In Belgrade but Without Regular Internet Access

Just a quick update… I have been back in Belgrade for almost a week now, but I have been staying at a hotel with no internet access. Therefore, no new posts are going up. On the up side, I am alive and well, still experiencing and seeing lots of new and interesting things. My apologies to everyone who has e-mailed me in the last week and have yet to receive a response. I will soon be back on the ball. Best wishes from Serbia!

Day 13: Novi Beograd, Sajmište

Even on days I intend to relax, I end up being quite busy here in Serbia. Today was no exception. I’ll begin with Saturday evening.

My original plan was to cruise the local pubs. Instead, it was pouring rain, and I stayed in. I took the opportunity to follow up on a “homework assignment” given to me by my friends from Glas yuga in Kosovo: to watch a film by Emir Kusturica. While relatively unknown in the United States, Kusturica is one of the most recognized directors of the late twentieth centuries having received numerous awards from European film festivals at Cannes, Berlin, and Venice among others. The film I saw was called Black Cat, White Cat, a quirky love story set in the midst of the Roma community in the Balkans.  Without getting into detail, it was one of the best movies I have ever seen. Check it out, seriously.

Day 12: Shabbat in Belgrade

Today was a pleasant and mostly low key day; a nice break from a busy week. Yesterday evening I went to the synagogue for Shabbat evening services. My second week at the Belgrade shul, and I am already starting to feel like a part of the community. With another three weeks to go here, I hope to be a regular.

There I also met the Israeli national college basketball team, in town for Universiade 2009 here in Belgrade. At 6′4″, I am rarely in a crowd where I feel short, but surrounded by guys, some towering around 7′, I felt like a midget. After davening, I joined the team at a bar Chabad of Belgrade had rented out for dinner. Just about everyone was speaking exclusively in Hebrew. While I certainly could not follow all of the speeches (Israelis love to talk), I was thrilled to get the gist of just about everything.

Day 11: Belgrade, Education Museum & American Corner

As is often the case on this trip, I expected a very slow day and instead got quite a lot done. Although getting a bit of a late start, I accompanied Rabbi Asiel to breakfast at the Belgrade Synagogue’s kosher kitchen. They make a very tasty and large meal for only 400 dinar… that’s only about 6 USD.

From the shul, I packed up my things and made my way across town back to Manga hostel. On my way, I passed by the National Assembly where national police instructed me I would have to cross the street. The President of Greece was in town for the day, and security was about as high as it ever seems to get here.  They honored the president by hanging a large Greek flag from one of the flagpoles outside the capital building instead of the regular Serbian flag; a nice gesture.

Day 10: Wandering Belgrade

Without any specific objectives and being a bit burned out from work after my time in Kosovo, I decided today was a day to take a break. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I started the day visiting the Jewish Historical Museum and then made my way to a nearby coffee shop with internet access. As usual in Belgrade, this not only allowed me time to get caught up on work, but it also gave me a chance to meet the very friendly and welcoming people working there.

Days 9 and 10: Priština, Gracanica, and back to Belgrade

Much to my surprise, today turned out to be another interesting day. Instead of heading directly back to Belgrade, I had a very interesting opportunity to accompany a few of the journalists from Glas juga to Pristina and Gracanica. They were covering a story about the return of Serb police officers to work in southern Kosovo.

Recall from my earlier posts that prior to Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence last year, the Kosovo Police were under international command (UNMIK I believe) and was a mixed force of both Serbs and Albanians. Following the declaration, Serb officers in the north were allowed to remain under the auspices of EULEX, but those in south had to choose between answering to Pristina or walking off the job. Most took the latter option.

Day 8: Priština

Yesterday I spent most of the day sitting at the internet terminal at KIM in Čaglavica catching up on e-mail and updating and finishing posts from previous days on my laptop. In many ways this was a welcome break from the last few days that have been so productive but so completely full. Once the late afternoon rolled around, however, it was time to visit Priština.

One of the staff that I had met previously but with whom I had not yet traveled took me to see Kosovo’s capitol. Although he has lived all of his life in Kosovo Polje, many of his relatives lived in the city in better days. Like most of the Serbs of Kosovo, he has a surprisingly cheerful disposition despite all he has gone through. Even when he was showing me his relatives’ old apartment buildings and businesses, he did not convey even the slightest sense of resentment.

Day 7: Dečani Monastery

Yesterday was another long but incredibly productive day. From Caglavica, we drove southwest to Decani Monastery. This is another one of the most significant sites for Serbian Orthodoxy and one of the four listed on UNESCO’s significant cultural sites register in Kosovo (the other three being Gracanica, the Patriarchate of Pec, and the Ljeviska monastery in Prizen. It is also certainly the most stunning and emotionally moving landmark I have visited thus far.

Today to Decani Monastery

I’m happy to have a few minutes back in KIM studios this morning for a quick update.

Today we’ll be traveling to Decani Monastery in western Kosovo. This is one of the most isolated Serbian enclaves in Kosovo but the Orthodox Church maintains a very active presence here. We’ll meet the bishop there and I’ll have a chance to chat with him and the other monks while my friends from Serbian Letter get interviews and footage for their documentary.

I have decided to back-post my older entries for date accuracy… This is easier than going back to update all of my “today”, “yesterday”, and “tomorrow” references for accuracy. Once they go up, they’ll be in the proper dates so you’ll have to go before (or after) this post to read them. Still no access to wifi so it will take a few more days.

If any of you caught last evening’s broadcast on Serbian Television Fox or Television Pink, yours truly was included in the segment on Vidov Dan and the ceremony at Gazimestan. I’ll see if I can find it anywhere posted online to share here. Because I am in EULEX/KFOR/Pristina administered Kosovo, my cell phone service does not work for outgoing calls… I am on a Serbian network. But I believe that I can still receive them.

Now I am off for another very very full day. Best wishes to all.

Serbian phrase of the day: Dobre utra = good morning

Day 6: Caglavica, Gracanica, Gazimestan (Kosovo Polje)

Today was Vidov Dan, St. Vitus Day, one of the most important days on the Serbian Orthodox calendar because of its coincidence with the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. It was also on Vidov Dan in 1914 when a Bosnian Serb dissident assassinated Austrian Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo setting off the first World War. And it was on Vidov Dan in 1989 that Slobodan Milosevic gave his famous speech at Gazimestan about Kosovo that propelled him to power over Yugoslavia. Finally, it was Vidov Dan in 2001 when later assassinated Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Zinzic sent Milosevic to the Hague. Needless to say, this is a potent day in Serbian history and I am incredibly lucky to be here for it.