Smells are the first things that strike you. Food is revered, sausage is a delicacy, and ajvar is a culinary delight to be embraced. The scent of cigarette smoke pervades the air. This is Serbia.
Dogs run free, sparring for territory. Lean suburbanites tend impressive gardens, rotating crops with the seasons. Food could be scarce at any time. Friendly locals suggest which brand of bottled water to buy, but smile with crooked grins because they prefer the beer. This is Serbia.
Modern shopping malls vie with art nouveau treasures and political graffiti to grab your attention.
Refugees cluster in tent cities outside transportation hubs, hoping to move north into the EU. Mothers nurse their babies in train station hallways. Sanitation workers do their best to keep things clean. Harried Aid Workers try to help the daily influx of new people.
People go about their normal lives, waiting for buses, shopping the local farmers markets, and loving their cafe culture.
Couples get married, Mothers of the Bride dress to the nines, and young and old dance in the street.
Orthodox priests stroll with teenagers.
But the one thing that stands out overall is the people – their kindness, patience, and dignity. Thank you Serbians for this welcoming introduction to your beautiful county. You are Serbia.
Terri & James
GALLIVANCE 
Lovely post, and a great collage of photos. Would love to go there, but it won’t be for a while yet.
Alison
Thanks Alison. With a bit of research, Serbia makes an interesting stop. For years we’ve tried to understand the Balkans war and its causes, and our time here has helped. The Balkans still aren’t the easiest place to move around, but we have thoroughly enjoyed our time here, and can recommend it. ~James
Beautiful pictures, great post.
Thanks for the comment Cindy and for dropping by the blog. Serbia is getting lots of negative press these days, but we’ve really enjoyed our visit here. Like many places in the Balkans, it seems to be moving on from past difficulties, and trying to look toward the future. ~James
Hi James. Thanks for the update. I love visiting places that have a bit of a danger element. Glad that Serbia is on the way to recovery. Enjoy the week end 🙂
Wonderful way to showcase Serbia. Glad you are having such a great trip.
Thanks Laura. Serbia has been a real surprise for us. Coming in, we didn’t really know what to expect, and it’s turned out much better than we thought it might be. Many countries in Eastern Europe were under the iron fist of Russia, and it made a long-term impact on the attitudes of the people. And while the Balkans were mostly communists, they had self rule, and it’s made a big difference in the culture and how they react to foreigners. ~James
Beautiful photos, captions too. Who would have thought, that in a region once so ravaged by war, this country would transform itself into a spot of such beauty…amen for that and for the citizens who survived and picked up the pieces once again.
Many thanks, Amit, you’ve captured it perfectly. It was really gratifying to see the kindness the folks of Serbia are showing the refugees and migrants. I think they have a sincere appreciation of how things were then, compared to now. All the best, Terri
Fantastic.
Thanks Tricia. I was wondering if you’d seen changes in the country from when you were there? ~Terri
I bet those red peppers are delicious!
Leslie
Leslie, the red peppers are delicious! They use them this time of year to make ajvar – an addictive spread that’s great on fresh bread (or just about anything)! And everyone was buying them by the bushel. ~Terri
Oooh I have no doubt that they are good!
Leslie
With of the negative news surrounding Serbia, it was so interesting to read your post to gain a different perspective.
We felt the same way, Lynn, because we honestly didn’t know what to expect. We were totally bowled over by the kindness of the people. Glad that we could add another perspective. ~Terri
I have never been to Serbia before. It would be a difficult time to be there to see all the refugees. I am sure it is heartbreaking.
It was our first time to Serbia, too, Nicole, and we were so impressed by the people. We saw the greatest number of refugees in Belgrade and Subotica (very near the border). This was just before Hungary finished its border fence and closed down access, so I think they were making a dash for the border before it closed. We saw the greatest number of children at the train station and Tent City in Belgrade, and I found myself wondering where they would end up and what they would remember. It will be interesting to keep tabs on them. ~Terri
I bet that was really difficult to see Terri. I know I’d be heartbroken. I am sure Serbia would be quite an interesting place to visit as well.
Hi Terri & James – I love the detail of your writing. Each photo has a special taste. I think I really felt Serbia through your post.
– Ruta
Thanks so much, Ruta for your very kind words! I’m glad that we could bring Serbia to life for you. Are you in Spain now? ~Terri
Serbia has so many faces. Thank you for sharing all your excellent photos and stories. I enjoy traveling the world with you. 🙂 ❤
Tess, I’m so glad that you enjoyed it. As always it was an interesting education and eye opener. Like you, we think that’s what it’s all about. 🙂 ~Terri
What a wonderful collage of photos and perspectives of a country of which we normally only hear sad things.
The sentence that jumped out at me was “Food could be scarce at any time.” That sentence alone speaks volumes about the turbulence these people have survived.
Thanks Joanne, you have a keen eye. It seemed that absolutely everyone, whether living in the city or country, was growing food. Tiny plots and huge gardens were everywhere. And since the autumn harvest was going on, food was plentiful, so people were canning vegetables like crazy. I remember how much my Mom loved having a cellar full of veggies for the long winter. 🙂 ~Terri
Both of my parents were immigrants who lived through some very lean and difficult times. I know the ritual well of spring planting, summer tending, and fall harvest with all the work that went into preserving.
Sometimes I look at my typical urban backyard and wish I had my parents’ gardening genes 🙂
Love the colourful buildings. Great post!
Many thanks, Sylvia. I’m a big fan of the pastel buildings, too. They always remind me of New Orleans or Charleston. 🙂 ~Terri
A fabulous into Serbia and a tribute to the people.
Many thanks, Sue. Serbia was a lot of experiences and sensations all rolled into one – made even more poignant by the Refugee Crisis. ~Terri
The pepper spread on bread looks amazing (I am reading while hungry, but still …)! Your photos and summary are a great overview of Serbia. Did you find it similar to Bosnia & Herzegovina or any other Balkan neighbors you’ve already visited? I’ve been to a small clump of the countries nearby but not Serbia.
So glad that you enjoyed it, Lexie. We are permanently addicted to the avjar. Your question about Serbia in comparison to other neighboring countries is excellent. It sparked a great conversation, and James and I came to this conclusion: the challenge of operating almost entirely in Cyrillic added a whole new twist for us. We hadn’t done that before, so it was a double-edged sword – fun when we were doing it for amusement, but tough when we really needed the information. And we both agree that the standout pleasant surprise was the people – welcoming, patient, kind, and interesting. ~Terri
Lovely collage. Yet another city I would love to visit.
Thanks LuAnn. I know that you and Terry have lots of places on your travel wish list. Do you have a Top 3? ~Terri
We don’t yet but I was just talking to Terry yesterday about making a top 10 list. Of course, your website will be invaluable. Would you mind if I email you with some questions when I begin that task?
We’d be happy to help in any way we can LuAnn, so feel free to email anytime. Contact us at gallivance@gmail.com
~James & Terri
What a great time of year to visit. Have you found it easy to be understood? Is English common, or is there another language you communicate in?
It is a good time to visit Susan. And actually, it’s warmer than we expected and rain hasn’t been a problem. Re: English, no it isn’t common, and it’s been a bit of a challenge. Our backup languages are Spanish and French, neither helpful in this part of the world. English is much more common in younger folks, so given a choice, that’s who we seek out, at bus and train ticket booths for instance. It’s interesting, I could, and may, write a post on our Cyrillic coping skills. 🙂 ~James
Oh, please write it. I remember standing in front of cyrillic words trying to sound them out only to come up with a very familiar ‘papier tolety’ or ‘ticketu’. Funny how travel surprises you, isn’t it?
A great review. Sounds like you are happy you visited this country.
After our first trip to the area, we didn’t really know what to expect, but our experience in Serbia was good and we’re glad we visited. One of our objectives was to get an understanding of the causes of all the conflicts, and being there helped. ~James
What a colorful and intriguing country! I wonder if any of the refugees would like to stay there?
Marilyn, from what I’ve read, the refugees really see the EU as the place to be: more jobs, and a support system to help get established. From what we’ve seen in the Balkans, each country has its own problems to deal with, and understandably, they don’t appear to have any interest in taking on more responsibilities. ~James
Wonderful piece – and so politically aware. When I was in Serbia, quite a while ago now, there were no refugees. However there were a lot of gypsies and some terrible poverty that led some families to send their kids onto really busy highways to beg for money. It was horribly dangerous.
We did see quite a few gypsies, and had read that they might be a problem, but we didn’t have any issues. Apparently, one of their scams is big groups of kids begging for money, and while you’re surrounded, someone picks your pocket. We had a few beggars, but no big deal. ~James
Thank you for this timely glimpse into Serbia. -Ginette
Thanks Ginette. When we were planning our trip we thought that the refugees might be an issue, but other than transport, we haven’t had any problems. We’ve sweated over a couple of border crossings, but things turned out fine. It was certainly sobering and thought provoking to see it in person. ~James
You’re embracing travel as true travellers and not tourist-I like that!
Feel like I’m there as a virtual traveler when I see your amazing photos and descriptions of the sights, sounds and smells. Serbia is a place we’d love to visit and we’re hoping it will be soon! Anita
Glad to transport you, Anita. Now that you’re there in Europe you’ll have ready access to so many wonderful places. I’m sure your wish list is a mile long. 🙂 ~Terri
What a wonderful glimpse of what Serbia is like.
So glad we could give you a peek, Dorothy. With all the great food here I wish we could make blogs that were scratch and sniff! 🙂 ~Terri
Create photos. You really capture how life goes on in Serbia.
Thanks so much! Although we’d been to the Balkans before, we weren’t sure what we’d experience in Serbia. It truly exceeded our expectations. So glad that you stopped by. All the best, Terri
It sounds like an interesting place.
Marie, it was a great surprise for us because we truly didn’t know what to expect – both interesting and memorable. ~Terri
Hoping our experience proves as memorable… however I think we’ll be leaving without an exit stamp (as we’re headed to Kosovo afterwards)
Hi Chris, I didn’t know you were in this part of the world. Isn’t it fascinating! We weren’t able to make it to Kosovo this trip so I can’t wait to hear all about your experiences. ~Terri
We’ll let you know how we go!