Želenička Stanica Beograd Sava

Belgrade immediately felt different for not being in the EU. I can't put my finger on why. Perhaps it was the strange currency, the lack of public transport, fewer tourists, no vegan restaurants, an over-abundance of meat and grease dripping filo pastry. The pure, unadulterated, enthusiastic pride of Serbia was evident in every conversation. The people were all so welcoming and so desperate to share food and stories of Serbian history.... as long as it occurred after 1805 (the 1st uprising against the ottomans). The general feel reminded me of the unspoilt, trusting Portugal of 20 years ago. Hopefully, Serbia will remain unspoilt for a few more years. So many of us are seeking somewhere unspoilt by tourism. How ironic that we bring the bad smell of entitlement, comfort and wealth with us.
Our hostel was on a cobbled, charming street in the bohemian Skadarlija district. It is known as a gathering place of the bohemian world, those who love life and enjoy it, who live art as a lifestyle. It has unfortunately been discovered by the tourists but not yet spoilt. It is full of restaurants selling Serbian food accompanied by table to table traditional musicians in black trousers and white shirts. Every band has a double bass player in it. I don't know the collective term for double bass.... but that street had a woodyard full of double basses! It was charming to see the off shift musicians lounging around on benches lower down the street outside the oldest graffiti murals that started the artistic transformation of the district.
We were unimpressed by the chocolate box feel of the street and just wandered aimlessly around the corner. It looked like a warehouse district but we sneaked in to get a closer look at the graffiti. We had stumbled into the bottom end of what was the coolest alternative district. At least it was alternative until Saturday night when it turned into an electronic music mecca. An old brewery complex converted into venues, bars, a climbing gym, a record store and restaurants. The 2 bar staff in the alternative music venue were very disillusioned by the state of the live music scene. They didn't know when they would next have a live band nor did they know why nobody was interested anymore. Oh well, chalk that one up to as a victory for electronic music, cocktails and expensive craft beer.
The next day, we walked to the fortress overlooking the confluence of the Danube and the Sava Rivers. Beautiful, but boy, was it hot in the park and sad to see all the weaponry on display. We walked and melted our way down to the river front and hatched a plan to get out of the sun....a visit to the Tesla museum. The 1st test was to buy a ticket for the tram. The usual way is to buy a ticket using the app which you can only download onto a Serbian mobile phone number. We didn't have any mobile data let alone a Serbian phone so we had to find the correct kiosk to buy an old school ticket..... then we had to decide where to catch the tram and in which direction without any help from Google. How quickly we've become complacent about using our phones to tell us how to do something as simple as to catch a tram! It was a joy to rely on the help of strangers, the lady driver of the incorrect tram that we tried to board was a star. She was gesturing out of the window as she drove off.
We made it to the Tesla museum but so did many others.... no tickets available until the next day. Oh well, it was cool in the hostel garden and I had a wonderfully relaxing time making a home cooked meal. The only spice that I could find was turmeric so it was some sort of haldi meal and delicious too!
Time to pick up a car and visit my friend in the countryside...real Serbia here we come.Read more