CROATIA & THE BALKANS SERBIA DESTINATIONS Balkan


Dancing, druids and the Danube? Serbia is full of surprises, finds Ronan O’Shea


I


t’s easy to see why many call Belgrade the city that never sleeps. The night I arrive, the city is alive, the streets packed with people young and old waving Serbian flags, celebrating as the men’s national basketball team stands on the balcony of the Old Palace, having just won silver in the European Basketball Championship. The crowd solemnly sings


the national anthem before breaking into a joyous dance to the backdrop of Serbian hip hop, an unusual window into the country’s cultural life. For the uninitiated, Serbia’s


history too often begins and ends with memories of its 1990s conflict, but that should by no means be its defining feature – this is a country with a thriving foodie scene and cosmopolitan


beauty River Sava, Belgrade


cafe culture, Europe’s biggest music festival, and a history that stretches back much further than just the past quarter century, playing a central role in centuries of European politics. Medieval Serbia controlled much of southeastern Europe until it was conquered by the Ottomans in the 15th century. It went on to become a battleground between the


Habsburg and Ottoman empires – hence its blend of architecture today – until the foundation of the country that would later be known as Yugoslavia. The turn towards communism came after the Second World War, under charismatic leader Josip Broz Tito, until his death in 1980 gave rise to a period of instability that culminated in the clashes of the 1990s.


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PICTURE: SHUTTERSTOCK


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