Belgrade Round 2, Subotica

Hey guys, since I last talked to you I have spent 2 nights in Belgrade and made my way to Subotica.

On Saturday morning, I made the three hour drive from the hotel near Nis to Belgrade. There was some more great scenery along the way.

Upon arrival into the city, I checked into my hostel, which was only about a block from my friend Mickey’s bar. Since I basically just came back to Belgrade this time to hang out with him, I figured that I might as well be close. On Saturday evening, I went over to the bar pretty early and posted up. It was good to catch up with Mickey and they had a great funk band at the bar that night.

Mickey’s bar, the Pivo Blues
Reunited with Mickey, he’s a wild child. The bottle of Bulleit I brought saved me a lot of money (it’s good to know the manager) and made me pretty popular with the bartender who got a nice tip early on to keep them coming.
I was way too big for this swing ๐Ÿ˜‚
Young Turkish guy from the hostel who came over to the bar with me. His name was Ekim, but we settled on Mike because it was Ekim spelled backwards and was easier for me to say than the proper Turkish pronunciation of Ekim. He’s gonna be studying in Belgrade for the next year, so I hope to see him when I’m back in town in November.
Belgrade Funk
He kept me in business all night ๐Ÿ‘
Me, Mickey, and Mike. Funny enough, Mickey’s real name is Milenko, so I guess I have a bad habit of calling everybody by their English nickname here ๐Ÿ˜‚

On Sunday afternoon, I ventured out for a walk down the main pedestrian street and a got haircut, but that was about it until the evening. I was definitely moving a little slow. But I got it pulled together enough to go out and do a little busking in the evening and then headed back over to the Pivo Blues to hear a great band that was playing Sunday night. I definitely took it pretty easy, but had a nice time chilling out with Mickey, Mike, and a Swedish guy from the hostel we met named Nils.

Venturing out
Republic square
Some other buskers out during the day. Lots of competition in Belgrade at all times.
My rig Sunday evening.
A video Nils got of me playing a little John Prine.
Back to the Pivo Blues to hear some great blues. This gal sounded a little like Janis.
Skills

On Monday, I got up and had a great lunch near the hostel and then got on the road to Subotica – which is in the far north of Serbia on the Hungarian border. I got to drive through the breadbasket of Serbia and saw lots of farmland on the way.

Veal – was a little fatty, but very good.

Upon arrival to Subotica, I got checked into my Airbnb and then set out to do a little exploring around the city center. There was some nice architecture here, but it started to get dark before I had a chance to see too much. So I went back to my Airbnb and just chilled out and did a load of laundry.

City hall
I almost stopped in here to pump a few dinars in the slots. Thinking I might get lucky in Kentucky. But decided against it – I’m not much of a gambler.
Another view of city hall
There was a convention of kids theater going on in the main square while I was there.
Monument to the farmers of the area. Subotica is surrounded on all sides by the fields of the Pannonian Plain.

On Tuesday, I got up and checked out of my Airbnb and set out to do a little more exploring around Subotica. I saw a few more cool buildings and streets – including the famous synagogue – and had a great meal and one of the fancier restaurants in the city.

Subotica synagogue
Subotica synagogue
Subotica synagogue
Subotica synagogue
Memorial to Holocaust victims
These looked to me like Nazi and Communist symbols – both on the same building. But I’m not sure.
First steak in 3 months. The whole bill for steak, soup, bread, coffee, and water was less than $20. You can’t beat the prices in Serbia.

Today, I’m headed from Subotica back to Novi Sad for two nights. Tonight, I’m hoping to link up with my friend Milan and tomorrow night I have a show at the Graffiti cafe, where I played last time I was in Novi Sad. Then on Thursday, I’m headed back to Vukovar, Croatia to see more friends and play another show on Friday night.

Hoping for a big turnout in Vukovar!

Talk to you soon!

You May Also Like

  1. Anna-Maria South

    The Zebra travels around….๐Ÿ˜‚ I love it so cute

  2. david elliott

    Zen, glad to see you hard at it and having fun. Keep up the great journaling.