Getting to Know Serbia

Greetings,

I’m writing this from Zlatibor, a resort town I had the pleasure of visiting last summer which is in the western part of Serbia. Zlatibor is a popular spot in the summer where people from all over Serbia come to spend their holidays as well as a destination in demand during the winter months for the skiing and such. Besides that, it’s also a happening place with lots going on for those interested in some evening activities or apres ski.

Since we last chatted I had the pleasure of getting to know the nightlife in Belgrade a little better thanks to my new friend Marko from Belgrade at Night. We went to Mikser House and Freestyler; I’m starting to get to know Belgrade as I was already familiar with both of these venues. To say myself, friends and everyone else out that evening had a great night would be an understatement. Usually it’s a wise move to retire early but Belgrade seems to be one of those places that rewards those who just keep going with the vibe; we all had a very memorable night.

Following that it was a bit of a later start than usual for obvious reasons before heading west until we reached the town of Valjevo, met our gregarious guides from Wild Serbia and not long after started a hike along the Gradac River not far from the village of Lelic. The Gradac River is one of the cleanest in Serbia and supposedly people drink directly from the river itself; I drank a few times from a spring and it was everything you’d expect from a natural mountain spring. To say the Gradac River is refreshing would be an understatement and it wasn’t cool but ice cold!

We hiked along the river for a few hours crossing it back and forth maybe a dozen times or so until we reached our final destination. It was a cool spot along the river right near a trout farm where we ate fresh trout with some local produce followed by one of the larger watermelons I’ve seen in recent memory. The trout was terrific and naturally I had to help myself to seconds, please and thank you. Following that my new friend Mark went swimming and it looked like such a good idea I soon followed suit; if you want to wake up quick just take a dip in that freezing water; it was fantastic.

That night it was an easy one, yours truly did not get much sleep the night before so made up for it with a solid 9pm pass out; sometimes those are necessary and when you awake the next morning feeling fresh you’re always glad you did. The weather wasn’t ideal on this day so our plans got slightly skewed but we did manage to see some great sights along the way. It had been a busy few days and that coupled with a serious night out in Belgrade made a day spent touring the countryside in the van a most pleasant change of pace.

Yesterday we saw this very cool home isolated on a small island in the Drina River near Bajina Basta; I wouldn’t mind spending a night or so there, I dare say. We stopped at a viewpoint over Perucac which is a small village that is also along the Drina River and a natural border between Serbia and Bosnia. We made our way to Tara National Park but the weather wasn’t in our favour and we made a quick stop at a WWII Memorial outside Kadinjaca. Following that we took a train ride before making our way to Zlatibor where we went out for dinner and drinks; I retired early hence I’m writing this the next day at 5:20am.

I’ve been to Zlatibor twice now and both times it was foggy, supposedly the weather has been great this summer and it was only like this one day the entire months which happened to be the last day of the month and the day we visited. Suffice to say, I’m having a great time in Serbia and glad to have returned. I really enjoyed my time the first time and doing so once again. We’re only here for a night but I do want you to see what it’s like in and around Zlatibor through my photo essay form last year.

In closing, the #MySerbia trip was created and managed by iambassador in association with the Serbian Tourism Board. That said, obviously all thoughts are my own as they always have been and always will be. For more images and insights from Serbia, visit My.Serbia.Travel/#smw for a stream of what’s happening on social media across most popular networks.

Tips hat,