Serbia

I love Europe and everything I have done so far but culture and colour are the two things I look for when travelling anywhere. Serbia may not have much colour but it certainly boasts a lot of culture, making it one of my favourite countries yet. As far a sight seeing goes, Europe does become a bit of a blur as you seem to do the same things; a free walking tour telling you all about the local history and how the same people/countries had an influence on the area, locate the cathedral (or hear their annoying chimes), beaches (if anywhere near a coast), try ‘new’ foods or versions of your favourite dishes and experience the night life then if there are top attractions you make room to fit that in too. Serbia offered us far more than just the touristy stuff and having Nat as our interpreter/tour guide accelerated all of our experiences.

We begun by flying into Belgrade (Beograde to be specific) and stayed at the Chillton hostel which was in the perfect location, even winning an award for that exact reason. With Ibiza still in our system we managed to score a 6 bed dorm to ourselves and within minutes our stuff was everywhere, making ourselves feel at home for the next 5 days. We’ve also grown accustomed to having a kitchen at each hostel; living off supermarket supplies and bakery stops or the odd wine and dine night out and Beograde was about to send us into the beginning of a food coma (and what we would blame our weight gain on).

I think it is also safe to say that one of the reasons why Serbia has become a favourite is because it is full of history, recent history to be exact. In our previous countries it all became a bit of a blur to me and wasn’t very interesting but now that we have hit Eastern Europe it is full of history and memorable landmarks…. my type of holiday! We started with a walking tour and found such beauty in the place with a mix of architecture in the buildings. First were the dilapidated, old style buildings and next the communist style-quick, simple and ugly to cram enough people in and finally we begun to see a more recent, modern style of houses and buildings. The city is quaint and it is lovely to walk around because it is nothing like you expect. Before arriving in Serbia I thought war-torn, poor people and struggle but it is quite the opposite as you walk around the city centre…until people started pointing it all out. There are still a few buildings that are half blown off from the NATO bombings. It left us gob-smacked that the war ended over 10 years ago and these building still remain, not necessarily as a reminder of what happened but partly because this is a poor country and the economy is struggling. No one wants to buy these buildings as the investment will not promise a good return so therefore they are left standing, ugly and dangerous.

Next we went to Ada Ciganlija, which is a riverbank like no other. As Beograde is in a city the river is where everyone goes, especially for the Summer and they make the most of such a place. It is situated where the rivers Sava and Danube meet however Geographers will disagree otherwise, believing they meet further down. They have cafes and bars along the whole river with day beds on the pebble banks and the river is just what you need on a 30+ day. The other side even provides a haven for children with an abundance of water sports. However we were promising ourselves relaxation so we booked in for an hour-long massage for just $15 AUD. The poor masseuse got a bit frustrated at how many knots I had but he did wonders to all our backs, pulling out the largest knot anyone has felt from underneath my shoulder blade. We stayed here until the sun almost went down and Danielle kept reminding us of how much it brang back her childhood memories of the beach, making us all reminisce on the days when we were young. It was really fun doing something like this because it was different. Although we have beaches it was nice to see a country like this make the most of a simple river and to see everyone so happy, skinny (as Nat kept pointing out, making us all envious) and relaxed…it is summer after all.

Finally, the last thing Beograde provided us with was the introduction to new foods, ones that we would be buying and creating back home. This is where Nat really made our experience wonderful. For lunch one day she created us the greatest supermarket feast ever; Chicken, corn bread, ajvar, greek salad, cevapi, sour cream, roasted vegies and Somersby ciders. Yes they may sound like common foods but the way the Serbians cook this is ridiculously delicious. We all dug in and ate until the food ran out and our stomachs were sore.  

Our next Serbian experience was going to be in a small village called Bacinci. A 2hr train ride from Beograde and the home of Nat’s family (roughly 100km).  Her Aunty owns a farm and we were pre-warned as to how much food was going to be served to us but I don’t think any of us imagined it realistically. As soon as we got there the table was laid for us and we had non-stop plates coming out of fresh meat, fresh vegetables and all these new and interesting sauces that we had just been introduced too. We were learnt the right combinations and how to eat all the food properly. I don’t think I have ever eaten a home cooked meal that tasted so good. Nat definitely needs to learn how to make some of these dishes to uphold her traditions as well as to feed us when we finally return back home. I cant even explain what we had and the pictures honestly do no justice (the be honest the pictures don’t even look to appealing so nothing I say will make you believe how delicious this was). We were in a food coma and could not move by the time we were finished. I’ve never in my life eaten so much that I could feel my stomach stretching.  Off we went to the back room and all fell asleep only to be woken a few hours later to be informed that dinner would soon be ready. Could we really do it all again? We had been so excited to come here and now would run away if our fat tummy’s wouldn’t explode. Up we got though and solidered through, this time taking only the smallest amounts possible.

Each meal was a three course meal in itself and they were all way too go to pass off and not only that but we were going to be fed like this for the next three days! We tried baby goat, pork ribs, veal schnitzel, home made sausages, cevapi- all freshly killed animals from the farm as well as an abundance of fresh vegetables such a tomatoes, eggplant, carrots, beans, cucumber, potatoes and watermelon (I know that last one is a fruit!). Each sauce was unique to us and worthy of trying but only by instructions first. These included ajvar, sour cream, jam and the ‘special’ tomato sauce-once again all home made. I swear her Aunty never slept and we never saw her eat either. She was the most loving and beautiful woman we had met, as well as her whole family that we met.

Nat’s Dad was full of helpful insights to us in regards to our travelling. This man is a walking encyclopedia! He can tell you anything you want to know about pretty much any country and chances are that he knows more about the country you are from than you do. Her niece, Jovana, is only a few years younger than us and let us bombard her room for the duration of our stay. She put up with us and showed us around; Taking us out each night and introducing us to the locals (Christmas had come for these boys as never had they witnessed 5 backpackers, let alone Australians in their town…KANGAROOS!). We drank at the café and continued at a house party into the early mornings having an absolute blast with our new friends. Unfortunately our plans to swim in the lake and have a BBQ in the vineyards the next day where diminished when it started raining so we all lounged around, waiting for each and everyone of our meals.

One of Nat’s cousins, Snjeza, breds Persian cats, so we went round to see the latest litter and she made us our new favourite deserts- crepes with plazma and nutella. Even though we were still full from the first meal (this was the last day mind you) we still managed to stuff our faces here as it is considered rude to not eat or only eat a little (her Aunty almost tearing up one meal when we could hardly eat).

By the final day we felt so indebted to her family and had taken her Aunty on as our own Mumma Bear so it was a very emotional goodbye. We played with the animals and visited the new piglets, taking a bunch of photos and capturing the rare family moments before we jumped back on the train and headed towards Zargreb- time for Croatia and a day trip to Slovenia. Serbia had been wonderful and an thanks to Nat and her family it has become an unforgettable experience that will forever stay in my heart.