Well, it seems the thaw has finally arrived here in the central Balkans: the trees and flowers are in bloom, the sun is shining more often...and people are actually going outside!
Two or three weekends ago, I had the opportunity to take a long-weekend trip with friends just across the border to Belgrade, Serbia. Belgrade is only about 100km from where I am in Romania, but when you take the train, you have hour-long customs stops on BOTH sides of the border, turning it into a 4-hour journey. It was worth it though: Despite the fact that less than 10 years ago parts of the city were being bombed by NATO forces during the Kosovo war, Belgrade is a gorgeous and friendly city (as are Serbians themselves, who are among the consistently tallest people I've ever seen!). Like so many European cities, Belgrade was founded around a fortress, perched on a spot overlooking the joining of the Sava and Danube Rivers. It is a city easily navigated on foot, and welcoming to tourists -- so for anyone who comes to Eastern Europe, I highly recommend a visit. In my opinion, there seemed to be little evidence of bitterness or animosity about recent events. Serbians seem to want to just move forward into the future and are, like Romanians, quite knowledgeable about the world, current events, and foreign languages.
In other (minor) news, I have transferred all of my online photos over to Picasa (the link on the right now directs you there), which I think will be a better, more user-friendly way for people to see my pictures...with full captions! You can access my web photo albums anytime at http://picasaweb.google.com/jonathan.c.moore.
This was a short post, I know, but I promise to write more soon. I hope everyone is well, and ready for warmer weather!
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