Enjoying Belgrade
Healthy Life Serbia

Enjoying Belgrade

For years, I’ve been saying to all my friends to go to Belgrade. Very few people that I know have been there. Although it’s rapidly becoming popular, it is still not your typical destination. For example, flights from London to Belgrade are too expensive for anyone to consider going there for a weekend break. Many other European cities can be reached for a fraction of money required to travel to Belgrade. Unfortunately, enjoying Belgrade is not as easy as it should be, mainly because it costs too much to go there.

Another likely reason is its recent history and negative perception created by the western media after the break-up of Yugoslavia and subsequent civil wars. However, there has been a massive increase in the number of people coming from countries such as Turkey, China, Iran and Russia, which is to say from countries where western propaganda doesn’t have any influence.

 

 

AUTHENTIC CITY

 

Belgrade is truly an authentic city. Because of unfortunate events in the 1990s, the city was completely side lined for a long time. Consequently, it avoided globalisation that rapidly engulfed the world in precisely that same period of time. Big financial capital never reached Belgrade in a way in which it reached most other eastern European capital cities.

For example, there are very few big multinational chains in Belgrade. There are several of them in Prince Michael street, the pedestrian heart of Belgrade. They have also very recently started to appear in newly constructed shopping centres. There are no multinational chains of restaurants and coffee shops. You will only find several McDonald’s in the whole city. Costa Coffee was in Belgrade, but closed down. This is very refreshing and it makes the city very interesting. In London, same chains are everywhere, which is extremely dull.

 

 

FOOD IN BELGRADE

 

Generally speaking, Serbs are used to a very high standard of food and the same goes for drinks. People in Serbia drink very strong Turkish coffee. They are also used to home cooked food. Every meal is a ritual, meticulously prepared by caring mothers. The concept of ready-made meals does not really exist in a sense in which it exists in western countries. There are no supermarkets with aisles filled with factory produced spaghetti Bolognese. The nearest Serbian version to ready-made meals is freshly cooked and very delicious food sold in supermarkets and other outlets. They usually prepare such food in bigger quantities, which means that it’s tastier and with prominent flavours.

In fact, you will eat well in most restaurants in Belgrade, because they primarily cater for the local customer base. In order to exist, they have to maintain a very high standard at all times.

I have family in Belgrade, so when I go there I spend a lot of time with them. But I also go out and I explore the city. I always find new restaurants or new trendy bars and I go there with my friends.

 

 

SMOKING IN SERBIA

 

Now, a word about the main photo in this post. The painting is from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade. It depicts three men playing cards, drinking and smoking. They are clearly having a good time. The accent is on smoking.

Smoking is still allowed everywhere in Serbia. That’s why I never go there in winter. Because of cigarette smoke, it’s impossible to go anywhere. Sometimes when you walk into a bar, there is so much smoke that you can’t see anything and you can’t breathe, despite the air conditioning. I hope that this will change in the future. It also means that the best time to visit Belgrade is in spring or in autumn, because you can be outside. Summers in Belgrade are too hot and winters are too cold.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Vasa Pomorišac – Card Players (1924)

 

 

PRINCE MICHAEL STREET

 

The central area around Prince Michael street is the most interesting for visitors to Belgrade. Restaurants, bars and coffee shops are everywhere.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Prince Michael Street

 

You will find a lot of places in all side streets, where you can sit down and enjoy.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Zmaj Jovina Street

 

All places in this area are very good, although in some bars you may only get a sandwich or something similar. To eat properly, you would need to find a restaurant. Anyhow, the pedestrian area is relatively small and restaurants are very easy to find.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Đura Jakšić Street

 

Obilićev Venac is a street parallel with Prince Mihailo street. There, you will find many nice bars and coffee shops.  Okno is my favourite bar.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Bar Okno

 

I was very lucky with the weather in Belgrade. Despite the fact that it was early November, the temperature was around 25 degrees C. You can see people sitting outside in the photos in this post. For that reason, there was no one inside of the bar Okno, although this particular place has a very nice decor.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Bar Okno

 

To get an idea of how expensive or cheap Belgrade is, I took a photo of the price list in this particular bar. Prices are in the Serbian currency dinar.  At the time when I was there, the exchange rates were:

  • Euro 1 = 118 dinars
  • US dollar 1 = 103 dinars
  • Pound sterling 1  = 133 dinars

 

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Bar Okno – Price List

 

One excellent restaurant in this area with a typical Serbian cuisine, that I would recommend, is Vuk. It is in 12 Vuka Karadžića street.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Restaurant Vuk

 

 

FLOWER SQUARE

 

Flower Square, opposite the Yugoslav Drama Theatre in King Milan street, is another interesting area with a lot of bars, coffee shops and restaurants. There, they are literally lined one after the other.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Flower Square

 

This square is particularly nice from March until October, as there is a lot of outdoor sitting. Also, there are a lot of trees and it is sufficiently far from the traffic.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Flower Square

 

I went to a very nice Italian bar & restaurant Piazza dei Fiori. However, all other places in this area are equally good, so if you happen to be there, any of them will be a good choice.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Cafe & Restaurant – Piazza dei Fiori

 

I first went for drinks with a friend of mine to Piazza dei Fiori, but afterwards we went to eat in a nearby restaurant – Sarajevski Ćevap Ćevabdžinica Savić – in 31 King Milutin street.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Restaurant Sarajevski Ćevap Ćevabdžinica Savić

 

In this restaurant you will find a Serbian delicacy – ćevapčići – which has its origin in Oriental cuisine. I’ve eaten different variants of this particular dish in other countries, although the Serbian version is rather unique. In this restaurant they prepare them according to the recipe from Sarajevo, which is apparently different from the typical Serbian recipe.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Sarajevski Ćevap Ćevabdžinica Savić

 

Also, I was surprised with the way they served them. Basically, in this variant of the dish there are no garnishes, while the Serbian version comes with a salad and fries. Ćevapi were divine and I highly recommend this place, if you want to try something typical.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Ćevapi – Sarajevo Style

 

 

BETON HALA

 

One more very interesting area, where I went for the very first time, is Beton Hala in Savamala. This area is below the Belgrade Fortress, on the right bank of the Sava river. When I lived in Belgrade, there was nothing interesting there, just warehouses. However, the area has changed tremendously and dilapidated and abandoned warehouses have now become trendy restaurants.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Beton Hala – Savamala

 

There are many restaurants to choose from. I went to the restaurant Ambar, which proposes the typical Balkan cuisine. As the weather was very warm, I had a lunch with a friend of mine outside on the restaurant terrace.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Restaurant Ambar

 

It’s a chic place and the meal was delicious. I also highly recommend this place, but I am sure that all restaurants in this area are equally good, the only difference being the type of cuisine that they offer.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Restaurant Ambar

 

The view of New Belgrade on the opposite side of the river was very enjoyable. The excellent location makes this whole area rather unique in Belgrade.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
River Sava and New Belgrade

 

 

FLOATING BARS AND RESTAURANTS

 

As a matter of fact, Belgrade is famous for its many floating bars and restaurants along both rivers – Sava and Danube. I visited a friend of mine in New Belgrade. First, we went for a walk along Danube and then for drinks in one of the floating establishments.

These places form the core of the nightlife in Belgrade, primarily because they are away from populated areas. It means that they can play very loud music, until very early morning hours. These places are open every day and you can choose where to go depending on the type of the music that best suits your taste.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Pub Office on River Danube

 

 

HOTEL MOSCOW PATISSERIE

 

One more place that I want to mention is Hotel Moscow. This hotel is one of the most recognisable landmarks in central Belgrade. After the Second World War, it became a favourite place of the Belgrade’s cultural elite. The Yugoslav Nobel laureate, Ivo Andrić, had his own table there. In 1974, the restaurant added poslastičarnica, a Vienna style patisserie.

For the occasion of the opening of the patisserie, they created Moskva Šnit – a fruitcake with almonds, sour cherries and pineapple. It became the hotel’s trademark.

I went there with a friend of mine and, as it was warm, we sat outside on the terrace. The hotel and its patisserie are in the best location, in the very heart of the city.

Moskva Šnit is the yellow cake that you can see in the photo below, with bits of sour cherries in the middle. It is needless to say that both cakes in the photo were excellent.  If you go to Belgrade, don’t miss this place.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Moskva Šnit Cake

 

 

BAKERIES

 

One more interesting observation about Belgrade is that there are bakeries everywhere. Most of them are small private businesses, which means that they offer fresh, house-made products. Some of them are open 24h, so this is one more good choice for hungry people. A bakery that you can see below is in Slavia Square.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Bakery in Slavia Square

 

 

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART

 

As I previously mentioned, the main picture in this post originates from the Museum of Contemporary Art. Belgrade has a lot of museums and certainly visiting some of them while you are there can be a very good way for you to get an insight in the Serbian history and culture.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Museum Building

 

They founded the museum in 1958, as the Modern Gallery.  It moved into its current building in New Belgrade in 1965.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Marijan Trepše – Composition

 

Reconstruction of the museum started in 2007 but, for numerous reasons, it dragged on for a decade.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Đorđe Andrejević-Kun – In the Cell (1939)

 

After 10 years of renovation, the museum finally re-opened on the 20th October 2017, the date that marks the anniversary of the museum’s opening 52 years earlier.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Milena Pavlović-Barili – Self-Portrait with Archer (1937)

 

The building was renovated and upgraded to the modern museum standards. In fact, the museum building is extremely interesting and, despite the fact that it was constructed 54 years ago, it still looks very contemporary and stylish. Visiting this museum just because of the building is already sufficient but, if you go there, you will also get the benefit of enjoying the art in its permanent collection.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
Zoran Radović – Mechanofugue 401/68 (1968)

 

The museum is on the left bank of the Sava river, directly opposite the Belgrade Fortress. It’s in a superb location, in the park close to both rivers. After the museum, I went for a long walk along the river, which was a very pleasant and gratifying experience.

 

Enjoying Belgrade
River Sava Promenade

 

 

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS ON ENJOYING BELGRADE

 

There is so much to do in the city. In this particular post, I’ve included some of my experiences from my latest stay. The same as any other new place that we visit, the best thing to do is to explore and to get familiar with it. But sometimes an advice from people that have already been there can be very helpful.

I will inevitably go back there and will look for other good bars and restaurants and I will write about them too.

I very much look forward to this task, especially because it means that I will eat delicious Serbian food and will enjoy the company of my friends there.

 

 

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