I Love To Walk Here

One of the things I love the most about Novi Sad is that you can walk anywhere, anytime. I am able to walk around town from dawn to midnight and it is safe. I would never do that where I come from, it is just not safe. There are also bike lanes on many of the main streets between the sidewalk and the street. Where I am from in America, (Louisiana), I have only seen bike lanes on the street itself.

When I go somewhere here, I mostly walk or ride the bus. Sometimes a friend will pick us up who has a car, but that is rare. The buses are usually fairly crowded, but people are considerate. They let older women sit down, they aren't loud or obnoxious. They pretty much sit quietly and chat. I have no problems at all with the bus - where I am from I never rode the bus because, of course, I had my own car.

I love to walk, though. It is good excersize and the air smells clean and when it blows from the Danube, it is cool and refreshing. There are parts of town with beautiful homes and trees. There are many high rise apartments here, some painted in bright colors to look at. There are local landmarks like the Sports Center and of course the town center which is fantastic, although it is touristy. There are little parks tucked away here and there to sit and rest in.

People watching is fun, too. The people here are attractive. I like to see them out walking their dogs, young couples holding hands, older couples walking and talking. It is very peaceful to me and very nice.

My first blog post ever

Today I begin this blog by saying hello. I have been in Novi Sad for about 6 weeks now. I am living here with a man I met in America. He is Hungarian/Croatian and this is his home.

I don't speak the language, but am trying to learn. I am beginning to understand what the native speakers are saying...at least the essence of the conversation.

Over the past 6 weeks, I have visited many places and had many pleasant experiences. Before I met this man, I had very little knowledge of Serbia, just like many Americans. So far, I have found the people here to be very friendly and helpful to me.

Hospitality to guests seems to be something very important here. Everyone we visit brings out the food and drink and you must have "just a little". An American woman that I met who has lived here for over 40 years told me that I would gain a kilo in my first month. I'm sure that has already happened!

My plans for this blog are to talk about the food, the city and the people of this wonderful place and hopefully some of you will want to visit one day. I think that more tourism would be wonderful for the economy of this place and it definitely has charm and beauty. Also, I want to have a place to say the things that come to my mind about life and love and other wonderful things.