Goodbye Belgrade

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