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Karafindl: The Nutshell Times Good Kafana Guide
Given that the culinary scene in Serbia not only expanded, but changed sufficiently to attract the interest of Michelin guides, a few friends and I lamented the receding prominence of good Serbian kafanas on the culinary landscape. Yes, this is probably overly nostalgic and curmudgeonly, however once one hits a certain age, has had the chance to taste enough varied dishes and has been overcharged … Continue reading Karafindl: The Nutshell Times Good Kafana Guide
Pedo-Satanist elites and all that: How to make it as an Eastern European creative?
It rarely happens that I am transfixed by art, however almost two decades ago, I could not stop staring at very haunting painting of Santa Clause on a morgue table, and portraits of children, blankly looking at me while sitting uncomfortably, scantily clad, in a slaughterhouse-like setting. I was in one of the public art galleries in Central Belgrade, which, as galleries around the world … Continue reading Pedo-Satanist elites and all that: How to make it as an Eastern European creative?
Best autumn/winter hikes from Belgrade
While Belgrade is very cosy in Autumn and Winter (and can actually have amazing weather), the crowds and pollution can be a tad overwhelming, and make you wish to leave at least for a day. Below are a few suggestions for day-escapes if you enjoy hiking in the autumn and winter. In addition to these, do check out my older article on best day trips … Continue reading Best autumn/winter hikes from Belgrade
Lost Belgrade: Structures that should RETVRN to Belgrade’s street
Serbia’s and Yugoslavia’s embrace of modernist architecture after WWII has been so thorough that any thought of reviving architectural styles before 1920s is seen as automatically kitschy and a no-no amongst our architects. While some structures were restored (the building housing the National museum, Central Belgrade palace complex) after extensive aerial bombings during WWII many were replaced with new modernist buildings, but there was also … Continue reading Lost Belgrade: Structures that should RETVRN to Belgrade’s street
Non-Western Balkans: an identity struggle
Some time ago, overcome by a listicle-making urge, I considered putting together a playlist of highly orientalist Yugoslav songs with entries such as Bebi Dol’s Mustafa and Brekvica’s “Loša”. While trawling though YouTube I realised the absurdity at the heart of the endeavour: much of our pop music is “oriental” in the sense that it was influenced by Turkish (or wider Silk road) rhythms and … Continue reading Non-Western Balkans: an identity struggle
Forn addiction: why we need more master bakers
Waking around Palma in early morning, I was surprised by the large number of bakeries or “forns”, around town. Unusually pretty and ornate, dotted around the town’s winding alleys, they are almost the only sign of life for early birds like me. Walking between them and getting various ensaïmadas, I was thinking how amazing local bakeries are, especially in these carb-phobic and food chain-obsessed times. … Continue reading Forn addiction: why we need more master bakers
Vanishing Majik of turn-of-millennium Belgrade hotspots
There is no better sign of (approaching) middle age than reminiscing about the restaurants, bars and clubs which are no longer around, but which left a mark on one’s memories, taste and, in many ways, life. My path towards becoming a kafana connoisseur started in Vidin kapija, across the road from my primary school. I was taken there in 1996 by my mom and grandma … Continue reading Vanishing Majik of turn-of-millennium Belgrade hotspots
Tragedija ličnog u totalnom sistemu
Najgadnija pojava u medijima, odnosno širem propagandnom kompleksu, koji sve više uključuje i akademske institucije ali i „civile“ po društvenim medijima, je sada normalizovana praksa uklapanja izolovanih, ali duboko tragičnih i strašnih slučajeva u modle koje pogoduju interesima koje služe. Kada god se desi neka tragedija, poput masakra na Cetinju ili davljenja Matrija Periša, često imamo samo par sati da je iskusimo kao manifestaciju okrutne … Continue reading Tragedija ličnog u totalnom sistemu
Hidden Belgrade (67): Swimming palaces of Belgrade
Maybe it is the shimmer of the water, maybe it is the people around them, or perhaps it is chlorine or sunstroke, but swimming pools, and especially public pools, have a magical, surreal touch to them. It is no wonder they inspired a lot of great art from Hockney’s Bigger splash, to Cheever’s excellent (yet dark) tale of a man who decided to swim his … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (67): Swimming palaces of Belgrade
Beyond ajvar, burek and ćevapi: building your kafana cred with must-try offal and regional dishes
While Serbia and the Balkans come nowhere near Italy in purism about food and food related customs (aka culinary fascism), there are certain things that are not done, and certain other signs that signal to you that you are in the presence of a true gastronomic veteran. For example, one of the main tells that you are a non-local in Serbia is ordering ajvar in … Continue reading Beyond ajvar, burek and ćevapi: building your kafana cred with must-try offal and regional dishes
Terra, Kikinda: How a local artist used home turf to create a world’s best terracotta art collection
As a twenty-something third year student at Belgrade’s art Academy in 1960s, Slobodan Kojić dreamt big. A Kikinda native, he envisaged creating an art colony which would make use of his native city’s clay pits – which powered the city’s brick and roof tile industry – so artists could create majestic, grandiose works of terracotta. The use or clay in the arts in what is … Continue reading Terra, Kikinda: How a local artist used home turf to create a world’s best terracotta art collection
Montenegrin roadtrip: Tito’s villas, best lamb roasts in Grahovo, castles and monasteries
Even with the current petrol prices, the best way to enjoy Monetnegro is by car. There is stunning scenery almost literally wherever you look, you can see many unexplored places, you don’t have to rely on public transport (although scenic rail is still notoriously unreliable) and/or get stuck in the usual tourist haunts all of which, after a few days, become a bit stale. Furthermore, … Continue reading Montenegrin roadtrip: Tito’s villas, best lamb roasts in Grahovo, castles and monasteries
Путовање до базена: Правда за круг Двојке
Јутрос сам одлучио да се мало охладим и запалим на 25. мај, како бих се охладио од спарине које се спсустила. Како сам успео да промашим фамозну Двојку и 79ку, кренуо сам пешке из лиминалног дела Старог града у коме обитавам и у коме сам обитавао, стицајем околности, од детињства, са ”Старе Палиуле”, ”Копитареве градине”, ”испод Скупштине”, ”око Палмотићеве” (без медицинских импликација) – све у … Continue reading Путовање до базена: Правда за круг Двојке
The Consolation of Hypertrophy: Samuel Fussell’s “Muscle: Confessions of the unlikely bodybuilder” by Samuel Wilson Fussell
Reading Camille Paglia’s essays in “Sex, Art and American Culture”, I came across a book that very much appealed to me, especially given that I only became passionate about going to the gym on the cusp of my 30s. She gave it the highest praise, in her own characteristic way: “Muscle, sympathetically read as an archetypal hero saga of embattled masculinity, exposes the parochialism, preachiness, … Continue reading The Consolation of Hypertrophy: Samuel Fussell’s “Muscle: Confessions of the unlikely bodybuilder” by Samuel Wilson Fussell
Beyond splavs and Ada: how to spend your Belgrade summer
After two lousy years of the pandemic, now there is a potential world war threatening to sour our „špricers“. However if the years of turbulence taught us anything, it is that it is important to make the most out of a lousy situation, something that Belgrade always excelled at. While most of the guides will send you to swim in Ada, eat in Skadarlija or … Continue reading Beyond splavs and Ada: how to spend your Belgrade summer
Hope and Despair in Valencia
Walking through the brash and brilliant City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, the flashiest in Calatrava’s global herd of white elephants, I could not but feel giddy with its ambition. The June sun, reflected on the ceramic coating of its improbably shaped buildings dispelled all the doom and gloom of 2022 Europe, and brought me back to the late 90s when I religiously watched … Continue reading Hope and Despair in Valencia
Serbia, sanctioned
Since Serbia is remembering 30th anniversary since very harsh sancions were imposed on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and as we are being pressured to impose sanctions in Russia, I am reminded of my earliest memories, which took place by the Belgrade train station. It was hot summers’ day in 1992, and I was four, throwing a tantrum when I was supposed to be saying … Continue reading Serbia, sanctioned
Hidden Belgrade (66): SIVilisational decline
For a very long time, SIV, for me, was just a drab government building. While I passed it fairly often, unthinkingly, on my regular walks between old Zemun, much like the whole of New Belgrade – with the exception of Sava Centar – it was unremarkable, melding into the grey mass of what I (and many around me) termed as “uninspiring socialist architecture”, something that … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (66): SIVilisational decline
Dejan Milićević: King of Yugoslav 90s Camp and Colour
Ever since MTV started airing non-stop music videos in 1980s, Yugoslav pop stars were keen to embrace the style and creativity of the medium. From the get go there were many creative attempts with the format from very arty and conceptual videos of VIS Idoli to sexy high production videos to Lepa Brena’s songs. Slovenian controversial art-band Laibach’s video for Life is Life even managed … Continue reading Dejan Milićević: King of Yugoslav 90s Camp and Colour
Art though Politics: “Hitler and the power of Aesthetics”, Frederic Spotts
Imagine a state where the government works hard not only to build crucial infrastructure projects but to elevate the tastes of the people through lavish funding of the arts and protects them from contemporary kitsch. A country where every larger town would have an opera and which would invest in making its citizens healthy and joyful through various initiatives. A country led by a ruler … Continue reading Art though Politics: “Hitler and the power of Aesthetics”, Frederic Spotts
Serbia and Yugoslavia at the World Fairs (1): 1885-1939
Ever since the world was sufficiently globalised to allow for a common cultural language of admiration for technology and industry in mid-19th century, there have been expositions which allowed every country to show their might, progress and peculiarity on the world stage. It all started with the Great Exhibition in the Crystal Palace of 1851, inside the Hyde Park, which dazzled the inhabitants of the … Continue reading Serbia and Yugoslavia at the World Fairs (1): 1885-1939