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13

Jun

After 40 hours in transit, Wendy and I arrived in Belgrade yesterday morning. While the journey itself was interesting (we spent an entire evening in cafe in Athens drinking coffee, reading, playing cards and rubbing elbows with a smelly Greek Orthodox monk while waiting for a train to Thessaloniki and then caught a decrepit train that surely dates from the Balkans’ hammer and sickle days into Serbia) it paled in comparison to the destination. Belgrade is a unique city. It’s a vibrant place, full of both hope and sadness. The ‘white city’ as it’s called in Slavic is struggling to distance itself from its past and establish itself as a ‘European’ city without losing its distinct Serbian identity. There’s the usual extremes of of poverty and wealth that characterize many former Iron Curtain countries, US-bombed buildings sit next to top-tier clothing stores and McDonalds restaurants and the latin and cyrillic alphabets appear to be used interchangeably. As for the people, they’re friendly, preternaturally tall — especially the girls — and appreciative of tourists. After almost losing faith in couchsurfing.com, we found a number of people who were happy to host us for a few days and nights in Belgrade. It was a refreshing change, and a sign of how open Serbians are to foreigners. We’re currently staying with a woman named Isidora, a Serbian graphic designer and university lecturer who welcomed us with open arms after our long trip. She’s been a wonderful host, and a cache of information about Belgrade and Balkan history. Our first day in Belgrade was spent in Kalamegdan, on the edge of the city’s old town. Home to an ancient Slavic fortress, the beautiful park provides stunning views of the spot where the Danube and Sava rivers converge. It was there that we met two fellow travellers — a Macedonian named Igor and an Argentinian ex-pat named Fernando who has spent the last decade studying and working in Canada. We spent the day with them before returining to Isidora’s for a delicious dinner and the chance to meet our host’s mom, a humourous woman named Yana who works as an English teacher and acts as a self-appointed PR rep for Serbia. I wish I could say more, but our time at the internet cafe is drawing to a close. I think we’re planning to meet up with another couchsurfer named Phil — a Canadian living in Belgrade who also offered to put us up — for a few drinks at one of city’s lively bars. — Luke PS. We didn’t take the above picture. I just found it on the interweb.

After 40 hours in transit, Wendy and I arrived in Belgrade yesterday morning. While the journey itself was interesting (we spent an entire evening in cafe in Athens drinking coffee, reading, playing cards and rubbing elbows with a smelly Greek Orthodox monk while waiting for a train to Thessaloniki and then caught a decrepit train that surely dates from the Balkans’ hammer and sickle days into Serbia) it paled in comparison to the destination.

Belgrade is a unique city. It’s a vibrant place, full of both hope and sadness. The ‘white city’ as it’s called in Slavic is struggling to distance itself from its past and establish itself as a ‘European’ city without losing its distinct Serbian identity. There’s the usual extremes of of poverty and wealth that characterize many former Iron Curtain countries, US-bombed buildings sit next to top-tier clothing stores and McDonalds restaurants and the latin and cyrillic alphabets appear to be used interchangeably. As for the people, they’re friendly, preternaturally tall — especially the girls — and appreciative of tourists.

After almost losing faith in couchsurfing.com, we found a number of people who were happy to host us for a few days and nights in Belgrade. It was a refreshing change, and a sign of how open Serbians are to foreigners. We’re currently staying with a woman named Isidora, a Serbian graphic designer and university lecturer who welcomed us with open arms after our long trip. She’s been a wonderful host, and a cache of information about Belgrade and Balkan history.

Our first day in Belgrade was spent in Kalamegdan, on the edge of the city’s old town. Home to an ancient Slavic fortress, the beautiful park provides stunning views of the spot where the Danube and Sava rivers converge. It was there that we met two fellow travellers — a Macedonian named Igor and an Argentinian ex-pat named Fernando who has spent the last decade studying and working in Canada. We spent the day with them before returining to Isidora’s for a delicious dinner and the chance to meet our host’s mom, a humourous woman named Yana who works as an English teacher and acts as a self-appointed PR rep for Serbia.

I wish I could say more, but our time at the internet cafe is drawing to a close. I think we’re planning to meet up with another couchsurfer named Phil — a Canadian living in Belgrade who also offered to put us up — for a few drinks at one of city’s lively bars.

— Luke

PS. We didn’t take the above picture. I just found it on the interweb.

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