Blogs from Belgrade, West, Serbia, Europe - page 8

As a certain former manager of a team in the North West once said: "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that" And so it is with the eternal derby of Serbia. At least twice a season, to the supporters of both Red Star and Partizan, this fixture becomes much more important! The 143rd meeting on 17 November was no exception, so it was with much excitemnt and a little trepidation that we finally left the comfort of FK Rad's bar and took the 10 minute bus ride down the road to the Marakana. The bus took a slight diversion from it's normal route and skirted past the ticket offices of Partizan. They were ... read more

The rain had cleared the next morning. Breakfast in the hotel was a lot busier. The weekend had almost arrived and the foreigners were beginning to surface for the big match. A hefty looking German sported his Grobari t-shirt. We worried for his future out in the real world. After breakfast, we went on our own military mission .... back to the Military Museum in the Belgrade Fortress. We skipped the bows and arrows bit and went straight to the sections on the First Serbian Uprising and the First World War. A group of Serbian military were on a guided tour. They seemed oblivious to the temperature and kept their thick winter coats on. An afternoon followed in the Melody Bar. It was meant to be a pub crawl, but we got comfortable. The beer was ... read more

July 23rd Ah the joy of cockroaches; there’s nothing like turning on the light and seeing them scurry away. Made my way down to the sports store where Ildiko works to say goodbye. she has been great and I’m really going to miss her; she has been guide, translator, animal sympathiser :p the train isn’t exactly the Ritz, it’s grubby, a couple of the seats are busted, and there’s a faint aroma of urine on the air… but hey, it’s cheap, I’m on the right train, and the ticket collector DIDN’T frown at my ticket and tell me I was in the wrong place, so I’m happy. There is an interesting mix of old and new in Serbia; I just saw a horse drawn wagon full of hay amongst all the cars stopped at the railway ... read more

“They used to hold Beer Fest in Kalemegdan, until a guy fell into the zoo and got eaten by a bear…. Oh, and here is the Roman well; a tourist fell in and died….” I had been told that Serbia was quite safe these days, but apparently wandering around the sprawling citadel complex of Kalemedgan in Belgrade is not for the faint-hearted. If I was to believe these stories my friend Duscia was telling me, this was treacherous territory indeed. Actually, I found Belgrade, and Serbia in general, about as warm and welcoming – and safe! – as one could hope for. I was visiting mainly to indulge in some Ottoman tourism (see my blog entry at: http://boundarystones.blogspot.com/2012/08/ottoman-ghosts-1-serbia.html), but I had the added bonus of getting to see, if briefly, a Serbian friend from Khartoum. And ... read more

The Balkans is one of the most war torn area of Europe. It is the crossroads of empires and religions. It also has some of the best scenery in Europe as well from the mountains to the Adriatic Sea. My trip though these former Yugoslavcountries were a bit rushed. Mostly the places I stayed were 2 days at a time. Macedonia: Skopje - The capital of Macedonia seems to be going though a revitalization. The downtown area is full of cafes and restaurants and feels like half of it is under construction. It's a very relaxing town. I got into the main bus station and walked around a bit before getting my bearings straight. Skopje has a walled fort and many statues of url=http://en.w... read more