ugly/beautiful

I went to Eastern Europe for the first time in May of 2008 and arriving in at Nikola Testa Airport in Belgrade, Serbia on a warm Sunday morning, I ended up having to figure out which taxi driver was less shady and eventually ended up sharing a taxi with two Dutch guys as I headed to the city centre. From the get go, I knew this was not going to be like trips I was used to. What I didn't expect was the extent to which I'd fall in love with this country and area of the world.

I went a few months after the revisiting of the situation with Kosovo (where several countries around the world finally recognized Kosovo as a separate country from Serbia, which they claimed as religious territory pretty much) and I can remember returning from class one day ,shortly before I was supposed to leave, to see the American embassy in flames in Belgrade. My parents were unbelievably worried about me going, and as travel warnings were issued for Americans going to Serbia, I was still holding on to a small glimmer of optimism.

Of course, I never experienced the worst of what I was expecting in a "what if?" situation, and everyone I met was amazing, friendly, and wonderful to me and my friends I was with (which ranged from Greek, to Lithuanian, to British) and I've actually made great friends there that I hope to see in the future.

I was only in Serbia for a week, but when I was leaving I knew I needed to return sooner rather than later. Admittedly, I could never live there, but the thirst to explore more of the region and meet people that I will never forget stems from my short time spent in this amazing country.

This picture is from outside of the place I stayed in Belgrade, the building across the way. In a great part of town, there are still reminders from the long battle fought in the region between so many incredible cultures. Yet I find this so beautiful, as we attempted to find - beauty in the ugly...