Best travel tips for Serbia - BELGRADE

After giving some general travel tips I thought about some of my favorite itineraries for Serbia.

The reasons why you're visiting Serbia as a tourist may vary, usually you can resume them into some categories. Here I pass out links for 4 different tours to discover Serbia.



Links for Tour 1.
You head for a city trip in a top destination? Then visit Belgrade (and if you have a little more time add Novi Sad and Nis to your journey)

The best links to catch all the attractions and to find good information, help for reservation and to find places to eat are the following two sites:
the official website of Belgrade (in english, german and serbian)
and the website of the Tourist Organization Beograd.



And here my personal best 5 of Belgrade.

Here the links to good guides for Belgrade:
Completely free, the inyourpocked guide can be downloaded here and printed out makes a handy little guide to carry.



For a really different kind of tour through Belgrade, I put my NATO-Trail-Guide together, where I lead the visitor to landmarks that NATO bombing in 1999 changed forever...complemented with lots of background informations.

If you wish to buy a guide, then my favorite is a Belgrade walking Guide from Ljubica Corovic. She suggests 10 walking routes through Belgrade which reveal the past and present of the city in a interesting way.



And of course you sure heard it before: Belgrade is the nightlife capital of the east! So here a nightlife guide and the place where to find out what's going on!

Belgrade-Blogs

A good way to stay informed about a city is to follow it throught the eyes of Bloggers. My favorite Belgrade based blogs (in english) about the city are:

The blog of Belgraded is the one I follow the most as it's updated frequently and has a good link called 100-things-to-do-in-Belgrade (good inspiration!)

Other good blogs are Adam's blog The Balkan File (It is run by a British expat in his mid-20s who has made Belgrade his home) and Life in Retro(bel)grade - a blogger lady that invites you to take a step back to to see the big picture of Belgrade.

A newer blog that covers Belgrade and did a good review about Belgrade Hotels (read it before booking...) is merkat traveler - travel to belgrade -blog

And for beautiful pictures from the serbian capital I like to check belgradedailyphoto-blog


Maps of Belgrade:

Here is a good interactiv map where you can find single streets and attractions in Belgrade

NOVI SAD
Here the in your pocket guide for Novi Sad.
And here the wikitravelguide for Novi Sad
NIŠ
Here a little basic guide for Niš
And here the wikitravelguide for Niš



In the next posts I'll put together some more links:
Links for Tour 2: Discovering natural attractions in the beautiful region of Tara National Park and Kopaonik by bike! (20.10.2009)
Links for Tour 3: Visiting UNESCO heritage sites and spiritual places in Raska and Kosovo (23.10.2009)
Links for Tour 4: Enjoying rural tourism and Serbian traditions in ethno villages (26.10.2009)

Best travel tips for Serbia

I've been frequently asked to share my advice for travelling to Serbia, and I've already sent out some links, some suggestions and tips. It's time to put all the precious infromation together and to share it with my readers.

When I decided to travel to Serbia for the first time (that's quiet a long time ago...) you could not find ANY advise for travelling there, but just recomendations to NOT go to that area of the world. The war was over, the NATO agression fresh in the back an internet was not yet sharing many links regarding that area.

Today it's easier, tourism is wide spread also in Serbia and even less informed people know that the entire Balkan region is not only of a stunning beauty but also a safe place to explore and makes it also a good place for simply spending a vacation.

Preparations for visiting Serbia

Of course you can just jump into a plane and land in the middle of Belgrade and have a perfect stay without even knowing where you are. The advise I'm passing on here, are if you're a traveller like me, the one that enjoys the preparations and getting inspired for the journey as much as the travelling itself!

1. read something about serbian history


Serbia is a country with an important history and everything you see is loaded with history! So I suggest to read at least this historic summary, that will put the things you see in the right historic contest.


2. learn the serbian cyrillic alphabet


Learn to read cyrillic characters or at least print this cyrillic alphabet out and carry it with you. Most of the signs are written in cyrillic, however in Belgrade and where big communities of hungarians (in northern Vojvodina province) or albanians (in Kosovo and Metohija province) live you find a lot written also in the latinic alphabet.


3. learn about serbian cuisine


The Serbian eating style is something that delights tourists the most: it's absolutely fantastic! In this overview about serbian food you find an explanation to all the dishes served in restaurants, a good guide to drinks and eating habits. (For vegetarians, well what to say? if you decide to eat meat once in your lifetime, do it in Serbia...
Since the food is so good you might come back from Serbia and have the wish to cook the nice things yourself. So here my 4 favorite links to serbian recipes:

astal - Vera's recipes from the Vojvodina region
emo serpica - traditional serbian food
palachinka - serbian food in stunning nice pictures
moje grne - Dragana's vaste recipe collection

Formal matters for Serbia

French embassy in Belgrade

Here some general information to get the administrative things right when entering and leaving Serbia. It's not complicated, but it's nice to have it here all in one place:

1. Here a list of all Diplomatic and Consular Missions of Serbia (listed by countries)


2. Here is an overview for Visa regimen with the list of countries
Foreigners should register their arrival in Serbia (if you're staying at a Hotel, they will do that automatically for you) with the competent authorities (according to the place of residence of the foreigner - the police department). It's not a bif deal and it doesn't cost much (a couple of cents for the papers).

Here you see why I check border customs, that's what I bring with me....

3. It's never a bad idea to check border customs (here an overview) As a tourist you shouldn't have any troubles with customs officers. Be just sure to get an "Entrance to Serbia stamp" in your passport, that will avoid troubles when travelling out of the country again.


General advise for Serbia



1. It's forbidden to take pictures of any military facilities.

In Belgrad they sell T-shirts with written: Serbia European Nightmare

2. Don't panic if you read some bad facts about Serbia.
It's still some anti-serbian propaganda going on, and whatever unpleasant happens in Serbia is displayed as a big thing in western european medias (there are however some sites, like at de-construct, oposing against that). Remember that statistically it's more likely you happen to get harassed in a western european city that somewhere in Serbia. Be respectful and you get respected!

3. Stay out of politic debates and go easy on spreading your opinion about themes like Balkan Wars, ethnic groups and Kosovo.
In the entire balkan region people are still very sensitive about these themes and if you're not part of them you can not 100% understand it. So keep the good advise for your diary and not for the table at the local Kafana. If you are interested in following politics in Serbia (and it's really entertaining) here an overview of the political parties, their leaders and their ideas.

After these more general links, the next few posts will be about 4 itineraries to discover Serbia.

Hotel Narcis in Strpce (Kosovo and Metohija)

This building is really high on my "favorites of the balkan"- list! From the first time I saw the building in pictures I was fascinated by its shape. So you can immagine how I was exited when I travelled from Prizren to Gnjilane following the way through Bresovica (a ski region in the Shar-Mountains) and I stood in front of this impressing building! Location Strpce (serbian: Штрпце, albanian: Shtërpcë) is a little town in the south of Kosovo and Metohija, on the northern side of the Sar Planina (Sar Mountains) on the border with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. It lays 3km from Brezovica, one of the most important ski-center from former Yugoslavia. Strpce has a majority of serbian population so that it's considered a serbian enclave (the only one in the southern part of Kosovo) however there is a big albanian minority (population is 13'600, 9'100 serbs, 4'500 albanians, 300 roma). The place is controlled by ukranian KFOR. The village of Strpce We're here 40km from Pristina, at around 1'000 meter above sealevel, Strpce is a rather sleepy place. The winning side of Strpce is the location settled in a wonderful eco-region, with fresh air, a rich flora and fauna, delicious food and a ski resort that can be easily reached by tourists from Prizren, Skopje, Tetovo, Belgrade, Pristina, Vranje .... But reality in Strpce (and the region) doesn't look that bright: The ski resort is run down, hotels (also Hotel Narcis) had to close down and the town looks empty all year round. Why? What was really good fonctioning in the former Yugoslavia was of course interupted when the Kosovo war broke out. But why could this attractive place not find its way back to prosperity? Many Serbs struggle to stay in business until the ski season brings in roughly 100,000 middle-class Kosovar Albanians, who patronize Serbian-run restaurants, hotels and shops. Then both sides are forced to put aside ethnic and political differences, if only temporarily.
But since the unilateral declaration of independence of the Kosovo Province many Serbian-owned restaurants and hotels sit empty during ski season because Albanian tourists are under pressure to boycott Serbian establishments. If this situation doesn't normalize it will cost some of Brezovica’s 15,000 Serbs their jobs. Jovica Budovic, director of Hotel Narcis, lamented that it limped along with only 5 percent occupancy. He said the creaking infrastructure at the resort, which can accommodate 5,000 skiers an hour on 10 ski lifts, was in dire need of investment.
But few Serbs are willing to invest in a resort that could fall into Albanian hands. “This used to be a four-star hotel, but now because of the politics here, we are empty and everything is frozen,” Mr. Budovic said. “Making money is more important than divisions. It is the politicians who are making the problems.” Hotel Narcis was a A-class hotel and offered 200 beds in 124 rooms, soprtfacilities for summer and winter and halls for meetings and celebrations. The ski facilities have been kept going since 1999 only by international organization stationated in the Kosovo region, for their own purpose. Also they used the hotels for semiraries and meetings. But not in the recent time anymore. Now there were some atempts by Kosovo Trust Agency, KTA to privatize the Hotel complexes in the Bresovica area (Belgarde oposes this, as "privatize" would mean it would fall into Kosovo-albanian hands and coulderase the serbian enclave in other words it's still considered a very delicate question. That means also that no Serbian firm (nor international) is willing to invest in a business in a province where its status is so unclear like the temporary status of Kosovo and Metohija province. And to be honest, where is the fun of skiying where KFOR peacekeepers in camouflage patrol the slopes and there is barbwire everywhere?

Monastery of the Holy Archangels near Prizren

When you leave Prizren along the Bistrica River, after 2,5 km on the old road between Prizren an Skopje you meet the Holy Archangels Monastery (Манастир Светих Архангела) on the right. It was founded by Tsar Dusan and built between 1343 and 1352 on the place of the earlier church,and is parto of Visegrad fortress complex (the fortress is above on a mountain).
The monastery was looted and annihilated after the Ottomans arrived in 1455, and in 1615 it was rased to the ground, and its material was used for the construction of the Sinan Paša Mosque in Prizren. The entire complex was archeologically explored in 1927, and its remains were conserved after Second World War.

In the 1990's the reconstruction of Holy Archangels began. The necessary infrastructure was built and within the old walls a new residential quarter (konak) was built for the brotherhood of monks. A chapel was built inside the konak dedicated to Holy Bishop Nicholas of Žica. The first monks arrived in 1998 and the monastery since then has gained an important role in the spiritual life of the Serb people, especially in this area.






After the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and retreat of the Yugoslav army forces, reconstructed objects were burned and looted in June 1999, by the members of KLA, after the KFOR arrival.

But the reconstruction was interrupted by the war, the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and retreat of the Yugoslav army forces in this region, which has not spared the brotherhood of the Holy Archangels. In June 1999 a monk from the monastery, Fr. Chariton, was abducted. Immediately afterwards, a dozen of monks, together with the majority of the Serbs from this region, left the monastery. The headless body of Fr. Chariton was found in mid 2000 and buried in Crna Reka Monastery. After the arrival of KFOR the brethren gradually returned to the monastery.





During the 2004 unrest in Kosovo, the monastery was burned and looted again by albanian terrorists though during that time it was "controlled" by the KFOR. It's not really understandable how this could happen...I let the conclusions up to your fantasy.
The entire monastery complex is under protection of the Republic of Serbia, as a Monument of Culture of Great Importance, and today in the monastery lives a brotherhood of eight monks that are under constant protection of the German KFOR. :-)








Today the life of the monastery unfolds in complete isolation and consists of everyday services and monastic duties. The woodcarving workshop produces miniature carved items which are very rare and have become well-known abroad. The tailoring workshop is also busy and the monks are learning to work with computers. Today the monastery has become a spiritual center gathering the remaining Serb Orthodox people from Prizren and Sredacka Župa.


ARCHITECTURE
Having inherited the rich building tradition of his predecessors, Dušan's demands with respect to the architecture and richness of the Monastery were great. He probably wanted the pious endowment in which his earthly remains were to be interred to be a symbol of the power and greatness of the state which he ruled.




In addition to the large Church of the Holy Archangels, residential quarters, library and other buildings, within the Monastery there was another, smaller church, the Chapel of St. Nicholas. In the Monastery Charter one can read that a separate building within the complex was designated as the infirmary. The monumental refectory was cross-shaped with an apse on the eastern side. A bridge across the Bistrica River connected the Monastery with Dušan's castle at Ribnik and the royal palace in Prizren.




Holy Archangels was a great imperial pious endowment, lavishly decorated with rich materials. Although the name and origin of the main architect are unknown, it is almost certain that a building of such harmonious proportion and shape and such exquisite workmanship could only have been the work of an architect who had fully mastered the experience of the architects of Constantinople architects in spatial exposition and wedded it to the Mediterranean, Romanesque-Gothic sensibility in the use of stone. In Holy Archangels we appear to have the full flowering of the long-awaited synthesis of religious art forms of the European East and West which matured in the Raška school, on the one hand, and in the monuments of Kosovo and Macedonia, on the other.



Here to download is a very informative file from the European Commission.

Prizren Impressions

For this post I put my favorite shots of Prizren that I havn't already published.
This are manly impressions and nice situations I captured strolling around the city.
Here one of the many mini-markets along the streets.




This fantastic stone wall is in front of the newly renovated house of the League of Prizren. The League of Prizren is mainly to blame if ethnic extremist attacks happened all the time in this city. Formated in 1878 it consisted of nationalistic Albanians with the goal to unite all the regions with Albanian majority and to form a Nation State.

Unintetionally the international community (UNMIK; KFOR, NATO) gave a big help to realize some of their goals!





Our friend's uncle runs this Fast-food restaurant in one of Prizren's main streets. In this kind of places the BBQ is incorporated in the windows, and you see how the fresh meat is roasting!



Nicley arranged vegetables and sure good roasted meat...but no pork is served around Prizren (94% Muslims is the explanation for that). What is also served in places like that that and is really delicious is the "jogurt" (a liquid version of jogurts like they are sold in western europe and with very mild jogurt-cultures.....



In the Podkaljaja district you find distroyed buildings, coloured walls and new building sites near each other.



Entering Prizren shows the ruling law quite clearly: Invented numberplates with -KS- in the middle (created from Kosovo-Albanian separatists years ago to start secession with Serbia) and blackened traffic signs to show that Serbian language is not wished to be heard/spoken/writen.




Also the new houses mirror the traditional style architecture. Four sided roofs covered with ceramic roof tiles and overlapping first floor with big wooden gridded windows looks like the old houses of Prizren.

The old houses in Prizren belong to the traditional balkan "bondruka" style (wooden skeleton construction filled with straw and earth covered with plaster).
This kind of hosuses are common throu all the region of south of Serbia and Macedonia.

(follow)