My first memory of Treće Oko (Third Eye) magazine was with my grandma at Hotel Palisad in Zlatibor. It was just after my grandad passed away, and I begged her to buy it, as I was intrigued by various mysteries it claimed to uncover. I remember being very unimpressed with that issue, though. The only article I remember from it claimed we would all be … Continue reading Treće Oko, eclipses, pandemics and years of magical thinking
After writing my article about Kopaonik (or rather its architecture), a friend of mine and a Kopaonik aficionado (he also rents out his apartment), reached out with photos of his family’s collection of ski-related memorabilia (pins, posters and skis) which reached to the era before WWII. While the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics are obviously the pinnacle of Winter Sports in the Yugoslavia and attract the most … Continue reading Beginnings of skiing in Yugoslavia
Through life, one develops but then has to abandon a nostalgic, protective attitude towards things in one’s life, especially places. Any living city is constantly changing, and cherished nooks and crannies, those that remind you of the best of times and people, have to make way.While it is normal to try to protect what is deemed valuable, one has to realize that it is, after … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (68): Automobile museum, Sablja Dimiskija and my disappearing neighbourhood
The history of Alpine tourism in Serbia starts in the 1930s on the slopes of Kopaonik. The mountain hosted Serbia’s alpine sports competitions from 1936 until the start of WWII in Serbia. Back then, the only structure on the slopes of Kopaonik was a mountain hut, destroyed during the war. The development of Kopaonik re-started in 1948 with the construction of Olga Dedijer mountain hut … Continue reading Yugohotels: Kopaonik’s alpine vernacular spectacular
Given that most of former Yugoslavia is still agricultural or tied to the weather through tourism it is no wonder that seasons still play a large part in its music. I decided to make a little playlist with the best songs which can be tied to specific seasons, months and hoildays so that you can see how the Yugomind conceptualises time. Whether it is Ana … Continue reading Yugoslav Musical Calendar
In November 1996, my mother, grandma and I were excitedly chanting „Bando crevna“ (Red gangsters!) during the mass anti-Milošević protests in Belgrade. I was 8 at the time and was mesmerised by the thrill, energy and fun that were on the street of Belgrade for those few months after the contested election. There was a mini-renaissance or music and art happening on the streets, a … Continue reading Lost Country: In search of Tomasi di Lampedusa and Proust in Serbia
An elderly man and a pre-teen girl are standing on a branch. A few meters from them, a well dressed man in his late seventies is trying to climb a 6 foot tall wall and refusing help from a young guy watching him struggle in disbelief. In the back a group of people with disabilities are waving flags, while thousands of children perched on their … Continue reading “Doček”: a Triumph, Serbian-style
I often get obsessed with some places I would like to visit. These obsessions can last for decades and can be affect places near or far. The place I want to see starts appearing everywhere: every mention gives it more of a mysterious aura and in turn makes everything related to it magical and significant, much like Balbec for the protagonist of Proust’s Remembrance of … Continue reading Slankamen dreamin’
Walking around Tel Aviv last month I was struck with how similar parts of it looked to Belgrade. Ironically it was not just the sleek Modernist parts, built by Bauhaus architects, but also parts of the city that were haphazardly forced to house Jewish refugees and settlers, much like parts of Belgrade (Altina, Borča, Batajnica, Banjica) were forced to take in people who came to … Continue reading Refugee cities: Tel Aviv/Beograd
As a keen long distance runner preparing for the Athens Marathon, I had to venture outside of my favoured easy routes and up my game. Belgrade’s hilly profile in addition to flat runs by its rivers is great for training, although our very hot and humid summers are not exactly helping the aspiring athletes. Anyhow here are some of the nicer runs I did in … Continue reading Best Belgrade Runs 2: Do you even run, bro?
Despite the reductive and strangely common view in the West that Yugoslavia was yet another Soviet Communist country, the relationship between SFRY and the USSR was a complex one, especially after 1948, when Tito was thrown out of the Comintern by Stalin. The USSR was undeniably key in the WWII liberation of Yugoslavia and victory of the Partisans, however Yugoslavia, since 1948, very much saw … Continue reading Rusploitation in Yugoslav Pop
When I lived in the UK, like any foreigner, especially as a member of a not quite prominent (nor popular) nation, every once in a while, I sought places that reminded me of home. At first it was just the places that had the vibe that reminded me of Serbia. I immediately fell in love with the Barbican and the Southbank as they reminded me … Continue reading Traces of Serbia in London
It has been a while since I did this type of list. Firstly, COVID threw a spanner into a lot of great businesses which did not survive the pandemic or have changed how they work entirely (lots of them, like Proleće and most of Skadarlija becoming basically crap overpriced tourist haunts) . Secondly, when I started writing this blog, Belgrade’s food scene was significantly less … Continue reading Best of Belgrade Food Scene 2023: A value for money guide
I arrived to Porto Montenegro’s swanky Regent hotel on the night of the first round of Montenegrin presidential elections which may, finally, end the decades-long reign of Milo Đukanović in the country. The life of this luxury residential-commercial development made for super-yacht set, which replaced an old Austro-Hungarian, then Yugoslav naval yard, in a lot of ways captured Đukanović’s appeal, despite his party’s and personal … Continue reading Porto Montenegro: the discrete charm of the Fully Automated Luxury Oligarchy
In the library of my grandmother’s salon in Avalska, between the many Marxist and Yugoslav communist tomes, stood a hard bound copy of „Civilisation“ by Kenneth Clark, published by Mladost from Zagreb in 1972. The fact that this book, a seductive (and often derided) statmeet of Western cultural supremacy, was translated into Serbo-Croatian and published in a socialist only three years after it appeared in … Continue reading The fall of Yugoslav civilisation: Doomers at the gates
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?
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
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
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
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
