beer but no wine. When we asked, they said they could supply wine by the glass but not by the bottle. I ended up having a few glasses of wine while Suzy had a G&T.
The glasses of wine were 250 Dinar each which is about $A3 each - pretty cheap like the rest of the meal. Main courses were about $A10 each. Suzy finished by ordering a nip of plum brandy. Hopefully this will mean she gets a good night's sleep.
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