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.
