After three plane flights and two times being processed through customs, I arrived at the Nikolai Tesla Airport in Belgrade, Serbia. Mića and Aleksandra picked me up at the airport and drove to me to my accommodations. The late afternoon light cast a mystical glow upon the outskirts of the city. I noticed how naturally green the grass is here in comparison to the end-of-summer California hue of brown and burnt yellow.
The first unusual building I noticed could be seen for miles in front of us as we approached the city. The Western City Gate Building can not be missed. It is two skyscraper towers connected by a bridge.
https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Western_City_Gate,_Belgrade
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I would be staying in an apartment in old Belgrade within walking distance to all the places I need to be and sights I want to see. I am sharing the apartment with Mira Mataric and her husband Gene who are also attending the Assembly. We are on the corner of Višnjćeva and Gospodar Jovanova on the 8th floor with a view of the Sava River near the Kalemegdan Fortress. If you think the street names mentioned above are difficult in the Serbian Latin Alphabet, you need to see the same street signs written in the Cyrillic Alphabet. Google Maps is getting a work out on my phone. It is very helpful to see exactly where you are.
My first dinner was at the Dorian Gray Restaurant on a Kralja Petra, two blocks from the apartment. It is a fine dining experience. I thought I was splurging on my first night meal. I was surprised to see the prices were half the price you would pay for a dinner like that in Los Angeles and the bottled beers were less than 50 cents each.
When Mića and Aleksandra dropped me off, they invited me to read at an event the following night (Monday night) at a place in city center near Hotel Moscow. I did not expect to be reading until Wednesday or Thursday so I was happily surprised.
I spent Monday walking around the city until we needed to get ready to leave for the reading. Once at the reading, there were writers from Israel, Australia, Hungary, along with Mira and myself from California. When I was called up to read, Mića asked me to read The Wave. It was a strange experience to hear my biography read in Serbian, use a translator, be photographed, and filmed for TV all at the same time. It was hard for me to grasp all that was being said but my translator recapped that the people in charge of the Assembly liked my varied background of being a songwriter. I sat in the audience in awe that I was reading with great authors and poets.
On the walk back to the apartment, Mira took me in to meet people in the Literary Association. She told me we will be reading at this location during the week. We are being emailed the program for the week. More adventures on the horizon.
Note: proof read this but at 3 am there could be mistakes Žao mi je. I am sorry.
Beth
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Beth Baird 