The Butler Braves Belgrade!
Who is that stylish shopping maven?! Oh, it's me, let loose on the streets of Belgrade... Yes, that's right, I braved Belgrade. After my first impression, when we arrived at 1:30am on the deserted, dirty road that is his Aunt's stomping ground, I was a bit apprehensive, but the urge to see the huge free market won me over. Well, you know what they say, bigger doesn't always mean better? It was true in this case, but I'm still glad I went. It wasn't a total loss, I bought a great ring from one of the vendors! I also ate a divine Pljeskavica.
My impressions of the Serbian capital? Very big, noisy, and dirty. Also, you have to love walking to live in Belgrade. There are no malls per se, and all the shops are miles apart. We only spent a day there, but I was exhausted by the end of it. I did get to see some cool places though, including the Parliament buildings, loads of outdoor cafes, a lovely park, an old castle, and the University of Belgrade bookshop. While I was there they had a promotion on (you'll never believe this) "Winnie the Pooh" books! I bought a poster with Winnie on it that says, in Serbian, "You never can tell what will happen these days." I couldn't resist. It was just so relevant. We also visited a store called "Exit" which specializes in less than legal software. Let's just say I got a few deals.
Before we got down to business and did some shopping, we went for a walk around this old castle by the park. Apparently it changed hands a bunch of times throughout History, the Huns had it and then the Turks and so on. It was big and old and I saw a little tiny lizard dart under one of the walls. We also saw the tomb of this Turkish ruler whose name I forget. Although Yugoslavia was under loads of outside rulers, he is the only one with a decent monument. This is because he listened to the Yugoslav people and let them keep their culture. I think lots of rulers today could take a cue from him, ah well. The castle is on a hill overlooking the Sava river, which pours into the nearby Danube. Did you know the Danube is the longest river in Europe? I didn't. The Sava river is pictured above. The tall tower in the middle across the river is the home of two television stations. One is called "Pink". Its broadcasting hilights include: terrible folk music singers, classy American shows such as "Baywatch" , and some not bad movies. It is a very popular station. Their advertising commecial jingle was in my head the whole time I was there. The other station, upstairs from Pink, is owned by Slobodan Milosevic's daughter. The building was bombed by NATO for this reason and because of the Socialist Party offices located in the same building.. It has since been rebuilt. While in Belgrade I saw many buildings that were destroyed in the bombarding and I spoke to people who experienced it. One man was there with his children. When it started, they asked him, "Daddy, we are so young, why do we have to die?" I cannot even imagine. And yet, life goes on.
To your right is the symbol of the student resisitance party, "Otpor". Members are fed up with the government and demand change - sounds like most resistance slogans, but I saw symbols like this one all over Belgrade, Vrsac, Bela Crkva, and even in small towns. Despite the fist, they are a non-violent movement. Young people have had enough. According to one magazine, 300,000 young people have left Yugoslavia since the wars began.
I could not resist having the picture on your left - for obvious reasons. It was one of the hilights of my visit to this city. Another memorable moment, though slightly less pleasant, was our car radio being stolen. Still, you take the good with the bad. As everyone said, "You're lucky. They didn't take the car!" Ha ha. I am glad I visited, but I doubt that I would like to go again.
Find Belgrade on a Map of Yugoslavia