Arriving at the train station, I saw an intriguing painting depicting the city.

Painting of Uzice

The artist has no illusions about how Uzice looks and doesn’t try to portray it in a better light. It’s surprisingly accurate: grey buildings, green hills with smaller red-roofed houses and the railway.

View of Uzice

This is the view from the hill with the castle. In the painting it’s on the left.

Castle

The artist included the railway, but not the river that beautifully flows through the city, almost aligning with the railway. Similarly, the brutalist building is depicted in detail, while the castle is barely distinguishable. Is the painting what the city wants to be, or just what it is? Do the locals dream of concrete and steel?

River and railway

The brutalist building is a major reference point of the city, like a nail.

River walk

The rest of the streets are grey and lead to grey places.

Grey streets

Such as a typical local pljeskavica place. Notice the donation box for “the people and the holy sites in Kosovo and Metohija”. The place has a vibe like it should be visited after midnight, preferably drunk.

Gladly, I have already practiced my Serbian and pljeskavica ordering skills in Belgrade, which include knowing the names of vegetables and sauces.

Pljeskavica place

I hope I don’t dream of concrete and steel.