We had a really quick stay in Serbia. The culture changed slightly when we crossed the border from Bulgaria. Most other aspects of life were still very much the same except for being outside of the European Union.

Serbia

Capital: Belgrade

Population: 7 millions

Language: Serbian

Currency: Dinar (65 = $1 NZ)

Region: Balkans, Europe

Province: 5 (2 visited)

Random Fact: Nikolas Tesla is from Serbia and he's on the 100 Dinari note

Serbia scored ★★★☆☆

Important Pointers

People & Culture (PC)

• The homes are colourfully painted with beautiful flower pot plants. The Serbians love to garden both for food and decoration.
• Villages and towns were alive and bustling. Unlike Bulgaria where the youths (and workers) all left rural areas in search of work.
• Everyone have memories of the recent wars - they are always mentioning the NATO bombings.
• Very strong outdoor cafe culture but missing the great cakes and slices! Serbian coffee is a remnant from the Ottoman empire because it is the same style found in Turkey.

Our fun host Mariana & Natasha

Infrastructure, Safety and Politics (ISP)

• Highways weren't built with shoulders so it was narrow for us and the cars. At least the drivers were patient and kind giving us room when passing.
• We felt pretty safe the entire time in Serbia. The people were friendly and approachable.
• Workers would take advantage of the 90 days tourist visa to the EU to work and bring money back home. Although they were working illegally, the earning is much higher than working in Serbia.

Lightning! …And no shoulders for cyclists

Landscape & Nature (LAN)

• We cycled straight through the middle of the country which was hilly but not difficult for us.
• The hills and mountains were lush and green, but plenty of rubbish on the side of the road.

Our favourite place was Vrnjacka Banja

Value for Money (VM)

• Still very cheap for European standards - the Balkans are great for budget travellers
• We had to use Airbnb once and it was good value for an entire house. The price of a hostel in New Zealand got us a home in Krusevac for 2 nights stay (which accommodated up to 4 guests!)
• We really enjoyed the white cheese here because they were great in summer salads and cost about $2/kg.
• Hot pool "banja" were affordable. Our host took us there using her 100 ticket booklet and it worked out to be $5 per admission.

Our silk road journey to the west

Camping & Outdoor Living (COL)

• We camped half the time, and couchsurfed the other half. It was easy to freedom camp in the fields. We were responsible with our rubbish all the time.
• Most town centres had springs to refill our water bottles. The only trouble we had was finding public toilets. They aren't so common and cost.
• We started making salads a lot for our meals so didn't use the cooker. Before when we used the cooker in public parks we got a lot of stares from locals.

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Return for a Retour?

We had a pleasant time in Serbia but didn't get to explore much of the country. Belgrade and Novi Sad were skipped due to our schedule for Sarajevo but that is on our list for the next visit!

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