June third is almost done in Chicago and it's way done in Srbija but I am returning to it anyway as I walk down the memory lane of a dream vacation a year ago which started and ended with weddings of 2 very special people in my life. This day is connected to a wedding of very special people too, Dana Premovic and Nenad (Neso) Nikolic who got married in Krusevac, Lazarica church, 3 years earlier after a love that spanned the oceans thru the folklore connection and exchange hosting between the folklore groups. I loved Dana from the moment she was born as she was born into like-family-to-us, the Savic clan, which was not much of a clan when I met Dana's then 4year-old mama within days of arriving to America in 1969. When Dana brought Nenad to us it was very natural to adopt him like family too. Knowing how much I care for them as well as Srbija and tradition and having heard my never-to-be-forgotten stories of a trip to his region 10 years earlier, Neso invited me to his grandmother's Slava, Sveti Car Konstantin and Carica Jelena, observed on June 3 by the whole village of Pepeljevac, nearby Krusevac. Who am I to say no! Let me see if there's a way. Of course there is! I wish I could have gone to their wedding but hey, since I could not let me at least go and meet Neso's family now. Whenever I think of Krusevac I think of this beautiful photo of Dana and Neso in front of the Lazarica church in Krusevac. The church was built in 1375 by the powerful ruler Price Lazar who died in the famous Battle of Kosovo in 1389, a battle whose mere mention or thought brings goose-bumps, brings pain at what is Kosovo today, brings up spirit to keep Serbian culture and pride alive and carry the spirit of Kosovo in our hearts wherever we are... they may take our Kosovo but they cannot take Kosovo out of us type of feeling.
Well anyway, back to my 1st week in Srbija, post wedding mostly lazy days with Miroslav's sister and her family and friends visiting every day and talking and watching videos over and over and looking at pictures and talk-talk-talk and walk-walk-walk even though it was rainy and gloomy and cold but we would go down the hill and walk along the Dunav (Danube River), Kej street walkway along the river. Mixed in there, I would take naps during the day and follow Stanley Cup hockey during the night and go out to the deck in the morning to gaze at the sunrise reflected on the old town and the Dunav River with the view toward Kalemegdan and Beograd. Dedicating as much time as possible to Miroslav's sister and brother-in-law before they go back to Bosna to their village (that's another dream to be visited later)... this is their house in Zemun but brother-in-law (zet) always had dream of returning to village so he now lives in Trubar, Bosna. They were leaving Thursday and that fit in with my plans because that was the day I would leave to go to Slava. In the meantime I have bought phone time and have a phone to use and continue to coordinate as I go along. I am now familiar with bus departures and have communicated arrival time to Neso and Dana who by the way both as well as Dana's sister Aleksandra are also vacationing at the same time in Srbija. I feel sooo wonderful being just an ordinary bus traveler. On my own, feeling right at home. Milena cannot part for too long from her sestras, Joja and Branka (and Nenad) and other young ones, but especially Joja, so she does not join me on this leg of the trip as I'll be gone a few days... Krusevac, then Kraljevo a number of days, than Trstenik and finally back to Beograd/Zemun. I go to bus depot in Beograd which has a ton of buses seemingly going to every town in Srbija and outside Srbija that you can imagine, nice coach buses too, I am impressed. Hearing my language spoken is heartwarming. I get to Krusevac before noon after about a 3 hour ride and make myself at home in Krusevac while waiting just a bit for my pre-arranged ride with Neso and gang. Ready to spend the next 8 hours or so with Neso and his family before continuing my travels, having checked out and coordinated with my next stop the bus departure at 8:15 tonight to Kraljevo. I feel so good being more or less self-sufficient. Hey, this is great, having public transport to take you anywhere.
Needless to say, Neso's family is very warm and I love the village feel but really it's not the kind of village I grew up in as a kid, isolated; this is almost like living in the city with all the conveniences but it's far enough to have a bit more land for planting and having some animals. I am glad to be by the baba that I felt like I already met thru Jela stories and having seen the pictures of Dana's wedding whereby baba had Premovices use her house as a base for Dana to walk out of... Dana walked out from the second story for the grand entrance down the outdoor stairs. I stand on those stairs to breathe in the beauty of the fresh air and re-live that wedding day and the feeling that the family must have had... Jela happy but concerned how Neso would adopt, Neso's family happy but obviously must have been sad to know their son would go so far away. On this day I spend time eating the delicious food but also getting a grand tour of the garden and premises and having heart-to-heart talks with Verica feeling like I've known her forever. I wish I could see so many other things that are part of this wonderful town, especially Lazarica church, but today is not the day for it; today is all about honoring baba Miljojka's Slava and the Slava of Pepeljevac, a village Slava which is probably observed in many common ways but also individually in homes like baba's home.
Brings back memories of 10 years earlier when we stopped in Krusevac briefly in the city center to turn over a package as a favor to Stevanovic family and then went in search of Father Ljubisa of Zdravinje to turn over a package from Stevanoviches to him too and besides we liked him a lot when he visited Chicago and want to say hello. It was like a scene out of a movie... there's Milorad driving, Miroslav in front with him, tetka Kata Lapcevic and I in the back... we criss-cross the region looking for Fr Ljubisa and asking where he's at and everywhere we come, he just left.. along the way though we find monastery that we visit, we come across a small farm creek bridge that had been bombed (oh, what a security threat that was - real threat these villagers and village bridges USA! - and you wonder why people turn against us), we see across the fields a group of people carrying litije (can't translate exactly; it's religious icons on cloth) and singing holy songs and that was just awesome for me because I could not imagine something like that... when we lived in ex-Yugoslavia it was forbidden to even celebrate Slava or go to church and to do it so openly was heart-warming.. we continued driving around and come back to a clearing in Djunis and those people have by now gathered for Slava at the clearing... food all over.. sljivovica (plum brandy) and other drinks.. they ask us to partake as if they've known us all their life... they insist we stay and help them selebrate the Seoska Slava (Saint Day for the village).. we say we just can't.. we still have to find Father Ljubisa and we still have far to go.. we gotta go to Trstenik and also Kraljevo... we wish we could stay but we drive on and every few miles we stop to ask where is Zdravinje(Fr. Ljubisa's village) and some old man just waves his arm and says keep going.. it seems like there is no place to go further.. feels like you're reaching top of the mountain.. but just as you reach the top, a whole beautiful far-reaching panorama opens up in front of you... we keep stopping and asking and a funny cast of characters just keeps waving us on.. we joke and laugh in the car... Milorad and Miroslav are saying "samo napred" (just go forward but it's said in a way that's almost military like you're going into battle; very decisive)... my tetka Kata who lives in Srbija was having so much fun and saying she never imagined Srbija was so beautiful, she had never seen this part of it as many times as she has passed relatively close to here but taking the main road to Kraljevo... we continue driving along these beautiful hilly roads and a maroon car pulls out and turns left a few yards in front of us.. we slow down and we're looking for our place and realize we just passed it up.. we turn back around almost immediately and turn in to the house ... the house out of which the maroon car had just come... we go in and lo-and-behold it is the right place.. we finally reached our destination... however, that was Father Ljubisa that just left in that maroon car! He had to go serve for a funeral. So.. we wait and eat and wait and eat and then we really have to go.. too bad we did not see Father Ljubisa but we can't wait any more. We head back and after a mile or so we pull to the right out of respect as there is a funeral approaching... we stand with respect and who do we see? Father Ljubisa! He makes slight eye contact but it's a funeral procession so obviously he cannot acknowledge us even if he did recognize us. It was just too funny. Honesty, we felt like we were characters in some slap-happy comedy.
The whole place brings happy memories and appreciation for being in a place that touches my heart with their tradition, with warmth, with simplicity, with being a part of what I feel even living in Chicago. It's what anchors me, the simple, warm, God-loving souls of the Serbian people I meet here. They may not have much but what they have they would give you. Case in point, I got a big jar of slatko od jagoda (strawberry sweet preserves) from baba and Verica, Neso's mom...you can't imagine how tiny and delicious these strawberries are... like wild strawberry... cooked in and very sweet.. can you imagine how many strawberries had to be picked and washed to prepare one jar of slatko?! When I eat that, I can smell the strawberries even though preserved... I smell Srbija... I smell nice village freshness with all the trees and vines and the rosa (dew) on the vines. It's a common saying that in America flowers or fruit do not smell. I don't know what it is but many people have noticed that somehow things smell so much better in the old country. That's how those preserves are for me. All I had to say was how much I liked that slatko and you know what, now when Neso goes to Srbija he brings me another jar of slatko. That's what I mean, people such as Neso's baba and mama and the rest of family are just so warm and accepting of new friends. After a delightful day in their company, Neso with Dana and Aleksandra drive me back to the bus depot. I catch my bus and head to Kraljevo where I arrive at about 10:00 p.m. to be met by the smiling face of my cousin's son, Nikola Samardzija,.. tall, easy to spot and recognize even though he has changed quite a bit in the last 10 years... and his "little people" sister Dana. We then get on the local bus to get to their home which is not too far away. I'll have to find a computer so I can stay up tonight and follow the Blackhawks Hockey Stanley Cup game.
I look forward to returning to the dream, visiting with my amazing Kraljevo relatives. For my relatives, I look forward to sharing a bit more about Mina, Nikola and Dana who many of you do not get a chance to see. To my non-relatives who read more for the taste of Srbija, I will take you to some interesting places with my Kraljevo relatives. The pictures below depict my Thursday, June 3, 2010 day with Nenad Nikolic baba Miljojka, mama Verica and the rest of family in Krusevac and Pepeljevac.
