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I did one night in Sarajevo, one in Mostar, and one more in Sarajevo before the alternative Ferragosto with interesting acquaintances in Serbia. To get to Mostar by bus, the route is very pleasant, through mountains and forests, often following the course of more than blue rivers. Mostar is undoubtedly beautiful, although the alleys around its bridge are really crowded. It was destroyed during the war and is another symbol of that tragedy.
After a series of trips in which I had made virtually no acquaintances, here in Belgrade, thanks to couchsurfing, I happened upon not one but two very pleasant encounters. Both were named Natasa. They basically took turns giving each other a turn at the little table in a nice bar near the Cathedral. There were some interesting comparisons, not only about travel, but also about some aspects of their country.
This is the ‘article with the almost live video I made during my stay in Serbia
Alternative August bank holiday? Going to Subotica
Yay I’m still an English-speaking chatterbox.
I must admit that I did not particularly like Belgrade. The center is elegant and Austro-Hungarian Empire style. There is also a lot of greenery, but apart from a fish lunch on the Danube in the
Arriving in Belgrade by plane, on fairly run-down buses and leaving from some vintage stations to say the least, I first arrived in Subotica in the north and then passed through Novi Sad before returning to Belgrade for the return trip.
My Serbian friends had mentioned to me the climate of protest against the corrupt regime. Indeed it leaps to the eye as if there are peaks of excellence (public transportation in good condition and free in the capital), but also much degradation, especially outside the main centers. I also came across one of the daily night marches; I did well to change my route immediately, not least because that very night there were arrests. In Novi Sad I passed by the part of the station, which was closed at that time, where a bus shelter had collapsed a few months earlier. Several people died, and this was the episode that triggered violent protests throughout the country.
Alternative August bank holiday in Serbia: northern cities
In Novi Sad and Subotica, being much smaller than Belgrade, the past under the Austro-Hungarian Empire is felt more. The old towns are nice and well kept, especially Subotica with many buildings in the cheerful art noveau style I found it delightful.
Passing through, I stopped for a bus change in Sombor, the hometown of Nikola Jokic, one of the greatest basketball players of all time. This stop was emblematic of a country that has many problems and contradictions. The old town is pretty, neat and clean; the train station is almost unworthy. If I had taken an organized tour, I would not have noticed this.
Speaking of contradictions, in Subotica I slept in the apartment of a very kind and thoughtful guy. In Novi Sad the anxious proprietor made me return at 11:00 a.m. from my little trip to get the money with the excuse that she had forgotten to leave the tea towels. Maybe she didn’t trust me to leave them in the little hole? Curious was that she asked me for that time because her husband, who was supposed to run the errand, likes to sleep in on Saturday mornings. Whereas I woke up at 5 o’clock with sunlight since there were no blinds or curtains.
I thus had an alternative Ferragosto. The year of the controversy over tourism in Italy, with the government saying that, as usual, everything was fine, and others pointing out that the money in Italians’ pockets is less and less.
It was certainly a cheap Ferragosto my own, though not an exciting one. Even the drives between cities, unlike in Bosnia, were rather monotonous and boring; that part of the country is a very large plain.
During the alternative holiday season I make reflections on social
I have long held the belief that in travel-themed blogs and socials, the majority of information is useless. Obviously they cannot be current. Some of the information is actually from sponsors or otherwise very subjective, and the timing given for visits is extremely subjective depending on people, what they have already seen in their lives, and the time they have.
About one of the art noveau buildings in downtown Subotica, in a blog I read:
There used to be a bank here, which unfortunately is now gone, they put a bookstore there
To me, this is an unbelievable statement, especially written by someone who should also disseminate culture. Also that day on the Web, an Italian newspaper of some importance had initiated a debate on the statements of a famous travel blogger. This one had stated that after seeing as many as 27 European cities, she did not like one Italian city in particular.
27 cities is nothing, so why should I listen to the opinion of someone who professes to be a travel expert and has only seen 27 cities in Europe? And why give her space?
In those days two other travel bloggers had reported one of those nonsensical lists of must-see and famous places to visit. In that case there were 50, and they, who boasted they had seen as many as 20, were initiating a survey. But with what authority?
In today’s world ignorance and form dominate at the expense of substance. Sources are not verified and space is given to anyone and everyone. Being an expert doesn’t count, particularly on the Web, blue eyes and two nice tits count more. There is a 20-year-old with thousands of followers spouting philosophical judgments because she went to Thailand, certainly not alone.
Who wins with ignorance?
All these thoughts came back to me about what I had seen, heard, and read from reliable sources about the war in Bosnia. One aspect that had already struck me was the focus on destroying and burning libraries. After all, in all regimes, one of the first events is to pick on books or intellectuals in general, just think of what happened in Laos, a country I had visited a few months earlier.
And just as in Laos, in the former Yugoslavia the most ignorant part of the population was pitted against the acculturated part. The classic strategy of regimes is to manipulate the population and then intervene on the part with the weakest critical sense. The technological tools of the present are very effective in this.
In the former Yugoslavia the neo-nationalists, who were then the former communists already in power, to try to keep it manipulated part of the people by creating an enemy for them. But history teaches that regimes, after they defeat their internal enemy, must find an external one.
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