Disappearing Belgrade 11-

The old style car number plate, which threw up such gems as this.

Disappearing Belgrade No.3-

Money.

More and more people these days with less and less money. 

Disappearing Belgrade No.2a-

Brides in boxes 

Disappearing Belgrade No.1-

Axel Foto, the best camera shop in Belgrade. 

Disappearing Belgrade 2c-

Brides in Boxes

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Zastava 750. The “fitja’.

Disappearing Belgrade No.9-

Guns

When i first came to Belgrade, in 2003, it was fairly common to be searched for guns on entering a club or even a restaurant. I suppose it was a legacy of the ‘gangster’ culture of the nineties. Thankfully those days have passed. 

Disappearing Belgrade No.8-

DzKC

Hidden away in a courtyard just off one of the main thoroughfares, DzKC was a haven for the riff-raff, artists, musicians, junkies, renegades and all round Belgrade bohemia. Broken ramshackle furniture, graffitied walls, a toilet that made strong men flinch and women walk 200 metres to another bar, great music, cheap beer. Made dive bars in the Lower East Side seem like the Ritz.

I felt at home straight away. Quite simply it was the best introduction to the creative side of Belgrade anyone could ask for. You could rub shoulders with all sorts of people, from wasted low-life to some of the finest minds in the Balkans (sometimes they were the same person). Plus you could party all night and still have enough money to crawl into a taxi home.

I loved it. It couldn’t last. It didn’t.

(and yes, that is ice on the walls)

Disappearing Belgrade No.5b-

Street dogs. (the dog’s bollocks!)

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Trees.

Belgrade’ city  council really hate trees. They cut them down all the time. Most of the beautiful old Plane trees on Bulevar were massacred, for no apparent reason, now they have their sites fixed on Tasmajdan Park, the most beautiful inner-city park in Belgrade.

The one i miss the most though is the one in the pic. Used to stand at the top of Knez Mihalova. They cut it down because it was harming the wall!  Why didn’t they just rebuild the wall?

Disappearing Belgrade No.6-

Rakija. 

Distilled from whatever fruit grows in your village. Comes in dozens of flavours and a myriad local  variations. Tastes great. Cures everything. Causes all sorts of interesting conversations and behaviour. Cheap as chips. Wooden cross optional.

Forget the factory produced stuff, it’s poor. You need a contact in a village nowadays, because they banned the sale of it in the markets. The gits!

Disappearing Belgrade No.5-

Street dogs. (the dog’s bollocks!)

Brigette Bardot started a sterilisation programme for street dogs a few years ago. While not entirely successful it has certainly drastically reduced the number of dogs roaming Belgrade.

This pregnant old girl escaped the programme i guess.