After my concert in Belgrade, Serbia, I had the immense fortune of meeting Russ Stanoylovic, a larger-than-life character who now runs a rustic ranch and hotel outside Belgrade with his amicable Chinese wife. Through my agent, Srdjan Stojanovic, who is no less a legendary character in the Serbian music circle, I was arranged a visit to Russ' ranch, affectionately called Rashaville.
Some 60km outside Belgrade, or about an hour of scenic drive, a large banner spans across the country road
It is staggering to see how many Orthodox monasteries there are in Serbia. Except for one or two modern structures, these monasteries all originated from the Middle Ages, built roughly from 12th century to 16th century.
It is said that Christianity was spread to Serbia around the 4th century. The most important monastery standing now is the Studenica (pronounced as Stu-den-ni-tcha), some 200km south of Belgrade, the capital. Only part of the route is covered by the highway network; most of it winds about small towns and villages, and mountain gorges. My advice is to
