Serbia Part I - First impressions of the country and its people
So finally, I have managed to take a vacation in the raging and difficult times of covid. My mother let me go with much reluctance, worried for my safety, and in general, worried about letting an adult-child travel unnecessarily. It took me a couple of conversations to drive the necessity of a vacation home and the fact that 'You-Only-Live-Once'.
Anyway, so we made our way to the only European country that lets Indians enter without a visa and has no quarantine rules whatsoever. It's relatively cheap, easy to access and provides beautiful vibes of eastern and central European culture & couture.
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| Skadarlija, Belgrade |
Before we flew out, my mother made me promise her just one thing - that I will record my trip in blogs and vlogs since I loved it so much and had lately almost stopped any blogging. Frankly, the hustle of working at home has been leaving no virgin leaf of my mind to turn its colour.
We made an 11-day plan out of which we planned 7 and kept 4 aside for life to show us what it had in store. Landed in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, after two flights spanning 7 odd hours from Dubai. When you go anywhere new, the first thing that strikes you is the feeling of the air as you leave the airport. The Belgrade airport is small and basic - very easy to navigate, so we got out early enough to find our hotel transfer taxi person waiting for us. We followed him to the parking and were struck with clean cold air that felt light due to the abundant sunshine. We felt happy and at ease.
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| @Old Town, Belgrade |
The Asians, the Indians, the browns were finally in Europe to vacation. Yay!
The country at large and Belgrade, in particular, has a young but relaxed vibe. People are chilling at parks and e-cycling around. People walk miles daily, which I believe is the secret behind their fitness. They are a lot into all kinds of sports too. The public facilities and culture of playing sports daily are strikingly obvious. Evenings are hues of blu-ish pink, which bring about Belgrade's dining and partying culture. Surprisingly, many people have opted to become vegetarians, and there's absolutely no dearth of great food - meat and otherwise in this country.
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| The only surviving bridge from WW2 |
I am a sucker for places with a water body, preferably an ocean. But the two majestic rivers ensure there's more than enough here to keep one's soul calm and happy. The Danube and Sava run across the country and merge at Belgrade to make a rather choppy confluence. We were fortunate to find ourselves on a boat cruise to experience the same and met a charming couple from Hungary. That evening is worthy of an independent post, so I am going to savour it a bit more before sharing it :)
Overall, Serbia seems to be at the crossroads of adapting to the individualistic modern western values while keeping its traditional, family-oriented, deep-rooted culture intact. It seems to have taken a stand to not emulate Western Europe but seek development in a controlled fashion.
I could draw some parallels with Indian society, which struck me -an underlying & silently practised thread of patriarchy and pre-determined gender roles and the structural importance of families. But more on this later, when I get to have an in-person conversation with you.
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| The confluence of Danube & Sava at Belgrade |
This is my 5th day in Serbia, and while I will try to write a trip advisor kind of entry soon, I am now going to focus on some first impressions of Serbs I've had so far (not to forget, Tesla had me biased already ;)
1. Serbs are very warm people. They are friendly to the extent that they'll go out of their way to help you. People walking down the streets will smile and let you pet their dogs. They all seem to have dogs.
Despite their disconcerting political and cultural history, marred by invasions, struggle for borders, forms of terrorism and identity wars, these guys have evolved to be a bunch of very welcoming people. They will chat with you if you want to or leave you alone to do your thing. "Jiyo aur jeene do" done nicely.
2. They're excellent in English. Definitely, the ones below 40 or so know amazing English, making Serbia easy to navigate and live in.
They seem to also have points of view on global events and come across as people interested in knowing about stuff in general.
3. They are nice towards Indians.
A lot of them have watched Bollywood movies or have eaten Indian food. The two biggest exports of India (apart from Yoga) have done their jobs well. They also like us because they kind of hate the British, Americans and French. Hehe. They almost extend a hand of solidarity for having subtly shared oppression. They also tend to think of Indians as non-aggressive and non-violent. Still, it is only very recently they've started to have an influx of Indians, so maybe they should take time and validate their early judgement.
4. They hate their government. They openly criticize the corruption in the country and don't want to take vaccines. However, about 40% of Serbia has had double vaccination, and there is almost no masking policy in open areas. In closed spaces, masking is suggested but not at all enforced. "Sab Apna Apna dekh lo"
We've been trying to be as careful as possible, but what the hell, we're double vaccinated. Jo Hoga Dekha jayega. Remember, YOLO?
*Hot Revelation by Taxi Driver from Airport to Hotel: The Sheikh of Abu Dhabi is massively investing in Belgrade to develop its waterfront across the Sava river. They'll be building luxury malls, office spaces and luxury hotels. Very Arabia style. Creepily extravagant (read arrogant). How long will Belgrade hold onto its current very distinctive identity is anyone's guess.*
5. Oh, and they're hot AF. All women, all men are good looking, well dressed, fit with pretty faces. What more do I have to say here? Never seen so many cute people in one city. Belgrade is heaven for finding hotness for sure.
One fun thing I encountered quite a bit on my trip was that people really seemed to know Priyanka Chopra. So every time I mentioned my name Priyanka, the response I got was "As in Chopra?" and that was umm, a couple of laughs and a great ice-breaker.
So much more to tell about Serbia.
India's Gold Win at Olympics today has made this day even more special. Such a power @Neeraj Chopra.
Signing off from Serbia's prettiest city tonight, Novi Sad.
With Love,
