This morning we left Belgrade bright and early - well 8:30 a.m. - for the trip north to Subotica. I've never taken a group here before, so it was a new experience for all of us. As soon as we left Belgrade and crossed the river Danube to the north, we were on the Pannonian plain, a huge flat area in central Europe that is extremely fertile, but very, very flat. You imagine you can see from one village to the next, as there is nothing but farmland as far as the eye can see, with the spires of the churches marking each village.
We arrived about 11 in Subotica at the American Corner, where we were warmly greeted by Jelena, the coordinator. The first thing on the program was a tour of the city center, which was very interesting. We had an excellent tour guide, a volunteer at the Corner, and we were accompanied by about 30 high school students who wanted to hear us talk and practice their English. The city is very different from other cities in Serbia, as it is right on the Hungarian border and is a mix of Serbs, Hungarians and Croats. The students we met all attended a Hungarian high school, i.e. the language of instruction is Hungarian, but there are also high schools where the language of instruction is Croatian and others where instruction is in Serbian.
We saw many beautiful buildings in the Hungarian and Hungarian Art Nouveau styles, which feature brightly colored roof tiles and fascia painting and tiling. Truly spectacular. we saw the first Art Nouveau synagogue in Serbia (or perhaps western Europe or even the world) which is now being restored to its former glory. The outside is finished and is spectacular. Before WW2 there were about 6000 Jews living in Subotica - after the War only 1500 returned, and, of those, over 1000 left to go to Israel when it became a country in 1948, so the current Jewish population is not large. They worship in another synagogue just round the corner from the one being restored, so the restored one will become a concert venue and a place for other gatherings.
The last item on our tour was a visit to the City Hall to climb the tower - all 350+ steps to the viewing platform which is 150 feet above the ground (the tower itself goes up for another 100 feet.) As you can imagine, because of the flat terrain we could see for miles in every direction, as well as place all the buildings we had seen on our tour, most of which had spectacular tiled roofs.
After this we returned to the Corner where we had an interesting time talking to the students about America, answering their questions, and hearing about Serbia from their perspectives. After they left we had sometime to talk to Jelena about her work in the Corner, their programs and collections, and some of the difficulties they face.
After a brief stop for a late lunch (3.30 p.m) we headed back south and are now in the city of Novi Sad for two nights.
After a couple of showery days in Belgrade, the weather in Subotica and Novi Sad is just perfect with bright sunshine, but temperatures just hitting the low 70s. The forecast is about the same for our next two days.
Today was a little more relaxed, which was good, as the whole trip is quite tiring, but we pick back up with a full itinerary of visits tomorrow. The students are already out exploring Novi Sad, although I did hear some talk of ice cream, so perhaps they will not be going too far....