2 days in Kruševac in central Serbia

Sleepy morning in Kruševac. I feel lousy after too many nights of too little sleep, and last night was especially poor. On top of that I woke with a headache.My eyes are burn-y and tired, but what is hard to describe is the sensation overall in my head. I pray I feel better soon as I would like to be present and enjoy our time with painter Zoran who we are set to have lunch with in his village 15 minutes north of here.

It is noisy here 5 floors up from the fairly busy street below on the northeast side of the city. Noise echoes and is amplified by the other tall apartment buildings near us. It’s weird trying to locate where sounds are coming from because not only do they come from our level but also from below and above. I would never want to live in a tall building. This apartment has a small balcony which I appreciate but I want and need to be able to step out onto the ground. And this building does not have any fire escape or emergency egress. Complain about government codes and regulations if you will, but I definitely appreciate basic ones that address safety. If there was a fire or bad earthquake we’d be in trouble. 

While the location is convenient we do seem to be in a neglected older part of town with a moderate number of gypsies, right across from the large bus station. A covered walkway over the street is right next to our building. The roof is lit up in red, white and blue, the colors of the Serbian flag. There is also a shopping mall across the way and the German grocery story, LIDL, that we went to yesterday and disliked. It’s bright and shiny but poorly laid out and products hard to find. We prefer the small markets and small local chains. Despite the abundance of concrete, parking lots, bus station and mall there are also a couple cafes and small businesses. And we are right next to a small side street with old shops and bakeries that could use some sprucing up. But here, the outward sagging, peeling, stained, worn appearance of apartments, shops and restaurants is not an indication of the quality of services or products inside. I’m surprised by the number of tiny clothing stores in this part of town. I’m sure great deals are to be had here if one wanted to exercise their shopping lobe. Also in this part of town are numerous small dilapidated structures that look absolutely unfit for habitation but are clearly lived in.

I chose this apartment because of very good reviews online, and because it has a parking area and it is in a good location for walking to shops and restaurants. The unit itself is fine once you climb four flights of stairs with dingy stained walls (no elevator). It is like so many buildings here (maybe all buildings?) in that the stairways have lights that only come on if you turn them on and then go off after one passes by. This system works great except one day none of the lights worked and the stairs were pitch black. Thank goodness for the flashlight on the cell phone!

The drive from Bajina Bašta took about three hours as predicted, and was the most stressful of our drives so far (but often scenic). Aside from a brand new short stretch of road on this end of the drive the roads were 2 lanes and winding and fairly busy with insane drivers speeding and passing on blind curves.  And we had to navigate through a couple cities on busy surface streets. But we made it! Our host’s father-in-law met us on the street and guided us onto the alley and then pointed to the access to the parking in the courtyard surrounded by tall building. The passageway was maybe a total of 2 feet wider than the car. I was glad (as always) that Jim was the driver!

We walked to LIDL for groceries, then walked into the center of town for dinner at Pastel, a restaurant on the pleasant pedestrian mall/square. The food (modern take on traditional foods) was fine but not great, more expensive but still very reasonable ($30 for the 2 of us), and the waitstaff not very engaging. But we enjoyed  people watching and looking at the assortment of shops and stores. As I have said numerous times, in the evenings so many people of all ages  are out on foot with friends and family, either strolling, shopping or having coffee or beer. 

The next morning we walked to the very interesting Green Market to look for flowers to buy for Zoran-the-painter’s wife who we would be visiting that afternoon (will write separately about that visit). I’m sure Green Markets are similar the world over but this one is very different from farmers markets in urban America, and everything soooo much cheaper here, of course. As with buildings, regulations regarding who can sell what seem to be minimal (or non-existent) here. The long covered space was filled with long lines of tables with narrow passageways between the rows. There was plenty of fresh produce, some locally grown but because it’s still early in the growing season much of the produce came from elsewhere. The much loved scallion-like onions were huge. In addition to the fruits and veggies there were fresh eggs stacked in large pyramids, honey, and home made sauces, jams and pickles packaged in a weird assortment of used bottles leftover from other products. There were candles to light in churches, candies, chocolates, flowers and lots of plants. The produce vendors also sold seemingly random other things as well- hair ties, dish towels, used shoes, brooms, umbrellas, home made dried and cured meats. There was a booth dedicated to home made milk products and another overflowing with plastic flowerpots. I would have taken many more photos but it feels rude so I refrain. It was also interesting to see a number Gypsy vendors but they were all clumped together at the far end of the market and also had blankets on the ground right outside the market. They sold a random assortment of mostly well used items- shoes, clothes, toys, tools, watches, etc. and they seemed primarily to interact with each other.

…After our enriching visit with Zoran on Saturday we walked back to the city center and ate at E.T. Pizza which had a traditional menu and the food was great and much cheaper than where we ate the first night. We enjoyed a meandering walk back to the apartment. That night a cafe next to the mall blared regional ethno-techno  music with a very eastern flavor until 1 am. It was far enough away that it didn’t keep me awake and I actually liked hearing it as a reminder of where I was.

Sunday morning after breakfast we walked again to the market, this time to buy a plant for our next host who lives 90 minutes east. Although we prefer staying in smaller towns and villages our stay in Kruševac was pleasant. It is a vibrant city yet not too chaotic.