News Team from Belgrade, Serbia Visits Belgrade, Minn.

BELGRADE, Minn. - Ready to take on four towns, four Serbian fellows have one goal in mind.

“This is stop number one. There is four main stops, four Belgrades in different states,” Vladimir Jelic said. “Then we go to Montana, then Nebraska, and the last is Maine, Belgrade, Maine.”

Vladimir says they are looking for the people who founded the Belgrades.

“I hope so, that they are Serbs. I’ve heard it,” he said.

Vladimir, Vladica, Miodrag, and Dragoslav are professional TV journalists from the Radio and Television station of Belgrade, Serbia here to find the founding fathers of the four Belgrades of the United States including Belgrade, Minnesota.

“I think it’s a warm, cozy city. When I heard there were only 700 people here, I said, ‘That’s a small amount of people, a small number,’” he said.

Although a bit shocked, the mayor of Belgrade says the journalists seemed to like the town.

“They liked Belgrade. Like I said it was a lot smaller town than what they come from and stuff but I think they just enjoyed getting to know people and walking around the town,” Belgrade’s mayor Dennis Braegelman said.

Belgrade, Minnesota just might be their home away from home.

“There are many different things they enjoyed in town similar to what theirs is but yet, so far away,” he said.

 “It’s much different. Our Belgrade in Serbia is a capitol city and there is 1.5 or 2 million people,” Vladimir said.

Coming from a huge city with a very rich history, Vladimir says they’re excited to discover the different ways of life in the States.

“It’s meaningful to see what kind of people live in my town and the other four Belgrades to compare. Is there any difference?” he said.

While they begin to become more familiar with our culture, it seems they’ve already got a pretty good grasp on the much broader picture.

“We are not alone. We think, this is the town we live in on this world. Okay, I’m alone. No. There is one Belgrade in Serbia but four Belgrades in the U.S.A.," Vladimir said.

And while finding the founders of the four Belgrades might be their first priority, the trip’s teaching them a few other things in the mean time.

“Just to know people, to show people how we are different and how we are the same in fact,” he said.

Written for the web by Megan Brown

mbrown@ksax.com