Survival Guide

SURVIVAL
GUIDE
Summer Course ‘15
BEST Belgrade
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INDEX
1. The country: Serbia
2. The city: Belgrade
3. How to get to Belgrade?
4. Worth keeping in mind
5. Weather
6. What to do before you come to Serbia
7. What to bring
8. Language
9. Useful numbers, addresses & contacts
1. The country: Serbia
Serbia has always straddled between the East and West, not only in a geographical
sense, but also politically and culturally. At first, Serbia found itself between the
Byzantine and Roman empires, than it became a frontier between the Ottoman Empire
and the Christian West. This centuries-long position in the path of conquering armies
from both sides has led to constant migrations and the mixing of populations. The result
is a multiethnic, multicultural and multi confessional society in Serbia.
And even during communism the inhabitants of this region were somewhere between
the Warsaw Pact and NATO. In contrast to other post-communist countries in the
region, the people of Serbia have a more comprehensive education, a more
contemporary approach to life, better knowledge of foreign languages and more readily
accept new technologies and behavior.
The Serbian people’s greatest contributions to science, art and culture were made by
the individuals included on the list of the 100 most famous Serbs. The list was compiled
in 1993 by an expert committee comprising academics from the Serbian Academy of
Sciences and Arts, which then published a book titled The 100 Most Famous Serbs.
For the purpose of this tourism in Serbia website, a short-listed selection of famous
personalities, who have special significance outside the borders of Serbia, has been
compiled. A number of important individuals from recent history have also been added
to the list and there is a section on contemporary individuals who have achieved
worldwide fame. Some of them are: Nikola Tesla, Milutin Milanković, Mihajlo Pupin,
they had a great contribution in world science.
Typical Serbian
It does not take long for foreign visitors to Serbia to discover the hospitality, kindness,
openness and warmth of the country’s residents.
Shaking hands, done using the right hand, is customary when being introduced or
meeting somebody of either gender. Kissing is not a necessity when meeting somebody
for the first time, but every time you meet from then on, if you have developed
affection for the person in question, kissing three times on the cheeks is the order of the
day in Serbia. Of course, nobody will object if you only kiss once or twice while giving a
long and sincere hug.
In Serbia, toasts are usually made with traditional rakija(brandy), often home-distilled.
Toasts are made by clinking glasses, making direct eye contact and loudly proclaiming
“Živeli!” A speech is usually only made on formal occasions, normally by the host, but a
guest may give one, too.
Serbs enjoy rich and very tasty food and normally have three meals a day, with lunch
being the largest.
Paying the bill in restaurants is a big part of the Serbian mentality. The host will almost
never allow a guest to pay for lunch, dinner or drinks because it is customary for the
host to take care of all expenses while a guest is staying with him or her.
In contrast to the rest of Europe, there is no single day of the week in Serbia when you
cannot have a night out and that holds true for all generations, for all lifestyles and
musical tastes and for all available budgets. After a wild night out, somewhere around
three or four o’clock in the morning, people continue onward in search of grilled meat
or burek.
Monetary and prices
Money, currency and price level
Currency: DINAR (RSD)
Foreign currency exchange: At the time of writing this document, the exchange rates
were:
1 € = 121.76
1$ = 106.40
Money can be exchanged in banks, exchange
offices and post offices at the current rate of
exchange. The only legal tender in Serbia is
Serbian dinar.
For the better orientation, this is how the Serbian
dinar look like.
Prices (in dinars):
Product
Price
Wine
200-350
Beer
150-250
Cigarettes
150-250
Pizza slice
100-150
Hamburger (Pljeskavica)
100-200
Water
40-80
Serbian Cuisine
Typical Breakfast
Breakfast in Serbia is an early but hearty meal, although before breakfast most people usually
take a cup of coffee, in modern time maybe an espresso. With the breakfast itself either a tea,
milk, milk coffee, or cocoa milk is served, pastries or bread are served with butter, jam, yogurt,
sour cream and cheese, accompanied by bacon, sausages, salami, scrambled eggs and kajmak.
Various sorts of pastries (often with cheese or meat or filled with jam) (pogačice, paštete, kifle that in
Serbian usage may or may not be crescent shaped and may be sweet, but, may also be sprinkled with
salt crystals, kiflice, perece, buhtle, pletenice, štapići, zemičke, djevreci) and especially often: burek,
proja, kačamak, popara, eggs (scrambled, fried, boiled).
Meat products: čvarci (very tasty, but never ask what they’re maid of! ), smoked ham (pršuta), bacon
(slanina), sausage (kobasice, čajna, kulen)
Milk product: cheese, kajmak (must try!), yogurt, cream cheese
Main course
The main course is always a meat dish. Main courses which are not grilled include:
Pečenje, Roasted meat (whole roasted pork, lamb and goat), Karađorđeva šnicla
(breaded rolled steak stuffed with kajmak and occasionally sliced ham and cheese),
Moussaka (Musaka, made with aubergines/eggplant, potatoes or zucchini), Podvarak
(stewed sauerkraut, usually with meat and bacon pieces), Prebranac, baked beans in
sauce, Sarma (stuffed cabbage rolls), Wedding cabbage, (Svadbarski kupus) (cabbage
cooked with smoked pork)
Roštilj (Barbecue)
Pljeskavica (hamburger) National Dish, Ćevapčići (ground meat sticks) National Dish,
Vešalica (grilled strips of pork loin), Various sausages, Mixed grill (mešano meso),
Skewered kabobs (ražnjići), Leskovački roštilj (Leskovac grills).
Traditional Drinks
Non-alcoholic
High quality and quantity of fruit and abundance of water result in a number of highquality fruit juices and mineral waters produced in Serbia, and being among its most
widely known exports. There are few domestic carbonated soft drinks however. An
interesting traditional soft drink, made from corn, now less commonly consumed is
boza. Kvas is also being made by some breweries.
Serbian coffee, Turkish coffee prepared the Serbian way (домаћа кафа 'domestic coffee'
or кафа 'coffee'. Especially strong coffee (without sugar and milk) is often referred to as
'Turkish' or 'black' coffee) is a traditional drink of Serbs. Tea is far less popular and
mostly herbal teas are consumed, drunk on their own or as supplementary medicine.
Of dairies, yogurt is common, as are kefir and similar varieties.
The famous Serbian Knjaz Milos mineral water is considered a national brand and can be
used in any meal, also with the traditional greeting sweets "Slatko"
Alcoholic
Sljivovica is a famous alcoholic drink in Serbia
Rakija
Of distilled beverages, the most popular are various fruit brandies called rakija.
Comparatively many people brew their own rakija, which is highly prized by friends and
relatives. Rakija is famous for being smooth but very alcoholic and it is said that one
cannot get a hangover from it. Serbian rakija is a prized commodity and is very difficult
to find elsewhere in the world. Various kinds of rakija are named after fruit they are
made of; among the most known ones are:
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Šljivovica (slivovitz, plum brandy), National Drink
Lozovača (grape brandy)
Viljamovka / Kruškovac (pear brandy)
Klekovača,
Jabukovača, applejack
Stomaklija,
Pelinkovac, (a wormwood liqueur milder than Absinthe)
Medovaca (honey brandy)
Beer
Beer is widely enjoyed in Serbia, which has 14 breweries.
Serbia the land of sports
Everybody heard of Novak Đoković, the tennis player! Winner of 6 Grand slams,
including Wimbledon 2012, former number one ATP player, and winner of many other
tournaments. Serbian tennis team won Davis Cup in 2010.
But it’s less known that we are very good at group sports. Serbia is famous for their
waterpolo players, who are winning medals on every major European and World
championships.
Volleyball teams are also very successful, both men and women. Men team have golden
medal from 2000 Olympic games.
Serbia, the land of basketball. Serbia maybe most famous and consistently good in this
sport. Imagine defeating the Dream team in the middle of America, in Indianapolis 2002
in quarterfinals. The whole Serbia celebrated that day (let’s better say morning, because
of the time difference). Which ended by winning the golden medal on that World
Champion. Sacramento King had one of their best teams in history while two Serbian
players played there. Also the latest success of Serbian basketball team is a silver
medal in the FIBA World Cup.
Peđa Stojaković and Vlade Divac
Ivana Spanović won the Prague 2015 European Athletics Indoor Championships (EAIC)
with a jump of 6.98m. Asmir Kolašinac won a silver medal in shot putting at European
Championship in Prague. These were just the most important, there are also many
great individual athletes who are less famous.
This is Old Palace, this is what it looks like when we meet our sportsmen after winning medals on
tournaments, sportsmen are on the terrace
There are approximately one-thousand sports facilities in Belgrade, many of which are
capable of serving all levels of sporting events. Belgrade has hosted several major
sporting events recently, including Eurobasket 2005, the 2005 European Volleyball
Championship, the 2006 European Water Polo Championship, the European Youth
Olympic Festival 2007, and the 2009 Summer Universiade.
According to the European Arenas Association, the Belgrade Arena is the largest
European indoor arena with capacity of 25,000. It is used for major sporting events and
large concerts. In May 2008 it was the venue for the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest.
2. The city: Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the
Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. Its name
translates to White city. The city has a population of 1.23 million, while over 1.65 million
people live in its metro area (which encompass administrative limits of City of Belgrade).
One of the most important prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vinča culture, evolved
within the Belgrade area in the 6th millennium BC. In antiquity, Thraco-Dacians
inhabited the region, and after 279 BC Celts conquered the city, naming it Singidūn. It
was conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus, and awarded city rights in
the mid 2nd century. It was settled by the Slavs in the 520s, and changed hands several
times between the Byzantine Empire, Frankish Empire, Bulgarian Empire and Kingdom
of Hungary before it became the capital of Serbian King Stephen Dragutin (1282–1316).
In 1521, Belgrade was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and became the seat of the
Sanjak of Smederevo. It frequently passed from Ottoman to Habsburg rule, which saw
the destruction of most of the city during the Austro-Ottoman wars. Belgrade was again
named the capital of Serbia in 1841. Northern Belgrade remained the southernmost
Habsburg post until 1918, when the city was reunited. As a strategic location, the city
was battled over in 115 wars and razed to the ground 44 times. Belgrade was the capital
of Yugoslavia (in various forms of governments) from its creation in 1918, to its final
dissolution in 2006.
Belgrade has a special administrative status within Serbia and it is one of five statistical
regions of Serbia. Its metropolitan territory is divided into 17 municipalities, each with
its own local council. It covers 3.6% of Serbia's territory, and 22.5% of the country's
population lives in the city. The city has been awarded many titles, and the nomination
for European Capital of Culture 2020.
Belgrade lies 116.75 metres (383.0 ft) above sea level and is located at the confluence of
the Danube and Sava rivers. The historical core of Belgrade, Kalemegdan, lies on the
right banks of both rivers. Since the 19th century, the city has been expanding to the
south and east; after World War II, Novi Beograd (New Belgrade) was built on the left
bank of the Sava river, connecting Belgrade with Zemun. Smaller, chiefly residential
communities across the Danube, like Krnjača, Kotež and Borča, also merged with the
city, while Pančevo, a heavily industrialized satellite city, remains a separate town. The
city has an urban area of 360 square kilometres (140 sq mi), while together with its
metropolitan area it covers 3,223 km2 (1,244 sq mi). Throughout history, Belgrade has
been a crossroads between the West and the Orient.
Capital of independent Serbia
During the First Serbian Uprising, the Serbian revolutionaries held the city from 8
January 1807 until 1813, when it was retaken by the Ottomans. After the Second
Serbian Uprising in 1815, Serbia reached semi-independence, which was formally
recognized by the Porte in 1830. In 1841, Prince Mihailo Obrenović moved the capital
from Kragujevac to Belgrade.
With the Principality's full independence in 1878, and its transformation into the
Kingdom of Serbia in 1882, Belgrade once again became a key city in the Balkans, and
developed rapidly. Nevertheless, conditions in Serbia as a whole remained those of an
overwhelmingly agrarian country, even with the opening of a railway to Niš, Serbia's
second city, and in 1900 the capital had only 70,000 inhabitants (at the time Serbia
numbered 1,5 million). Yet by 1905 the population had grown to more than 80,000, and
by the outbreak of World War I in 1914, it had surpassed the 100,000 citizens, not
counting Zemun which then belonged to Austria-Hungary
The first-ever projection of motion pictures in the Balkans and Central Europe was held
in Belgrade, in June 1896 by Andre Carr, a representative of the Lumière brothers. He
shot the first motion pictures of Belgrade in the next year; however, they have not been
preserved.
After the world war I, Belgrade became the capital of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats
and Slovenes, renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929. The Kingdom was split into
banovinas, and Belgrade, together with Zemun and Pančevo, formed a separate
administrative unit.
During the post world war II period, Belgrade grew rapidly as the capital of the renewed
Yugoslavia, developing as a major industrial center. In 1948, construction of New
Belgrade started. In 1958, Belgrade's first television station began broadcasting. In 1961,
the conference of Non-Aligned Countries was held in Belgrade under Tito's
chairmanship. In 1962, Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport was built.
Culture
Belgrade hosts many annual international cultural events, including the Film Festival,
Theatre Festival, Summer Festival, Music Festival, Book Fair, and the Beer Fest. The
Nobel Prize winning author Ivo Andrić wrote his most famous work, The Bridge on the
Drina, in Belgrade. Other prominent Belgrade authors include Branislav Nušić, Miloš
Crnjanski, Borislav Pekić, Milorad Pavić and Meša Selimović. Internationally Belgrade
prominent artist: Marina Abramović and Milovan Destil Marković.
Most of Serbia's film industry is based in Belgrade. FEST is an annual film festival that
held since 1971, and, through 2013, had been attended by four million people and had
presented almost 4,000 films.
The city was one of the main centers of the Yugoslav New Wave in the 1980s: VIS Idoli,
Ekatarina Velika, Šarlo Akrobata and Električni Orgazam were all from Belgrade. Other
notable Belgrade rock acts include Riblja Čorba, Bajaga i Instruktori and Partibrejkers.
Today, it is the center of the Serbian hip hop scene, with acts such as Beogradski
Sindikat, Škabo, Marčelo, and most of the Bassivity Music stable hailing from or living in
the city. There are numerous theatres, the most prominent of which are National
Theatre, Theatre on Terazije, Yugoslav Drama Theatre, Zvezdara Theatre, and Atelier
212. The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts is also based in Belgrade, as well as the
National Library of Serbia. Other major libraries include the Belgrade City Library and
the Belgrade University Library. Belgrade's two opera houses are: National Theatre and
Madlenianum Opera House.
There are many foreign cultural institutions in Belgrade, including the Spanish Instituto
Cervantes,[126] the German Goethe-Institut and the French Institut français, which are all
located in the central pedestrian area of Knez Mihailova Street. Other cultural centers in
Belgrade are American Corner, Austrian Cultural Forum, British Council, Chinese
Confucius Institute, Canadian Cultural Center, Hellenic Foundation for Culture, Italian
Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Iranian Culture Center, Azerbaijani Culture Center[137] and
Russian Center for Science and Culture. European Union National Institutes for Culture
operates a cluster of cultural centres from the EU.
Following the victory of Serbia's representative Marija Šerifović at the Eurovision Song
Contest 2007, Belgrade hosted the Contest in 2008.
Education
Belgrade has two state universities and several private institutions of higher education.
The University of Belgrade, founded in 1808 as the "Great School", is the oldest
institution of higher learning in Serbia. Having developed with the city in the 19th
century, quite a few University buildings are a constituent part of Belgrade's
architecture and cultural heritage. With enrollment of nearly 90,000 students, the
University is one of the Europe's largest.
Nightlife
Belgrade has a reputation for offering a vibrant nightlife; many clubs that are open until
dawn can be found throughout the city. The most recognizable nightlife features of
Belgrade are the barges (splav), spread along the banks of the Sava and Danube Rivers.
Many weekend visitors prefer Belgrade nightlife to that of their own capitals, due to a
perceived friendly atmosphere, great clubs and bars, cheap drinks, and the lack of
restrictive night life regulation.
A more traditional Serbian nightlife experience, accompanied by traditional music
known as Starogradska (roughly translated as Old Town Music), typical of northern
Serbia's urban environments, is most prominent in Skadarlija, the city's old bohemian
neighborhood where the poets and artists of Belgrade gathered in the 19th and early
20th centuries. Skadar Street (the centre of Skadarlija) and the surrounding
neighbourhood are lined with some of Belgrade's best and oldest traditional restaurants
(called kafanas in Serbian), which date back to that period.
Famous alternative clubs include Akademija and the famed KST (Klub Studenata
Tehnike), located in the basement of the University of Belgrade Faculty of Electrical
Engineering. Here is held annual pre New Year’s maskenball, the biggest party of the
year.
The Times reported that Europe's best nightlife can be found in buzzing Belgrade. In the
Lonely Planet "1000 Ultimate Experiences" guide of 2009, Belgrade was placed at the
1st spot among the top 10 party cities in the world.
Places to visit
The historic areas and buildings of Belgrade are among the city's premier attractions.
They include Skadarlija, the National Museum and adjacent National Theatre, Zemun,
Nikola Pašić Square, Terazije, Students' Square, the Kalemegdan Fortress, Knez
Mihailova Street, the Parliament, the Church of Saint Sava, and the Old Palace. On top of
this, there are many parks, monuments, museums, cafés, restaurants and shops on both
sides of the river. The hilltop Avala Monument and Avala Tower offer views over the
city.
Elite neighborhood of Dedinje is situated near the Topčider and Košutnjak parks. Beli
Dvor ('White Palace'), house of royal family Karađorđević, is open for visitors. The palace
has many valuable artworks. Nearby, Josip Broz Tito's mausoleum, called The House of
Flowers documents the life of the former Yugoslav president.
Ada Ciganlija is a former island on the Sava river, and Belgrade's biggest sports and
recreational complex. Today it is connected with the right bank of the Sava via two
causeways, creating an artificial lake. It is the most popular destination for Belgraders
during the city's hot summers. There are 7 kilometres (4 miles) of long beaches and
sports facilities for various sports including golf, football, basketball, volleyball, rugby
union, baseball, and tennis. During summer there are between 200,000 and 300,000
bathers daily.
3. How to get to Belgrade
By plane
Airport Belgrade “Nikola Tesla”
Official website of the airport:
Address: Aerodrom Beograd BB, 11271 Surčin
Information phone number: +381 11 209 4444
The airport is located 12 km west of Belgrade, near Surčin.
There are three ways to come from Airport to Center of Belgrade.
1. By public transport
City bus number 72, drives from 05:20 am till 00:00 am, departs every 32 minutes.
Starting point of this bus is in front of the Departure gate. Ticket price is 150 RSD.
It's a cheapest way to get to the city center, bus stop “Zeleni Venac” which is the last
stop of this bus line.
2. Shuttle bus A1
You also have shuttle bus from airport to the Slavija square, and if you use this bus it will
be a lot easier for us to pick you up. You can find the timetable for this bus on this link:
The timetable from airport to the Slavija square is under “Polasci sa aerodroma Nikola
Tesla – red vožnje
This bus costs 300 RSD and it’s little bit less than 3 euros.
3. Taxi transportation (prices are not constant, but they are usually maximum 20e,
from the airport, to town center)
By train
If you are traveling by train, you can find out more information about railways to
Belgrade at this website:
http://www.bahn.de/i/view/overseas/en/index.shtml
Belgrade Central Railway Station is located in the center of Belgrade, next to Belgrade
Bus station.
Address: Savski trg 2, 11000 Belgrade
Call center: +381 11 3602 899 (every day from 06:00AM to 10:00PM)
By bus
Belgrade Bus Station is the only bus station in Belgrade and it is located in the center,
next to Belgrade Central Railway Station.
Website: http://www.bas.rs/basweb_eng/redvoznje.asp
Address: Železnicka 4, 11000 Belgrade
Phone: +381 11 2636 299;
+381 11 2627 146 (from 07:00AM to 08:00PM, weekends from 08:00AM to
03:00PM)
Other useful information about bus lines to Belgrade, you can find on these websites:
http://www.eurolines.com
http://touring.de/index.php?id=2&L=1
By car
Belgrade is often referred to as the crossroads of Europe. The network of international
roads E-75 and E-70 connects Belgrade to all of the neighboring capital cities.
Map of toll stations in Serbia - http://www.putevi-srbije.rs/pdf/naplatne_stanice.pdf
Information about toll collection - http://www.putevi-srbije.rs/en-gb/sector-fortechnical-operations/sector-for-toll-collection
Fuel prices in Serbia (prices are in RSD):
5. Weather
Weather in Serbia
In the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well
distributed rainfall); central portion, continental and Mediterranean climate; to the
south, Adriatic climate along the coast, hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively
cold winters with heavy snowfall inland.
Belgrade
Belgrade has a continental climate with cold winters (temperatures often go down to 5°C) and hot summers (goes up to above 35°C). Springs and autumns are very pleasant
with temperatures ranging between 15°C and 25°C.
The climate table for Belgrade represents conditions in lowland areas of Serbia. Although
this table shows many days with rain during the summer months, the rain is often of a
showery, thundery type so that the hours of sunshine in summer are not all that fewer
than on the Adriatic coast.
6. What to do before you come
to Serbia
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Inform organizers about your:
Arrival and departure time and place
Special food requirements
T-shirt size
o Take care of both medical and travel insurance
o Check if your country has any agreement with Serbia
o Don’t forget your ID card and take care of your documents!
7. What to bring
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Yourself
Passport and visa (if you need one)
ID card
International Student Identity Card (ISIC)
Medicine (if needed)
Towel, toothbrush and condoms
Formal clothes for opening and closing ceremony
Alcohol, food and clothes for International Evening
Camera and cable
This Survival Guide
Good mood and BEST spirit
8. Language
Two alphabets are used to write the Serbian language: a variation of Cirillyc alphabet
and also variation of the Latin alphabet.
Serbian orthography is very consistent: approximation of the principle
“one letter per sound”.
Now some basic Serbian
English
Serbian
Hello/Bye
Zdravo/Ćao
Good morning
Dobro jutro
Good afternoon
Dobar dan
Good evening
Dobro veče
How are you?
Kako si?
My name is...
Zovem se.../Ja sam...
Nice to meet you
Drago mi je
Thank you
Hvala
See you tomorrow
Vidimo se sutra
Yes/No/Perhaps
Da/Ne/Možda
Numbers
0 zero
1 jedan
2 dva
3 tri
4 četiri
5 pet
6 šest
7 sedam
8 osam
9 devet
10 deset
100 sto
1000 hiljadu
1000000 milion
Now something a little advanced (might
be useful onn the street, in the shop or
bar)
English
Serbian
What time is it?
Koliko je sati?
I don’t speak Serbian?
Ne govorim Srpski
I don’t understand
Ne razumem
Where is/are
Gde je/su
Street/Squre
Ulica/Trg
Where is the toilet?
Gde je toalet?
Please
Molim te
Exit
Izlaz
Train/Bus/Taxi
Voz/Autobus/Taksi
Exchange office
Menjačnica
Money
Pare/Novac
How much is it?
Koliko košta?
What is this?
Šta je to?
I want this!
Hoću to!
Cheers!
Živeli!
Wine/Beer/Water
Vino/Pivo/Voda
Coffee/Milk/Tea
Kafa/Mleko/Čaj
May I have the menu/
Mogu li da dobijem meni/
Bill, please?
Račun, molim vas?
It’s very hot in here
Baš je vruće ovde
Let’s go out and have some fresh air Hajdemo napolje da udahnemo malo svežeg
vazduha
I can give you a lift home if you want Mogu da te odvezem kući ako hoćeš
He is boring!
Koji smarač!
Bro, she’s so hot!
Kakva riba brate!
9. Useful numbers, addresses
and contacts
Police Number 192
Fire Department 193
Ambulance 194
Taxi service +381 11 19801
+381 11 19803
Address of BEST Belgrade office:
Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy
Karnegijeva 4, 11000 Belgrade
Phone number: +38111 337 05 45
Board mail: beograd@best.eu.org
Some useful links
BEST Belgrade
www.best.rs
Also, if you have any questions or suggestions do not hesitate to contact us, we are
available 24/7! 
Main Organizer
Katarina Smiljanic
+381 64 38 30 460
kacasmiljanic3@gmail.com
President
Miloš Đurić
+381 64 323 76 85
milos.djuric@best.eu.org