Tag: Travel

Balkans, Travel

Day 4-7: The Bulgarian Riviera, from Varna to Rezovo

There might something in the mix of testosterone and sea air, or the fumes from sun-screen lotions, that makes men of all ages behave like they are teenagers whenever they approach the coast. This strange effect descended on us as soon as we entered Varna’s brutalist suburbs, and started discussing horrid facial hair experiments and buying fake Adidas tracksuits. It was the air, and definitely … Continue reading Day 4-7: The Bulgarian Riviera, from Varna to Rezovo

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Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (11): City of Stars

Despite its evocative name, Zvezdara (“Star-place”) municipality and its forest are rarely visited by Belgraders who don’t live there. Thankfully, I am aware of its beauty because I was born in Zvezdara and spent much of my early childhood learning how to ride bike and run at Olimp sports centre and sleding down its steep streets. The lovely name comes from the old Serbian name … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (11): City of Stars

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Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (10): Grand Hotels of Belgrade

Given its place on the major East-West trade routes, hotels and inns played an important role in the development of Belgrade. Although none of the great hans/caravan serais from the Ottoman era remain in the city, there are several major hotels from 19th and 20th centuries which still remain open. These hotels not only offered the first glimpse of Serbia to weary travellers, but they … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (10): Grand Hotels of Belgrade

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Balkans, Travel

Day 3-4: The Balkans, Veliko Tarnovo and Zheravna

From Sofia we drove north-east towards the old Bulgarian capital of Veliko Tarnovo and its impressive UNESCO-protected citadel Tsarevets. We were going deeper into the Stara Planina (Old Mountain) and the scenery was lovely. It was this mountain range’s Turkish name, Balkan, meaning “a wooded mountain”, that gave our peculiar region its name. In the early 19th century a German geographer Zeune, wanted to find … Continue reading Day 3-4: The Balkans, Veliko Tarnovo and Zheravna

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Balkans, Culture, Travel

Guča: Serbia’s Dionysian spectacle of trumpets, cabbage and beer

Originally conceived as a festival to promote the fledgling institution of a brass band 1961, Guča Trumpet Festival (aka Dragačevo Fair) evolved in the past two decades into one of the most popular festivals in Serbia and a somewhat divisive cultural institution. For all but the musical purists, Guča is much much more than an ethno-music festival. Although the festival is devoted to preserving this … Continue reading Guča: Serbia’s Dionysian spectacle of trumpets, cabbage and beer

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Balkans, Travel

The Nutshell Guide to the Montenegrin coast (2): Budva, Lake Skadar, Podgorica and Cetinje

This is the second part of my guide to the Montenegrin coast aimed at visitors planning to spend a weekend or a week in Montenegro. The first part suggested places to visit in the Bay of Kotor.  Budva Both metaphorically and physically, Budva is at the heart of the Montenegrin riviera and concentrates all of its best and worst features in its wonderful bay. On … Continue reading The Nutshell Guide to the Montenegrin coast (2): Budva, Lake Skadar, Podgorica and Cetinje

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Balkans, Travel

The Nutshell Guide to the Montenegrin coast (1): The Bay of Kotor

Despite its great natural beauty and diversity, until relatively recently Montenegro was under the radar of tourists outside the Balkans, Italy and Russia. Tourism in Montenegro started in the times of Yugoslavia, from the opening of the luxury peninsular fishing village/ resort of Sveti Stefan in 1955, which has since hosted glitterati like Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren and Bobbi Fisher, to the nudist camp at … Continue reading The Nutshell Guide to the Montenegrin coast (1): The Bay of Kotor

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Photography, Travel

Lake Skadar: eerie land of macabre fairies, ruins and skeletal hills

Lake Skadar is as dramatic as landscapes get in Europe. Whichever side you apprach it from in Montenegro your first sight of it will be an explosion of a green watery expanse, dotted with white cones of karst covered in thick Mediterranean bush. As you train your eye on its beauty, you will notice birds soaring above its waters and maybe a ruin of a … Continue reading Lake Skadar: eerie land of macabre fairies, ruins and skeletal hills

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Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (9): The forgotten golden age of Belgrade

In 16th century Belgrade was considered the only city that lay between Ottomans and Western Europe. Located at the very edge of the Hungarian kingdom, the city’s fortress protected the Pannonian plains from the Turkish assault and was often attacked by the Ottoman armies from the nearby Turkish-held fortifications that were as close to the city as Avala, where the Ottomans held the town of … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (9): The forgotten golden age of Belgrade

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Balkans, Serbiana/Srpska posla, Travel

Best day trips from Belgrade

When I moved back to Serbia I decided to make the best use of my free time and actually get to know the country. Thankfully, as I have a few friends with some spare time we teamed up in an for day-trips and managed to see some great scenery, learn some history, eat great food and just have fun. We focused on places that are … Continue reading Best day trips from Belgrade

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Photography, Travel

DC, 4 July 2016

Last year when I decided to go to DC to see the July 4 fireworks and the parade, mostly in absence of other workable plans. I also wanted to use the opportunity to see American patriotism/nationalism at it purest form, and the event did not disappoint. In post WWII Europe and especially Serbia, we were taught about the dangers of nationalism and many are extremely … Continue reading DC, 4 July 2016

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Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (8): The mysterious green heart of Belgrade

The beauty of the Great War Island is hiding in plain sight. Although bang in the middle of the confluence of the Sava into the Danube, its thick forest, inaccessible for most of the year, make it seem like an enchanted kingdom, choked by the grey concrete of New Belgrade and watched over by the Belgrade fortress. This uninhabited heart-shaped refuge for birds survived due … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (8): The mysterious green heart of Belgrade

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Balkans, Travel

9 must-sees in Slovenia, Europe’s fairytale country

If you are in doubt as to where to go this summer (or ever): go to Slovenia  I love Slovenia. It is easily one of the prettiest countries in Europe and one of the most pleasant to explore. Although it has been on the interrail trail for a while, it still feels like a hidden gem. It even has an instagram-crazed president and it gave … Continue reading 9 must-sees in Slovenia, Europe’s fairytale country

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Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (7): The fall of Ikarus

Tragically named airplane factory that found its way to the hearts of New Belgraders Ikarus was the first Yugoslav airplane factory, founded in 1923, in Novi Sad.  As expected for an aircraft factory named after the first known air accident with a human fatality, Ikarus had suitably a bumpy start as it almost went bankrupt before it started producing planes. Neverthelss, after a bit of … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (7): The fall of Ikarus

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Culture, Life, Travel

All the shit places

Why are we fetishising the same crap all around the world? While we were sitting in a stylishly decaying café in Santa Teresa in Rio, watching the local “creatives” go about their Saturday the way “creatives” anywhere else in the world do, my mother had a hissy fit. “Why do you always take us to these crap places? Why are you afraid of going somewhere nice … Continue reading All the shit places

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Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (6): Hristifor Crnilović’s extraordinary passion project

Hristifor Crnilović’s life was an exciting one, certainly more than his slightly pompous old-school name and passion for national costumes, would let on. Born in a middling family in Vlasotince in 1886, Crnilović decided to pursue a painterly career and moved to Munich to learn his trade. In Munich, according to one source, he was in class with Adolf Hitler to prepare them for the … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (6): Hristifor Crnilović’s extraordinary passion project

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Hidden Belgrade, The Belgradist

Hidden Belgrade (5): Museum Macura

Due to the low public and private investment in art in Serbia in the past three decades, there have been only a few remarkable additions to the cultural map of Belgrade, and quite a few remarkable subtractions, like the National Museum and Museum of Contemporary art. Probably the most exciting new(ish) spot in greater Belgrade’s museum scene is a temple to 20th century avant-garde perched … Continue reading Hidden Belgrade (5): Museum Macura

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