Serbia - Belgrade

This is the point where it's supposed to get interesting! I have been interested in the former Yugoslavia for a long time, but unsure about visiting. Having heard so many nice things on my trip though, I decided to plough ahead and will hopefully make it right through the region to the other side.

Outside the military museum

Upon arriving at the hostel I met two english girls and an Aussie, called Travis, who I later found had worked on the classic Austrlian children's TV show Round the Twist, which I had grown up watching. What a legend! We all went out for dinner together at a traditional Serbian restaurant. On the menu were such enticing things as 'fried brains' and 'bull's sex organs'. I went with the sausages.

Everybody against us!

The next day a visit to the castle was in order, with the main attraction being the military museum. It was fascinating to see the view of the 'other side', pro-Serbian and anti-Nato. Throughout the exhibition, Nato was always described as 'the aggressors', although those with a knowledge of history will know that was not the case.

The owner of this uniform was held as a P.O.W.

Pride of place in the museum were captured U.S. uniforms and weaponry, as well as those belonging to the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army), or as the museum put it, the 'Illegal terrorist organisation'. Definitely the most impressive exhibit was a fragment of the American F111 stealth-fighter plane shot down in the conflict.

On the castle walls

Elsewhere the city was quite nice, but aside from a few churches there was really not much to see. I ventured out of town to the burial place of Marshal Tito, the leader and unifier of Yugoslavia, which included a museum showing the wide range of gifts given to him by other world leaders. On the bus journey back into town I passed the bombed-out Serbian military headquarters, destroyed by Nato airstrikes in 1999.

It's strange seeing such a building in the city centre

The nightlife of which I had heard so many good things did prove to live up to its reputation. Lined down the main river are many clubs and bars, all located on barges. The club we visited featured one of the most ridiculously loud sound systems I've heard, and was a lot of fun, but not as cheap as I hoped!

Bye bye Serbia!

Very early the next morning, I walked through the near-deserted city and took a bus to Sarajevo, which apparently only went to the 'Serbian side' of the city. I had no idea what this meant, but would find out soon...