I just finished writing part 1 and realized it’s far more philosophical than I intended. Seems to be a pattern here. So before I jump to Novi Sad here are a few more thoughts on Belgrade – in no particular order and far more of the free association/stream of consciousness I wanted to present in the last post.

Without doing too much comparison but simply putting it into context, at least marginally, Belgrade is a lot like Baltimore or Pittsburgh used to be…definitely seen better days but has lots of promise and potential.

The architecture makes is feel like a mini Budapest.

St. Sava Cathedral (above) is lovely from the outside, but is just a shell. Raw concrete and rebar on the inside. Interesting that the things here that aren’t that pretty on the outside but the thing that is externally glorious is an empty husk.

It’s hilly.

I love Cyrillic typefaces!

Narrow neighborhood streets.

Lots of bakery type bread shops.

Tram Number 2 is a great way to get a bit of an overview of the city without having to do a tour. (I love cities that have a ring route trams/buses – and will do a post on this at a later date.)

Food and drink are inexpensive by US standards.

I was perusing the main shopping area and within 100 yards of my hostel were a Sephora and a Gap. Global economy I guess.

I didn’t feel unsafe walking around the city alone at night.

There are a couple of buildings in the downtown area that were bombed in the NATO raids and have been left standing. Depending on who you ask, their political leanings and age, they will tell you that they are monuments so history isn’t forgotten or that the government just doesn’t have the money to rebuild. I don’t know the real reasons, nor do I care about the socio/political specifics. One thing is for sure they make a statement to this American who grew up in the time of the cold war, with fear of being bombed by the USSR but never lived in a place that was really at risk.

The two restaurants where I actually sat down to eat (Djir and Supermarket) were hip, cool and would be favorites if they were in the states.

Half liters of beer for the equivalent of 40 cents and available at every shop, newspaper kiosk and market can be a dangerous proposition to a population.

I overheard 2 boys, probably about 13 or 14, whose conversation went back and forth between Serbian and amazingly unaccented English, ordering pizza at about 9:30 or 10:00 am. That, in and of itself wasn’t surprising. It’s what happened when asked what they wanted to drink. One boy to the other “whaddya want to drink?” The other “it’s not too early for beer is it?” The first “nah, never!”

The cheap local beer is quite refreshing and tasty.

A local beer preference is fruit flavored beer. Not like lambics, wheat beers with fruit notes (blueberry, raspberry, etc) or pumkin ales. I am talking about a wine cooler like beer…grapefruit, lime, lemon etc. Think Boones Farm of beer at about 2% alcohol by volume. No…it’s not tasty.

The café culture here is amazing. More amazing is the number of them in proportion to the number of places to actually get a meal. (I learned it has to do with tax implications. Serve coffee/beer/wine/alcohol and it’s one thing. Add food to the mix and it’s another story. If you are hungry get something from the ubiquitous pljeskavić a  (pl-yes-ka-vit za) or sendviče (easy to figure out if you know “v” is pronounced “w” and č is “ch”) and head to the nearest café.

The soft cheeses are amazing. There is one that is sort of half way between cream cheese and feta…wow.

Belgrade is not a good place to be a vegetarian…unless you only cook at home.

The peaches, plums and apples I had were amazingly flavorful.

Less than 10% of people actually pay for the buses or trams.

Small children stay up (and out) very late.

The 2 biggest sporting outfits in Belgrade are not football (soccer) teams. They are the Red Stars and the Partizans’ basketball clubs.

Men in Serbia carry man purses. From the oldest grandpa to the Serbian equivalent of a frat guy.  It’s functional…but a little weird.

Street art (graffiti) is everywhere…it ranges from personal to political to just plain art.

Little popcorn stands are everywhere. So are the men on the street selling grilled/roasted ears of corn.

The donuts (Krofne) despite being filled with nutella are just not that good.

I love the industrial feel of the dumpsters here. Elegant with a nod to art deco.

Belgrade Greeters and Belgrade (Free) Walking Tours ROCK!