A week has passed since we were in Vrdnik. Here is a summary of our few days there…
Wednesday. After breakfast on the terrace (Jim walked to the bakery to get us goodies to go with our eggs and veggies), we decided to take a walk up the hill behind our place that we had done before.
The straight steep rough road climbs past modest houses and gardens to a cemetery. The spot has good views of the surrounding hills. Behind the cemetary is a dirt road from which a faint path (hard to find in the past although this year there was a red and white trail marker painted on the fence which had not been there before) leads hikers down into the woods to a seasonal waterfall called Lazin Vir. From there a network of little-used trails leads further into Fruška Gora National Park. We were tempted to follow one past the falls but soon realized the path was overgrown and would be hard to follow so we turned around and went back to the little dirt road behind the cemetery to do the loop we’ve done before. Houses up there are sparse and mostly old but we passed a brand new large villa with a tall gaudy wall around it and numerous security cameras. We are sure it belongs to a mafia person. Nobody else here could afford such a thing.
The walk was scenic with good views of fields, farms and forests, but everything was ultra dry due to no rain all summer and high temperatures. We’ve been here at this time of year numerous times and have never seen everything so parched and brittle. But we enjoyed our walk even though it was about 90 degrees.
Back home Jim took a nap and I sat on the terrace.
At around 3 we drove 40 minutes south to the once Roman town of Sremska Mitrovica to see a man I connected with on Facebook a few months ago. I reached out to him (an artist) because his last name, Martinović, is the same as my great grandma Ana. I asked where his people are from and where our name originated. It didn’t appear we are related but he did say our name came from a village near Cetinje in BiH. When I told him we might be in the area he had said to let him know and we could meet for coffee.
Before meeting him we parked at the edge of town by the wide Sava River and walked to a pedestrian area where we ate salad, pizza and something that was described as being a gyro wrap but was unlike any gyro I had eaten. It was good enough, just odd. It was filled with chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo and French fries. The pedestrian area was pleasant, lined with small shops and many cafes and restaurants. The old city library, a handsome grand building, stood on the corner.
We met Damjan around the corner at a Cafe Talja next to a park. He had a childhood friend with him, Elvir, who was visiting from the Netherlands. Elvir spoke decent English although he said he was not as fluent as he used to be. Elvir used to be a documentary photographer but it was too difficult to make a living at that so he now works for a commercial photography company. He used to like living in the Netherlands but said it is too crowded and has too many immigrants (even though he was one once) and he would like to find someplace quiet to live where there is more nature.
Damjan is a painting professor at an art school in Belgrade and he creates his own paintings as well. His dad, too is a professor and painter. The two of them have a show in the city gallery right next to the park with a few of their paintings and paintings from many of their former students. After we finished our mineral water we went to see the show, but while at the cafe we first had a good conversation.
They told us we should come again and explore the city. There are so many Roman ruins there that used to be open for viewing but because they can’t afford to excavate and preserve them they have covered most of them back up. But even on the stone paved ground where the cafe was there were several round Roman mosaics.
Both men hate Vučić, the Serbian President. They say, like everyone we talk with, that Vučiċ only helps himself and his rich friends and they are all corrupt and they are ruining the country. They work with Russian former KGB thugs to rig elections in Serbia and they foment hate and blame amongst the Serbian people. They don’t have much hope for the future. Election are scheduled for later in October but they believe Vučić will make sure he wins.
Damjan knows all about the Seattle Sonics basketball team which he followed as a kid. There was a channel in Serbia where they could watch NBA games. He knew all the teams and players. Now he follows soccer and is a rabid fan but made sure to say he is not a hooliganism. Elvir does not watch sports and thinks they are corruption and ruined by American Capitalism which he feels is bad for sports.
When I mentioned we are not sure if we will travel here again because the trip is long and stressful Elvir said he understood it could be hard for people our age. I am always startled when I realize we are seen as being old! We don’t feel old. Or at least not THAT old!
We enjoyed the art exhibit, especially his and has dad’s paintings. Almost all were very realistic. Many were very well done. While looking at Damian’s dad’s paintings of traditional Serbian furniture, clothes and tools Elvir talked about how he and other students would spend months trying to get a particular vest shown in one of the paintings to look right. Elvir at some point gave up painting because he was too impatient. He liked the immediate results of photography.
We parted warmly and they again invited us to come back and spend more time there with them. They seemed proud of their small city.
We arrived home just before dark.
…
Thursday morning I was tired from way too little sleep. During my 2 hours of wakefulness I had checked the Seahawks score a few times. I checked one last time 4 minutes before the game ended. We were behind. But when I woke I saw messages from Cedar and Tina saying we had won in the last 28 seconds!
After breakfast we walked to the monastery (for women) across the little town. It appeared the plaster outside had been repaired and repainted. Inside also had been freshened since we were there a year ago. Maybe it was the case last year too but this year no photography was allowed inside, and they had a basket of skirts by the door to cover our legs. I don’t remember that from last year either. I like this little monastery with its colorful gardens and even a few garden gnomes tucked among the flowers.
From there we wandered through a part of town we’ve not explored much. Past the old train station which is now a bus stop is a street lined with mature trees divided by a raised old train bed with old Austro- Hungarian styled large homes on one side (some abandoned and some renovated) and smaller Yugoslav era houses on the other side. There is so much interesting juxtaposition in this town (and in many towns) between old and new, modern and worn. In Vrdnik we wonder who is buying the new homes and condos. Most appear to be primarily money laundering projects and often stand unfinished for years, and empty when completed. The locals all agree the building does not benefit them in any way.
Thursday at 5, Lazar, our host from the first place we stayed four years ago on our first visit to Vrdnik (when we had Covid) came to our place for a short visit. He had been a vivacious warm friendly host and I have kept in touch with him, mostly at Christmas and Easter. I wrote to him saying we were here again and asked if he might be free to meet. He enthusiastically said yes.
We sat around our table and had a nice chat. I am guessing Lazar is in his early forties. He doesn’t speak English but talks loudly and fast into his phone’s translator app so we could have a good conversation. He is a very positive guy despite, like so many people, not liking Vučić or the corrupt government. He talked again about how in Vrdnik there are two classes- the very wealthy mafia types and the poor. There are now very few people in the middle. Many people need to work two jobs to get by. He said most of the town went without water this summer yet the new huge mafia funded spa resorts on the hill were given water to keep their resorts open. He also said the old therapeutic spa in town is in poor repair. They only change the water every 2-3 months compared with once a week in the old days. He never recommends that place to his guests anymore.
Lazar is healthy and doing well as is the rest of his family. His daughter, Sara, is a Junior in high school. We can’t recall if he is divorced or if his wife died but in any case Sara lives with him part time.
He has continued to renovate buildings on his property where he has 2 rental units plus a renovated small barn where he lives during tourist season. He did all the work. Business is great. He loves his guests immensely and is very pleased with his facilities. We stayed in the spacious one bedroom house and there is also a smaller unit across the driveway. In addition there is a large shady yard, a tree swing, a fire pit, some playground equipment, and an orchard in his mother’s yard behind his yard. The only reason we haven’t stayed there again is because the front of the house is close to the main road into town and the bedroom gets traffic noise.
While we sat together Jim played on his laptop the song he wrote about having Covid in Vrdnik. There are photos of Lazar and his yard attached to the song and Lazar was happy and touched to see he had been included. He requested the link for his archives.
Before he parted Lazar said if Cedar visits again he will give him a tour of the town and park. He said we are family to him, and told us to stop by on our way out of town the next day to receive plums from his trees.
We walked to Miners restaurant for dinner and were served by a warm older man. We spoke mostly Serbian with him and he was appreciative. We ate salad, chicken and chicken skewers with plums, all very good as was the fresh bread.
Friday morning we packed the car and stopped at Lazar’s. He showed us his renovations including a creative use of an old corn crib (?) that he has turned into a cozy ‘lounge’ with tv, dart board, bar and historic pictures on the slatted walls. He is a creative and handy man.
We did not stay long because we needed to be on our way to Belgrade and he had guests arriving soon. But it was great to reconnect with Lazar and see his place again. We parted with hugs and a big bag of organic plums.
old train station, now bus stop and charity shop? angel at the cemetery. Lazin Vir waterfall area. Sremska Mitrovica. Damian’s dad’s painting. Damian and a couple of his paintings. Monastery in Vrdnik. Building in Vrdnik begging for restoration. Old and new in Vrdnik. Lazar. View from our house. Lazar’s lounge that was once a corn pen.
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