Sunday, October 4, 2009

Dovidenja!

That is "goodbye" in Serbian. This will be my last post from Beograd. My baka and I leave on Tuesday afternoon and I'm not looking forward to it. I have been crossing my fingers that she changes her mind and extends the trip, but I don't think that is going to happen.

The last two days have been really busy. I met with Ana yesterday (saturday) and she took me to some of Serbia's markets. While I did find some great things, I was hoping that the markets would be similar to others that I have been to in the US with hand made crafts and unique gifts.

After the open market, we went to the Chinese market. I don't think it will be on my list for my next visit, but I was glad to have went. Ana wears a pair of pants that I adore and she told me that I could buy whatever colors I wanted in the market. Turns out that particular style of pants is so popular that they are all sold out. Oh well, it was definately an experience that I won't soon forget.

We made it home just in time to get ready for dinner. Boshko was playing at a nice restaurant downtown and we were going to spend the evening there. We all got dressed up and ventured downtown, Yovanna and Bojan joined us shortly after along with two other family friends. I started the night drinking a few shots of slivovitca while everyone drank rakije. One of the family friends kept ordering bottles of wine so we never went thirsty.

While I was inpressed with the appetizers and the ambiance of the place, the main course left a lot to be disired; I was glad that I shared my meal with baka. Boshko and his two friends played all night and we all had a great time. Boshko even played a song for my mom, Tamo Dileko. Boshko comes off as pretty tough, but at one point he struggled to keep the beat with the rest of the musicians as a very polite gentleman introduced himself to me and paid me one of the best compliments I've ever recieved. It was nice to know that Boshko was looking out for me.

We got to bed late and then awoke a few hours later to get ready for our day in Novi Sad. Ana and I left the house and drove to Novi Beograd (new Beograd) to pick up her sister and then we drove 1.5 hours to Novi Sad. Well, we made a quick stop at a monastery near Novi Sad first. I can't remember the name, but it was beautiful. Ana told one of the monks that my deda was a Priest along with the fact that some of my cousins were baptized there. This was enough to warrent a private tour of a small church that is only used in the winter. It was beautifully painted and I really appreciated getting to go "behind the scenes."

We then got back in the car and drove to Novi Sad. It is a small city, about 250,000 and hosts the EXIT music festival every summer. My Lonely Planet book describes it as "Beograd on Valium," because it is so relaxed. I agree. The city was so beautiful and no one was in a hurry. Ana took us around the City Center and we walked along pedestrian streets, into different cafe's and into churches where I saw the first of 3 weddings for the day (no kidding). The second wedding was taking pictures in a local park and the third one was in the next city we visited.

After having 2 iced Nescafes we continuted walking for a bit, had some lunch and, according to Ana, had "Novi Sad's best ice cream. We then got in the car and headed to Sremski Karlovici.

Sremski Karlovici is a very small city but has both the oldest Orthodox Thological School and the oldest high school in Serbia. We visited the City Center and walked around. We were lucky enough to see a third wedding just ending. The best man was throwing coin money around and Ana had us each pick up a coin as it is a symbol of good luck in Serbia. We also picked up a few Hungarian pastries at a local market and then headed to a cafe that overlooked the Danube. Once the sun started setting, we decided to head back to Beograd. It was such a wonderful day. The two cities looked so European to me; Beograd is great, but I don't notice the pre-communist buildings like I notice the large, concrete structures that were buit after world war II. I'm so happy Ana took me out today.

Tomorrow is our last full day here. My baka and I are going to do some shopping. She hasn't gotten to go out as much as I have and we are going to spend some time together before having lunch with Draga. We will probably spend tomorrow evening at the house getting all packed up.

I really wish this trip didn't have to come to an end. I've finally gotten able to form a few sentences in Serbian and I am well aquainted with Beograd. I've already started a list of things I want to do for the next visit, hopefully it's soon.

Lakunoch from Serbia (sweet dreams).

Ciao,
Anna

Friday, October 2, 2009

Rakije

So I may or may not have had 6 shots of Rakije last night. (Hear that Tony? Be ready when i get home...oh and they also say Nostrovia sometimes (that's what Tony's polish family says instead of Cheers)).

I went out with my baka, Boshko and Ana to a restaurant last night named, It Is What It Is (translated). What it was, was fantastic. I think I had one of the greatest, if not the best meal of my life. The evening was planned because Boshko's friend was in town from France and wanted a night of drinking, eating, and listening to Boshko and his friends play music. The evening started with Rakije and ended with Rakije. There was so much food. Fresh bread, spinach pita, salad with a cheese that melted in your mouth and soup. Then the main course came out, it was lamb and potatoes and it had been cooking all day long on hot coals. I haven't had lamb in about 6 years and it tasted even better than I remembered. (Don't think that I'll be eating all this meat when I come home. I plan on going back to my vegetarian ways). After we were finished eating, Boshko and his friends started playing and played till well after midnight. Even though I didn't know the words, most of the songs were familiar to me and I really enjoyed listening to them.

Last night, our table consisted of two Americans, three Serbians, and one Russian. It was very multicultural, and frustrating. The Russian didn't understand much Serbian, I don't understand either language, and one of the Serbs didn't understand english. There was a lot of translating going on.

Boshko was surprised that I didn't have an hangover from all that Rakije. I told him that I drink a lot of water and that seems to help. I also haven't had the chance to go out and drink more than a beer or two, so I figured that night was as good as any to really enjoy myself. Also, it makes it a lot easier to pass time when not everyone at the table speaks english.

I was hoping to go with Vukasin to Skedarlia tonight. It's a long street full of restaurants and musicians. It's still nice enought to be outside at night and I wanted to eat and listen to music. Though, I think I got the best show last night and don't want to spoil it with hearing music that isn't up to Boshko's quality. That, and we will be going out tomorrow night to hear Boshko sing again. So now I have to think of something else to do tonight that is very authentic and Serbian.

Yesterday, I met some people from Utah. They were asking a street vendor how much 100 dinars is in US Dollars. I was more than happy to chime in and help them out and tell them what I knew about the city.

This afternoon, I'm going with Ana to check out a chain for my brother. I've spent so much engergy getting this kid nice things from Serbia. I can't wait to see what he gets me for Christmas...hint, hint.

Ciao!
Anna

Thursday, October 1, 2009

It's October Already?

That came quick.

The past two days have been really fun and the weather has been amazing. I would LOVE to sleep with the window open at night but my baka and I share a room and she is always cold. I'll just have to wait till I get home.

I spent Tuseday afternoon in Serbia's Ethnographic museum. The museum was a collection of traditional Serbian costumes from the 18th and 19th centuries. It also included old tools, rugs, and agricultural equipment. Matije took me there and then he had me try Yelen Pivo (deer beer). This is Serbia's brew. We bought a few cans and then headed to Kalemegdan and drank them with some of his friends. Now I can check that off my list.

I spent yesterday with Vukasin. After some miscommunication that involved me finding a police officer, asking where I could buy a phone card, and getting in touch with my cousin, we finally met up. We usually meet at the TRG Republik, it's a section in the middle of the city where my bus takes me.

I don't know if this has been in the US news, but a French student was beaten to death after attending a football game in Beograd. A french football team was playing against Beograd's team. After the game, a few serbian fans beat up a few French fans. This man ended up in the hospital for over a week and then passed away on Tuesday. There was a large memorial for him in the TRG Republik where people waited in line for hours to put candles and flowers at the base of a statue. It was really moving to see the hundreds of people that came by to pay their respects.

Yesterday was the day that I got to plan and it started by taking Vukasin to a vegetarian restuarant. He was a bit uncomfortable but I think he enjoyed it. He had vegetable Samosa and a Falafel for the first time ever. It was great to have my pick of the menu and know what I was getting on my plate, rather than crossing my fingers and hoping that I don't end up with a big piece of meat.

After the very satisfying lunch, we took a bus to a park (I should remember the name, since it's one of the biggest parks in the city, but I can't). Anyway, the city of Beograd made a large lake by diverting some of the water from the Sava river and it's a very popular place. The other part of my plan was to rent bikes. Vukasin hadn't been on a bike in years so I was more than happy to rent us both bikes for an hour. I wasn't so happy when I saw what bikes we got to ride. Let's just say, they needed some work...well, a lot of work. But it ended up being $5.00 for the both of us for an hour, so I guess you get what you pay for. We had a really good time, even though Vukasin thought I pedaled too slowly. He was in it to win it and I just wanted to take everything in. Good thing we didn't rent a tandem.

Today is Vukasin's first day of school and we aren't able to hang out. (he's starting school all over again for a degree in Economics).

After lunch, I'm thinking about taking a bus into town and walking around for a bit. I've read all my books that I have brought and am afraid to buy new ones since books aren't the lightest things to pack. Tonight, we are having dinner at a really nice restaurant downtown. I don't know much, but I do know that we are having dinner with Boshko and Ana's friend from France. It's a dinner in her honor and she wants everyone to be there and lots of music to be played. I'm really looking forward to it.

I figured out that I've had Turkish coffee. I was hoping that it would be awesome, but i wasn't all that impressed. My cousin Rada made it for us every morning, I just thought it was instant coffee but I was wrong. I don't think that I will be bringing that home with me. Oh, well. I guess that means I have more room for Rakije!

Ciao!