Monday, August 31, 2009

My wonderful trip to Eastern Serbia

OK, well, after the intense experience of the Srebrenica commemoration week the leader of WiB felt that we needed a little break and since there were still a handful of international visitors left in Belgrade she organized a trip to Eastern Serbia for us foreigners.

We had a small bus and somewhere around 18 passengers from Serbia, Croatia, USA, Italy, Spain, Israel, Iran (and maybe others). We headed out with a loosely planned 2 day itinerary. All-and-all the trip was awesome! The weather was great. It was a really fantastic group. I felt like, after the activities of the Srebrenica week and this trip my Serbian language had improved immensely. And we saw so much of the Serbian countryside and so many little towns. I really loved it.

Throughout the nearly 10 years I have been coming to this region I have seen much of Croatia, and Bosnia and have even travelled a bit in Macedonia. Yet in Serbia, other than the trip to Leskovac, I had not seen much. So this trip was something special for me…

DAY 1
Pozarevac – Our first stop was a museum in the town of Pozarevac, which is also incidentally the town where Slobodan Milosevic was born and is now buried. The museum we visited is essentially a quick orientation guide to all of the treasures from Roman times and before that have been unearthed in Serbia. To my surprise there is an amazing amount of Roman ruins in Serbia! I am not sure why they do not capitalize on it more, as I think it would attract many tourists. But for whatever reason, even many Serbian people I talk to do not realize the treasures that are here!

So, after the museum, in true Serbian style, we walked to a nearby café for strong Turkish coffees and a cigarette break. We were then off to our next destination, though we would return to Pozarevac for lunch as a local taverna had offered to make a traditional meal for us.

Viminacium – From Pozarevac we drove about 45 minutes to the site of an old Roman town known as Viminacium. Incidentally, this is also the spot where, just a few months ago, archaeologists excavated the largest and best preserved mastodon (or possibly mammoth, I don’t remember) known in the world (according to the JAT airlines in flight magazine). We had a super cheerful guide who took us to three different excavation sites, two of which were really impressive! In the first we could see many tombs that had been unearthed, several still with bones, as well as works of art and architecture.

I actually cannot remember the second site, but the third was really great. Here you had a bath house that had been excavated and was really well preserved. We spent a good 2 ½ hrs in total at Viminacium and I think we were the only tourists there during that time. Can you believe it? After being in Rome just a few months ago among throngs of people at every ancient site it was amazing to have this to ourselves!

After the bath house we prepared to get back in the bus, but not before I had some time for playing with the most beautiful St. Bernard dogs I have ever seen (one with blue eyes even) who belonged to the owners.



Preserveed skeleton found in tombs at Viminacium


Part of excavated ruins of Roman town at Viminacium


Bath house excavated at Viminacium


Lunch in Pozarevac – So we returned to Pozarevac for lunch and I was really happy that all of the foreign visitors got to have such a delicious and well prepared Serbian lunch. (You see, even though I am also a foreigner, because I live here I felt like the others were our guests and I really wanted to show them the best of Serbia.)

Now, I know I have mentioned this, but the staple of the Serbian diet is MEAT!! So the traditional lunch (usually around 2 or 3pm) is really more like dinner, and everything is served family style. They first bring some assorted appetizers – roasted peppers with garlic, assorted salads, white beans, sautéed mushrooms, other things I can’t recall, and always served with delicious, still hot home made bread!!

Then for the main course they bring out several huge platters overflowing with grilled meats of every imaginable variety! Roasted pork, lamb sausages, huge thick bacon, chicken, beef…I mean you name it. Some is even some kind of meat with some other meat in the middle wrapped in yet another kind of meat!

And with all of this meat it is most delicious to have a very cold domestic draft beer!

You finish it all off with a strong Turkish coffee and assorted sweets that resemble various Greek baklavas.

As you might imagine, after all of that one needs a nap! And that is just what I did. While the passing countryside was beautiful as we went on to our next stop, I leaned against the window and fell fast asleep for a good hour or more!

Petrovac Cemetery – Our next stop was a couple hours down the road. We stopped in a small town known as Petrovac, but we didn’t really stop in the town so much as in the town’s cemetery. You see, apparently this town has long been known for a rather interesting tradition. Now all over Serbia, and especially in Eastern Bosnia, at Serb-Orthodox graves there is a tradition of leaving the favorite things of the dead person at the gravesite. So like if the person liked Jack Daniels, you might leave a glass of Jack. If s/he liked twinkies, you would leave twinkies. Same with cigarettes, apples, etc. They also light these yellow waxy candles at the graves when they visit.

So, this much I knew was a sort of standard thing. But what makes this cemetery special is the enactment of their belief that the dead and the living actually live among one another. Because of this, at many of the grave sites there are tiny houses, or sheds, or porches built. The most opulent of these has curtains, a TV, a sofa, a dining room, etc. (Clearly the more wealthy one is the better their grave site house.) Loved ones visit the graves, have a meal, and often sleep there. In fact we were told that there is at least one person sleeping there every night!

We spent an hour or so hiking around the cemetery, which all and all was pretty cool. We then loaded back up for our sort of sunset destination – Zagubica.



Grave stone inside porch-like structure - Petrovac Cemetery


Peeking inside the chiffon curtains of one of the more opulent cemetery houses. You can see a set table and even a TV in this one.


Another one that is more like a porch - Petrovac Cemetary


This one was like a huge living room with a picture window. Behind the grave stones here there was a table and chairs as well.

In this one you can see a more wide angle of the cemetery - Petrovac

Zagubica – We wound our way through beautiful countryside, mountains and valleys for a couple hours or so finally stopping at an exceptionally charming, rustic little site. The first thing I noticed was that there was again a looming grave yard on a hill that again had something distinctive about it…most of the graves had very colorful images depicting the things that the person loved most in life, and/or what they did for a profession and sometimes even how they died. Again this was super-cool!

I hiked around this spot for a bit, taking some photos, when I suddenly realized that most of the group had departed, except my roommate “J.” So “J” and I made our way down the hill toward the road to find the path where everyone else went. As we got to the road I suddenly see a group of big brown cows walking in nearly single file down the road. When they saw us they sped up and I got a little nervous – like they were chasing me! I soon noticed the herder following behind them, laughing at my reaction!

As we started to catch up with the rest of the group we took pause. I started to take notice of the stunning natural beauty of the place we were. A river about 15 ft. wide ran lazily cascading down rocks and under 2 wooden bridges. A weeping willow that would rival any described in Mark Twain’s tales poured its generous branches toward the river. To the right, the sky had begun to turn pink and two goats meandered on the bank across. To the left three dogs stood at the very edge of the stream – intermittently playing and lapping the cool water. And then, smack in the middle, two of the stream of cows stood, letting the water reach nearly to their huge bellies as they drank. I was so tickled! It all seemed so perfect!

We caught our group as we walked along the path near the river. In no hurry. Really loving the sounds and smells. We all sat at a café near the water for another round of strong Turkish coffee and cigarettes. (seriously – I have no idea how anyone sleeps here! They must drink 10+ coffees a day! Even at 10pm! Little wonder I am a crazy insomniac here! Well, I am insomniac everywhere, I always have been, but here I have many nights of just 1 hour of sleep!)

We then made our way back to the bus at a leisurely pace, pausing to admire the changes in the sky. The setting sun continued to put on a dazzling show as we made our winding way through the mountains, up up up – 15,000 feet – then winding down down down and around the valley and back up again.

Gravesite in Zagubica - note the red sports car - both what he loved and how he died

Gravesite in Zagubica - Man on motorcycle - again what he loved and how he died.

Natural beauty of Zagubica - river with Weeping Willow


Cows bathing in river in Zagubica - perhaps tired from chasing me!
More natural beauty of Zagubica

Bor – We stopped at the edge of the town of Bor, and it was already dark. Apparently we had expected to get there earlier because when I asked “What is here in Bor?” I was told “Serbia’s most shameful ecological disaster.” But clearly it was too late to see it.

Now in the moments before we reached Bor I had made it known that I really really had to pee. I am not one of those “squirrel bladder” types who goes every 15 minutes, and can usually hold it patiently for hours, but after so much coffee, beer and water that day, I was desperate. When I could not take it anymore I told the driver and navigator that I really had to go. Only, I couldn’t think of the polite way to say it in Serbian so instead I announced something akin to

“Pardon me, I must take a piss. I must piss very much. I need to take a piss now.”

All Serbian speaker in the bus laughed, a lot, but no one seemed to take my request seriously and we drove on. A few minutes of wiggling later I pleaded with the driver,

“Please – I badly need to take a piss. I take a piss in the grass or flowers near road. I don’t care.”

Again – laughter, but no indication of slowing down. When we finally stopped on the outskirts of Bor I jumped out of the bus without even saying a word and ran for the lights of an open café about 400 meters away. I did not greet anyone inside, I did not ask anyone’s permission, I just made a bee-line for the bathroom and was so so happy!

When I returned to the bus our guide for Bor had arrived and we proceeded to the city center. As in most European countries, all towns and cities in Serbian have a sort of designated pedestrian zone. In the Balkans it seems that every night that weather permits people of all ages can be seen looking their loveliest and walking up and down these pedestrian streets, stopping for a chat now and then or an ice cream, or a coffee or a beer. It is lively and pleasurable and I wish we had more towns like this in the US.

Well, in this tradition, Bor did seem to have a pedestrian zone. Yet as we parked and walked toward this area it looked more like a scene from a zombie movie or Michael Jackson’s Thriller video than a lively town gathering place. Under the orange glow of streetlights a smattering of shabbily dressed people walked ever so slowly toward us. Intermingled with these zombie townsfolk a mass of decrepit stray dogs weaved in and out, their ribs protruding like a xylophone.

Not wanting to be rude, but certainly freaked out by the freak show I whispered to “J” and the other American girl “D” about the zombies and they admitted they were thinking the same thing. Giggling sporadically as we made our way through the zombies, our guide took us to several important historical sites there in Bor – important because the mine in Bor made the town very wealthy for something like 100 years – particularly during the Communist period and during the Milosevic years when Bor was the only town making money and all its profits fed the war effort. Now the mine barely works and Bor is desperately poor. Young people who can leave Bor do so, and those who stick around are often victims of drug addiction and poverty.

Obviously we could not see the mine that night, but we walked to its edge – followed by so many starving dogs – and while the town itself was one of the most depressing places I’ve seen in a long time, one thing that was particularly striking was the stars. Because of the lack of light pollution the night sky looked like someone had smeared glitter all over the sky.

We would return to Bor the next day for a look at the mine. Like the guide said, it truly was an ecological disaster. Across from where we viewed the mine was what appeared to be a factory. We were told that this factory had twice served as a concentration camp – once in WWII and again in the 1990s.

Bor mine with view of factory building twice used as concentration camp

Another view of the ecological disaster known as the Bor mine.

Our Spa Hotel – As we left Bor that first night, exhausted and a little sad, we proceeded about ½ hour to the place we were to spend the night. We had been told we were staying at a spa, which in the American mind conjures images of opulent luxury – massages, pedicures, facials, etc. Well, this is not quite what a spa means in this region of the world. Many of the mountain towns in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia have hot springs and various mineral pools. Around these things have sprung hotels and resorts, but not in the American sense – more in a rustic, in-tune with nature sense.

So, while this “spa” was not exactly what my mind had conjured, it was still an amazing and impressive thing. Set in the woods with various cabins, places to walk, a stream, wild life, and a pretty decent breakfast – it is a place to relax and recharge for sure!

Upon arrival we went straight to sleep! But when I woke the next morning, I had my breakfast and then decided to take a walk around the grounds to see what I could see. The first thing I came upon was an adorable set of puppies. Being an idiot and an animal lover I immediately went over to pet and cuddle these playful balls of fur. MISTAKE! Just when I got close enough to touch a puppy an angry snarling mother came at me with teeth that looked as vicious as a shark and a growling bark that was not playing around! I may have let out a little scream, I can’t remember, time was suddenly in slow motion as I pictured being mauled by this dog and I quickly backed away avoiding eye contact. Thank god the dog retreated – LESSON LEARNED!

The rest of my walk was lovely though. The woods were so nice and there were various mineral springs at various points in the path. I felt amazing (once I settled down from the near death by dog experience) and really charged with the energy of the natural surroundings. I could’ve stayed for days…or at least a few hours more…but after about an hour’s walk I could see the others rounding up to get into the bus, so I went back. Saying goodbye to this beautiful place we were bound for day 2!

View of the breakfast area at our spa hotel

A nice wooded spot at our spa hotel

Day 2
Romuliana – Now, as I mentioned earlier, day 2 began with a trip to the Bor mine. After that we were off to the 2nd of our amazing Roman ruins sites – an old Roman army encampment called Romuliana.

This place was again super cool! I mean it was such a huge site with so many excavated areas, and again hardly any people! There were a few others besides our group, but still not more than 10 others! And you were free to wander all around the site at will! Seeing columns and perfectly preserved mosaic and marble walk ways! This place was truly a wonder!

At the beginning of the tour we saw a diorama of what they presume the town looked like in Roman times, but after that part of the tour I sort of tuned out b/c he was speaking Serbian and Spanish, then the Spanish people were translating into Italian and French and I couldn’t concentrate on all of that Babylonian mish-mash. Besides, I had to pee again and since I did not want to get into the same situation as the day before, I decided to seek out the toilet immediately.

It was difficult to find. “To the left and then straight” people kept saying. But even when I went as far as the back building, which seemed ½ kilometer from the ticket office where I had asked to begin with, still I could not find it. Again someone at the back building said “To the left and straight.” I kept going, around the back building, searching for a door.

I asked one last time, and somehow this time I understood a bit better. I needed to go down one more path. I assumed I couldn’t see the building with the bathrooms because of the trees that were blocking it. So imagine my shock and horror when I saw a tiny outhouse hidden in the trees – looking like it was ready to fall at any moment.

I held my breath and went in, only to be further horrified…this was not just an outhouse (which I can handle – due to many an outhouse situation in my youth - but hate as I have always imagined something coming up from the hole to bite me) but was instead an amalgamation of my two most hated toilet scenarios! Not only an outhouse, but what we call a “Turkish toilet” to boot!

If you don’t know what this is, a Turkish toilet is a small hole in the floor, usually surrounded by some kind of porcelain, and if you are lucky, a handrail of some sort to balance yourself. If you are a man, this type of toilet should pose no problem. If you are a female in a skirt, you can make it work for yourself. But I have to say that when I have encountered these while wearing pants I have peed on myself more than once, so that now I just take off my pants to avoid this situation all together.

Peeing into this tiny hole without getting wet is a challenge in and of itself. I have no doubt that people who use these regularly are totally accustomed to them, and they claim “it is the more natural way” and “it is better for you.” But if I can be totally candid here… I once stayed in a town in rural Bosnia that had only Turkish toilets and I did not defecate for a week! Mostly b/c I could not figure out how! And you can imagine that with 10+ coffees a day this was no easy feat!

Anyhow, finding the combo outhouse/Turkish toilet was a little overwhelming, but I managed. When I returned to the group and we were wandering and exploring the ruins on our own, several other women asked me where was the toilet. I explained it to them, and warned them about what they might expect. Not another woman used this toilet while we were there. They all said they could wait for our next stop. And I got a bit of teasing for using this toilet, but the joke was on them in the end because our next stop did not come for at least 3hrs!

Restored gates of ancient Roman site - Romuliana


Part of ruins at Romuliana
A restoration using excavated materials and ancient city plans


More Roman ruins at Romuliana

Partially restored section using excavated materials and ancient plans


Restored city gates leaving ancient city of Romuliana

Cuprija – Our next major stop was in the town of Cuprija where there is an amazingly old monastery (really more like a convent b/c nuns live there, not priests). The fortress surrounding the church is as old as 12th century and the church itself, though largely restored, must not be any older than 16th century (judging by the damage to the internal frescoes that could still be seen in spots still being restored. It is typical in Christian areas that were dominated by Ottoman Turks to find religious icons with their eyes or sometimes entire faces gouged out. I was told that this has to do with the Muslim belief that God should never be depicted.)

Now, I have seen my share of Catholic churches all over Europe, and a few mosques in Bosnia. I have even been in plenty of Orthodox churches in Greece, Macedonia and Serbia. But this place was particularly special. While I was not allowed to take picture inside, the ornate designs all the way up to the details in the ceiling rivaled many of the best I’d seen. Most amazing, on the fortress outside at one point you could still see the original frescoes that had not been restored yet!

But these are not the only things that make this monastery special…oh no! If you think back to the story of the 1389 battle of Kosovo – a foundational myth for Serbian identity throughout history and again in the present moment – that I detailed in a previous post on the brief history of the region, you will remember that one of the stories two heroes was a Serbian prince (or Knez) named Knez Lazar. Well, in this monastery lies the desiccated remains of Knez Lazar – like so many Catholic church relics in Italy. But this one is particularly special…

Every Sunday the church opens the casket to believers who need some kind of miracle. They pray and touch the hands of Knez Lazar and God answers their prayers. Or…to put it more cynically, they ask the magical rotting corpse of Knez Lazar to grant them a wish – kind of like a genie. (And you can buy postcards depicting his rotten hands in the lobby as a souvenir. God I wish I’d bought some!) Now I am not trying to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, but it does seem a little crazy from the outside, you have to admit.

Anyhow – all and all this was an awesome place to visit. Really lovely.


View of Cuprija monastary housing the bones of Knez Lazar - the stone part is the more ancient fortress

A better view of the monastary and fortress walls from head-on

Lunch Day 2 – So Day 2 we had lunch at a roadside Taverna. It was good. Pretty similar in variety to what we had the day before but not quite as high in quality. The price was right though! I think for 20 people to eat themselves stuffed and each have 2 beers we still got out for less than $80 US.

Vodapada – At this point we were actually supposed to go to see one more monastery and hike some caves, but we had actually run out of time and would run out of daylight before we got there so we instead decided to find this cool little spot with waterfalls that the Serbs on the bus had remembered.

After some amount of driving around in confusion, we finally reached the spot. Again – fantastic! Cute café where we sat for coffee and cigarettes, a lovely river running by, etc.

When some people had finished their coffee they decided to make the hike to the waterfall. I had intended to join them, but was engaged in a conversation, so I said I’d catch-up.

Well, I didn’t quite catch up to them, and I did fear several times that I was lost and was going to have to live there forever, but I did have quite an adventure finding it. On the way I saw so many sheep, goats, the hugest pig ever, horses, wonderfully quaint houses and lovely nature. When I finally found the waterfall and the group, they were already done enjoying the nature and were headed back down, but I wanted to explore some more, and I’m glad I did. I found the most adorable restaurant tucked back into the woods, only accessible if you knew what path to take. I wished we had not eaten and had held out for this place!

So, while there was still a third part of the larger group who had not come to the waterfall yet, I hiked around a bit and jumped in with them to go back down the mountain when that third group was ready.

Cafe on bridge where we had coffee before finding the waterfall


Definately the biggest, pinkest pig I've ever seen - on way to waterfall


Finally! The waterfall - It's no Niagra Falls, but it sure was pretty!


Charming restaurant I found in the woods near the waterfall.

The end
In all – a truly fantastic trip! We got home near midnight and were all exhausted, but we had seen so many things and really had a great time. I could not have asked for a better experience.

Thanks for reading…

Until next time…

Xina

1 comment:

  1. great stuff. who knew serbia was so lovely.

    ReplyDelete