Tag Archives: Travel Notes

VIDEO: “Side by Side: Urban Expansion and Growth in Vienna”

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For centuries, Vienna has been a leader in urban planning and an icon of European architectural grandeur. Today, it is one of the most livable cities in the world, boasting a fantastic sustainable transportation network, a high employment rate, and a constantly evolving urban design and placemaking scene keeping the city lively and vibrant.

But despite it’s perfect appearance, Vienna is not a city without challenges – first and foremost housing. Integrating a growing population while preserving the historic human-scale appeal of the city has been a challenge since the early 20th century, when the need to house factory workers led to the construction of “gemeindebauten”. These are socialist-style communes with shared facilities built on the outskirts of the city, which were built on the principle of providing a happy community-oriented lifestyle to those who could not afford to live in the city center. The most famous of these is Karl-Marx-Hof, which is complete which is over 1 km in length, making it the longest apartment complex in the world.

Today, the city is growing both up and out, with new districts being added every few years. But thanks to architectural regulations and strict planning guidelines, the whole city still feels like one Vienna. Nowadays, if you look over the Viennese cityscape, you’ll see that almost every residential, baroque-style building has a newly constructed loft floor. From the street-level, these new additions are barely noticeable and don’t take away from Vienna’s old-time vibe.

The ability to celebrate the old while embracing the new is something that really impressed me about Vienna, and I believe that cities in North America could learn alot from this city’s success in preserving it’s historic and modern cultures side-by-side.

VIDEO: “From Farm to Table: Serbia’s Local Food System”

While Farmer’s Markets seem to be all the rage in Vancouver, most European cities have been operating them consistently since their very beginnings. And why not? Local food should be the cheapest, freshest, healthiest, and most sustainable food that money can buy, not something that only wealthy people can afford!

In a country like Serbia, where we value high-quality, tasty food, almost everyone opts to buy at the local pijaca (green market), rather than from the grocery store. Of course, even food bought in stores is as local as can be – coming from within the Balkans – and sellers will attest that they know the producers personally.

I had the chance to dive a bit deeper into Serbia’s local food system, as many of my relatives are farmers in the Sumadija and Vojvodina regions of Serbia. Here, I experienced authentic Serbian homesteading – everything from milking cows and making cheese, to putting meat up to dry, to making my own jams and preserves. I also learned about the many challenges that farmers in Serbia face, and the difficulty of raising a family on a very small income when working in a declining industry.

Alas, Serbia too is undergoing significant commercialization, especially in the food industry. Since food prices are already so cheap, it is hard for small producers to compete in terms of price with larger firms, and supermarket chains are indeed gaining ground. Perhaps there is a greater future in organic farming and permaculture in Serbia, as currently, little thought is given about spraying crops with pesticides and herbicides (something that my family members strictly avoid).

I truly enjoyed the thought of eating locally while being in Serbia, and being able to get to know the people from whom I was getting my food. I hope that in Canada, this kind of connection between farm to table will become more normalized, so that local food is made less expensive – and therefore more accessible – for all.

VIDEO: “Out on the Streets: Pedestrianism in Serbia’s City Centers”

In Serbia, it is easy to find fun in any city – just follow the walkers to the city center! Here you will find large, open boulevards lined with cafes, restaurants, shops, and vendors, all nestled between beautiful facades from the 18th and 19th centuries. This summer, I visited several cities in Serbia (Belgrade, Zrenjanin, Novi Sad, and Kraljevo), and I found that they were all similarly designed around a historic city center, which had been converted from trading district into a pedestrian zone.

What I saw amazed me. These streets had so much energy and life, 24 hours a day, every single day of the week. This is Serbia at it’s finest: full of happiness, good spirits, and a love for the sweet things in life 😉

VIDEO: “Kalemegdan – Belgrade’s Living History”

After spending several weeks in Belgrade, I have finally accumulated enough footage and enough historical knowledge to start telling the story of this fascinating city piece by piece. I wanted to start with Kalemegdan, which is the jewel of old Belgrade, and really captures it’s tumultuous and war-torn past in a nutshell.

But Kalemegdan is also a symbol of Belgrade’s resilience, as a city that has been around for thousands of years. Built and rebuilt time and time again, this beautiful urban park offers visitors a living experience of history and a unique view at the ancient and the contemporary existing side by side.

A Little Piece of Who I Am

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For a long time, I have felt a little bit lost in this world. The question of “who I am” has somehow always been framed in terms of my academic self, my career, or my personal interests, but more and more I am realizing that these things are not the problem. I can never know who I am until I know where I come from, and this is something that I have had very little opportunity in my life to explore.

Leaving Serbia was at once a great decision, but also an incredibly difficult sacrifice for my parents to make. We left behind everything. We left behind bad things, like war and bombing and sanctions and financial crises. But we also left behind many good things, like our beloved culture, good food, good friends, and family. It was always just the five of us – me, my parents, and my two brothers – in this far-away country called Canada, in a culture that was not our own, being sucked into an industrialized and individualistic way of life.

As a kid, there was nothing I wanted more than to have grandparents. And cousins. And aunts and uncles. And relatives five-times removed. It seemed like everybody was always going to this relative’s and that relative’s and complaining about family reunions, but never me. I would have given anything for a family reunion.

Well, last weekend, in Vitkovac, Serbia, I got my wish.

Vitkovac is a small village in Serbia’s Sumadija (forest) region, which is famous for its rolling hills, red-shingle roofs, and very hospitable people. Turns out that almost half of the homes in this village belong to the Jankovic lineage – all relatives on my dad’s side that I had no idea I had. In just four days, I spent more time with my extended family than in the entire rest of my life combined.

For me, being in Vitkovac was like finding home. It was like discovering the true Serbia, exactly the way it was in the days of old. In Vitkovac, people work hard to make a living, often toiling in their fields by day and working in factories, shops, or as labourers to supplement their income. Though life is not easy, people work together, families support each other, and everyone always seems to have open arms and a big friendly smile on their faces. Never have I been so graciously welcomed as in Vitkovac, or offered so much delicious homemade specialties by whomever I visited!

I made a promise to come back to Vitkovac in the near future because, as much as I love being a guest, I have a deep desire to take part in my family’s lives and be present for them as they were for me this weekend. I feel they have given me so much love, and I am called to return one day to remember my roots and where my family comes from. I want to learn to milk a cow so my Uncle Drasko and Great Aunt Milana can for once have a restful morning. I want to learn to make kajmak (the cream off the top of fresh milk) and mladi sir (young cheese) and sell them at the pijaca (market). I want to learn to smoke and dry meat and grow beautiful tikvice (zuchinni) and paradajz (tomato). I want to learn to make pogaca (really delicious bread) and slatko (sweet preserves) and all the beautiful things that true Serbian domacini (homesteaders) make, so that I can give them away to my loved ones!

I am incredibly thankful to my father for sharing this part of himself with me – sharing where he comes from, and where I come from, and who my family is. I feel that I have gotten a little closer to answering the question of “who I am” – one piece of a lifelong puzzle that I am very glad to have found!

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Belgrade Underground: a tour of urban art and subculture

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Like in most European cities, there are many free walking tours that operate around Belgrade, but if you had to choose only one, I’d go for the “Belgrade Alternative Tour” offered by Belgrade Free Tour. It’s a fascinating look at contemporary Belgrade through the eyes of locals, artists, activists, and subculture movements.

Today I had a chance to meet Ana, our wonderful tour guide, who so happily shared her passion for street art with us. I also gained a lot of perspective on what it would have been like to live in Belgrade at the end of communism in the 1980’s, the breakup of Jugoslavia and NATO bombings in the 90’s, and the economic downfall that people are still suffering from today.

Today, Belgrade’s street art reflects defiance against bureaucracy and capitalism, propaganda and political ideologies, ecological destruction and gentrification. Some of it is entirely legal, painted with the permission of the city and even as part of urban art festivals and revitalization projects. We had a chance to see one of Europe’s only street art galleries and an entire alleyway dedicated to artisanal student-run shops and free-form design projects.

Take a look at some of the fantastic things we saw on the tour!

 

Sight-seeing in Novi Beograd and Stari Grad

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Today I did the super touristy thing and walked around Novi Beograd (New Belgrade) and Stari Grad (Old Town) with my big Nikon camera in hand, taking snapshots of everything that caught my eye. Yes, yes, way to go Iva for doing exactly the same thing as every total travel noob.

But I really had fun, and going under the guise of a tourist really helped break the ice for some great conversations with locals. “Sta slikas?” (What are you taking photos of?), “Odakle si?” (Where are you from?)… I got those questions alot, but I’m willing to blame it on the camera.

Anyways, I spent the morning getting lost in Novi Beograd and eating really fantastic food. Since my internal clock is still a little confused, I woke up around 5:30am to what was already a very sunny morning and went out for breakfast at 6am. Surprisingly, I found lots of stores already open, like the local pekara (bakery), the maxi store, and some small grocery vendors. People were already wide awake and heading about their daily lives – though it seemed like everyone had time to stop and chat with neighbours (and silly Canadian tourists who happened to speak Serbian).

My favourite conversation was with two local shopkeepers who ran a fruit and veggie stand with all the best local fruit. We talked for at least half an hour about life in Serbia while the man leisurely smoked his cigarette and the woman enthusiastically posed for pictures among the fruit. I’ll probably be seeing them around!

Novi Beograd turns out to be huge, and I kept getting side-tracked by cute stores and especially bakeries. That’s one thing I miss alot about Serbia – that good bread, and good food in general, is really accessible and really well priced. You can generally get a hearty breakfast for something like 100 din. – 180 din. ($2 – $3), fruit for 50 din./kilo ($0.80/kilo), and 1 L of milk for 100 din. ($2). Almost everything comes from local producers around Belgrade and Serbia, and it just tastes really darn good. Fruit trees also grow all over the city and you can get your fill of road-side cherries for free!

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Enough about food now. I’m getting hungry.

I snaked my way through side-streets until I finally found the Danube river, and the beautiful walking path that runs along it. From there, I could see mighty Kalemegdan and Stari Grad across the water and the busy Brankov Most (Branko’s Bridge) connecting the two parts of Belgrade. I put it in my plans to cross it in the afternoon, but not before stopping at the DETOX Kuhinjica (DETOX kitchen) right near my home in Blok 22, to grab some delicious granola and talk to some cool, young health fanatics about the best spots to see in Stari Grad.

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After briefly checking in with my dad to make sure I was still alive, off I went to Stari Grad with camera in hand and my heart beating with excitement.

Stepping off that bridge was like stepping into the city I’ve always dreamed of being in. The perfect mix of grungy graffiti, happy people, busy storefronts, historic buildings, pedestrianized streets, gorgeous architecture, and open markets. It was like candy for my Nikon.

I knew I eventually wanted to get to Knez Mihajlova Ulica (Prince Michael’s Street) and Kalemegdan, but I couldn’t resist the urge to check out the big Zeleni Venac public market where vendors from around Belgrade sold fresh (and absolutely delicious) produce, dairy and meat products, trinkets, clothing, and even things like curtains and lamps. I had to buy some kajmak (a buttery cheese made from pure, raw milk fat) which I missed dearly in Vancouver, where all the milk is homogenized and stripped of its delicious fat content. What a treat!

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Finally, I made it to Knez Mihajlova, Belgrade’s infamous pedestrian shopping and dining district, which attracts both tourists and locals alike. On a tuesday afternoon, I was happily surprised to find the streets packed with shiny, happy people holding hands (gotta love R.E.M.), making out, playing instruments, sitting and chatting, and eating heaping gelatos. It turns out that Serbians aren’t particularly hard or efficient workers (which explains our dire economic situation), but we sure know how to enjoy life and have fun.

As I wandered Knez Mihajlova and nearby streets, I began to notice that the buildings and walkways were designed to a very human scale, with just the right mix of eye-catching complexity and a certain simplicity of colour-schemes that brought focus to the lively social activities going on at street-level while at the same time giving the streets and buildings, a laid-back, historic appeal. Hundreds of open-air cafes and restaurants lined both the center of streets and extended from storefronts, providing lots of space to sit and relax and an interesting texture to the overall streetscape. There were also several fountains that attracted crowds to bathe in and drink the sweet water on a hot summer’s day, as well as plenty of shady spots for those of us more used to Canadian weather. I plan to speak more about the design of Knez Mihajlova and what makes it a perfect place for social activity in an upcoming blog and video post.

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I wanted to synchronize myself with the Serbian schedule, so I waited until 3pm to eat lunch, and made it the biggest meal of my day. Boy was it huge!!! Two hulking pieces of chicken in a beautiful rose sauce drizzled over grilled local veggies, and accompanied by kajmak and kiflice (baby croissants). I ate every last bite.

I went home and fell asleep to some Serbian love songs that I found on the radio, and when I woke up, my dad took me to Kalemegdan, the historic military fortress that overlooks the Danube-Sava delta. Built in 535 A.D., the fortress walls once protected all of Belgrade’s population from invaders, but was overtaken many times throughout history by the Romans, the Turks, the Hungarians, you name it. Today, it is known as Belgrade’s most important historical and cultural site and is also its most popular tourist attraction, now that it has been refurbished and converted into a beautiful park and lookout over the whole city.

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We spent the evening with my father’s friend from highschool and his two young kids, exploring Kalemegdan, eating pljeskavice (Serbia’s version of a hamburger, but better), and catching up over drinks. It was quite a lovely day, and I look forward to many more like it!

Tomorrow, I will start volunteering at the Urban Institute of Belgrade, but first, let me catch a few more hours of shut-eye!

See you later!

Iva

Coming to Belgrade

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For someone who doesn’t travel often, it’s hard to know where to start describing how I feel right now.

After 7 years away, I finally find myself in Belgrade, Serbia – the city I was born in, and the city which will be my home for the next month. It is so different than Vancouver, yet I feel no culture-shock or displacement here. Perhaps it because of the fellow Serbians I met on the plane ride here, who assured me that it’s perfectly alright to be Serbian-Canadian, speak with an accent, and ask lots of questions that clearly every Beogradjan knows the answer to. The way I remember Belgrade was definitely not as welcoming as I found it this time around!

First of all, I don’t often get a chance to practice my Serbian, but spending 14 hours on a plane with a bunch of Serbs really forced me to test-run my language skills before I got here for real. I found myself speaking fluently and with confidence, and the feeling of pride was just huge!!! I was definitely starting to reconnect 🙂

When I landed in Belgrade, hearing Serbian all around me and realizing that I fully understood and could even read everything filled me up with happy tears! Every doubt that I had about my belonging to this heritage melted away in an instant.

So, what is Belgrade like???

Well, so far, its a little grungy. There is graffiti everywhere and the apartments have a distinct communist-era feel to them. But keep in mind that this is just Novi Beograd (New Belgrade), and I have yet to see Stari Grad (Old Town), Zemun, Skadarlija, Sava Mala (Little Sava) or any of the other parts of Belgrade. Novi Beograd definitely has a lived-in appearance, but so far, I really like it!

My dad met me at the Nikola Tesla Airport just North of Belgrade, and from there we headed straight for our apartment in Blok 22, pulling up to what seemed like just about the ugliest and dirtiest neighbourhood I could ever imagine living in. At first I was quite confused and worried, because our apartment is also under renovation, which means that almost none of the appliances work and you need to wear flip flops all the time to avoid stepping on concrete debris and crumbled dry-wall.

I decided to take a walk around the neighbourhood to familiarize myself with my new home and spot-out the local shops and facilities. I must say, I’m not one who easily gets lost, but Blok 22 is a bit of a concrete labyrinth. But honestly, it was on this walk that I fell back in love with Belgrade.

Yes it’s grungy, but Belgrade is so alive! Even in this most standard of residential areas, even in the most sudden downpour of rain that hit, even on a “school night”, Blok 22 was alive and rich with activity. People were sitting and chatting on their balconies, tending to overflowing plants, strolling around the parks, playing sports, gathering over outdoor chess, eating out, and going shopping.

Storefronts were dispersed on this corner and that – everything from a full on grocery store, to a detox smoothie bar, a bakery, a health food store, a yoga studio, and anything I could ever ask for within a two minute walk of my building. Plus, things here stay open a lot later than in Vancouver, and open earlier, contributing to people’s ability to work hard during the day and play hard during the night!

I was also pleasantly surprised at how kind people were to me and to each other in general. I had always had the impression that Serbs are a grumpy people who are constantly complaining about the economic situation and treating each other rashly. But that is the farthest thing from what I experienced that first day.

My accent, my politeness, and my perpetual Canadian smile definetely raised some questions about where I was from, or why I was so happy and excited. But a quick explanation did the trick and people were super eager to show me the ropes and explain things that I probably would have know if I was actually from Belgrade. I really feel like I will make friends easily here!

I look forward to more exploration tomorrow as I see my neighbourhood in daylight and head on over to Stari Grad and the pijaca (open market)! My dad will be busily fixing up the kitchen so that we can at least wash our hands somewhere, and we’ll both be visiting some of his friends for a much needed shower!!!

Best wishes from Belgrade,

Iva