Every time I think of Serbia I think of Siberia and I don’t know what to do about it. Please help. I headed here/ there/wherever it is called December 2024/January 2025.
On my quest to travel to every European country, my travels took me to:
- Fly into Belgrade, Serbia
- Bus to Pristina, Kosovo
- Prizeren, Gjakova, Kosovo
- Bus to Skopje, North Macedonia
- (Lake) Ohrid North Macedonia
- Flight from Skopje to Belgrade, back to Amsterdam
belgrade, serbia airport
I downloaded this car:go app ahead of time since Uber / Bolt doesn’t operate in Belgrade (Siberia). In true Corrine fashion, I don’t buy sim cards. I like pretending it’s pre-internet days and the struggle that comes with it. The unnecessary inconvenience humbles me.
There is wifi at the Belgrade airport, but it disconnects at inconvenient times. I stood waiting by the taxi area just outside arrivals, only to panic when the app showed the car I ordered arrived, but I saw no car arrival.
To add to the kerfuffle, the app location when I booked didn’t put me at the airport, but on an unnamed road beside the airport. So I thought the car was going to head to the farm field and not the arrivals hall of the airport.
With car:go you have the option to call ($$), but no option to message within the app so I panicked some more. I was going to cancel it, mid-panic, but they charge a fee. End of sentence. Plus, I still needed to get to the hotel.
There is a bus service to Belgrade from the airport, but it looked like it’s 45-1+ hours, and I had a free walking tour to get to, so I didn’t have any time to faff about.
Back to my self-inflicted problem, I went back inside and thank the marketing gods for competitor advertising/ mass consumerism because there was a bright yellow sign in English from YandexGo that said the ride share service pickup is located upstairs at the airport.
Praise be.
Headed upstairs and there stood the car:go driver.
belgrade eats.
The “Christmas market” near Republic Square has maybe 6 stalls- 2 selling mulled wine, 2 selling meat, 2 selling those chimney stack churros. It was cash only when I bought a sausage.
Can I talk about bun/bread size and ratio for a sec? UGH when there is too much thick bun for the inner yum, and you end up tasting only bread. What is wrong with people- and I’m well aware of the sexual innuendo I’m about to type – who sticks a 30cm sausage into a circular 15cm bun!?
Cut the sausage in half so you can fully cover the bun- real estate that’s given to you!
Did we not all learn simple shapes as children?!? A rectangular sausage (hot dog) doesn’t fit in a circular bun (hamburger). Frankly, it’s a disservice to the meat- It deserves an equal bite of bread to meat ratio. Not this one-sided, disgrace that was presented to me.
Toasted bun- YAS
7 different toppings and sauces – YAS
Circular bun with straight-line formed meat – NEH
You get bites of pure bun with bits of the sausage sticking out at either end. How am I supposed to eat that without looking like a fool? Not to mention my disappointed taste buds when I get a pure bun bite. Come on, guys! Grow up!
belgrade cheaps.
Belgrade walking tour – I partook in Free Zemun Walking Tour since it was the only one available on Saturday after my flight arrival. You meet in the Republic Square, and the guide will take you to the bus outside the centre. You ride said bus for about 10 minutes until you get to Zemun with the guide. He told us that next year (2026), public transport was going to be free. But that didn’t help us… or did it? We went to a kiosk to buy the bus tickets and the system was down, so Christmas came early, and we went on the bus for free.
I took out 4000 RSD at Halkbank for the day and a bit that I was in Serbia because free walking tours often need cash.
Halkbank doesn’t charge a fee for cash withdrawals. I assume because Bruce Banner wouldn’t pull that stunt, which I respect.
Skadarlija is a cute little street for you to visit.
belgrade travel.
From Belgrade, Serbia, I was heading to Pristina, Kosovo. The previous year, I heard a lot of hoopla about travelling to/from Serbia because Kosovo isn’t recognised as a separate country. But there were a few buses that went to Pristina, and I didn’t have any fuss using my Dutch passport. To get to the new Belgrade bus station (Nova autobuska), I took public transport because it is a schlep and a half if you walk. I tried to buy a ticket on the tram thingy, but there were no machines and the driver had her little window closed. So Christmas came early, and I went on the tram for free.
I’m going to bold this because it is important: there is a 300 RSD fee at the Belgrade bus station. Even if you buy the ticket from a desk, it’s not included in the price and you will have to go to the other desk to pay the fee. You won’t be able to scan to get through the barrier to the international buses if you don’t have the receipt for this fee. At the time, I had to go to platform 37 for Belgrade to Pristina. I look like a fool trying to scan the ticket instead of the fee receipt, so you don’t have to. You’re welcome.
