Four years ago, at about the same time of year, I was on my first solo trip in Belgrade, Serbia. During that time, as probably now, the chesnut trees were in bloom, the weather alternated 
between hot and humid days and rainy, chillier ones, one could buy peonies, strawberries and other goodies at the green market. I also noticed that most apartment buildings in Belgrade, although they 
could be otherwise somewhat decrepit, had some pretty stunning Art-Deco doors. While on walks exploring the city, I got lost often, trying to reconcile my outdated map of Belgrade with the street names that I could barely read on the street (because most are written in Cyrillic). No matter, I would usually ask for to my way to unfailingly friendly pedestrians and always made it back home to Vasa’s apartment.
On this page I have posted some more pictures from that first trip four years ago. From top to bottom: wildflowers at Topčider Park, the monument to France (by Ivan Mestrović), a view of the 
confluence of the Sava and the Danube from Kalemegdan, the Kalemegdan fortress, the 
greenhouses at the Belgrade Botanical Garden (Botanička Bašta), a blue art shop on Džordža Vašingtona ulica (Georges Washington street), the bank of Danube from New Belgrade, the café ?, a brick wall covered in ivy at Kalemegdan park, Tasmajdan with Sveti Marko church in the distance and the French Cultural Center on Knez Mihajlova street.
On Sunday, we went to Governors island. This is the island in Manhattan which is approximately shaped like an ice-cream cone (see map at left). We took the free ferry along with young people wearing lots of black and lots of metal (it was the third Annual “Punk Island” event). All over the island were large metal sculptures by 
contemporary American artist Mark Di Suvero. These pieces are normally found at the Storm King Art Center in the Hudson valley but are on loan on the island this summer. 
