Belgrade Street Art Movement

It’s almost impossible to not notice the proliferation of GO VEGAN street art around Belgrade.  The cute and colorful characters and the simple slogans are brilliant. I’m NO VEGAN, and I’m not planning to GO VEGAN, but I do appreciate a movement and I love street art.  

Friend, Not Bacon.

Friend, Not Omelette.

We Are Not Food.

My Tits, My Milk.

Uploaded by ItsMattSherwood on 2016-11-09.

I’m not sure who is behind this campaign.  Couldn’t find much info online about it.  But, kudos to the artists that came up with it!  Once you see them, you can’t un-see them.  They’re everywhere!

Belgrade is certainly not the only city to see Vegan street art.  Here is a Tumblr dedicated to Vegan street art around the world.

I found this interesting article about someone who painted VEGAN over a McDonald’s mural in Huntington Beach, California. This is NOT cool.  Don’t paint over a beautiful mural.  Make your art on a random wall.  But don’t paint over someone else’s piece, even if it is a Mickey-D’s mural.

In my opinion, graffiti is a beautiful thing. I’ve seen some amazing street art around the world on this trip!  Each city has its own style.  Belgrade has some phenomenal artists, like this one who does these black and white portraits of important political and historical figures.  This piece is quite controversial.  It features Bosnian Serb anarchist, Gavrilo Princip, who assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and essentially started WWI.  

Buenos Aires has the most impressive collection so far (Read my previous post about it)  I love cities like BA, and Venice CA, where street art is not only accepted, but celebrated and encouraged.  It can turn a decaying city into a colorful, tropical concrete jungle.  

Street art is a powerful medium that can be a catalyst for social movements.  

I’m sure we will see some politically motivated street art emerge over the next few years in the U.S.  

Curious to see what people come up with…

Serbia's Church of Saint Sava

The Serbs love them some Saint Sava!  As I’ve written in a previous post, St Sava is one of the most important figures in Serbian history (Serbian Prince, Orthodox Monk, enlightened teacher & author, etc).  

And the Church of Saint Sava is one of the most treasured structures in the city.  She is a beaut!  Especially with all that white marble, and immaculate detailing.

Also, Saint Sava Temple is one of the biggest church buildings in the world.  It ranks up there.

Interestingly, the interior of the church is still under construction.  There is scaffolding set up, and while some of the windows look really nice, it is very much unfinished.  

It's bizarre because the outside is so stunning!  There aren't really any seats or anything.  But, there are still a couple areas set up for worship and prayer.

I can only imagine what the inside will look when it is finished, especially if they put as much love and care as they did with the outside.  Supposedly a lot of the interior decor will feature mosaics.  (thumbs up emoji)  

Here are some photos of the temple as the sun is setting.  

Saint Sava Temple is a most impressive sight!  I really enjoyed the peacefulness and tranquility of the church grounds.  Even as there were kids scootering around and street vendors pedaling ice cream and souvenirs.  

2 and a half words for Serbia, "Get-er done!"  I wanna see your inside shine like the outside.  See you soon, Saint Sava Temple!

Serbian Sightseeing Scramble

It’s my last week in Belgrade, and per usual, I’m running around trying to see sights that I put off seeing the first 3 weeks.  In one day, I visited two museums and one art gallery.  Success!

Right across the street from my apartment is the Historical Museum of Serbia.  

I had no idea what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised!  They had two exhibits.  The first was Saint Sava, Serbian Prince and orthodox monk, one of the most important figures in Serbian history.  He was known as The Enlightener, because he possessed vast theological knowledge and spiritual power which he brought to the people of Serbia.  He is regarded as the father of Serbian education and literature.  And a protector of the Church and its people.  

The second exhibit featured Mihajlo Pupin, a Serbian physicist, chemist and scientist.   I didn't know anything about Pupin when I walked in, but came to realize how important he was.  He came to the United States to study and work and was instrumental in developing long distance telephone technology.  He was friends with Nikola Tesla and apparently made quite an impression on Albert Einstein.  Oh yeah, and he was a founding member of NASA.  

The Pupin exhibit itself was extraordinary!  It was interactive, like the first room you walk into, you have to turn the huge page of this oversized book to get the intro video to play:

And in another room regarding Pupin's migration to the US, you stand on the floor of this "boat" and a bunch of lighting and sound effects start to play:

In another room, you swing on a swingset and the video animated back and forth to the rhythm of your swinging.  Phenomenal interactive museum design by the Serbs here!  And overall, beautiful displays.

After the Historical Museum, I hopped over to the Nikola Tesla Museum.  Nikola Tesla is a huge deal in Serbia, even the Belgrade Airport is named after him: Nikola Tesla Airport.  

The Nikola Tesla Museum is actually really small.  

I was expecting a much bigger layout, but even though it's small, the demonstration was impressive.  They show a 15 minute video on the history of Tesla and his accomplishments.  And then they demonstrate a few of his most important inventions like the alternating current (AC) coils, the remote control, and spinning motors.  

Tesla has over 300 patents and his technology was way ahead of the times.  People couldn't even wrap their brain around how important his work was.  Many modern inventions were made possible by Tesla.  He invented AC current, which is the standard for electric power.  Almost every washing machine uses his motor.  He invented remote controls.  And, he basically invented radio.  (Although he didn't get credit for it because larger companies stole his patents)

The speaker was saying that one of his proudest accomplishments is the fact that an electrical unit was named after him:  T.  T, for Tesla is a unit of magnetic field.  They even feature this on the Serbian currency: 100 dinars: 

Oh and I got to be in the same room as this incredible man!  Tesla's ashes are in this urn:

Walking around the same night, I randomly walked by this really cool art gallery called U10 Gallery.  I walked by it at first, but when I saw the art in the windows, I backtracked and checked it out.  

The exhibit featured French artists, not Serbian, but the style seemed to fit so perfectly in the gritty Belgrade aesthetic.  I think it's multiple artists named Printnoiz / Magnaro.  

You could just walk around aimlessly any night in Belgrade and find a cool museum, gallery, cafe, restaurant, bar, etc.  So much to see and do.  The best spots are usually tucked away or hidden from the road.  In Belgrade, they don't invest in the outside of the buildings.  But, don't judge a book by its cover.  Open the book and you'll see the beauty.  

It's too bad I'm leaving tomorrow, because I could stay in Serbia for a long time!  LOVE Belgrade.

The Beauty of Belgrade

Belgrade, (capital city of Serbia) was the biggest wild card on our travel itinerary.  I don’t think anyone in the group had ever been, which was odd.  Outside of Cordoba, at least someone had visited all the other cities.  But, Belgrade remained largely unknown which created allure and mystery.  

We had heard about Belgrade’s hoppin’ nightlife (not as appealing to me these days, but every once in a while I'll venture into the night and cut a rug).  But, other than that, not much info.  

In the city preview, Belgrade was called “charmingly gritty”.  

I’ve been here two weeks now and I concur, the city is charming!  And, a bit gritty.  But, with grit comes history and character.  

The city was at war not long ago, and that post war grit combined with the typical European urban decay creates a rich cityscape.  

RY has us living right in the heart of the city center and I LOVE the location.  We are right next to the House of the National Assembly building:

...and across the street from the Historical Museum of Serbia:

We are a few blocks away from Republic Square, which is a city center / big outdoor mall.  In my neighborhood, are ~100 cafes, bars, restaurants, etc.  All with their own unique character.  And, good music! 

Only a couple years ago, there was an effort to revitalize the Belgrade Waterfront, an area along the Sava River.  They’re investing a lot of money into it, and I think it’s paying off!  There are river boats, a bike path, shops, cafes, restaurants, etc.  

The local neighborhood is very graffiti friendly and reminds me of Venice, California.  But, the Belgrade Waterfront is all class compared to Cali coast.  

Belgrade may not be on any American’s list of places to travel in Europe, but I guarantee if you come here, you will not be disappointed.  It’s a hidden gem, and an up and coming destination for future backpackers!

Remote Year (Half Year) Revelation

Been on the road for 6 months now and visited 2 continents & 10 countries. Hoping for 20 by year’s end.  I’ve learned a few things about myself, and the world along the way, but one in particular stands out.  

In the good ole U.S.A., we are so lucky that English is our native language.  English is a global language and the most widely learned second language.  Almost everyone speaks at least a little. (We'll check back on this in Asia)  

We just landed in Belgrade, Serbia on Saturday, and they have a whole different alphabet that I can’t even comprehend!  (See below, Serbian Cyrillic)  But, almost everywhere I go, I see signage in English, menus with English translations, etc.  Almost everyone speaks enough to help you out.  

This is the cafe/bar I'm in right now in Belgrade.  It's called M-Eating.  And as you can see, the sign outside, the signs on the walls inside---all in English.

We are so fortunate.  Traveling the world is a cinch when everyone* speaks your language.  (*Well, not everyone, of course, but plenty enough to get by easily)

This leads me to another thought.  

I think learning a second language should be mandatory in the United States.  From a YOUNG age.  I think foreign language should start in grade school and be part of the curriculum all the way through high school.  

I wish I knew how to speak a second language.  And third, fourth, fifth, etc.  Almost all of my European travel mates know ~3-5 languages.  I wish I was forced to learn at least a 2nd when I was younger.

Now more than ever, we live in a global economy.  Our world is so interconnected.  If we want to be a leader, (heck, even compete) on a global scale---why don’t we push our communicate skills to better relate to other countries?  We shouldn’t rest on our laurels because English is the most common language.  We should be pushing ourselves to learn, grow and adapt.  The rest of the world adapts to English.  And I am so thankful for that.  

Who knows, maybe if future generations were fluent in foreign languages, it would bolster our long term economy?  Perhaps it would create more jobs in the US?  

If anything, it would go a long way in showing the world that we aren’t just selfish Americans who think their s*#t don’t stink.  Cuz, trust me...that's a thing.  :]