Very much undercover in the Balkans

Always sensitive to a specific request, I'll post a little blog. I've been enjoying my visit to Serbia to see my good friend Zeljka. It's has been a particularly cold winter here, but it has been nice to walk around and see Subotica, just south of the Hungarian border. We also travelled to Novi Sad yesterday, and it was a white scene providing for a few nice pictures, and as I just bought a digital camera for a reasonable price here, I'll be able to put them up on the facebook! It was a bit funny though on the first day, as it was required that I went to show myself to the police and tell them where I was staying. But it wasn't actually that onorous, just strange to think of yourself as so 'controlled'. I came via a flight to Budapest and the train then down to Subotica. The train was in old carriage style and reminded me of a few films, and when I walked along to find the toilet I felt like Cary Grant as some spy being chased as I bounced from one side of the fast moving corridor to the other.

The Serbians are very nice, though in fact there are so many cultures here, it would be impossible to know who was Serb or Hungarian or Croat. But it feels very safe walking around, much more so than Paris. I tried a local dish this morning at breakfast called Borek - i think - which was a sort of chou pastry pie with ham and cheese inside, but which can have various fillings. It was very nice and especially filling, so I could't finish it. I doubt I will go to Belgrade, as I don't want to be travelling all the time, being just here to see my friend in her natural habitat!

Before I came away, I made great preparations so as to keep the cold at bay, and thought I was overdoing it. But now that I'm here I thank my stars as it's colder than I've ever experienced, but it's strange that once you're well wrapped up it's almost more pleasant (almost!) because the air is so dry and refreshing. Every day I put back on my body suit of thermals like I'm about to be blasted into space. Actually, a thermal facemask wouldn't be so bad! The only down side is that I have to continually stoop to pick up my hat which seems to want to belong to someone else. So as the Golden Girls used to say - picture it, Serbia, 2009, down the street comes Stephen looking like the marshmallow giant from Ghostbusters to keep warm, walking as slow as the terminator to avoid falling on the ice. All I can say is, it's a sight the girls go crazy for. But there will be no photographic evidence of this. And this message will self-destruct in five seconds.