Every time I find myself in a new city, I go down to the river or the seashore.
When there is a small town in the story, it often happens that a river flows through the center of the town, and sometimes the same river divides the town into two parts.
So the Kolubara River separates Valjevo.
On one side of the cultural institution and the monument to the Serbian military leader, on the opposite side of the coast, there are parks and the famous Tešnjar.
Kolubara is not a big river, now that the water level is low. If I rolled my legs up above my knees, I could step over her without getting wet. In this period, until the rainy season has started, with the low water level, both banks of the river are used by residents and visitors of Valjevo for walking.
Ten days ago, a "Čvarak" festival was held next to the river, when manufacturers exhibited their products on the stalls, and since I always buy "duvan čvarak" in Valjevo, I stopped by the shop where I am a "regular customer", even though I have been buying for a couple of years.
While choosing the products, I saw a box with an advertisement for the festival.
The saleswoman says that the festival was attended and that it was very crowded.
When I heard that, I thought, "Great," because I wouldn't like a crowd.
We drank coffee on the plateau next to the bridge, choosing chairs in the sun.
After drinking coffee, we went for a walk in the city and in search of "prženice" and "uštipci", which is my favorite choice for breakfast in Valjevo.
After the breakfast, we headed towards Tešnjar.
It is a part of the city that is regularly haunted by film crews when they need to shoot scenes from the era before and during the First World War.
A street with a stone surface (cobblestone), old houses and buildings, like the backdrop of a movie, stand in this street and take the passer-by back to the past.
Because of the connection with the First World War, when the whole of Valjevo was one big hospital for the wounded in the battles against the Austro-Hungarians, walking down this street reminds me not of the series I watched, but of the First World War.
This street is not crowded, there are few passers-by and more parked vehicles than those passing by. That's why the silence in this street is very strong, it completes the story of the hospital.
After Tešnjar, we walked by the river, passed through the park and crossed the river over a smaller, white bridge.
There was still time, so we walked to the viewpoint of "Markova stolica" (Mark's Chairs) also called Pavoljoni, from where there is a view of the whole city.
This place is a favorite of young married couples to organize a wedding, because the pictures with these white pillars, against the blue sky, are phenomenal.
From the viewpoint, you can see the whole city, as well as the nearby football field.
After visiting the viewpoint, we stopped by another monument, this time from World War II.
Stevan Filipović, fighter, partisan, at the moment of hanging in the Valjevo square by the occupiers in 1943, defiantly raised his hands and called the gathered citizens to fight for freedom.
And he remains recorded in history, and his call is sculpted into a huge metal statue.
We continued our walk through the streets of Valjevo, looking for restaurants where we can have lunch.
We came across a restaurant in the middle of the forest, which had no free seats, so we ended up in the center, from where, after it got dark, and with the darkness the temperature and the walk became uncomfortable, we headed towards Belgrade.
The walk in Valjevo was perfect for the story in this week's #wednesdaywalk.