Blogs from Zemun, Belgrade, West, Serbia, Europe

Again, the list tends to be very short, since I do not travel as much as before covid. Cycling on the Dalmatian Coast, Croatia The famous Hotel Moskva in Belgrade, Serbia Adopted by my new Greek brothers in Athens, Greece Sipping a 2008 Quinta do Noval port in Porto Roland Garros, the French Open tennis in Paris Visit with Dirty Pat in Annapolis, MD A visit to the oldest pharmacy in the US, in New Orleans Wine tasting in the Livermore Valley Four cool days in Monterey, CA during the summer heat wave Niner game in hostile, freezing Seattle Return to UC Berkeley for Cal-UA football game A visit to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul Revisit to the Musee d'Orsay in Paris Walk the walls of Dubrovnik Pre-Oktoberfest celebration in Romertown, Frankfurt, Germany Short and sweet. ... read more

With San Francisco's downtown becoming a relative ghost town, what can we expect in the future for tourism? In 2019, the United States had 79.4 million international visitors, a figure that plummeted to 19.2 million in 2020 as the pandemic hit and rose to just 22.1 million in 2021. International visitors spent $239.4 billion in 2019, but just $81 billion in 2019, the Commerce Department said. Before COVID, tourism supported 9.5 million U.S. jobs and generated $1.9 trillion in economic output. San Francisco was hit hard, but mostly downtown where tourists tend to stay. The neighborhoods thrived, while many businesses in the downtown area closed or downsized. My favorite Uniqlo store on Powell, near the cable car turntable is gone. In fact, during the pandemic, the cable cars were also garaged in the cable car barn. ... read more

Belgrade has survived a millenia of both Attila the Hun and Slobodan Milosevic. But Belgrade knows how to party! Cafes and bars are full of young Belgradians (is that a word), maybe Serbians would be a better term? Basically, it has the Mediterranean lifestyle and vibe without the coastline. Likewise, coffee is serious business here too! Coffee was brought here by the Ottomans in the 16th century. Obviously, it bears a strong resemblance to Turkish coffee. The first coffee house in Belgrade opened in 1522. And much like the rest of the world, at least the coffee drinking world, local roasters, like Przionica are the rage. They say the viscosity of the kafa bears a strong resemblance to Turkish coffee. The green markets are held daily. Again, like the other Mediterranean countries, they eat fresh food ... read more

Addictions are dangerously haunting. They control your emotions and warp your reason and guide you like a blind man's dog. They are a nightmare. On the sixth day when God created man, He created man's neighbor's worst nightmare. Why? Because man is an addiction. Once you meet fellow humans, you can't live with out them. You're an empty shell when you have no one to talk to, and stunning scenery and amazing adventures mean nothing when you have no one to share them with. On a trip in Europe you might spend three months looking forward to a visit from them, spend your time with them wishing they would stay, and spend the rest of your trip after they leave aching for them to come back. It'd be especially hard when you had a fantastic time ... read more