Where: Belgrade, Serbia
When: December 29, 2012 - January 1, 2013
With: Dave, Patricia, and Lazar
If you are confused by the title of this blog post, no worries. This was a perfectly normal reaction to my response when asked what I was doing for New Year's Eve this year. But our good friend Lazar is from Belgrade and has been really hoping to show us around his city, so we figured there was no better holiday to do it. However, as we flew over western Europe and crept into eastern, we looked out the window of the plane and went "wait, we're going where??"
Upon arriving, we got an incredibly exciting greeting from Patricia and Lazar at the airport, complete with signs, screams, and paparazzi-esque photo taking. We got in the car and made our first stop of the trip: at Lazar's friend's art studio in an old abandoned warehouse from Communist times. We were even greeted by barking guard dogs for the complete experience. The studio itself was big and open, filled with hanging sheets of metal, contorted into all kinds of cool sculptures, but it was definitely a unique start to the trip.
After that, we drove on into Belgrade. We booked ourselves in an apartment right in the center of old Belgrade. Then the girls and boys split for our toast to the trip: Patricia and I went on an adventure to open a bottle of wine with no corkscrew (thankfully, she was brave enough to knock on the doors of our Serbian neighbors) while Dave and Lazar went to "pick something up" from Lazar's friend's place a.k.a. had a beer.
Upon meeting back up again, we headed out to an authentic restaurant that served classic Serbian dishes: lots of meat, with a side of meat, all topped off with meat. The restaurant was old and quaint and the atmosphere was made even funnier by the band of men walking around the restaurant playing classic songs (like "Oh Susanna") on their guitars and accordions. We drank lots of wine and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
The next day, we got up early for the truly royal treatment. On the pretense that Dave, Patricia, and I were a foreign delegation from the states, Lazar's friend was able to procure tickets for a private tour of the palace currently inhabited by the royal family of Serbia. Whether that's a true story or the Serbians were having a laugh at us, I'm not sure, but we felt special anyway.
The palace is off-limits as far as photos are concerned, so I have to describe most of it. For the most part, it was a really big, beautiful home from the early 20th century with several lavish and over-the-top decorations. Luckily, the real treat of the palace was where our tour guide chose to turn a blind eye and let us snap some photos: the basement. What? Did she say basement? Yes, I had a similar reaction when she said the basement was the nicest room in the house. But the former king had turned it into his private game hall and let his royal artists have at it to create a mystical wonderland of fairytales and paintings all around the maze of columns and arched ceilings.
Back outside, the palace grounds were expansive, but we didn't get much time to wander them. We headed for the king's Royal Chapel. Inside, it was decorated in an extravagantly Byzantine way, with paintings arching up the walls to the high ceiling above, full of rich color and extravagance.
We walked along to see some of the sites of the city. We saw the national bank that once used to be the head of the labor unions. We saw Parliament, a building that looks new because it had to be partially rebuilt when the Serbs set it on fire following presidential elections in 2000.
We took the morning getting to know the city. It's such a strange place. It's so rough and gritty, yet there's some wonderful architecture hidden between Communist buildings meant to give equal housing to all. Graffiti lines some streets, adding a bit of colour to things and giving you the feeling that a culture is trying to shake its past and emerge new to the scene as a tourist destination.
During our wander, I thought this guy looked like such an appropriate throw back to Communist times.
Beside St. Mark's church is a lovely little park filled with statues to commemorate people important to the Serbian country. Lazar seemed really intent on getting a picture with this guy.
From there, we hopped in another cab to cross the river to New Belgrade and see the city from the top of an old ski run. It may still be used now, but if there's no snow in January, I'm not sure when there would be. So we sat in the lodge and drank wine while enjoying the views.
When: December 29, 2012 - January 1, 2013
With: Dave, Patricia, and Lazar
If you are confused by the title of this blog post, no worries. This was a perfectly normal reaction to my response when asked what I was doing for New Year's Eve this year. But our good friend Lazar is from Belgrade and has been really hoping to show us around his city, so we figured there was no better holiday to do it. However, as we flew over western Europe and crept into eastern, we looked out the window of the plane and went "wait, we're going where??"
Upon arriving, we got an incredibly exciting greeting from Patricia and Lazar at the airport, complete with signs, screams, and paparazzi-esque photo taking. We got in the car and made our first stop of the trip: at Lazar's friend's art studio in an old abandoned warehouse from Communist times. We were even greeted by barking guard dogs for the complete experience. The studio itself was big and open, filled with hanging sheets of metal, contorted into all kinds of cool sculptures, but it was definitely a unique start to the trip.
After that, we drove on into Belgrade. We booked ourselves in an apartment right in the center of old Belgrade. Then the girls and boys split for our toast to the trip: Patricia and I went on an adventure to open a bottle of wine with no corkscrew (thankfully, she was brave enough to knock on the doors of our Serbian neighbors) while Dave and Lazar went to "pick something up" from Lazar's friend's place a.k.a. had a beer.
Upon meeting back up again, we headed out to an authentic restaurant that served classic Serbian dishes: lots of meat, with a side of meat, all topped off with meat. The restaurant was old and quaint and the atmosphere was made even funnier by the band of men walking around the restaurant playing classic songs (like "Oh Susanna") on their guitars and accordions. We drank lots of wine and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
The next day, we got up early for the truly royal treatment. On the pretense that Dave, Patricia, and I were a foreign delegation from the states, Lazar's friend was able to procure tickets for a private tour of the palace currently inhabited by the royal family of Serbia. Whether that's a true story or the Serbians were having a laugh at us, I'm not sure, but we felt special anyway.
The palace is off-limits as far as photos are concerned, so I have to describe most of it. For the most part, it was a really big, beautiful home from the early 20th century with several lavish and over-the-top decorations. Luckily, the real treat of the palace was where our tour guide chose to turn a blind eye and let us snap some photos: the basement. What? Did she say basement? Yes, I had a similar reaction when she said the basement was the nicest room in the house. But the former king had turned it into his private game hall and let his royal artists have at it to create a mystical wonderland of fairytales and paintings all around the maze of columns and arched ceilings.
The best part of the basement though was the movie theater. Completed before talkies were a thing, they had a curtain hiding the piano player hired to accompany the pictures. And the best part: the king's seat was positioned in the back raised up on a platform, so he could keep an eye on all his guests. Paranoid much?
Back outside, the palace grounds were expansive, but we didn't get much time to wander them. We headed for the king's Royal Chapel. Inside, it was decorated in an extravagantly Byzantine way, with paintings arching up the walls to the high ceiling above, full of rich color and extravagance.
The most disturbing thing about the chapel though was the painting of Jesus at the top. Apparently, during Communist occupation of Serbia, Jesus was used as target practice for one of the occupying troops. Yikes.
Out in the backyard, we got to walk the promenade and see the backyard. I bet it's not bad in the summertime.
At that point, it was time to hang up the old diplomat shoes and head back into Belgrade to do some exploring. We decided to head to the city's main park that holds the Belgrade Fortress.
The entire city of Belgrade used to be contained within these fortress walls which have existed in some form since 300AD. Its positioning on top of the hill where the Danube and Sava rivers converge made it an ideal spot for many reasons.
Today the park is kind of a hodgepodge of things. From ruined castle walls to a wreckyard for old tanks to a sculpture garden, it's kind of a catch-all providing Serbians many reasons to hang out here.
Standing at the top of the lookout point, we got to look down on the rivers and Belgrade. A really peaceful place.
We grabbed a late lunch in the park walls and got a view of the fortress lit up at night.
After some rest and relaxation back in the apartment, we headed back out again for some dinner. On our way, we did some more sightseeing. We took a stroll down the main pedestrian shopping area through the center of the city, then stopped in an old church, getting a good contrast of the old vs. the new.
After dinner with Lazar's friends, we headed down to the river to see the infamous party scene in Belgrade. Due to issues with noise, all the biggest clubs in Belgrade sit on barges in the river. This keeps them away from sleeping citizens and allows them to follow a different set of rules. Sadly though, Sunday night didn't seem to be a big one, even on New Year's weekend and only one of the clubs was open in all its beat-bumping glory. It was enough to imagine how crazy it can get here though when all the clubs are open in full force. So we enjoyed the view of Belgrade from the river before heading back into town.
The next morning was the big day: New Year's Eve!
That morning, Lazar was helping Patricia embark on the joys of Serbian citizenship, so Dave and I had a wander around Belgrade on our own. The main square in the city was in full preparation mode to get ready for the New Year's celebration.
We walked along to see some of the sites of the city. We saw the national bank that once used to be the head of the labor unions. We saw Parliament, a building that looks new because it had to be partially rebuilt when the Serbs set it on fire following presidential elections in 2000.
The most jaw-dropping of it all though may be these two buildings. They used to hold the country's ministries and were suspected to be the headquarters for plan to persecute Albanians in Kosovo. In 1999, NATO forces launched eight missiles at these buildings destroying them both. While it's been well over ten years since this incident, the buildings continue to lie in ruins. The problem is they are considered historical and to restore them means to restore them to their original specifications, a task that no one is willing to finance. So they just stay as they were, alongside a major highway where there are daily reminders of what happened.
During our wander, I thought this guy looked like such an appropriate throw back to Communist times.
At that point, we met back up with Patricia and Lazar for a small tour of the churches of Belgrade. The first one we visited was St. Mark's Church. It was completed in 1940, but still remains unfinished inside.
Just behind St. Mark's sits a teeny church in comparison. For all it lacked in size though, it made up for in being ornate. Gold glittered from every corner of this tiny place.
Beside St. Mark's church is a lovely little park filled with statues to commemorate people important to the Serbian country. Lazar seemed really intent on getting a picture with this guy.
From there it was a short cab ride over to the Cathedral of Saint Sava. It is the largest Orthodox church building in all of the Balkans. The only problem? It's not finished at all on the inside. Renovations tend to have a serious stop/go way about them due to lack of funding to complete.
Since we were in the neighborhood, we made a stop at Lazar's sister's apartment. As soon as we walked in, homemade liquor called rakia was brought out, and we kicked off New Year's a bit earlier than expected.
The Antonic family.
The Antonic family, plus two stragglers.
From there, we hopped in another cab to cross the river to New Belgrade and see the city from the top of an old ski run. It may still be used now, but if there's no snow in January, I'm not sure when there would be. So we sat in the lodge and drank wine while enjoying the views.
Next up on this whistle stop tour this day was to visit the parents themselves, Mr. and Mrs. Antonic. Still living in their government issued flat from 40 years ago, it was fascinating to hear their perspective on living through Communism. Mr. Antonic decided to be a social anthropologist because "Why not? I'd get paid as much as a doctor or anybody else, so might as well pick something that sounds interesting." We enjoyed some wine with them and saw funny pictures of Lazar in his younger years before we all headed home to get ready for our Belgrade New Year's Eve.
We had dinner at an Italian restaurant on the river to kick off our evening. Many shots of rakia were ordered, and it just wouldn't be eastern Europe without signs that actually encourage smoking at the dinner table.
Getting ready for 2013.
I was surprised to see how anti-climactic the ringing in of the new year was. The restaurant didn't cheer or shout, no one thought to order champagne, and some people even suggested leaving five minutes before midnight. Dave and I did our best to celebrate in the only way we know how and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. I even learned how to say "Happy New Year" in Serbian, which kept me well occupied for the rest of the night.
The final activity of the evening was a New Year's masquerade party. We dressed up complete with masks and capes and danced to terrible techno music in a hot, sweaty night club. It was a fun experience even if it's not my normal scene, and watching Dave swoosh his cape around all night while singing the one line he knows from "Phantom of the Opera" made it all worth it.
We ended up calling it fairly early and being "responsible adults" so we could get up in time for our flight the next day. The city was alive and excited, and had it not been for the early plane, we would have happily stayed out. Belgrade was an interesting city and having a local tour guide certainly helped. Hopefully we'll see it continue to grow and develop into a tourist hotspot.
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