Today was my birthday and I've been progressively getting ill each night with the drop in temperatures. I'd been expecting it to be high teens to low 20s but its dropped to daytime highs of 13. I packed mostly t-shirts and was looking forward to a long hot shower as the previous hotel had very low water pressure.

When I came out the bathroom the entire room had flooded and my cases on the floor were soaking up water. I put them all on the bed and fortunately my laptop was already on the bed. I told the guy who unclogged bunches of long female hairs from the drain.

I had no food or money so needed to exchange my Hungarian Forint and do a big cash withdrawal as one of my credit cards expires today. Everywhere I kept asking said they wont take Forints which is odd since it is a border country.

I tried an atm to withdraw on my card but it didn't give any cash so i'm not sure what happened. I tried asking in a bank but she said I have to use the atm. Eventually I found one that did work so I had cash to buy food now so got a bag of chips for 60D (.70 cents)

I went down the pedestrianized street Knez Mihailova and found the tourist info office. They gave me maps of Belgrade and ideas of what to do over the three days. I didn't want to goto the fortress in the big outdoor park as the weather was bad and I didn't want to get caught out in the rain.

Near the end of the pedestrian street by the start of the park was one of the churches I wanted to see. I looked inside St Michael's Cathedral but had come completely the wrong side of town not knowing which way to go when I left the hostel.

Heading back to the pedestrian street I saw the National Bank of Serbia. It mentioned visitors hours so I went inside to see what happens. A guard asked me for ID then gave me a visitors badge.

There was a currency gallery with lots of coins from the Roman period as well as different periods in Yugoslav history including the Sarajevo Winter Olympics in 1984

Now I was properly oriented I went back down the pedestrian street and found Republic Square. This had the National Theatre on one side and the National Museum on the other. Museums are closed Mondays so I was doing the stuff that would be open today.

I still needed food so went to a pizza place for 80D (.95 cents). I also finally found someone who would exchange my 4000 Forint ($20) and gave me 1200D ($14.50)

The map said there was a Bezistan which is a Turkish name for covered bazaar. I know Sarajevo had one and other towns further south. I didn't know Belgrade had one. I tried finding it but it was just some modern plaza and not Turkish styled

Passing thru Nikole Pasica Square I was now at the National Assembly. Facing it on one side was the Old Palace.

A few streets over from the National Assembly was St Marks Church. It was very ornate inside with gold leafed artwork. It also housed the tomb of a medieval king that had rebelled from his father and created a kingdom in southern Yugoslavia.

I then cut across parts of town to get to St Sava's Church. This is the massive iconic church in Belgrade. Unfortunately when I got there it was under renovation inside so nothing to see except for the bare walls and architectural features

Next door was a smaller church. I went in there and there was a private ceremony for a family baptism. The artwork was very detailed going all inside the alcoves and around the insides of all the arches. There were pictures of kings and Christ.

I still needed food and now the rain was starting to hit. I went into a place that had various fish and chicken dishes that come with either rice or noodles. Missing Asia I went for a fish and noodle option for 400D ($4.80). I was getting confused with prices as everying seemed half what I was paying in Budapest.

Walking back up the main street I passed the New Palace in time to see the changing of the guard.

The one last place I wanted to see was Skadarlija a cobbled pedestrianized st. The rain was heavy so I was half thinking of turning around but went anyway. It seemed like off season and with the rain many of the stalls were shut up

Finally I wanted to find the Mosque as it was sort of near here. Confusingly streets dont have names marked in Belgrade.

I found it and they were starting afternoon prayers. I thought about praying but you needed to wash upto your elbows and ankles. It being cold and raining I didnt feel up to it as I had a mild cold as well.

Now the rain was pounding so I went straight home. Down from the hostel was a convenience store so I stocked up on food. Again prices are confusing me. I bought a bag with a 1.5l water bottle, 1 litre orange, 4 pack yogurt, bananas, chocolate bar, bread, biscuits, chips, all for only 700D ($8.50)

I think I was converting wrong as prices cant be that cheap but when I checked online I was correct!