BRISEL / BRUSSELS
lage, which doesn’t resemble what we’d expect of New York. There are no skyscrapers; it’s reminiscent of Europe with its small folksy restau- rants where you can eat even if you aren’t wealthy like Trump. Green- wich has a nice bohemian quality, it’s a pleasant place where you can walk around and not get run over by two fire engines and three police cars [laughs]. ON HIS FAVOURITE PLACES I’ve toured five continents, more than 90 countries, been to many un- usual places, but if I had to choose my favourites, that would be Brug- es in Belgium and the whole of the Mediterranean. Bruges because it’s a miniature Venice, a magical city on canals, and the Mediterranean be- cause it’s the most attractive place for life. Those are cities tailored to man, like Florence, which success- fully manages to resist exceeding the tolerable number of inhabitants. It protects its artistic treasures and an- tiques jealously, just as it does its way of life. For example, in America everything is counted and calculat- ed; in New York it’s important that you eat your meal as quickly as pos- sible, so someone else can sit in your place. Meanwhile in Italy, for exam- ple, the entire family gathers, every- one argues and makes up ten times, they spend entire afternoons sitting in restaurants, and it doesn’t cross anyone’s mind to show them the door. The Mediterranean is blessed. ON GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH CITIES Prior to every trip, I spend a lot of time reading, wanting to inform myself about the country and city to which I'm travelling. I had a friend in Paris who was a correspondent for Tanjug, so I revealed to him that Cézanne had lived around the cor- ner, and he didn’t know that despite living in Paris. But I’d read that be- fore I’d headed there. Your trip will prove much more fruitful and you’ll enjoy yourself more if you get in- formed about important things in advance. On the other hand, you’ll
ON THE TRACES OF WRITERS Even writers can’t be avoided on travels. They have left indelible traces everywhere. I encountered the ghost of Arthur Rimbaud in Harar, where the poet dealt with trade - instead of with verse - in tanned leather. Togeth- er with Hemingway, in the snows of Kilimanjaro, I renewed my recollec- tions of the House of the Gods, as the Africans refer to their tallest moun- tain. With Joseph Conrad, I listened to the beating of the Heart of Dark- ness in the Congo, and wandered the streets of Trieste with Joyce. Togeth- er with Byron and Keats, I laid flow- ers on the graves of poets prema- turely departed. I’ve despaired with Camus and whitewashed the aban- doned palaces of Paris with Marlowe. I’ve stayed with Bram Stoker in the haunted Transylvanian castle of an unfairly denigrated Wallachian ruler. I’ve hidden in Istanbul’s Pera Palace Hotel with Agatha Christie... ON AIR SERBIA I’ve flown a lot. First with JAT, now with Air Serbia, and I always – both then and now – enjoyed the hospitality and comfort of the na- tional airline. But perhaps most im- portantly, I always feel secure aboard our planes. I claim reliably, and I know well, that our pilots are among the best in the world, and that fact con- tributes to the enjoyment of the flight. I feel more serene aboard an Air Serbia plane than I do on the planes of some larger and richer companies.
happen across the most beautiful places quite by accident, when you go astray, so you should set aside time to wander aimlessly. It was also customary for me to go to disrepu- table neighbourhoods, which drove my wife particularly crazy [laughs]. And to conclude – markets. Visiting markets is a must in every city. It’s there that you feel the true spirit of a city. Those are places where the famous and not-so-famous meet. In Rome, for example, all the green grocers adore actress Monica Vitti, that’s a fusion of the rustic and the refined. The diversity of the people will help you draw a lot of conclu- sions about the country in which you find yourself. ON TRAVELS Hedonism, inquisitiveness, a de- sire to discover something... There are many reasons why one should travel, but it should never be done only for physical pleasures, because you can also sunbathe on your own balcony. It is much more useful to get acquainted with cities and their people, to acquire experiences that will distinguish and enrich you. We, as a family, have always travelled a lot and used every opportunity to go somewhere. I personally want to see Armenia or Azerbaijan, some coun- tries in the western part of South America where I haven’t been, but I’m very grateful for all the fortu- nate circumstances of my life that have so far led me to so many mag- ical places on this planet.
Books » Knjige | 47
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