Monthly Archives: November 2020

Eternal Flames of the Chimera

I can’t tell if Turkey is an amazing place to be at this moment in time or not. Unlike Albania and Serbia, pandemic rules here are quite restrictive. There is a curfew in place and a complete ban on dining at restaurants. On the other hand, the sky is sunny, the sea is warm andContinue reading “Eternal Flames of the Chimera”

Thankful for Turkey

A couple of weeks ago we were planning to fly to Slovenia, where we would spend the Thanksgiving holiday and from there go on to Italy where we would be for Christmas and beyond. However, after a surge in Covid-19 infections and tightening restrictions in these two countries I changed our flight at the lastContinue reading “Thankful for Turkey”

A Library in Cyrillic

There’s no better way to enjoy a miserable day than a good book or two hundred. Belgrade, across the river, disappeared almost completely under a shroud of fog that has not lifted in days. Because the kids work on American time, we go to sleep late and wake late. But in the low light ofContinue reading “A Library in Cyrillic”

The Coronavirus Prophecy

Twenty years ago a fortune teller in Cambodia read my palm and told me that I would die when I’m forty. I don’t believe that nonsense, but I recently turned the prophesied age and, walking home from a bakery in Belgrade a couple days ago with a birthday cake for my daughter, the coronavirus nearlyContinue reading “The Coronavirus Prophecy”

The Promised Land

Life in Serbia is so pleasant that we are considering staying here even though it was initially just meant to be a quarantine stop on the way to the European Union. Although I miss being by the sea, life along the Danube means nature is always nearby. Besides that, the food here is terrific andContinue reading “The Promised Land”

Three Hundred Years of Quarantine

Social distancing along the border market is enforced by two rows of palisades separating buyer from seller. Money is disinfected in vinegar and guards patrol in order to observe that no physical contact take place. This is the scene at the Sava River as described by the famous Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen in hisContinue reading “Three Hundred Years of Quarantine”