New Year, New Adventures

Yes, I know some time has passed since New Year's Eve and Spring is coming soon (at least here in Austria) - but since I started 2016 in a different country, facing new challenges while discovering amazing places this is the first thing I want to write about: Belgrade in Winter.

It was a rather spontaneous idea (which doesn't sound like me at all) when me and three other friends decided to go away for some days and spend New Year's Eve somewhere else for the first time. So we rented an apartment in the Old Town (through www.airbnb.com), got into our car and drove all the way to Serbia, and I can tell you, it was better than we had expected. Opinionated because of stereotypes we all might or might not know, we were positively surprised by the city and its history. We attended a guided walking tour through the main parts of the city (http://belgradefreetour.com/) - which I can highly recommend - and by the end of this long day we knew more about the Serbian culture than we actually wanted to at first (including their enthusiasm for spending time in 'kafanas' = traditional taverns with live music performances where most people used to go drinking). Speaking of drinking, our guide even let us have a taste of real Serbia giving us rakija - a strong type of fruit brandy popular in the Balkans (I wouldn't urge you to try it though). All this happened in Skadarlija, the so-called Bohemian quarter of Belgrade. 

And on went our tour... The most interesting part for me was the walk to the Fortress and Kalmegdan Park, where we went again the next day to take some pictures. I really loved it there and if I lived in this city, I would totally go there to read a book or have a picnic once in a while.

 



my "warm but fancy" combination includes:

- blush coat, Forever21

- white knitted turtleneck, Mango

- black leather leggings, Forever21

- black boots, Bershka

- black purse, TK Maxx

Besides our guided tour we searched for some great places ourselves; here's my list of what I loved in Belgrade: 

- Stepenice Restaurant:
An Italian restaurant, hidden but worth visiting with a great view and the only nice waiter we met during our trip. We even caught an evening with live music, were we could enjoy our not-overly-expensive dinner.

- Sofa Restaurant ○ Lounge ○ Bar:
Here we crashed a private party on New Year's Eve, where the mood was fantastic with a band singing Serbian songs, adults dancing around while we sipped on our drinks and enjoyed watching them. The place is close to the harbor and next to the clubs everyone told us to go to. Instead, we came here and loved the atmosphere with elegant but cozy furniture.

- Our apartment (!!):
Although there was a lot to see in this city, we also enjoyed spending time in our cozy two-room apartment close to the city center. My favorite memories here are playing 'Phase 10', preparing our own raclette and having long talks. 

What to consider when visiting Belgrade:
 - pick the right time to go: we decided to spend New Year's Eve there, which probably wasn't the best idea since Serbians celebrate the Orthodox New Year on January 14 - so we didn't get to see that many fireworks :(
- don't eat Pljeskavica at night (unless you have a good stomach): I learned this the hard way when I decided to eat this kind of grilled dish, a mixture of pork, beef and lamb, very late in the evening and didn't get to sleep at all afterwards.
- make sure you reserve a table at one of the restaurants in Skadarlija unless you want to go from restaurant to restaurant not finding free spots (or maybe we just weren't lucky on that night!)

Of course, this is only a summary of our trip - there was much more but feel free to ask in case you want more tips!