The past two weeks have been a blur of....
.....get-togethers with family & old friends, ..Turkish coffees, ..holiday desserts, ..meat & cheese platters, ..bus & train stations, ..cities with different dialects, ...buildings lit up with red, green, yellow and blue bulbs, ...and exceptional evenings.
One of the greatest things stemming from our colourful backgrounds is that we have 2 Christmas' and 2 New Years - which means our holidays start Dec 24th and go all the way to January 14th! The traditional Catholic Christmas (Dec 25th) and world-wide New Years (Dec 31st) celebrated in both Vancouver & Split (and in a large % of the world) are followed by the Orthodox Christmas (Jan 7th) and New Year's (Jan 14th). Needless to say the merry-ness lasts just that extra bit longer and gives us an excuse to visit our family & friends way east of Vancouver and further east of Split in the always-buzzing city of Belgrade.
As this year's favourite Balkan destination for NYE (including an all-night party train from coastal Croatia to Belgrade and back!)
Belgrade is known for its nightlife. I've spent much of my life visiting, arriving in and departing from this city and have yet to master its web of public transport and curvy narrow streets. The old part of the city, Kalemegdan, is perfect for a winter walk through history, munching on some freshly roasted chestnuts. The whole inner core smells like popcorn and chestnuts - it's incredible! To my luck, they have yet to get a snowfall this year (try navigating through a massive city where a north-south road suddenly into a one-way east street heading west, and ends up back at the northern most part of the city) when everything is covered in white. While its always a bit stressful trying to cover all our bases and see everyone!, the city never ceases to provide a great time.
If you're thinking/planning/going to eastern Europe - Belgrade should be in your top 5. No matter the season there are always a million things going on around town - club openings, museums, cafes & pastery shops, operas & theater, new shopping centers, not to mention the history at each turn (monuments, castles, WWII tanks, cobbled streets...the works!). Did I mention Serbia has a looooong history (including a Royal Family)...?
Belgrade truly is one of the greatest cities to experience the wonders of Eastern Europe and have a fantastic time doing it!!
Second stop was in a small town just outside of Osijek to visit some very dear family. This is one of my favourite spots and I regularly make trips there whenever in Europe (usually multiple times!). Set out in the country, this little gem is full of small-town charm; a main street with a couple of bakeries, a local store, a few cafes and a lot of friendly locals. My favourite: a beautiful park along the Danube river, great for an evening stroll with ice cream in hand and oh.so.romantic at sunset in spring&summer. But the thing that keeps drawing my heart back here? Three little munchkins who are growing up way too fast and who I absolutely adore to my utter core.
Zagreb deserves an entire post so stay tuned on more about this sensational city!
And a final stop before landing back in Split is the majestic Lika which I've already told you about here.
Back in Split now catching up on a few things and looking forward to our upcoming agenda!
xo
