Beograd / Београд [Belgrade] Serbia

Belgrade certainly is one of the most underrated, and as of yet, still undiscovered gems of Europe. An up-and-coming city that offers an exciting night life (they even offer floating nightclubs - what could be better?), great eats, history, street art, drinks of all sorts, and all at an affordable price tag. The Serbians are also friendly and hospitable people - the women are gorgeous, and the men traditional in their approach.

Ever since living in Warsaw, Poland two years ago, my interest in the post-communist countries of eastern Europe has continued to develop. In school I was never much the student who paid attention in history class (Canadian history is dryer than rice, sorry! - still love you very much Canada). Fan of history or not, there is something to be said about learning the history of a country/city/culture outside the classroom, say... in the actual country itself! Without going into much detail Serbia used to be apart of former Yugoslavia which lived through communism, and then came the bitter war in the 1990's. After the war, Serbia became its own independent nation with Belgrade as its capital. At this point Serbia is not a member of the European Union nor in the Schengen Area (because of this I received my first stamp in my German passport yay!). There is talks of them joining in 2020 but please ask BBC news for further updates on this as my history/current events speech ends here.

I spent my time in Belgrade with my Serbian friend, Danijela (who has become one of my close friends in Munich). Having lived in Belgrade for a number of years she took me to all the local hot-spots and insider tips...this means thanks to the currency conversion (Serbian dinar is their local currency) we dined and drank like I would not be able to financially justify in Munich. Of course to balance our cheque books, we ate some street-food like the taste-bud dream, Palačinke (Serbian pancakes in both sweet and savoury form) AND buuurrekkk!! ...more to come later ;). Rakija is the "brandy of the balkans" - a sharp usually plumy taste that is sure to send you into a state of a balkan-like bliss. I being me, bought a bottle of it thinking it would be great idea and am now doubting how or who will help me wash this intense yet enticing liquid down...Danijela you're helping me.

Night life in Belgrade is said to be some of the best in Europe, and from my impression I can only agree. Night clubs are scattered throughout the city, with one bar or tavern placed beside the next. As much as you will find nightly hot-spots on dry-land, Belgrade in addition offers attractions on houseboats (or would we call them bar-boats? Night-club boats?) on the Danube river. Woah, also if you look at the word "boat" for too long it begins to lose its meaning. Ahh yes, so they over both options. One evening we went to a cocktail bar without a tangible drink menu. Instead, they mixed up a drink catered to your tastebuds liking. Some real mixologist standards.

Serbia has also adopted the Cyrillic alphabet, which in my opinion is the most bad a** looking alphabet to date, and has become my new goal of learning to read it (I can barely spell Cyrillic properly in the Latin alphabet). I mean have you seen how they write their "D's" or "F's"?! Amazing. I tried write their "D" and it did not work out. I also, apologize to my grandma for that sad attempt at Cyrillic on her postcard. As intimidating as it may look, learning Cyrillic is not rocket science seeing as it is all phonetic.

Belgrade is fun. Belgrade is original. Belgrade is affordable. Belgrade has much to offer.

Go visit Belgrade!

I'm really not sure where or how to end this written post, so I will stop riiiighht here.

P.S. I was a little generous with the amount of photos in this post, I guess just excited to share! But keeeep scrolling through, they're all worth a view ;)

Skardarksa Street [Skadarlija]: our home turf during our stay in Belgrade. A quite and tucked away, yet very lively street just minutes from the city centre. And some great eats and drinkies to be had! Our AirBnB was also perfection.

Kneza Mihaila [Кнеза Михаила]: One of the main shopping strips. And if you continue in this direction you'll land in the fortress! More on this later.

A small sight of history and their national flag at left.

A single used book stand. Being a book-lover I experienced some real FOMO of not speaking the language nor being able to read in Cyrillic.

I mean, in my opinion if you see Cyrillic next to Latin it does seem justifiable in its understanding. Hmmm? Am I on to something?

The Serbian Orthodox Temple of Saint Sava [Hram Svetog Save] is the largest of its kind. The temple was build on the grounds where the former Turkish inhabitants burnt the remains of St. Sava. I was unable to fully view the inside of the temple, as it is currently undergoing restoration. What I did see though, was quite astounding. St. Sava himself (well I should say statue version) stands infront. This is the man who is credited for founding the Serbian Orthodox Church - so he's kind of a big-deal here.

Oh hey - so I wasn't baptized but here's me posing in front of a temple.

Šaran [Шаран]: The fanciest of lunches at one of the top fish and seafood restaurants in Belgrade, located right along the river Danube. Hands down some of the best smoked fish I've tasted, and seafood pasta is always a win. It won't come as a surprise that I helped Danijela finish off the fish.

Danijela, took me to one of the best bakery's in Belgrade. Some real Serbian food-porn. To the right is burek! Filled either with meat (no, thanks), mushrooms, or cheese and baked in a pastry type dough, and then it just starts melting in your mouth and soon as your salivary glands get working. Blisss.

I know. I was just as overwhelmed with the options as that woman in the window.

And then we ate! Yes on the grass. When the eats are this good, it doesn't matter where you place your tush.

Apparently you are to accompany your burek with a drinkable yogurt (as if the cheese in my burek wasn't enough dairy, yikes). To finish off this bakery love affair, we had Serbian profiteroles, krofne with a filling that tasted like Nutella's Serbian cousin. As one might imagine, my usual plant-based eating was thrown out the window this trip but it's all apart of the cultural experience right?

Me, stuffing my face with burek. I believe my eyes may have even been closed, it was that tasty. Enjoy the view.

The Statue of the Victor stands tall in the fortress, one of the great landmarks of Belgrade. The name alone, calling it a fortress over a park (I was quickly corrected when I called it such) makes it enticing to explore. And explore you will here. Fun Fact! This Victor is placed where the medieval castle once stood. As for the name – an ode to the Victory of Liberty.

Going off the beaten path in the fortress you will stumble upon this pristine Orthodox Chapel. Possibly one of the prettiest I have seen. Tile work inside makes up a beautiful mosaic.

And what is a fortress without some ruins. Don't worry Mama-Doll, I did not risk my life...at this spot.

View from the fortress with some city skyline along the horizon. I would miss out on taking a photo of where the rivers Sava and Danube join (its to the right of where I stand here). But hey! This is the Danube river. And those houseboat looking things on the opposite side are bars, clubs, restaurants. This city really does pack a punch.

Boho Bar: Continuing the adventure through the fortress we discovered this oasis like haven that due to the high temperatures that day, was a life saver...or maybe even a mirage?

Boho Bar: sweaty, exhausted, but oh so relieved to have a cold one in hand and a cushion under our tushes.

We climbed the Millennium tower. It seems as though there is quite a bit of doubt and confusion as to the origin of the tower's name...but no doubt the view over Zemun (a district in Belgrade) and the Danube river is quite charming.

Wondering the quiet side-streets of Zemun in Belgrade.

Talas Market: certainly a spot to check out in Zemun. Endless list of drinks that being coffee, fresh juices, cocktails, beeeeer plus mouth-watering food menu. And! Seating option beside the Denuba river. Not being used to the Balkan-kitchen, my organs thanked me for the fresh vegetable juice I guzzled down.

And let's not forget the street leading to the Belgrade Waterfront, a very up-and-coming neighbourhood made of money. Along this street we went to a cozy wine bar called very originally, Vinoteka.

Bar Central: The cool "we cater your drink to your needs" bar, I mentioned earlier. What did I have? Something with gin, elderflower syrup, basil, maybe a dash of flirting too. Ah and a dehydrated lime wedge. Yes that's my empty glass on the table.

I took this photo from the window of a moving transit bus. I think it turned out. I like it. It sorta looks cool. That's all I have to say here as I am unaware of the history behind the hotel. By the looks of the name I assume it is still from the days of communism, seems obvious.

Many of these communist-style looking building are still present in eastern Europe let alone in Belgrade. Quite a paradox in comparison to some of the other rather charming buildings seen in this city...

...such as the Hotel Moscow.

New Belgrade [Нови Београд]: Another look at a communist-style building. This one has a sort of "dark charm" to it, or maybe it is the old-style mailbox out front giving it that feel??

I mean they even sell shots of Rakija, street side! Anymore reason to visit Belgrade?! They come in fruity flavours (as if you could taste much of the fruit) such as, apricot, plum, apple, lemon, pear, even walnut!

Or you could just buy it by the bottle which I ended up doing. Anyone in Munich want to help me out with it? It's intimidating me.