A trip to Serbia without a travel agency on your own. Types of holidays in Serbia. Alpine skiing in winter

Good afternoon everyone!
Today I gathered the strength to write a review about my husband and I’s trip to Belgrade...

Lyrical digression:
My beloved husband and I love to travel. Moreover, travel to some, let’s say, non-trivial places. Twice a year (in spring and autumn) we pack our bags, kiss the child who has fallen asleep in the arms of his grandmother, and rush to the airport at full speed. For those to whom this information is important: we plan and organize all trips ourselves! More precisely, I do everything because of my husband’s workload. I don’t know what it means to “come to a travel agency and buy a tour somewhere.” In general, I have little idea why they (these travel agencies) are needed. My very first trip abroad happened quite a few years ago. Then I went to study in England. I prepared all the documents, visas, insurance, etc. myself. Anyone who has applied for a study visa to England knows that these are the seven circles of hell. So, applying for Schengen on my own is not a problem at all. Hotels can be easily booked on the same Booking.com. The question remains with the flight. This is where opponents of independent travel always give me their “crown” argument... They say that when buying a tour from a tour operator, the flight is much cheaper than flying on regular flights... Because charters are basically cheap... And the plus is that charters often do not include transfers, which It’s really extremely convenient: I boarded the plane in my hometown, got off - already at my destination. But! No one will ever convince me that charters are better than regular flights. And here I am talking specifically about quality. Quality of aircraft, quality of service. Plus safety. I'm an aerophobe. I'm actually scared to get on a plane. So that’s it, but I’m not ready to skimp on my peace of mind and safety. Anticipating the question: I fly mostly with Aeroflot. I flew with Lufthansa, and British Airways, and Czech Airlines, and S7 and UTair.... In general, there is something to compare with. At Aeroflot, first of all, I am “reassured” by the new aircraft. Yes, yes... That's so corny! And for me, the disadvantage of charters is precisely that the flight directions there, to put it mildly, do not coincide with our desires. Well, that is, since we fly on vacation to non-trivial places, then charters somehow don’t fly there that much. That's all the preface is. And now I turn directly to Belgrade.

Our trip itself took place in the fall of 2014, or rather the very beginning of November. “Why Belgrade?” - you ask. Well, firstly, very often we learn about the upcoming opportunity to go somewhere on vacation at the last minute. Exclusively due to the large amount of work. But it happens that suddenly both my husband and I understand that in a week we can go somewhere, because it seems like neither he nor I have any important work plans planned for this time. In such cases, as you understand, we do not have time to issue a visa. The list comes to the rescue visa-free countries for Russians. And there is plenty to choose from, I tell you. We’ve been wanting to go to Serbia for a long time, but somehow we never got around to it. On the Internet there are very detailed reviews for independent travel to this country. The reviews are different... Both enthusiastic and disappointing... As a matter of fact, that’s why I sat down to write my review, to tell everything in as much detail as possible (this will help someone decide on the question “Is it worth spending your time and money to go there?” ).

We flew to Belgrade with Aeroflot. Regular flights to the capital of Serbia from Moscow depart, if I’m not mistaken, four times a day every day. From our hometown Early in the morning we flew to Moscow, and from there to Belgrade. We reached the capital of Serbia around lunchtime. Nikola Tesla Airport is small and clean. We cleared customs in two minutes. Russian citizens can stay in Serbia for a month without registration. No visa required. All you need is a foreign passport, which has been stamped with arrival stamps by Serbian customs officials. No hassle with entry. Insurance, confirmation of availability Money, hotel reservation confirmation - nothing is required. They don’t even ask why they came.

There is a crowd of people greeting you at the exit from the arrivals hall. Local “bombs” walk here and actively offer taxi services. The easiest way is to take a taxi from the stand at the exit. This is an official taxi, so the prices are not inflated and the cost of the trip is announced even before the driver is issued a waybill. This is the service we used. It turned out to be very accessible. I usually order a transfer at the hotel itself, but here I apparently had a problem with the Internet: my letter did not reach the hotel, so they did not organize a transfer for us. We had the hotel address, so we got there by regular taxi without any problems.

I chose the hotel on Booking.com. This is the point of the journey that is fundamentally important to me. I don’t agree where to live! My requirements for hotels are standard: location as close as possible to the city center, breakfast (usually its cost is included in the room price), spacious room (I can’t stand huddling in cubicles) - Booking always indicates the size of the room. If the hotel owners are conscientious, then the numbers will be real. This is usually easy to check from reviews - if several reviews write that the rooms are cramped, then perhaps the hotel has “exaggerated” the numbers somewhat. My preference is an area of at least 28 m². More is better. If I really like the room, then I’ll agree to 25 m², but no less. I love space, so what can I do! A great plus for me is the presence of a bathtub. A shower is a necessity of life, not a pampering activity, but after a long day of sightseeing, lying in a bath with foam is a thrill! In general, I always give preference to small hotels. As practice shows, in such hotels the approach is more “client-oriented”. Well, the quality of service, cleaning, fulfillment of requests is much higher. If the hotel has a restaurant, then it is very convenient! But this point is not necessary, since since we always live close to the center, we can easily find excellent catering places around  Usually I don’t even consider hotels with less than 4 stars, although it is worth noting that there are some hotels without stars at all , and the quality is top five! Well, what else do I need from a hotel... Wi-Fi, free toiletries, the ability to order a transfer - this is standard in all hotels. If the hotel has a gym, then this seems to be a plus, but to be honest, to my shame, I have never used hotel gyms. The explanation for all this is quite simple: after walking around the city all day, the plan for physical activity is exceeded, so additional exercise is simply not needed. It is also nice to have a spa in a hotel. But here you also need to be able to filter the promises of the owners. Sometimes a spa is a tiny cell where they can call a massage therapist at your request for unrealistically huge amounts of money. In general, this is easy to monitor, again based on reviews. I would like to mention the reviews separately: of course, I start looking first at hotels with the highest ratings according to guest reviews. But the main thing here is to use logic... Very often, picky guests deduct points for minor reasons, thereby lowering the rating of even the most wonderful hotels. Among the most absurd reviews, I came across complaints about “too soft pillows”, about “the absence of forty courses at breakfast”, about “the absence of Russian channels on the TV”, about “a drunken neighbor who accidentally tried to open the door to my room”, about “ view from the window of the neighboring building”... The view from the window is a separate story... Well, I’m not ready to pay extra money for some mythical view from the window! It looks purple to me from the window! This is not why I come to another city... I also usually filter out complaints about noise. I filter for two reasons: firstly, the numbers that I usually order are not standard. Most often these are either what are called Deluxe rooms, sometimes executive rooms. They are usually located separately from standard rooms, and most often - on the highest floors. So there is much less noise there than in the standards. The second reason is banal. We usually vacation during the non-tourist season. Sometimes it happened that we were the only guests in the hotel. What a noise there is! Well, plus the very factor of choosing small ones, family hotels. There simply aren't many guests there. Something like this... Sometimes it is useful to find the website of the hotel itself. That is, you have chosen a hotel for yourself on Booking - do not be lazy, look for the hotel’s website (usually it is very easy to find by name). Firstly, there you can find out more information about the hotel, see photos, and the price list for services. Secondly, sometimes booking a hotel through their own website is cheaper than through Booking. This happens for various reasons... Either the hotel simply makes discounts on rooms that are not reflected in Booking, or Booking works wonders on markups. Many people already know about the wonders of markups: roughly speaking, the first time you look for a hotel, the prices indicated there will be real. With each subsequent viewing of the hotel, the price increases slightly. This is explained simply: few people make a purchase there on their first visit. A person usually just evaluates the options for the first time and takes a closer look. Accordingly, it makes sense to inflate the price in subsequent times. In general, I very often choose a hotel on Booking from my home computer, and when I finally decide, I go to the same site either from my husband’s work computer, or from my netbook, or even from my phone, and pay for the room at a reduced price. (Wow!!! I wrote so much about choosing a hotel!!!)

In Belgrade we stayed at Hotel Villa Skadarlija. I won’t write a separate review about this hotel simply because I didn’t take pictures of the room/hotel. But both Booking and their own website present very real photos of the rooms. Without deception  I’ll say right away that the hotel is WONDERFUL!!! It is located in the center, next to Skadarlija Street (a bohemian street with restaurants/bars, that is, literally turn the corner - and here you have the widest selection of drinking/eating establishments for every taste). At the same time, since it is a side street, it is very quiet and peaceful there. It’s true that the view around was not great, but somehow I didn’t care about the appearance. The hotel is really tiny. If I'm not mistaken, they only have five or six rooms, but the rooms are very cozy and beautiful. There is one room with a jacuzzi and one room with a sauna. These rooms are located on the second floor. As a matter of fact, we lived in a room with a jacuzzi (yes, I like to splash around). The room is spacious and beautiful. The bathroom is huge! Very comfortably. There was a compliment from the hotel in the room - a bottle sparkling wine. We are somehow not very friendly with carbonated alcohol. So we were in no hurry to drink the bottle. After a couple of days of standing on the table, we carefully put it in the refrigerator. We spent more than a week in Belgrade, and almost all of this time we lived in the hotel alone. We came down for breakfast at the time we wanted - food was always waiting for us! The barmaid girl immediately rushed to make coffee for her husband and was keenly interested in whether we needed anything special for breakfast. Food in Serbia is a whole different story. Looking ahead, I will say that the food is very tasty. Often they literally crawled out of breakfast. It was impossible not to try everything that was prepared for us. And in general, the hotel, as they say, took care of us. At the reception desk, to our surprise, the girl spoke Russian very fluently (we actually didn’t expect this... usually English always helps us out, but it wasn’t useful here ). The owner of the hotel did not speak Russian; communication with her took place in English. Any questions received an instant answer, advice, hints, help. In short, not employees, but charm! At night there was an elderly man on duty at the reception. There was no one else in the hotel except him and us. To summarize, if anyone is going to Belgrade, I highly, highly recommend this hotel. You can't go wrong.

Impressions from the city...
While I was reading reviews about Belgrade, I realized that you either immediately fall in love with this city, or it instantly repels you. There is no average. I will immediately state my position. My husband and I loved this city very much! There are very few places I feel at home abroad. And this despite the fact that I am fluent in two European languages. It's not a matter of language. I think it's a matter of mentality. Until now, my husband and I realized that so far there are two places where we can relax “like home” - these are Serbia and Armenia. Yes! I understand that this is a strange statement. But it was in these two countries that I did not feel like a foreigner. Serbs love Russians. This is an axiom. Young people, of course, treat Russians calmly, but people of the older generation sincerely love Russians. They think that we are brothers. A complete stranger, for example, when he found out that we were Russian, came up and shook our hand. In all seriousness! This was the first surprise.

We must take into account the fact that Belgrade is not entirely tourist town. If you look at it with this amendment, then everything appears in a completely different light. You shouldn’t expect “gingerbread-style” from Belgrade, “picturesqueness” of Austrian cities, or even the same Prague. Belgrade is a harsh city that has experienced a lot, but has its own charm and beauty. Like a man’s face with wrinkles and scars... This is masculinity, experience. This is the kind of “masculine” beauty this city has. A special imprint, of course, is left by the traces of the relatively recently ended war. Thus, the building of the Ministry of Defense of Yugoslavia stands dilapidated with traces of NATO bombing right in the center of the city. Many buildings in the city are still covered in soot. But at the same time, the city is very lively. I would even say young. There are a lot of young people! In cafes, in parks, on main squares... The buildings in the center are completely covered with graffiti. And if you go outside the center, the city is very Soviet. True, there is a feeling that you are somewhere in Russia.

The main attraction of the city is the dilapidated Kalemegdan fortress. You can hang out there for the whole day! The territory is huge - by the time you walk around/climb everything, at least half a day will fly by. On the territory of the fortress there is the best restaurant in Belgrade (I read this in reviews). We never went there, although there was a fuse. We looked at the menu and prices on their website in advance. Everything is very accessible. And next to the restaurant there is a cafe. We were there because after a long exploration of the fortress we were pretty tired and really wanted to relax and drink some soft drinks/coffee. Along one of the walls of the fortress - a joy for men - is an exhibition of tanks and artillery pieces (here my husband wandered around for a long time, studied everything, took pictures with each tank), and next to it is the building of a military museum. Again, I highly, highly recommend visiting it! Even though I’m a girl with my own girly interests, I really liked the museum. First of all, it's huge!!! We wandered there for several hours. There weren't very many people, so it was comfortable to look around everything. There are displayed weapons, costumes, and various household items associated with a particular era. A huge exhibition is dedicated to the Second World War!!! What struck me most was the map drawn right on the wall in one of the halls. The map showed all the concentration camps that operated in Europe during the war. When you look at this map, it becomes eerie to realize the scale of the tragedy. And, of course, a separate room dedicated to the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Against the background of the wreckage of a NATO bomber shot down by the Serbs, only the lazy did not take a photo. By the way, you can take pictures! Which is very cool! I love looking through photos and remembering interesting museum exhibits.

To the right of Kalemegdan is the Belgrade Zoo. But I won’t say anything about it yet - I’ll write a separate review.

There is a huge park around the fortress. Walking there is a pleasure. In the park itself, on one of the alleys, you can buy all sorts of souvenirs. The choice is huge, the prices are affordable. We bought a bag of magnets as gifts for friends/acquaintances here. We bought a set of Yugoslav coins for ourselves. We always bring coins from our trips. Well, my husband collects football scarves - he also bought himself a scarf from the Serbian national team. Don’t be surprised, but Putin is a very popular person in Serbia. T-shirts and baseball caps with his image are sold along with souvenirs with the image of Belgrade. In bookstores you will definitely come across books with Putin’s speeches. Moreover, the choice is very wide.

Directly from Kalemegdan Park there is a pedestrian street named after Prince Mikhail. This is something like Moscow's Arbat. Here you will find all kinds of shops and cafes, street vendors sit right on the sidewalk and sell paintings and hand-made items. And, in fact, not far from this central street is Skadarlija Street. Pedestrian, paved with cobblestones, very cozy. A whole street with restaurants, cafes, bars. We can talk endlessly about Serbian cuisine. She is very tasty!!! Meat and baked goods are beyond praise. We don’t eat fish and seafood, but judging by the reviews, the Serbs eat fish too. I willingly believe it! The food portions are huge! I ordered pleskovica (roughly speaking, a cutlet cooked over a fire) at one restaurant. They brought me this cutlet, and it was the size of a plate!!! In short, a belly celebration is guaranteed there. The national alcoholic drink of the Serbs is rakia. This is something like fruit/berry moonshine. For some reason I never tried it, but my husband drank it. He liked this. I drank, if I’m not mistaken, mulberry and peach brandy. We bought a plum one to take home. It's worth it. Not opened yet. Strength – 45%. Serbs also have very tasty coffee. Well, just yum-yum. And the buns, cakes, and buns to go with it are absolutely a song! Oh yes! Serbs, oddly enough, love pizza very much. And yet they have it very tasty! I recommend trying pizza not with traditional Italian filling, but with Serbian one - prosciutto and kajmak (prosciutto is a dry-cured ham, something like jamon or prosciutto, kajmak is a cheese similar to feta cheese or feta, but more tender and not so salty). So, it's time to switch from the topic of food...

Other museums visited were the Nikola Tesla Museum and the Aviation Museum. Both are definitely worth a look. The Tesla Museum is tiny, but very popular among tourists, because during the excursion tourists are actively involved in conducting all sorts of physical experiments, so everyone is delighted. Excursions take place strictly certain time and alternate excursions in Serbian and English. We, of course, listened to the tour in English. Before the tour starts, a short film is shown. Then the cute boy talked about the life and works of Tesla, demonstrating his various inventions and showing experiments on electromagnetism. In short, interesting and informative. After the end of the excursion, it is not forbidden to walk around the museum and study/look again, as well as ask the guide questions (my husband tormented him for a long time, getting the information he needed ).

But we ended up in the aviation museum by accident. Although they definitely wanted to get there, the whole problem was in its location. The museum is located near the airport. That is, outside the city. We didn’t want to take a taxi, but we read that there was a bus going there from the railway station. (By the way, don’t go to the station... It’s not ice at all... the stench, the crowds of people...) As we later realized, the bus runs once an hour, but we managed to get to this very bus stop exactly at the moment he arrived. In short, the whole universe told us “we have to go!”, although initially we went there on what is called “reconnaissance” to find out how to get there, how much the fare costs, how often the buses go. Well, in general, we gave in to the impulse and went to the airport. The museum building is located to the left of the airport. It is impossible to miss it. It looks very unique. All sorts of airplanes/helicopters are displayed around the museum right on the street. In short, right from the entrance, my husband began to have a “technical orgasm.” He loves airplanes very much, and this is a treasure trove for a fan. I barely managed to persuade myself to go into the museum itself in order to make it before it closed. Tickets are sold at the same price for Serbs and twice as expensive for foreigners. This is such discrimination. Yours gets a discount! But, as it turned out, we are our own. As soon as we entered, my husband greeted the employees in English (we always started the conversation there in English, because even though they love Russians, not everyone speaks Russian, but English is better), and asked for 2 tickets. They told him the price, he turned to me and asked me in Russian to take out my wallet. The employees immediately perked up. And with the phrase “Why are you addressing us like an infidel! You are our brothers!” tickets were sold at half the price. So we went to the museum as Serbs!  The museum itself is very interesting, although it is clear that many of the exhibits are far from new. Models of various aircraft hang from the ceiling, and again there are helicopters and airplanes everywhere. And, of course, there is a separate exhibition dedicated to NATO attacks. If in the military museum in Kalemegdan only a fragment of a NATO bomber shot down by the Serbs was exhibited, then here this same bomber is presented almost entirely, plus downed drones and all kinds of missiles. In short, I really enjoyed the exhibition, but I literally had to drag my husband out of the museum on my own.

Of course, we couldn’t help but see the Temple of St. Sava (St. Sava). The temple is very large and beautiful. The area around is large. Overall there is a feeling of spaciousness there. The temple is new, the interior decoration has not yet been done. But the temple is functioning. It's very calm and good inside. You can put candles (as in Georgian and Armenian churches candles are placed “in the water”). In general, it’s very soulful there. What surprised me was a large number of youth in the temple. But, for my taste, Sveti Savva is too monumental, even though it is beautiful. I liked St. Mark's Church much better. Is it more comfortable?

In general, before going somewhere abroad, I usually buy a guidebook and study in detail what I want to see, planning routes. But, as it turns out, we don’t have guides to Belgrade. From the word absolutely. In short, we drove what is called blind. The hotel first provided us with a map of the city with marked attractions. Then in one of the bookstores we bought a very modest guidebook “Belgrade. Step by step,” but it can hardly be called a guide. This is a 40-page brochure with a very superficial indication of the main attractions of the city. But, fortunately, I accidentally came across a website (Russian) on the Internet dedicated to Belgrade. That's where we learned a lot of useful things. In particular, it was from there that they learned about the presence of very interesting excursion called "Belgrade under Belgrade". The website listed the office that runs these excursions, so we asked the girl at the front desk to find out the cost and sign us up for this excursion. On the appointed day, we came to the office of this excursion company, paid for the excursion and... then something magical began. The excursion was held in English. Besides us, there was another couple from Great Britain, two Serbs and a girl from some Scandinavian country in the group, whom these Serbs accompanied. The guide, a very nice and friendly young man, spoke very good English (which, unfortunately, is rare) and told us and showed us simply amazing things. The fact is that during our several days in Belgrade we climbed the Kalemegdan fortress up and down. But I couldn’t even imagine that this was just the tip of the iceberg. We were taken through the real catacombs lying under the fortress, told everything in great detail, and at the end of the excursion we were taken to the wine cellars (outside the fortress), where we were treated to wine. In short, a real adventure! Especially when you consider that the company was multinational and diverse, but we sat very soulfully, drank wine, and talked. I didn't expect such a pleasant day!

Shopping in Belgrade
I would also like to briefly touch on this topic. One day we reached the Ushce shopping center (on the opposite bank from Kalemegdan). Shopping center like shopping mall. Large, standardized. They sell exactly the same things there as in our shopping centers. The same brands of clothing and shoes. But it’s not worth going to Belgrade for this. But it’s worth going for the local producers. In short, Belgrade is a paradise for girls. The kind of people who love beautiful dresses, made exclusively in a single copy. Buying something like this here is not a problem. There are a lot of small shops that sell dresses/clothing made by local designers. Very beautiful things!!! I regretted that I did not count on shopping in Belgrade, and therefore did not take extra money with me for this. There really is somewhere to roam!! But you need to keep in mind that the clothes are designed for average Serbs. And the average Serbs are very tall. With my 1.70, I felt like a midget there. Their girls are also tall, but in general, I think that given my height, I could buy clothes there without any problems.

Oh! I feel like it's time to stop before this review becomes completely unreadable.

To sum up, I highly, highly recommend this wonderful city as a holiday destination if you love action-packed travel (rather than lying on the beach), if your heart and soul are open to a different kind of beauty than the usual “postcard, slicked-down” version, if you are not afraid to step out of your comfort zone and go forward to adventure. Well, we left Belgrade with a slight sadness, but also with the confidence that we would definitely return here again and again. Moreover, according to the old tradition, we left unvisited places so that there would be a reason to return to Belgrade again (this is Zemun, and the Museum of Natural Sciences, and Ada Tsingalia, and Novi Sad). And many, many thanks to all Belgrade residents and Serbs for their hospitality!

The truism that Serbia is a non-tourist country is known to everyone. Nevertheless, on the one hand, it is very original and original, and on the other hand, it is very close and understandable to us.

Belgrade

Most tourists begin their acquaintance with the capital of the country - Belgrade. Having visited many European capitals, including the capitals of the republics of the former Yugoslavia, Belgrade seemed to me the most unimpressive. No, of course, it’s worth visiting here for a day, climbing the Belgrade Fortress, admiring from there the confluence of the Danube and the Sava, wandering through Kalemegdan Park, visiting the ancient Skadarlija district and observing the life of bohemia there. And yet, the outback in Serbia is much more picturesque, the food is tastier, the air is cleaner, the scenery is impressive, prices are lower (although in Belgrade they are not high compared to neighboring Montenegro).

Autonomous Region of Vojvodina

Vojvodina is one of my favorite parts of Serbia. Its nature and cities are very reminiscent of Hungary, which is not surprising - after all, this region was previously Hungarian, the architecture here is appropriate, a little atypical for Serbia, and a large number of Magyars live here. The most interesting to visit are main city the regions of Novi Sad and Subotica are the most northern city Serbia, located 10 kilometers from the border with Hungary. Novi Sad – recognized tourist centre Serbia, international only music Festival Exit attracts 150 thousand spectators every year. The greatest interest among tourists is the Petrovaradin fortress, as well as numerous museums and galleries. In Subotica, there are few tourists here, but in vain: the architecture here in the Hungarian Art Nouveau style is very good - the local town hall, the Franciscan church, old mansions.

Medical resorts

In Serbia, there are more than 50 health resorts with mineral healing springs, where people were treated back in the days of the ancient Romans. In general, if you see the word Banya in the name of a Serbian town, for example, Niška Banja, Vrnjačka Banja or Banja Koviljača, then you can be sure: they are definitely treating some diseases here. Serbian resorts are considered the most useful for those suffering from diseases of the musculoskeletal system, metabolic disorders, diseases of the nervous system and respiratory tract, diseases of the liver and biliary tract and much more. One of the most famous healing resorts in Serbia is the climatic mountain resort Zlatibor. Diseases of the thyroid gland and respiratory tract, including thyroid cancer, are treated here. Vrnjacka Banja, located near Kopaonik, is famous for its carbon dioxide and alkaline springs. Diabetes mellitus, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, stomach and duodenal ulcers and much more are treated here. In fact, one can write long and hard about Serbian health resorts and their benefits: each of them is unique. I don’t have such a goal, I just wanted to tell you that in Serbia there are a large number of health resorts that are not as popular and fashionable as the generally recognized ones, for example, Czech ones, but treatment in which will bring no less health benefits.

Ski resorts

The main ski resort of the country is Kopaonik, located on the mountain range of the same name. In addition to the tracks where international competitions are held, Kopaonik is attractive for its infrastructure. For young people there are bars, discos, and night clubs. It’s also good for families with children to come here: there are special children’s ski schools and children’s ski lifts for little ones. Another, lesser-known resort is Stara Planina in the east of the country. There is snow here for about five months of the year, and there are snow cannons. The trails in Stara Planina vary in difficulty, and there is the possibility of night skiing. One of the advantages of Serbian ski resorts: it seemed to me that the prices here are lower than in neighboring Montenegro, and certainly than at similar Slovenian resorts. There will be no language barriers here either, but good attitude Serbs to our compatriots, I think, only the lazy did not say.

Orthodox shrines

Serbia is very rich in Christian, or rather Orthodox, shrines. They are mostly located in the south of the country and the unrecognized Republic of Kosovo, on the border with which the demarcation line now runs. Therefore, unfortunately, some of the most important shrines for Orthodox pilgrims are not accessible to visitors. Pilgrims and simply lovers of church culture heading to Serbia should first of all pay attention to the town of Kragujevac. In the vicinity of this city there are the monasteries of Zica, Vujan, Studenica, Sopocany, Milesheva, Djurdzhevo Stupovi and Lyubostynya. Near the village of Ovčar Banja, on the Western Morava River near the Ovčar-Kablar Gorge, Serbian Athos begins - about 10 monasteries that have survived to this day. Here are the Annunciation, Holy Trinity, Sretensky and several other monasteries. Everything here is very sincere, all the monks and nuns are hospitable and sociable. I was especially pleased with their reaction to the message that we were from Russia - I haven’t seen such sincere joy for a long time.

Drvengrad – for fans of the work of Emir Kusturica

True, I don’t consider myself an ardent fan of the famous Yugoslav, but it seems to me that if we talk about the most famous tourist places in Serbia, then it is impossible to pass by Drevengrad. In a word, I liked it, but I probably wouldn’t go a second time. Drvengrad is a unique village with wooden buildings, located on the slopes of Mokra Gora in the vicinity of Zlatibor. They say this is what a real Serbian village looks like. What I liked most here was railroad station with a narrow gauge railway and a steam locomotive. Drvengrad is a fairly popular place, well-promoted, as it seemed to me, the most tourist place throughout Serbia, not counting Belgrade. Prices in the surrounding area are higher than the Serbian average.

Despite the fact that there is no sea in Serbia, holidays in this country are varied and diverse. There are balneological and ski resorts, architectural monuments and amazing nature. Accordingly, the country is attractive for tourism at any time of the year - it all depends on the purpose of the visit.

in winter

Thanks to mountain ranges in the south of the country and those located there ski slopes, winter time in Serbia is attractive for ski lovers. Winter here is warm but snowy. Temperatures are very comfortable for sports, but sometimes there is heavy snowfall. If you are planning a trip to other regions, then strong, cold winds, constant rains, snowstorms may await you here; best time For European countries, and Serbia is no exception to this. However, there are also advantages in winter: prices at the balneological resorts of Serbia, which are already quite low compared to other countries, are still falling, and the number of vacationers is decreasing. And during the period winter holidays big cities, such as Belgrade and Novi Sad, are simply transformed. In February, a film festival is held in Belgrade.

in spring

The first half of spring in Serbia is still quite cold, windy, and rainy. In March it ends in the mountains ski season, the snow becomes sticky, the trails become uncomfortable for skiing. But then comes the real European spring – long and leisurely. This time, in my opinion, is the best for traveling around the country, meeting... read more

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The discreet charm of Belgrade

The trip to Belgrade was initially somewhat alarming. There was too much conflicting knowledge about Eastern Europe in general, and about the capital of the former Yugoslavia in particular. Nevertheless, the choice was made. And here we are at Belgrade airport. The first impression is pleasantly positive - the staff border service They just look at the passport and, without asking questions or putting any stamps, they let you into the country. Indeed, with Serbia we have visa-free entry, but so informally... It felt like we had just arrived in one of the regions of Russia. This feeling was later repeatedly confirmed in the city. There are posters everywhere dedicated to the theme of Russian-Serbian friendship. We even found several posters with President Putin on the main street. We got from the airport to the hotel very easily on some kind of PAZ bus. Greetings from the 70-80s of the last century. It goes through the entire city center to Slavia Square, where our hotel of the same name stood. By the way, besides a taxi, this is the only way to get to the city from the airport.

With this, I propose to move on to the “Practical City” section and give our readers a few useful tips. In this regard: how to plan your trip to Belgrade? And is it possible to come to Belgrade only for the weekend? is that enough?

I even know a lot of young people who apparently only come to Belgrade for the weekend! ???? Well, Belgraders know how to relax and party. Because “polako” refers to work, but in no case to rest!

I heard that in Berlin there was once a term “Balkan party”, which means a break-away party. Belgrade is very cosmopolitan in this sense, and, oddly enough, for all its archaic nature and attitude towards the church, it is quite tolerant. There is no feeling that you will go out into the street in pink sneakers and get punched in the face for it. In this regard, it is quite safe here. Many guys come here on Friday and have a great weekend. Food is much cheaper here and booze is practically free. In “alloys” a cocktail costs 3-3.5 euros.

- What are “alloys”?

- “Alloys” are nightclubs that are located on the water. Like landing stages. Here, most of the nightclubs are located like this.

1. Kneza Mihajla Street is the central street of Belgrade.

You've already talked a lot about how you can plan a trip around Serbia, but how to combine Belgrade with travel to other countries? If a person is passing through here. For a person traveling by car, Belgrade - beautiful place for a break and an opportunity on the way from the same Halkidiki to Germany or Vienna to stop, spend the night, walk around the city and enjoy the musical culture. It is clear that Belgrade in terms of music is not Vienna or even Budapest, but different performers come here. Gergiev came, Sting is giving a concert next weekend, we are waiting for 30 Seconds to Mars. That is cultural life

is present and you can combine a trip through the city with visiting some events.

-Where should we stay here? Do they stay in apartments or rent hotels here?

It all depends on your wallet and preferences. If you want to come and have bed, cleaning and breakfast included, then this is a hotel. But if it doesn’t bother you that you have to go down to the cafe on the first floor for breakfast, then maybe AirBnB. In general, in Serbia the Internet as a sales channel is not so developed, unlike London, Berlin and many other capitals.

2. Filip Zepter, the founder of the company of the same name, opened a museum in the center of Belgrade, where he collected noteworthy works of contemporary Serbian art. One of those museums that is worth visiting.- Maybe this is good? We found a pretty cheap apartment in the very center of Belgrade on AirBnB

. Sometimes you can even find it with breakfast included. Whatever the apartment, and for exactly the same amount you can have breakfast in a cafe.

- What is the best way to get around the city?

Is it best to find a place that you don't have to move from????

The Serbs themselves say that taxi drivers have a “turbo” mode. A special button is hidden somewhere, which when you press, the counter jumps several divisions.

- So how are we today? Walk everywhere?

Yes. It's better to settle close to what interests you. Most of the attractions are located on the same vector and not far from each other. A truly ideal point is Studentski trg (student square) next to the folk theater and folk museum, the monument to Prince Mikhail. From there, both Kalemegdan and Skadarlija will be within walking distance. In the distance there is only the part associated with the Temple of St. Sava and Slavia Square. You either have to walk there or drive there if you are interested. Not everyone is interested in the temple. If we are talking about clubs, then in any case you have to cross the Brankov Bridge to find yourself on the other side.

- From the point you named (Studentski trg), you need to take a taxi to get there, right?

Yes, you can go there by taxi and back. A taxi costs ridiculous money. Landing 170 dinars (approximately 1.30 euros). And a kilometer costs less than a euro. (note: here we must take into account that the city is small)

3. Belgrade is surprisingly full of hipster places. And barbershops, and coffee shops, and organic ice cream. And the bicycle, of course, must be fashionable.

- Don’t taxi drivers cheat here? Do I need to make arrangements in advance upon boarding?

No no need. Few of them speak English at all, but some speak Russian. In any case, you need to keep an eye on the meter and understand that there are three taxi fares: standard, evening and weekend nights. In any case, it costs quite normal money. The only thing worth doing is not to confuse the bills. The 1000 and 200 dinar bills are slightly similar. You need to clearly record how much money you gave to the taxi driver, because sometimes they can “forget” that you gave them 2000 and in addition to 200 dinars, you need to give 1000 more. Classic taxi driver tricks. And you still need to keep an eye on the counter. The Serbs themselves say that taxi drivers have a “turbo” mode. A special button is hidden somewhere, which when you press, the counter jumps several divisions.

- Is it easy to notice?

Well, yes. If you are driving and see that you have 200, 210, 220, and then 320, then you say: “Hey! Have you turned on the turbine? And they will immediately understand everything and say: “No, no, everything is fine. Sin, sin” and everything will be returned. Here you should not be afraid to speak to people in the language you can, even if this language is English or Russian.

- Well, as I understand it, they understand Russian perfectly. Whenever they want.

Yes. So it’s worth communicating and negotiating.

4. In the city we accidentally came across an exhibition of unusual outfits.

How to get to the remote points we talked about today? To Lake Ada Ciganlia, to Gardosh Tower and to Veliko Ratno Island?

There is no way to get to the island. It can only be viewed from Kalemegdan.

- In the summer on a pontoon?

Yes, but before pontoon bridge you have to get there and it’s not that easy. Unless you negotiate with the taxi driver. You can only get to Ada Tsiganliya by taxi. There is also ground transport in the form of buses and trams. You can simply get on the bus and buy a ticket from the driver, or buy a BusPlus card in advance if you plan to travel a lot. The ticket allows you to travel for 90 minutes and make transfers.

- How much does it cost to get from the city center to Ada Ciganliya by taxi?

Hardly more than 1000 dinars (approx. 8 euros).

5. They are planning to build a large residential and office center in Belgrade.

- Let's name 3-5 things that you must do in Belgrade?

For a person who came to Belgrade for the first time, I would recommend doing the following:

come to Prince Mikhailov Street at dawn or early in the morning, around 8 o’clock. When there is no one: no tourists, no T-shirt sellers. And just walk along this street, look at beautiful architecture old buildings, have a cup of coffee at the Cafeteria on Kralja Petra in an absolutely beautiful art nouveau building. The first impression is to see the city waking up. This is quite a romantic story.
The second story is to see a city falling asleep. Watch the sunset on Kalemegdan. If you have the courage, then sit on the fortress wall, as all Serbs do, dangling your legs over a ten-meter cliff. Or just watch the sun set over Veliko Ratno Island.
There are many different delicacies that you need to try: the same Aivar or Kaymak. Or veal chorba. It is a classic Serbian dish that Serbs eat for lunch. We Russians often have a problem finding soup. In Europe, soup is not eaten everywhere. Here in Serbia they eat soup that suits our taste quite well.
And there is such a thing as cookies (emphasis on the first syllable in Serbian). It sounds quite funny and tourists are surprised when the Serbs invite you to visit and say that they will have 10 kg of cookies.

- And in fact?

But in fact, cookies are meat that is roasted on a spit. Either pork or lamb. Whole carcass. There is even a profession for people who know how to do it correctly. Moreover, 40 minutes from Belgrade there is a city where it is believed that they make the best cookies in Serbia. There are two restaurants right on the highway, one opposite the other. And, if possible, then you need to get there and understand why Serbs love this meat so much. In my opinion, this is truly the most delicious.

Serbia is generally a meat country. IN good restaurants here they know how to cook what is called a stack, that is, steaks.

There is another method of cooking meat, which is actively used in Serbia. It is called “from under the sacha” (from Serbian for under the lid). The meat is stewed together with vegetables in a deep container. The frying pan itself is placed on the coals, it is closed with a lid, a ring is placed on the lid and coals are poured on top. The heat comes from both below and above and the result is excellent meat. This is especially suitable for cooking wild animals: chamois, roe deer, for example. This is also a Serbian specialty, and they love it very much. Sometimes it's too salty for my taste.

6. Difficult to distinguish from Moscow.

Serbia is generally a meat country. In good restaurants here they know how to cook what is called steak, that is, steaks. And they know how to do it well. But there is a tradition here that meat should not be raw. In good restaurants they will ask you what kind of cooking you want, but in not so good ones they can cook it at their own discretion. And it will be more likely Medium well (medium led) than Medium Rare (medium reir). Depending on the meat, the difference can be global.

Today we talked about how Serbia is quite safe. You can go out, roughly speaking, in the evening in a short skirt, and no one will do anything. It was a revelation for me.

Yes it is. It is difficult for me to explain the reason for this phenomenon. Historically, there are not the weakest security structures here. At some point there were refugees, but they also did not create any threats or problems. There are also gypsies, but the state even knows how to negotiate with them at the right time. You may be prejudiced against gypsies who beg for change from cars, but here they do it very delicately. But there is no problem of sorting garbage. Renting polyethylene costs money. Pennies. Not a single Serb would lift a hand to earn 5 dinars on a discarded bottle. This is done well by the gypsies, who independently sort all the discarded garbage and take it for recycling. It turns out that the community, which would be a problem in another country, coexists here completely normally. Moreover, in the area where I live, a gypsy baron lives in one of the apartments and his child played football with my son. A completely normal guy. Well, he’s a little overweight, nothing more...

Another question about shopping. There is an opinion that it is quite cheap here and you can buy good quality things for ridiculous money.

Unfortunately, this is a very erroneous opinion. Many Serbs or Serbian women who follow fashion and want to look unusual, beautiful and attractive, go to Budapest or Sofia (the capital of Bulgaria). Anywhere, but the shopping here is very bad. Because, firstly, there are buyers who buy the collection in accordance with their concept of “the way it should be,” and this perception most often means that women are always in black. Maybe you haven’t noticed yet, but Serbian women really love the color black and that’s why everything in the store is black and it looks a bit boring. And if you want bright colors, then this is not in demand and is not on sale as a fact. In terms of cost. It cannot be said that, for example, Tommy Hilfiger is cheaper than in Budapest. Example. IKEA recently opened here and in Serbia the prices turned out to be more expensive. Well, it’s clear that there are imports from the EU, duties, etc.

- What about Serbian brands?

There is a wonderful Serbian brand Manual. A good manufacturer of leather goods: backpacks, belts, etc. Leather is also a traditional Serbian industry. What they are famous for. Surely, all women originally from the Soviet Union remember Yugoslav boots. The same Alpina brand does something in Romania, something in Bosnia, something in Serbia. In Serbia there is a good handmade shoe service and you can order any crazy type of leather shoes for 200-250 euros. There is also a small shopping center where Serbian designers gather. I don't know how interesting it is, though. I don't presume to judge.

7. View from Kalemegdan - Belgrade fortress. The guy is walking over a cliff. Behind it is the Sava River and a view of the city. Locals come here to good weather to watch the sunset.

Let's end with this question. You've already named a lot of life hacks today, but are there any more that we forgot about?

There is a tram “deuka” and the Serbs say “circle deuce”. This is a story where a tram goes along a certain route and you can get on it and ride around the whole city. But still, most of the attractions here are within walking distance. There is another life hack about taxi drivers: it is better to call them by phone. Ask the restaurant to call, for example. Such taxi drivers are 100% official and the likelihood that the taxi driver will turn on the “turbine” mode in this case is close to zero. Another option is if the taxi says “radio taxi”. This means that a taxi can be called by phone and is most likely official.

And one more powerful life hack for those who came from the countries of the former USSR: speak Russian! The generation over 40-50 is almost guaranteed to answer you with love in broken Russian, tell you something and help make your stay here easier and simpler. And if you forgot to pay for travel on a bus or tram, and evil inspectors approached you, then speak Russian. They will then be more likely to go looking for another stowaway than to become attached to the unfortunate Russian tourist.

Tips for spending time in Serbia, how to plan a trip and excursions, from Dmitry Kuzmin:

Like Berlin, Belgrade can enchant, or it can also make you depressed – the question is in your expectations, as well as in a bunch of everyday little things that can put together this or that puzzle for you.

Find apartments in the areas of Stari Grad, Dorcol, Vracar. You should not settle far from the center - the difference in price is not so great as to compensate for the inconvenience
Buy a BusPlus card at the tent and take tram No. 2 - you can visit everything on it interesting places cities, from the Kalemegdan fortress to the Nikola Tesla Museum. A good alternative to a tourist double decker, isn't it?
Stop by Mandarina Cake Shop for the best desserts in town
Don't forget to stop by Crna Ovca for the most delicious Serbian ice cream
And, most importantly, find a local in advance so that he can give you advice and show you what is worth your attention and what you shouldn’t waste time on

Dmitry Kuzmin, FB / Instagram: serbianguide