Week 3

St. Mark's Church and Tasmajdan Park

I don't know how this happened, but even in Belgrade I am finding myself lacking time. I have a million deadlines for work and internship applications; my current internship requires a research paper, whose deadline is dangerously looming; a sudden surge of additional internship work from a surprisingly large number of people; an ebook I am desperately trying to finish before it disappears from my nook; and of course all of the events that I now find myself not being able to go to in the city. What the hell? I thought this was summer, but why does it feel so much like the rest of the year?

Playing in a fountain at Tasmajdan park

On my third weekend in Belgrade, I MANAGED (exaggeration) to find the time for a day trip to Gradac Gorge -- about a 2 hour car ride from Belgrade. So glad I found time to go. But before we get to the trip, let me take a moment to talk about my experience taking Belgrade's public transportation.

Graffiti on Njegoseva Street 

To get to the trip's pick-up spot by the Belgrade Fair Bus Station, I took a bus (my first time in Belgrade). It was pretty uneventful, except for the fact that I did not pay because I did not know how (despite having a bus pass with money on it), and I did not see anyone else paying either. Essentially, you get on the bus via any of the three doors available to you (front, middle, and end). Apparently there is a machine that you swipe your card through, but since it was crowded as hell, I didn’t see it, didn’t do it, and never saw anyone else using it.

St. Sava Church

The fun part came when I was waiting for the van to Gradac Gorge to pick me up at the Belgrade Fair Bus Station. This is a bus station that serves a large number of city busses, Serbian intercity busses, as well as busses to other European countries. Essentially, it’s chaotic. Now picture this: people are casually standing around, spread across a wide parking lot, waiting for their bus to come. When the bus comes, there is a mad rush to get in through all doors. Notice that I didn’t say “when the bus stops at the station,” because this doesn’t happen. It’s more like the bus slows down and opens its doors as it continues to move down the road.

Inside St. Sava

And, and, and, since there is a large number of busses utilizing this station, there is often several busses arriving at the stop at once. When this happens, the place gets even more frantic. Because a bus that arrived last, slows down at the end of the station, and people begin to frantically rush to the end of the station. But! As soon as the bus at the beginning of the station departs, all of the busses behind it begin moving forward. Now all the people rushing to the end of the station, have to run along the moving bus and try to get in as it moves up the line. Strangely this whole scenario reminded me of 1980s Russia. Quite homey. Needless to say, I was amused the entire time I waited for the ride.

Gradac River

But now, for the Gradac Gorge. As soon as our group was dropped off at the top of a mountain, you could smell the change in air. It was fresh! When was the last time you smelled fresh air? It has a certain smell to it that us city folk tend to forgot (or never know). Rather refreshing, I should say. After what seemed like an almost vertical hike down a mountain (more like a hill, since it only took 15-20 minutes), we came upon the pristine Celije Monastery for nuns. MESSAGE (screamed in the voice of Damon Waynes from "Don't Be A Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood" -- yep, that was just referenced): The monastery “holds the bones of the numerous anonymous people found in the monastery grounds by nuns when they single-handedly rebuilt the monastery after WWII.” Because the monastery was completely destroyed in WWII and subsequently rebuilt, the structures are rather new. But tucked away between two old mountains among a forest, it offers a striking sight.

Celije Monastery

Until lunch, we hiked along the Gradac River to the river’s source. Along the way, we saw several groups of people camping right along the river, washing their clothes, building fires, letting their donkeys loose (not a joke and meant literally)... We also saw several simple wooden cottages which people use for their summer homes. One was right on top of a mountain and offered stunning views of the surrounding landscape.

House on a mountain at Gradac Gorge

The river’s source was not what I pictured. I imagined it to be a tiny stream from a rock. Instead, it was a gush of water pouring out of the bottom of the mountain. It was incredible. Have you ever drank water from a river’s source? It is the most refreshing and delicious tasting water I have ever had in my life. Take that Fiji!

Source of Gradac River

After seeing “the source”, we stopped for lunch at a shack that cooked food for hikers. Before I get into the food, let me just mentioned that they had an outhouse here with a hole in the floor. Now please venture to guess what the shape of the hole was. Circle? Square? Diamond? No, no, no, these shapes are for novices. We had a triangle. The most unconventional hole to use at an outhouse. I will leave the rest to imagination. 

Cooking lunch

And to wipe that nightmare from memory, let’s talk about the most delicious fish soup and grilled fish I have ever, EVER, had in my life. Not a big fan of fish soup or whole fish, but this was beyond belief. The fish come from the river, naturally, and were literally caught that morning. The fish soup was spicy, full of tomatoes and veggies, and absolute goodness. The grilled fish tasted nothing like the soup, but like grilled heaven accompanied by a cool salad of potatoes and sweet onions. This was literally the best food I had my entire time in Serbia, and I am still salivating every time I think about it.

Fish Soup

Lunch, strangely called California Trout

The rest of the trip was a bit more strenuous, as we spent it crossing the river over and over again. A river that is not one to meander slowly along its course, but choose instead to rush past us as we precariously walked through it. Oh, also, apparently, women’s feet get cold faster than men’s. At least that’s what our guide told me when he was trying to convince me to take a pair of neoprene socks. When I asked if this was a proven fact for all women in the world or just those in the Balkans, a fellow British hiker laughed and said, “Welcome to Serbia.” I didn’t take the socks, and I didn’t regret it. Although the river was pretty cold.

Gradac River

Hiking the river we had lots of chances to stop and eat numerous berries and fruits, including mulberries, wild strawberries, and wild plums (yep, wild plums!). At one point, me and another member of the group took the deeper way through the river just so we can gorge on the sweet, juicy berries. Regardless, everyone made it through safely and no one fell in. Oh, and at the end, there was a cave, which apparently has never been completely explored.  

Final stop

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