first impressions of belgrade, serbia
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- čas přidán 4. 06. 2024
- 00:00 intro
01:45 1. amazing nightlife
02:24 2. do people in belgrade speak english?
03:30 3. food is expensive
04:20 4. how our opinion on serbian people has changed
05:45 5. the tap water
06:02 6. how our opinion on belgrade's architecture has changed
07:50 7. hills and stairs
08:34 8. friendly outdoor cats
09:08 9. diverse landscapes
11:12 10. milk and dairy
12:23 outro & what's next for us
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The majority of Serbs under 40 speak English. Nearly all younger generations do. English is taught from kindergarten. You'll see if you spend a little more time in Serbia.
Their first-hand experience proved different, and I strongly agree with them. Ppl would understand the language, but they don't know how to speak it. They are shy and afraid not to make mistakes.
@@MS-dl5rf nevertheless, the first comment is correct. Most people under 40 will speak great English, specially in bigger cities. Hell, I'll be 53 soon and my generation can certainly converse in English. We all learnt two foreign languages in our elementary schools.
@@MS-dl5rf They ran into someone who doesn't know or doesn't want to speak English or is a tourist. Serbia is among top non-native English speaking Countries / English as second language in Europe after Germanic countries which are at the very top such as Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg.
@@MS-dl5rfIts absurd to weigh someone language proficiency and shyness online😂 This guys are in Belgrade as I can see, its one of the top english speaking cities in Europe... They can hit Athens or Budapest, not to mention Rome or Paris to compare... English level a2 at the best...
There are around 400.000 people in Belgrade that work in jobs with English as a primary language. That is along with Philipines the greatest percentage in the World.
The cold expression of people...the same about the slavic nations I ve heard in Germany (where I live since 4 yrs), but the thruth is quite opposite- Serbs (and most east europeans) are not able to fake their emotions. So if they like you, or if they are not feeling ok atm- they will not try to hide it. No fake politeness there. But once they smiled to you- be sure its not some superficial thing. On the other hand, all my colleagues here in Germany re very polite/smiling all the time. No one ever offered me to drive me home (in Serbia its so usual for colleagues to ask u if need a ride home) or go out for a drink after a work. I dont expect that someone is driving me home bcs he is my colleague, but I do expect some "special" treatment if u r already so "warm" to me. Its not easy to understand it after a few weeks spent in Serbia (and similar countries), but if you stay longer there and try to make some (not superficial) connections to the people, you ll understand it very well.
Jedna od prvih stvari koje sam primetio prvo u Bavarsko a kasnije i u Baden Virtembergu jeste bonton radi bontona i tek tada sam počeo da cenim "iskrenost" u našem izražavanju. Doduše, moram biti iskren kada su uslužne delatnosti u pitanju, fali nam uljudnosti u Srbiji,
@@milangrujicic4679 Slazem se, fali nam te uctivosti u zvanicnoj komunikaciji, ali sam hteo isteci da to nema nikakve veze sa tim da smo toboze hladni I distancirani
very true, the cold expressions of people in serbia is common to many slavic nations. As a croat living in canada, im surprised to see many of my colleagues think i am angry or in a bad mood in moment when im simply just neutral
We do not have fake smile culture. If we are angry we show it, if we are happy we smile. Simple as that. The same applies to Germans, but on top of that they are a bit colder then us
For many Slavic countries, it is true that they have a serious face and don't smile a lot. Southern slavs smile a little more unlike our other slavic brothers but not without reason and not with a fake smile. As for the customer service (this applies to almost all of Europe) it's different than in Canada and USA, because it's a different culture, the people who work in customer service don't put a fake smile on their face (if they did that people would think the person was crazy or something), the waiters won't stand over your head and ask you every five minutes if you need something, but will leave you to have your privacy while you talk and eat with the person you came with , etc. but this is all quite different in America, they have a so-called fake smile culture that is not characteristic of Europe in general. Americans see european kind of service as rude and in Europe it is completely normal while Europeans find it rude, strange and creepy that waiters and other customer service workers ask you every five minutes what you need and that with a fake smile.
Whoever thinks Balkan slavs dont smile enough should go visit Poland🤣
@@aurelije Do you think people are generally less happy there then?
@@MarketingTactics101 I didn't got to which place you refer. I think people in Serbia do have more life struggles but it doesn't mean they are not happy and that they can't show emotions an not to fake them until they break and start making a scenes like I heard it happens in US
You most likely ran into someone who doesn't know or doesn't want to speak or is a tourist. Serbia is among top non-native English speaking Countries / English as second language in Europe after Germanic countries which are at the very top such as Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg.
As for the mentality, the Serbian mentality is a mixture of southern, central and eastern Europe. For many Slavic countries, it is true that they have a serious face and don't smile a lot, this also applies to Serbia, but not to the same extent as in other Slavic countries, we smile a little more. As for the customer service (this applies to almost all of Europe) it's different than in Canada and USA, because it's a different culture, the people who work in customer service don't put a fake smile on their face (if they did that people would think the person was crazy or something), the waiters won't stand over your head and ask you every five minutes if you need something, but will leave you to have your privacy while you talk and eat with the person you came with , etc.
As for the so-called Brutalist architecture, it was built in the 60s and 70s and actually originated in the West and can be found there, especially in the suburbs, but such buildings are not usually shown in the tourist promotions of those cities, one of the main pioneers is the French-Belgian architect Corbusier, who was also an inspiration to socialist countries. Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union found inspiration in Corbusier, but gave their own stamp in style. There are also differences between those buildings in former Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union because the buildings in Yugoslavia were made more spacious, they all had balconies and terraces, shutters / blinds, etc. which is not the case with most buildings in the USSR. There are also glass communist buildings like aviation museum building, Sava Centar, building of the Belgrade Fair, ect.
You are absolutely right about the different landscapes of Belgrade, it has 17 municipalities and all of them are different and unique in their own way. Because of its turbulent history, it has different architecture on every corner, starting from the medieval fortress, buildings in classical, baroque, secessionist / art nouveau, Serbo-Byzantine (Roman) and other similar styles; so called nulti stil like Konak Knjeginje Ljubice, Milošev Konak, Manakova kuća, Kafanu Znak pitanja; to modern buildings created after World War 2, both brutalist and others, more glass and reduced geometric form. Good video overall.
Go to Avala tower. And Ada ciganlija
If you find it in your budget to rent a car or meet new local friends kind enough to drive you, do not miss the oportunity to visit archeological location Lepenski Vir. It is the oldest settlement found in Europe with culture that lasted 2000 years from 6500-4500 BC. It is in eastern Serbia. And on the way you can also visit Golubac fortress. Both lay on the bank of Danube river. Enjoy your stay!!!
You're a very polite and nice couple who greatly portray life in Belgrade, Serbia. Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much! ♥️
M surprised about your milk comments. Although, 2.8% is most common, in most supermarkets you can find other options with lower fat content. Mostly 1.5% but 0.5% as well. Sometimes packagings look quite similar, but options are definitely there. Try any Idea or Maxi stores and you’ll find it.
I am surprised about the English, you probably had a weird sample, cause I lived abroad and have a lot of friends coming to Belgrade visiting and they are all amazed by the level of English (most of those people are Anglo-Saxons btw).
Also don't take it personally if they seem frowned, blunt or crude in communication i.e. cutting quickly to the point without common formalities, it's the culture here, it's considered fake to behave like an average North American to strangers and people you don't really know well, especially this applies to men (I am not saying it is fake per se, all I am saying it's perceived like that here, the same way you mistook their facial expressions for "hostility" or indifference). Same applies to most of Eastern Europe.
Next, the architecture - this one I don't really blame solely on you, as many people even here fall into this trap. The architecture you are describing as communist, is really the typical mass housing constructed in Europe in 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. You can see for yourself in suburbs of Paris or Brussels, two great examples that come to my mind. I felt in many Parisian projects as if I was in Belgrade, though these areas are more commonly associated with poor working class folks with migrant background. They are basically dormitories, cheap to construct on mass scale (as they follow patterns easy to reproduce), void of any beauty of the typical historical, pre-modern styles, made to be utilitarian and functional. But they definitely originated in the West and were only slightly adapted by the Eastern European communists. The ones in former Yugoslavia are actually more spacious and richer in layout on average compared to the typical Warsaw pact Eastern bloc (most of them to the east of us have no balconies etc). A French movie directed by Luc Besson titled District 13: Ultimatum was shot in New Belgrade acting as a Parisian suburban project neighborhood.
Anyway, have fun in Serbia, I know it's a bit rugged and possibly intimidating for anyone coming from North America (especially East/West coast of US or Toronto, Vancouver in Canada) but we treat foreigners differently and there's hardly any crime directed at them, most people just feel the need to "catch up" for all those decades of international isolation due to the war and sanctions etc. Take care.
Serbs may seem uninterested in contact, and they will pass by you as if you don't exist, but that's part of the culture. Making eye contact and smiling at someone is considered inappropriate in Serbia if you don't know that person. But that doesn't mean you can't approach them. On the contrary, they are very kind and will do their best to help you if you need assistance. The best way is to get to know one person and then expand your circle of friends.
If you like nature, go to Kosutnjak in Belgrade. It's a big forest with nice walking paths. People go there to exercise, run or just enjoy walking. There are also a nice caffe with a beautiful view on the city.
Regarding milk, my grandma used to say "they are stealing fat from us by skimming the milk". So I think there is this distrust of skimmed milk deep rooted to the point that people just dont buy it as an inferior product, and consequently there may not be many options. I think there are more options now, but when i was growing up i remember there were only two 3.2% and 2.8%. I could never taste the difference and it always seemed kind of pointless to skim only 0.4%.
Come to Montenegro...we invented the " saving energy" :)
We will be in Montenegro soon… 🤭
Serbia & Montenegro one family!
"Let me take a rest from sleeping, i just woke up" 😂😂
If you're creeped out by such buildings, you should google the ''banjica'' neighborhood of Belgrade.Really iconic buildings in our city.
You should go to Sremski Karlovci, just south of Novi Sad. You can take a train again to get there, it's a small university town with a lot of central european influence.
Thank u so much - u’re great! ❤ Hvala puno 😂🎉
dont miss ada and kosutnjak parks i would recomend to feel a bit suburbs, recomend sava quay.avala mountain with monument and avala tower...
10:30 Benches are very important indeed. I can't understand why some places do not have enough of them.
Welcome to my home country! I really hope you leave with overall positive impressions as you seem so kind.
Thank you!
Go to Ada Ciganlija. It's a Belgrade's lake with a green promenade with lots of bars.
Thanks for the recommendation, we’re planning to visit soon!
Hope you feel better soon
Thank you!
I dont know a single person that cannot speak english in Serbia, except for older ppl..maybe they dont want to just like the french!
The architecture you are talking about is Socialist and it is of excellent quality, far better than most new builds. I am personally not impressed by belgrade waterfront and the shopping malls..I like the old city.
Check out Vinča, blok 45 kej, dedinje and senjak & muzej jugoslavije, zvezdarska šuma, košutnjak...
I live in Munich and believe me in capitalist Munich there are "socialistic blocks" that are much worse than anything in Belgrade. Wet moldy buildings without any space for playing in between unlike basketball fields in New Belgrade
Silver medal! Hope you are feeling better!!! Anyways, most young people speak English there. You would have better luck speaking German. The rest of Serbia is much much cheaper and friendlier. Belgrade is somewhat of a 'tourist trap' - especially now due to the flood of refugees from Russia and Ukraine.
Thanks for the impressions.. More Gizmo please!
Can u guys buy a dog too?
Hi cat people, I am the one myself! Have a wonderful time in Serbia!
Thank you!
Love to SRB from Australia
♥️
Hi guys. Saw your videos, quite interesting content.
You can take a SOKO train to city of Novi Sad, trip takes about 30 minutes.
It's a little bit smaller city then Belgrade, but in my opinion has everything for a comfortable living.
I will be happy to show you the city.
Thanks so much! We actually took the train to Novi Sad last weekend, and we loved it. You can check out the video in our Serbia playlist if you’d like :)
millk: you like to drink it so I would advise you to get milk from farmers markets.
You can find a lot of them all over the town. What to look for: goat milk and non-skinned milk.
You will get hooked on it.
Also goat cheese is great in Belgrade.
If you can find non skinned milk from mountain regions (which is rare) you will remember it for the rest of your life. It is that good.
Anyways, enjoy your stay, cheers
02:25 actually, Serbia is in top 20 countries in the world by percentage of english speaking people, i do not know exact level of english?. For example, top 10 are something like:
UK, Australia, New Zeland, Canada, US, Netherlands, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, India, Croatia,... Serbia is in 15in place i think?.
03:27 i agry, serbia, from very cheap country transforms into expensive country after latest wave of inflation during war in Ukraine.
Hi guys! I hope you're having a pleasant stay in Serbia. I wish you have good time there and feel the real soul of people. It is the essential thing there, priceless...
Thank you!
A two way bus ticket to Golubac fortress is not expensive as far as I know, it should be around 30 euros per person. And the trip is around 2 hours in one direction. If you have time during the weekend I am willing to help you out. I can also offer you a flat for one night for free to sleep over if you're up for it. Hope you enjoy your stay. Milan
Oh wow that sounds so nice! Unfortunately we won’t have the time this week to go, but we will be back in Serbia eventually, maybe some other time :) thank you!
Belgrade water supply uses filters with active coal, and that removes any taste out of water.
Far more people are able to understand spoken English (because of the movies and tv shows...), or read it (because of computers and internet) than to actually speak it. A lot of people are shy in that sense.
Does the water come from Frushka Gora?
I am coming soon for work Visa in Belgrade Serbia ❤
Thanks guys...that was great. I kind of like that old communist style look 🤣 If nothing else the apartment/community set up seemed to be extremely efficient. I lived in Granada Spain for a year in college...and I can see some similarities with Spain...especially the party/night life aspect. 😆 Living in Europe makes it easier to live a healthy lifestyle with all of the walking and fresh less processed foods. Hope you get to feeling better soon, take it easy. 🙏
Thank you!
If you have time, go to Smederevo, it is only 45km far from Belgrade. It was a capital of Serbia in the middle centuary, it has the biggest fortress in Europe from that period 😊
Pančevo or Vršac are also nice day trips, Pančevo is basically 15 min ride from Belgrade, almost same distance as Zemun.
Think about visiting Novi Sad, 20 minutes ride by train, beautiful fortress, city...
And if I think that it is milk that has 1% fat, from which everything is extracted, butter, cheese, cream is fraud but since you love it is called surutka in Serbia
Visit Zemun.
We did visit Zemun, and loved it!
I didn't know there was 0 percent fat milk. I don't know why, I personally always take the one with 3.5 percent fat.
It is not creapy at all, it is te only way all the people have a place to live and not to be homeless.
I saw a CZcams video once showing a Soviet style apartment complex in Russia and how very well planned out neighborhoods and apartments were under Communism...they had playgrounds very close by for the children and everything was easily accessible (no car needed) I was a little envious of how the set up facilitated community It's just a very different style than what we have in N. America. And here in California, for example, a lot of buildings follow the Mexican design style.
The way you pick the words what you would you say is fascinating to me. Especially when you described your feelings about the communist buildings.
I'm enjoying your content! Thank you for your support and sharing the true face of this country ❣️
Thank you!
😊
Take a bus to Nis and then you can take a taxi in Nis if you need it (I don't think you will) they are very cheap in the city wherever you go taxis won't be more than 15-20 dollars
It's really strange about english speaking, cause I am pretty sure that we (ex Yu countries) are very solid in English? Probably some bad experiences, but really think along with Scandinavians we are pretty much solid for European standards. Asians though, especially east Asian countries are perfect, can't compete with that definitelly 😁
go to kosutnjak and avala :)
Food prices spiked totaly in last year, two years. Not talking about restaurants at all, they are a rip off most of them .. and take in perspective that average Serbian salary is like 500, or maybe 600eur net/month
where is Gizmo???
He was shy while we were filming this video, lol
@@GizmoAndCompany nex time please...u r awesome..but Gizmo is cute
@@borisstrmosljanin8474 gizmo is the star of today’s video coming soon :)
those variations in a architecture that you have mentioned, where old and brutalist, or postmodern and soc-realistic architecture, are interlacing are just an indicator how belgrade was decimated during the fascist and then allied bombing during the WW2 were brutal for belgrade, not to mention the liberation of belgrade or the NATO bombing.
Lots automatics available at any rent a car.
First!
12:18 Cepaj mleko mbraleeee uzmi dvaposto nemoj jedan mbraleee ;- )
I am from Serbia and I do find brutalist architecture hideous. I think it's the ugliest architectural style in human history. Unfortunately, Belgrade was heavily bombed several times, especially during the World Wars and in 1999, so we lost most of the beautiful old European architecture that was built mostly in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. It, unfortunately, just so happened that when these buildings were rebuilt, brutalism was the current style and that's why we have so much of it in Belgrade. But it's not just the fact that the architectural style itself is gloomy, eerie, and kind of dystopian looking, it's also the fact that those buildings haven't been renovated since they were built so they look decrepit and run down on top of that.
you two are very polite.. nothing negative about belgrade ,you didnt even mention smoking in public place ,,is first thing that anybody who visit Serbia from civilized countries notice..
What? There are countries more civilised than Serbia?
Yeah back when I lived in Spain everyone smoked...I even tried it for awhile to fit in😆 But I didn't like it and wanted to save my money for other things. ☺
@@suzannstrohmaier2578Spain really 🤔 what year was that ??I first time I was in Spain like 10 years ago ,maybe even more , and you couldn't smoke in public place
@b.s.7181 It was back in '97 to '98 😆 I haven't been to Europe since then 😁 but I am going back this summer, I want to visit more towards Eastern Europe, it looks very beautiful....I was looking at Belgrade or Riga Lativia.
The Spaniards were die hard smokers 😁 it's good they slowed down ☺️
@@suzannstrohmaier2578 I don't think somebody is returning home disappointed from Serbia. Yes, people smoke everywhere and few more things will not going to be like in Barcelona, for example. We are not tourists destination and for sure we have own problems...but this is maybe best country to feel warm human environment and unique vibes. Museums, history and heritage, churches, sport events, food, night life... are well known. Mostly it is cheap or even free very often. Serbia is country with big traditions, many unique manifestations, folklore and natural beauties. You would be impressed on basketball game, Nikola Tesla museum, St.Sava temple... but people are Serbian biggest treasure. If you come...I hope you will return here to say am I right or not.
Welcome to Serbia.
3:30 yea now imagine someone with serbian income and children :(
I'm glad it has been noticed by a foreigner, that way, you might understand why there are no Belgrade people eating in Skadarlija, (the cobblestone street with restaurants). or few, if any.
That's why I moved to Pančevo
@@leokaloper4132 Каква измишљотина, Скадарлија уопште и није најскупља локација у БГ наспрам Дорћола и Врачара на пример.
My American friend lived in Sofia Bulgaria for a few years and yes told me they only heated one room in her apartment cause it was so expensive and she was being paid a good American salary in dollars and we talked about how hard it would be on a Bulgarian salary....ultimately she and her husband left Sofia because of the cold winters...she said the people were amazing and she picked up a bit of the language. ☺
But many don't need to pay a ton of rent.
If you want cheaper food, you need to go to a rural town.
But then again inflation hit Serbia pretty hard. I would say hardest in the region because of incompetent leadership, for lack of a better term 😅
U love skin milk? By a kajmak 🙂 its only a skin milk
We love kajmak!
good nobody smoke in Serbia 😀
polution
honestly, every time i land in Belgrade the first day is a shock for he lungs from pollution. the number of cars with questionable exhaust service record is astounding, in spite of being surrounded by forests pretty much. I did not really understand how much forests are still there before going to the avala tower.
The fact you just drank milk on its own like that made me cringe sorry 😭 I could never do that
Ah, yes, New Belgrade is flat, and North of it. I hate the hilly older part of the city too.
one warning for you and for foreigners, since there are more and more foreigners, so does more money in your wallet, you must keep documents and money in your front pockets, never in your bag, there is not a large percentage of pocketing, but you should be careful
ex Yugoslavia shit hols,.. no thx
buy a microphone....
Сербы с холодным выражением лица?
Их убивали фашисты во время 2 мировой войны. А потом страны НАТО ( те самые страны - которые помогали фашистам ) бомбили их в 1999году , разделив их страну погрузив Балканы в войну. И им быть добрыми и мягкими???????????????
Сербы классные люди .
Hello from east Serbia :) ... You literally chose worst Serbian city to stay :))) , its like Flint, Michigan of Serbia.
I couldn't drive automatic, it's boring, manual shift is interesting, you drive more actively and the whole feeling and experience is better, btw. I'm from Novi Sad and driving in Belgrade is scary for me too. I think that the more open you are, the more Serbia opens up and shows you it's hidden treasures :)
Guys I have big house near Avala Hill, its 30 minute drive, from where you are. I am also remote worker for Canadian company, I would like you to be my guests, we can do it during the week and work together, after we are done working we can visit Iconic Avala Tower. We can also do BBQ and talk stuff, I love all your Videos I think I watched all of them. If you are up for it just let me know, I would be extremly happy to show you what Serbian hospitality is all about. There is a lot of more stuff to visit here, I can be your guide and a driver. What do you say? @gizmo and Company
Oh wow, thank you so much for the offer, that’s so sweet! We have packed our last week in Serbia pretty busy, but we would love to connect some other time :)
It was definitely an experience! I felt like I was in middle east, not Europe. Belgrade reminded me a lot of Mogadishu, Somalia actually.
Zagreb (Croatia) also reminded me on Chechnya or some parts of Pakistan...