Back in 2017, I got a chance to visit Serbia, which was just a quick stop in my quest to tick it off as a nation visited in my quest to see every single country in the world. However, it soon became one of the few places that I visited just to tick off that I loved visiting. Since then, I have made a mental note that should I be in Europe again that I would go to Serbia for a longer visit and exploration.
VIDEO – Re-Visiting Belgrade Which Is One Of My Favourite Cities in Europe
Expensive airport transport
Fast forward to 2024, I am now in my second year around the world trip. I’m taking my final flight from Vancouver to Zurich to Belgrade and will be arriving in Serbia shortly.
After clearing immigration, the airport pickup I’d arranged from my hostel arrived. The driver told me to meet him outside of what looks to be a control tower of sorts.
Shortly after, we were on our way to the hostel I’m staying which is roughly a 20-minute drive from the airport since there’s no traffic at night. I’ve got to say that this airport pick-up is so much more expensive than what I would have paid in Poland or other countries I’ve visited during my second one-year trip around the world. Read this article to see my spending breakdown in Belgrade.
Exploring Belgrade in the morning
Because I was still jetlag from flying from Vancouver, Canada, I woke up super early in the morning and decided to explore the city.
The first thing I did was purchase a sim card which was surprisingly cheap in this country. My first impression so far is that Belgrade is very grungy but it has its charm and fits the city’s vibe. Next, I walked along Knez Mihailova Street which is the famous walking strip in this city as well as the surrounding areas.
After reaching the end of the strip, I arrived at a mall which I also explored since I was there already.
On my way back to my hostel, I saw a Chinese restaurant so I went in and got myself lunch. I was shocked at this Chinese woman cashier who spoke Serbian, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, and English to serve the different tourists eating at this place.
Grabbing dinner with friends
That late afternoon, I was meeting up with a friend named Teodora who I interviewed in my Personality YouTube channel’s podcast. We met up at an area I explored earlier.
Teodora and her boyfriend arrived and greeted me and they took me to a local Serbian restaurant to try Serbian food.
The food is meat and dairy-heavy. I avoided dairy because I’m lactose intolerant but the meat and salad were quite good. They also got me to try some shots of alcohol which is a local specialty and it was pretty decent. I was told it’s easy to get drunk on it as it doesn’t feel like you’re drinking something that contains a lot of alcohol content.
Exploring Belgrade with friends
After dinner, we were supposed to play some board games. Unfortunately, the place was fully booked. We decided to go for a walk and sightsee the city. We even visited the original place I stayed at back in 2017 which used to look ghetto but is now developed and a nice-looking area.
I enjoyed my time exploring the town with my friends. We spent hours discussing the city, life here, work, and personality types. We ended the evening grabbing tea and we parted ways just outside my hostel.
Eating Chinese food in Belgrade
The next few days in the city, I mostly did some short walking and ate more Chinese food.
My jetlag was setting in and I was feeling very tired and sluggish so I spent a lot of time resting as well.
Heading back to the airport
Before long, it was time to go to the airport and catch my flight going to Warsaw, Poland. I’ve got to say that while I like Belgrade, I don’t like the transport cost here. It’s very expensive. Their airport is also not the best. It took forever for the check-in counter to open. All the Polish people in my lineup looked annoyed. And there was even one entitled woman with a lot of plastic surgery on her face that cut in the front of the line. Luckily, I didn’t let her budge in front of me. However, many people just murmured in their displeasure at this repulsive woman.
Conclusion
I enjoyed my time in Belgrade the second time around. Next time I return, I’d like to visit nearby cities as well. I wouldn’t be opposed to coming back here and staying longer in the future. This is assuming I can secure a good priced Airbnb to set up base in.
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