Life in Retro(bel)grade

Another thing I love about this town – the smell of winter in the air. The smell of smoke from firewood coming from the chimneys, typical homecooked local dishes, the crispness of the big snow that is yet to fall and, yes, just a touch of inner city smog. This particular mixture of smells exudes such a feeling of hospitality that I can’t help but feel like I’m at home. Makes no sense either, considering I was born and raised on the Iberian Peninsula. Yet Winter is the time of year when I hear Belgrade shouting out a big heartfelt, “Welcome home. It’s good to see ya!” at me. Go figure. It could be the fact that, regardless of the age group or layer of society you belong to, winter is the party season in Belgrade.

First and foremost, we have the literally inevitable slavas. A slava is the celebration of the family saint, a tradition that isn’t necesarilly religious but rather of a more ethnic character among Serbs and a few other ethnic denominations in the world. You can read up on the particulars in the Wikipedia link I provided up there but that ain’t gonna tell you half the story about what actually goes on at a typical Serbian slava. It’s all about eat, drink and be merry -  to the power of ten. Honestly, you have never seen more true friends, heard more genuine laughter, or witnessed people of all ages consuming more food or drink in one place at one time. Ever. Roman emperors got nothin’ on us Serbs when the slava season rolls around. And if you haven’t been to one, you don’t know the true definition of a party. If you are ever invited to a slava, showing up is a must and the invitation is an honor. It means you’ve been invited into someone’s inner circle. When you arrive at a slava, as soon as you’re in the door and after you have wished the host a happy slava, you will be offered a spoon of the ‘slavsko žito’, boiled and minced whole wheat grain with sugar and nutmeg, and a sip of red wine to wash it down with. The wheat represents the body of Christ but also our gratitude for a good year and a good ‘crop’, the sugar and nutmeg represent the promise of a sweet and pleasant afterlife for all Christian souls. The wine, of course, represents the blood of Christ. Again, if you’re not religious, keep in mind that it’s more an ethnic ritual than a religious one and roll with it.  Eating and drinking plenty once you’re in the door is also a must. You’ll see a large, simple candle (traditionally, it should be of pure bee’s wax but they’re tough to find these days) in the middle of the table, burning in celebration of the family saint, and a ‘slavski kolač’ or ‘slava cake’. It’s nothing like a cake. In fact, it’s very bland whole wheat bread but there’s a lovely little ceremonial breaking of the bread before you sit down to eat and everyone gets a piece of it. If you get invited to someone’s slava once, your presence is expected every year. You’re in for the long haul now.  Good luck with that!

The other great thing going on this time of year is the concert season, which I already mentioned before. It starts sometime in October and lasts until late Spring. Lots of great less known international and local bands playing regular and featured gigs all over the city and more big international names each year. My personal favorite venues to keep an eye on are the Students’ Cultural Centre’s Livingroom (SKC has multiple venues, by the way), jazz & blues club Plek (regular gigs every night of the week) Bitef Art Cafe (regular gigs and the occasional gem, e.g Victor Bailey), and the Sava Centre and the Belgrade Arena (bigger ‘names’ and concerts). I’m a simple Blues girl myself, so I highly recommend checking out Texas Flood at Livingroom on the 12th of this month. Texas flood are, the name says it, a raunchy blues/rock band from Belgrade who opened for ZZ Top when they played Belgrade recently. Their music is obviously influenced by the likes of SRV, ZZ Top, and traditional Delta Blues with a touch of Led Zeppelin finesse here and there. So I hear. I suggest you be there on December 12th and judge for yourself. Billy Gibbons was also a guest, along with Raphael Wressnig and Little G, on their higly acclaimed album released in early 2009. Tickets are still available, at the ridiculous price of 300 RSD (a little over 3€) and I hear it’s going to be a packed house. Loverly.

All in all, be prepared to put on a few extra pounds and be sleep deprived but happy this Winter season in Belgrade. I hope the links on this page help for now. There will be a post up soon for those of you who prefer to call it an early night, with recommendations for theatres and more classical concerts in the city. If you hear of anything worth paying attention to around the city, do let us all know. Keep the music blasting, the beer on ice, the party going, and have a great Belgrade week!

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