Phase 1: Serbia

So...even if I'm writing about all my travels thus far on the same day, I'll split everything into separate posts. I should have journaled sooner, but...I didn't. That shouldn't be any sort of surprise.

The flight from Paris to Belgrade was a-okay: I was in the exit row, so that meant a little more leg room, and they fed us a second breakfast after my oh-so-delicious (not) egg thing. A croissant, a chocolate croissant, and a yogurt - not bad!

Now, nobody told me quite what it's like to go through passport control/customs, but as a U.S. citizen going into Serbia, it's not bad. Still, it was a little confusing...go through one window, get all your bags, go though another check... Picking up your baggage is also an experience: in Belgrade, you don't have to pay to use a luggage cart, so everyone gathers around the baggage claim with carts/kids/whatever.

Everyone in Serbia was extremely nice, and it was definitely neat to see the place my brother-in-law is from. The only pitfall - I was pretty beat from my glorious overnight plane ride. Not too disastrous, because I was definitely still awake to completely enjoy the great spread of food Branislav's family had waiting for me! Everything was delicious (hence the few Serbian words I learned - torte and pie - are both food words) - but one thing tops all. I don't know what it's called...pardon me while I do a quick little search on the ever-helpful 'net.

KAJMAK!!! (<--look, Branislav, I learned another word!)

It's like cream cheese, but softer and most definitely tastier. It's also pretty addicting. I ate a lot.

One thing about Serbian food is that it's very, very hearty - which is something I'm not used to. Bread, kajmak, soup, and lots and lots of meat make for a very full Sarah! I swear, I'm probably still full a couple days later.

I do have one goofy food story - in the evening, Branislav's family asked me what I wanted for breakfast. I said, "Anything but eggs."

Bright and early the next morning, there was a great big skillet of - you guessed it! - eggs! Oh, the language barrier. When I mentioned that I don't usually eat eggs, the response was, "We asked what you wanted for breakfast, and you said eggs, so that's what we made!"

I seem to be on a bit of an eggs-for-breakfast run.

What else about Serbia/Novi Sad? We dashed out for a quick bit of sight-seeing, but the weather (wet and cold) made it a very quick bit. Petrovaradin Fortress is AMAZING - I would have loved to see more, but it was extremely cold. Look it up on the web - this place deserves more attention!

I could write a whole lot more, but I call it quits for now. : )