Belgrade

As I get ready to leave Serbia, let's have a round of applause for it.

I didn't know what to expect and got much more than I bargained for. Conversation is easy, even with my limited skills (remembering that this disparate group of countries was once one, and the language is similar (to a greater or lesser extent excepting local accents and colloquialisms, despite what the new separate dictionaries would have you think), but in any event nearly everyone speaks English. Although the lovely old lady I had to ask to find an ATM today, after I discovered that the hairdresser didn't accept credit cards, only cash, got the gist of my Croatian really quickly. My barrow and I were roaming the streets together. (The exchange rate is $1 = 70 dinar, so I'm dealing in 1000's - hence the reference to the barrow. Too subtle? Oh, sorry).

The city is filled with tall women, all with long  thick hair, beautifully and elegantly dressed. Men are tall too - and the city is filled with dark brown eyes. Teenagers seem unaffected and natural. Children are adored, and are out late with parents in cafes. Let's acknowledge that life here for those born before the 1990s has been turbulent, and hasn't always been easy for the majority,  as the world as they knew it has been reconstructed, but there are a lot of late model cars around the place (some creatively parked), and there is a lot of building and renovation underway. Referencing Chris Farmer again, it would seem that parking is the bane of a Belgrade resident's life. Watching others try to park while they block the road for others  who are looking for a park is purgatory. 

There are lots of bookshops and institutions for studying, and no one was particularly interested when I sat in a cafe over one glass of lemon, reading my book. In some countries, I may have got the feeling that it was time to move on.

There are a heap of designer shops, clothes and interior design, and young entrepreneurs are  trying to create their own style after years under the communist regime for aesthetics was not considered necessary. 

Talking to the tv guy, he had had conversations with people who spent all day in kafanas and were inclined to blame the government for lack of work, but I haven't met that attitude.

Case in point, all the positive smiling young people at the salon that I went to today to have my hair cut (I'd decided feral was overrated, and I will have Company tomorrow). A fabulous salon which would rate in any European country, and great practitioners. I'd recommend them (sorry Kurt, you're still number 1 for me - unless I'm not in NZ). So, when in Belgrade, and needing a new style and a bit of pampering, Nemanje Salon in Gospodar Javanova, Dorcol. Tell him I sent you x