Belgrade and Vladimir

http://www.beograd.org.yu/cms/view.php?id=220

I was thinking tonight about my trip to Belgrade a couple of years ago. I was in Paris and had an invitation to fly over to Belgrade to visit my friend, Vladimir who was home visiting with his parents.

I had recently seen a documentary on the freedom movement called OTPOR on Public Television and had read a book by Michael Parenti called "To Kill A Nation", so needless to say I was curious about the realities of the country that the UN had bombed and that Slobidan Milosovic had devastated by stealing the Treasury from.

I landed in Belgrade on a Friday morning and could not believe the wave of heat that was coming at me from every direction. It was like a Florida summer on crack! The temperatures were around 100 degrees and I was melting like an ice cube.

It is funny though, because the story I have to relate is one of me being a complete pansy!! I was dropped into the middle of the biggest culture shock of my life. I was met at the airport by Vladimir and his friend Sladja who owned currency exchange places and had a great car that I was praying had a rocking air conditioner. Even at full blast it could not keep up with the heat penetrating the car. On that weekend trip away I think I lost 10 pounds just from sweating!

Anyway, for a year or more, I had heard from my friend Vlad about the amazing "Serbian Hamburgers" that would put the American ones to shame. I figured I would try one and it would be consumed somewhere like a Fudruckers or something. You can imagine my surprise when the next morning it was announced that we would be having one of these for breakfast. At that point, all I wanted was an Egg McMuffin and a coffee, but I was game for anything because I was starving.

We drove through a city full of fully-leaded gasoline blowing buses on our way to the "Place" where the best burgers in the city were served" and my exposure to all the gas fumes was killing my appetite. When we arrived at the center of the city, we pulled into what looked like a flea market area with lots of open-air vendors serving food. Everything was out in the open and unrefridgerated. I was a little nervous about it all and stood watching small women with large knives cutting chicken breasts up and piling them in big pans - right on the counters.

As hungry as I was, I let my friend order himself a hamburger and watched as they put warm mayonnaise on the bun and cooked him up a pattie. I thought to myself, "I will watch him for the next couple of hours, and if he does not die from salmonella I might try one". Needless to say that after eating a couple of apples and waiting out the impending doom of my friend I was about to pass out from heat and hunger. He thought I was a complete pansy and did not put two and two together until later that afternoon when I told him I really needed to eat and would get one of those burgers. I could see the light bulb go on in his head and he turned to me and said, "Mellissa, have you been watching me all afternoon to see if I would get sick from eating the food?". Uh oh, busted. I hate friends that know me so well!

To end this, I ate that hamburger and it was the best one I have ever had in my life. I ate one every day after that until my return flight to Paris the following Tuesday. Sometimes in life we just have to watch for danger and let someone go before us to clear the way. But how I wish I had one of those burgers right now. Yummmm.

Thanks Vlad!