Belgrade to Nis to Leskovac

Saturday 6/23

Saturday, the last day at the hostel, was fairly uneventful as the previous night we accompanied Marko and his friends to a nightclub. The time was spent talking and meeting some kind folks, and the walk through the Belgrade nightlife to and from the club was vibrant as always…my favorite part. Anyhow, Saturday was mellow, and that evening Bata and Sladja (staff members from the Leskovac Evangelical Church) picked us up at the hostel, where they took us to their home in Nis, roughly 240km south of Belgrade.  

Sunday 6/24

After a night spent at their home, we got up on Sunday to head further south to Leskovac for a morning church gathering...floods of memories from 5 years ago. The gathering was meaningful for me, especially since Bata let me play the hand drum in the worship band. I had no idea what the songs were, but I just improvised and played along with the other musicians. No tomatoes were thrown, so I must have done something right ;) Really though, it was an honor to worship with the passionate believers here, and I was sure to tell them that when I was asked to speak a word of introduction. Some familiar faces made the event even warmer. 

Leskovac Evangelical Church

Gathering room upstairs

 After the gathering, we attended a Serbian wedding...a friend of David Stanković (family friend)...which is why I was able to attend in the first place. Any friend of David's is a friend of the groom's (he and David grew up together). 

Ahhh...the wedding. I've never seen anything like it. It began at the house of the bride-to-be, where a small live band played very exuberant Serbian music, while the family greeted guests, served refreshments, and danced...a lot. Later, the groom arrived at the front gate to whisk away his fiance, where he was serenaded by a freaking marching band...no joke. Why can't I get that when I wake up and head downstairs for breakfast? ;) Truly, it was epic. The groom arrived, where he headed up to the the second floor to partake in the Serbian tradition of paying the brother of the bride a negotiated amount in order to take his sister away to be married. Apparently they agreed on the transaction, because the couple descended the stairs back out to the front gate, where the wedding party linked arms and danced the kolo, a traditional Serbian dance. The brother also fired a off a few rounds from a pistol (right by my ear if anyone cares ;). Following this ordeal, everyone drove to Nis to view a  ceremony in a Serbian Orthodox church, which was chosen to be included in the wedding to honor cultural custom.

After the documents were signed to make the marriage official, the celebration migrated to a local restaurant called Bolji Život ("Better Life" in Serbian), where the real party began. Seriously, Serbian weddings make American ones look like tea time with two English housewives. I have never seen such nonstop music and dancing.

These great photos are courtesy of Kelly Bartz:

Proud mother of the bride with the brother to her right. This is at the bride's home.

ummm....yeah. That's how you announce the groom.

The lovely bride

Serbian Orthodox Church in Nis

Ceremony inside the church

Zoran, Stana, David, and I at Bolji Život

The newlyweds dancing...this continued on...and on...and on...and on...."please don't stop the music, please don't stop the music, please don't stop the please don't stop the please don't stop the muuuusic!"

Živeli! ("Cheers" in Serbian)

 I didn't get back to Else's home in Leskovac until...well I don't remember...probably 4AM. I felt like someone duct-taped that wind-up cymbal-crashing monkey to my head for 6 hours. :) Truly, though, it was a wonderful celebration...full of life, and I am very grateful to have experienced it.

Monday and Tuesday were not as eventful, just a lot of walking around Leskovac in the evening with friends, enjoying good food and good company. Four of us did go the the public swimming pool here in town on Tuesday, which was very refreshing considering the hot summer weather.

More to come friends.... stay tuned.

Peace and take care.