Summer in Belgrade

Although most places are better in summer (swampesque Kansas and DC being exceptions to this rule), Belgrade is a great place to be in the summer. Sure, everything shuts down for the month of August... but there is a lot of fun to be had.

Everybody spends as much time as possible as close to the water as possible. Belgrade is famous for its splavovi, floating structures (including many restaurants and clubs) of varying fortitude. Belgrade is located at the confluence on the Sava and Danube rivers, giving ample shoreline for clubs to be, well, clustered in areas right together so that you can often hear the music not just from your splav, but the ones on either side of it.

In addition to the two rivers, Belgraders enjoy flocking to Ada Ciganlja, a lake not far from the center of the city. There is an 8 kilometer path around it which draws joggers, roller bladers (including Svetlana and me on occasion) parents with strollers, people with dogs, and everyone else. There are various water sports for the more adventuresome, and a nude beach for the less inclined to burn within five minutes of seeing the sun types, and cafes and bars all the way around. It is a lovely place to spend a day if you get there early to mark your spot and don't mind fighting the crowds.

Another past time of Belgraders in the summer is talking about going to the sea. This is great for those who actually get to go to the sea, and less pleasant for those of us who will be the among the 5 people in the city working through the month of August.

Then there are the fresh markets. I live close to a couple of markets, and this time of year you can smell the fresh fruits before you can see them. Nothing tastes better than a tomato fresh from the garden, except maybe the melon next to it, or the peaches over there... Sometimes it is hard to remember in the dead of winter, but ripe fruit in season IS worth waiting for.

The temperatures this week are unseasonably low with rain predicted every day. It is a small preview of the fall, and it is making me sad. Hopefully, the sun and heat will return this weekend so I can take advantage of everything that Belgrade has to offer. And I will try not to complain when it is sweltering hot next week.

An unrelated note... as you may have heard, Radovan Karadzic one of the most wanted fugitives in Europe, accused of war crimes in Bosnia during the early nineties, was arrested this week in Belgrade. It seems as though he will be extradited to The Hague in the coming days. I don't want to dwell on the intricacies of the charges, or the mixed reactions of people in Serbia and in Bosnia. I do just want to say that I find it amazing that he was living in Belgrade, and practicing "alternative medicine" for years(English below the Serbian". I may enjoy "alternative feminine hygiene " products, but I will take my medicine the traditional way.