ctrp363 Traveling the Former Yugoslavia

to Sarajevo / by flickr member martijn.munneke

Emmanuel and Kyle of 2600 are experienced world travelers who specialize in going where other people never want or think to.  Last year they set off to travel though ALL the former Yugoslav states (and Albania). From trains to buses to taxi’s in the middle of nowhere, their trip was full of unpredictable moments of joy and confusion, much of which could be heard on their radio program.

During the latest edition of the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin, Emmanuel and Kyle joined me to record this extended podcast to retail the story of their travels and the lessons learned.

Belgrade I hardly Knew Ste

As the hours flew by, we sat there at Rex (cyber-culture-center-thing), catching up on internet work and enjoying the most excellent environment that good people like D and N help create.

Eventually we realize it is getting late, and we’re due across town to meet the super interesting Vlidi, international Serbian of mystery, who I very much wanted to interview on the podcast.

Marcel and his big furry winter hat, Tim and his old man hat, me and my luggage-on-wheels dragging behind, said a quick goodbye to the good REXians and ran to the taxis. Speeding across town, I noticed some press near a government building, We passed that white Orthodox church thing that D says is such a dull monstrosity. Passed the open-air-maket, and eventually we stop at this huge apartment building that makes me think of socialist-housing-planning. It also reminds me of Newark, only I never walked into the projects in my ironbound childhood.

Suddenly I think it must be his wife, a fantastically pleasant young lady, who answers the door and we find ourselves in a cozy home full of life and things to look at. Of course, there’s no time for any of this, I have 30 minutes in which to interview the man about his experiences and knowledge of Kosovo. He knows this, and we get right down to it.. a wonderfully interesting interview from my perspective.. and of course we could have gone on and on. But Tim gives me the 5 minutes hand signal and I realize the clock is ticking to catch a train to Zagreb.

I say goodbye to all of them with a heavy heart… my travel companions and my new friends. From here on in, Im on my own. Running down the street eyeing the horizon for a cab… a banged up unknown brand of car pulls up and the cab driver gives me the “lets roll” signal. He zooms down the broad Belgrade avenues and suddenly I see what I was wondering if I’d ever get to see:

Stretching my neck out to manage to look all the way up… I see a massive building with every window blown out. It looks grey and completely abandoned, almost like a huge windstorm of grey dust is eating away at it. A huge gaping hole in one side that normally one might joke.. looked like a bomb had destroyed it. Of course, a bomb did destroy it. A NATO bomb.. maybe more specifically.. an American bomb. Either way.. even if it had been a East Timorese bomb, I would have felt the same degree of sadness at the sight. 16 people, I thought to myself.. I think 16 people died in that building.

The speedy cab driver drove on. Probably passes the building 6 times a day and doesn’t suffer from any flashbacks that somehow.. I get on my first visit. I jump out at the station, say the one Serbo-Croatian word I know how to say “Hvala” and just like that.. I’m on the train. As far as I know.. the right train.. to Croatia.

On the trainride home I sit alone in one of those cabins. Watching the sun go down over the Serbian horizon… its big.. its fairly empty.. and its beautiful. I turn off the mp3 player.. put away the book.. open the window and lean out… listening to the train sounds.. and whatever else I can hear. Occasionally smelling those wood burning stove smells.

So it goes, only a pair of days in Belgrade and Im back in Zagreb.. preparing to get back on the plane for home. My one big thought… I’m not ready to leave yet! Therefore.. I’ll be back quite soon.. so stay tuned.

bmtv36 A Protest in Zagreb

Hello again from Belgrade. Day 3 that I am in town and leaving soon, back to Croatia. But I’ll talk about all that later…

Click To Play

During my time in Zagreb last week, I had the privledge of attending a protest against the destruction of a beloved city block. The buildings are very important for their cultural heritage, which sparked particular concern by artists of all walks of life and all ages. The plan is to destroy them and erect a shopping mall… but the people of the city have come out in force against this plan.

Good Evening Serbia

Well… I can’t properly put into words how amazing it feels to be in Serbia. Plus.. internet is not so easy to come by in Belgrade, in the middle of the night.

So here’s a photo of the border patrol, on the way in from Croatia this evening… Ill be back in the morn.

Oh.. and yes… Belgrade has some very cool personality to it.

bm181 Croatia, Looking Backward Moving Forward

When we talk about European history, the conversation is usually focused on things that took place in the early 20th century… world war I, world war II… and the decades immediately after. But one decade that had a great effect on the Balkan region happenned much more recently… in the 90’s. In this program I speak with Tom, who is part of MAMA- Cyberculture Institute, here in Zagreb. Together we discuss:

– The end of Yugoslavia, the independence of Slovenia and Croatia
– Milosevic
– Living in Croatia during the war, things you see in daily life
– The rise and cause of nationalism.
– The problems of the post war 90’s
– The big change from 99 to 2000
– A strange music phenomenon that cuts across many countries of the former Yugoslavia
– Thoughts, Concerns, and Hopes for the future.

Ex Yugoslavia

Standing at the nightclub this evening, my eyes are scanning the crowd. going from face to face.. I keep asking myself.. do I see any differences.. between these kids and the kids in amsterdam.. or the kids in lisbon.. or the kids in new jersey?

Most would say there is no difference. They dress the same. They drink the same. They party the same. (?)

But I always see one difference. History. The history, not so much of these children per se, but that of their families. My mind starts wondering all sorts of crazy questions… how many of their parents were in the military… fighting in the war against Yugoslavia/Serbia, a bit more than a decade ago. How many have gandparents who can tell stories of Yugoslavia under Tito, or world war II when the Germans invaded. Each of these kids has a family history that would probably blow my mind. Yet here I am, having a drink side by side with them, and they seem less obsessed with the turns of history than I am.

I think it is truely interesting to be living in an ex-anything. Ex- GDR in Germany, ex-Soviet Union in Estonia, ex-Indochina in Vietnam, and yes.. Ex-Yugoslavia in Croatia. I guess every place on earth can claim to be an ex-something.. but being at a recently turned EX, I somehow see it in every piece of sidewalk or trainstation. A combination of an over active imagination and a quest to know as much history as possible, crammed into a few late night reading sessions and conversations with kind locals.

Eventually the boom-boom-boom of what seems like the same DJ Ive seen all my life broke me out of my deep thoughts. Time to move on, brave the below zero temperatures, and head back to this warm hotel.

Day 2…. done.