We left Brussels on Sunday, travelling to Koln (Cologne) on the train. We then had five hours in Koln, which was plenty of time to see the sights around the cathedral in the centre of town - see our photos. We went to a Christmas market on a boat on the Rhine, which is a different way of doing things. I can imagine the "Southern Cross" decked out on Lake Burley Griffin during Christmas in July, it could be very pretty.
Then we spent the night on the train between Koln and Vienna - lots of starts and stops, so luckily we had a double sleeper, very comfortable, I can really recommend it. We arrived in Vienna at 9.00am, and had all day to take in the sights of Vienna. We'd never been to Vienna before, whereas we had visited Koln frequently during our 3 years in Brussels in the 80s. So we walked a lot. We have another day in Vienna on the way back so we'll do a little bus tour then, probably the best way to see things when you don't have much time. Also visited more Christmas markets, and drank apple punch - I'd been wanting to try it as an alternative to the usual gluhwein. Mmm, yummy, but really packed a punch - Calvados I think.
We left Vienna at 8.00pm, another overnight train trip, in a larger sleeper this time, this was real luxury. Again, lots of stops, this time we had customs control at the border of Hungary and again at the Serbian border. I know the EU is getting lots of stick at the moment, but would you really want to go back to customs control at every border, and changing currency in every country? I say support the euro, and bring in more countries!
We arrived in Belgrade half an hour late. Alek says the railway station hasn't changed since 1973, when he last lived in Yugoslavia. We visited in 1987, and luckily lots has changed for the better, some things for the worse. There are more refugees in Serbia than in the rest of the former Yugoslavia put together, and there are now shanty towns on the outskirts of Belgrade. Hopefully this situation will improve.
Alek's cousin's son picked us up from the station, after we'd had a cup of coffee in the railway cafe. It's such a long time since smoking has been allowed in eating places in Australia, it's hard to take these days. Alek's Mum's hometown of Mladenovac has changed a bit since we were last here, with lots of smart houses on the outskirts.
Alek's cousins still have the same property as when we visited in 1987, but they have built two lovely apartments, with cousin Branka (who some of you will remember from her visit to Australia in 2005) living on the ground floor, and her son and family living on the top floor. We are staying with Branka.
It's quite cold here, with either bright sunny days, or fog - no rain so far. In fact we haven't yet seen rain on any of our trip, unusual for Europe. We walked around the town of 24,000, which is about 50kms south of Belgrade. I was surprised to find the same type of outdoor exercise equipment we all used in Macao, but I haven't had a proper go on it yet (see photos).
We had a trip to the hairdresser yesterday, quite an experience. The hairdresser is a refugee from Kosovo, with a dainty plaited beard. He really took his time, I can see that he sees hairdressing as an art. The coffee, the chocolates and the biscuits were all offered, and I had plenty of time to read the Serbian magazines while Alek was having his coiffeur perfected. This all cost the princely sum of $17 for both of us!
We also went to a supermarket, which is only about 6 months old, large, clean and airy, and fully stocked with everything you can imagine. And cheap!
Alek's family is delightful, very hospitable, offering delicious food all the time, I'm going to come back to Australia like a slon (elephant) - three year old Predrag (Pera) taught me that word. All the food is fresh and wholesome. Branka's family has a farm, so there are people popping in all the time (more refugees, this time from Croatia and from Bosnia Herzegovina) to buy eggs and preserved fruit and veggies.
While at the hairdressers I discovered that Serbian isn't so difficult after all. The usual range of magazines was available, the latest scandals, fashions, makeup and cosmetic surgery of celebrities and footballers, most of whom I didn't recognise, but no matter, they are clones of the ones we are familiar with. And I learned these "Serbian" words and phrases:
glamurozno i holivudski - glamorous and Hollywood-like
atraktivna - attractive
perfektan - perfect
autfit - outfit
dres-kod - dress code
seksepil - sex appeal (my personal favourite)
provokativan dekolte - prevocative decolletage
retrovisor - rear vision mirror
paparaco - paparazzo
fudbaler - footballer
Španska šou-biz scena - Spanish show-biz scene
tabloidi - tabloids
ekscentričnim - eccentric
političke ambicije - political ambition
novom albumu - new album
maskenbal - masked ball
fanovi - fans
fešn selekšn - fashion selection
karijere - career
rekornom roku - rock record
hitovi - hits
And there were lots more! But they all speak so fast that I can't make these words out in normal conversation, so am reliant on Alek for translations.
More tomorrow ...
 |
| Christmas market on the Rhein in Koln |
Then we spent the night on the train between Koln and Vienna - lots of starts and stops, so luckily we had a double sleeper, very comfortable, I can really recommend it. We arrived in Vienna at 9.00am, and had all day to take in the sights of Vienna. We'd never been to Vienna before, whereas we had visited Koln frequently during our 3 years in Brussels in the 80s. So we walked a lot. We have another day in Vienna on the way back so we'll do a little bus tour then, probably the best way to see things when you don't have much time. Also visited more Christmas markets, and drank apple punch - I'd been wanting to try it as an alternative to the usual gluhwein. Mmm, yummy, but really packed a punch - Calvados I think.
We left Vienna at 8.00pm, another overnight train trip, in a larger sleeper this time, this was real luxury. Again, lots of stops, this time we had customs control at the border of Hungary and again at the Serbian border. I know the EU is getting lots of stick at the moment, but would you really want to go back to customs control at every border, and changing currency in every country? I say support the euro, and bring in more countries!
We arrived in Belgrade half an hour late. Alek says the railway station hasn't changed since 1973, when he last lived in Yugoslavia. We visited in 1987, and luckily lots has changed for the better, some things for the worse. There are more refugees in Serbia than in the rest of the former Yugoslavia put together, and there are now shanty towns on the outskirts of Belgrade. Hopefully this situation will improve.
Alek's cousin's son picked us up from the station, after we'd had a cup of coffee in the railway cafe. It's such a long time since smoking has been allowed in eating places in Australia, it's hard to take these days. Alek's Mum's hometown of Mladenovac has changed a bit since we were last here, with lots of smart houses on the outskirts.
Alek's cousins still have the same property as when we visited in 1987, but they have built two lovely apartments, with cousin Branka (who some of you will remember from her visit to Australia in 2005) living on the ground floor, and her son and family living on the top floor. We are staying with Branka.
It's quite cold here, with either bright sunny days, or fog - no rain so far. In fact we haven't yet seen rain on any of our trip, unusual for Europe. We walked around the town of 24,000, which is about 50kms south of Belgrade. I was surprised to find the same type of outdoor exercise equipment we all used in Macao, but I haven't had a proper go on it yet (see photos).
We had a trip to the hairdresser yesterday, quite an experience. The hairdresser is a refugee from Kosovo, with a dainty plaited beard. He really took his time, I can see that he sees hairdressing as an art. The coffee, the chocolates and the biscuits were all offered, and I had plenty of time to read the Serbian magazines while Alek was having his coiffeur perfected. This all cost the princely sum of $17 for both of us!
We also went to a supermarket, which is only about 6 months old, large, clean and airy, and fully stocked with everything you can imagine. And cheap!
Alek's family is delightful, very hospitable, offering delicious food all the time, I'm going to come back to Australia like a slon (elephant) - three year old Predrag (Pera) taught me that word. All the food is fresh and wholesome. Branka's family has a farm, so there are people popping in all the time (more refugees, this time from Croatia and from Bosnia Herzegovina) to buy eggs and preserved fruit and veggies.
While at the hairdressers I discovered that Serbian isn't so difficult after all. The usual range of magazines was available, the latest scandals, fashions, makeup and cosmetic surgery of celebrities and footballers, most of whom I didn't recognise, but no matter, they are clones of the ones we are familiar with. And I learned these "Serbian" words and phrases:
glamurozno i holivudski - glamorous and Hollywood-like
atraktivna - attractive
perfektan - perfect
autfit - outfit
dres-kod - dress code
seksepil - sex appeal (my personal favourite)
provokativan dekolte - prevocative decolletage
retrovisor - rear vision mirror
paparaco - paparazzo
fudbaler - footballer
Španska šou-biz scena - Spanish show-biz scene
tabloidi - tabloids
ekscentričnim - eccentric
političke ambicije - political ambition
novom albumu - new album
maskenbal - masked ball
fanovi - fans
fešn selekšn - fashion selection
karijere - career
rekornom roku - rock record
hitovi - hits
And there were lots more! But they all speak so fast that I can't make these words out in normal conversation, so am reliant on Alek for translations.
More tomorrow ...
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