As a self-appointed ambassador for Serbia and Serbian Design, I feel it is my duty to report on any exceptional-ness I see coming out of the “old country”. Which brings us to today’s post. Terra Panonica is a cultural and tourist complex located in the sleepy village of Mokrin in north-east Serbia, in the province of Vojvodina. The project consists of five houses, once an estate of a wealthy local Novak family. Two of the five properties have now been realised – Hose A (2012) and House B (2010).

I wanted to post about an amazing book by Antwerp-based photographer, Jan Kempenaers, who spent almost three years photographing “spomenik(s)” [monuments] in former Yugoslavia. Back in the 1980′s, all the dutiful schoolchildren in the “old country” took bus trips to visit these extraordinary monuments. I too was one of those children, and I still remember my school excursions so vividly. Writing about this today leaves me intoxicated with memories and melancholy…

Well, well, well… I never thought I’d be blogging about a super hhhot project like this from “the old country”. (Yes, it’s that hot, that it need’s three ‘h’s to capture the sizzle!) If only I had known about this place when Husband and I stayed in Belgrade last year. You live and learn, huh? Alas, next time we’ll be visiting fo sho!

I am talking about Square Nine in Belgrade, Serbia’s first world-class luxury hotel. Designed by Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld, the hotel is housed in an old office building and took 5 years and $40M to transform from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. Set in the city’s historic district across from Students Square (Studentski Trg) and within walking distance to historical landmarks, shops, restaurants and Kalemegdan, Square Nine is a showcase of sophisticated interiors, attention to detail, and impeccable service…

Hello muffins! It’s me – little miss yellowtrace. Yes, the rumours are true – I’m back! I’ve missed you guys so much. How have you been? Did you enjoy all the guests posts while I was away? Did you have a favourite? Tell me, tell me, tell me! I want to hear everything. Anyway, I really do hope so – I personally thought they were rockin’ man.

As for me… Well… I had the most amazing time. Europe was off-the-hook-insanely-awesome! True story. Seriously, how lucky am I to be able to take four entire weeks off to travel around? I don’t want to sound like I’m rubbing it in or anything, but I really do feel lucky. My bank account not so much, but my heart is full of joy and my mind is bursting with inspiration and beautiful memories…

So I decided to share a little bit of trivia with you today. You may have noticed my sporadic sprinkles of pork love woven through the posts every once in the while. This is no mistake. As all of my friends know that I am slightly obsessed with pork. And meat in general [pork being the king of all meat, clearly]. And I make no apologies for it. Btw, this post is probably not suitable for vegetarians. Hazard alert. Proceed at your own risk…