The ekskurzija to Mataruška Banja. Of which I remember a lot, but in pieces. It was a regular big trip. We gathered at the school, but somehow also appeared downtown, at the puppet theatre - perhaps there was the staging area for buses from other schools. Then we were above Novi, on Petrovaradin fortress, then on the top of Fruška Gora, and eventually, we had lunch in Banja. Stole a few knives. They found us lodgings somewhere in one of the vilas... sort of. Any peasant's house with bedding would have a "Vila This", mostly with fancy female names, inscribed somewhere on the streetside wall. The one we got had eight beds - all military/hospital steel frame with mesh wire, and those three squares of a wool-stuffed mattress each, a blanket and a pillow. The blanket was also military grade, dark gray and coarse, that's why you get a sheet to wrap it.
From the afternoon, which we mostly spent in the park, milling arround, I remember the rickety suspended pedestrian bridge, which we crossed several times. I've seen such bridges in several banjas. This one, BTW, is for infertile women, and the legend says it was named after some Ruška, who would provide accommodations and logistics, and her mane Mata who would take care of fertilization.
Near the bridge, by he edge of the park and near the river, was the outhouse. Unusable - not only you couldn't find a clean place to crouch above the hole (always triangular, probably turkish influence), there was scarce place to stand and have a pee. Shit everywhere.
Overnight I think we stayed until almost dawn, yelling and pillowfighting, and there was so much dust in the air that we had to open the windows to let us see how to put our beds together.
In the morning we (Zvojko, three or four guys from šećerana, a couple of unimportant guys) took a trip up the village road. It was a bit cold and wet and muddy, despite the time of year - yeah, the mountains. Even though this isn't too high at all, but the slopes provide shade, so the clay in the cart ruts stayed wet for most of the trip. We didn't get dirty, we know mud. At some point we discovered some piece of terra cotta protruding from the clay, so we used the knives we stole yesterday to dig it out. It looked like a cilinder with one end slightly wider turned up, like a ridiculously elongated and narrow sombrero, and it was hollow. Full of mud, of course. We couldn't even imagine what it would be. Surely not electrical insulator, those were glazed and not earthy orange. Now when I think of it, it could be just someone attempt at art pottery, or practice work. We decided it was the long lost dick of Prince Marko ("kurac Kraljevića Marka").
On the way back we found a bench near the vila, sat there and that's when I had a smoke just to show the guys I dare do it. I wasn't really inhaling, it all stayed in my mouth and was puffed back out. I passed. It will take seven more years until I really start smoking.
There were several complaints against us - and Ivka made a serious speech at lunch. A bunch of us got an ukor (verbal reprimand), though it did not influence the final mark for conduct in the end. So we were formally punished but no trace other than class logbook.
It was lots of fun on the trip home - there was a lot of singing and whatnot in the back of the bus. Rencika, Tejka, Miljka were there, plus a couple more girls. Lots of innuendo and lots of times when offense was taken but then mostly forgiven... in the heat of the discussion.