Toxic Dump, Serbia
Is living in Serbia really the thing that is making our lives miserable? Continue reading Toxic Dump, Serbia
Tag: Balkans
Hidden Belgrade (32): Eternal Belgraders
Sculptures on Belgrade’s buildings were created in the relatively narrow period of time. Out stone and bronze citizens were all born in the stretch of about 80 years, between the end of the austere Balkan architectural style in mid-19th century (which, following the Islamic custom forbade depiction of people) until the final victory of modernism in Belgrade’s architecture, when Tito broke away from Stalin and … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (32): Eternal Belgraders
Pokretači #32 Nikola Parun – Ovation BBDO / Beograd
Gost je Nikola Parun iz Ovation BBDO-a iz Beograda. Sa Parunom sam pričao o tome kako izgleda baviti se PR-om, kako se osećati kao pokretač u većoj frimi, kako zadržati integritet u poslu i kako se prave uspešne, ali i kontroverzne reklamne kampanje. Beleške View this post on Instagram Kad vidim mentora u gradu pa me pita kad mislim da predam master rad 4 godine … Continue reading Pokretači #32 Nikola Parun – Ovation BBDO / Beograd
Pokretači #31 Donald Niebyl – Spomenik Database / Illinois, USA
Donald Niebyl founded and manages Spomenik Database, a website dedicated to monumental Yugoslav WWII memorials. Donald not only travelled up and down former Yugoslavia visiting monuments (or ‘spomeniks’ as they are called in local languages), but he also researched and wrote detailed history of many of them, soon to be published as a book – ‘Spomenik Monument Database’ (pre-order on Amazon). Notes Spomenik database on … Continue reading Pokretači #31 Donald Niebyl – Spomenik Database / Illinois, USA
Mathematical High School: Serbia’s Academic Bright Spot
Belgrade’s Matematicka gimnazija (Mathematical High School) is a rare Serbian institution, along with athletes and cuisine, which receives nearly unanimous national acclaim and the school is protected from the usual mud slinging of Serbia’s public arena for good reasons. Year after year, the school churns out positive news: alumni routinely achieve great success at the world’s best universities- one alumnus is a former mayor of … Continue reading Mathematical High School: Serbia’s Academic Bright Spot
Pokretači #29 Luka Popović – Ex-Yu Aviation / Beograd
Luka Popović već 10 godina svakog dana na Ex-Yu Aviation blogu piše o novostima u komercijalnoj avijaciji na prostru bivše Jugosavije. Njegov blog je jedan od 100 najboljih u svetu avijacije, i često je citiran od velikih medijskih kuća. Sa Lukom sam pričao o tome kako izgleda praviti izuzetno uspešan blog, da li postoji formula uspeha, i šta je toliko privlačno u avijaciji. Beleške View … Continue reading Pokretači #29 Luka Popović – Ex-Yu Aviation / Beograd
‘Repat’ Brings UK’s Craft Beer Passion to Serbia
Borisav Radojkovic’s friends and family thought he was either brave or mad to abandon a new life in the UK to start the Dorcol craft brewery in Serbia – but time has proved he made the right choice. Continue reading ‘Repat’ Brings UK’s Craft Beer Passion to Serbia
Signs of Times
One of my greatest pet peeves in Belgrade is the ugly signage that is endlessly sprouting up on the facades. Garish colours, flashing lights and comic sans fonts, printed for a few thousand dinars and hung on cheap metal are calling you to eat at this or that bakery, exchange money here or buy crap there. The sad thing is that, back in the day, … Continue reading Signs of Times
Can Political Get Less Personal in Serbia?
Alongside greater political freedoms, Serbs would also really enjoy more freedom from politics. Continue reading Can Political Get Less Personal in Serbia?
First Years of Modern Belgrade
A century and a half ago, on April 6 1867, the last Ottoman soldiers left the Belgrade fortress, the northernmost post of the sprawling, if crumbling, empire. That day, celebrated with much pomp in Kalemegdan, marked the beginning of modern Belgrade. Under Ottoman rule, Belgrade was known as Dar al Jihad (House of the Holy War) and in the 17th Century it was one of … Continue reading First Years of Modern Belgrade
Zagreb: a Belgrader’s take
Despite being named as the best destination in Europe by travel guide publisher Lonely Planet in 2017, Zagreb was the target of a scathing and, at points, hilarious review in the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel last July. The review not only claimed that Zagreb is the most boring capital in Europe, but also said that its highway to Croatia’s famed Adriatic coast was the best thing … Continue reading Zagreb: a Belgrader’s take
Pokretači 2.05 Ivan Brkljač/Mokrin House, Mokrin
Gost je Ivan Brkljač, čovek koji stoji iza projekta Mokrin House. Mokrin House je inovativni co-living i co-working prostor koji se ne samo trudi da ponudi jedinstveno mesto za digitalne nomade iz celog sveta, već i da oživi bivše najveće selo u SFR Jugoslaviji na samom severo-istoku Srbije. U našem razgovoru, Ivan je podelio priču o svom dugom putu od Novog Sada do Mokrina – … Continue reading Pokretači 2.05 Ivan Brkljač/Mokrin House, Mokrin
Hidden Belgrade (29): Voždovac’s Surrealist Church
From the outside the Church of St Constantine and St Helen in the suburb of Voždovac looks like a slightly more elegant standard-issue Serbian Orthodox church, with a demure grey façade and a prominent bell-tower. The current structure, an update of the church built in early 20th Century and damaged in WWII was designed by Dragomir Tadić, a renowned Serbian church architect of the late … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (29): Voždovac’s Surrealist Church
Serbia and Albania: Know Thy Neighbour
In October 2017, I went to Tirana for a conference about relations between Serbia and Albania, jointly organised by the Albanian Institute for International Studies and the European Movement in Serbia. One of the topics of the conference was the public perception of the relationship between the two countries, which made me instinctively shudder. Despite the recent displays of friendship between the Albanian Prime Minister … Continue reading Serbia and Albania: Know Thy Neighbour
Finding Count Vronsky in Serbia
In 1878 Leo Tolstoy somewhat abruptly ended the story of desperate and broken Count Vronsky in Anna Karenina by sending him to Serbia to fight in the Serbo-Turkish War of 1876-1878, where he sought adventure, or even death, as penance for his famously ill-fated affair. A century and a bit later, this slightly inelegant end to the story of one of the protagonists of this … Continue reading Finding Count Vronsky in Serbia
“Serbsplaining” the West
From the early days of modern Serbia, and arguably before, Serbian perceptions and expectations of ‘the West’ were in many ways inextricable from how Serbians perceived themselves. Serbian uprisings against the Ottomans were from the outset imagined as a way for Serbia to re-join and catch-up with its Christian brethren from the West, who were expected to embrace it with open hands. After the last … Continue reading “Serbsplaining” the West
Why are Serbians not outdoorsy?
As we were climbing around the ruins of Machu Picchu, feathery clouds clung to peaks covered with thick emerald forest. Rain, which pounded from the morning, stopped and allowed sunlight to shyly caress the sheer black cliffs above the foaming river. Around us, hundreds of tourists were jostling with selfie sticks to capture these magical scenes. My chain-smoking Belgrade-born-and-bred mother slowly moved uphill, panting. Once … Continue reading Why are Serbians not outdoorsy?
Hidden Belgrade (27): Old headquarters of women’s movement in Belgrade
Although women were not barred from pursuing education in early 19th Century Serbia, in line with the global mores of the day, there was a lot of debate whether education will make them leave the family hearth and neglect their traditional roles, and of course whether mixing with men is at all appropriate. However, in the beginning of modern Serbia, when it achieved an autonomy … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (27): Old headquarters of women’s movement in Belgrade
Poverty and Politics in Serbia
I only became aware of inequality and class division once I moved to a country which is almost synonymous with them: the UK. At both university and work, my British friends frequently dissected levels of “posh-ness” in themselves and others, assessing how appropriate it was to play rugby or vote Conservative, given their background. I was, of course, dumbfounded. In Serbia, discussing “class” and inequality … Continue reading Poverty and Politics in Serbia
Hidden Belgrade (26): Slavija’s strange history, from MacKenzie to McDonald’s
Hated by drivers, and considered the ugliest square in Belgrade, Slavija’s riveting history ironically started off as an attempt to introduce British-style urban planning to Belgrade. The development of the square began with Francis Mackenzie, an enterprising Scottish missionary who moved to the city in 1876 in hope of making Belgraders devote more time to the Bible, rather than smoking and drinking. In 1879 he … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (26): Slavija’s strange history, from MacKenzie to McDonald’s