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So, How Was It? part 1
The habit of writing seems to be one that is hard to establish but so easy to loose. Having recovered from my organism’s complete refusal to accept its original time zone, from getting back to work, and from going through 3 CDs of New York photographs with every single person I know, it’s high time to return to my badly neglected blog.
It makes no sense anymore to recount in detail our activities during the trip, as I failed to do more than just scribble a few words in my notebook the whole time we were in the US. So I will try instead to write about my impressions and observations and make some comparisons between here and there (this might take some time).
Although most of it was tourism and pure fun, these two weeks were very important to us in a more substantial way. After we decided, due to a fortunate turn of events last year, to move (at least for a while) to NY, we needed, in a sense, to verify our decision, and see how feasible and realistic our choice was. So how does it all seem now? After all, America is supposed to be the land of opportunity.
And in my view, it is. I like America. A lot.
Before I elaborate, it is probably time for a little disclaimer: I understand New York is not America. The US is more than a country, it’s practically a continent. Even within smaller countries, differences between various parts are huge. London is quite unlike other parts of England I’ve seen. Belgrade has little in common with Serbia proper. Besides, how much can you really experience in two weeks? Tourism is not real life. It covers only the most pleasant a city/country has to offer.
On the other hand, I have to admit I’ve had some prejudice when it comes to America, especially as a potential residence. All our lives we are bombarded with stories of America as an inferior, wannabe Europe, a land of racist fat people who eat junk-food and drive to their own mailbox. I knew that was not true, and I’ve heard many wonderful things as well, but on some level I was burdened by it.
As I said, I really like America…
to be continued...
Jet Lag Back in Belgrade. Back at work. Back on the web.
Disoriented, late for work, exhausted and excited, happy and depressed.
New York was all I expected it to be and more. Big, fast and chaotic, but nevertheless warm, charming and friendly. The history of cinematography has really done it justice and I fully understand what makes this place the center of the world.
To the people who have been visiting this page, I apologize for not posting. The internet connection at our friend’s house in NY failed. Admittedly it was also a perfect excuse to not spend time in front of a computer without feeling guilty.
I’m glad to be able to see family and friends, but Belgrade looks so tiny and unimpressive. I realized the best whay to beat jet lag would have been not to stay.
First Impressions Running around these last few days I just couldn’t find time to sit down and organize my thoughts. It is a rainy midday in New York City and here’s a, hopefully, short recap the first few DKNY days.
I really love it here. I somehow knew I would. On Friday coming back from work, I stepped of a stranded trolleybus in the middle of Slavija circle. The first snow caused Belgrade’s traffic system to collapse, but as I headed home on foot, cold and wet, past angry, cursing drivers I nevertheless had a huge grin on my face. I just couldn’t wait to come.
Appropriately for traveling to the city that never sleeps, we didn't get any rest in the 30 hour day that took us from Belgrade to New York. After finishing packing very late and only a few hours of restless sleeping, we got up before dawn to get a cab to the airport. Appropriately, the Scissor Sisters were playing happily on the radio. A short delay, one aerial view of the Eiffel tower in the mist, several plastic-wrapped meals and an ocean later, we landed. Oh, again appropriately, the in-flight movie was the Devil wears Prada.
First impressions were a bit strange, though. After the architectural splendor of Charles De Gaulle, JFK seemed gray and drab. The long line of tired and nervous travelers waiting to give their fingerprints didn’t really improve the atmosphere. Our friend was waiting, fortunately, so we got in the car immediately and hit the roads. I knew America was the land of cars but I was still a bit shocked. First of all, the cars are huge, and they are everywhere. As we drove, for what seemed like hours in the awful traffic along this and that expressway, motorway, highway or parkway I wasn't all that impressed, but as we passed by the East River and saw the lights of Manhattan in all their glory I was bought.
We got off the highway into a whole different world. Brooklyn is lovely. Carroll Gardens is a nice quiet neighborhood with beautiful brick buildings, small shops, good restaurants, and friendly people who say hi in the streets. Walking around the city these last few days, I realized New York was like a series of small cozy towns hiding between the streets of the huge metropolis.
Not everything was great though. I managed to get my wallet stolen. I was terribly upset. I didn’t have too much money, but with no money and no Metro Card we had to walk for hours in the weak rain, through some not very representative neighborhoods to get home.
Despite that, I’m very happy that we’re here. We decided to first handle all the formalities and then let go and enjoy ourselves. So far, we finished all of Ivan’s paperwork, and visited most of the schools I’m interested in. Today we’ll brave the rain and finish the rest of the work.
Although we’ve been busy with other things, in the process we still got to walk around Manhattan’s avenues, see the Marathon runners in Central Park, and the flags fluttering at the UN, and go to Williamsburg where walking along one street you move back through time, from the hip artsy neighborhood to the orthodox Jewish community. We sat in Washington square park where a hard core band played and little girls in pink coats happily jumped around. There’s so much to feel and see and do and everywhere it is just bursting with life.
I think I could get used to this.
Intro Start Spreading the News...Reluctant Dragon is off to New York. As of this weekend, and for the next two weeks or so, under this heading, you will be able to read all about Ivan’s and my experiences from the big city.
The title is, if I do say so myself, cleverly coined from our surname initials.
This visit is mostly tourism, but also some sort of fact finding mission for great plans that lie in the future – getting the feel of the place and finishing up some business which could eventually take this blog over the Atlantic for a much longer time.
Wish us luck and stay tuned.
I feel uncontrollably attracted to this rocky terrain. Maybe it’s an ancestral connection, but I really think there is nothing like the nature in Montenegro. The mountains are mighty and unbelievably beautiful.
For reasons beyond my control, my vacation lasted longer than planned (not that I’m complaining) so on Thursday morning we left Boka Kotorska. Once again we chose a less conventional route and started to ascend up the winding road leading to the cloud covered mountain tops. We passed this same road at dusk on our way to the sea, but now in daylight it’s even more impressive. The air was fresh from the rain which fell during the night.
Instead of turning west into Bosnia, we headed east to Niksic. The plan was to go through Zabljak and the world heritage Durmitor national park. Curiously, in all these years it is another place that I’ve never visited. And soon I realized how much I’ve missed.
Just before Niksic we passed wonderful lakes with lots of tiny islands. The city itself, as most cities in inland Montenegro is ugly and, to me at least, looks unlivable. But the nature is unreal, and the closer we got to Zabljak, the more my jaw dropped at the Windows desktop theme surroundings
The open spaces, the mountains and the huge sky reminded me of Brokeback Mountain. My suggestion to listen to the soundtrack was dismissed, unfortunately.
We had a picnic on the shore of the Black Lake. You have to pay to enter the national park. I’m not really sure if that is common practice, but it’s absolutely worth it.
The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. We passed the border into Serbia without even being looked at. We struggled our way through intensive construction work on Zlatibor and soon got into traffic jams stretching to Belgrade. 
I’ve had a wonderful vacation and I feel energized and relaxed. Let’s see how long it lasts.
The quest for the perfect beach continued yesterday. We decided to go to a place called Perazica Do where my sister and I went a couple of times when we were kids. I remember the cute houses nestled at the bottom of a steep cliff , and a pebbled beach with turquoise water. I also remember a luxury hotel carved into the cliff on one end of the beach, its terraces and swimming pools. I’ve heard in the meantime that the hotel had closed and fell into disrepair, but we did not expect to find what we found. The hotel has been demolished as if a huge bite has been taken from the mountain. A crane towered above ghostly concrete remains and bulldozers were plowing what was once the hotel beach with its pools. The whole place was transformed into a huge construction site and debris and sand have covered the beach and muddied the water. Disappointed, we left. We’ll be back when the new hotel is built.
But, we were left with a dilemma - how to spend a pleasant day at the beach on the Budva Riviera the most crowded part of the coast? If you want peace, look for luxury. We thought of checking out the beach at Sveti Stefan but the 10 Euro price tag just for the parking was a bit too much. So we headed on to Milocer, where parking is only three Euros, but the beautiful Queen’s beach with its former royal residence is closed for the public so that the president can take a swim.
It was already noon, very hot and the traffic was terrible. Skipping Becici with its new fancy hotels on a very unappealing beach and Budva, we moved on determined not to compromise and to find just the righ balance of tourism and wilderness. Therefore one by one the ant colonies of Jaz, Trsteno and Ploce were eliminated. Even at the risk of being boiled alive, the five of us in a small car decided to take the back roads over the hills in the blistering sun and go to Bigovo. On the way the only life we saw were snakes and some sheep under an olive tree.
But it was worth it. Bigovo is a fishing village in a small bay, far from any important naval or terrestrial routes. It isn’t much to look at, but it is pleasant and laid back. Outside the village there is a nice beach. The water is very clean and there is a lot of fish and shells something I haven’t seen in Boka in many years. In fact on the town pier we find dried remains of some quite scary sea creatures. I hope the water is not that clean. 
Although Montenegro is now independent, the visit to Ulcinj was the only time that I ever felt as if I were in a different country. I’ve spend every summer of every year of my life in Montenegro, but this was my first trip to the south end of the coast.
The stretch from Ulcinj to the confluence of the Bojana River and the Albanian border is an enormous beautiful sandy beach, which for most of its 15 or so kilometers is divided into lots where different owners have created almost identical forests of umbrellas surrounding beach bars and crisscrossed by wooden walkways to keep people safe from the burning sand. The beaches have names like Copacabana or Malibu and outside on giant parking lots are seas of cars with mostly Kosovan plates (I didn’t immediately get what KS means so I was surprised by the number of tourists from Kazachstan)
After some wandering and instructions from a friendly guard of the nudist colony we managed to find a “wild” piece of beach near the confluence of the river which is home to the occasional bather, kite surfers and a shabby bar with a Brazilian flag. I’m used to the typical Montenegrin stony beaches but I did enjoy walking in the sand and there is nothing more comfortable for lying all day in the sun. The sea is shallow for more than you can walk without getting bored and a bit murky from the sand lifted by huge waves. We spend a lovely lazy day, and I’ll definitely come again.
As the sun started to set we went into town. The old town in Ulcinj sits on cliff above the sea, but is nowhere near as impressive as Budva or Kotor. I expected hammams and mosques. It is well kept and clean but there is no impressive architecture. It also seems a bit deserted.
Downhill, however, on the promenade by the sea everything is teaming with life. You can barely walk through the crowded streets. It is noisy, sweaty and smells of all sorts of food.
As I’m a huge fan we get some dönner kebabs with the help of an interpreter. Unfortunately it’s not nearly as tasty as in Germany.
Everything is familiar, but somehow strange, more oriental. Everyone speaks a different language, people even look different. Whole families, all generations from grand parents to crying babies, out on their evening walk, snake tamers, naked children lying on the sidewalk, begging. Incredibly loud Albanian music blasts from terraces of clubs. Crowds wait outside - apparently some huge Albanian star has a concert. Funnily enough, most young man look as if they just came out of a Turkish gay club, in garish, supposedly trendy outfits. The only uniting factor of all nationalities in former Yugoslavia seems to be Ceca who found her place even hear, “thundering” away from a café. Another thing that surprised me was the number of internet cafés. Elsewhere on the cost they are small and few, but here there are so many with hundreds of computers, and they are all full.
Ulcinj was really a unique experience, a different setting, naturally and culturally. I’m really glad we made the trip.
One of the interesting phenomena which have come to light with Montenegro’s independence is the real estate boom. In old Kotor town agencies have sprung up catering to pockets of all depths, preferably very deep. All along the coast demand exceeds the offer. Everything goes from fully furbished villas to empty shells of long-deserted stone houses engulfed by roots of fig trees. Similar to Croatia from a couple of years ago, foreigners with some cash to spare buy, invest, sell. First came the Russians, now it’s the English. Hollywood seems to be interested as well. Friends tell me Michael Douglass and Katherine Zeta Jones were looking at a house in Perast the other day. Houses change hands and their prices go up and up. I guess now is the time to invest before the realtors move along into Albania. Hear the coast is amazing there. There’s already talk of the next big thing.
View from Perast. Skolje Islands: St. George and Lady of the Reef
The Montenegrin coast, once isolated, was a peaceful haven where connoisseurs and us „locals“ could easily find a secluded place to enjoy the sea and the sun far from tourism, beach bars, rentable umbrellas and screaming children. But it seams more and more people are enjoying this type of refuge, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a piece of rock and water for yourself. Too often I find cars parked along the winding road through the bay at my favorite „secret” spots, where hidden tracks lead through the shrubs to immaculate beaches which I always thought were mine alone.
The car imposes itself as a necessary instrument in going further off the beaten track. A boat, naturally, is another good solution. 
We decided to spend a day at Miriste a small cove at the very entrance to Boka Kotorska looking beyond the fortresses that guard the bay onto the open sea. The road by land is narrow and winds through olive groves – the Mediterranean as it once was, excuse my copyright infringement. Although boats come here regularly from Herceg Novi it is not as crowded as Zanjic with its camp site, just a short walk away. It is not absolute isolation, as there is a restaurant, café, showers and all other modern facilities but the number and profile of visitors makes it very relaxing and pleasant.
The water is crystal clear and tropically blue, and the view is spectacular. Nearby on a rocky peninsula is the Arza fort, another nice place to swim and dive, where a couple of years ago after a long journey over rough roads I finally arrived only to hear Vivaldi echoing through the empty halls and find out that during the summer the fort is home to some other refuge seekers. On the far side of the bay you can see the forts in Croatia and in the middle the mighty Mamula fortress on an island with weird vegetation.
Just off Miriste beach is another small island with a monastery.
As we were a group of 10 people, we easily managed to charter a boat just for ourselves and set off to explore the Blue Cave just outside the bay. The huge sea cave is a great place to dive in the predictably very blue water. Our skipper also offered to take us to the nearby Black Cave, which I’ve never even heard of on my numerous visits to its well known cousin.
It’s absolutely fantastic! As you swim inside (the entrance is to low for boats of any kind to pass) the only light is coming from under the water so bodies of people in front of you have a fluorescent glow. Swimming further your companions start to disappear in total darkness. Through the black, holding hands, you reach the end of the cave where you can stand on rocks in the water. The water gets quite cold and you shiver looking back at the sliver of light from which you came as you listen to strange sounds of water splashing and what I imagine can only be bats in the darkness above you. Very exciting and eerie. Then you swim out into the warm Adriatic.On our way back to Miriste we stopped at Mamula, to swim and explore the wonderful fortress and its alien plant life. Stories of turning it into a casino are still there but I like it just as it is. 
Back at Miriste we spent the rest of the day playing games on the beach and after the beautiful sunset we went to Rose, a lovely fishing village nearby for a great sea food dinner. We made our way back on the winding roads listening to a Mozart cd which accidentally made its way into the car. But it sure made for a wonderful ride.
After a prolonged 20 day vacation I’m back in Belgrade, and back at work. I’ve only managed to post once from Montenegro, but that doesn’t mean I’ve been idle, just that every time I went to Kotor, the only internet café was either too crowded or didn’t have electricity, but it did have a wonderful fruit tart to help me forget why I came. I’ll organize my notes and photos today and share my adventures and impressions. Stay tuned...
Getting up at six on a Saturday is not really my idea of fun but we had to hit the road before it gets too crowded and hot. Serbia at dawn is bursting with (unused) potential. The nature is lush and beautiful.
On Zlatibor we take a break and visit Mecavnik. The village is cute although crowded and artificial. If only real people lived in villages like this one. You have to pay to get in. Not too thrilled to give money to Kusturica, but officially it’s for charity. Hope I’m not aiding and abetting war crime fugitives... 
For certain reasons we take the road less traveled and chose a route through Bosnia. It’s supposed to be fantastic, and it will be a welcome break from the usual trip via Podgorica. The roads are much worse though, we have been warned.
Munching on cookies my mother baked, we come to Visegrad. The famous bridge on the Drina still stands dominating the city and the river. It’s much more beautiful than I ever imagined it. Nature keeps getting more spectacular. Driving along the river through the Drina canyon, I simply don’t understand how come this country disintegrated so violently. How can so much aggression be stored in people who live surrounded by such fascinating beauty? Traces of the war are still visible everywhere, houses burned or scarred. People are apparently moving on. There’s regular life amid the signs of struggle. It’s strange and I feel uneasy. I hope this will work out. 
We stop at a meadow near Sutjeska and sleep a bit in a green flowery field. We are awakened by a cheerful yellow dog. Cows graze around us. The site of more battles this time from WWII the Sutjeska river provides even more breathtaking nature. The old stone monument perched on a hilltop, gray and forgotten is nevertheless powerful. Clear streams wind through a countryside reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings films.
The terrain becomes flat although we’re still high in the mountains. The surroundings look almost alien. Never been, but it reminds me of some pictures of Greenland. Bare land with shrubs for trees and a strange town of bland preassembled houses surrounding a huge power plant.
Lakes fill up the holes in this rocky terrain. Towns and villages seem lifeless and deserted.
We enter Montenegro at a remote border post. Policemen look surprised to see us/anyone, but kindly welcome us into the new state. The international road from the border looks more like a run down hiking path than a motorway. We navigate with difficulty, as the road is not wide enough for two cars to pass each other by, let alone a car and a truck (although we manage. twice), all the more difficult /scary, as on one side of the road there are sharp rocks, on the other an abyss. Fortunately there’s not much traffic. Since we left the main road in Zlatibor we only saw about a dozen cars and the two trucks (probably lost).
We pass through scary ghost towns, and further amazing backdrops, and as it starts to darken, we reach the mountain tops above Boka Kotorska. The view of the bay is spectacular, the road even more scary. We look with envy at the new modern road still under construction and begin our descent towards the sea
Arriving at our final destination, exhausted and happy to be alive, thrilled with the fantastic and horrifying journey, we pass out and sleep like babies. 
Hastily I’m constructing this post on the lap-top sitting under a lemon tree in the garden, trying to squeeze an impressive one day journey through three countries and some of the most incredible and diverse nature I’ve ever seen into a short text. Next time we’ll have to bring camping gear and take time to explore.
When I’ll be able to post is a big question. I’m not in a hurry to go into town.
As for Montenegro, it’s still the same. Nobody really talks about the referendum, but I sense my friends are divided about its outcome. I congratulate those who approve; I try to persuade others that it will be ok. I think it will be. They will be fine.
What certainly hasn’t changed is how beautiful everything is. We lie in the sun all day. The sea is refreshing, perhaps a little cold. In the evening the wind blows and it’s pleasantly cool. I can never sleep so well in Belgrade. I really needed this.
Now that twists of Balkan politics have turned me into an international real-estate owner, I’m off to my Adriatic summerhouse on holiday. It will be my first trip to Montenegro since independence.
I’m interesting in hearing what my former compatriots and continuing friends at the seaside think about the whole thing, but even more I’m interested in swimming in the warm see, sleeping, and generally lounging about, in the sun or in the shade.
I’ll spend the summer with Ivan, my sister, a number of friends, their significant others, and even some Dutch people I’ve never met, who agreed to sleep on the living room floor. Sounds like fun.
This badly needed getaway will also be a test for Reluctant Dragon. Will I be able to post and how often with very limited internet access? Will the change of scenery bring a breath of fresh air into my blog or will the see and sun make me too lazy to even consider posting let alone write anything?
Well, we’ll see. Even if I don’t write for a while, I’ll certainly be back in August.Have fun everyone and thank you for coming.
WOW! The Pet Shop Boys!!! … and the Scissor Sisters!!
The best show on Exit! Ever! Still recovering…
But let’s start at the beginning. We spend Sunday afternoon strolling around Novi Sad, which for those who don’t know, is a beautiful place, a sort of a tasty bite-size city, which you can explore, experience and enjoy in a short time. A lot has changed since my last visit, mostly new shops and cafes, but many buildings have had facelifts too. The city looks better and much more alive. Replacing the cobblestones in Dunavska Street with stone tiles is, however, a crime against humanity. 
Surprisingly for Novi Sad, I managed to eat some terrible food, a cardboard sandwich and detergent flavored ice-cream. It was hot and humid and as we sat on the grass in Dunavski park, I was feeling quite cranky and dark clouds were starting to loom. Literally. We decided to disregard the impending tropical rain storm and have a great time.
After a couple of drinks sitting on the banks of the frothy Danube, and looking at lightning tear through the gray sky above the fortress, a bit tipsy and in much better humor, we made our way across the river in the fleeting rain, past entrepreneurial people selling over-priced garbage bags as first-aid against the weather.
On a short tour of the fort, we wandered past half empty stages, as everyone was in the open-air cinema watching the world cup final. The skies had cleared as we got to the main stage, where Chicks on Speed had already started. They’re great fun, crazy, kitschy and humorous and we danced our way to the very front rows.
Then … the Pet Shop Boys - the first truly spectacular concert in the history of Exit festival - a simple modular set, which through lighting and projections changes from the lacy curtains of Suburbia to a marching ground for queer soldiers and a sky full of pink fighter planes; amazing dancers with great choreography; witty, sarcastic costumes; political references and ultimate pop music! 
Even before they got on stage we were all screaming like teenage girls on Mtv. (I must admit I feel a bit ashamed). Some songs from the new album, and a collection of hits from throughout their career, ending with collective hysteria to It’s a Sin and Go west.
My throat and neck were hurting from screaming and straining, my legs sore from jumping and dancing, but I was utterly happy.
And then, the Scissor Sister put on another amazing show, energetic and wild. The singer, a disco version of Jack from Will & Grace, has a wonderful voice and dances insanely. With the last atoms of strength we danced some more, not believing it was physically possible.
All in all, it was a wonderfully gay night, in every sense of the word. Aching and tired, but ecstatically happy, we headed to the train station, gobbled up some delicious fruit tarts on the way and fell asleep in the uncomfortable plastic seats.
Exit 2006 was a huge success. Keep up the good work, people!
P.S. Sorry for the poor quality of the photos, I have a crappy camera
We didn’t get to experience much of the festival atmosphere on the first day of Exit. Arriving to Novi Sad at 8, there was no time to lounge about, so we joined the streams of people flowing down city streets, across the bridge and onto the fortress.
Everything went like clockwork, and somewhat mechanically as we made our way past ticket control and police, got some drinks and arrived to the main stage, where the Cardigans appeared at 15 to 9, right according to schedule.
This seems to have surprised a lot of people, as it wasn’t too crowded in front of the main stage. In the past years Exit has become progressively more accurate. In the first few years, you could never tell who was playing where, and when.
The Cardigans were lovely. There was a friendly sing-along atmosphere as they played all their hits and some new songs. Some hard-core fans were there, screaming “we love you, Nina”, as she started playing her mouth-accordion. It was nice to hear Love Fool, and after some screaming and roaring, there was an encore, and they played Favorite Game, which is my personal favorite.
During the half an hour break after the concert we decided not to move, to keep our good spot close to the stage, and it was becoming increasingly crowded. Getting to the bar and back in these conditions is an impossible task, especially with a glass of beer, so pouring beer into a water bottle is a smart thing to do.
Franz Ferdinand appeared with a bang, and from the first moment the crowd went wild. For me, at first, it didn’t feel too right, the music was great, but the vocals were a bit weak, and there was a lot of pushing and shoving as drunken kids started to throw themselves around.
But very soon it got much better. You could feel the positive energy (and the heat) rising from the people, and on stage FF gave it their best, so we jumped and screamed without stopping. With every song a hit and an ecstatic crowd, some obligatory phrases in Serbian, a historic act of reconciliation with dedicating a song to Gavrilo Princip, and some frantic drumming in the end, the concert was a huge success. The spectacular fireworks that followed seemed very much in place.
Having learned nothing from previous years, at 1, I insisted that we head to the train station immediately, as I hoped there would be a way of getting back to Belgrade before morning. Off course we ended up sleeping on a bench waiting for the first train at 3 am. Serbian railways leave much to be desired, but arriving to the unfinished but already decrepit future Belgrade Central station, I was just too happy to be home.
Today I hope to get to Novi Sad and Exit a bit earlier. I don’t think the experience is complete without walking through town, or having lunch on the grass in Dunavski park. I want to check out the other stages as well. At least, now we know the train schedule, there is no need to rush. I’m sorry I missed Morrissey on Friday, but I’m sure tonight will be wonderful too.
I’m heading to Novi Sad today for the first day of Exit. I’ll also be back there for the closing night of the festival. Tonight I’ll be listening to the Cardigans and screaming to Franz Ferdinand! I have a feeling this time a Franz Ferdinand will fare better among the Serbs than his predecessor. On Sunday, I expect a pop extravaganza with the Chicks on Speed, Scissor Sister and the Pet Shop Boys.
Stay tuned for reports and photos…
Exeunt.
