OK, first things first – I know this one is late, again. Can’t be helped – I’ve been travelling all week, and I assure you, it has been a very busy time. As the headline above indicates, I have spent quite a bit of time in the Balkans – specifically, in Serbia. Now, this is a country that I have wanted to check out for some time, especially since, in the past few years, I have become utterly disillusioned with Western lies and nonsense about the Slavic peoples. So I arranged a trip out there to see what I could see.
First impressions of Belgrade were, I must admit, rather poor. The White City – that is the literal meaning of “Belgrade” in Slavic languages, as the name is essentially a portmanteau of Белый (white) and Город (city), in rather similar fashion to the Russian city of Belgorod – is actually a very dreary place in winter. The whole city looks very much like a post-Soviet dump – a bit like I am told Krasnoyarsk looks these days. It looks, in my view, probably rather like Moscow did in the early 1990s, right after the fall of the USSR, when Russia experienced severe and traumatic economic shocks and struggled to figure out a way to reconcile its old Soviet architecture and technology with modernity.
But, over time, the city did grow on me. Serbia is clearly a rather attractive place for foreign capital and brands, and with good reason. There are hardly any Muslims around – most of those are Albanians, living in Kosovo, or Bosnians, living in, er, Bosnia. Families are commonplace. The Serbs are a heterogeneous people with little dilution, a strong sense of national character and history, and a deep love of their country. And, while they are not exactly 100% on board with the Russians, they are strongly sympathetic to them and genuinely like and respect Russia.
So I got along with the Serbs really rather well. I liked what I saw – I just cannot recommend going to Serbia in winter. The weather is bloody awful.
And, if you hate sitting in smoke-filled restaurants and breathing in other people’s disgusting second-hand smoke, avoid the Balkans entirely. This is a part of the world where smoking in cafes and restaurants is very much still permitted. The local laws are a bit hilarious in this regard. Essentially, restaurants must have a smoking and a non-smoking section – but most of them get around this issue simply by placing them right next to each other, which leads to rather awful results for those of us who cannot bloody stand cigarette smoke.
Even that, however, is changing, as numerous cafes and restaurants in Belgrade do not permit smoking at all, bowing to the health-conscious interests of their younger clients. But you do have to know where to go and where to look, and that is a challenge.
I also managed to spend some time travelling to western Serbia, near the border with Bosnia. And I assure you, it is well worth the trip, despite the long drives involved. Western Serbia is stunning in its natural beauty. You can really have a great time driving around the western part of the country, through the national parks and the mountains. It is a glorious place.
So that is what I have been up to for the past week – along with a lot of bumbling about on the ski slopes of another Western country. Let’s just say that I probably need a holiday from my holiday, and I am VERY glad to be heading back home.
Therefore, this post is late, and this week has been rather quiet – I am WAY behind in my reading and watching with respect to politics, economics, and other affairs, but normal service should resume very shortly.
Meanwhile, let’s get on with this week’s closing Instathot. This here is Dasha Boyko (Дарья Бойко), probably in her early-to-mid-twenties, from, I think, Rostov-on-Don. I know absolutely nothing else about her and don’t care to, given how busy I have been.
Enjoy whatever is left of your weekend, and we will be back with regular service starting this Monday (I hope).
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