SERBIA: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Posted July 16, 2009 by David McGuinness

Ok so day 2 in Belgrade and it’s been a bit hectic as these research trips always turn out to be. Arrived into Belgrade airport, took a bus to the city centre, found my hotel, showered and came down to meet Snezana, our local guide. We headed out for coffee in a nearby park, Tasmajdan Park with a huge and impressive Serbian Orthodox church beside a smaller Russian Orthodox one. We chatted about Serbia and possible itineraries and I felt sure the impression of competence and enthusiasm I had gotten from our email correspondence was not misplaced.

After about an hour and a half we started off on a walking tour through the city. Snezana explained a lot about the history of Serbia, the important characters in shaping that history and its relations in the modern world; “Russia is our big brother, but not one we really trust”.

We walked through the city, past the parliament, various stone mason constructions and the very pleasant Kalemagdan Park overlooking the Danube before exploring its impressive fort at sunset. Eventually, as it was getting late, we went for dinner in a local Serbian restaurant serving typical meat dishes which were very tasty if not the healthiest… veal strips wrapped in bacon was my particular favourite. We said goodnight, and I then headed back to my hotel for a well-earned sleep.

This morning Snezana and our driver for the day, Milano, picked me up. We stopped of to have a typical Serbian pastry called burek for breakfast–filled with mince meat or cheese. Very tasty but a bit heavy for the morning. We headed out to Zemun, now a suburb of Belgrade, originally a town nearby. Its charm was its crumbling grandeur, its easy-going pace of life and its location on the Danube.

From there we visited the enormous St Sava’s church, a beautiful construction started before World War II and whose exterior was finished only 2 years ago. A grandiose project, the world’s largest Orthodox church, it is being constructed from the finest materials from Greece, Italy, Brazil, Libya and India.

The main dome weighs over 15,000 tonnes (think 15,000 cars) and took 29 days to hoist into place using lasers, specially designed computer software and some heavy-duty lifting equipment! Work is ongoing on the inside and is expected to be completed in about five years’ time.

From St. Sava’s, we headed out to Tito’s grave and memorial. Tito ruled Yugoslavia from 1953 to his death in 1980 and is a larger than life character, who while brutally suppressive, and vicious with his enemies remains loved by a majority of Serbians. Snezana explained: “Tito gave us a good life. In return we did not ask questions. If you have a good life only a fool asks questions”. A tradition during his time was to give him an Olympic-style torch for his birthday. Soon he was getting them more frequently and ever more elaborate ones. His estate even continued to receive them many years after he was dead. It is estimated that his estate has some 27,000 torches. He remains much loved and Serbians felt much pride in their country’s importance during the Tito years. Snezana put it like this: “When I go to bed I dream that when I wake up Tito will still be alive, everything will be as it was before and I will be young again”. She felt sure many people felt the same thing.

This blog is part of an Off-The-Beaten-Track Travel Diary. Click on the link below to navigate through this journey.