What A Job: Making Sure People Know There Are Four Seasons In Serbia

By now, you’ve probably not seen the latest video of the National Tourism Organization of Serbia titled ‘Serbia – Through the seasons’. It’s been seen by around two hundred people, and the number just keeps on growing, just not very fast. Amusingly, I’m noticing that the video is not available on the National Tourism Organisation of Serbia official website. What a ridiculous society we’ve created, where promoting Serbia means that you have to let people know/make sure that there are four different seasons in Serbia. I don’t see how this video helps Serbia reputation at all. But it shows that there are four different seasons in Serbia. You can see the latest video of the National Tourism Organization of Serbia below.

A Yugo, A Serb, A Croat, A Road Movie Through Balkan History

Late last year, we wrote up a story about an upcoming documentary film titled as ‘The Long Road Through Balkan History’ where two writers, a Croat, Miljenko Jergovic, and a Serb, Marko Vidojkovic, shared the driving in a Yugo through Balkans’s history. The trailer looks good:

And the film is amazing. ‘The Long Road Through Balkan History’ has been recently uploaded to Youtube. This last part is my favorite of all, but it’s worth watching the whole thing:

Luke Holland: ‘The real joy of Belgrade is just walking about and soaking up the atmosphere’

Luke Holland loves traveling. After a short break back in the UK (losing elections, getting married – usual stuff), Luke Holland, who headed up Britain’s Labour Party media operation, and Louise, are now back on the road as man and wife. They recently spent a few days in Serbia, and found Belgrade to be a vibrant and welcoming city:

It’s not a stunningly beautiful, picturesque city, and I don’t think most people expect it to be. The words and phrases most people still associate with Belgrade – political despots, war-torn and troubled – are uniformly bleak. Which, I suppose is why, when we stepped off the overnight train at 6:30am this, quirky, vibrant, fun loving city, and welcoming city was quite a surprise.

It’s well worth reading Holland’s post in full, but in the end, his core piece of advice is what counts:

The real joy of Belgrade is just walking about and soaking up the atmosphere. From the Bohemian cobbled streets of Skadarska, to the narrow streets of the Baroque old town, from the underground maze of shopping centres to the old market, and from sitting in one of the hundreds of street cafes to drinking Serbian beer in to the night in one of the many clubs and bars, we found it a fascinating and positive city.

That really is the core of it. Belgrade is not the new Prague, or the new Budapest, or even the new Rome. Belgrade is Belgrade, a city filled with places where you feel yourself, places where you feel alive.

Pablo, A 20-year-old Student From Chile Wants To Live In Serbia

Pablo Hormazábal Acevedo, a 20-year-old student journalist living in Los Andes, a Chilean town of 80000 inhabitants, is fascinated by Serbian culture and traditions. In fact, Pablo likes so much Serbian culture, he wants to live and work in Serbia, and to write a book about Serbian culture:

In Serbia, I will do anything. Principally, I would like to know Belgrade, their capital. I´ll see a Red Star of Belgrade football match. I´ll buy a Serbian – Croatian dictionary to learn the language. Then, I would like to go where gypsies live. After, I´ll stay with them, trying of learn their traditions. With my family, we´ll travel through all Serbia!!!

More than work, I would like to stay to live and investigate something that I like. In Occident, the people don´t know about their culture. For this reason, I´ll write a Serbian culture book for many people will enjoy with the balkans.

Need No Reasons To Return To Serbia

We recently wrote about how Patrick St-Denis, best known for running Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist, had a great time in Belgrade. Patrick St-Denis was pleasantly surprised when he discovered our story, and went on to explain that he will have to return to Serbia for a lot of good reasons, including the beautiful Serbian women, of course:

As a matter of course, I will have to return to Serbia at some point to see more of the country. After a couple of nights of partying in Belgrade, that goes without saying! Plus, I was too hungover to take my sorry ass to Novi Sad on that fateful Sunday morning. . . Yet one more reason to go back!

And I still have 3500 dinars that no one in Zagreb would exchange, so there’s my booze money right there! And I’d kill for a couple of meals at Little Bay, which offers the most affordable fine dining experience in Europe!

And the beautiful women, of course!

Hmmm, seems like there are a lot of good reasons to go back. . . =)

Another Look At The ‘Where Should I Travel Next?’ Question

Timothy Skaggs, a web designer living in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, asked recently on Twitter “Where should I travel next? Europe? Canada? South America? I need some help. #suggestions”. David Hoffmann, founder of Davidsbeenhere.com, a virtual travel guide that follows the perpetual backpacker to cities across the globe, answered Timothy’s question. He told him that he should be based in Belgrade, Serbia and visit the rest of the country and the other countries that surround Serbia including Croatia, Bosnia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania. Wow! That’s a great suggestion! This is what he needed. Oh yes, David Hoffmann has a fantastic video response to Timothy’s question. You can watch this video below.

Canadian Writer Lori Dyan: You Might Be In Serbia If…

Lori Dyan, a Canadian writer currently querying her first novel while simultaneously raising two young children, is married to a Serb.

My husband, the Serb, is in many ways my opposite: he speaks five languages; spends more time on his hair than I do; and has the kind of temper and ability to hold a grudge that you’d expect from a people still lamenting battles they lost over 600 years ago.

Lori Dyan is currently in Serbia to reunite with family and friends her husband, the Serb, hasn’t seen in over 20 years. She put up an interesting blog post talking about her favorite new city, Novi Sad.

According to my husband, who went to high school here, every day feels like Saturday, and it’s true: Sunday night and Monday morning find the same crowds of people in the main square across from our hotel. Cobblestone side streets are pedestrian-only and filled with cafe tables that inspire journal writing over an early-morning espresso (or, mad scribbling while your kids scarf down some pastries).

However, where it gets most interesting, is when she discusses “You might be in Serbia if…” Here’s a short excerpt, but it’s worth reading the whole thing. It’s well written, and funny:

Dressing

Whether they’re drinking on a patio, taking their kids to the park or going to work, everyone here looks sharp. The women wear form-fitting clothes and high heels to mail a letter. If someone wore pajamas to grab a coffee, like they do on TLC’s What Not To Wear, my husband claims they’d be arrested on the spot. This is not to say that everything is perfect, sartorially-speaking: you might also be in Serbia if, when shopping, you find a large assortment of Speedos in the boys’ department. Apparently, they like to start ‘em young.

Visiting Friends & Relatives In Serbia Can Be Fun

Mary, a girl from Switzerland, used to go to Serbia on summer vacation every year to visit relatives and friends. Well, to say that “she had fun this summer in Serbia” would be a huge understatement.

And yes, Mary went every year to Serbia on summer vacation. Mary’s video of 2009.

Yes, Americans Are Welcome To Party In Serbia With U.S. Flag

Set up in the UK in 2008 by a group of close friends and serious party enthusiasts, Into Exit, strive to get more music into American’s people’s travels. They had various venues and parties around Novi Sad during EXIT Festival 2010, and DJs played tunes all day long on the popular hostel Milka roof terrace:

This year saw the Hotel Milka roof terrace smash it like it was meant to be. With a unbelievably large mix of lovely people, sunny skies, great tunes and delicious cocktails the vibe was what we’ve always dreamed it would be.

Check out photos from Parties on the Hotel Milka roof terrace. Hot party pics. ! Oh, one more thing, the Americans were not sent home for wearing U.S. flag in Serbia!

UK Travelers In Serbia Say Serbian People The Friendliest In Europe

Lorna and her boyfriend, Mark Newbold, a musician and song writer from Birmingham, UK, have quit their jobs to travel around Europe in a motorhome. They spent a few days travelling around Serbia (5th – 11th July 2010), and Lorna just put up a blog post talking about their Serbian adventures. They had preconceptions of Serbs being mean and grizzly, but found Serbian people to be the friendliest and most hospitable people in Europe:

This little journey showed us just how lovely and helpful the Serbian people were. In total we asked around six or seven people directions that day, the first country where we’ve actually had to ask because we were totally lost! Everyone we asked was friendly and helpful. In fact, in hindsight, I think the Serbian people are one of the most friendly and happiest nation of people we have travelled through. Don’t believe what people have written. We had preconceptions of Serbians being mean and grizzly from what we had read from people’s blogs. This is total rubbish, having spent time in a few countries now I see the French, and Italians as far more moody and rude than any of the Serbians we met!