I still regret that I had not spend more time in early nineties Berlin. Travelling to Belgrade in 2016 was a good compensation. Makeshift bars in old warehouses and factories, literary cafés on an island in river Save – all pure improvisation. I loved Mikser House and Mikser festival in the Savamala part of Belgrade which promoted cool design, architecture, urban planning art and music. And I loved the combination of plum rakija, food and flatbread which does what the Balkan does: It shuttles between the West and the Orient. Thankfully it was all about meat, meat and meat: cevapcici, pljeskavica, kobasice (spicy Serbian sausage) and raznjici (skewered meat).

I spend two weekends in Belgrade and both were like an encounter with a party beast. Balkan Boogie music was pumping everywhere. There were so many clubs and bars to choose from, that space on land was scarce and many had escaped to the water, floating like row house on Belgrade’s two beautiful rivers, Save and Danube. My hotel concierge recommended Lasta Club on Save. At sunset an amazing light show was illuminating the surrounding river landscape. Everybody favorite’s song seemed to be „You changed the way you kiss me.“ „Love trumps even Serbian nationalism“ one partygoer told me. Thank God!