Good morning from Belgrade! It's 10:00am on a Friday and I'm chowing down on some Burek Sa Meso for breakfast. It's a Serbian speciality - basically meat wrapped in phyllo dough, like a spanakopita but without the spinach. These past couple days have been all about exploring my surroundings and getting my bearings in this new town. Belgrade is an interesting city. It's old, like most European cities, so a lot of it has that charm of history especially in the Old Town, which is where I live. But the push for modernity can be seen all
over. Towering skyscrapers neighbor to their right ornate architecture and to their left boxy apartments leftover from the communist era, digital billboards hang over pay-phones from the 60s, churches built centuries ago are being entered by patrons wearing Addidas and Jordans. My impression of Belgrade is that it's trying to catch up to the other capitals of the world; it wants to be a center of commerce and culture. But Serbs deeply value tradition and history, which can at times be at odds with their desire for progress. It's a great clashing of old and new, the east and the west. It's almost like Belgrade hasn't yet decided what it wants to be, so for now it's trying a little bit of everything. Something that a 23 year old can relate to.
Tuesday I had to go to the police station to declare that I am here in Belgrade and receive my "white card". It's their form of ID for foreigners, and I have to keep it on me at all times. The station was like something out of an old 70s police show though, one small, concrete room with three officers at the same desk. The air is thick with the scent of cigarette smoke and the officers' lunch and a sitcom plays on the tv in the background. They barely glanced at the visa in my passport as they issued me my ID.
I was able to meet up with my cousin Srdan (ok technically he's my dad's cousin) and his wife Jelena and their son Balsa. It was so so so good to see them. They have been so helpful in getting me set up with a local phone and teaching me about the lay of the land here. Having family here has really helped curb the feeling of homesickness and being overwhelmed too. Jelena and I are even going to start going to yoga classes on Tuesday and Thursdays which I am very excited about!
Exploring around my apartment has consumed most of my time lately (along with trying to fight jet lag). I'm within a ten minute walking distance to both Skadarlija and Knez Mihailova. Skadarlija is a pedestrian, cobblestoned street in the old town that hasn't really changed much since the 1800s. It's lined with restaurants that serve traditional Serbian food and at nights live music can be heard playing the old folk songs. It's a bit of a tourist trap, but I
rather like walking down Skadarlija as it feels like I've stepped into another century. Knez Mihailova, on the other hand, is the modern shopping district of the Old Town. It's also a pedestrian street with an H&M on one end and a Starbucks on the other.
The grocery stores have also been fun to explore. As I am car-less it is helpful that on every street there are tiny marts that have some basic essentials, so I don't have to carry laundry detergent and milk very far back to my apartment. However I did walk further (maybe 15 minutes?) to the two large grocery stores to stock up on supplies. "Idea" and "Idea London" are two grocery stores right next to each other that can be compared to a Safeway, with butchers, fresh produce, and other regular items. "Idea London" however, is London themed. And I haven't seen much of a difference in products between the two stores, but the ambiance in "Idea London" is rather fun. Still though, it is taking me multiple trips to stock up my kitchen, as I only have one tote bag.
I found a coffee shop that not only serves coffee to-go, but also has pumpkin lattes. Needless to say I've been there three times already. It's right next to where I purchased my bus pass and about a block or two away from the Idea markets. It's fun to see Fall creeping in, leaves turning colors and all that. And my California soul was unfamiliar with the concept that when it starts raining, people just keep going about their business as usual. Luckily I had a good rain jacket to keep my warm and dry (shout-out to cousins Ian and Julia for all their advice on rain jackets!).
And lastly I've been decorating my apartment with string lights, photos of friends and family, and new pillow cases/sheets/blankets! It's really all coming together and starting to feel like my place, and not just some Airbnb that I'm in.
My last task for today is to ride the bus to my school and back, as classes start on Monday at 10:00am and I don't want to get lost on my first day.