Serbia - Novi Sad

 2025

We rushed through this area in 1974 but this time there was a reason to stay for a while.

Thursday 29th May 

We caught the bus at 9.  It was as comfortable as it could be but was very full and we had to sit at the back.  We arrived at Novi Sad at 4, Caroline and Moma picked us up in a taxi (their car was being repaired after an accident) and took us back to their lovely big house with an amazing view on the outskirts of the city.  I was shocked to find that Caroline was using a wheelchair and had been since breaking her ankle and shoulder over a year ago.  She came to Serbia to teach in the 1980s and met Moma but they lost touch with each other until 2012.  They married in California in 2020 and lived there for a while before deciding to settle in Serbia where they could be close to Moma’s family.  They have 9 very affectionate cats which keep them busy.  Moma cooked a lovely Serbian meal of stuffed peppers in paprika sauce.  It is wonderful to see Caroline again and to catch up, we are their first visitors since they moved here in 2023.  Caroline spends a lot of time petitioning Donald Trump as well as the UK government on the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza.

Neil and Moma with his vintage car - the oldest car in Serbia!

Friday 30th May

Today Caroline and Moma took us to see beautiful Novi Sad on the banks of the Danube.  It is a vibrant town, full of life with lots of outdoor cafes and a food market.  We looked around two of the churches, one catholic and one orthodox.  High on the cliffs was Petrovaradin castle which we visited next which had an array of little art galleries all preparing for the tourists season. We ate fish at a restaurant overlooking the river.  In the evening we watched a film of Anne’s life (Caroline’s mother/my aunt) which Moma had put together.  It was sad to think all that generation has gone.

Saturday 30th May 

 We went to a local flea market, the main things for sale were second hand clothes and tools.  Luckily there was nothing we wanted to buy as we don’t have much room in our luggage.  We ate in a local restaurant accompanied by folk music played on 2 accordions, a guitar and a double bass. Moma’s son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter came round in the afternoon.  It is good to know that Moma’s family live nearby.  In the evening Moma taught us to play a card game called Lorum which was a really interesting trick taking  game for 4 people.