STriproad

Strips of Srdjan and Tamara's road trips

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Kosmaj

Such a sunny beautifil day today. St. Valentines. We went for a walk to Kosmaj, a small mountain near Belgrade. 

There is a fascinating Monument to the Fallen Soldiers. Built in 1971 by Vojin Stojic and Gradimir Medakovic in the memory of more than 5,600 partisans fallen during WWII. It resembles a flower with robust, plain aesthetics and observable marks made by wooden planks used to build the monument. 

A bit lonely, serene place. 

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Picturesque Overload

In the autumn of 2014 we took a trip from Serbia across Italy and France via Germany to Slovenia.  Provence is so cute, so romantic, so neat that I guess now they've moved from restoring and tidying up buildings and houses to beautifying empty corners in back alleys. Adorable. We loved our stay there! 

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Bridge-Tunnel

The dream of a structure bridging the lower Chesapeake Bay to connect Virginia's eastern shore with the mainland of Virginia became a reality with the opening of the bridge - tunnel on April 15, 1964. 

Lucius J. Kellam Jr. Bridge - Tunnel  Where we come from, the need for such a structure has yet to be conceptualized. 

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Everlasting Cuteness

Meet Archelon ischyros, extinct giant sea turtle that lived about 70 million years ago. Its length was about 13 feet or 4 meters. Archelon did not have a solid shell, but instead had a skeletal framework supporting a leathery carapace. Its closest living relative is the leatherback sea turtle. When in Washington DC, place Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History on top of your priorities to visit.  We visited DC in 2008,on a road trip from NYC to Colorado, had lovely time with our friends Sarah and Stan. Hope to see you soon, guys! 

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Rules of engagement

A street sign from Virginia Beach. Awesome beach!  The rules apply to so many places and situations, it deserves to be shared. 

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Oktoberfest

Take a bunch of people, dress them up into dirndls and lederhosen, put them into a huge tent, stretch the tent over plain empty area, have them drink beer and eat cabbage and grilled chicken with pretzels. And it's awesome!  There is nothing fancy, mysterious about how Bavarians have fun and it's totally awesome and super friendly! Especially sitting at long wooden tables. It's so much more fun to get drunk at a table for 8, 12 people than the regular 4. 

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Fairy-tale castle

Every year visited by 1.4 million people. In the summer around 6,000 visitors a day stream through rooms that were intended for a single inhabitant.  

Well, this is about as close as we got to the Neuschwanstein castle. It demands serious organization and waking up before 9am. Nevertheless, it is uber romantic and we will visit it one day properly.

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Heringsdorf

Long cold sandy beaches, fresh air and probably the northernmost point we have reached so far. By car, naturally. Few days later we visited Helmut Newton museum in Berlin (http://www.helmutnewton.com/) where we learned he spent his summers at Usedom and Heringsdorf.

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Espresso

I've always liked my coffee short and black, but had no particular favourite. Thanks to Srdjan I grew to value the art of espresso.

Contrary to our part of the world, one doesn't find espresso coffee in every corner of the USA. Or at least, I couldn't. 

Ahhh, but when we stepped into Little Italy! We also had lunch there and some sweets, maybe profiteroles, but I clearly remember the Yesss! moment when we were easily served with short, strong, magical espresso. 

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Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden

Village in Bavarian Alps, app 1,800 inhabitants. Visited by 48,421 people in 2013 only.

We've picked Ramsau for our 1-week stay to enjoy fresh air, good beer and have long walks with our dog. It's not the only Bavarian village with good beer, but it is the only one with this postcard-church. 

Here, more details on postcard from 1945  http://old.506infantry.org/hiswwii/his3rdbnwwiimemo16.html