Serbia

It took some negotiating to convince Vonnett and Kevin to reschedule Oktoberfest so we could attend the festival at St. George Serbian Orthodox Church in San Diego this year. It was worth it! Because we arrived when they opened at 4:00 p.m., we were able to park in the parking lot and get food before the line became ridiculous. Between the three of us, we had the burek (meat and potatoes rolled in phyllo), podvarak (meat and cabbage), vegetarian moussaka, grilovano povrce (baked vegetables), and the cheese gibanica (layers of flat bread and cheese baked like lasagna – so soft and good). The cake I selected had lots of whipped cream and blueberries, and there were many other kinds. We could have also had roasted lamb, cevapi (sausages), and a delicious looking walnut roll, but we had plenty. Most of these recipes can be found here: https://thebalkanhostess.com//

After eating, we participated in the church tour, learning about the mosaic iconography covering the inside of the sanctuary. It is beautiful. After the priest answered our many questions, we stayed for vespers. Their tradition is to stand through the service of chants and incense. Vonny purchased a candle and lit it. We then moved to the auditorium for three dances, one each by children, teens, and adults. We finished with each of us enjoying a different type of crepe, rose hip, apricot, and Nutella. This event always occurs on the second Saturday in October. Their schedule, menu, and a video are posted at: https://sdserbianfestival.com/

I have to admit that I didn’t know much about Serbia before starting this blog. Yes, I knew that it was a Serbian that assassinated the Austrian Archduke and started World War I, but I didn’t realize that Serbia was our ally during that conflict. I appreciate that the Khan Academy has produced a video of Serbia’s experience during that war: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/euro-hist/other-fronts-ww1/v/serbian-and-macedonian-fronts

Another thing I knew was that Einstein's first wife was Serbian. Several years ago, my book group read The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict, a fictionalized account of Mileva Maric and her contributions to science. The more famous scientist from Serbia is Nikola Tesla. I read a children’s book about him based on a story that he told about his childhood, available here: https://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/story_youth.html

I was able to track down some stories:

· Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians by Karadžić and Petrovitch: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38571

· Serbian Fairy Tales by Sidney Stanley and Elodie Lawton Mijatovich: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67191

· Also search for Serbia on Words Without Borders - there are many more stories

It seemed like a pretty normal trip - great food, something beautiful, a new view of history, and some good stories. I thought the unusual thing about Serbia would be the scientists until I saw the documentary Slaughter Nick for President. Serbia has gone through some rough things and some Serbians have made it rough on others, but young protestors seeking democracy in Serbia latched on to a barely known television character as their hero. This is the story of the actor who discovered fifteen years later that his work had meaning. When he arrived in Serbia, I cried. What a story portraying humility and love for the Serbian people: https://tubitv.com/movies/516389/slaughter-nick-for-president

There are a couple more Serbian movies available:

· Tilva Rosh is a coming of age story about skateboarders in Serbia: https://tubitv.com/movies/562554/tilva-rosh

· Love Hunter is about a Serbian musician in New York. The music is interesting! I watched it on Kanopy.

For more experience with the art and music of Serbians, check:

· Walk through Walls, a memoir by Marina Abramovi available at the San Bernardino County Library

· A video gallery of paintings by Petar Lubarda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3gGjH3VvGI

· Ja Urani Jutros Rano, a Serbian song that I liked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmWdq1WYmhk

· This documentary on the Guča Trumpet Festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYJhMpWSNhc

The Crazy Tourist has fifteen galleries on Serbia. This is the main one: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-serbia/#more-7452. I would love to go! I look forward to that time when we can travel broadly again. In the meantime, I’m hoping we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace, health, and safety to flourish in Serbia and throughout the world.

Photo Credit: Valentin Salja https://unsplash.com/photos/5H69DBo4cGM