Question about niche clothing in Belgrade (or Novi Sad).

Здраво свима! I'll be visiting Belgrade and Novi Sad in a couple of weeks. I've been reading about other's experiences and I'm excited to be visiting such beautiful and friendly cities. I'm a species at risk biologist in Canada and when I visit other places, I like to buy t-shirts, sweaters, etc. that have endangered animals on them from the country I visit. Ironically, I won't be doing a lot of nature hiking or visiting National Parks when I come, which is where I'd expect to find something like this. If anyone can let me know where in Belgrade or Novi Sad I might be able to purchase clothing like this, I would very much appreciate it. I'll be using public transit and train to get around, so preference is within the cities.

Definite bonus if the purchase of the shirt goes directly to species at risk conservation and protection. Double bonus if the species on the shirt is a bird. Хвала ти пуно!

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General Istanbul appreciation post with obligatory cat photo

This was my 2nd time my girlfriend and I had visited Istanbul in the past year and it got so much better. Our first visit was focused on the main tourist attractions in Sultanahmet in the off-season. Learning about the history was amazing, but didn't feel like we got a good feel for modern culture on that visit. And the high pressure selling in these areas was off-putting for me. I knew and expected it, but it got tiresome after awhile to the point where I felt like I was being an asshole to locals.

This time we visited and spent our time in Kadikoy and Balat and got such a better feel for the city and culture. Kadikoy was amazing and we spent much of our time in the south walking in the park along the water. But the restaurants and cafes were very good. Check out Kadi Nimet Bakery and Coffee. We had a tasty brownie and some of the best and smoothest coffee I've ever tasted. Balat definitely rose the bar for us. It was a good mix of local shops, tourist shops, cafes, and restaurants with beautiful, colourful homes nearby to explore. The number of tourists was limited, so it didn't feel overcrowded. We never felt pressured and attempted to be scammed to buy anything while in Balat. Honestly, I'm not sure what it was about Balat, but it felt comfortable and will definitely return there, if/when we come back to Istanbul. It's been a couple weeks now, but thank you Istanbul for being a beautiful city!

u/Low_Butterscotch_594 — 3 months ago

*Please no spoilers as i'm still reading. For reference, I'm at the point where Steven has informed Anna that they are to stay married after she confesses her affair with Vronsky*

I posted about a week and half ago about reading Anna Karenina for the first time. I'm 300 pages in and it seems Levin is more of a main character than is Anna. I assume that changes throughout the rest of the book. That said, many people commented that the writing of Levin's farm life to be boring and hard to get through, but I have found it quite interesting and intriguing and spoke so fondly to Levin's character and his ability to turn negativity into being productive (he had just finished debating serfdom with his brother and got upset about the conversation). Not only his inner personal character, but the parallels it draws to Kitty as she struggles and overcomes the rejections of Levin and Vonsky at the watering place.

As for Tolstoy's brilliance, who else can write about mowing a field with a scythe and make it sound intriguing?! His description of the surroundings, Levin's "competitiveness" with the other serfs, his befriending and the respect he gains from them. Personally, I thought this part of the novel was so well written.

As for intrigue, when Levin breaks for breakfast and rides home, all I wanted to know was whether or not he would return to finish the field with the serfs. And then feeling excited when they finished the field in the evening and his pride at talking with his brother after. Anyway, that's all I came to say.)) Just brilliant writing from Tolstoy.

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u/Low_Butterscotch_594 — 4 months ago