Belgrade panorama pictures

January 6th, 2012

As you have maybe noticed I celebrated New Year (Nova Godina) in Beograd (Belgrade), the capital of Serbia. I spent a great time as always and I am missing it already too much. Beograd is a great city with great people!

I want to share some panorama pictures with you here, hope you like them ! You can click on then to enlarge.

31.12.2011: Beograd, the fortress of Kalemegdan: where Sava (left) ends inDanube (right).

01.01.2012: Belgrade,view from Kalemegdan fortress: the first sunset of the New Year, with a view towards Novi Beograd and the new Ada bridge opened 01.01.2012.


01.01.2012: Belgrade,view from Kalemegdan fortress: the first sunset of the New Year, with a view towards Novi Beograd and the new Ada bridge opened 01.01.2012.

Copyrighted: Fabian Vendrig
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Srečan Božic i srećna Nova Godina! Zalige Kerstdagen en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar !

December 22nd, 2011

Dear readers,

I started 2011 close to my birthplace,  IJsselstein in the Netherlands,  and I will finish this year in Serbia, travelled more than 18000 kilometers, dreams came true and dream collapsed, as it is like every year, but this year more dreams came true then collapsed actually.

When I was standing this year on the 2725 meters high Mali Triglav in Slovenia and former Yugoslavia was lying at my feet I still cannot describe the feelings I had at that moment. It was a moment of conquer, but also a moment of defeat, for I did not reaching top of Triglav.

Less than a week later I stood on a hill above Dubrovnik in Croatia and saw how the Adriatic Sea got a gold color, because  of the sunset, and at that moment there was nothing any more I could wish in my life.

A week later, after having travelled all the way from Slovenia, I reached, together with friends, the top of the 2721 meters high Nidže/Kajmakčalan on the Macedonian-Greek border-. And together we honored the victims of the battle of the First World War, fallen 95 years before, on this mountain top.

In a week I will be in Serbia for the 3th time this year and I will end this year on “Trg Republike” in Belgrade to welcome 2012 with my friends over-there. But I will, of course, think about you: my family, my friends and acquaintances for everything you have done for me.

This friendship and peace is nowadays not a certainty anymore, so we as citizens of this world should continuously keep working  on our friendship, understanding, peace and stability. I will continue next year to do all my efforts to work on this.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year!

Yours faithfully,

Fabian Vendrig

Nova Godina

Mnogo sreće I bezbroj snova
nek vam donese Godina Nova,
a sve ono što mržnju stvara
nek odnese godina stara!

My Christmas &New Year card , click to enlarge.

Below: on Mali Triglav, Slovenia,3th September 2011, alt 2725 meters

Below: Dubrovnik,Croatia, 8th September 2011


Below:  Nidže/Kajmakčalan,Macedonian-Greek border, 18th September 2011

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Serbia joining the EU-fail -

December 9th, 2011

Today the EU did not granted candidate status to Serbia, which is a very bad signal to Serbia, the Western-Balkans and the EU itself. I am really sad about it, but what we can do about it ? For me this is a clear sign that we should make the EU non-political; we should return to the idea of “common values” and think about what the EU has achieved: no more war since 1945 (except for my dear Balkans).

If the EU would have accept Yugoslavia into the EU in 1991 then a lot of problems would not have occurred, but as always, it is : what if ?

Do we need more of this?

Look here, they explain it quite well: http://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope/2011/12/09/serbia-set-for-storm-after-eu-snub/?mod=wsj_share_twitter

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Serbia & Europe

December 7th, 2011

This evening I attended in Utrecht an interesting lecture of SIB-Utrecht and IKV Pax Christi with the title “(P)raising Serbia”. A Serbian journalist, an Serbian former activist and a Dutch member of the European Parliament were invited.: it was an interesting evening, but my personal opinion did not change after the lecture, it was just a confirmation of what I thought already: Serbia deserves to become candidate member of the EU next Friday. Serbia has his own (rich!) culture, just like all the other current EU-member states which we should respect on all sides (EU in between and Serbia). Serbia is facing currently,  as a lot of other countries, a lot of  difficulties: economical, social, juridical and of course,for Serbia the Kosovo question. These are all problems the EU are facing, we do not want to know about Kosovo in the EU, but it is an European problem, because Serbia and Kosovo are part of Europe….

Quote: “There are as much good things in Serbia as in the EU,as there are bad things about Serbia, as about the EU”. Reforms can be dictated by the government (as it was usual in Serbia), but it should also be supported by the people…In Serbia, but also the EU.

Twelve years ago such an approach was unbelievable, when NATO bombed Serbia&Montenegro and we have to see the developments also in this perspective….It needs time, just look how long it took France and Germany to become peaceful to each other. What I see and hear about Serbia is a signal and it is a good signal: we should not focus on the bad things, but at the good things achieved yet :-) !

Europe can be approached as a “technical” thing, which can be good as it can only provoke “national sentiments” when we approach it only as a political thing. Europe is a continent, which share common values, which has a common ideas and one of them is that we do not want to  fight any more, but that we want to live in peace and stability: in the EU, but as well in Serbia and the whole Western Balkans….

So let the door be open, for me personally, Serbia and the Western-Balkans are more then welcome!

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Europe-what do I think about it ?

November 28th, 2011

Europe, the continent where I was born, raised and still live. My dear Europe seems to be in a huge crises. Is it about money, solidarity or just ignorance? What is actually Europe? Is it a political thing, do we have common values or are they just created? Is Europe the European Union , or is Europe bigger ?

We live nowadays 66 years after the end of the Second World War and 93 years after the First World War. Since 66 years we live in peace and stability, unfortunately not for my beloved Balkans, but for this blog I will leave that apart, you can find much more about that here.

I have been “outside” the European Union, I have been on the edges of it ‘s borders, on high mountains overlooking countries which were “in” the European Union and which were not. I have stepped over borders and made new friends which were once “behind”  the Iron Curtain, dividing our dear continent between “West”and “East”.  I understand that the European Union is in a crises, but it seems like we have forgotten what it is all about!

I will give you a short reminder in pictures (you can click on them to enlarge):

21.05.2009, Sarajevo (BIH): Plaque in remembrance of the start of the First World War.

18.09.2011, Nidže/Kajmakčalan, Macedonian-Greek border: chapel in remembrance of the battle during 12th and 30th September 1916 between the Serbian and Bulgarian army.

Verdun (F), 05.04.2009: Plaque in remembrance of the western front: the French and German head of state who decided to become friends on the ancient battlefield of Verdun (First World War).
Jesenice (SLO), 04.09.2011: Plaque in remembrance of fallen railway workers during the Second World War.
Gorizia (I), Nova Goricia (SLO), 31.08.2011: Plaque in remembrance of the establishment of the border between Yugoslavia and Italia (1947) and the accession of Slovenia into the European Union (2004).
Novi Sad (SRB), 29.04.2011: Plaque in remembrance of a victim of the NATO bombardments on Serbia.
I think, we in Europe do not want to have new plaques as such above, those who gave their lives do also not deserve that, so we should unite more….

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Almost the same, but then in the morning…

October 19th, 2011

See my post below (of 17.09.2011) , but now I have a new panorama picture from almost the same spot, but then in the early morning (07h02!). I took this picture on the third of September 2011 near Vodnikov Dom on an altitude of 1817 meters above sea level.  You an click on the picture to enlarge!

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Panorama picture Triglav (Vodnikov Dom), alt. 1817 meters a.s.l.

October 14th, 2011

Weekend have started, so: dobro vikend! (=have a nice weekend).  And as a gift for you to start the weekend with I offer you this panorama picture, taken in the evening of the second September near Vodnikov Dom on an altitude of 1817 meters above sea level.  You an click on the picture to enlarge!

 

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Macedonia & Greece

October 12th, 2011

The pictures of my last part of the trip are now also online, you can find them by clicking here. It includes pictures of Florina (which is in Greece, but in Macedonian it is called Lerin) and the climb to the top 2521 meters high Nidže/Kajmakčalan which is in Macedonia , close to the Macedonian-Greek border. A real big thanks to all my friends who made it happen: from Triglav to Nidže…

Posted in Balkan region, Holidays :-), Macedonia, Serbia, Yugoslavia | 2 Comments »

“Moja Makedonija”

October 8th, 2011

I travelled from the Triglav to the Vardar (the reversed way of the old Yugoslav song od Vardara do pa Triglava) and when I actually entered Macedonia (via the border crossing with Serbia) I could hardly resist my tears: I was back in Makedonija (=Macedonia).

Makedonija and it’s citizens have always a special place in my heart and I again listened to my heart when I entered Macedonia. It felt like the “Makedonski sunce” (=Macedonian sun) was waiting for me and I was welcomed again by it.


I always ask myself this question when I pass this border crossing, which I passed many times: which country do I like more, Serbia or Macedonia?  Until now I was never be able to answer that question, but more important, do I have to answer that question? I think I do not have to answer that question, because it does not matter: I love the whole Balkans and yes, Macedonia has a special place in my heart, as Serbia does as well.

So, I was back in Macedonia, “moja Makedonija”, although I have nothing I own there, but that does not count.  I saw the Vardar river, after travelling around 2000km from the Triglav mountain, and there was nothing more I needed, ok except for a delicious “Skopsko” (beer from Skopje) : my heart told me that I was happy. I made it all the way from Triglav, thanks to the great help of my friends through whole ex-Yugoslavia (from Triglav to the Vardar and even behind) and now I was enjoying Macedonia.

I met my Macedonian friends again, I have seen again the magical Ohrid lake area , visited the beautiful monastery of Sveti Naum and climbed Macedonia’s 5th highest mountain Nidže…. What else do I need? Nothing….

Yes, I know what I need: I need to return to “moja Makedonija”…..

Pictures online now, just click here.

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Serbiaaaaaaaaaa

October 6th, 2011

Yes and my pictures of Serbia are also now online; you can click here. I had to merge them with my pictures of Montenegro, because I did not make a lot of pictures this time in Serbia, because I was in the “relax mode” while I was in Kraljevo. I already wrote that I spent a nice time in Serbia, but there is no need to write that, you already know that I love Serbia….

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