Novi Sad, Neoplanta, Újvidék, or New Now – various names for a city that remembers many historical events, at the crossroads of East and West, on the breeze of the Pannonian plain, but always its own, proud and open to all well-wishers. The city that never sleeps, welcomed guests with the warm smile of the young farm girls, the smell of fresh bread from an old oven and fish stew made from freshly caught catfish from the Danube, the intoxicating smell of roasted chestnuts in Zmaj-Jovina Street on cold winter days while the cold wind whips like from a novel Wuthering Heights. Even today, it resists the onslaught of progress, which brings the splendor of glass facades and modern buildings tailored to the 21st century, to preserve from oblivion narrow cobblestone alleys, windows with stained glass windows, and fragrant quinces, old reed roofs covered with clay roofing tiles. These Einfahrt gates remember black horses and carriages decorated to go to the Sunday service in the Almaška church. There is also Dunavska Street with the Fish Market, in its old, authentic glory, which once upon a time was used by merchants to drive carts to the Petrovaradin fortress – Gibraltar on the Danube, a bastion of freedom from 1692. On the fortress, since 1750, the time has been measured by a “drunken clock” with a large hand showing hours, not minutes so that the fishermen from the Danube could see in the fog that it was time to collect their nets. Once upon a time, a train went to the fortress (or the popular Đava) and further to the city of Zemun, with the shrill sound of the steam locomotive’s horn, crossing the wide Danube over the iron bridge from 1883. A tram used to go along the same street, as far back as 1911, and the memory is remembered by the famous tram, the Trčika cafe, which doesn’t go anywhere, but evokes romantic memories and nostalgia. From Trčika, the path takes you to Freedom Square, where the Cathedral from 1894, then along Zmaj-Jovin Street, where the oldest house in Novi Sad, from 1720, is located, to the Bishop’s Palace, which is located on the site of the first bishop’s palace from 1741, demolished in 1849, and to the Orthodox Cathedral, built in 1905 on the foundations of the first church from 1734.

Even when we leave the mentioned years behind us, a kind of time machine will take you back to ancient times, it is enough to visit Laza Telečki Street, with countless cafes, pubs, bars, and clubs, all within 200 meters, the restaurant Kod fazana 1822, with authentic music tambourines and old-fashioned dishes from the forgotten menus of our grandmothers: noodles with poppy seeds, sausage fritter with potatoes, chicken Ajmokac (stew) with gnocchi, or deer stew with dough and currants.

In such a city, you must be relaxed, cheerful, open, and ready for new challenges. When all these nostalgic waves “wash” over you, you have no choice but to fit into the ambiance and enjoy the time machine.

The Ideall Center set out to realize its mission – to unlock the creative potential of new generations, which for years was held back by the classical education system, based on memorizing and repeating facts, instead of encouraging creative, algorithmic, and entrepreneurial ways of thinking. The fact that some new kids are still growing in Jovan Cvijić Street (and beyond) is encouraging, ready to accept the challenge and seek answers to the questions of Why (is it so) and How (change things for the better). And while that is the case, there is hope for us. Come to Novi Sad to create a better future together.