Hello, Europe!

Getting to the Balkans isn't so easy. Though I've now arrived in Macedonia, it's been--to say the least--an interesting journey.

I left Chicago just over a week ago to go to Frankfurt, Germany where I learned that all international flights from O'Hare do not, in fact, leave from the international terminal. Oops. After a 7 hour overnight flight, I arrived in Frankfurt's pleasant afternoon, and felt that autumn was just barely in the air. All I'd ever heard about Frankfurt was that it was such an industrial city, rather boring, but I found it to be quite pleasant. I walked along the river to the old town, where I:

...climbed the tower of the Dom, and saw the inside of the cathedral,

...saw the old town square,

...and explored the neighborhood around the train station.

I took another late flight to Belgrade, but woke up the next day ready to get out there! Belgrade is quite the excellent place. I spent my days walking all over the city:

...seeing the old fortress and the military museum. The Kalemegdan park, where the fortress is located, is a lovely spot that seems to be well-used, considering that nearly all of the vast number of benches were nearly all occupied. There was an amusement park, a zoo (which I didn't visit as I find zoos rather sad in most cases), sports facilities, and a great views over both the Danube and Sava rivers.The military museum was an interesting visit. The area it's in is surrounded by artillery, tanks (including some tiny ones labeled as 'tankettes'), deactivated torpedoes and missiles, including some dating to the 1999 NATO bombing. The military museum had extensive labeling, although most of the labels until WWI were solely in Serbian; dissapointing, as I would have liked to learn more about the arrival of the various Slavic tribes, medieval Serbia, and the Ottoman period that has left a significant cultural, religious, and architectural influence on the region. Nonetheless, the sections on WWI, WWII and the Yugoslav era were quite fascinating. The dissolution of Yugoslavia was completely glossed over: understandably, the era of civil war may be too recent and painful to really look at just 15 years later. Interestingly, there was an exhibit on the 1999 NATO campaign, with depleted uranium ammunition and captured American weapons on display. The final exhibit in the museum was a map of which countries allowed, or didn't allow, NATO to use their facilities during the engagement. (Yes, I am using careful language: although I know the general history of the Balkans, I'm afraid my reading on this period has not been comprehensive enough to freely give my own opinion. After all, I was only 13 in 1999; too young to really understand what was happening. Aside from the fact that I'm pretty sure radioactive ammunition shouldn't be used, well, anywhere!)

...was able to see some beautiful, decaying buildings. Yes, I think things can be both in decline and beautiful. Years of use and/or neglect inevitably make their mark on architecture. Histories are visible through layers of paint, water damage, and wear in flooring. Although, of course, it would be nice if what was once grand could be restored to its former glory, as with the above building, there is still something about aging architecture which has always captivated me.

...and on the topic of architecture, I got to see the wonderful contrasts between 19th century and the Yugoslav-era buildings. The second photo is of the Hotel Moskva. Here's something I'll really get stares for: I've always had an affection for those gray, or colorful, buildings that often are written off as "faceless Socialist buildings." If architecture conveys the values of a period, then these buildings are anything but faceless. They were such a radical departure from what came before: clean, modern lines. Utilitarian. (It's not necessarily a bad thing!) Bright colors using new materials that were anything but the beige stone of their predecessors. In addition to the green building above, I also saw yellow, orange, red, blue, and various shades of all of these. To quote a Mos Def song, "The Embassy," entirely out of context, I think there's enough space in the architectural landscape for "classic, modern, ancient, flagarant" buildings. (Okay, maybe I just wanted to link that song!) Glass and steel can be beautiful.

...I also was able to go to the botanical garden, which had an excellent collection of plants that primarily grow solely in the Balkans, as well as plants of Japan and China. There was also the above wonderful greenhouse (see? glass and steel!) but it was closed due to preparations for a wedding ceremony.

No photos, but I also visited the Ethnographic Museum, which I found quite impressive! Although the exhibit on textile production was being renovated, there were two other floors of the museum to experience. There were traditional costumes of all of former Yugoslavia, and it is always remarkable to me how much variation there can be within small geographical areas, as well as how much can be gleaned from the wearer's dress: information about class, occupation, age, etc. Fashion isn't just clothes, after all.

The top floor had extensive exhibits on traditional occupations and their implements, as well as models of the many types of domestic architecture that developed in order to adapt to the very varied landscape of the Balkans. It's a region that has been so rich in agriculture and craft--I really can't wait to learn more throughout my 10 months here!