Below is a photo just for Anna. The Captain announced that we were flying over the Swiss Alps. This is as close as I got to Basel this year. Maybe next year.
As we flew into Belgrade, I was intrigued by the architecture of the city. This image of New Belgrade is of the Communist-era brutalist architecure that was popular through the 60's. Tito led Yugoslavia from the 40's until his death in 1980. During this time, he built the city of New Belgrade across the river Sava. In a move away from Soviet formalist and narrative architecture, the predominant style of New Belgrade was more Western modernist and avant-garde.
After I landed, I took a cab ride around the city. The driver (though ripping me off) was very friendly and informative. He took me by many interesting spots, including the ruins of the Army Headquarters bombed by NATO in 1999. There is a very interesting article regarding the architecture of Belgrade and this building at the following link: nato as architectural critic by Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss. A short quote:
(W)hat can be the strategic value of a highly visible large building in the center of the city, especially after being emptied of its personnel and equipment? Physically, its strategic value is zero. The only possible strategic justification for the destruction of this building was its symbolic disappearance from the skyline.
I didn't spend much time in Belgrade the first day, but when I came back through, I spent 2 days with my new friends Tamara and Marko. Pictures of that visit later...
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