Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

We had a leisurely day Wednesday. I worked on some writing, did laundry (hung it on the line over the balcony as there is no dryer), and spent way too much time translating info about how to add time to our SIM cards (all info is in Serbian, and the process confusing). In the afternoon…

The previous evening our hosts said they would give us eggs from their chickens, but they didn’t say anything more specific and we decided to go ahead and have breakfast. We had pastries and eggs. About 15 minutes after we were  done our hosts sent a message asking us to go down for breakfast! We…

The drive south along the two-lane winding road that follows the Drina river Monday was relatively easy and exceptionally scenic. There was very little traffic and the drive took almost exactly 2 hours as expected. The only momentarily hair-raising part was when we were at a town where the road was being repaired and was…

Sunday morning we ate breakfast then drove to Loznica to meet Lazo, Ružica and the two girls for an excursion. First we followed them to a restaurant on the hill above the ethno-village called Tršić that is about 15 minutes outside of town. The views of the green hills and valleys from the walls of…

Friday rain and thunderstorms were predicted in the afternoon, so after breakfast (Jim walked to town to buy more pastries) we set off, down the hill this time, toward the Drina river where we hoped to visit one of the many stony beaches and maybe have coffee at one of the several cafes scattered along…

In late December a new highway opened between Belgrade and Loznica shortening the drive considerably. It only took us 90 minutes. The down side is that all the little villages that used to get business from passing drivers no longer benefit. On the plus side it means less traffic for them. For us, as travelers,…

I slept too little, again, and woke with day 2 of a headache, not severe, just unpleasant. We walked to the neighborhood pekara (bakery) located next to the green market which wasn’t very busy. The route involved walking on a narrow street where cars parked on the sidewalk make it necessary for pedestrians to walk…

We had no trouble finding our little house in Belgrade and our host, Bora, was there to unlock the metal gate and guide Jim into the small parking space in front of the house. He and his family live next door (the 2 buildings are connected and share a mostly concrete garden space out back.…

Easter morning people trickled out to the living area at their own pace. We were served rakija and Turkish coffee (‘domača kafa’) and eventually had a breakfast of dried meats, cheeses, and a delicious ‘gibanica’  (a savory pastry filled with egg and cheeses) baked by Gligo. Ana works two jobs (language teacher, and at the…

Time is flying. We have been over here for nearly a week. I have so much to write about. I will continue with the most recent. We have had 3 Serbian language teachers in recent years. Our 3rd teacher, Ana, told us soon after we started lessons with her last summer that she would like…