Este texto saiu no Times em novembro.
Depois o povo não entende quando eu digo que Belgrado é a próxima cidade européia a estourar como destino de turismo-curtição.
(A Chica Batella já entendeu.)
Europe’s best nightlife in buzzing Belgrade
Enjoy the finest nightclubs, bars, and restaurants in Europe’s new capital of cool
Serbia is an undiscovered gem of southeast Europe.
The capital, Belgrade, is teeming with superb bars and clubs, fine fish and meat restaurants, and a complex history that keeps the sightseeing fascinating, despite being shorn of ancient architecture.
Elsewhere in the country the Danube floodplain is ripe for growing the most delicious organic vegetables, the second city of Novi Sad in the north hosts the brilliant EXIT festival in a medieval fort, there’s local and gypsy folk music a-plenty, epitomised by the Guca trumpet festival with its half-a-million visitors each summer, and if that’s not enough there’s mountains and monasteries, skiing and wine trails.
Belgrade is different enough to enjoy daytime around the city before hitting the town for an evening of revelry.
Wandering the city offers a welcome change to the pristine facade of Europe’s chocolate-box old towns, with the faded grandeur of the few pre-20th century buildings sitting awkwardly alongside concrete communist-era structures.
The recently completed exterior of the huge St Sava Orthodox church glistens next to other buildings while the National Theatre, Old Royal Palace, university and National Museum (closed for renovation) provide some older highlights.
High on a hill at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, the Kalemegdan Fortress dates back to pre-Roman times – the current walls were contructed to the 15th and 16th centuries. The views are tremendous and it houses a beautiful park, one of many green spaces across the city.
…The good news for tourists is that the city is incredibly cheap by our standards. Main courses in the best restaurants are rarely more then £10, killer cocktails in the coolest bars are £2.50-5, while a beer should set you back between £1 and £1.50 depending on the venue. And the local brews (try Jelen Pivo or neighbouring Montenegro’s Nikšicko) tend to be far superior to and cheaper than the foreign imports.
While the people are some of the friendliest in the world, the one complaint I heard is that they are still being punished after suffering enough because of Milosevic. Economic sanctions were accompanied by travel restrictions, many of which are still in place – it’s very hard for residents to obtain visas to visit the EU, for instance.
To simplify the situation in one of the world’s most historically complex countries would be irresponsible – it’s best not to engage in political conversation, plenty blame the West for 1999, but visitors receive a very warm welcome.
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