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By Leo in travel —

Belgrade

As we went to Serbia, the cold image of the city I had in my mind clashed with the reality.

First of all it’s really warm those days in February. Can be +15C with the sun. I used to sit on the grass in the Kalemegdan park being barefoot and enjoying the sun. A girl playing guitar and singing Serbian song. Another girl dancing in the spirit of a ballet. Lots of people chilling. Great view of the city. Felt like a paradise after cold days in Macedonia.

We were walking by the Knez Mihailova street in the center and enjoying its vibrance. Interesting and different people. Art decorated cafes. Architecture doesn’t ever make you bored with details. As walls are changing by all kinds of shapes. Graffities are switching to artworks behind the glass, book shops, unusual clothes. So do tiles under your feet, as you go around lanterns and sneak into smaller passages. Street musicians playing their guitars, violins and flutes. No wonder there are lots of people walking by. Sitting inside and outside cafes. I don’t know what exactly, but it just feels interesting and lively.

The hostel that we checked in called Balkan Soul. We met some of the most interesting people here. It is located in the center of the city, on one of those small streets with the road made out of huge stones. Just in front of the old library, which once contained lots of Serbian heritage, but was destroyed in war times. Now you can see only pieces of walls left. It is surrounded by the fence, like a monument. There are all kinds of pictures hanging on the fence, telling the story of the place. Old photos and paintings, before and after the war.

The next day we’ve visited this crazy cafe on the outskirts of the city. Full of artistic objects built from all kinds of things. Like a lamp with the grater instead of a plafond, a shiny magician costume on the wall, old piano and sconces. Crazy metal sculptures inside and outside. It looked like a small world passionately woven by the owner of the place. Who was also serving guys at the bar. Some rooms were still in process. It felt like a lively art project, instead of a commercial coffee shop. Pretty cozy and functioning. I don’t remember where it was. We were going from the center by bus 16, and 35 was an option. Somewhere along this route. The girl who showed the place said that they use to make a metal sculptures festival there in summer. So we found a few meter scale planes and boats, cars and human like figures built from metallic objects and materials.

I walked to this center that makes free vaccines for foreigners, and I made the 1st ever dose. But then I realised that this is a never ending story, so I’ll have to do those vaccines over and over again. 2 doses, then 3, boosters and so on. So I think it’s actually easier to get sick once in a while. I think I even was in Macedonia. Cause I lost smell for a few days. Too bad I have not tracked it in the hospital. Now I would not worry about papers for a good half of a year. I thought, omg, if they spot this virus in me, then they would not let me go, put to quarantine blabla. But it is a fear. In fact if they would track what they want so much, I would possibly be out of this business for a while. It depends on how they handle “patients”. Whether they ask lots of money for hospitalization and tests, or just let you sit at home and perform tests for free. The worst part was a crazy pain in the throat which lasted for a couple of days. Otherwise I’m up to getting sick naturally and having a natural immunity once in a while, instead of running around with papers and money. In Serbia it’s free. But I’m here for a limited time, so it’s a temporary solution. I think the human gets sick when it’s necessary and gets the experience out of it. If I die then my life is complete. There is nothing to be sad about. This is not an advice for anybody. Just my personal opinion. Different people have different experiences with the illness.

Also found a really nice photo processing studio called BG Elite Photo. They have an equipment, that understands half-frame films. It was hard to find for me, even in Moscow. And here I was lucky enough to just ask a guy, and he told that everything is fine. Just tell the resolution you want. So I gave him a couple of well-worn films, I used to carry for a long time. And the next day those pictures were ready.

I guess the city has lots of alternatively minded and artistic people. Walking streets you can notice all kind of appearances. As I read in some booklet in the hostel: “The secret in its charm is acceptance of various, sometimes opposing ideas and world views…”

As we went to Serbia, the cold image of the city I had in my mind clashed with the reality.

First of all it’s really warm those days in February. Can be +15C with the sun. I used to sit on the grass in the Kalemegdan park being barefoot and enjoying the sun. A girl playing guitar and singing Serbian song. Another girl dancing in the spirit of a ballet. Lots of people chilling. Great view of the city. Felt like a paradise after cold days in Macedonia.

We were walking by the Knez Mihailova street in the center and enjoying its vibrance. Interesting and different people. Art decorated cafes. Architecture doesn’t ever make you bored with details. As walls are changing by all kinds of shapes. Graffities are switching to artworks behind the glass, book shops, unusual clothes. So do tiles under your feet, as you go around lanterns and sneak into smaller passages. Street musicians playing their guitars, violins and flutes. No wonder there are lots of people walking by. Sitting inside and outside cafes. I don’t know what exactly, but it just feels interesting and lively.

The hostel that we checked in called Balkan Soul. We met some of the most interesting people here. It is located in the center of the city, on one of those small streets with the road made out of huge stones. Just in front of the old library, which once contained lots of Serbian heritage, but was destroyed in war times. Now you can see only pieces of walls left. It is surrounded by the fence, like a monument. There are all kinds of pictures hanging on the fence, telling the story of the place. Old photos and paintings, before and after the war.

The next day we’ve visited this crazy cafe on the outskirts of the city. Full of artistic objects built from all kinds of things. Like a lamp with the grater instead of a plafond, a shiny magician costume on the wall, old piano and sconces. Crazy metal sculptures inside and outside. It looked like a small world passionately woven by the owner of the place. Who was also serving guys at the bar. Some rooms were still in process. It felt like a lively art project, instead of a commercial coffee shop. Pretty cozy and functioning. I don’t remember where it was. We were going from the center by bus 16, and 35 was an option. Somewhere along this route. The girl who showed the place said that they use to make a metal sculptures festival there in summer. So we found a few meter scale planes and boats, cars and human like figures built from metallic objects and materials.

I walked to this center that makes free vaccines for foreigners, and I made the 1st ever dose. But then I realised that this is a never ending story, so I’ll have to do those vaccines over and over again. 2 doses, then 3, boosters and so on. So I think it’s actually easier to get sick once in a while. I think I even was in Macedonia. Cause I lost smell for a few days. Too bad I have not tracked it in the hospital. Now I would not worry about papers for a good half of a year. I thought, omg, if they spot this virus in me, then they would not let me go, put to quarantine blabla. But it is a fear. In fact if they would track what they want so much, I would possibly be out of this business for a while. It depends on how they handle “patients”. Whether they ask lots of money for hospitalization and tests, or just let you sit at home and perform tests for free. The worst part was a crazy pain in the throat which lasted for a couple of days. Otherwise I’m up to getting sick naturally and having a natural immunity once in a while, instead of running around with papers and money. In Serbia it’s free. But I’m here for a limited time, so it’s a temporary solution. I think the human gets sick when it’s necessary and gets the experience out of it. If I die then my life is complete. There is nothing to be sad about. This is not an advice for anybody. Just my personal opinion. Different people have different experiences with the illness.

Also found a really nice photo processing studio called BG Elite Photo. They have an equipment, that understands half-frame films. It was hard to find for me, even in Moscow. And here I was lucky enough to just ask a guy, and he told that everything is fine. Just tell the resolution you want. So I gave him a couple of well-worn films, I used to carry for a long time. And the next day those pictures were ready.

I guess the city has lots of alternatively minded and artistic people. Walking streets you can notice all kind of appearances. As I read in some booklet in the hostel: “The secret in its charm is acceptance of various, sometimes opposing ideas and world views…”