Every great adventure needs a first chapter. Ours began in Belgrade, Serbia, the opening stop of Opolo’s 15-day Adriatic Tour 2026.
There is something about this part of the world that gets into your blood. Rick Quinn felt it the first time he came here, and it’s why he started bringing people back in 2010. Sixteen years later, the Adriatic Tour is still going, and if the first night is any indication, this chapter might be the best one yet.
A Toast at Hotel Moskva
Opolo’s proprietor Rick Quinn raised a glass at the historic Hotel Moskva, a stunning 1908 landmark that has hosted the likes of Albert Einstein and Indira Gandhi, and welcomed the group with the kind of toast that makes you feel like you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. The table was poured with Opolo wines alongside local Serbian selections, and somewhere between the first and second bottle, the trip truly began.
The White City
The city’s name means “white city,” a nod to the limestone walls of the ancient Kalemegdan Fortress, where we started the second day of the tour. Standing on the ramparts, watching the emerald Sava River fold into the Danube far below, you feel the weight of the centuries. Empires clashed over this ground for a reason.
The Church Built Upside Down
From there, we made our way to the Temple of Saint Sava, one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world. The story behind it is as powerful as the building itself. In 1595, Ottoman forces burned the remains of Saint Sava, the founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church, on this very site, hoping to break the Serbian spirit. Instead, they made it sacred. The Serbians built a monument so massive that its 4,000-ton dome had to be assembled on the ground and hydraulically lifted into place. Locals call it “the church built upside down.” Once you hear that, you don’t forget it.
Tesla and the Danube
The day wrapped up with a stop at the Nikola Tesla Museum, home to the inventor’s personal archive, original patents, working models, and even his ashes. Then dinner on the Danube, where a local musician took the room from Balkan folk to rock to Broadway without losing a single person on the dance floor.
Belgrade, you set the bar high. We’re just getting started.
