If you’re a bored journalist, it’s easy to create a sensationalistic story about Serbia and Ex-Yugoslavian countries. Just find a possible mass grave site in Serbia, get a quote about how Serbia a “normal” holiday destination is, and write over and over again about NATO cluster bombs, and NATO’s 1999 bombing campaign in Belgrade. That seems to be what Dutch reporter, journalist, freelance correspondent for AOL news, Joost van Egmond did with its story about possible dangers while traveling in Serbia and in Ex-Yugoslavian countries. Is it really that difficult for him to recognize that Serbia and Ex-Yugoslavian countries are not some hostile nations locked in the past?
Hopefully, travel writer and photographer, Laurence Mitchell, author of the Bradt Travel Guides to Serbia, and also to Belgrade, did a wonderful job writing recently a critical and hopefully less biased insider’s guide to Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia. Here’s a short excerpt, but it’s worth reading the whole thing:
Serbia
Misconception: Hostile nation locked in the past.
The reality: Serbia is overturning its bad-boy image to emerge as one of the most exciting countries of the former Yugoslavia. Every year, more and more foreign revellers are drawn to one of the country’s big noisy music festivals: EXIT at the Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad or the Dragacevo Trumpet Festival at Guca in central Serbia.
For city slickers: It is no secret that Belgrade has the best nightlife in southeast Europe – weekends tend to last about six days here, with streets busy until the early hours. For a stylish city-centre base, try the recently restored Hotel Moscow, an art nouveau icon. For nightlife with a twist, check out the floating clubs that line the banks of the Danube and Sava rivers.
Outside the capital: There are wine routes to explore in eastern Serbia and the Fruska Gora hills north of Belgrade, and hiking and winter skiing in the mountains to the south. Many of the countryside’s sleepy valleys are home to half-hidden, fresco-filled Orthodox monasteries. Although much smaller than the capital, the second city of Novi Sad is also pretty lively, with numerous outdoor cafés crowding its elegant pedestrian zone.
