Monday, July 2, 2018

Second Day in Belgrade

We just got up, it’s about 9, sleeping late, staying up late.  Once we’re with the Stanford tour, we’ll have to start setting the alarm clock.  Today Les has promised us a driving tour of the outer areas of Belgrade.  Yesterday, Les took us by his apartment which is about a ten minute walk from our hotel.  Our hotel is in the center of town, so his apartment is pretty much in the heart of Belgrade.  It’s on a tree lined street, unfortunately a little graffiti spoiled, with cars lined up on the roadside (just like in San Francisco).  He’s on the second floor, in a partially renovated 1200 or so square foot apartment with a nice kitchen he barely uses, new furniture, his office where he works his tax magic, great lighting and some nice custom closets, a couple of extra bedrooms.  It’s a comfortable place, but on the fourth floor up a long winding and uneven staircase.  Les and Tijana just got back from a trip to some Croatian island, where they brought back samples of a nice Croatian white wine, which we got to taste.   Les and Larry and I then went back to the hotel where we had a little late supper at the hotel restaurant, which serves quite elegant food, a pleasant change from the meat and French fries we’ve been consuming.  I had asparagus soup and fruit salad.

Tijana lives in her own apartment, with her two young daughters.  Jelena, Les’s ex-wife, is also in the neighborhood.  (Marko lives with her.). It’s a complicated life, but it seems to work out pretty well for them all.

Did I mention that Marko, Les’ son, is going in August to study computer science in a program in the Netherlands, in Delft?  Larry and I have visited Delft.  It was a charming city, and most of the Netherlands is charming too, full of bicycles and bridges and canals.

Well, Larry’s getting up and dressed, so I can get some breakfast.  I think we’ll skip the hotel breakfast today, and find some coffee out in the city.

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