Belgrade, Serbia
The capital, Belgrade, was the only city we visited during our 3-day stay in Serbia but it was packed with good memories. Normally, I don’t get the chance to go too in depth about the hostels I stay at but I really have to recommend Habitat Hostel as the place to stay at if you want a great living experience in this city. The owner and his staff were extremely friendly and most accommodating. Where most hostels would just tell you where to eat or what to drink, these guys actually walked with us to the food court and provided us with tons of free shots. Remember that drink Rakia I talked about in Macedonia? Well we had the real stuff in Belgrade; no company brand. They have a phrase in Serbia that I love when it comes to taking shots. It goes, “One is enough. Two is not enough. Three is just the beginning!”. Also, you’re only supposed to sip the shots since they’re quite strong but being the fearless North Americans we were, we downed those suckers the way we were taught back home, impressing the Serbs we were with!
A cruise through the pedestrian-only district will set you in the midst of a wonderful arrangement of small shops, cafes and a fountain that pours fresh drinking water. Definitely stop here for some good eats, too.
Arguably the most visited site in Belgrade is the Kalemegdan fortress, which is an excellent way to brush up on your history (and it’s free to enter). The centre of the fortress has been converted into a park; quite a contrast from its former use. This is the arrangement you can find outside of the fortress as you walk toward it.
Returning later that evening, Kalemegdan fortress looks even better when dark.
The Kalemegdan fortress was by far our most visited point of interest (we went once each of the three days) for not only being a fortress (which is awesome in itself), but for three other reasons.
The first being the vantage point you get when gazing over the river, especially at sundown.
The second being the city zoo that’s located a very short distance from the fortress perimeter, and yes, we visited that too. The zoo wasn’t exceptionally large but it did have some awesome exotic animals in it; the most exciting being the white tigers. As a new photographer, I find the following picture one of my best close-ups ever.
And the third reason we kept returning to Kalemegdan were the carnival rides located directly outside of the zoo. Never too old for bumper cars!
Let’s now move on to a couple stand-out buildings. The Temple of Saint Sava is one of the largest churches in the world but it’s been under construction since the early part of the 20th century and has still yet to be fully completed! The exterior, however, was complete at the time I visited but the interior still needs a lot of work. When you step foot inside though, you’ll get the feeling of exactly just how massive this church is and how much there’s still left to do.
On the way back to our hostel, we passed by the National Assembly. This building demands your attention for the powerful entity that it is, especially when lit at night.
Whether it be day or night, the city is really fun to walk through with lots of life out on the streets. The last thing I want to mention about Belgrade is the nightlife, actually. Belgrade is known for its superior nightlife and the clubs prove it so. Great music and packed venues make Belgrade a place you’ll want to revisit over and over again. I know for a fact my group of guys want to return — but mainly for the gorgeous women, haha.
So yes, I would recommend visiting Belgrade. With such nice people and great nightlife as well as a fantastic history, Serbia was another pleasant surprise!
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This blog entry is part of the publication Robert Cekan Travels & was originally written on November 17, 2012
Robert Cekan is a young entrepreneur and proud Hamiltonian. He is the founder of the Hamilton discovery website True Resident, as well as Cekan Group, a property management group. He is also a Hamilton REALTOR® with Ambitious Realty Advisors Inc., Brokerage and an active blogger.
For all of Robert’s projects, please visit robertcekan.com
