Diary of a British woman in Belgrade - Day 17 & 18

My husband who is a native Serb, our 10 year old son and me have moved from England to Belgrade for 8 months. This is day 17 & 18 of our stay.

A bus zooming by, photo by Aleks

DAY 17

Dragan was reading through a thesis today and Aleks had his violin lesson on Skype with his Suzuki teacher in England. It works pretty well on Skype, but the delay can be a bit off putting. Aleks played well and was really tired afterwards.

After a late lunch we all piled in the car and battled with the traffic through the city centre to visit Baka Dana (Grandma Dana). The journey, which normally takes 1/2 hour, was 1¼ hours long (too long), but Aleks kept himself amused by taking photos of the traffic zooming by. Belgrade is so photogenic. The delays are caused by lots of streets being reconstructed in the city centre.

Ulica Kneza Miloša (Prince Miloš [pronounced 'Mee-losh'] Street)

When we got to Grandma's, she was chatting away to me, but I really didn’t understand a word – still it won’t be long before I am fluent!

We then went for a drink with some friends at a local café/bar and Aleks had two huge 'Palačinke' (pancakes), with 'Eurocrem' (Serbian Nutella) and crushed ‘Plazma’ biscuits. OK, so ‘Plazma’ are a brand of biscuits that are almost an institution in Serbia. The name is very off putting, I know, but they taste exactly like British ‘Rich Tea’ biscuits and are really very nice! The pancakes were served in a cute enamel frying pan. More about enamel later!

'Palačinke' (pancakes) with 'Eurocrem' and crushed 'Plazma' biscuits

DAY 18

This morning I caught the bus into the city centre alone, but I was a bit nervous. The boys saw me onto the bus, No. 27 to ‘Trg Republike’ (Republic Square) [1]. You can enter the bus by one of 2 or 3 doors and you need a travel card to swipe as you enter. The buses stop at every stop and the name of the stop is shown on an LED display as well as being announced. Trg Republike is the last stop and it was very easy and quick. It was a 5 minute walk to Knez Mihailova (the main pedestrianised street) [2] which was quiet and sleepy. I pottered around, took a few photos and stopped for a coffee. For great photos of Belgrade check out 'Belgrade in pictures' on Instagram.

Sculpture of Petar Petrovič, 19th century philosopher & poet alongside a modern mural, central Belgrade

I caught the bus back and feel chuffed that I can now get to the centre alone by bus. I don't usually have an issue with buses!

Meanwhile Dragan and Aleks had met up with Ljuba and they all went to the 'pijac' (green market) and bought delicious fruit and veg, including 'suve šljive' (sun-dried plums), which are absolutely lovely. They also bought ‘celer’, which are celery leaves to be used as an herb. 

Buskers in the main street, Knez Mihailova

At about 4pm we all headed back to the city centre by foot this time. Aleks has his Fitbit, so is happy to walk miles to increase his number of steps! Knez Mihailova was packed with promenaders, buskers (violinists and guitarists) and street hawkers. We got chatting to a printmaker who was selling his work on the street and it seems I may be able to use his printmaking press! Aleks had the obligatory popcorn from a stand and we stopped for a coffee at one of the many cafes. The atmosphere is amazing and the streets are decorated with beautiful Christmas lights, (very costly and highly controversial!). That said, Belgrade is really very beautiful at night. 

After walking back we played a card game at home called ‘Cheat’.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_Square_(Belgrade) 

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knez_Mihailova_Street

Diary of a British woman in Belgrade - Day 15 & 16

My husband who is a native Serb, our 10 year old son and me have moved from England to Belgrade for 8 months. This is day 15 & 16 of our stay.

Pobednik Monument in Kalamegdan Park, Linocut by Ali Savic [4]

DAY 15

Dragan collected a hire car today. We thought we would be ok without a car, but visiting Grandma would be quite long winded by public transport as she lives on the other side of the city. I appreciate many people have no choice if they need to get to work. Some commutes can involve several modes of transport, ‘tramvaj’ (tram), ‘trolejbus’ (trolley bus - a tram and bus hydrid) or autobus.

Trolejbus (Trolley bus attached to the electric cable like a tram)

Aleks had school at 2pm and I popped a ‘rol viršla’ (frankfurter in puff pastry) in his backpack for his ½ hour break mid-afternoon.

After school we all piled in the car and drove over ‘Gazela Most’ (Gazelle Bridge) [1] to ‘Novi Beograd’ (New Belgrade) [2] to visit some friends for their ‘slava’. ‘Slava’ is unique to Serbia and is a family saint day celebration. Families in Serbia have a patron saint and the patron saint is passed down through the male line and from husband to wife. On the Saint’s Day, friends and family are invited into the home to enjoy a meal, drinks and good company. Traditionally ‘slava’ lasts for 3 days and it is an open house arrangement. Any tables available in the house are covered in the best table cloths and laid for a sumptuous meal in the living rooms of the house. All the chairs in the house are used, including office chairs and stools. Guests arrive in a continuous stream and after a group of people have spent a few hours eating & chatting and then said their goodbyes, that part of the table is reset. Sometimes the table is full of guests and at other times not many people are present.

On arrival guests will be offered ‘žito’ [3], which is a sweet and nutty offering containing wheat, ground walnuts and sugar. You eat a teaspoon of ’žito’ and some guests will cross themselves at this point. It is customary to say ’Srećna Slava’ (Happy Slava) to your hosts.

The meal will be elaborate, with a delicious soup to start, often followed by smoked meats, salads, pickles and also fish, ‘sarma’ (pickled cabbage rolls), roast meat and ‘prebranac’ (Serbian baked beans). If the ‘slava’ falls on a fasting day, Wednesday or Friday or during lent, then the food will be vegan with the addition of fish.

'Kolači' (small cakes) are often served. These little cakes can be layered, are sweet, but not sickly and many contain nuts & chocolate. They are very dainty and delicious, some are iced and can come in many shapes, colours and flavours.

Our friends, live in an apartment in a striking group of tower blocks, built in the 1960s, which have a step like appearance. Aleks said they look like steps for giants! They are fine examples of Belgrade's 1960s architecture; solidly built and the apartments are gorgeous inside.

Apartment blocks that resemble giant's steps

[1] 'Gazela' is Serbian for 'gazelle'. Đorđje Lazarević, who was president of the competition commission [when the bridge was opened], said "this bridge leaped over the Sava like a jumping gazelle", and the name stuck. Wikipedia

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Belgrade 

[3] http://wonderfulserbia.com/destination/food/desserts/zito/ 

DAY 16

This morning Dragan and I went for a run and Aleks came to the park and took some photos. Mum looks more like she's taking a stroll!

Dragan and Ali running in the park

At 3.30pm I had my first Serbian lesson in the city centre, Dragan and Aleks dropped me off and they had a lovely time playing in the park at Kalamegden Fortress. The fortress itself, is strategically place on a hill above the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and it is now an important tourist attraction in Belgrade with restaurants, museums, monuments and parks, plus beautiful views overlooking the rivers and New Belgrade. The linocut above is of a famous statue called 'Pobednik' (The Victor) [4], to celebrate Serbia's victory over the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires in The Balkan Wars of 1912/13 and in WW1.

Fontana Borba, Kalamegdan Park

The Serbian lesson was 1½ hours long and I was the oldest person in the room by far. I felt I learnt a lot and I came away with a huge book (not cheap) that I must do my homework from. I have been quite vigilant and have practised my Serbian every day. The novelty might wear off! My next lesson is on Tuesday and I will make my way there myself.

I chatted with the other students after the class and a young American guy was very amused that I have been married to a Serb for 11 years and still can’t speak the language!

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pobednik

Diary of a British woman in Belgrade Day 13 & 14

DAY 13

Frieze in 'Park Oslobodioca Beograda' (Park of the Liberators of Belgrade)

My Serbian husband, our 10 year old son and me are spending 8 months in Belgrade. Our home is in England and this is the next instalment of our trip.

Aleks has attended one full week at school, starting at 8am each day. This week he starts at lunchtime. In the whole of Aleks’ school life, he has never woken up early for school, we have to wake him every morning. Today when school started at 1.15pm, he woke up at 6.40am. I actually predicted it, because he always wakes really early on Saturday morning. When he was 4/5 we used to fib and tell Aleks that he had school the next day on Friday evening, so that he would lie in on Saturday mornings. It worked really well, for quite a while!

Dragan outside 'Gradjevinski Fakultet' (Faculty of Civil Engineering)

Dragan went to work at the 'Gradjevinski Fakultet' (Faculty of Civil Engineering) [1] today for a few hours. So, after I dropped Aleks at school, I then went for a little sortie by myself, bought a few things from the supermarket and posted a few postcards. I felt very self-conscious posting postcards, I am pretty sure there were no tourists in our part of town today. The butcher said ‘odakle ste?’ (where are you from?). He understood my reply in Serbian, even though it was incorrect. 

Park Oslobodioca Beograda (Park of the Liberators of Belgrade)

Later that day, Dragan and I went for a run and did 16 laps around the park (it’s very small!) before we collected Aleks from school at 5.30 (in the dark – that’s a first).

It’s been very windy today, so I am expecting to see our lady with the logs in the park tomorrow morning collecting windfall branches for her stove!

[1] http://www.grf.bg.ac.rs/home/e

DAY 14

Starting times at Aleks’ school seem to be a moveable feast! Today was special, he started at 11am because he had a school visit to the 'bioskop' (cinema) to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid (with Serbian subtitles). Aleks thinks it might be a special cinema for school kids. I was actually quite jealous, I never went to the cinema for a school trip and he never has at his English school either.

Since Dragan was at the 'Gradjevinski Fakultet' (Faculty of Civil Engineering) today, I was forced to do my own thing! So, off I went and took photos of the beautiful socialist realism sculptures in our area. I visited the Jewish Cemetery (all part of 'Novo Groblje', the New Cemetery) and it must be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. There is an avenue of mature pines with benches leading to a mid-20th century monument. The gravestones have a combination of Serbian Cyrillic and Hebrew text. A handful of pebbles, mostly white, have been placed on some of the newer graves.

Jewish Cemetery in Belgrade

I am enjoying the freedom I have in Serbia. I am not bogged down with possessions, we only brought 3 suitcases and I have no garden to attend to. Out of this feeling came the idea to sketch in the park. I took something to sit on, because the park benches are made of stone. The grandma’s would certainly notice if I sat on a cold stone bench. This was purely self -preservation as I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. According to a Serbian old wives tale, if you sit on cold stone it will freeze your ovaries! (That's if you don't die from 'promaja', the draft first). A few people walked by and I was relieved that they paid no attention whatsoever.

Sketch in the park by Ali Savic

Once when Aleks was two, we were playing on a paved area in Baka Dana’s (Grandma Dana's) garden. Aleks would sit on the paving now and again and I was amazed at the stealth and swiftness with which Baka Dana would place a cushion under his bottom! The air temperature was about 26 degrees.

I spent a good hour sketching and whenever I draw, I hear one of the lecturers from my art college days say, ‘try and find new and interesting ways of drawing’. I’m not sure I did that, but it was an hour well spent. As it turns out I am so glad I sat on a cushion, it was chilly and I ended up with an ice-cream headache. God knows what would have happened to my ovaries.

https://www.alisavicprints.com

Diary of a British woman in Belgrade Day 11 & 12

DAY 11

My husband, who is a native Serb, our 10 year old son and me have all moved to Belgrade, Serbia’s lively capital for 8 months. This is day 11 of our big adventure.

Belgrade Waterfront with Brankov Most in the distance

In the morning we went to visit friends, who live in the city centre, near Zeleni Venac, which is surprise, surprise yet another pijac (green market). However, you’ll be relieved to know that I am not going to write more about the pijac today. After a chat and a coffee, we strolled down to Belgrade’s new waterfront area on the Sava River. On the way there we passed by the old bus station, half of it was demolished. It looked like a bomb site! Dodging the cars and buses we managed to get to Belgrade Waterfront [2]. Two enormous luxury apartment blocks are being built and are quite controversial, because very little is known about them and who is funding the project. But, the path by the river is lovely. There are small cafes and kids play areas dotted along the way.

We then walked inland towards the city and crossed a railway line near ‘Brankov Most’ (a bridge that connects old Belgrade with New Belgrade) [3]. I was shocked that there were no warning signs, no barriers on the railway. It made me nervous, but our friends reassured us that the trains are very infrequent and slow. I took a photo of Dragan standing on the tracks, but felt very uneasy about that!

Dragan on the railway line!

This part of town is fairly derelict, but is in the process of being developed. We passed by a hostel for refugees; lots of Syrians came to Belgrade, as Serbia didn’t close its borders to them. Many refugees used to sleep in the park opposite the bus station before they could be accommodated or they moved on. We also passed a centre where refugees could get a meal and medical attention.

We stopped for lunch at a typical Serbian restaurant – very rustic in design, with red & white gingham tablecloths and terracotta dishes. The walls were decorated with 19th century style paintings of the countryside and the food was, as always, delicious and plentiful. I had ‘teleća čorba’ (veal soup) and a ’mala pljeskavica’ (small burger). It was however enormous, but good. To my surprise Aleks ordered ‘kupus salata’ (cabbage salad) with his chicken kebab. He is becoming naturalised. He never eats cabbage in England!

Waiters and waitresses in Serbia have a career, not a job. They are extremely professional, discreet and nothing is too difficult. They are able to carry a heavy tray full of drinks whilst opening, pouring and serving the drinks with one hand, usually with a flourish and with style. The service in Serbian restaurants is excellent. Dragan tells me in the time when he was young, the waiters were earning more from tips than from their salary. In fact some of them would gladly work for free, relying completely on tips. Tipping is still expected for good service in Serbia at a rate of about 10%.

Here’s a new word for you. ‘Ručak’, pronounced ‘roo-tchak’, meaning lunch. Lunch is normally eaten later than in England, often between 2pm and 4pm.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgrade_Waterfront

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branko%27s_Bridge

DAY 12

Today we visited Dragan’s mum and bought her loads of ready cooked ‘sarma’ at the supermarket. Lots of places now produce delicious hot homemade food. ‘Sarma’ [1] is pickled cabbage rolls stuffed with mincemeat, rice and spices including paprika. It’s good. Dragan’s mum seems to be partial to it at the moment! We had lunch at Grandma’s including my absolute favourite, ‘boranija’ (yellow string bean stew).

National Assembly, Belgrade

On the way back to our flat it was twilight and the Christmas Decorations throughout the centre were lit up. ‘Skupština’ (Parliament or The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia), building looked beautiful [2].

Christmas Decorations in Kneza Miloša

In the other direction on the same road, a police car was escorting a protest march of about 100 people. The protesters were carrying banners, Christian crosses and religious images. Aleks said it looks like they are protesting about a Church being demolished. Dragan said you are not far off, that protest is something to do with me and my engineering colleagues! Many years ago a dam was constructed near the city of Valjevo [3]. Dragan worked on the design as a young engineer about 30 years ago, but the construction started in the late 1990s. The Dam is now complete and being filled. The protesters object to the flooding of a Church although a new one has been built above the flood-line and the Serbian Orthodox Church actually agreed to it being submerged. To my surprise the protest was on a busy road at dusk and even though it had a police escort the vehicles were still passing very close to the protesters walking on the road!

[1] https://www.thespruce.com/serbian-stuffed-cabbage-recipe-sarma-1136569

[2] http://www.parlament.gov.rs/citizen's-corner/education-center.695.html

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rovni_Lake

Diary of a British woman in Belgrade DAY 9 & 10

Serbian gentleman wearing a Šajkača, a traditional Serbian hat

My husband, Dragan, who is a native Serb, our 10 year old son and me have moved from England to Belgrade for 8 months. This is day 9 & 10.

Aleks happily ran into school and asked if he could go by himself, so we came to a compromise and will drop him at the corner in future.

Another lovely day, so we agreed that I would try and remember the way to the pijac. On the way past Vuk Karadžić’s sculpture, we saw an elderly gentleman feeding the pigeons in the park. He was wearing a traditional Serbian hat, known as a Šajkača [1].

St Sava Church, Belgrade, Collagraph print by Ali Savic

After buying some warm hats and slippers, ready for winter, we made our way to the 2nd largest Orthodox Church in the world, Saint Sava Church [2]. It is totally spectacular with verdigris domes and white stone facades. Vogue magazine recently described it as Eastern Europe’s answer to the Sagrada Familia.[3] The exterior is complete, but the interior is a huge space with only concrete walls and scaffolding! The building has been under construction for about 100 years.

But... the Crypt below the main church is one of the most stunning sights I have ever seen. The frescoes are in a typical Serbian style with no expense spared on the gold leaf. It was also refreshing to see other tourists for a change!

The Crypt of St Sava Church

On the way back home we stopped for coffee in Kapetan Cafe, luckily there was no-one smoking inside! We had Topli Nes (hot & frothy instant coffee with a straw).

We met Aleks at 12.30 and he played basketball for a while with his new friends in the playground. Next on the agenda was a walk into the city centre for lunch at a lovely restaurant called ’Walter Sarajevski Ćevap’, famous for its Sarajevo ćevapčići (gound beef & pork sausages). Dragan will correct me and say, ’they’re not sausages!’ Whatever they are, they’re delicious served with raw onions and ’lepinja’ (round flat bread made with yeast & baking powder).

The restaurant is named after the 1972 Yugoslav film, ’Walter Defends Sarajevo’, set in 1944, about a mysterious character called Walter who is the leader of the Partisans in Sarajevo. He causes a lot of problems for the German army there.

The picture was distributed in sixty countries , and achieved its greatest succeess in the People’s Republic of China, becoming the country’s most popular foreign film in the 1970s. Owing mainly to the Chinese audience, ’Walter Defends Sarajevo’ became one of the most-watched war films of all time. Wikipedia

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0ajka%C4%8Da

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Saint_Sava

[3] https://www.facebook.com/Vogue/posts/10155629586197279

DAY 10

After dropping Aleks, Dragan and I went for another run in the Park of the Defenders of Belgrade. The usual suspects were there too, the maintenance guy, the dog walkers and our lady with the log. Today she was struggling with two large branches and I smiled as we jogged past. She laughed and said in Serbian (translated by Dragan), ‘oh you’re laughing at me trying to carry this wood’. She said it in good humour.

Park of the Defenders of Belgrade

On our next circuit she appeared again this time she was dragging a 10 foot branch and was clearly not going to make it back to her place. She had brought a komšinica (a female neighbour) with bright red lipstick to help. I set Dragan up saying we could help and next thing he was carrying this huge branch out of the park to her house! Dragan returned and we continued our laps, and there she was again with yet another neighbour and they heaved yet another lengthy log off to burn in her stove.

Dragan collected Aleks’ new Serbian passport today and Dragan also had his first meeting at the Fakultet (University Faculty).

https://www.alisavicprints.com

Diary of a British woman in Belgrade - Day 7 & 8

Ali & Vuk Karadžić

After dropping Aleks at school at 8am we walked past the big graveyard, Novo Groblje (literally New Graveyard, although it isn’t that new, the first burials took place here in 1886) towards Vuk Karadžić’s imposing Monument. Vuk Karadžić [1] was the major reformer of the Serbian language in the first half of the 19th century. After a few little side streets we came to a famous pijac (green market) in Belgrade, Kalenić pijac. It’s the season for grapes, plums, pumpkin, pears and apples. Very fresh, very nice.

Garlic, Beans, Onions & Grated Pumpkin

This is the season for cabbage in particular, which is pickled by almost every family in Serbia, known as ’kiseli kupus’ [2]. These days, this is usually done by stacking big heads of cabbage in a plastic barrel (at least 50 litre) with lots of salt and water. The contents of which is pressed down by a large stone and the barrel is then sealed. As the majority of Belgrade inhabitants live in multi-storey apartment blocks, most balconies now contain one or more of these barrels, with fermenting cabbage. The reason why it is sealed, is because it can be quite pongy. But don’t be deceived, it is a very tasty delicacy in Serbia. Dragan loves it and managed to find it in a Polish shop in Exeter and promptly made ’Sarma’ (sour cabbage meat rolls) [3].

We came back from the green market, past the graveyard and the road is under reconstruction. There were JCBs and all sorts of machinery and construction workers busy at work. The area is not blocked off to pedestrians and so it is the strangest sight, with people picking their way through the rubble and construction, avoiding large holes and keeping clear of reversing machinery. There is little regard for health and safety, but Serbian people are used to it and know how to keep safe.

Reconstruction of Ruzveltova Street

After another large lunch and a relax, we all set off again on a long march to the City Centre. It was clear, dark and cold with a half moon shining between the domes of St Marks Church (Crkva Svetog Marka). Aleks had delicious fresh popcorn from a little stall and I had a quarter pizza slice to go. We passed one of my favourite landmarks, the Hotel Moskva (Hotel Moscow) and set off back through Tašmajdan Park, which was recently renovated with funding from the leader of Azerbajan (a rather stiff sculpture of him stands overlooking the park). Tašmajdan means ’stone quarry’ in Turkish. Serbia was part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries, but that’s another story!

Crkva Svetog Marka (St Marks's Church)

Aleks had his first English lesson at school today and he said it was pretty easy! The other kids in his class offered him 100 dinars to do their English homework for them. Aleks quickly worked out that he could make 2700 dinars if he obliged. 100 dinars is about 75p.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuk_Karad%C5%BEi%C4%87

[2] http://www.serbiancookbook.com/food-recipes/winter-stores/cabbage-heads-pickling-recipe/

[3] http://www.sandraseasycooking.com/2011/12/sour-cabbage-meat-rolls-sarma.html

DAY 8

Another cold, bright day. We dropped Aleks at school and went for a run in the Park of the Defenders of Belgrade. It’s a small but beautiful place and each circuit is about ¼ mile. There were a few dog walkers, a park attendant and a very serious guy, speed walking. There were also two women, one quite elderly, collecting fallen branches and twigs for their fire at home. Dragan got chatting to another runner, a tall gaunt lawyer who is about to do the New York Marathon in November. He said to Dragan look up Lawyer + Marathon (advokat + maraton) and he appears to be a bit of a local celebrity.

Later that morning, we took a stroll through Novo Groblje (The New Cemetery) [1]. Quite a few important and famous people are buried here, including many Partisan fighters from WW2, Tito’s communist fighters. One of the grave monuments that stood out was a sculpture of a man and woman dressed in Partisan uniform and the woman is holding a machine gun. Their headstone reads ‘Sasha & Tamara’. I’m not sure if they’re famous, but the sculpture caught my attention.

St Nicolas’ Church in the cemetery is very beautiful and Dragan attends the liturgy there.

There is a beautiful Chapel built in the cemetery in memory of Field Marshall Radomir Putnik who led the ‘Long March’ [2], which was a huge retreat of the Serbian army and civilians from Serbia to Greece in WW1. This was one of the most devastating events for the nation, but the soldiers returned to liberate the country in 1918. Serbia lost between 1.1 and 1.3 million people (almost one third of the whole population and 60% of the male population).

The Monument and Memorial Ossuary to the Defenders of Belgrade 1914 -1918, with a fallen eagle at its base, is absolutely stunning. Over 4,000 soldiers, identified and unidentified, are buried in the ossuary beneath.

The cemetery is very well kempt and Dragan and I came across a group of maintenance workers in grey boiler suits with large leaf blowers. They worked in a team and at a pace. Dragan asked if he could take their photo, and they were happy to pose. I also made of short film of them at work! Very funny and they thought so too. Belgrade’s Ghostbusters!!

Belgrade's Ghostbusters!

Having had a superb guided tour of Highgate Cemetery in London, I think The New Cemetery in Belgrade could benefit from guided tours. There are so many interesting headstones, characters and stories to tell.

That’s just for starters – I’m sure we’ll visit again.

[1] http://www.beogradskagroblja.rs/page/100091/cnt/new-cemetery.en-GB.htm

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_army%27s_retreat_through_Albania

Diary of a British woman in Belgrade DAY 5 & 6

DAY 5

'čvarci' pork scratchings and 'sir' cheese

So, more shopping today. We went to Tempo, the big supermarket near Ada Ciganlija, Belgrade’s Lake, and did a big shop! On the way to Dragan’s mum’s place, we stopped at her local ‘pijac’ (open air market) called Vidikovac and bought yet more delicious food.

Baka Dana (Grandma Dana), Dragan’s mum, loves ‘čvarci’ (homemade pork scratchings) so we bought a huge bag for her. Dragan loves them too, but they’re not my cup of tea. He was relieved, there’s more for the two of them. We also bought some ‘pita sa višnjama’ (sour cherry pie with filo pastry), which was cooked in a round metal pan on hot coals. I took a photo of the pies cooking on the coals, which surprised the people working there.

There is also a tiled indoor section of the pijac, which has stalls selling cheese, ’kajmak’ (fermented milk butter), smoked meat and pastry. Filo pastry is a speciality here and still made by hand by some people. We bought fresh filo pastry and plan to make ’pita sa jabukama’ (apple pie). The lady selling the filo had a large photo of Putin on the wall and said we can only buy from her if we like Russia! Her son is living and working in Siberia.

Dragan has a relative who has a farm 40 miles away in a village where his father was born, who brings cheese and kajmak to sell at the pijac every Sunday. I have fond memories of a visit to that village when Aleks was a baby and Dragan’s parents used to spend summers on a small plot of land there. That particular summer was hot and I wandered off and started picking peppers from the veg patch on the plot. I only knew the toungue twister but had never picked a ’peck of peppers’ in my life. The peppers were big, deep red and lush. When I snapped them from their stalks it was a great feeling. I couldn’t stop! Dragan found me and said ’um darling, they’re not our peppers! A cousin is growing them here.’ For a split second I thought I could try and stick them all back on again, I didn’t want to upset my new parents-in-law! It all turned out fine and we ate some with BBQd meat later on.

Going back to Dragan’s relative, she sells cheese at the pijac at weekends (she’s 72). She kissed all 3 of us on the cheek 3 times and said ’oh lutko’ (which means ’doll’) to Aleks and gave him a cuddle. The cheese is all artisan, known as mladi (literally young - meaning mild) or stari (literally old – meaning mature). She tried to give Dragan some cheese to take home and for his mother, but he managed to evade her – this time. Dragan is very fond of her and promised to go and visit the family in the village. No more pepper picking though!

We bought a mountain of smoked beef and pork, which is deeply smokey, salty and dark. Wonderful for breakfast with ’paradajz’ (tomato) and olive oil from the Dalmatian Coast.

It’s very refreshing being the only tourist in Vidikovac Pijac. But to keep the prices down, I keep stum when we are buying goods from the stalls, because my English accent would invite higher prices.

DAY 6

A big day in Aleks’s life – today he went to school for the first time in Serbia. It was an early start 7.50am and his teacher met all 3 of us at the main entrance. She is very sweet and phoned us at 7.30am to say that she had been thinking about Aleks all weekend and how best to help him settle in. Dragan and I were very impressed with this. She only speaks a little bit of English and used Google translate to prepare some maths questions for Aleks.

In the foyer there is a large painting of Sveti Sava, the patron saint of education, by the stairs watching over the children. Children were arriving with their coats and backpacks, but they don’t have to wear uniform, which Aleks definitely approves of.

The school has an unusual name by British standards – ‘The School of the Defenders of Belgrade’. OK so we need to go carefully here, this does not mean that the school kids are the defenders of Belgrade! The school is right next to a park, which commemorates the fallen Serbian and Russian soldiers who liberated Belgrade toward the end of WW2. It is merely its location next to the park and cemetery of fallen liberators, which gives the school its name. With the propaganda that we were fed about Eastern Bloc countries by the West, this School’s name sounds strange to the Western ear.

Aleks had 4 lessons; PE, Maths, Serbian and ‘čuvari prirode’ (nature studies). Each class is 45 minutes long and there is a 5 minute break between classes. Halfway through the morning, there is a 25 minute break when Aleks had a sandwich and played football with his new friends.

Dragan and I picked him up at 12.30 and the class were with their teacher in the playground, playing a version of ‘stuck in the mud’ called ‘Jurke’. Aleks really enjoyed his first day at school and coped really well. He was chuffed to make some friends too.

Whilst Aleks was at school, Dragan and I stole some time together and went for a walk through the city. It was cold, windy and sunny. The air is dry, unlike Exeter, which is usually murky and grey.

So, Dragan and I walked to Palilulska Pijaca (permanent farmer’s market, one of many in the city) near our flat, had a little mosey and then wondered past St Marks Church and its small neighbour, the Russian Church. I was chatting to Dragan in English as a tall young man in jeans and a leather jacket turned to talk to me. He said, ‘where are you from?’ with a Serbian accent and I said ‘England’. He said ‘this is the Russian Church’ and I said ‘oh yes I know my husband is from Belgrade’. He instantly dropped into Serbian and apologised. Dragan reassured him and then said to him, ‘I know you from somewhere, are you an actor?’

It out turned he was Miloš Biković, one of the main actors in the Serbian film Montevideo. Naturally I ended up having my photo taken with him!

Milos Biković & Ali

On a tragic note, in that area, are the remains of the Serbian TV station that was bombed in 1999 by Nato. I took a few photos, the whole of one side of the building was blown off and a sink is still attached forlornly to the wall. 16 people were killed when the building was bombed.

Diary of a British woman in Belgrade DAY 3 & 4

DAY 3

My husband, Dragan, our 10 year old son and I have set off from England, to spend 8 months in Dragan’s home city, Belgrade.

Nothing much happened today. We all needed rest, time to collect our thoughts and to adjust to the new environment – even Dragan. We also needed to go shopping for lots of things for the house, which we did. To the ‘pijac’ or ‘pijaca’ [1] (green or farmers market) for fruit and veg, although you can also find almost anything, even a Quidditch broom. Dragan said jokingly that I could fly home. It was unfair, as I was hoping to get home on a Nimbus 2000!

Ali with her broom (metla)

There are 32 green markets in Belgrade, roughly one for each borough of the city. The stalls in the markets are piled high with freshly picked produce and are much higher quality than in the supermarkets. They are a photographer’s dream, full of colour and character.

We then went to the ‘Kineska Prodavnica’ (Chinese Shop), which is run by Chinese people and sells Chinese goods for the house. Daniela, our Kuma, was our guide. You can find just about anything you might need here, from slippers to salt shakers. Cheap and cheerful.

For lunch, we bought ready cooked food from one of the outlets or ‘prodavnica gotove hrane’ (meaning a finished food shop) popping up all over Belgrade. You can buy hot Serbian dishes to take away that taste home-made. We chose fried fish, as it was Friday, which is a fasting day. Very good.

[1] http://www.beligrad.com/kalenic_e.htm

DAY 4

Today we went to a ‘Svadba’ [1], a Serbian wedding. You’ve heard of ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’. Serbs are from the Balkans too and many traditions are the same. Although in the past these were normally 3 days long, this one was only one day.

Dragan drove to Arandjelovac, about 1 ½ hours from Belgrade. The groom was Dragan’s cousin’s son, so there were an awful lot of extended family there! Lots of kissing (three times) with rellies. Dragan was worried that we were going to be late (he is becoming anglicised, I was much more relaxed, am I becoming more Serbian?). We arrived just on time and people were still arriving 2 hours later!

Picture long tables in rows with white table cloths, a Serbian band with 2 accordions, a drum kit, 2 keyboards and 3 singers, and a top table for the bride and groom. The music is Serbian folk, everyone knows the words to hundreds of songs and it’s loud! It’s cool for the youngsters to join in with all of the songs and to dance the beautiful circle dance called the ‘Kolo’ [2]. In Serbia, folk is mainstream and is enjoyed by all generations.

October seems to be wedding season, summer is too hot and a lot of people leave the cities for the seaside in Montenegro or Greece and they also go to the mountains to cool off. We passed several convoys of wedding cars on their way to various weddings that day. The tradition is to blow the horn and tie towels around the wing mirrors of the car. Dragan has been to weddings in the past where guns were fired into the air and the wedding went on for three days.

‘Ručak’ – is lunch and a Serbian wedding lunch is something to behold. My daughter Mila, warned me years ago about the number of courses – Mila said ‘eat like a queen’, just a small amount and then push it around the plate!

1st course, hot yellow peppers stuffed with kaymak (fermented milk butter) and chicken terrine;
2nd course, smoked beef, smoked pork, salami and cheese (known as cold cuts);
3rd course, delicious chicken soup;
4th course, ‘svadbarski kupus’ – wedding cabbage (pickled cabbage with smoked meat) – super delicious;
5th course, spit roasted lamb and pork – truly amazing
6th course, ‘torta’ (cake), OMG everyone brings these amazing layered cakes with cream, custard, choc, and sponge. There were at least 50 of them at this wedding. The service is brilliant, the staff are attentive, unobtrusive, professional and nothing is too difficult.

The photographers set up shop in a small room next door and provide print outs of photos of the guests at the venue for 150 dinars (just over a Pound) each.

But the most important thing is to meet the rellies! I met lots of relatives that I have never met before and Dragan saw cousins, uncles, etc… that he had not seen for 30 years. Extraordinary to be in a room when half the people are relatives that you don’t know!

When we left we were given a whole tray of roast lamb and a complete torta by Dragan’s cousin, the groom’s father! Aleks was mightily impressed.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolo_(dance)

[2] http://www.serbia.com/big-fat-serbian-wedding/

Diary of a British woman in Belgrade - Day 2

My husband, Dragan, our 10 year old son and I have set off from England, to spend 8 months in Dragan’s home city, Belgrade.

So today we went shopping with our Kuma, Daniela. We loved the ‘Prodavnica Zdrave Hrane’ (health food shop), with lots of nuts, dried fruit and goodies in square glass compartments, which is sold by weight. Aleks had some red, blue & purple jelly sweets (not very healthy!).

Prodavnica Zdrave Hrane

The most important event was a visit to Aleks’ Serbian school. We were all pretty nervous, maybe the parents more than the pupil, but were very impressed in the end. Aleks’ teacher (učiteljica) is very sweet and gentle. We liked her very much. We also met the School secretary, who was friendly and said to Dragan that Serbian school is so different now from when he was a schoolboy in Yugoslavia, much more child centred and gentle. Dragan said that he certainly hoped so, because his schooling in the 1960s & 70s was pretty strict. He also says that living with a former teacher (me) brings back traumatic memories! The school has a resident psychologist who is responsible for the children’s well-being. We also met the English teacher and the headteacher, both of whom were very welcoming. In fact the room was packed with people chatting to us. Dragan and I were offered ‘domaća kafa’[1] (Serbian coffee), which was served with a glass of water by one of the house keeping staff. The coffee has coffee grounds at the bottom, is generally drunk without milk and always comes with a glass of water, so you don’t have to order it separately. I really like Serbian coffee, but only in the morning! The school building was boiling hot; interiors in Serbia in winter-time are always very toastie.

The school itself is very typical for Serbia, with stone floors and wooden desks. The outside area is pretty big with some trees, grass and playground areas for football and basketball. Aleks was very impressed with the small kiosk on the ground floor of the school, where the kids can buy pastries, drinks and hot chocolate!

We watched a PE lesson in the gym where the kids were playing dodgeball and chatted to some of the kids who were keen to speak English with us.

Aleks is looking forward with trepidation to next Monday morning when he starts his new school at 8am sharp. As am I.

As a finisher I thought I would give you a new Serbian word 'Prodavnica' (pronounced Prodavnitsa) meaning 'Shop'.

[1] http://www.serbiatouristguide.com/live/Food_and_drink/Drinks/Coffee

[2] https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/221956799/belgrade-in-winter-fine-art-photo?ref=ss_listing

Belgrade in Winter, Photo etching by Ali Savic [2]

Diary of a British Woman in Belgrade - Day 1

My husband, Dragan, our 10 year old son and I have set off from England, to spend 8 months in Dragan’s home city, Belgrade.

Early start, our flight was at 6.30am from Bristol. Three suit cases, two violins, three rucksacks full of tech and devices, a handbag and three big warm coats. Oh, and me, Dragan and Aleks! The first leg was from Bristol to Munich in a lovely little Embraer jet. It flew quite low and being an uneasy flyer, I felt happy in a small plane — it was more like sailing. The descent into the airport is over a flat plain with villages dotted over a network of black soil fields and copses of trees. We spied the Alps cutting the horizon like a set of jagged teeth. Munich airport is very clean with little cabins to sleep in, but we just munched our way through loads of Pringles, whilst we spotted other Serbs arriving at the gate. We then boarded our flight to Belgrade. Bigger plane, so I was less happy, but to make up for it we were nearly rubbing shoulders with the Partisan basketball team on the flight. The Partisan team is one of the best teams in Serbia. Can’t be fun flying, when you’re a basketball player — tall folk! They had played a match against Bilbao the previous night.

We hired a car at Belgrade airport — so simple, quick and cheap. Dragan drove to our new flat in the centre of the city. Dragan says switching from the left to the right is easy and his driving style switches with amazing ease too! (More about that soon). He naturally doesn’t agree with that.

The flat is spacious, with parquet flooring and an open plan kitchen/living room. The ceilings are high, which is very relaxing and the walls are at least a foot thick. We have a wonderful view of a beautiful park called Spomen Park Oslobodiocima Beograda (Remembrance Park of the Liberators of Belgrade), which is next to the graveyard where the WW2 Serbian and Russian soldiers who liberated Belgrade are buried. Aleks has chatted to his friends on WhatsApp and they think it’s very cool that he lives next to a graveyard!

We met our ‘Kum’ and ‘Kuma’. Kum means godfather and much more[3] in Serbian, and Kuma means godmother. Our Kum is Ljuba and our Kuma is Daniela, his wife. They helped us settle in, something they would happily see as their duty as Kum & Kuma.

In the evening we went to visit some friends. They’re a lovely family with three children, so Aleks had some playmates. Our Kum, Ljuba, is also Kum to our host, the dad. It was a birthday party for the middle child. Kids often have two birthday parties in Serbia, one for the kids and one for the adults. No party food here as it was the adult party, it was good old fashioned delicious Serbian fayre. Prazan Burek (layered pastry pie), potato salad with onion and French dressing, Sarmica od zelja (meat pie layered with spinach, no pastry) and pickles and cold meats. Some of the food was vegan or fasting food (‘posna hrana’), as the birthday fell on a Wednesday (which is one of the two fasting days in a normal week, Friday being the other) [4]. The house is in the typical Serbian design, with a courtyard sheltered by a grapevine. The front room had a long table set for all the guests and relatives, with a huge wooden mirror propped against the wall and a cabinet full of Serbian china and ornaments. Our host is often involved in projects as an architect and structural engineer for local churches and his house has many interesting drawings and paintings adorning the walls. It might be described as ‘shabby chic’, but that would do it a disservice.

The kids played Monopoly, the Belgrade version! All in Cyrillic.

That night we all slept well!

[1] https://alisavicprints.com

[2] www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AliSavicPRINTS

[3] https://www.slavorum.org/the-godfather-probably-the-most-respected-person-in-slavic-culture/

[4] https://www.crkvenikalendar.com/post/post-rules.php