Serbia

Where to go in Serbia

Places I saw and recommend in Serbia: Belgrade, along with the villages and countryside in the south.

Knez Mihailova (Prince Michael), the main pedestrian street in Belgrade. Photo by Francis Tapon

The big boys of Belgrade

When the train jolted to a stop, I woke up in Belgrade. Surveying the city map, I was surprised to see that Belgrade didn’t rename its Kennedy Boulevard after the US bombed the city. That’s remarkable, considering that Croatia quickly changed several key street names after its independence. Maybe Serbians aren’t as nationalistic as some think.

Starting from the Trg Republike (Republic Square), I walked down Knez Mihailova (Prince Michael), a pedestrian street filled with fancy stores, big men, and beautiful women whose legs never seem to end. Although Belgrade has many splendid buildings, what’s even more impressive is the number of giants walking around. Serbian men are enormous, which explains why they produce an army of world-class athletes. Meanwhile, watching Serbian women is like observing a ballet of supermodels. I hadn’t seen so many high heels and head-turning babes since the Baltic.

The pedestrian zone ends at the Kalemegdan Citadel, the site of 115 battles over the last 2,300 years. Score: 71 home-team wins and 44 losses. Its strategic location at the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers makes it a tempting target.

The last battle in Belgrade wasn’t a traditional fight. No foreign troops stormed the city. Instead, NATO informed Serbia where and when it would drop their laser-guided bombs. A few smart bombs stupidly hit the wrong target, including a hospital.

Below is a photo I took of Belgrade's former Ministry of Defense in 2010. Even though the NATO bombing happened 10 years ago, the buildlings are still in this state in 2011.

Bombed out Belgrade