Life in a year full of Saturdays

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Belgrade (SERBIA): What we took for granted...

Belgrade (SERBIA)

28 JUNE - 06 JULY 2022

What the hell just happened to us?

There we all were, sailing along calmly, serenely, in our own little pockets of a vast and expansive of ocean of tranquility, with endless blue skies, sunny days and forecasts for much more of the same. Then, in the same breath, a rogue wave took our collective ease and tossed it into a churning cauldron of uncertainty.

Many of us were unprepared, no safety vests, no items of buoyancy within arm's reach. We flapped and flailed, we swallowed inordinate amounts of salt water, and some of us went under. COVID, I hope, has been a once in a lifetime event that will be banished to the lines written in many an online entry, and accounted for individually in many a faded memory.

For my small family the impact was merely a nuisance rather than anything extraordinarily devastating. I was easily able to transition to working from home. For Inga however, whose area of work is based in hospitality, being located in one of the most locked down cities on earth (Melbourne) meant all reasonable chances for employment were lost. So like many economically displaced residents, we took part in the great northern migration of 2020-21 and found ourselves hiding out in our investment property on the Gold Coast.

....but wait, this is a TRAVEL blog, so lets get back to it.

The incantations of travel, those dreams of tranquility, of exploration, of discovery, all were removed within a 7-day period sometime back in April of 2020. One of those dependable constants in our lives was entirely erased and replaced with curfews, a 5km travel radius and infections rates. Long endless days bled into months of isolated tedium We all hoped for some visible endpoint, a psychological marker that we would be able to work to and know that through our own personal resilience we could achieve.

It was in these times that I thought back to the experiences we had in the preceding years. The small annoyances and grievances of travel such as the inordinately slow queues at check-in or whilst going through security. The steely, unfriendly, almost accusatory eyes of customs officers. The ridiculous price tags for any food or beverages acquired within a terminal. The fight for armrests, the post-service rush to the lavatory, the impatience of certain passengers and their need to furiously disembark through the single accessible cabin door even before the plan docks at the terminal jet bridge...all of this, each vexation, every irritant we had taken for granted within the entirety of the travel process. So small, and insignificant, they had all manifested into larger items of aggravation that was almost akin to denouncing the whole travel process, but now, now much bigger things had been taken away from us.

Our families and friends scattered across the world. The plans for reunions, catch-ups, special events. The conduit for this was encapsulated in the small aggravations that was longer available to us. Somehow the horrible process of minor inconveniences didn't seem nearly as problematic as we once imagined. Somehow what we had taken for granted was now what we desired most in order to get back to doing and seeing the people and things that we loved the most.

Almost 3 years had passed since Inga and I had been to Europe to see how families. This wait in many ways was quite unpleasant but looking back, it was also something that brought to us the realisation that you need to always appreciate what you have because one day it can easily turn into what you had.

Inga & Aiden - Melbourne, Tullamarine Airport - Victoria - Australia

Aiden - Melbourne, Tullamarine Airport - Victoria - Australia

That's not too bad of a set-up - Etihad Airways

There was something about arriving in Belgrade that felt comforting. As a kid landing at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla airport was always an event filled with excitement and anticipation. Waiting to see my mum's family, doing that familiar driver from the airport to Topcider. It was something that I have, and probably always will associated with good times, warm feelings and family. Certainly this time was no different. Even more so that having lived in Belgrade for three years between 2015-2018, and now, through COVID restrictions, having been removed for three years, it was something that I had certainly been missing.

Aiden & Inga - Trg Republike - Belgrade - Serbia

This old man, he's still 'the man' - BC - Topcider - Belgrade - Serbia

Knez Mihailova - Belgrade - Serbia

Hotel Moskva - Belgrade - Serbia

There was something familiar and also something a bit odd about taking Aiden around Belgrade, almost like a bit of 'history repeating'. A child this was the role of my mother and father, but of course this was also their city and both of them had family here. Somehow from my point of view the act of Inga and I doing the same thing feels random, or more serendipitous. Perhaps if you looked at the situation at arm's length you'd identify it as perfectly expected and orderly. I don't know, it often seems to me that life iterates itself in quite familiar ways although not repeating exactly.

I have to say that our time in Belgrade itself was really very nice, calming and refreshing. We all enjoyed our experience, especially being back in a place we were familiar with and being with the people that we had missed.

We were also fortunate enough to spend some time in Sopot, a town located about 45kms south of Belgrade, located on the slopes of Kosmaj Mountain. My family has a beautiful house/cottage located on a great piece of land in the area. Once again, as a kid we would often make our way here once or twice during our stay, only for a day at a time, but on this occasion, we stayed for (3) days. I have to say, I probably never truly appreciated the scenery in the area but there is certainly something very soothing and inviting about the hilly areas on Kosmaj covered with forests of oak, beech and common hornbeam. What's more, it appears that this area is also starting to get noticed from outside of Serbia with a bit of a boutique, artisanal vibe starting to permeate through some of the settlements in the municipality. Obviously the distance from Belgrade these days means absolutely nothing in terms of travel time and the environment and the setting is an attraction for anyone able to work remotely but also wanting to be within striking distance of a major city.

Kosmaj - Sopot - Serbia

Of course, when you turn 47 fireworks are obligatory

Happy birthday to me

I will have to say a big thank you to my cousin Vladimir for showing us all the new things that have popped up here in the last few years, for example;

Kabinet Brewery - which identifies as the first greenfield brewery project in Eastern Europe, and was also one of the first craft brewery projects in Serbia. An absolutely fabulous place to try beers of high quality and unique flavour. What's more, the location and more than pleasant outlook, based on one of the slopes of Kosmaj, made this place an absolute highlight for all of us

Vinarija Eden - Eden winery, an absolutely picture-perfect winery located near the village of Ranilović, near Arandjelovac, only an hour's drive from Belgrade. It is positioned between the mountains of Kosmaj and Bukulja, at an altitude between 240-260 m, perfect for growing grapes and more than fantastic for having a couple of glasses of white on a breezy Summer day.

Kabinet Brewery - Kosmaj - Sopot - Serbia

Vinjaria Eden - Ranilovic - Municipality of Arandelovac - Serbia

Whilst I'm at it, I also want to give a shout-out to another great find, this time in Belgrade, Dogma Brewing & Tap Room, a fantastic location, very close to where we live in Topcider. It has a great industrial, warehouse feel but such a cool atmosphere, great food and another brilliant place to spend an afternoon! Trust me, it's well worth the visit.

Dogma Brewery & Tap Room - Radnička 3 Čukarica - Belgrade - Serbia

A big thank you to my mother, my aunt, my cousin and BC! You made this occasion such a pleasure and it was so good to finally see you after so many years apart! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Brisbane (Australia) - This is quarantine

Brisbane (Australia)

03 NOVEMBER - 17 NOVEMBER 2020

Relocating to Brisbane from a state that was 'ravaged' by COVID automatically handed us a mandatory 2-week quarantine period on arrival. This was the punishment we were required to endure and the consequence of coming from a dirty state to one that was clean.

There was no circumventing the process. Mentally we made our own preparations and came to terms with the requirement of spending 1,209,600 seconds in a room of approximately 30m2. They were the rules of the contest. For those that haven't contemplated what quarantine is like, here's a look back on our stay at the 5-star Brisbane Marriott Hotel.

Initial novelty

03 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 1 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

After a lengthy process at the airport, being herded through the terminal like a bunch of lepers, driven to the hotel and formally signed in, gaining access to your place of residence for the next 14 days was somewhat satisfying.

In those first hours it felt like the start of any other holiday. A typical hotel room, a nice view and the opportunity to relax. Our view out over the Brisbane river to the Story Bridge was most certainly a highlight, something we all made use of.

03 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 1 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

It's all rainbows and cheetoh's at this point. You know in yourself that there will be days when the monotony is going to drive you insane but for right now, it was all toast.

03 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 1 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

The Story Bridge - a heritage listed cantilever bridge spanning the Brisbane River. It occupied our days, nights and sometimes even our dreams. Many times I looked out to the bars and restaurants on the north bank on the river and wondered what it would be like to be one of those people, sitting there, looking up at these buildings and not having the slightest care in the world regarding COVID or the need to quarantine. We wanted to be those people. We wanted to be the type of people that could drive over the bridge via the Bradfield Highway and not turn back, just keep on driving down to the Gold Coast where our new abode was waiting for us.

03 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 1 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

Inga suggested that I bring a couple bottles of wine for our stay - Inga is very smart woman!

03 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 1 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

As night fell along the river the bridge would light up in accordance with the mood of the day. Ever changing and ever impressive, our window out on the world held it in centre frame.

03 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 1 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

Aiden running riot prior to bath time.

Check out the view

04 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 2 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

This was the view from my office.

Signing on then positioning myself so I could have this view for the day was fantastic. For me being occupied during the day made the whole quarantine experience relatively easy. For Inga & Aiden on the other hand, moments passed by far more slowly.

04 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 2 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

Pretty in green, just a standard Wednesday night for the Story Bridge.

Fresh air breaks

07 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 5 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

One of the small allowances we had.

'Fresh air breaks' were offered to all quarantine guests but needed to be booked in advance. Early on in the piece the wait time was literally minutes but as more and more rooms became occupied the wait to get out increased in associated.

We were only allowed to move around the pool and terrace area which occupied a space on Level 4 of the hotel. For most people on their breaks this was their opportunity to exercise. It didn't take long for the 'walkers' to figure our a small loop around the pool, up the length of the terrace and back. In all honesty, the site of masked people doing loops on a 40mtr tracked looked a little mental.

07 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 5 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

What confounded me slightly is that there was no monitoring or policing of social distancing on the terrace. Every other interaction within the quarantine framework operated at the expected level of social distancing, but, out on the terrace somehow interactions between guests and also the police monitoring numbers on a break and their duration, fell apart.

07 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 5 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

We felt it was important for Aiden to get out as much as possible. Early on in the piece we were able to get him outside (3) times per day but as the numbers in the hotel swelled this became twice a day. Inga would take him out in the morning and I'd take him out after my working day.

Sunday night on the river

08 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 6 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

Not sure of the reason but there was a welcome fireworks display at the end of our first weekend.

08 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 6 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

I can only assume that for an active toddler needing to occupy your time in one room with limited option for play was fairly brutal.

08 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 6 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

Thankfully we had access to the ABC Kids channel, so The Wiggles, Sesame Street, Thomas the Tank Engine, GoJetters, in fact anything that moderately resembled a cartoon was right in our wheelhouse for producing an engaged and calm boy.

I can do everything you can

09 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 7 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

Aiden was proving a point, pretty much showing me that he could 'do it all'. Here he is getting started on my morning emails, watching Bananas in Pyjamas and acting like a toddler boss.

We're still alive

10 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 8 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

Sending greetings out into the world.

I think this is the point where we see our own 'turn' in the acceptance of what quarantine is doing to us. Once you start sending messages out into the World and creating tasks that are not common place in the everyday is the exact point in time when the four walls around you start to win the contest.

Starting to break

11 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 9 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

Policy was that on Day 10 everyone staying in quarantine was required to have a COVID test, post test however it was a requirement that the remaining time spent was all indoors, no fresh air breaks at all. In preparation for that we took to turning our room inside out and created fun 'rollie' things to do.....😂

11 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 9 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

You got a bed...then you got a ramp

If you have a ramp then the sky is the limit to the amount of fun you can have (apparently).

When your mental fragility is displayed for all to see

13 November 2020 - Quarantine Day 11 - Brisbane Marriott Hotel - Queensland - Australia

This is our first full day of lockdown...in quarantine lockdown

What else are you going to do with a box from Dan Murphy's?

What now?