expat blogger

living in Serbia

Monday, February 14, 2011

The Old House & The International holidays of February the 14th

Right now, as I type, Somewhere not far off an traditional Serbian Ompah band is belting out as if there is a wedding. But it is Monday, so I am sure they are practicing. This is slightly enchanting, even though I really hate the music.

The Mux and I have been toying with the idea of buying a house here.  We went to look at one in his village a few days ago. Though the house is only about 60 years old, the feel of the place is much more antique.

This is a worn out little building beside the house we looked at. I like the hearts on the door. The door is so worn, it isn't even on the hinges anymore. The inside is a mess with an old bed and a few forgotten stored items.
The nice little kitchen includes a wood fueled oven and an electric one. Here in Serbia there are often couches in the kitchen, that convert into beds. I think it is a novel idea, even if I am not fond of the way it looks. It saves on heating the whole house with more than one wood burning stove.  The sink and wood stove are just out of view.


 It was a lovely old village house. The house is from the 1940's or 50's era. It needs some repairs, but Milan says he could do them. We are undecided, but it is fun to dream about exotic old homes. How we could fix up the yard and make a nice garden behind.  This feels like a super bowl commercial in my other wise boring life.



Feminine Sensitive info here. If you are a guy you may want to skip down a bit... You have been warned.  Maybe you can tell by the tone of my words, I have been jaded by having to wear a cast for a couple of weeks, hope I can get it off Friday. It is doing numbers on my mind!

I believe my "Friend of the months" is also a culprit of my no so chipper attitude. The word friend is used lightly, sarcastically, and maybe even as an antonym. I may have made two friends into enemies with my monthly Jekyll and Hyde transformation. I was a bit evil at dinner last night, even though I was trying to remain my usual friendly self. All the trying in the world couldn't reign in Mrs. Hyde.

I find the Jekyll and Hyde is an appropriate name for my two selves as I am such a changed person sometimes. And because the historical character, Deacon Brodie, whose life was made into the story was born on the same day as me! just 200 years earlier.

 This brings me to a topic that some Expat woman may find helpful. The Diva Cup! I am in love with this product. In many countries all over the world, female sanitary products are not as wide in variety as in the western world. If you are traveling to non-western countries you may want to take your favorite products or even have them shipped to you. I stocked up and brought mine until I found this little silicon cup. There are different names for it... Moon cup is another name. I do recommend it and if you are interested, do some research and find out if it may be a good option for you. There is no need to buy monthly products, and it is so small it fits in a pocket.  Two Big thumbs up!

Males may resume reading here...

Happy Valentine's Day! Here is it is Sveti (Saint) Trifun's day. He is the saint of wine. I think these two holidays go well together. The Ompah band is playing to celebrate this Holiday.
The Ompah band is playing just the other side of our building. Milan saw them when we was going out to get our breakfast pastries from the bakery. The band is starting to be annoying to listen to as I try to put words together. They are unwelcome guests pounding away at my thought process. I will take a break and come back to this rambling later.

Some time after dinner the same day
Great little traditional Serbian Restaurant, the rocks along the bottom of the wall foster several bubbling fountains. The falling waters quiet laughter provides a relaxing atmosphere.

We celebrated this holiday with a nice dinner out. Kod Sasha's was the name of the little place. Literally translated, it means "at Sasha's". The owner waited on us, and the food was exquisite. We had salad, two main courses, wine, beer and coffee. All this cost the same as two Combo meals at McDonald's back home. There was home-made bread and cheeses and even home-made horseradish. Oh my, I am still as stuffed as a turkey on Thanksgiving.

If you are ever in Knjazevac this is the place to go! Sasha's has won several awards for its food. The decor of the place is antique Serbian. The service was great and the food was nothing less than amazing. Before we left, the owner said he had a dish made of cows tail. Sounds really interesting and I am anxious to give it a try next time. 
I had to share a picture of the wine I had with my meal. Medveda Krv or blood of the bear is the name of the wine. It was very nice. I mixed it with Coke, half and half. This is called Bambus. Don't knock it til you try it.
The downstairs Entrance.


While I listened to the house talk in Serbian, I looked through the window to the little house that now haunts my daydreams.
I can't stop thinking of the little house, it is such a romantic idea, and would be fun to work on for the next month and a half that I have left here in Serbia. It would also be nice for our extended family to have this little plot for gardening while we are gone and the house to stay in for some time away from town in the summer.

Only time well till what is to come. I am happy right now just to dream.

Ciao for now,
Please feel free to comment!

1 comment:

Rose H (UK) said...

Hi, thank you for visiting my blog and leaving your handy hint about putting silver plate in sealed plastic bags...I'm off to buy some now!

Like the look of Serbia, great to dream about doing a home up as you'd like it - hope you find what you're after.

Best wishes
(Second Hand) Rose H