Leaving Ečka: September 1, 2012

The Kaštel Ečka Hotel is fully booked tonight with a wedding this evening so they were unable to give me a late checkout from our room.  Consequently, Kali and I are sitting in the VIP room above reception.  It is decorated in a boardroom style with portraits of important men along the wall, beautiful cabinetry, and a very long boardroom table bordered with green leather executive chairs.  

In our suite after Kali transitioned from hiding behind the TV, she spent most of her time in a lovely, silk-like yellow upholstered chair that I pushed up to the window.  She loved the breeze and her view on the world safely behind the window screen.  In the VIP boardroom she has found no place to hide so she is sitting on the floor under the table and in close proximity to my legs.  

The staff at Kaštel Ečka Hotel could not have been more charming or helpful when it came to accommodating Kali Cat.  Several weeks ago when I asked about their pet policy, they responded, "Your cat can stay with you in your room, if you’d like to bring her along, but for reasons of hygiene, pets are not allowed in hotel restaurant."  Good enough.  

Kaštel Ečka Hotel kind of grew on me after I became less judgmental.   The sheets are a lovely, silky cotton and the bed was comfortable.  Each evening, a pleasant breeze came up and made the room comfortable enough to sleep.   This is an agricultural village with nearby village farms and a comforting scent of nearby animals and earth floated in with the breeze.  It is very quiet here so I did not need my usual earplugs.  It was refreshing to be in a rural area.

In my days alone while Dan was teaching, I was often out walking with my camera equipment in the evenings and also this morning.  The first evening at the church, I met Jelitsa and Tanya who told me about the Children's Folklore Festival.  I saw both of them often during my three days here.  Last night, I sat with Tanya at the Folklore performance.  Her two sons, 11 and 16, were performing.  I met her 16-year old son who speaks English and Hungarian in addition to his native Serbian.  He also served as translator for the Hungarian dancers.  

Since Kali woke me at 6:00 a.m., I decided to see how morning light was and visit the Saturday market.  Here are some images from this morning.  I once again ran into Jelitsa.

 Jelitsa

 A woman merchant at the Saturday Market

 A shy girl

 Beautiful Peppers for Sale

 Honey Seller

This woman was on her way to the market.  I loved how what she is wearing and her bicycle match the crumbling building in the background.

Fence Detail at the Austrian Catholic Church

I also met Suzana who is the sister-in-law of the priest at the magical Church of St. Nicolas.  She lives in Novi Sad and was in Ečka to visit her sister for a few days.  She is trained as an architect so she was able to educate me about the history of the churches here.  

Everyone I met was exceedingly charming even to an American who speaks no Serbian.  

We will spend one more night in Belgrade and fly to Skopje tomorrow afternoon.

Ečka, Serbia: August 29, 2012

We're in the village of Ečka located about 45 minutes north of Belgrade.  I'm told that about 5,000 people live in this village.  I've only seen about 100 residents and wonder where the other 4,900 are hiding.  The village was settled during Austrian rule.  The hotel we're staying in, Kaštel Ečka, was formerly center for aristocratic hunting parties.  The castle or manor house was built in 1820 in English style and violinist Franz Liszt played at the opening ceremony.  The castle and its outbuildings were mostly destroyed by the consequences of WWII.  The castle has undergone extensive renovations and additions and looks like an English Manor house.

We were given a suite which is quite lovely.  It has a very large bathroom with a jacuzzi tub and bedroom and living room areas.  Dan's Serbian colleague told him that it was the "best room" at the hotel.  It did not make a good first impression, though.  The light over the tub did not work so it was a black hole.  The room has two air conditioners--they don't work.  The room has two televisions--while they work, most of the channels are "snow".  The hotel list of satellite TV stations lists three English language stations.  The satellite does not appear to be connected to this room.

So, I almost had the driver return me and Kali Cat to Belgrade, but after a walk around the village, I decided to stay.

We discovered that there are at least 3 churches in Ečka.  The first images are of the Austrian Catholic church (perhaps also called the Kaštel church) that seems to be permanently closed.  It is situated right outside of the hotel grounds.  The main road through town jogs around the church and continues on.

The next church is the new Romanian church which was also closed when I attempted to visit it.  It is called "new" because it is newer than the older church formerly used by Romanians.  

Only the steeple of the new Romanian Church is visible in this photo.  The church is probably at least 200 years old.  

The third church was open--in fact, the door was wide open.  It is an Orthodox Church dedicated to St. Nicolas.  It was formerly shared by both the Serbian and Romanian residents of Ečka hence the reason why the yellow church is called the "new" Romanian church.  It is a beautiful building that dates back to about 1711.  The roof and steeple are made of wooden shakes and panels.  

Dan and I were inside taking photographs when the priest walked into the church.  He smiled, turned on the lights for us and indicated that we should turn them off when we were done.  How refreshing.    Some parishioners also stopped by.  One woman even dusted some of the table tops and tidied up the interior a little for me. 

Interior of the Church of St. Nicolas and its iconostasis.  This is the church's second iconostasis as the original structure and icons were replaced in about 1750.  

The above photo is of the "royal doors" of the iconostasis.  Only the priest and males are allowed behind these doors.  

The back portion of the church houses several icons.  Worshipers place offerings along the ledge.

 

This icon of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus was part of the original 1711 iconostasis.  

  

After about an hour of taking photos, Dan left me to go to a meeting with his colleagues at the hotel.  I stayed and stayed.  I stayed until the cows came home--literally.  

After the cows, came children dressed in folklore costumes.  They were gathering for an International Children's Folklore Festival.  They gathered at the church and then paraded through the village toward the Cultural Center were they performed traditional dances.  

Dancers from Hungary

The festival has representative groups from Serbia, Slovakia, and Hungary.  

Despite my first impressions, Ečka rocks!