Blogs from Serbia, Europe
May 10th 2012
It was the day of the Eternal Derby. There would be tension in the air. It wasn’t apparent as I made my way outside after breakfast. It was just another sunny morning In Belgrade. I decided that I wouldn’t stick around in the city to watch the drama unfold ..... at least for the time being. I caught the bus to Ada Cinajila, the island playground in the Sava River where Belgrade goes to relax on a summer weekend. It is now dominated by the new bridge crossing the river. Ada Cinajila is a combination of sport and relaxtion. The side closest to the city is the base for both the Red Star and Partizan rowing clubs. The local versions of Oxford and Cambridge were out on the water, presumably training to be Olympic hopefuls later ... read more
May 7th 2012
After the extraordinary level of helpfulness from the guys in the management and press office of KK Crvena Zvezda in procuring the basketball derby ticket the previous night, there is always one that spoils it. My mind suffers eternal flashback to the security guard waving his gun at an empty BKV Elore in Budapest. Belgrade's "Mr Unhelpful" was to be found at the defunct home of FK Obilic. In advance of my derby ticket forray, I had decided another tour of the grounds was in order. If you are reading this blog and have read others, you will have spotted the pattern developing - if there is some stadium architecture to see, I will endeavour to get to it. It really is a great way to see behind the scenes of a city - to go ... read more
May 1st 2012
There's a very ancient saying, going back hundreds of years, "oh bugger". It seems I've got a final in a few hours, which would normally be fine, but I'm crippled by a tragically fatal set of problems, which have a lot to do with packing and finally leaving Europe. In the mean time I'm going to do something that needs to happen. Study for that exam? Hell no! Continue updating from the Balkans: Serbia, or, new ground: Well alright then, we’re finally out of the leg of the woods where I bored just about everyone under the sun by noting that I’d been here before, and we entered the Balkans proper. Our actual part of this trip’s kind of funny in its own way. Mind you, the bus we were on was already bound for crazy ... read more
April 21st 2012
Nous redoutions un peu le trajet entre Sibiu et Belgrade. 7 heures de train pour se rendre à Timisoara, arrivée vers 22h40. Le lendemain, départ à 5h40 du matin pour une combinaison train-bus de 4 heures jusqu'à Belgrade en Serbie. Ça avait bien commencé, un gentil Justin Bieber roumain m'a aidé à placer mes bagages dans le compartiment et Nellie a fait une longue sieste. Mais quand Justin et grand-maman Bieber sont débarqués, une vieille dame roumaine est entrée et une terrible avalanche de mots roumains s'est déclenchée. Blablablablaaaablablablablablabl....Elle arrêtait pas de parler (fort!) à l'autre madame de notre compartiment, qui a fini par se sauver car elle débarquait bientôt, la chanceuse. L'attention de la vieille pie roumaine s'est donc dirigé vers qui vous pensez? Le fait qu'on ne parle son langage ne la dérangeait pas ... read more
March 20th 2012
There was a day to kill before the Eternal Derby. I needed an adventure out of Belgrade for the day. The bus station is an adventure of sorts in it’s own way. It turned out to be the wrong one. The helpful locals eventually got it through to me that all buses to Smederevo depart from the Lasta bus depot across the road. Time to take my life in my hands again. The delay in finding the correct departure point was a minor inconvenience, as buses go evry ½ hour or so. I settled down for a trip through the Belgrade suburbs and soon found myself recognising the floodlights of FK Obilic and FK Sindelic. The bus was pretty empty – perhaps Smederevo wasn’t much of a draw after all. The suburbs soon gave way to ... read more
March 18th 2012
They like an early start in the Serbian Division 3. FK Beograd and Hajduk Beograd tend to start their home games at 10 on a Sunday. This is not unusual in Eastern Europe - Viktoria Zizkhov in Prague exploited the tendency of the local population to like a drink on a Sunday morning to boost their attendances. The bar stayed was firmly shut at FK Beograd when I arrived at 9.15 and it stayed that way for the duration of FK Vozdovac's visit. I greeted my translator from the previous day when I had been watching FK Vozdovac train, as I wandered across the pitch taking photos. There wasn't even a stray dog to bother me. FK Beograd's stadium and I use the word very loosely, is hemmed in between the development of new flats that ... read more
March 17th 2012
They say it is better to travel ........... although it is undoubtedly better to travel in style. The economy measures were in full swing on this solo mission - £1 mega train deal to London and £2 back to Luton Airport on Easybus. The snag with this deal was staying up all night and walking for 45 minutes between St Pancras and Gloucester Place to pick up the bus. The train stopped at Luton – should I chance the barriers being open or get a cheap single from somewhere to Luton? Why bother I thought, I am in no rush and besides I’ve never seen the new St Pancras after all those 1955 hours after match trains that were once my life. The time passed remarkably quickly and Luton was a hive of activity at 2 ... read more
There's nothing like a good conversation...
Published: January 14th 2012Europe » Serbia » West » Belgrade
January 14th 2012
Well come to think of it, dear reader , partying in Belgrade would have to come pretty close. The Serbian capital is a legendary party spot in the Balkans, and a place where sleeping habits get turned upside down. The hostel guests become creatures of the night, and like a ghoulish nightmare out of Transylvania search for the elixir of eternal life ... Rakia! They seem to appear out of nowhere as a beer chaser, and a night out in Belgrade is bigger than Ben Hur, it's bigger than ten men, it's bigger than the Beatles. In fact it's nearly as big as my hangover! Like everywhere else there are seven days a week in Belgrade, but here that means seven opportunities to party like there's no tomorrow. We spent monday night clubbing till six am ... read more
December 17th 2011
Addictions are dangerously haunting. They control your emotions and warp your reason and guide you like a blind man's dog. They are a nightmare. On the sixth day when God created man, He created man's neighbor's worst nightmare. Why? Because man is an addiction. Once you meet fellow humans, you can't live with out them. You're an empty shell when you have no one to talk to, and stunning scenery and amazing adventures mean nothing when you have no one to share them with. On a trip in Europe you might spend three months looking forward to a visit from them, spend your time with them wishing they would stay, and spend the rest of your trip after they leave aching for them to come back. It'd be especially hard when you had a fantastic time ... read more
September 22nd 2011
Belgrade is a very urban city. I find it to be quite a lot like most US cities--function over form. People seem to work hard and play hard. The city is famous for its nightlife and there are indeed so many restaurants open 24 hours and cafes and bars closing very late. But the city is also full of parks and has some nice historical sites. One of the best things about this city is that two rivers meet here, the Danube and the Sava. All along these rivers are barges that serve as restaurants or nightclubs. There are also islands that are recreation areas. One surprising thing is that the city has a botanical garden with a beautiful Japanese bridge and pond. There is also a Chinese market but it very much caters to Serbian ... read more
