Belgrade is the Smell of Popcorn

Eat Sleep Rave Repeat

I feel like I´m on one of my old High-School Parties again, only ten times bigger: There´s a massive stage in front of the hall I´m in and thousands of young people in crazy outfits are running around me and dancing like crazy while the sound of the electro base makes everything vibrate. There´s a fat guy in adult-sized pampers and a big heart drawn on his chest dancing on the stage  (he knows how to move, Jesus! He´s better at belly-dancing than I could ever hope to be!) and I´m in the middle of this spaced-out party place.

I´m at Serbia Wonderland Festival. Literally, people party like it´s the end of the WORLD. Everybody is in a really good mood and I´ve never seen so many people snog on parties. It´s like Serbia is saying: dobar dan, here I am, dobrodošli to my world.

When I was sitting on the plane just a couple of hours earlier and I could see the meadows and paddocks underneath me come closer and closer I was thinking that this is exactly what I needed right now. Something new. Some new country, something entirely different, somewhere I wouldn´t have thought of as a holiday destination. I´ve seen Paris, London, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Sydney, you name it – but I´ve never been to Balkan. Balkan beatz, Rakija, Vodka, Serbian-ness – how was this all going to be?

Well, I have to say, I fell in love!

Firstly, with palačinke. Some may say it´s like crêpes. I say it´s hot chubby awesomeness melting in your mouth like foodporn. It´s crêpe, only way bigger, and cheaper, and then they put Ajvar in it (some paprika-saucey stuff that is so delicious I could live off it) and egg and cucumbers and ham and then fold it and then you devour it and feel like in seventh heaven. Or (sorry, I have to elaborate further on this) the sweet variant: Eurokrem (hazelnut Serbian Nutella) and bananas and Plasma biscuit crumbles and coconut – even the image of it in my head is mouthwatering, huh?

Secondly, with this beautiful old city named Belgrade, and its rivers around it, with the old fortress on top of the hill and the park surrounding it.

There´s Kalemegdan, this great big park. First walking through the main shopping street Knez Mihailova, and then entering the wide realms of the park with kids running around chasing each other, old men playing chess and about twenty more old men assembling around to watch, with the sun setting behind the river and the new Belgrade. It´s such a peaceful atmosphere that you can´t help but feel all relaxed and comfortable about yourself. There´s the smell of popcorn around every corner because there´s all these popcorn stalls everywhere, and every Trafik is it´s own little party place playing loud music by Michael Jackson and Rihanna.

View from Gardos, the "old city"

Danube river (the Donau)

The Parliament illuminated at night

There´s impressive orthodox churches

This is the famous church of Belgrade, the Saint Sava 

And, finally, homemade Serbian food. You can get it everywhere: The grilled meat platters. A selection of meats and sausages cooked on a wooden fire, with chips and warm bread buns and something salted butter-cheese like that I really for the heck of it can´t remember the name of but it´s great.

But most of all, I fell in love with the people. They´re so incredibly friendly! I can´t even begin to describe how warmly I´ve been welcomed everywhere I went. Even though lots of people don´t speak English, or their English is about as advanced as my Serbian (which is restricted to saying hello, how are you, and insulting your mum in various ways), I´ve felt so comfortable everywhere.

Right now I´m in Kruševac, eating more homemade incarnations of serbian deliciousness and becoming fat and happy ;)

View from the Family House

Monument in the city center

City center

The Family Clinic

I´ll keep you posted!

So, have you ever been to Serbia, or Balkan? Quite a lot of people still find it an unorthodox travel destination – would you go? If yes, what would you do?