The invitation from National Geographic. Sort of.

We all had our moments growing up.

Chasing dreams.

I had quite some of mine.

Adventurous reporter&journalist being one.

Next new young zoologist.

Hehe. Kids.

I was top of the class, most of the time.

Loved any subject connected to nature - except physics...

If my biology teacher Mr E. needed help with the inventory, 
I would raise my hand up high in the sky like this.

Other students thought I was mad.

They did not care that back there, in that small storage behind the classroom, tiny treasures were hidden.

Maps from all those places you will never go.

Minerals and rocks from who knows where.

And tiny little insects and animals carefully pinned on boards or stored in jars.

Unfortunately, things out of my control happened in my country and I never grew up to be adventurous reporter&journalist or the next new young zoologist.

But I still have the same feeling when it comes to exploring nature.

And capturing all its beauty in one shot of the camera.

I love good photography.

Portrait.

Landscape.

Moment in life.

National Geographic tends to have all these.

Did you know that their first issue looked like this?

Published in 1888.

Portraits.

  

Moments in life.

Nature in it's full glory.

And magical landscapes.

If I had ten lives to live - they would not be enough to explore this all.

But I keep on dreaming.

These photos influenced a certain image to pop up in my head.

'Beautiful things don't ask for attention.' 

Come and explore them.

OR

translated comes to:

Hm,

what row do you think I would take?

Go figure...

...........

Meanwhile, while you are figuring - here is the latest National Geographic photo of the sleeping cougar.

Hehe.

So long people!

.......

Gamla stan: Searching for the narrowest street in Stocholm

I  was in Stockholm recently.

Will write about it more later.

But there is this one thing that stood out at this trip.

It brought in new people into my life and I became fond of them and call them my friends now.

Nice, isn't it?

We were on a training, for about a month, at KEMI.

And we all are very much different.

Not to mention bunch of women spending days and nights together.

And we all are from Balkans.

Meaning: opinionated, speaking before thinking and making jokes about anything.

We loved spending time together.

Each one of us got a tiny little flat at 2Home Apartments.

I was the luckiest one.

My flat was on the 9th floor with great view of Solna, next to the big terrace, laundry and sauna.

Meaning I always had someone to chit chat to until they would come up to me from their 2nd and 5th floor :).

What I liked the most about this little group was the thing that we respected our differences.

We would choose routs to go to after a day at KEMI and you could tag along if you want or not.

And no one would hold it against you.

And we just met actually at the airport in Belgrade.

Later in the evening, we would meet at the terrace or sauna and exchange highlights of our day.

Sipping wine or beer, laughing like crazy.

Priceless.

You should know that I do not like shopping tours.

Am not a big fan of clubs or bars like I used to be.

Not much fond of staying in hotels too.

And after a long day, I like to watch a movie, sipping wine 

OR 

I take a walk.

Since I was abroad, option number one was not acceptable.

That specific day I have decided to go for a walk down the Gamla Stan.

I love old parts of big cities.

I was at Gamla Stan many times on this trip,

but the idea of looking for the narrowest street just came up to me one evening.

Girls were like 'Are you mad? It is dark.'

'So what. This is Stockholm not Mexico City' was my first thought.

Mårten Trotzigs gränd (Mårten Trotzigs alley).

Very difficult to find actually.

Though my map was really great.

Gamla Stan at evening is REALLY empty.

Just a rare few souls you come across.

And few groups of tourists on Ghost walks.

Looking at these photos I took, it looks maybe unpleasant to walk since it is narrow and dark BUT to tell you the truth I did not feel uncomfortable.

Even though I was alone.

And no, I did not manage to find that narrow street by myself.

I had a little help by a fellow traveler.

Perfect timing one might say. 

Or lucky coincidence it was.

The fellow traveler was sort of looking for one church and I was looking for that street.

Turned out I just passed the church and this traveler was accidentally at that street a few minutes ago :).

We decided we go for a walk together.

Funny walk that was.

It took me ages to guess what country this traveler comes from.

Great accent with mellow rrrs.

In a few minutes we were at the Mårten Trotzigs gränd.

Nothing spectacular.

Graffiti.

Not too narrow actually.

Well, I must say I prefer southern old cities.

Narrow streets of Dubrovnik or Rovinj or any Sicilian old town.

But somehow I grew to like THIS narrow street. 

At Gamla Stan.

For one reason.

Shel Silverstein pointed that out in this short poem Masks.

You should try to keep an open mind always.

Most of us live a very busy life.

This trip reminded me how great it is when you relax, take some time and let people in.

They might bring in something new 

or 

you get to know someone quite similar to you.

One thing I am sure of is that they both will bring in variety.

And you all know that saying 

'Variety is the spice of life.'

But do  be prepared to slap some hands if you want things to be done your way.

..........

BELGRADE: Getting more fond of it each time. And that one place in it where everybody knows my name.

Belgrade.

Former capital of the former Yugoslavia.

Many of you have not even heard of Yugoslavia.
Great country it was.

When I was just a little girl I was told mesmerizing stories about Belgrade.

And I payed it a first visit in my student days.

Zagreb is very close to my hometown, just 2 hours drive over the highway so Belgrade somehow was always on the other side.

Due to the political circumstances, it all changed and now I visit Belgrade quite often for business or fun.

And just last year I have started a course at The Faculty of Pharmacy which means that I travel there every month for couple of days.

At first, when all this faculty thing started, I really hated traveling to Belgrade.

I have poor flight connections (planes fly every second day of the week).

Though the flight is quite cheap - you can sometimes find one way ticket for 20 EUR.

Meaning I have to catch a bus. Which is at least 6 hours drive.

Depending on the border crossing in Croatia and customs.

Dear God, we cross the border twice and you have to get out of the bus, go to the police officer in CRO and SER (twice) and with usually 40 people on the bus - that takes some serious time.

And if it is cold outside you freeze your ass.

But let's leave it all behind.

As I have said  already,

I will leave out politics from my posts and make this blog easy breezy collection of things and thoughts that colored my days.

Belgrade is now capital of Serbia.

Population: approx. 1.5 million.

Not to big but not to small.

This city has very rich cultural life.
And Serbs make great movies, you should now that.
Though dramas really take your breath away and get you thinking, I prefer comedies.
MARATONCI TRCE POCASNI KRUG.

 Or MRTAV LADAN.

And my favorite of all times is Čarlston za Ognjenku.
Ognjenka, such a funny name.
Translates to maiden made of fire.
If I was Indian - that would be my Indian name :).
Tears for sale is this movie's title in English.

This is the trailer with the english subtitle.

If you like Gabo's work, you will love this film.

Yes, you guessed it right - I REALLY am into cinematography.

And Belgrade offers you everything: cinemas, theaters, ballet, lots of concerts, art galleries.
The Nutcracker, which I manage to miss every year...

Beautiful parks.

Along with countless restaurants and cafes, 
Belgrade is a place to be for the village hipsters and VIP wannabes from the surrounding towns.

You have a great University there.

Traffic is quite hectic and connections are sometimes really bad.

Meaning that you do not have a perfectly functioning public transport like in some EU countries.

So, beware of this fact that if you do not want to take a taxi - you need to come in at least 20 mins earlier than planned to catch your bus/tram ride and be prepared that sometimes you will have to wait 40 mins for it.

Just put on some music and enjoy analyzing the people passing by.

The main corso in the city is Knez Mihajlova street.

Pedestrian zone with cafes, restaurants and different stores.

Place to go if you want to see someone or to be seen by someone.

Especially on sunny days over the weekend.

Whenever I have enough time I stroll around the small streets connected to Knez Mihajlova and I always end up at the the Kalemegdan fortress.

I will not be writing about the history of the fortress.

Google has wasp knowledge about it so google it people.

I managed to explore it all day one day.

Went to the military museum as well.

Such a massive collection of artifacts.

Not that I care about it.

It is the proof of the sad history of the Balkans.

The artifact I found rather funny was this little tank. 

Polish, if I recall well.

Reminded me of that TV show that I really was fond of quite some time ago.

Lieutenant Gruber and his little tank.

ALO ALO!

I loved that show.

French resistance, British police officer with silly accent, Gestapo, British pilots hiding  and then that dreadful Edith and her singing skills.

How everybody was crazy about Rene.

Helga, shouting at everyone.

My friends often told me I remind them of Helga when I start shouting.

Say WHAT !?!

I never shout. Not that I can recall ;).

Hehe.

Too bad they don't make TV shows like that one anymore.

If you are a tourist or you are on a business trip or you are visiting someone you know in Belgrade,

 you will pay a visit to Skadarlija.

It is a vintage street in the heart of the city.

Just follow the link above.

You will like it.

My name is Skadarlija...or Skadarska street, however you like it. 

I am no boulevard...or avenue...or highway. I am common steep curved alley in the middle of Belgrade. 

And that would be everything meaningful to be told about me if it wouldn't be for my bohemian history, my crumbling roofs, my shaking chairs...

—Zuko Džumhur

Here are couple of photos I have managed to take one Saturday while there was nobody there.

There are few really nice restaurants here.

The most famous one is of course Tri šešira  (The Three Hats).

Over the years, Tri šešira welcomed numerous famous guests such as guitarist Jimi Hendrix, politicians George H.W. Bush, Josip Broz Tito, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, Sandro Pertini,  chess player Anatoly Karpov.

And me and my friend recently.

We had a really nice and cozy dinner.

Food is good.

All the meet you can eat.

And salad portions are gigantic.

They have a band there, similar to mexican mariachi bends only they play serbo-hungariano-mellow southern music. 

Am not really sure how to describe it.

Apart that they are really funny.

Made my friend uncomfortable.

I have enjoyed that, hehe.

Musicians approach your table and they ask what would you like them to play.

And if you are a foreigner - they would start playing any random song from your country - or your national anthem.

Violins, guitars, mandolins...

And they keep on coming back at you.

Depending on how much money you give them,
 they stay or they leave.

So funny.

I always smile when I remember that night.

It reminded me of this movie.

:)

If you are new to the city and are looking for a nice place to stay, I highly recommend this sweet little hostel/hotel Home Sweet Home.

Very clean.

Quiet.

Big living room with fire place.

I stay there every time.

They usually give me the blue or purple room.
Because they treat me like a princess :).

They even let me decorate their huge christmas tree last Christmas and I could invite my friend for dinner.
That she brought.
Yes, lazy bastard I am.
She actually bought fast food - souvlaki at Solunac fast food.
First time I had souvlaki was in Moldova.
Hopefully next time I will have a genuine one in Athens later this year,

This is us chilling in the heart of the city :).

Three cousins are in charge of this place - Damir, Predrag and Nemanja.

Very hospitable guys with great smiles.

This place is just under the hotel Moskva, near everything.

10 mins walk to Knez Mihajlova Street, 15 mins walk to Slavija square, 12 mins walk to main bus/railway station.

And now they have a little studio to rent as well.

Guys are just amazing, though the fact that I am really likable character helps ;).

They said that they will put my photo in their family album.

It is because I am really fun to hang out with and I can't stand bullshit, hehe.
Am joking here people!

But do look how generous these guys are:

They will arrange to pick you up anywhere in the city, airport included.

Last time I was there I had checked out my room early the day before, but the day I was supposed to leave Belgrade it turned out that I was in the city at 13:00, it was cold and raining, I was really tired and my bus was leaving at 17:00!

'Kill me now', was my first thought.

I called Home Sweet Home - and they took me in.

Just like that.

Even though I left them.

They made me coffee.

Gave me warm slippers.

I remember I was sitting in the living room with this hairy Israeli guy, watching some nonsense on TV. He had a really quiet voice, and I thought 'I will fall asleep sitting.'

Predrag approached and said: 'Take a nap. I can tell you are tired. We will wake you up when it is time for your bus.'

'Come on, how can I fall asleep? I am not even a guest' was my first thought. 'This is really embarrassing. Let me help you with the dishes. Or I can fold sheets' I said.

'This woman is mad' Damir replied.

'Go to sleep!'

Israeli guy went to the kitchen and it became really quiet.

I drowsed of, Walter Mitty moment.

And fell asleep.

I heard someone's voice 'Time to get up sleepy head.'

Opened my eyes to realize that they had turned of the TV, closed all the shades, and covered me with two blankets.

Home Sweet home it is.

And that one place in Belgrade where everybody knows my name.

Like I was staying at Mum's, only without being criticized or offered all kinds of food because I look 'sick skinny' :).

To sum it all up:

Come to Belgrade with open mind and explore the city.

You will enjoy it.

And who knows, 

maybe you too start coming back every once in a while too.
Numerous reasons included.

Until then,

take care.

Me.