Our next stop is Belgrade, Serbia! Our driver from the airport was very educated and he shared a lot of his knowledge and opinions on the country and its history. He spoke about the problems he had with some of the immigrants, specifically the Albanians. He said they come to Serbia to take houses and have lot of kids. This is a democratic problem because their culture is very different and they don't want to follow the rules or expectable traditions. He also characterized them as gypsy-like and said all they do is be dirty and eat bread and sugar.
Not only did he tell us about the immigrants he also shared some of Serbia's history with us. The Battle of Kosovo was in 1389 and consisted of the Serbs fighting off the Ottoman Empire. The Serbs lost with a disadvantage of a 3:1 ratio and fell under the Ottoman rule for 400 years. But, this 70 year war did slow down the empire and stopped it from continuing to conquer the rest of Eastern Europe. This "victory" is a huge sense of pride for the Serbian people.
After the in-car history lesson, we had a very tasty dinner and slept up for a very eventful day ahead. We visited the Nikola Tesla museum first thing in the morning. Nikola Tesla was born in Serbia to the priest of one of the little villages. In tradition, he was supposed to stay and become the next priest, but instead he went to New York to be a scientist and inventor. Some of his famous inventions included; Alternating Current, X-rays, radio, remote control, electronic motor, Wireless Communications and Limitless Free Energy, and the laser. We learned that a lot of his inventions included a main principle which had both a rotating part and static part that inclosed four coils with an ac current. Though out his life, Mr. Tesla focused all his energy (pun intended) on science and absolutely none on a personal life. He did work with Thomas Eddison for a period of time but they had to split because they had completely different work methods. Later in their careers, they had a "war of currents" and they fought about whether AC or DC currents were better and safer. In the end, Tesla won. We also got to see a lot of models of what he invented like the one from the picture bellow:
Tesla's plan for a world without war fell on deaf ears just like the original plans for the electric car. Have you seen the movie, "Who Killed the Electric Car?" Overall, this museum was a great representation of his life's work and know I know how the car brand "Tesla" got its name!
I also found it interesting how their view on Chinese here is very positive. Out of everybody who works in Serbia, Germans, Italians, and Israelis, they are the only ones who speak Serbian and also include the slang. Also student here have the choice of studying Mandarin and other international languages as well as the mandatory English starting at age 7.
I get the feeling that the Serbs really miss the former Yuguslavia. They seem to still be stuck in their glory days, where the six countries, 22 million people followed the communist regime of General Tito, whom by the way they did not consider a dictator. Although it was officially a communist regime, they refer to it today as "socialism". Now days, they miss their standard of living, large population, and most of all their place in the world and strength of their combined industries. They say that if the union had induced they would have it would have 33 million today and Serbia as it's biggest member would be a big European power- more in line with Serbia's view of its grand history than today's small nation of 7.5 million people. They attribute the break up to the West's desire to minimize Yuguslavia's successful military sales, ethnic leaders wanting their own countries to rule (rather be big fish in small pond), and lastly infighting.
The leader of Yugoslavia for decades was Josip Broz Tito. While communism took hold in Yugoslavia with the help of the Red Army, Tito broke from Stalin in 1948 and founded the Un-Alined Movement, which included many African and Asian counties. My mom and I read through "Tito's Cookbook" which is a book that illustrates how popular Tito was in the world and how all the doors of governments and celebrities were open to him. There even is a picture of Sophia Lauren cooked him pasta.
Leaving tonight for Sarajavo!
Not only did he tell us about the immigrants he also shared some of Serbia's history with us. The Battle of Kosovo was in 1389 and consisted of the Serbs fighting off the Ottoman Empire. The Serbs lost with a disadvantage of a 3:1 ratio and fell under the Ottoman rule for 400 years. But, this 70 year war did slow down the empire and stopped it from continuing to conquer the rest of Eastern Europe. This "victory" is a huge sense of pride for the Serbian people.
After the in-car history lesson, we had a very tasty dinner and slept up for a very eventful day ahead. We visited the Nikola Tesla museum first thing in the morning. Nikola Tesla was born in Serbia to the priest of one of the little villages. In tradition, he was supposed to stay and become the next priest, but instead he went to New York to be a scientist and inventor. Some of his famous inventions included; Alternating Current, X-rays, radio, remote control, electronic motor, Wireless Communications and Limitless Free Energy, and the laser. We learned that a lot of his inventions included a main principle which had both a rotating part and static part that inclosed four coils with an ac current. Though out his life, Mr. Tesla focused all his energy (pun intended) on science and absolutely none on a personal life. He did work with Thomas Eddison for a period of time but they had to split because they had completely different work methods. Later in their careers, they had a "war of currents" and they fought about whether AC or DC currents were better and safer. In the end, Tesla won. We also got to see a lot of models of what he invented like the one from the picture bellow:
Tesla's plan for a world without war fell on deaf ears just like the original plans for the electric car. Have you seen the movie, "Who Killed the Electric Car?" Overall, this museum was a great representation of his life's work and know I know how the car brand "Tesla" got its name! I also found it interesting how their view on Chinese here is very positive. Out of everybody who works in Serbia, Germans, Italians, and Israelis, they are the only ones who speak Serbian and also include the slang. Also student here have the choice of studying Mandarin and other international languages as well as the mandatory English starting at age 7.
I get the feeling that the Serbs really miss the former Yuguslavia. They seem to still be stuck in their glory days, where the six countries, 22 million people followed the communist regime of General Tito, whom by the way they did not consider a dictator. Although it was officially a communist regime, they refer to it today as "socialism". Now days, they miss their standard of living, large population, and most of all their place in the world and strength of their combined industries. They say that if the union had induced they would have it would have 33 million today and Serbia as it's biggest member would be a big European power- more in line with Serbia's view of its grand history than today's small nation of 7.5 million people. They attribute the break up to the West's desire to minimize Yuguslavia's successful military sales, ethnic leaders wanting their own countries to rule (rather be big fish in small pond), and lastly infighting.
The leader of Yugoslavia for decades was Josip Broz Tito. While communism took hold in Yugoslavia with the help of the Red Army, Tito broke from Stalin in 1948 and founded the Un-Alined Movement, which included many African and Asian counties. My mom and I read through "Tito's Cookbook" which is a book that illustrates how popular Tito was in the world and how all the doors of governments and celebrities were open to him. There even is a picture of Sophia Lauren cooked him pasta.
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