Belgrade Memories
Walking to work
Sitting in the front seat of a taxicab
Tall, beautiful women in spectacular shoes
Walking to the green market and the supermarket from home
and office
My cleaning lady ironing my t-shirts and asking my coworkers
if they think I’d mind if she cleaned my running shoes
A bottle of quality red for $3
The hospitality of friends and colleagues
Women hawking fruits and vegetables as if their life
depended on it
Homemade gnocchi and various cured pork products
Plum or quince brandy before a meal
At least one bakery on every block, and pastries oozing with
chocolate, jam or cream
Meeting Jogi at the bus stop in Slavija Square and going out
for a walk with Stela and her daughters at Ada Ciganlija
Business meetings in cafes
Bringing cake to the office on my birthday
Momo Kapor’s essays (there’s probably one about each of the
items in this list)
Listening to a band in a boisterous, smoky café play Sweet
Home Alabama while everyone dances
Living in the city
Working on a project that’s in the news
Being able to give people a chance to grow and shine in
their careers
Watching young entrepreneurs trying to make new businesses
work in an increasingly cosmopolitan city
Strawberries, tomatoes, raspberries, sour apples, watermelon
and peaches so perfect that they make you cry
Cobblers and tailors, who can fix the lining in your coat or
a torn strap on your backpack
3 hour lunches with court presidents in charming towns
The doorman at my apartment who made me country cds and
helped me keep the water heater from flooding my kitchen
A pljeskavica with ketchup, lettuce, onion, tomato and
mayhem salad
Old ladies selling their knitting and needlework on Kniez
Mihajlova
The paté with the brown sugar glaze at Mala Fabrika
Stuffed cabbage leaves from Olivera in my freezer
Two jars of Dimitrije’s mother’s ajvar (one sweet, one
spicy) in the fridge
A cold Zajecarsko on a sunny afternoon on the patio at
Kalenic café, served by a waiter in a bow tie, who takes his job seriously
Dental assistants in white coats and stockings
Roast partridges with Ivona’s family, with that bacon and
garlic paste appetizer and pancakes -filled with chocolate cream for dessert.
Seeing my picture in the paper or appearing on the tv news
Driving through New Belgrade with Monika and having her
point out where nefarious incidents took place in the nineties.
Stuffed onions with my parents at a farm-to-table wine
cellar in Fruska Gora.
Walking through Kalenic in the early morning as the market
comes alive
Lunch with Nena and Marija at Novak Djokovic’s restaurant
Walking to Kalamegdan on a sunny day and enjoying the view
