I've just returned from a two week holiday to the UK, visiting my home town of Edinburgh and friends in London. It was lovely to be back in my own country, and in particular Edinburgh. I went to all the old spots with friends whom I haven't seen for nearly a year now and did some touristy things with V who'd never been to Edinburgh or London before.
Regardless how nice it was to be back 'home', I must admit I was very relieved and extremely happy to land back in Belgrade on Saturday and even the blocks of New Belgrade on the way back from the airport were a comforting and familar sight, and perhaps even more familiar sight than Edinburgh or London.
Yesterday, I took a stroll round the centre of Belgrade, the sun was shining (unlike in the UK where it rained, got a bit sunny, rained again and even snowed), and the city looked remarkably green and summer like. I had a coffee and a cigarette, inside the cafe and simultaneously - something missing from the UK for two weeks! I also treated myself to some delicious Sarajevo cevapcici - which was whole lot better than the overpriced Indian take-away I had been craving in London.
I think I can safely say that Belgrade and Serbia are now my true home. I don't think I could move back to the UK (perhaps Edinburgh as I spent most of my life there), and definitely never London. Both Belgrade and London are large, bustling cities, but Belgrade has that much more relaxed feel to the place, I can walk virtually everywhere - I detest the tube..eurgh), people are not rushing around and two coffees and two slices of cake don't cost 2,000 dinars/£20 (admittedly, we were in Covent Garden, but still!).
So, while walking round Belgrade, even the mundane small streets near my flat, I couldn't help but smile and be thankful that I discovered this place. Regardless of all the problems this city/country has, Belgrade is a fantastic city to live in and somewhere which is home to me now.
Here's some photos I took while walking around on Sunday:
