Day 2

So! I've been doing a lot here in Belgrade, between sight seeing, classes, guest lecturers, soaking up the city, nightlife, readings, and trying to get enough sleep I can't believe it's been only six days since leaving the USA. Each day is filled with so much I'll try to blog my experiences as coherently and forwardly as possible. Our first full day here was a favorite of mine. My day started with breakfast at the hotel where they offer bread, coffee, cereal, cheese, juice, water, and meat. My gooooodness, so much meat. That really goes for every Serbian meal I've experienced here... "vegetarian" isn't much of an option and meat usually consists of 3/4 of the meal. As a vegetarian I get by though and have no complaints. After breakfast we all met up to see the Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sava and the National Library. The original National Library was bombed during WWII and a new was opened in 1947. The church was built in 1935, and the interior is still being built. The outside is beautiful and impressive, it being the largest Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Europe. 

St. Sava is Serbia’s patron saint and its influence is seen largely around the city. Four hundred years after his death St. Sava’s bones were burnt on the site in where the church now sits. Originally a huge spiritual, violent, and cultural offense it is now seen somewhat positively as his ashes are now spread and throughout Belgrade.

 Continuing our tour through Belgrade, we saw Serbia’s ministries of defense. Half the buildings are modern and the other half are from around World War II. In 1999, one the ministry of Defense was bombed by the US and has yet to be torn down or rebuilt. The original stair-like architectural design of the building was inspired by the Bosnian mountains where guerilla warfare against Nazis, traitors, etc. took place. The ruins have yet to be torn down or remodeled because of political disagreements and financial reasons. 

Making the way through the city and seeing many things, the largest and most beautiful sightseeing was at the Belgrade Fortress known as Kalemegdan, meaning the Great Duel. This fortress was built by the Celts (3^rd c.b.c) then later the Illyrians, Romans, Serbs, Hungarians, Byzantines, Austrians and Turks. It passed through so many hands because it was extremely strategically important as it lays on the convergence of two rivers, the Sava and Danube. The island created by the Sava and Danube is known as the Great War Island due to its strategic importance and the many wars and battles its has seen. From the fortress you can see one of the four the Hungarian towers that mark the borders of the Hungarian Empire. 

I really enjoyed the rivers, not only because I love the water and the bucolic scenery that accompanies it, but these particular rivers remind me of one of my favorite paintings by Thomas Cole "View from Mount Holyoke Northampton Massachusetts, After a Thunderstorm, the Oxbow". In both scenes, the rivers bend and snake through the landscape charging the composition with serene energy. This is just one of the ways I've brought together my studies in America to my studies in the Balkans. Through this dialogue, I want to try to connect these worlds and remind myself the they are both unique but not altogether different.

After the fortress we found a nearby place to have lunch. There I had my first experience paying for a bathroom. It was really confusing and I had to ask my TA if it was normal or if this little old lady in front of the bathroom is trying to rip me off. It only cost 10 dinar, which equals about ten cents. I was tempted to ask if it costs more to go number two, but I have no idea how to say that in Serbian. 

After lunch and an afternoon coffee in the philosopher’s pavilion  we met with the Catholic bishop. Our purpose on meeting with him was to better understand the tumultuous history of the warring religions in the Balkans: Catholicism and Serbian Orthodox. Between the two religions, both parties have expierenced a lot of violence and tension and the archbishop now, is trying to start a dialogue and culture of understanding to ease the pain of a very complex history. The entire cathedral is 

decorated to convey this message. For instance, the doors are decorated with two "lungs"--- one representing the Catholic faith and saying "Pax" in the Latin alphabet, and the other representing Serbian Orthodoxy and it saying "Peace" in Cyrillic. The message being that the nation needs both lungs to breathe and provide its people with faith, peace, love and understanding. Another mural in the church represented the sisters Elizabeth and the Virgin Mary with their sons St. John the Baptist and Jesus Christ respectively, reaching out to each other to speak. This step towards touch and conversation, as the bishop said, represented the first step we must all be brave enough to take in order to open up the pathways of conversation. With his lectures and answers to our questions, it seems that, although a slow process the dialogue is possible and even successful in some ways between the two religions.