[tweetmeme] The history of Yugoslavia and especially that of Serbia is a long story of religious encounters, clash of cultures and ethnical mosaics. The Balkans have a long war record and although we found one or two scenes of an unforgotten past, Beograd is willing to become one of the most important cities from Eastern Europe.
Its geographic location over the Danube and the Save rivers, its 17 municipalities around them with more than a million and a half citizens and an emerging economy are transforming Belgrade pretty fast.
Knez Mihailova
We got lots of first impressions...
The first one is that Beograd could perfectly be the capital of any western country. Its Austrian-inspired cafes, the omnipresent historic landmarks and the hustle and bustle of the city are attractive if not overwhelming. Belgraders are never stressed, their 15min cafe, popcorn or ice-cream pauses are obligatory once a day especially on vacations; and people just hang around the city without clear destinations. One of our Serbian friends told us that people are always on the streets as if they had nothing else to do, day or night.
However, there is no real tourism industry yet. Most of the tourists are what they call “Diaspora” people, Serbians (or descendents) that live abroad and come back during summer. So for us messing around the city, looking for places or people or using the public transport wasn’t very easy. Things like having most of the city streets labelled-only in Cyrillic and no Latin alphabet, or that in many cafes (even the most centric ones) their waiters don’t speak a word of English made it many times difficult.This isn’t necessarily negative as many things and lifestyles from Beograd remain original. Globalization hasn’t fortunately reached every corner of the city, so you can still find some illegal kiosks and underground markets like during the sanctions in the 90s, negotiate prices… etc. We hardly crossed any tourists… some French, Japanese or Spaniards but not many more so the “touristic invasion” we hate so much is not present.
What about the city itself?
So many places to go to.…
our favourite? Kalemegdan The old Turkish fortress is situated at the occidental part of Knez Mihailova (the street where all art galleries & fancy cafes are). It offers an admirable panoramic view over the confluence of the Danube & Save rivers and Novi Beograd.
The Conqueror @ Kalemegdan
For Belgraders this is the best place for relaxing and having a walk especially during sunset, given that’s only 2 min away from the city centre. Inside the fortress you’ll find not only a bunch of bars, restaurants or kiosks but also the Army Museum, a Zoo and some Tennis & Basket courts where it’s very common for young Belgraders to go & train (Paratizan basket club!). At night the fortress packs with young couples and groups of adolescents who like to get lost in the nooks & crannies of this viewpoint…. very magic.
Starigrad is the old district where you’ll find the most important university and cultural institutions…. the National Theatre & National Museum, Ethnographical Museum, French & Spanish Cultural Centres as well as the not so evident (but always terrific) local Kulturni Centar, private galleries, Austrian-inspired cafés…. the most touristic part of Belgrade sans-doute!
@ Pionirski Park is where the boulevards and squares give to Belgrade the image of a majestic capital… Kralja Milana, the King Alexander Boulevard and Kneza Milosa with the central Post Office Building & the Parliament. Next, you’ll find the Park of Tasmajdan with an impressive St. Marko, but also the monument to the reformer of the Serbian language, Vuk Karadzic. Here are also the Archives of Serbia and the Law School, where numerous personalities have been formed.
St. Marko @ Tasmajdan
If we go down Kralja Milana to the Slavija square and take Oslobodenja Boulevard we’ll finally end in one of Belgrade’s most important Landmarks: Saint Sava Cathedral: the greatest Orthodox church in the world. St. Sava impresses by its monumentality and an entirely Byzantine elegance built with a Greek Cross structure. However the interior is yet to be finished.
And a bit further to the south the green Beograd takes the city. Right before getting to the gigantic forest of Kosutnjak there’s also an obligatory visit to Tito’s Mausoleum. Depending on which Slave you ask Tito was a dictator & a communist who forced the creation of the second Yugoslavia or an intelligent ruler who knew how to keep Stallin away from the Balkans.
The thing is that his museum situated at Dedinje’s hill is still one of the main attractions in Belgrade, known as the Yugoslavian History Museum or May 25th Museum it shows a (very) small part of Tito’s private collection he piled up during his governments. However the location, gardens & views of the city from this hill make it a unique place.
And the night? Well…. The same way Belgraders love to sit and chat with their coffees during daytime, they love to do the same around beers when the sun comes down. The Bohemian street is ideal to start the night and then go to a Splavovi (boats over the Sava) like Akapulk or Amfora to dance turbo-folk (with orchestras)… but our favorite is Baratuna once again situated inside our favorite fortress… Kalemegdan… in what used to be an old armory from the 17th century. Belgrade’s nightlife is so famous that people from all around the Balkans go there to party.
We admit having left out way too many things, museums and areas (especially Novi Beograd where the MCA or some nice clubs & music festivals take place or the always interesting & impressive bombed buildings…) but this is not a guide….
Bomb scar
So if you’re thinking about the Balkans…. Belgrade is an essential stop. Sure might not be as touristic as Zagreb or Dubrovnik … but it has just as much charm and many more bars. Worth a few days (3-5) if you want to know the future Europe.
The rest of the photos….
See you @ Madrid
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