CROATIA & THE BALKANS SERBIA DESTINATIONS


FAR LEFT: Ruzica Church, Belgrade Fortress LEFT: Novi Sad


SAMPLE PRODUCT


Exit may be the city’s most famous


event, but Novi Sad has a year-round calendar of festivals, including celebrations of wine and street music which draw thousands from around the world.


w NIS The final stop in my trio of Serbian cities takes me to Niš, in the country’s southwest. A far cry from Novi Sad and Belgrade and with a


less-developed tourist industry, it has some memorable points of interest nonetheless. These include Crveni Krst


concentration camp, a haunting reminder of the massacre of Serbs, Jews and Romanis during the Second World War; and Skull Tower, built by the Ottomans after the failed First Serbian Uprising as a reminder to the Serbs of the punishment for rebellion, and now seen as a


symbol of Serbian national identity. This city is not all solemn historical


reflection, however. We’re led up into the nearby mountains by a very atypical restaurant owner, Nejboša Stamenovića, who tells us he’s a druid. I’d expected to meet someone dressed in robe and sandals, but the man before me is decked out in shirt, jeans and hiking boots.


LEFT: Nis Fortress


My disappointment is quickly curtailed by his natural expertise as we make our way up the mountain. Collecting a variety of herbs and plants including nasturtium, wild basil and poison berry (thankfully not on the menu) he tells us all about foraging and how he goes about sourcing ingredients for his tiny restaurant, which he runs from home with his wife. Gambolling down the side of a steep hill, he picks out more fresh herbs, before we head back to town to enjoy a meal made entirely from ingredients sourced on the mountain. It’s a world away from the panache of Belgrade and the high-brow culture of Novi Sad, an earthier, more relaxed kind of pleasure. Sleepier, certainly. But dull? Not in the slightest.


Regent Holidays offers a seven- night Serbia fly- drive with stays in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis, from £1,115 including Air Serbia


flights, four-star accommodation, car hire, a half- day sightseeing tour in the


capital and other entrance fees, and route maps.


regent-holidays. co.uk


Travel the


Unknown has a nine-day


itinerary, Devil’s Town & The


Danube, which


features Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis, among other


sites, from £2,075 for a group tour or £2,645 for a private version, both including flights and based on two sharing. travelthe


unknown.com 4 January 2018 travelweekly.co.uk 63


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