We picked up speed, heading east out of Sarajevo. The day was sunny, but we weren’t into it. We weren’t very into Serbia, either, but we were going there.
Just when you think you have things figured out, they get complicated again. We’d spent a week in Bosnia and Herzegovina, filling in the blanks from when the Balkans were front and center with the media in the 1990s. Or, we realized, perhaps we still only had part of the story. Too hard to say. But we were definitely heading into Serbia with mixed feelings.
We realized our heads weren’t into Serbia all that much because our hearts were heavy. We’d seen first hand how Serbs had decimated Bosnia and Herzegovina twenty years before. We’d reluctantly abandoned our initial plan to swing in and out of Kosovo, another place the Serbs haven’t played nice, for lack of time. And we weren’t even sure we should go to Belgrade at all, as we’d had a memorable conversation with a Serb in Brussels a month prior. Skip Belgrade and go to Novi Sad was his advice. We didn’t take it.
The statue of Pobednik, the Victor, commemorates Serbia’s victory over the Ottomans in the Balkan Wars, and over Austria-Hungary in World War I. The “Naked Man” was controversial, so they placed him at the Fortress, but facing away from the city. Now, of course, he’s front and center with New Belgrade on the other side of the Sava.
Delivered into Serbia along a back way past the Belgrade airport, our route passed old hulking warplanes at rest in a boneyard of gunmetal parts. Snaking up the riverbank to drop off other passengers, we caught a shocking glimpse of little kids poking through a smoking trash pit. Entire neighborhoods were unkempt; dried grass and weeds were knee-high on boulevards, bus stops stood as forlorn targets in a wasteland of nothingness between boxy Cold War high-rises and abandoned storefronts. Everything was layered with graffiti. It seemed as though the outskirts of Belgrade weren’t even trying to convince anyone she was keeping up appearances.
At Republic Square, we were deposited curtly. From gestures, we understood we should walk along the pedestrian area for an indeterminate amount of time. Searching in vain for street signs hidden on building corners in impossible to discern Cyrillic characters, we pirated a restaurant wi-fi signal and got our bearings. It was beastly hot as we stumbled, disoriented, near heat stroke, dragging our baggage toward Kneza Mihaila and the hotel.
Prince Mihailo statue in Republic Square – “meet me at the horse” is a common thing to say when making plans. Image Credit: Wikipedia
A 19th century view of Kneza Mihaila. Image Credit: Wikipedia
Kneza Mihaila is named for Mihailo Obrenovic, Prince of Serbia, deemed the most enlightened of its modern rulers. Mihailo advocated a Balkan federation in the 19th century against the Ottomans. He was successful at using diplomacy, bolstered by Russian and Austrian support, to persuade Turkish forces to leave garrisons and fortresses from multiple Serbian cities in the 1860s.
Kneza Mihaila, we learned, is also on top of the old Roman road which stretched from the Belgrade fortress of Kalemegdan to Sofia and on to Istanbul. Emperors Constantine the Great and Flavius Iovianus (Jovian) – who re-established Christianity as the Roman Empire’s official religion – were both born here. At one point, Belgrade was second in size only to Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire.
Old and new reflected on Kneza Mihaila
But long before Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans, Belgrade was a strategic location where the Sava and Danube rivers meet. Inhabited since Neolithic times, Belgrade’s 7000 year history includes over 100 wars, with invasions from Celts, Slavs, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Habsburgs and WWII Axis forces. The city has been destroyed and rebuilt more than 40 times.
The confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers as seen from the Kalemegdan fortress, strategically important for 7000 years.
We realized none of this as we later ventured out for dinner on what had become a pleasant summer’s evening. From the vantage of one of the many outdoor restaurants in the central promenade, this Belgrade was vibrant, stylish, friendly, and while perhaps not the prettiest European capital, sufficiently attractive.
Belgrade may not be the most beautiful European capital, but she’s pretty and has an interesting personality
———
“Which would you have been back then?” I asked. “A partisan or a monarchist?” Demir paused. “A partisan,” came the firm reply.
We’d just come from the National Bank of Serbia Visitors Centre, where a cheeky “to-do” had us sitting for a mug shot. Our faces were then placed on replica 500 billion dinar notes. This incredible denomination was issued during hyperinflation in 1993, a result of the United Nations boycott of Yugoslavia. In January 1994, at its peak, the rate of inflation in Belgrade was 313 billion percent.
Pete and Demir looking fierce in the guard shelter outside the National Bank of Serbia
Demir, our guide from Go2Serbia, had described himself as a geographer and historian earlier that morning. “You’re not like Germans, are you?” was one of his first observations of us, conveyed with a twinkling eye. “Germans always tell me they’ve read otherwise. They do a lot of reading, but they’re not always very well-informed.” I decided not to answer directly, the possibility of us being far less informed than a German quite distinct. Instead, I told him we wanted to know what he thought was important. “You’re the expert here,” I said. “This is your town. In Hawaii, we say ‘talk story.’ Talk story about Serbia.”
Street art depicting author and TV personality, Dusko Radovic. Beloved for striving “to free us of stupidity, the authorities, bad habits, insensitivity to kindness” and “seeing the world with the soul of a child.” Regularly in political trouble during his lifetime (1922-84) for opposing social realism.
Our walk was to take us through seventy centuries of history compressed in an area of no more than three square kilometers. It was another scorching day. Demir kindly slowed his pace so that we oldsters could keep up, and as we plodded obediently along behind him like sweaty little ducklings, he talked story about his city and his country.
The old Roman route heads toward the Fortress of Belgrade
All this was not chronological. The circular route we took painted an Impressionist look into Serbia: step closer to the painting and the elements are indiscernible, step back and the image emerges. Pride, strength, adversity, internal misunderstandings and international disagreements, invasions, despots, reformers, the influence of literati and intelligentsia, all melded, laced with Demir’s sardonic humor.
We heard the story of Princess Ljubica, the mother of Prince Mihailo, whose husband, Prince Milos Obrenovic, built her a fine house in Belgrade. Unlike her husband, whose personality was harsh and autocratic, she took an active interest in Serbian politics. Serbs hated him and loved her. Milos refused to live there, preferring to be unfaithful with a series of mistresses in other locations, and she scorned him for being fearful of his countrymen. He was later forced to abdicate in favor of his son.
The residence of Princess Ljubica, mother of Prince Mihailo
We saw the famous Kafana ?, the oldest tavern in Belgrade. Located in a building which once belonged to Prince Milos, its owner annoyed Orthodox Church officials. They objected that his close location to the cathedral was as unseemly as the tavern’s “At the Cathedral” name. He responded by changing the name to ?, the question mark symbolic of being ever unable to please them.
Kafana ? – the oldest tavern in Belgrade. Note the “?” on the light fixture.
We heard about Tito, always characterized as a bad guy in our history books back home. After his partisans fended off the Nazis, he went on to thwart Stalin from consuming Yugoslavia into the Cold War Soviet bloc. Naturally, Stalin wasn’t happy about this, but Tito wrote Stalin a personal letter, which Demir quoted verbatim:
Stop sending people to kill me. We’ve already captured five of them, one of them with a bomb and another with a rifle. If you don’t stop sending killers, I’ll send one to Moscow, and I won’t have to send a second. — Josip Broz Tito
We began to understand why Tito, whose partisans assisted escaping Jews, who had the backing of Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin at the Tehran conference, who worked with Nehru, Sukarno, Nasser and others to form the Non-Aligned Movement, resonated. Under Tito, Yugoslavia “became a bright spot amid the general grayness of Eastern Europe.” And we inferred how when Tito, whose forceful personality had been the glue that held Yugoslavia together internally and on the world stage, died in 1980, the void which remained allowed things to fall swiftly apart.
The grave of Vuk Karadzic, who reformed and clarified the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet in the 19th century. His works were banned by Prince Milos. A contemporary of the Brothers Grimm and Goethe, his motto was “write as you speak and read as it is written.” We, unfortunately, can do neither in this language.
———
“See? Nah-tow!” the cabbie angrily pointed to a burned-out facade which had once been a building. What is he talking about, we wondered. Then it dawned. . .
For about 10 weeks in 1999, NATO conducted air strikes on Serbia, using military force for the first time without the approval of the United Nations. The intention at first was to destroy military infrastructure without using ground units. But then, additional strategic targets were hit with long-range cruise missiles: bridges, government buildings, factories, and infrastructure such as power and water plants, and the state broadcasting system.
![David Orlovic (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://passingthru.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/NATO_damage_in_Belgrade.jpg)
The remains of the Ministry of Defense building – bombed by NATO forces in 1993. Photo Credit: David Orlovic (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Stunned, we attempted empathetic conversation but faltered with the banal. “Trump!” he exclaimed. This driver wasn’t really an English speaker, and it became clear that he needed to pay attention to traffic. Preoccupied and uneasy with our thoughts, we were silent as he fiddled with his GPS and the radio. The building we passed that day, as it turns out, was Yugoslavia’s Ministry of Defense. The site will be razed by the Trump organization for a planned hotel.
The Hotel Moscow on Terazije Square – built in what’s called “the style of the Russian secession” in 1908.
Our ride stopped at Terazije Square, the central point from which all Belgrade street numbers originate in every direction. Terazije, loosely translated, means “scales” or “balances.” While it probably refers to a Roman aqueduct or other water redistribution system, I thought of justice and equilibrium. Turning around with his hand out for cash, our driver demanded ten times the going rate. We paid it and stepped out into the sunlight.
Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more. – Nikola Tesla
Pinnable Image:
Tips and Practicalities:
Go2Serbia offers a similar walking tour to ours from €5, as well as other themed tours such as Belgrade Underground, World War I, pub and nightlife crawls and a portal for hotel and hostel booking.
Our look into Serbia was part of a promotional rate we paid with Belgrade Art Hotel, a four-star property with an exceptional location in the city center. Kneza Mihaila 27, 11000 Belgrade. Tel +381 11 3312 000. Our spacious room was newly and luxuriously decorated. The hotel’s contemporary art-filled atmosphere is tranquil. The hotel has an a la carte restaurant, cocktail lounge and a whimsical waffle and ice cream bar. Free wi-fi and small pet-friendly.
Tips for Trip Success
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Find an inexpensive flight by using CheapOAir, a favorite of ours because it regularly returns less expensive flight options from a variety of airlines.
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Fascinating. I love how you’ve explained some of the history to give your lovely photos some context. This is an area I know very little about.
Hi Alexis – Thank you! Glad you enjoyed this post. 🙂
Serbia looks really interesting. I may have to check this out the next time I am in Europe. The buildings are beautiful.
Hi Majesta – Yes, Belgrade has a mix of beautiful buildings from different periods. Nothing much before the 18th century because the city was destroyed.
Your arrival in Belgrade square just took me instantly back to my own arrival there a couple years ago. I was there for a friend’s wedding and I had that same experience wandering around completely lost, unable to read the signs and dragging my suitcase along the cobblestone streets for hours before I could find my hostel. It was a lovely city in its own way though and I’m glad I went there.
Hi Laura – I’m glad we’re not the only ones! It really was quite awful at the time, but I’m sure it was magnified by the heat and being tired to begin with. I do wish the signs were a little more prominently placed. 😉
What an amazing history filled with so much turmoil and chaos and yet they rebuilt, now unfortunately with a Trump tower as a new landmark. Loved how you’ve condensed it all into this post.
Hi Noel – Yes, from the history I think we understand more about people today. We went into Serbia not expecting to (or maybe not even wanting to) like it very much. But we did like it and met some lovely people.
I love the detail of all the trials and tribulations you experienced, as well as the history lessons that follow your journey. What an adventure you had! I really think that tours like this are so important in helping you relate to your surroundings. Fabulous post!
Hi Andrea – Thank you! We discovered so many fascinating things about Belgrade (which we will cover in future posts) which put Serbia in an understandable and relatable context, which is one of the major reasons we travel at all.
I love how you describe things and the historical details you gave us for Serbia. I knew some things about its history being close to my country but not all of this you mentioned. It looks like a nice country and Belgrade a nice town!
Hi Chrysoula – We realized there is a lot of history to Serbia which our schooling never covered. Filling in these gaps has been illuminating.
It always amazes me how tenacious and stoic people are. To get up and regroup as the people of Serbia have had to, as the people of Cambodia and Vietnam have, always makes me stop and think about what bought them to this point. Very interesting observation – some people ‘read’ but don’t understand. I love the concept of ‘talk story.’
Hi Paula – I am always amazed by resilience, too. And I think, by comparison, my own personal experience has been so much easier. I think the point about reading and not understanding may have also had to do with how what is on offer to read may be filtered by agenda. What was left out of the history I learned as a student has been far more interesting to me as of late.
Wow, I feel that it is great for you to have gone here and opened up to the blogging world some beauty of Serbia. With all the issues happening currently this was a breath of fresh air. Its a really nice learning post
Hi Kimberly – Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed your post – nice overview of the history. And I like that you weren’t shy to point out pieces of the experience that were uncomfortable. Very refreshing!
Hi Jen – Thank you. Part of the discomfort for me came from the realization that there are two sides to every story.
Great context and perspective into what you were seeing. I imagine seeing the Nato bombed building would be quite staggering.
Hi Elena – Yes, it was quite staggering, partly because upon reflection it was clear we personified that injustice in the cabbie’s mind so he retaliated by overcharging. It was a good little lesson in understanding that we as individuals have so little control over the actions of our governments, yet we disproportionately bear the price.
Interesting post! I’ve always had wanted to go to the Balkans since 2013 but have yet to be able to do it. Never really considered Serbia though, mostly because I’d need to get a visa before hand, unlike for other countries in the region. But still, interesting to read and see the views & experience of others who’s been there.
Hi RaW – Perhaps by the time you’re contemplating a visit, things will have changed a bit on the visa requirements. There is still quite a bit of flux in terms of border crossings with Kosovo, etc. and now the migrant situation is complicating matters in the region. Still no reason not to go, in our opinion.
Interesting write up wrapped very well with history and great snapshots. Serbia looks awesome.
Hi Himanshu – I’d like to return to Serbia and visit more than Belgrade. Thanks.
Nice article Betsy! I am enjoying reading about your trip through the Balkans. I had many of the same mixed emotions as I went through and your thoughts really resonate. Looking forward to following your journeys.
Hi Teri – We are so glad we went and we found many reasons to return. Glad you enjoyed this. More to come!
I have never really thought about Serbia as a tourist destination but you make it sound quite interesting – even if it isn’t the prettiest capital in Europe.
Hi Lyn – Sometimes the less pretty girl with the interesting personality makes for a better date. 😉
I haven’t been to Serbia since 1986, when it was still Yugoslavia. We passed through quickly on a road trip heading south. I don’t remember much. I clearly remember, though, eating sausages. Lots of sausages! Since we didn’t know the language, we would just point randomly at something on the menu, but it was always sausage!
Hi Rachel – Ha! Yep, lots of real sausage, to be sure. 🙂
Serbia looks like a very charming, quaint place. I love the history and the old and new so close together. I happen to like the old-world charm more than the shiny and new. Great history lesson!
Hi Mia – Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
Hi Betsy,
So are you glad you didn’t heed his advice of skipping Serbia? We will pass thru the country in the first week of November (though Nis, not Belgrade) so I read your post with great interest. I hope I get a sense of the same history you did. And even if I do, I know I will not be able to write my impressions as well. I hope I don’t get the same kind of taxi driver.
By the way, you can lodge a comment on my post by replying to my original comment there. Either that or log in to Google+, then click messages there. Always love to hear from you.
Cheers,
Carol
Hi Carol – Well, his advice was to skip Belgrade and go to Novi Sad, the second largest city. He was very proud, as he should be, of Serbia. I wish we’d been able to see more than just Belgrade but it’s a start. I would definitely like to return and see some of the smaller communities as we did in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
I’ve not been to this part of Europe, either. Not sure I’d want to be immersed in its tragic history for too long, but would love to see the architecture, and hopefully find some good local food. I do love that shot of the Sava and the Danube rivers.
Hi Nancie – There’s definitely great architecture and outstanding food in this part of the world. The tragic part of history is balanced, I think, with better moments. It does give you a better understanding of cultural mindset. Thanks. 🙂
You’ve gotten me so interested in visiting the Balkans. I’m glad you listened to your gut and went ahead with the trip. Travel can be so much more than just visiting the “pretty” places and I think from just reading everyone’s comments you can see how much we’ve all enjoyed finding out more.
Hi Alison – I would highly encourage anyone to visit. The effect Serbia had was to have us question what we thought we knew and apply a different layer of perspective. It’s the only way we’re ever going to understand each other, much less get along, in this world.
Loved this post! It is amazing isn’t it, how you see people and places differently (Tito, as an example) when you travel? Most interesting trip you took!
Hi Jackie – It really is. I’m inclined now more than ever to learn what I can “on the ground” instead of relying solely upon what we may have been taught earlier. Somewhere in the middle of all that will be a truth I can embrace. 🙂
“Prince Mihailo statue in Republic Square – “meet me at the horse” is a common thing to say when making plans.”
This photo reminds of me of a similar statue in Wenceslas Square in Prague. I suppose many historic cities of the world have such a statue. Man on a horse, pretty common. Timely piece about Trump! Do you know if he ever built the hotel?
Hi Patti – Yes, it does resemble the statue of St. Wenceslas, probably the same vintage. The hotel has not been built as of yet, nor has the site been completely cleared.
Fantastic, delighted you went to Belgrade, it’s such an underated city! There’s a lovely suburban village along the river called Zemun, such a nice spot on a sunny day.
Really hope to go back someday – thanks for sharing!
Hi Conor – We’d like to return as well. We know we only scratched the surface. Thanks.
Another good one from the Balkans! Context is everything, isn’t it? I enjoy learning about turbulent history from the people who lived through it…always fascinating, if not always a comfortable experience. Thanks for a good read.
Hi Anita – Thank you, yes, Belgrade is definitely sticky in that it stands out among the many experiences we had on this multi-country itinerary. I tend to prefer the grittier experiences, as opposed to the prettier, so it really holds its own.
Visiting an area that has been torn with conflict always brings with it a touch of sadness. So glad that this trip turned out to be better than you expected!
Hi Irene – This trip was an eye-opener to be sure, mostly because we realized how little we actually knew. As well, our impressions were formed through the lens of our own nation-centric media and educational system, raising even more questions as to the nature of our perspective.
I love how detailed your post is. I have never been to Eastern Europe, I really want to visit.
Hi Sonal – Thank you! We highly recommend a visit to this region. 🙂
I’m reading this Serbia post with interest. Tom and I are considering our E. European options for the next couple months, around our Viking River Cruise from Budapest to Bucharest. Thanks for the impressions.
Hi Kristin – That looks to be a lovely itinerary, particularly through the mountains of eastern Serbia (I presume you’re traveling the Danube). We enjoyed a somewhat parallel route on the night train from Budapest to Bucharest through the Carpathians in 2014 which didn’t take us through Serbia. I’d highly recommend Bosnia and Herzegovina if you haven’t already visited (see previous post to this one). If you are ending up in Bucharest without future plans, Sofia is just wonderful, and a relatively short distance. We were sorry to have to defer Kosovo on this trip due to lack of time, but it is definitely on our list as well.
I too am not sure about going to Serbia although we will be int he area. Your post has given me food for thought to possibly add it to our ever extending itinerary.
The walking tour seems the best way to get an insight into the city as well…
Hi Michele – The walking tour is really the way to go, yes. I hear you on the ever-extending itinerary. We about killed ourselves on this trip and we still saw far from everything I would have liked to.
Thanks for the history and information you have shared.. There are so many things to be discovered…
I hope one day I will visit Serbia as well
Hi Lucy – So very true. I hope you do, too. 🙂
You have on one of your photos that Vuk Karadži? invented the Cyrilic alphabet in the 19th century when it was actually in existence for nearly 1000 years at that point. Cyrilic was invented by St. Cyril and St. Methodius in the 9th century.
Vuk Karadži? reformed Serbian.
Hi Grant – You’re right. He reformed and standardized the Serbian. I’ve changed the photo description with your clarification. Thanks!
A fascinating post! On my way over to Greece a few weeks ago I met a couple from Toronto who spent two months in Belgrade each fall visiting family. Now, thanks to your post I have a pretty good picture on what the city is like! I’d never heard of the architectural “style of the Russian secession” but it looks quite attractive. Hopefully Belgrade will recover economically so living conditions for residents can improve.
Hi Michele – “Style of the Russian secession” (which the hotel uses to describe itself) appeared to me to be a derivative of art nouveau or perhaps more accurately, the jugendstil version of art nouveau. It reminded me of the architecture we saw in Munich’s Schwabing neighborhood. Perhaps someone more expert than I will weigh in on that. It’s about the only representation we saw in Belgrade, which was severely damaged by war in the interim. I would like to spend more time in Belgrade and other parts of Serbia.
After a rough start it seems like you found a lot to like in Belgrade. It is always interesting to get the perspective of local people, often what we have learned about places and leaders is very biased by our politics. The 500 billion dinar notes reminded me that I have an actual 100 billion dinar note I got in Croatia back in the 90’s while the war was still going on. Don’t know where I put it though, I’ll have to look for it.
Hi Gypsynesters – Overall, we are very glad we went. Seeing things and meeting people without the haze of politics and media counters their pessimistic aspects and influences. We’d love to see more.
I spent a week in Croatia this summer. Due to the short time, I could only do one day trip and chose Bosnia because I’d already heard so many heart-wrenching and previously unknown stories and details of the war and wasn’t open to visiting Serbia. Thanks for showing the other side, and I think I’ll put Serbia back on my list.
Hi Patti – I’m glad to have influenced you to change your mind. this is one of those “less easy” places, and we are glad we made the effort.
I’ll admit to being more interested in Serbia than you seemed to have been at the outset since Serbia is Novak Djokovic’s home country. On the other hand, Serbia was the first country after Estonia to have been declared “judenfrei” (free of jews) after all Jews of Serbia were murdered in World War II. That is an “accomplishment” which I find hard to forget !
Hi Denis – it wasn’t that we were disinterested, it was more like we were apprehensive. The final Solution was something Tito’s partisans fought against, and succeeded somewhat. These complexities were ultimately fascinating, and our visit was gratifying.
I always feel so better informed after reading your posts. What an interesting place filled with history and heartache. Thank you for the virtual tour.
Hi Suzanne – thank you! It was a good experience!
I’m biased by two things: (1) recent history of the civil war, and how in many respects Serbia is on the “wrong side” of moral judgement, and (2) how this part of the world has centuries’ worth of history. As I read your post, I thought about it was very much like giving Belgrade and Serbia a chance.
Hi Henry – Yes, we hold similar biases when it comes to the war. That said, when we visited Russia last year, we were struck by how highly regarded Putin is in his country for reasons having little to do with the reasons he is not highly regarded in the West. It was a similar realization when we began to hear about Tito, who is revered in Belgrade. Our understanding became more about incorporating these complexities.
Really great article, Betsy! We’ve avoided Serbia for many of the same reasons you’ve mentioned. Listening to family members describe the atrocities that happened certainly have kept our feelings for this area low. But your post is encouraging and something I enjoyed reading to learn more about the area. Thanks so much for sharing it with us!
Hi Lisa – Yes, it helped to learn that from the Serbian POV, the breakup of the former Yugoslavia was more civil war, with the aim being to keep it intact as Tito had done. Once we heard this, it wasn’t hard to analogize it with our own Civil War in the 19th century. And, of course, as individuals, we often have very little say in what our governments do. There are many who did not support Milosevic’s regime. Not trying to create moral equivalencies here, but just trying more to understand. Imagine if Americans had not been open to visiting Germany in the 1950s and 1960s.
It is always amazing to me how many different factors affect my experience of a place! Knowing the history of where I am visiting, or where I visited before, or even my mood or energy level can really drastically change my perception of a place. Loved reading about your experiences and getting to see what shaped them.
Hi Jenny – Yes, it’s true. Our individual lenses vary and we may arrive (or at least we do, anyway) expecting a certain context. But we’ve tried to remain aware of doing this and be open to what presents itself.