2023 Balkans - Day 12 Ilok, Lipizzan Stud, Croatia

Before leaving Novi Sad this morning, we visited the 1909 Synagogue. The fifth one built on this site since the 18th century, it served the city’s once thriving Ashkenazi Jewish community. It’s an imposing and beautiful building. 

It is still an active synagogue, but used only for major religious holidays. No rabbi remains in the city, but one comes from Belgrade for services. More than 4,000 Jews lived in Novi Sad before World War II, about 5% of the population. On April 26, 1944, Novi Sad’s Jews were deported to extermination camps from this synagogue. Only 10% survived the Holocaust. Today, 66 Jewish families remain in the city; the population of 200 people cannot maintain this large building. 

Since the 1960’s, per an agreement between Novi Sad and the Jewish comminuty, the city bears the cost of maintaining the synagogue and uses it as a concert venue. When we visited, it was set up for an upcoming concert.   

We were on the road at 9:00. At the border crossing to leave Serbia, for the first time we had to disembark the bus and hand our passports one-by-one to the immigration officer. The process held up a long line of cars.

Our first stop was in Ilok, a town on the Croatia/Serbia border, to visit the ancient winery of Stari Podrum. The scale was much larger than the small vintner we saw yesterday. Their 15th and 18th century wine cellars held enormous oak barrels. During the Balkan war, with heavy shelling of nearby Vukovar, the winery built a false wall to save 10,000 bottles of wine. The wall was artfully covered with mold so as not to raise suspicion about a new underground wall. 

Stari Pordrum provided wine for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1952, and since then, has sent wine for every major royal family celebration: Princes William and Harry’s weddings, and even Charles’s coronation three weeks ago. We bought two small bottles of the coronation wine to share at home. 

After a tasting of 3 of their wines, we enjoyed a hearty bowl of bean soup with beef, and a light dessert. 

We visited the Lipizzan State Stud Farm in Djakovo. This elite breed is well known, and considered one of the most intelligent. State Stud Farm began breeding horses in 1506, and is one of the oldest stud farms in Europe. They’ve been breeding Lipizzan horses for over 210 years, and currently have 240 horses. The horses are bred and born at another location, and brought here at age 3 or 4 to begin training in dressage, carriage pulling, or elements of dance. They train throughout the year, and for as many years as they perform. 

Although most people think of the Lipizzan breed as white, they are all born dark colored and gradually change to their adult color. About 80% end up white, but officially they are considered grey (white), black or brown. Their color is determined by the final color of their tail. 

600 seat training and performance arena

We visited the stables and admired the horses, who were having their lunch after morning training and shower (really!).

(Prepare for many horse photos)

Grey

Grey, and the pedigree info for its neighbor

A relatively rare black Lipizzan

Grey.  (tabby - which followed our group from barn to barn)

Grey. (going for the Vermeer pose)

The Djakovo Cathedral (or Basilica) was built between 1866 - 1882 under its bishop, Josip Juraj Strossmayer. The structure itself was built in an impressive four years, while 12 additional years were spent in decorating the interior. The result is stunning. The church complex includes the archbishop’s residence and a Catholic seminary. 

The rose window and organ loft.

The town is fairly small to hold an episcopal seat, with a population of only 17,000. Nearly 3,000 have recently emigrated to Ireland to find work - a universal theme we’ve heard throughout the Balkans, as there is high unemployment and relatively little opportunity for economic self-improvement. 

We arrived at our hotel around 7 pm. After a short orientation in the nearby center square, 8 of us headed out for another perfect late dinner: ice cream. 

2023 Balkans - Day 11 Novi Sad, Srijemski Karlovci, Serbia

We left Belgrade this morning and stopped for several hours in Sremski Karlovci, a Danube River town in the northwest corner of Serbia This region is on the border of the Ottoman Empire and the Western World. To the west is Croatia, to the north, Hungary and to the east, Romania. It hosts a diversity unknown in the rest of Serbia, with 25 ethnic groups, six official languages and a blend of Hungarian and Serbian traditions.

After the Peace of 1699 allocated northwest Serbian areas along the.shores of the Danube to the Austro-Hungarian empire, parts to the south (including Belgrade), stayed under Ottoman rule. In Sremski Karlovci, the influence of 18th century Vienna is apparent. For example, the iconostasis in the  Orthodox Church is decorated with oil paintings and ornate Baroque ornamentation instead of the usual frescos and mosaics.

A short walk away, we visited the high school for future priests - a seminary to prepare young men for the university of priests. About 15-17 fourteen year old boys are admitted to the seminary each year. After completing elementary school, they are recommended by their local bishops, and selected by ability in religious knowledge, scholastics and especially singing ability. They attend the seminary for 5 years studying theology, 5 languages, beekeeping and other subjects. A poised young student, 16 years old, met with us to answer questions.

Serbian Orthodox priests must marry (at age 25) and have families. 

One of the original classrooms, preserved with blackboard and desks

Karlovci Grammar School was the first high school in Serbia. Established in 1791, today it is a coeducational school focusing on ancient and modern languages. The language classes have only 12 students, and include advanced skills such as translation. The curriculum includes standard academic subjects like math, history and geography. It’s a competitive school; students apply here from around the country. Tuition is free, and boarding students have inexpensive fees if they stay in the school dormitories. Girls, first admitted about a century ago, now comprise well over half of the students today.

The school library includes rare books. This is one of only 10 copies of an ancient Serbian book. 

We had a delicious goulash lunch in the cellar of an old home. 

This little beauty is a Yugo, This car, manufactured from 1980-2008, was initially a subject of great Yugoslavian pride, and later, great derision. They’re now pretty rare. 

Down the block we visited a strange little museum of beekeeping and winemaking. (Don’t usually think of them in close conjunction.)

We continued on to Novi Sad, the birthplace and home of our guide, Srdjan. Novi Sad is the second largest city in Serbia. It was founded in 1694, and today is a lively cultural, industrial and financial center. It was named a European Youth Capital in 2019, and European Capital of Culture in 2021 - the first non-EU city to receive this honor. 

We’re staying right in the middle of town. We oriented with a walking tour before heading out on our own.

Freedom Square is anchored by the Catholic Church of the Name of Mary on one end, and City Hall opposite. An energetic statue of former mayor and political leader Svetozar Miletic striding across the square was made by Ivan Mestrovic. 

We headed across the Danube to the Petrovaradin Fortress. It was constructed by slave labor between 1692-1780. Looming over Novi Sad, this is the second largest fortress in Europe, occupying 300 acres. It has nearly 10 miles and 4 levels of creepy underground, unlit tunnels. Parts of the tunnels can be visited by escorted tour, but not during the limited time we had there this afternoon. 

The size is best appreciated from the fortress itself rather than below. The EXIT banner refers to an annual music festival that takes place on the fortress grounds each July.

We climbed over 22 stories up to the landmark clock tower. Like the clock tower built by the Sultan in Montenegro, the size of the hands are reversed. It’s a little disorienting to try to figure the time, but it was useful for distant town, farmers or fishermen to tell the time. 

A paved walk encircles the whole palace, offering great views of the Danube and Novi Sad. 

We walked back to town with two other couples from our group, and stopped, per Srdjan’s recommendation, for ice cream at the Black Sheep. I had pear and cherry with chocolate chops. He was right - it was excellent. 

(I found a friend at the place we had lunch.)

2023 Balkans - Day 10 Belgrade, Serbia

Situated at the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers, Belgrade is one of the oldest continuously inhabited areas of Europe. Celts were here before the Romans arrived in the 1st century BCE. They were followed by Goths and Huns. Slavic tribes settled in the area in the 6th century. Then there was a series of frequent Balkan influences: Hungary, Serbia, Ottomans and Austria-Hungarians empires. Belgrade was the capital of Yugoslavia, and now is the capital of Serbia. 

Greg and I were here before in 2014 on a Danube River cruise with my parents. Many things look the same, but our first stop today was radically different. 

The Temple of Saint Sava has been under construction for nearly 90 years. Saint Sava was the founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The church, the fourth largest Orthodox Church in the world, is modeled upon Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. It is built on the presumed site of his grave. Construction started in 1935, but long interruptions during World War II and a ban  on the church’s construction during Tito’s era added decades to the project. When we were here before, they were just beginning to decorate the interior. Today, it is almost finished. (Lots of photos here - I didn’t take many others today.)

The 4,000 ton (!) cement dome was built entirely on the ground, then carefully lifted by cranes over several days to its present position in 1989.

With the exception of the iconostasis above, in 2014 the walls were bare cement. The vast interior space was filled with scaffolding and curtains. It was amazing to see the nearly-finished product. 

We next traveled to the Museum of Yugoslavia (not to be confused with the National Museum). Essentially, it’s a memorial to Marshall Tito. I was surprised at the scruffy, unkempt appearance of the approach. We passed a large building draped in scaffolding and fabric. Our guidebook said it’s the May 25 Museum, the main building in the complex, and that it should be reopened in late 2019. They must be running a little late. Srdjan said he’d never been in it. 

The collection itself is huge - over 200,000 artifacts covering the history of Yugoslavia: photographs, gifts from world leaders, personal objects and symbols of power, medals, stamps, gifts from various regions.and organizations in Yugoslavia. The museum building that IS open had labeling in Serbian and English, with objects grouped in glass cases, or on pedestals or just sitting (in the case of a 1700 year old piece of Roman mosaic) on the floor. 

There were several cases of ceremonial batons that had been given to Marshall Tito. There are over 22,000 in the entire collection. They are carried in the annual Relay of Youth, a relay race that would go through all of the major Yugoslavian cities and towns, ending on May 25 at Tito’s residence. They are symbols of unity and brotherhood, and of loyalty to Tito. 

Tito’s Mausoleum, in the “Hall of Flowers”

Kalemegdan Park occupies a big expanse of land at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. It’s been the site of fortresses since at least the 3rd century BCE. There’s a juxtaposition of old and new walls, bulwarks and ramparts. You can read about it online if you want to know more.

Confluence of the rivers. 

Another meat-heavy dinner tonight. But we were warned, so had a tiny lunch in preparation.The food has been good on this trip, and servings generous. I’d be satisfied, I think, with just the first course and salad. Not much of a meat eater.

That’s all she wrote for today. 

Except: 

FUN FACTS: Tito’s given name is Yosip Broz. According to Srdjan, Tito was a nickname he received in prison, where he was ordering everyone around: “You do this. You do that.” In Serbian, Tito means “You - that.” According to another story, many Communists used nicknames during the period of persecution and illegality of their party. Tito chose the name itself, as it’s a common name in the region he came from. (He’d also had other nicknames: Rudy while in the country, and Walter while abroad.

Tito was born in 1892 on May 7 (or May 4, according to some sources), but he changed it to May 25 to commemorate the day he narrowly escaped Nazi  forces trying to arrest him.. May 25, at his suggestion, also became National Youth Day. It continued to be celebrated until Yugoslavia dissolved 10 years after Tito’s death.