Ex Yugoslavia
Let us start with heroes. Mosa Pijade, Ivo Lola Ribar, Bosko Buha, and others, once mentioned every day, one way or the other, these heroes today only hardly ring a bell to anyone, especially young ones.
Today, the communism is a taboo subject, and those who built something that fell apart are passe big time. Kalemegdan park with fortress is perhaps nicest thing in Belgrade, and these small monuments still remind us of this romantic past.
You could
think that
darkness
is so scary strong,
powerful and dreadful,
and - you would be wrong.
Fortunately, it is
not at all this way:
You just light a candle
and it runs away.
poem Darkness by Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj, one of the best known Serb poets (1833-1904); translation: Dragana Konstantinovic
To be honest, Yugoslavia, or what left from it, is not what it was in our minds. Once a beautiful countryside turned to dull deserted factories, junkyards and you really have to try hard to see it as pleasant. People changed, not to worse, but war, embargo have taken their toll. And the whole country speaks to it. Well, memories stay, but are fading, there are less and less things left that remind us of this nice past. Past so romantic and unspoiled. Now, cell phone stations rise on hills, giant poster adds cover buildings.
Someone needs to light that candle back.
Well, all is not that bleak. There are many places that shine with beauty. We can name several places in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, places we see more often than Serbia and Macedonia. You may check some of them in Galleries: