The most common question that guests from Ljubljana asked me during a tour of Belgrade, which they love and claim to have what no one else has, was - why did you allow it?
Late on Wednesday evening, the people of Ljubljana, my dear and close relatives, came to spend the May Day holiday together. In this century, we have seen each other live only a few times, and each time I had the impression that they were coming for a reason Belgrade and not because of me. It is a city they love, which they still think is the center of everything as it was during Yugoslavia, and which has what no one has.
Here, for example, there are students.
They know everything about them, they went all the way to Vienna to meet the cyclists and to Maribor for the relay marathoners, they pronounce the word "boys" perfectly even though that combination of sounds is not the closest to them, and because of the students, they envy me that I live in Belgrade.
"No one, absolutely no one, not only in Europe, but in the world, there are none! Only Belgrade and Serbia! Students and Djokovic!", they commented.
Thursday
On Thursday they went to May Day protest of trade unions and students, although we offered them Ada Ciganlija.
"No, not at all. Ada is just a pastime, and the protest is the future. And if it's good for you in Serbia, it will be good for us in Slovenia," they explained to me, although they didn't convince me.
And at the protest - enthusiasm!
"They accepted us as if we had known each other all our lives! Belgrade understands Slovenian! This is phenomenal, this is strength," they said, and they did not want to go home.
And then they came across ChachilandShock!
"There are toilets in front of the National Assembly, you are insulting yourself and your country! Vučić took away part of the city from you! Why did you allow this? Nowhere, nowhere can anyone in the modern world turn a part of the city into private property! The one who came up with and ordered this does not love Belgrade, nor his people! Why did you allow it?"
This last question, they often repeated.
In the evening, they visited the area where I live. They quickly returned.
"There are no gardens or all those beautiful houses. Now it looks like any other part of any other ordinary city," they said.
Friday
On Friday before noon, they went to the Shopping Center "Ušće" and did not buy anything. They were very disappointed.
"There used to be European fashion here, now everything is ugly and bad. And the espresso is sour."
They were looking forward to going to Knez Mihailova in the afternoon. They said it was a street "like being in Paris and London together", although I warned them what to expect.
They passed the entire pedestrian zone of the center with a hurried step, they did not stop anywhere.
"Why are there more empty than full storefronts, why is it dark, why are the facades decayed and stained, why is it dirty, why are there no people."
They asked again why we allowed, this time, a beautiful street with a European spirit to become a provincial fair.
They didn't want to take pictures in front of the Prince Mihailo monument on Republic Square, even though it's their traditional custom.
"Mihailo is like on the moon, everything is deserted around it," they said.
Saturday and Sunday
On Saturday, instead of two hours, they stayed at Ada Ciganlija until the evening.
"No one in the world has a forest and a lake in the middle of the city, don't let them sell it to some Trump son-in-law."
I promised not to.
On Sunday morning, at the Kalenić market, they went crazy with the colors, smells, and health. They said again that "nobody else in the world has something like this". I didn't want to tell them that soon Belgrade won't have it either.
Before parting, while we were drinking coffee, a forced atmosphere arose. And then it broke: I was apologizing to them for Belgrade being the way it was, justifying him, justifying all of us, and they were consoling me.
"It will be fine, you'll see. Some new people who love him are coming, there they are, at the protests. Now, for the first time, there is hope for Belgrade!"
In the end, we all cried, and laughed, and cried and laughed, and it was good for us.
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