Belgrade, Serbia

Looking back on my time in Serbia, I think I had spoken more Macedonian than English during the entirety of my stay.  Even though there are plenty of people in Belgrade who speak English, it was nice to be in a country where I can speak another language and understand/ be understood.  Speaking Macedonian and receiving a response in Serbian was also good practice in seeing how intelligible the two languages were.  Additionally, Serbians seemed much more at ease speaking in their own language, probably since there are not too many English-speakers who visit the country.

However, every time I spoke with people in Macedonian, they seemed to treat me as if they looked down on me.  It was as if I were a bumpkin coming from the Balkan version of the Ozarks.  The way they would respond to my Macedonian was similar to the way some people from Skopje look down on Macedonians from other bigger towns in Macedonia, or the way some people from bigger towns look down upon villagers.  When I was speaking to a Serbian at my hostel, he told me “living in Serbia is pretty tough, but living in Macedonia is even worse”.  But I did not mind the way the addressed me, as long as they did not look at me with contempt.

Weeks before starting my trip, once my itinerary was arranged, I started to worry about how Serbians would treat me when visiting their city.  I feared that most Serbians would treat me with contempt once they discovered that I am American.  Another PCV friend who visited Novi Sad last year told me that he had a candid conversation with Serbians about the conflict in the 1990s, and the memories of bombings were fresh in the minds of old and young alike.  They told him that they would remember going to school and then returning straight home after in order to avoid the danger.  Many people had family or friends who were killed in the bombings.  And even though NATO delivered the attacks on Serbia, many Serbians see them as American-led.

Walking around Serbia, one can still see partially destroyed buildings that had not been renovated or torn down after being bombed.  It is obviously a conscious effort of the Serbian people to leave these scars to remember the pain they went through from the war, along with the repercussions they still endure.  After living in Macedonia, I have come to empathize with Serbians.  Since Serbian culture permeates in Macedonian (through TV shows, songs, and through much of the language), it is difficult not to be influenced by the soft power of Serbia on Macedonia.  Not only was I somewhat fearful for my safety when walking around Serbia, but I was also ashamed of the destruction we inflicted on Serbia during the war.  But I only had to recall the other bloody side of the conflict, such as what had occurred at Srebrenica and the similar genocide that was taking place against the Albanians to remember that war can never be justified, but it can have its reasons.

Arriving at the train station in Belgrade, I soon discovered that I had no Serbian Dinars, and so I had to find an ATM in order to arrive at my hostel by taxi or bus.  I circled the surrounding blocks near the train station, but I could not find an ATM anywhere!  Before arriving in Belgrade, I Google-mapped a potential walking route to the hostel, so I decided to attempt it on foot.  I started to cross the Danube with my heavy bags in the scorching, humid temperature, and my appearance quickly began to devolve, making me look like a haggard, hippy backpacker.  After walking 40 minutes through the park, I arrived at my hostel, which was right on the river.

After checking in, I discovered that I was again one of two people in the hostel, and so I decided to take the night easy and find a place to eat nearby.  I changed out of my jeans, which were damp with sweat, and borrowed a bike from the hostel to dine in Zemun.  Zemun is a charming part of Belgrade that seems to be a popular place for both locals and tourists.  It was a small fishing village before it was incorporated into Belgrade.  On my way to Zemun, which was a long bike ride away, I discovered that the small hole in the crotch of my pants had expanded into a gaping chasm.  Embarrassed but still hungry, I found a small kafana near a craft beer store.  I surveyed the tables to sit somewhere that allowed me to see the place, but that put me in a position so that other guests could not stare at my crotch.  After biting into kebabs and pickled cabbage, but sipping on Slivovitz, I felt like I was bridging the gap of the end of my vacation and my return back to the Balkans. 

Returning to the hostel, I changed into some shorts and enjoyed some beers on the outside patio.  One of the workers at the hostel (he was renovating the rooms in their second building next door) told me that his father was Macedonian, and he visited relatives in Rapotovo, a village near Prilep, just this past January.  He did not speak English, so he, the others working at the hostel, and I spoke in a mixture of Serbian and Macedonian. 

On Thursday, I enjoyed a beautiful run along the river before preparing myself for a tour of the city center.  I borrowed the bike again and made my way to the main square for the free tour.  However, it took me forever to find the square, and I was not sure if the tour started at 10.30 or 11, so I gave up.  Instead, I biked all the way to Tito’s grave and memorial.  This was located way out of the city in what looked like a rich suburb.  Although the museum was closed, they were showing a movie in the theater of Tito’s travels and diplomacy before his demise.

It’s safe to say that everybody loves Tito.  For the longest time I have been trying to find a historical book or documentary on Tito, but it seems impossible.  I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but many scholars and ordinary people attribute Tito’s charisma and ethnic makeup to keeping Yugoslavia together for so many years. Tito was half Croat, half Slovene, and Yugoslavia’s non-alignment movement (where Yugoslavia sided neither with the USA and the West nor with the Soviets) allowed it to be courted by many countries, enjoy open trade relations with many, and its citizens had one of the most powerful passports in the world.  If Yugoslavia were a country now, it is estimated that it would contain 22.3 million people, equal to the population of Taiwan or Australia.

Even today, many people still wish Yugoslavia existed.  The older generation remembers a time of full employment and easier living.  Of course, part of the reason why Yugoslavia had thrived in the 1970s was that Yugoslavia accrued a massive amount of debt borrowing from the West.  This debt would eventually attribute to Yugoslavia’s breakup, especially since political power was more concentrated in Serbia, while Croatia and Slovenia were more advanced economically.  Still, all of the countries are at a disadvantage because working with a massive country of 22 million people is easier than working with smaller, often landlocked countries.  It seems that only by joining the EU will the former Yugoslav states regain access to free markets similar to their time in Yugoslavia.

If I served in Peace Corps Yugoslavia, instead of Peace Corps Macedonia, I would definitely be more ecstatic.  The volunteers in such a country would learn so many more languages, experience much more diversity, and would be able to travel to such a vast amount of sites without ever leaving the country.  Of course, that assumes that Yugoslavia would have developmental needs that qualified it for Peace Corps.

Overall, Yugoslavia may never have been sustainable, since it stipulated that each republic in the federation sacrifice their nationality for the greater nation.  Once Tito died, it became evident that national identity, stifled for so long, was more important that Yugoslav unity.  Unfortunately, most of Yugoslavia dissolved through conflict (Macedonia and Montenegro are exceptions, of course).  But preserving its existence would not be justified if it entailed suppressing and denying the rights of its various ethnicities.  Instead, it is the idea of Yugoslavia that I wish could still exist.  The idea that many nationalities can move around their country, speak and understand each other despite different languages or dialects, share similar traditions albeit altered due to a history of different religions (Orthodox and Catholic Christianity, Islam) would be a utopia of peace across different groups of people.  To stitch the divide that has since been torn, one can only look to the EU.  Personally, visiting Tito’s grave was not only a visit to the memory of a titan who seemed to hold a group of nationalities together.  It was also homage to the idea that coexistence among different ethnicities, religions, and languages can be possible, and should be sought.

My hostel on the Danube

Arriving at Tito's Grave and the Museum 

Bombed out buildings near the center

Main Square 

After buying a whole bunch of memorabilia at the museum’s gift shop, I returned on bike to the city center, past the bombed out buildings near the highway, and walked around the city park near the old fort.  Unfortunately, like most Macedonian cities, Belgrade was so spread out that it was almost impossible to see all of the different sites without using a bike or a bus.  Like Macedonia, buses in Belgrade were marked with numbers and names that had no significance to tourists, and there were no signs indicating the routes of the buses, so I was lucky that I had a bike to use from the hostel.  I briefly returned to the hostel, freshened up, and returned to the center for one last pub crawl during my trip. 

The group at this pub crawl was HUGE, which surprised me since Belgrade is not a major tourist destination, and since my hostel was empty.  However, after some time mingling with the group, it became obvious that many of the participants were residents of Belgrade.  I was lucky to meet with four other foreigners who were also traveling on a whim.  At one of the bars, we decided to share our most outlandish drunk stories.  One of the guests shared how he had visited a bar in Bolivia that was famous as a cocaine bar, and how the place was raided during his visit.   At the end of the night, I succeeded in finding the right bus home and made it safely to my hostel.  The return to Skopje was arduous, as the bus from Belgrade stopped about 20 times along the way.  Despite all of these stops, Niš Express never once stopped for more than 5 minutes, which prevented anyone on the bus from taking a bathroom break.  Thus, I spent 9 hours on a bus without using the toilet and with only candy and water as sustenance.

It was nice to finally visit another former Yugoslav country.  Although Serbia was very similar to Macedonia in many ways, it definitely had a more Yugoslav feel and faces issues different than Macedonia.  For example, their hatred towards Albanians are more extreme, and their conflict with Kosovo has left them more resentful toward Albanians and the rest of Europe.  However, I didn’t lose hope in Serbia’s future with the rest of Europe, or with healing its wounds over the Albanian issue.  So many Serbians were participating in the pub crawl because they were hosting some Turkish guests who were enjoying their last night of an exchange in Serbia.  After centuries of Turkish rule, these Serbians have already forgotten about subjugation under the Ottoman rule, and they welcomed their Turkish guests openly.  It may take some time, but possibly one day in the future Serbs may also welcome Albanian guests from Albania or Kosovo just as warmly.

Government Building

Weird horse statues

At the fort in the city park

Life is Life with my Serbian hosts at the hostel

Last pub crawl of my trip

The Coolest European City

One night while I was in Budapest, I wondered to myself, who are these people?  Where did they come from and what constitutes a typical Hungarian?  More accurately described as Magyars, Hungarians originally emigrated from Central Asia, most likely around the Ural Mountains.  However, when finally settling in what is now Hungary in the 9^th Century, they co-inhabited with those already living in the area (Slavs and Avars), thereby undergoing a change in their Asian appearances and looking more European.  As the Budapest tour guide mentioned, they lost many of their Asian features, including black hair, almond-shaped eyes, and bronze-toned skin, and instead adapted a paler complexion and taller stature.  Therefore, my bewilderment of why these people did not seem to have a distinct Magyar look compared to Germans or Slavs was merited with a historical reason.  But the Hungarians did keep one feature that significantly differentiates them from the rest of Europe: their complex and otherwise isolated language.

Many Hungarians would tell me that their language is one of the most difficult to learn.  It is not an Indo-European language, but rather a Uralic language, and its closest relatives are located in Western Siberia.  Some of the reasons behind why Hungarian is such a difficult language to learn is that there are about 18 cases (some say 35 based on preposition pairing), and Hungarian has 14 different vowels.  As you can imagine, walking around Hungary can be daunting when words for simple things look like complicated tongue gymnastics (I found the joke in the picture posted below hilarious).

Luckily, I participated in the free walking tour while in Budapest to learn much about this country’s history, allowing me to forgo extensive research now.  After the Hungarians finally settled in Central Europe, they quickly adapted Christianity in order to make peace with other Christian powers in the region and to ensure their survival as a people.  Hungary was a powerful force within Europe through much of the Middle Ages, and it reached its high period during the late 1400s.  However, Hungary was then divided into three parts, two of which were pretty much conquered by “Habsburg Hungary” and Ottoman Hungary.  The Ottomans ruled Budapest for some time (they were responsible for erecting many of the Turkish Hamams on the  Buda side), but they never controlled all of present-day Hungary, as it lay on the edge of their Empire.  Eventually, the Hungarians were able to drive the Ottomans back, only to be subjugated by the Austrians.  Hungary was ruled by the Habsburgs until the 19^th century, when their rebellion finally yielded more sovereignty through the dual monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

After WW1, Hungary lost more than 70% of its territory (and about a third of its Hungarian population) by ceding territory to Romania, Czechozlovakia, and the kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia).  Hungary sided with Germany during WW2 to regain some of this territory (though, confusingly for me, was also allied with Romania despite having a large Hungarian population in Transylvania).  At the end of the war, the Soviet Union invaded, making Hungary one of its Soviet satellites.  Hungary witnessed its most effective uprising against the Soviet Union in 1956, when Nagy praised student and labor uprisings as a democratic and national movement.  At first the Soviets had agreed to withdraw their troops from Hungary, but a day later they reversed their decision on rumors that Hungary wanted to withdraw from the Warsaw pact to become a neutral state (similar to Austria).  As Judt mentioned in his book “Post-War”, the allies were unable to take advantage of this situation or argue against Soviet interference in Hungarian affairs due to French and British interfering in the Suez (Egypt).  The Soviets succeeded in invading Hungary and quelling the rebellion.  Nagy was sentenced under a secret trial and executed.  In 1989, The People’s Republic was dissolved, free elections were allowed, and the Republic of Hungary was formed.

What a Great City to Visit

Before I had traveled to Budapest, many people told me that it was an awesome city that they loved visiting.  Despite centuries of being subjugated by other powers, including the Turks, Austrians, and Soviets, the Hungarians I met during my time in Budapest were very friendly and seemed to have no animosity toward foreigners.  This made for a very hospitable tourist experience, which would be enough to make any city worth visiting.  However, Budapest had its own unique charm that made it my favorite city in Europe to visit so far.

First, Budapest’s architecture is very interesting, with a nice mixture of Baroque and communist-style buildings.  To me it seemed like a grungy European city one expects to see in a 1980s pop music video.  Second, the prices were very cheap, which made me feel better since I spent a lot more than I planned to in Vienna (the Western lifestyle is not affordable for a PCV).  Budapest was also easy to navigate and get around, and it never lacked anything fun to do.

Word of Budapest seems to be getting around in the US as a tourist destination, but many people don't seem to know why.  I don't know many people who can name a Hungarian landmark, or who want to visit a Hungarian museum, or to visit for a particular Hungarian dish (besides goose pate, maybe).  But what Hungary lacks in iconic buildings or famous artwork or culture, in makes up for in a cool, laid-back culture. 

I arrived in Budapest after an 3.5-hour train ride from Bratislava.  The train station reminding me of the archetypical train station one would expect to find under Soviet rule.  Supposedly, Hungary was allowed much more freedom in regards to capitalism compared to many of the other satellite states, so many foreigners from the Soviet bloc would visit Budapest for a weekend of shopping and indulging in a more “European” lifestyle.  After taking the train to my hostel, I discovered that a group of twenty tourists had recently left from the hostel, and for the entirety of my stay I would share the whole hostel with only one other guest.  Under any other circumstances, this would have meant a boring stay for me in Budapest, but luckily I had plans to meet with people I already knew.

First, I was able to schedule the Budapest leg of my trip with a friend from college, Brian.  Brian and I lived in the same house at UChicago, and he recently finished Business School and was hoping to relax somewhere in Europe before returning to work.  By word of Facebook posts, we coordinated our trips to meet in Budapest, until I returned east to Macedonia and he continued west toward Prague.  As soon as I settled into Budapest, I put on one of my last remaining clean shirts and met with Brian in the park to take advantage of the pub crawl.  Humorously, all but one guest and the tour guide were dudes, so it was a bit of a sausage fest, but the pub crawl was great nonetheless.  We began by playing beer pong in a basement of a bar, before ending our visit at two ruin bars.

Ruin bars are one of the elements of Hungary that make it so great.  If I had to describe a ruin bar, I would say that it was a bar that was constructed out of an abandoned warehouse, stuffed with random trinkets and furniture that really made no sense.  Usually these ruin bars consisted of an outdoor beer garden and/or a dance floor and DJ, and of course, cheap drinks.  The first ruin bar that we visited was neat, as it was supposedly built out of an old dentist’s office.  But the last bar we visited, Instant, was the coolest bar I had been to in all of Europe.   I felt like I was at the party in Uncle Buck, but surrounded by Alice in Wonderland themed decorations.  Navigating through the bar, there were so many nooks and hidden rooms, which typically contained a couple making out. 

Arriving at the train station in Budapest

Starting our pub crawl

Instant Ruin Bar

On the second day, Brian and I met in the center to take the free tour of the city.  Much of what we learned I already described above in the history of Budapest, but we visited such landmarks as St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the Chain Bridge, and the Buda Castle.  After, I visited an AIESEC entity during their Local Committee meeting.  One of the members was nice enough to translate most of the meeting for me since it was delivered in Hungarian.  Once the meeting ended, we sat in the main park and drank beers, like we sometimes do in AIESEC Prilep.  It was nice to hear from these students about the challenges of typical people in Hungary, and what they wish would change about the politics, culture, and attitudes of people in their country.  I had hoped to also visit one of our Macedonian interns who was matched for an internship in Budapest, but she was too busy to meet during my stay in the city.

During my last day in Budapest, I spent the majority of the afternoon relaxing in the natural springs.  The main thermal bath, located in the City Park, is the most popular among tourists and overall is not that expensive.  The baths themselves were not very hot, but many of them contained minerals like sulfur or were induced with menthol for a relaxing experience.  After soaking in the baths and enduring multiple periods in the saunas, I returned to the hostel and met with Brian for one final night in Budapest.  We met at Szimpla Kert, drank some local beers, and reminisced about our days in Pierce at UChicago. 

The next day, I rushed to the train station to take an 10AM train to Belgrade.  With minutes to spare, I almost lost my way and missed my train, but luckily one of the conductors helped me into a car on the other side of the platforms.  With a sandwich and water to help me endure my long journey back to the Balkans, I bid farewell to the coolest city in Europe that I had so far visited.

With AIESEC in Budapest

Goose!

At Szimpla Kert