And so I have book- ended another conference trip in Europe with a brief exploration of new territory, flipping a coin and landing in Serbia. As one of the guides on a tour exclaimed- tourists are sometimes confused between Serbia and Siberia!
Really? Well a frozen wasteland in eastern Russia may be more memorable but I’m pretty sure I booked a ticket to Serbia on the Balkan Peninsula of Europe.
I have tried to soak up the vibe of Serbia for a few days .. and not come up with much. Serbia is definitely battle-scarred from its history- it sits in a key geographical position over the Danube River and at the crossroads between Europe and Turkey and the Silk Road trading routes to the east.
The highlights of Serbia seem to revolve around fortresses and hidden monasteries where the local Slavic people were busy repelling invaders or hiding from Ottoman Turks (who occupied them for 5 centuries) or the AustroHungarian overlords for the next few centuries until World War 1. Next came the Socialist regime that was Yugoslavia but the utopia disintegrated with the Balkan wars (Serbs haven’t forgotten that Croatia willingly joined with Nazi Germany to execute around 300,000 Serbs as part of ethnic cleansing.. it wasn’t just the Jewish Holocaust). So now everyone in the region has their own sandpit to play in.. And since then their gift to the world has been Novak Djokovic- their national hero – it depends if you want an ill- mannered jerk as your ambassador?
But there have been some glimpses of pleasantness in the journey- spring is a lovely time to travel the countryside with fresh apple and plum blossom on trees and garden beds lined with sprays of pastel hyacinth and brightly coloured tulips. The towns in the north have retained a charming flavour of Viennese architecture which makes up for the slightly depressing scenes in the capital Belgrade which was heavily bombed in the World Wars and rebuilt with soulless concrete monstrosities favoured by the Eastern Bloc communist architects. I also discovered a burgeoning winemaking scene in northern Serbia confidently making excellent traditional styles such as Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc along with local grape varieties Neoplanta and Probus. A pleasant afternoon at a winery with rustic lunch and wine-tasting was the saviour of my trip. From what I hear the wine is not quite as good in Siberia!
