As are its Inhabitants, so is the City
ꒌ Београд прима свакога. Расте и снижава се са сваким. Град старијих и нових дођоша, а сви староседеоци већ после пар година. Поприште судбина и животâ који се изборише са свиме, осим на крају са неумитним временом; али осташе у неком свом добу, које се не понавља; у Београду њихове, вечите прошлости. Заустављене да тако непромењено траје. Граду који поприма дух дошљака а задржава свој стари. Не понижава се ни пред ким осим пред голом силом која повремено налети, у свој заблуди своје махните похлепе. Али, и то бива само привремено, јер ће незванци, страни господари, као и увек отићи. Ми опет имамо стрпљења.
Београд има много пријатеља, и ниједног непријатеља. Како би он то могао имати? Понеком служи као кош за истресање мрзовоље настале неиспуњеним очекивањима. Београд нема савремену обраду смећа на градским депонијама. Али лако прерађује у њега бачене фрустрације оних ретких који уместо саме себе, цео један град и све његове житеље проглашавају кривцима за свој лични неуспех.
► █░▓ And what are they like, those inhabitants?
Open and restrained. Social, talkative and politely muted. Easygoing and (sometimes) hard handed. Friendly and inwardly, as not to be intrusive. Classy and shabby. Witty and straightforward. Discernible and naive. But never — rejecting! No-one and nobody ever gets rejected. Well, foreign armies. They alone.
It’s a big city — not perhaps in global terms, but sure regionally. It’s the only 1M+ urban settlement in Serbia, but so are Budapest in Hungary or Bucharest in Romania. It’s been called “the capital of Balkan”. Exaggerated? Well it used to be the capital of Yugoslavia. Whatever the so-called 'independence' achieved by the others now, they can only dream of the allure and air still present in and around Belgrade. It is not a polished lifeless museum; it's a living conglomerate taking over upon impressions of the past generations. If you need to see the nicely fixed collection of old things, the museums, go to Ljubljana (though Belgrade has more of those too). If you like swimming, beach fashion and life, go to the Adriatic. But if you like diving in the streets brimming with life, interact to become part of it... and not only meet locals when you order food and check menus in the restaurants — Belgrade is the place.
Whatever the size of Athens or Istanbul, Belgrade — unlike them — lies right at one of the Europe’s principal crossroads. That's its blessing and its curse: it's an unavoidable geopolitical target, when those times come. And they come. Often. But its population is up to the challenges. Peace times are critical: many have succumbed to the temptation to imitate the West without actually understanding it, becoming less themselves in the process; some have gone astray, self-destructive way. But collectively? They never forget their roots. In spite of what the envious may say about it. In their inferiority, the embittered critics have just decided not to enjoy Belgrade's hospitality any more.
Equivalent focal length is 28 mm. Cameraphone sooc edited in Snapseed.
~SHORTCUTS~ ...→Press [F11] and [L] key to engage Full Screen (Light box) mode with black background ↔ Press the same key or [Esc] to return... →Press [F] to "Like" (Fave)... →Press [C] to comment.
To start the slideshow: go to my ᴘʜᴏᴛᴏsᴛʀᴇᴀᴍ. At the upper right of the screen – right next to the 'search' magnifying glass🔍 – click the small ‚play‘▶️ ᴀʀʀᴏᴡ inside the symbol of a ᴍᴏɴɪᴛᴏʀ️ rectangle.
As are its Inhabitants, so is the City
ꒌ Београд прима свакога. Расте и снижава се са сваким. Град старијих и нових дођоша, а сви староседеоци већ после пар година. Поприште судбина и животâ који се изборише са свиме, осим на крају са неумитним временом; али осташе у неком свом добу, које се не понавља; у Београду њихове, вечите прошлости. Заустављене да тако непромењено траје. Граду који поприма дух дошљака а задржава свој стари. Не понижава се ни пред ким осим пред голом силом која повремено налети, у свој заблуди своје махните похлепе. Али, и то бива само привремено, јер ће незванци, страни господари, као и увек отићи. Ми опет имамо стрпљења.
Београд има много пријатеља, и ниједног непријатеља. Како би он то могао имати? Понеком служи као кош за истресање мрзовоље настале неиспуњеним очекивањима. Београд нема савремену обраду смећа на градским депонијама. Али лако прерађује у њега бачене фрустрације оних ретких који уместо саме себе, цео један град и све његове житеље проглашавају кривцима за свој лични неуспех.
► █░▓ And what are they like, those inhabitants?
Open and restrained. Social, talkative and politely muted. Easygoing and (sometimes) hard handed. Friendly and inwardly, as not to be intrusive. Classy and shabby. Witty and straightforward. Discernible and naive. But never — rejecting! No-one and nobody ever gets rejected. Well, foreign armies. They alone.
It’s a big city — not perhaps in global terms, but sure regionally. It’s the only 1M+ urban settlement in Serbia, but so are Budapest in Hungary or Bucharest in Romania. It’s been called “the capital of Balkan”. Exaggerated? Well it used to be the capital of Yugoslavia. Whatever the so-called 'independence' achieved by the others now, they can only dream of the allure and air still present in and around Belgrade. It is not a polished lifeless museum; it's a living conglomerate taking over upon impressions of the past generations. If you need to see the nicely fixed collection of old things, the museums, go to Ljubljana (though Belgrade has more of those too). If you like swimming, beach fashion and life, go to the Adriatic. But if you like diving in the streets brimming with life, interact to become part of it... and not only meet locals when you order food and check menus in the restaurants — Belgrade is the place.
Whatever the size of Athens or Istanbul, Belgrade — unlike them — lies right at one of the Europe’s principal crossroads. That's its blessing and its curse: it's an unavoidable geopolitical target, when those times come. And they come. Often. But its population is up to the challenges. Peace times are critical: many have succumbed to the temptation to imitate the West without actually understanding it, becoming less themselves in the process; some have gone astray, self-destructive way. But collectively? They never forget their roots. In spite of what the envious may say about it. In their inferiority, the embittered critics have just decided not to enjoy Belgrade's hospitality any more.
Equivalent focal length is 28 mm. Cameraphone sooc edited in Snapseed.
~SHORTCUTS~ ...→Press [F11] and [L] key to engage Full Screen (Light box) mode with black background ↔ Press the same key or [Esc] to return... →Press [F] to "Like" (Fave)... →Press [C] to comment.
To start the slideshow: go to my ᴘʜᴏᴛᴏsᴛʀᴇᴀᴍ. At the upper right of the screen – right next to the 'search' magnifying glass🔍 – click the small ‚play‘▶️ ᴀʀʀᴏᴡ inside the symbol of a ᴍᴏɴɪᴛᴏʀ️ rectangle.