Fleamarket and (nearly) Gypsy Palaces

(slightly poor) Gypsy Palace

Gypsy Palace to be?

"hanging out"

This weekend I managed for the first time to make it down to the infamous fleamarket that takes place in Zemun on Sundays. I was first told about it by a guy from Zagreb who told me that with a bit of luck you could find incredible "retro", "vintage" clothes there for no money. And, he was right. After only about 5 minutes I had already acquired 3 items that cost me 300 dinars but would in a vintage boutique easily go for 30 Euros or more.

I had a bit of a culture shock arriving there though. Belgrade has in the past years changed so much, the city center could now pretty much be any other city in Europe but at the market, I truly felt that I was in "eastern Europe". 

Some of the architecture of the area reminded me of the magnus opus pieces that I saw in Romania. The following websites provides you with some beautiful examples of the so-called Gypsy Palaces.

http://tiny.cc/2fgpV

In any case, if it is just to see some beautiful Dijanas, (if you do now know what I mean by this, have a look at this original documentary film http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3aigq_pretty-dyana-lepa-dijana-13 ) which appear less and less on Belgrade's streets, some interesting architectural adventures or to brave through mountains of old clothes in the search for some bargains - the Zemun market on a Sunday is worth a visit.