Disembarked in Belgrade: Great People, Brutalist Monoliths, and Conflicting Impressions

Visiting Belgrade is like coming to at the end of an all-weekend blackout and realizing that you’re in some relic of a punk bar that used to be famous back in the 1980’s. The decor varies from nostalgically beautiful to grimy, and the people range from instantly amiable to despondently depressed. Everyone is drinking cheap beer and acting like it’s better than it is. You’re not exactly sure how you got there, and you’re not exactly sure if that’s a good thing or bad thing…

Of all the places I’ve been, perhaps none have left me with as polarized an opinion as Belgrade. It’s been nearly two months since my one-month stay in the Serbian capital, and I haven’t written about it until now because I’ve been trying to sort out my somewhat complicated feelings on the matter.

How do I put it? Belgrade has a big dichotomy going on. There are aspects of the city that are historic, beautiful, and inviting, but at the same time it has this foreboding element that warns of a dark past and a questionable future.

To highlight this—an anecdote:

I’m eating at a restaurant called Стара Херцеговина or Stare Hercegovina (depending on which alphabet your eyes can decipher) near my apartment on Sajkaska where I’m having some kind of ground-beef and onion mixture that has been wrapped in steamed chard or collards and drenched in gravy (it was, by the way, hands down the most delicious thing I ate over the course of my stay). The waiter asks what I think of Serbians, and I say they’re very friendly, to which he replies, “Yes, we know how to have a good time. At least when we’re not having a war. During war, it’s all business. But in between wars Serbs do three things very well: we eat, we drink, and we fuck. Maybe four things—we also prepare for the next war.”

You see, this is what I’m talking about. It is not unusual to hear someone in Belgrade bring up past and future wars, unprompted.

The Serbs are a wonderful people, but I worry for their future. It is not a good sign when war is on the tip of everyone’s tongue.

Within two weeks of my arrival, the Balkan post-war gloom had settled on me. By then I was whiling away the hours with a young French artist who expressed that she too had been infected by the bizarre Belgradian atmosphere. As a result, we fled into the refuge of endless art debate and assorted nighttime debauchery.

But all that is a different story, and I feel like I’m hammering on the darker aspect of Belgrade too much. Let me hit on some high points:

The Price

The dollar, euro, or pound goes a long way in Belgrade. If you’re looking for a European vacation on a budget, it belongs near the top of your list.

I secured a large, fully equipped, one-bedroom apartment in a great part of town with a sixth story view for a month for under $1,000. And that’s on the high end of the price spectrum. There are fine-looking Airbnbs and hostels for dirt cheap. Food, booze, cigarettes, clothes–all of it is a fraction of the price you’d pay someplace like Paris or Barcelona.

The People

If at first glance Serbs can seem somewhat standoffish, it’s because they have that serious Eastern European demeanor. But for the most part, the second you begin talking to anyone they become friendly and generous.

It wasn’t unusual for me to enter a bar or restaurant with the intention of having a couple of drinks and maybe a bite to eat only to end up spending hours talking with customers and bartenders who are all-too-eager to buy the next round, and the next one, and the one after that…

The Architecture

If you’re a fan of unique architectural design, Belgrade is a must-see.

Serbian design tends to fall into either Brutalism or Modernism, which is reflective of the country’s history, political evolution, and location. As the first country to leave the USSR when it was expelled in 1948, Yugoslavia (of which Serbia was a part before it broke up in the early 1990’s) retained a heavy Brutalist-Socialist influence. At the same time, its liberalized culture and geographic approximation to the Western powers lent it a degree of Modernism that isn’t as common in other ex-Soviet nations.

As an American, Modernist structures are my norm, so it was the Brutalist monstrosities that most struck me—massive monoliths of cement and glass.

The Food & Drink

I will be honest—genuinely interesting restaurants seem to be rather sparse. A lot of the time it’s overcooked meat with some form of basic potato dish on the side. But when you do find good food, it is memorable.

For me there were two standouts. First, the aforementioned Стара Херцеговина or Stare Hercegovina. Second, Botako, an Italian joint had consistently outstanding food as well as one of the best terraces I’ve seen anywhere.

As for places to drink, Belgrade offers a slew of great bars and neighborhoods. A few of my favorites include Idiott Bar by the botanical gardens (a nice, relaxing neighborhood spot), the Sinnerman rooftop bar (good view, good atmosphere, sinners welcome), and Rakia bar which has great bartenders and an excellent selection of the national booze—rakia.

For visitors who are looking to stay in the city center, check out the neighborhood Skadarlija (a hip district that has become a bit too trendy to really be called “bohemian,” as many people describe it, but it’s got character), Savamala (a lot of great down-and-dirty music spots), and the area around Trg Republike has some alright places, even if it is a bit touristy.

You should see Trg Republike if for no other reason than to prove that a word can truly be spelled with nothing but three consonants. But once you burn out on it, wander north into the upscale Dorcol neighborhood where you can find a smattering of nightclubs and cocktail joints. Check out Bistro Dorcol on the corner of Studenski Park, where they have a drink menu as long as the Danube.

Iron Republic

Iron Republic is a gym where they train true Ivan Dragos—Serbian monsters who are serious about packing on muscle. The owner Alex is a nice guy with some solid workout tips.

Even though you’re not there to compete with anyone, you feel like you have to seriously step up your game in order to fit in. In the month I trained there I saw the most dramatic muscle gains and fat loss of my life.

The Verdict

So—what do I think of Belgrade? It’s a question I’ve been struggling to answer.

It didn’t provide me with any epic stories like most places I visit—though that could largely be due to the prosaic, almost lazy mood I was in at the time. (I’d just come off a wild stint in Mexico, and I was in serious need of some relaxation rather than rowdiness.) It also didn’t nail me with any substantial problems or let-downs.

If anything, I was struck by a sense that it is a city and a country that is on the cusp of change. It has a real calm-before-the-storm vibe.

What will that change bring? On one hand, a lot of Serbs are pushing for the country to take progressive steps into the future. On the other, old animosities that were never sorted out after the last war seem to be have the entire place anchored in its dark past. And it doesn’t help that Russia uses the Balkans the same way the U.S. uses Latin America—as its favorite nest of hornets to whack and stir up.

For now I’ll hold off judgement on Belgrade and wait to see what the future brings. Whatever happens, I hope that the Serbs continue to eat, to drink, and to fuck, as these are apparently their surest indicators of peace.