Beautiful Beograd!

Zdravo [Hello]!

I have made it to Beograd [Belgrade], Serbia - and it is wonderful to be here! I was even able to see some sites in London (unexpectedly) on the way, including: Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and the surrounding area and sites...and learned pretty quickly the ins and outs of London's Underground (Tube)!

I arrived to Beograd on Friday afternoon and was picked up by Zdravko, from the organization I am interning with. We had some lunch, then he dropped me at Ivana's apartment. Because Ivana was at a conference all weekend, she arranged to have me meet with four Psychology students from the University of Belgrade.

As soon as I got to the apartment I called Nevena...she picked me up about an hour later and we took the bus to the city center (it takes about half an hour from Ivana's apartment, which is in Novi Beograd). We walked to Kalemegdan - the old 'fortress' for lack of a better term...a very beautiful area of the city which overlooks the meeting of the Sava and Danube Rivers, with many beautiful old trees and old walls. There are tennis courts and basketball courts below, and there was an outdoor photo exhibition in one area with some fantastic photographs enlarged to probably 4 X 5 foot sheets, with descriptions in Serbian, French, and English. We sat and had coffee overlooking the Sava River until Dusk, then headed to the city center to meet some of her friends.

The city center of Beograd at night is truly a sight to see. It is full of people and vibrant life. We walked through the streets and met up with her friends. They were students in the School of Art in Beograd, so we talked a lot about art and different techniques they use. Then Nevena took me to meet Danka, and left me with her. Danka was excited to take me to the opening night (for the summer) of an outdoor Indie Music Club which is located on the edge of Kalemegdan, overlooking the rivers. We went to a delicious pastry shop around the corner of "The Horse" - a square where everyone meets at night. Her friends, one of whom is Sofija (an English Literature student), I really hit it off with. The Indie Club was truly a blast...I enjoyed the music tremendously; and, I must note, most of the lyrics were in English. It was great being outside, and talking with various students about life in Serbia and the U.S., comparing the educational system, styles of music we liked, et cetera. It was so pleasant listening to the music and watching the people and the lights reflecting on the water. Believe it or not I actually stayed there till probably around 3:30AM (and did not drink a drop). Then a student walked me to get a cab. I got back to the apartment as the sky was getting light, and crashed until a little after noon on Saturday.

On Saturday I went to Ada Ciganlija, a resevoir created from the river Sava, with Mina. Ada is a great place, with pebble/rock beach-front all around the resevoir/lake. On part of the beach front there are little restaurants and cafe's, and at the far end of the resevoir there are skiiers (we didn't make it that far). We found a spot on the beach, swam for a bit, then just layed out and talked. It was much needed relaxation and I really enjoyed her company. We discussed psychology, life, the war, et cetera...

Later that evening I met up again with Nevena, at the city center, and walked to a little jazz club. On the way we walked through the 'Bohemian' section of Beograd, with the cobblestone walking streets, cafe's with outdoor seating, each with a unique style...it was truly enchanting. Once we reached the jazz club, we sat outside in the courtyard, listened to the music (again, English lyrics) and talked. We discussed Freud and Jung, and various branches of psychology. It was so pleasant I did not want to leave. This night I truly fell in-love with Beograd.

On Sunday Mirija picked me up and we went to a different part of the city center and met some of her friends. That night we went to the Republic Square to see the three Serbian tennis players who were at the play-offs in the French Open recently (Ana Ivanovic, Novak Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic). The square was full of people, with loud music playing, of various Serbian varieties and times...people of all ages cheering for the players. Very fun and interesting, and I had a mixed feeling of pride for the Serbs mixed with a twinge of sadness that is hard to put words to...a type of sadness that comes when joy has been a long-time coming and there has been a lot of past heart-ache in the coming of it.

Well, I am starting at my organization today, and have spent my first few hours there writing this...I should get to meeting people (now that more are arriving)!

Dovidjenja.