Serbia is a lovely country, open for tourism all year round In summer tourists love spending their time in Belgrade and enjoy the nature of many national parks throughout the country In winter tourists are warmly welcomed to mountain resorts one of the most popular being Kopaonik featured on BBC as one of the best ski destinations in Europe There are also many spa resorts such as Sokobanja, Niška Banja and Vrnjačka Banja
Serbs are warm people especially towards tourists Most Serbs speak some English seniors, however, are more likely to speak German and/or French, so you will be able to find your way around by asking directions Most tourists come to Serbia in the summer and you can often hear German, Italian, French and English in the streets of Belgrade, while Slovenian tourists pour for New Year holidays
Yugoslavia was such a beautiful country with so many different attractive places that somehow Serbia was neglected and it is still to be rediscovered not only by visitors but by many Serbs too It is also a varied and beautiful place notwithstanding the fact that it is landlocked From the plains of Vojvodina which in winter remind of the scenes from the film of Dr Zhivago to many mountains and lakes or reservoirs and ski resorts of outstanding beauty
There are seventeen Roman Emperors born in the territory of today's Serbia and it is well known that they all left monuments and built palaces in or close to their birthplaces It may well be that the oldest ever found human settlements in Europe if not in the World can be found in country of Serbia The longest stretch of the river Danube, longer than in any other European country is in Serbia The giant hydroelectric dam of Djerdap has created a lake stretching for many miles out of the Canyon Djerdap with its famous Roman road to the East build by the Emperor Trajan Serbia is on the crossroads of European history and as such it is a mix of cultures, ethnicity and religions Its people contrary to recent stigma are one of the most hospitable and welcoming and recently Belgrade was voted as one of the up and coming capitals of Europe It hosted the recent Eurovison song contest and it is the home town of world names like Djokovic, Jankovic and Ivanovic; the ambassadors of New Serbia There may be more attractive locations elsewhere but Serbia has a spirit and a soul that is rare to find coupled with melange of different cultures and a gusto for good living
In the north: continental climate cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall; central portion: moderate continental climate; to the south: hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall
Extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills Although the region around the town of Mionica has been known for some earthquakes in recent years, these were by no means destructive
The first Serbian state was formed in the mid 9th century, expanding by the mid 14th century to an empire comprising most of the Balkans In 1389, Serbs lost a decisive battle in the Kosovo field against Ottoman empire Serbia managed to preserve its freedom for another seventy years only to be finally overwhelmed by the Turks in 1459 An uprising in the early 1800s that grew in the full scale war War of Restoration led to the restoration of Serbian independence in 1815
The 1914 Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand by an ethnic Serb high school student precipitated the first World War In its aftermath,in 1918, victorious Serbia gatherd all south Slav lands Croatia, Slovenia, Slavonia, Dalmatia, Bosnia and Herzegowina, and Montenegrointo the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes; The country's name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929 Invasion and occupation by Germany and Italy in 1941 was resisted by Yugoslav Army in fatherland Chetniks, commanded by Lt-Gen Dragoljub Mihajlović and communist led guerilla partisans who eventually started fighting each other as well as the invaders The partisans, commanded by Field-Marshal Josip Broz Tito emerged victorious and formed a provisional governement that abolished monarchy and proclaimed republic in 1946 after a dubious referendum At the end of the war nearly all ethnic Germans left the country Although pro-Communist, JB Tito's new government successfully steered its own delecate path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades
In the early 1990s, post-Tito Yugoslavia began to unravel along ethnic lines: Slovenia, Croatia, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia all split from the Yugoslav Union in 1991; and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 All of efforts to preserve Yugoslavia were ultimately unsuccessful and bloody civil wars broke out in Croatia and in Bosnia The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" FRY in 1992 Slobodan Milosevic was elected the first president of Serbia In the late 1990s, the conflict with the Albanian separatist movement in Kosovo led to a NATO bombing campaign and direct intervention, which left the placement of Kosovo under UN administration Slobodan Milosevic, by this time elected for the president of the federation, lost Federal elections in the fall of 2000 to Vojislav Kostunica The country reestablished its membership in the OUN and started preparations to join the EU In 2002, the republics of Serbia and Montenegro began negotiations to forge a looser relationship, which led first to the name change of the nation to "Serbia and Montenegro", then culminated in Montenegro declaring independence in June 2006 More recently Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence, however this act remains unrecognised by Serbia and most other countries
January 1 - 2 New Year's Day, January 7 Eastern Orthodox Christmas, January 14 National Holiday Orthodox New Year, January 27 Saint Sava's feast Day, February 15 Sretenje / Groundhog Day Candlemas / Serbian National Day, May 1 - 2 Labour Day, May 9 Victory Day, June 28 Vidovdan / St Vitus Day
Serbia's official currency is the Serbian Dinar RSD The Serbian dinar can be exchanged in most of the banks throughout the Europe However, it is best to convert at the airport even though the rate there tends to be a bit higher or in the banks located in the towns or in the numerous and visibly marked authorized exchange offices Euro is occasionally being accepted, but prices are often overestimated when directly compared to the Dinar Belgrade is typically on pair with many European cities prices, however, outside the capital prices of almost any item are lot lower when compared to the capital Typically, 150 Dinars for a coke in a Belgrade bar, and 220 Dinars for 3 cokes in a bar outside the capital On July 2010 the exchange rate stood at 83 Serbian Dinars for 1 US Dollar, and 104 Serbian Dinars for €1
Languages: Serbian the majority, also Hungarian in the north
English is commonly spoken throughout Serbia and the younger people tend to have excellent command They are also quite willing to practice it with foreigners Also you can try with young people talking German, French, Russian,Spanish or Italian which are taught in Serbian schools
The Serbian language similar to Croatian and Bosnian Before the era of nationalist linguistic policies and the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, they were all known as Serbo-Croatian Today people in the former Yugoslavia no longer use this general term for what remains a common language
If you speak Russian it can prove to be occasionally helpful for you Even though Serbia has never been politically involved in any way with Russia, the two languages have some similarities This also includes all other slavic languages, especially Bulgarian and Macedonian
In Vojvodina most people speak Serbian, but other languages are also used In some towns near the Hungarian boarder you are more likely to hear Hungarian There are many smaller minorities, like the Slovaks, the Romanians, Romani people and the Russians, etc who often speak their native languages
There are two rivers which go through Belgrade: The Sava and Danube There are a lot of old buildings on all four banks, including a huge fortress Kalemegdan, that has been built, modelled and remodelled by Celts, Romans, Byzantins, Serbs, Austrians and Turks over more than 2,000 years It has a multitude of various towers and ports, and two long walking/biking paths along both rivers
Medieval orthodox monasteries – Studenica, Manasija, Žiča, Ravanica Excellent opportunity to see part of Serbian history If you are interested in art, there are excellent fresco masterpieces Recommendaion – “Beli Anđeo” White Angel fresco in Mileseva monastery
Ada Ciganlija is also an excellent place to kick back and relax during summer It is as locals call it the sea of Belgrade A lot of sport fields and courts soccer, basketball, golf, volleyball, etc Cafes serving ice cream and beer abound on the banks of this lake-beach park
Favorite leisure activity in Belgrade is drinking coffee in numerous bars, bistros and cafés especially in Strahinjića Bana street, which is known locally as Silicon Valley as it is frequented by loud, vulgar and surgically-enhanced folksingers along with their hangers-on and wannabes It is very strange, but most of places are occupied all day long - ie, within working hours You should check: Downtown café, Buka bar, Movie bar, Iron café, Biblioteka café, Monza café-boat, Bibis café-boat, and many more; People who are not in the folk and MTV music, and don't like to drink overpriced coffee, should avoid this street There are coffee bars on almost every corner in Belgrade, which offer more relaxed atmosphere and are designed with more taste that those in Strahinjića Bana street
Smederevo is a town about 50 km from Belgrade There are direct bus lines almost every half an hour and it takes about one hour to get there from Belgrade It is considered as the unofficial rock 'n' roll capitol of Serbia because of its many rock musicians and bands who live there or were born there See the largest lowland medieval fortress in Europe especially at night when its lights give a special romantic and mystical atmosphere or go to a rock concert at "Moto Club Street Fighter" which is located at the very bank of the Danube At the end of September the town hosts a traditional festival called "Smederevska Jesen" Smederevo Autumn which is a festival of vine and Serbian culture with many concerts and other happenings During the festival there is a carnival located at the end of the town but AVOID IT because it's loud and crowded and basically there's nothing to see or do Just stay in the town center Museum of Smederevo holds a lot of Roman and medieval items and collections so for history lovers it's a must-see
EXIT festival – Biggest music festival in SE Europe, that is happening in the beginning of July, in Novi Sad, on Petrovaradin fortress 25
Belgrade Beer Fest, which takes place at Ušće every August 26
Belgrade is very famous for its whole-night-party clubs If you are looking for a place to feel the local atmosphere and good vibes, visit bohemian street “Skadarlija” Please have a look at the Belgrade article for further options
Restaurants, clubs, cafe's and hotels are usually full-booked and organize New Years celebrations with food and live music
However, Serbian New Year's celebrations are most known for the outdoors festivities in Belgrade, and several other major cities such as Novi Sad, Niš and Jagodina As of mid-December, cities are extensively decorated and lit The decorations remain until way into January due to the persistent influence of the old, Julian calendar Throughout the region, especially amongst former Yugoslav republics, Belgrade is known as the place to be for major parties, concerts and happenings It has become common for large groups of Slovene's to visit their former capital and celebrate the beginning of a new year Especially since the mid-nineties, street celebrations grew into mass gatherings with hundreds of thousands of people, celebrating New Year on one of several locations throughout Belgrade
Also, on January 14th Serbians celebrate so called Serbian New Year, which is actually New Year's Eve by Eastern Church calender In the night between January 13th and 14th you can actually re-live New Year's Eve
Serbia uses the dinar RSD, динар, pl dinara/динара Coins come in values of 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 dinars, and banknotes are found in values of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, and 5000 dinars The banknotes, at least in Belgrade, tend to be more common than the coins, so be prepared to carry around a large number of banknotes in varying conditions
Downtown Belgrade is populated with many high-end as well as midrange shops "Knez Mihailova" is the biggest shopping street, but there are also quite a few shopping malls, such as Delta City and Ušće Shopping Center Imported western food is available in many supermarkets, especially in the Croatian-owned "Idea" In nearly all Serbian pharmacies apoteka you can buy prescription drugs without prescription
Prices tend to be on par with the rest of the Balkans
When ordering a burger ask for 'pljeskavica' pronounced approximately: PYES-ka-vitsa ask for kajmak like mildly sour cream pronounced: KAI-mak it tastes way better than it sounds Stepin Vajat and Duff at Autokomanda, Loki in downtown area and Iva in Žarkovo are the best grill fast food restaurants in town Also try ćevapi or ćevapčići pronounced: chay-VAH-pee, chay-VAP-chitchee, they are small parcels of minced meat, grilled with hot spices It is considered a local fast food delicacy Highly recommended to carnivores
Burek pronounced BOO-rek, sometimes decribed as the Balkan equivalent of McDonalds due to its being sold everywhere, is very delicious It is made with a range of fillings including meat, cheese, spinach, apple, cherry Not for dieters as it is quite oily Morning is definitely the best time to eat this sometimes sold-out by afternoon
Tap water is perfectly safe to drink, and mainly of a good quality, too There are also many springs and fountains with excellent-quality drinking water - the most popular ones being the fountain on Knez Mihailova in Belgrade, and the many fountains in the city of Nis One must pay attention when it comes to water in Vojvodina Some regions Kikinda, Zrenjanin have heavily polluted water, that is not even used for cooking, only as technical water
Hotels of all types are available throughout the Kingdom Most tourist cities ie Makkah, Medina, Taif, Al Abha will also have very affordable and spacious shigka-maafroosha short-term furnished rental apartments Shigka-maafroosha owners generally loiter in hotel lobbies Often, they will approach civilized-looking people generally families and make an offer Prices for shigka-mafrooshas and small hotels are always negotiable to a great degree Smaller hotels will only accept cash, normally in advance
Larger, more expensive hotels are abundant in all major cities After the lull caused by the insurgency in 2003, prices have been rising again, and you can expect to pay north of US$200 for a weekday night at a good hotel in any of the big Saudi cities In exchange, you usually get excellent service and the ability to work around some restrictions eg restaurants that stay open through prayer hours and daytime room service during Ramadan
There are quite a few jobs for expatriates in Saudi Arabia While the pay is good, foreigners often find that the strictly Muslim society and the near-total lack of employees' rights makes the country a most difficult place to work and live
To get a working visa, you must have a Saudi sponsor Then to get an exit visa, you need your sponsor's signature This can lead to major problems
