Expedição Go East 2011 - Go East Expedition 2011

For the english version of this, scroll down a bit

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Desde que comecei a viajar pelos Balcãs e a escrever esse blog, muita gente - de amigos à pessoas que nunca vi na vida! - vem me perguntar sobre viajar para os lugares dos quais falo aqui. Perguntam sobre quais cidades visitar, pedem dicas sobre acomodação, sugestões sobre qual a melhor época para ir, o que tem pra ver e fazer por lá, e etc, etc.
Eu adoro receber e responder à esses emails! Pensar que eu posso estar contribuíndo (mesmo que um pouquinho de nada) na melhoria da imagem que as pessoas fazem dos países dessa região é priceless pra mim :)

Foi então que, no início desse ano, me ocorreu a idéia: já que tanta gente se mostra interessada em conhecer os Balcãs, porque não utilizar que aprendi nas minhas viagens e organizar, eu mesma, uma excursão pra lá?
E foi assim que "nasceu" o projeto Expedição Go East 2011.

A idéia principal da Expedição Go East é oferecer um roteiro de viagem budget e alternativo, diferente do roteiro que uma agência de turismo comum ofereceria. O foco da expedição é a música e cultura da região, o contraste do tradicional com o contemporâneo, o mix de culturas que faz dos Bálcãs uma região tão incrível e única.

Quando comecei a pensar num roteiro pra expedição, idéias e opções mil começaram a pipocar na minha cabeça. Eram tantas, mas tantas, que meses de viagem pela região não dariam conta!
Pra realmente começar a montar o roteiro, o primeiro passo foi decidir qual a melhor época pra fazer a expedição: verão! Mais precisamente em agosto, quando rolam diversos festivais na Sérvia, como Guča e a Beer Fest de Belgrado.
O passo seguinte foi perguntar aos que já haviam manifestado interesse no projeto sobre quanto tempo eles teriam disponível para uma viagem dessas: a média das respostas foi 15 dias.
Então pensei que em um roteiro de 15 dias seria melhor focar uma quantidade menor de países (podendo, assim, explorá-los melhor) do que passar correndo por vários e não curtir de verdade nenhum deles.
Assim sendo, resolvi focar o roteiro nos países que mais conheço e nos quais possuo mais contatos e possibilidades: Sérvia e Montenegro.


Considerando todos esses pontos, a Expedição Go East 2011 ficou então agendada pra durar do dia 4 ao 19 de agosto, cobrindo Sérvia e Montenegro e diversos festivais e eventos de música que rolam nesses dias.

Interessado? Se quiser saber mais sobre a Expedição Go East 2011 é só mandar um email para expedicaogoeast2011 @ gmail.com e eu lhe enviarei detalhes, roteiro e orçamento da viagem :)

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Since I first started travelling through the Balkans and to write this blog, many people – from friends to people I never saw in my life! – started asking me about travelling to the places I write about on here. They ask me about which cities they should visit, tips on accommodation, what’s the best time of the year to travel, what is there to do over there and so on.

I just love to answer those questions! To think that I might be helping (even if just a tiny little bit) to improve those countries’ images on people’s minds is something priceless to me :)

That was when, earlier this year, than an idea occurred to me: since so many people show interest in travelling to the Balkans, why not using the things I learned in my travels and organise, myself, and excursion to those places?

And that was how my project Go East Expedition 2011 was “born”!

The idea behind Go East Expedition is to offer a budget and alternative travel route, different from what one would get with a regular travel agency. The main focus of this expedition is the region’s music and culture, the contrast between contemporary and traditional, the cultural mix that makes out of the Balkans such an amazing and unique region.

When I started thinking on a route for this expedition, thousands of ideas and options started popping out. In fact, the ideas were SO many that month after month of travelling wouldn’t be enough to cover them all!

To start really building the route, the first step was deciding which would be the best time of the year for this expedition: summer, more precisely in August, when many music festivals take place in that region.

The next step was asking those who had already shown interest in this project how many days they could take to do so such a trip: 15 days was the average answer I got.

Then, I thought that in a 15 days route the best thing would be focusing in less countries (allowing more time to explore them) rather than rush through many different countries and not actually enjoying any of them.

Therefore, I decided to build the route around the countries I know better and in which I have more contacts and possibilities: Serbia and Montenegro.

Considering all this, Go East Expedition 2011 is scheduled to last from August 4th to 19th, covering Serbia and Montenegro as well as many music festivals and events that take place by then.

Interested? If you want to know more about Go East Expedition 2011, send an email to expedicaogoeast2011 @ gmail.com and I will send you the excursion’s route, details and budget :)

My 2011 diary

I finished the collage for the cover of my 2011 diary. Most of the images used on it were taken from magazines, weekly guides and folders I brought from my last visit to Serbia (last July/August).

It's the way a found to always have a bit of Belgrade with me, inside my purse :)

(click to enlarge)

"Minha Belgrado" #2 - Baklavdžinica "Dukat"

I'm not much into sugary, you know... But I will never forget the day I first tried baklava: it was in Varna (Bulgaria) on a Christmas Eve with my brother Kosta and his family and honestly, that was one of the best sweets I ever had in my life!!
Once I was back to Rio de Janeiro I started searching for places that sold baklava. I did manage to find several places but sadly enough, none of them had a baklava half as delicious as those I had in Bulgaria.

For those of you who that doesn't know exactly baklava is: well, it's a delicious sweet of Turkish origin, made out of tens of layers of fine, sweet phyllo dough, with different kinds nuts in between its layers, sweetened by honey. It's "heavenly", like my friend Valja says :)

But anyways, back to my "perfect baklava" search, I finally discovered (thanks to my friend Saša!) the best place ever for baklava and other Turkish sweets in Belgrade: Baklavdžinica Dukat!
"Dukat" is a pretty new place in Belgrade (reason why I had never heard of it in my previous visits to the city): it was opened on May 20th this year, at Topličin Venac, number 3 (next to "Tanjug" building)

The mastermind behind "Dukat" is Mustafa Avdžija (originally from Gaziantep, Southeastern Turkey), whom came with his family to Novi Pazar (Southwestern Serbia) in 2004. A few years later, he and his friend Nedžad Ličina (from Sjenica, Southwestern Serbia) decided to start a partnership, opening their Baklavdžinica "Dukat" in Belgrade.
With over 15 different kinds of baklava and other Turkish candies/sweets, "Dukat" quickly became a "summer hit" in Belgrade, as described by newspaper 24 Sata:

- Our speciality is pistachio baklava. There are also pistachio "sarmice" , "kraljevska kriška", chocolate baklava, "saray sarma" and so on. People get surprised when they see such variety. Here [in Belgrade] they're used to eat baklava only with nuts, but most people don't know that the true baklava is made with pistachio. People often ask for the recipe. I just tell them that everyone has its special craft and that these candies and its recipes cannot be made by anyone, only by masters - Mustafa explains. (Taken from here)

I didn't try all the kinds of baklava and candies they offer at Dukat, but I did try the pistachio baklava and pistachio sarmice and really, I can't describe to you how delicious it was! Maybe you can figure by looking at these pictures of the shop's glass window:

Pistachio "sarmica" 

Pistachio baklava
(Pictures taken from here)

I couldn't find here the exact working hours of "Dukat" but as I remember it was opened until early evening, around 7pm maybe. Prices of those sweet delights vary from RSD 1400 to RSD 1800 per kg (from around €13 to €17).
A Belgrade "must", for sure!

"Minha Belgrado" #1 - Accommodation in Belgrade

When planning a trip to no matter where, accommodation is usually the first thing that comes to people's minds. And when it comes to accomodation, Belgrade has plenty of options to offer!
The choice of what kind of accommodation suits you best depends on many facotrs, as:

- For how long will you stay in Belgrade?
- What is your budget?
- With how many people are you travelling with?
- What level of comfort and privacy are you expecting?


Option 1: HOSTEL

If you're planning a short stay in the city (up to 15 days) and you're on a tight budget, a hostel would be the best option. Privacy and comfort are not so great, but one of the best things about staying in a hostel is the amazing amount of people from all over the world you get to know. Also, people who work as part of the staff of those hostels are usually very helpful and very, very friendly!

Belgrade is full of hostels (check it our here and here). Here's a small list of some hostels I picked up, highly recommend:

Chillton Hostel

I never stayed on Chillton Hostel, but 3 friends of mine did in January 2009, and they just loved it! Chillton is located in the neighborhood of Vračar, just beside the mighty temple of Saint Sava (the biggest orthodox temple in the world!) and some 15 minutes walking from downtown (some 5 minutes by bus). Nice and quiet location.

Chillton Hostel #1

Hostel Captain Belgrade
I never stayed in this hostel, but as Dušan is the guy on charge of it, I'm pretty sure it must be very good. Dušan helped me finding an apartment to rent when I was in Belgrade in 2008, so I trust him when it comes to accomodation :)
Hostel Captain Belgrade has a great location (in Dorćol, one of my favourite parts of the city!), pretty near Republic Square (Trg Republike), the main pedestrian zone (called Knez Mihailova) and only a couple of blocks from Kalemegdan Fortress, my all-time favourite spot in Belgrade.

Hostel Captain Belgrade

In Old Shoes
This is where my best friend, Sanja, works now. When in Belgrade, I visit her at her working place day in day out, and the general feeling at "In Old Shoes" hostel is that of staying in someone's house - very cozy! Also, the hostel was voted #7 on the list of Top 10 Hostels in Belgrade! The location is awesome too, just some 7 minutes walking from the main pedestrian zone (Knez Mihailova).
Sanja told me a few days ago that the hostel is currently going on maintenance. But still, is worthy checking out with them when the renovation will be due! :)

In Old Shoes Hostel

Af-Terr Hostel
On Obilićev Venac - a street just beside Knez Mihailova and a few steps from Republic Square! - this hostel is located in a lovely building. I stayed on Af-Terr for some 4 weeks in 2008, before I moving into an apartment. Friendly staff, nice accomodations and good price!

Af Terr Hostel

Arkabarka

If you're not choosing your hostel so much based in prices, but more like you're looking for an unique place to stay, than Arkabarka is definitelly the_option for you. Due to its unusual location - on a float on the Danube river (!!!) - the newly built Arkabarka Hostel was recently ranked as the most unusual hostel in the world by hostelworld.com. All the rooms, the glass facade and the balcony on the ground floor offer wonderful panoramic views. Nearby the hostel, also on the river, one will find some of Belgrade best clubs, restaurants and shopping malls.

ArkaBarka Hostel

Option 2: PRIVATE ACCOMMODATION

No matter if you're on a tight budget or not, if you're staying for a longer time in Belgrade and if you're travelling with a group of friends, the best option is definitely private acommodation!
Private accomodation for a group of people can be as cheap as a hostel, only that you will have an apartment all for you and your friends and total privacy.

Beoapartmani
On my last visit to Belgrade (last July and August), me and my 5 friends decided to rent an apartment. after searching a lot on the internet, we ended up picking one of the apartments offered by Beoapartmani. Nena - the lady in charge of Beoapartmani - was really kind, did her best to fit us 6 comfortably in a flat. The apartment was really big enough, quite, all equipped and very well located.
In the website there are dozens of apartments available for rental, with pictures, location details, listed facilities and so on. Highly recommended!

Beoapartmani's 30 downtown PARISKA big Belgrade apartment

Option 3: HOTEL

Now, if budget isn't a problem and/or if you're not staying for such a long time in Belgrade - and if comfort is a must for you - then the best thing is going "traditional" and staying in a hotel.
As any big city, Belgrade is full of hotel options: from small hotels to luxury international ones (such as Hyatt), the options are plenty.

Hotel Moskva
Well, I'm all for tradition. I mean, if I was to stay in a hotel in Belgrade, it would definitely be one that's both classy and traditional, but with some of the local charm and flavour. I wouldn't think twice to pick Hotel Moskva: a 4 stars hotel in the very center of the city (2-3 minutes walking from Knez Mihailova and Republic Square), with a history that traces back over a 100 years ago, when it was opened by King Petar I Karadjordjević himself in 1908. Some of their rooms - that were named after famous guests that stayed at the hotel, like Alfred Hitchcock and Ray Charles - have a beeeeautiful view of the Sava river. Room prices are, actually, pretty affordable to such a traditional 4 stars hotel, with single rooms from RSD 7725,00 (approximately € 75).

Hotel Moskva

"Minha Belgrado" - New series!

From today on, I'll be starting a new series of posts here, for those who are visitng Belgrade now or at anytime soon: "Minha Belgrado" (meaning "my Belgrade", in Portuguese).

For "Minha Belgrado" I'm preparing a series of posts with suggestions of places to go in Belgrade, nice places for a meal or a coffee, where to go for a night out, where to go shopping for interesting items, accommodation in the city, general services and so on. It's gonna be like some sort of guide, but based on what I learned from being in Belgrade for almost 8 months in the past 3 years (2 months in 2007-08, 3 to 4 months in 2008 and 2 months in 2010): things and places I was introduced to by local friends, or things and places me and my friends discovered after a long search or even things and places I discovered by chance, while walking around the city.

Hope you people enjoy it and, most of all, hope it's useful!
And don't hesitate to send me emails if you want to know any more details on something or if you have any suggestions yourself! teteglitter at gmail.com

;)

A weekend in Herceg Novi

Despite the very curvy road from Belgrade (Serbia) to Montenegro - and the group of extremely annoying and loud teenagers sitting on the back seats of the bus (giggiling ALL the way long), heaven knows how I managed to take some sleep during the first 9 hours of the trip. But yep, I did!

I was lucky enough to wake up a few minutes before we reached one of the most impressive landscapes I ever saw in my entire life: the "Skadarsko jezero" (lake Skadar), this huuuuuge lake, border between Montenegro and Albania, surrounded by impressive mountains. It's one of those places you would expect to see only in a movie, cause it doesn't even looks like it's real! Such a beautiful place!

Skadarsko Lake (from Google Images)

But still, nothing describes the feeling of reaching the Adriatic coast for the first time and glancing the sea in between the mighty mountains of Montenegro. It was breathtaking!

At that point, even my ever-sprained foot (it was hurting hard all day long, after my birthday party two nights before) wasn't bothering me anymore. We were FINALLY at the Adriatic Coast!

To cross Boka Kotorska - Kotor's Bay - our bus took a ferry boat, presenting us with a handful of beautiful views on a fine, sky clean and sunny saturday morning.

When we finally arrived to Herceg Novi's central bus station, Njego was already there to pick us up and take us to EKO Fest site: Španjola, a 15th century fortress (one of the city's 6 ancient fortresses!), were we should camp for the next couple of days.

When we arrived at the top of the mountain, where the fortress is placed, we were welcomed by Neven and a tray full of cold slices of watermelon and a box of "žu žu".
We sat by the shadow to have some rest while Andrei, Jaú, Federico and Neven started some sort of a jam session with a couple of guitars and some percussion, by the side of the festival's stage. After some time there, after we cooled down a little bit, we decided it would be better for us and our DJ equipment to find a place to stay other than the camping.

We went downhill to the city center. We split ways when we reached the Old Town Gate: two of the girls went with Neven, to search for a place for us all to stay, while me, Sol, and the boys sat for a drink by one of the many cafes at Nikola Đurković Square. Some 40 minutes later, the girls called us saying they found us a great place to stay for an even better price: an apartment with several beds, only 2 minutes walking from the beach.

With the address in hands we started heading to the apartment and, after some minutes walking under hot, hot sun, we finally found the place! We quickly changed into our bathing suits an ran to the beach to meet with the other girls.

After a little walk, we finally found what we all agreed to be a nice spot to stay, just by a restaurant/bar: the sea was almost as quiet as a lake and the water wasn't cold nor warm, but perfect temperature and the white stones instead of sand (like we have on most beaches here in Brazil) would allow us to see that amazing greenish-blue colour of the water. So, so beautiful!
Sol and I were specially amazed to realize we were really swimming in the Adriatic, something both want to for a long while. Another special thing for me was the fact that, for the first time ever, nobody - really, nobody - gave me any kind of weird look because of my skin colour. For the first time ever I wasn't looking like a tourist on the beach!

We stayed on the beach for a long while before we decided to have something to eat and go back to the apartment - after all, we had a gig to play that evening, at EKO Fest.

After a shower and some little rest we dressed up, took a taxi and headed to Španjola Fortress. The taxi driver - a woman, to our surprise! - we took couldn't speak a word of english, but each and every communication trouble was surpassed when one of our favourite tunes - and appearently, the driver's too - started playing on the car radio: "Gas gas", by Croatian singer Severina. The 4 of us plus the driver went all the way singing it as loud as we could!

When we reached the fortress we went directly to the backstage to leave our equipment. There, Neven told us we would start playing around half past midnight, so that meant we had a couple of hours to enjoy ourselves at the festival.
More and more people were arriving at the festival during those couple of hours, and by the time we started our DJ set, it was pretty crowded already! We divided our set in 3 parts, so each one of us could spin whatever we felt like. Andrei started first, with some balkan dub. I was second, with my electro jazz and swing set and Sol was the last - but not least! -, with some electro jazz and house. It was SO, so cool! The crowd was really excited cheering at every mixing we did!
Federico managed to record our DJ sets with his camera, he should be sending the video material to us really soon (and as soon as he does so, I'll post it here ;)

When we finished our "job" and came down the stage several people came to us saying they really enjoyed our DJ sets, where they could find us online and that sort of stuff - really nice feedback!
The DJs that took the stage after us kept the electronic beats with really cool sets and we stayed there, dancing and drinking for several hours before we decided to go back - walking! - to our apartment.

As soon as we were all up the next day, we rushed to the central bus station to buy our tickets back to Serbia: instead of going back directly to Belgrade, we would stop by Čačak for a couple of days, for the highly awaited Guča Festival.
To our dispair, all the night buses to Čačak were sold out and the only bus with seats still available would leave from Herceg Novi some 10 hours before what we first planned - which meant that that day was actually our last entire day in Montenegro. Or else we would loose one festival day at Guča.

After the bus station, our group split into 2: some went directly to the beach from there and me plus some others went back to the apartment where we had lunch and just then went down to the beach.
We all met again by the sea, where we talked for several hours, had some cold drinks, palačinka and even had some free entertainment, as a very funny guy, sitting next to us, was giving a showcase of clumsy dives and crazy stunts at the shower, splitting water on everyone and everywhere. The guy's crazy behaviour kinda reminded me of the wolf from the soviet animated series "Nu, Pogodi!".

Gotta love the sense of humour

Anyways, after the beach we went to a really nice restaurant by the beach, where we had diner under a wonderful moon.

After that, we split in 2 groups again: some went back to the apartment (as they wanted to wake up early and enjoy their last hours on the beach) while me, Marina, Andrei and Jaú wanted to go to another restaurant, where there was gonna be a "tamburaši" evening that night. We couldn't have picked a better place to go: good musicians playing claaaassic songs we could sing along, a wonderful view of the sea and good variety of rakija to choose from. When the show ended, we decided to go for a night swim - best decision ever! The water was warm, the beach was, of course, totally deserted, allowing us to be as noisy and silly as we wanted (oh, the rakija!). The coolest last moments in Herceg Novi we could possibly have.

The next day I woke up around noon. Those who didn't have much to drink the night before were already up, actually coming back from a morning on the beach. We all met, called a couple of taxis and went to the central bus station, where we would get the bus to our next - and most awaited! - stop: Guča Festival!

Marakana, bre!

On July 29th, after the craziest night ever at the Blek Panters and Kafanica (promisse I'll translate the post into english real soon!), we woke up around 3pm. We had until 5pm to take a shower, have something to eat and get dressed up (in red shirts!) for one reeeeally cool occasion: Neven and his friend, Djordje, arranged to take us to a football match at Crvena Zvezda's stadium, known as "Marakana"!

Unfortunatly, Crvena Zvezda didn't win Slovan Bratislava but we had a lot of fun nevertheless, after all it was my first time ever watching a match in a stadium - and the coolest thing: from the VIP area ;)

And here's a short video Sol recorded with her cam: