An American's Report From A Serbian Village

This is a fascinating read as the similarities between village life in Serbia and Bulgaria very close indeed. And of course the Rakia remains part of the traditions that carry on.

Djole’s grandparents lived in the village for nearly 70 years (they passed away in 2003). They were totally self-sufficient and raised their family in the village, including Dusan. They owned pigs and goats; grew corn, tomatoes, and other vegetables; owned bee hives for honey; made wine and Rakia from grapes; picked fruit off surrounding trees; got fresh water from the well on their property. The family would barter and trade with other villagers on Mondays in the village center to accommodate any lacking nutritional needs. The family stretched out their food sources, as corn kernels were ground up and made into bread, lamb’s wool was wound for garments, and domestic leather shoes were produced. We were once again treated to a great Serbian meal of grilled lamb and cucumber/tomato salad. Of course we were convinced to try the Rakia, as every new fruit flavor was coined to be “better than the other flavor.” Yeah, we caught on to their attempts to get us drunk. Clipped from footballinserbia.wordpress.com Well worth a read fo the whole report fro this link