Tag: Belgrade Trip

This whole complex of eateries and drinkeries seemed on-trend and exciting, with the Asian inspired Zendwich looking particularly well reviewed. The service was welcoming, whilst the staff member was conversational and pro-actively explained the menu concept. They had some outside tables, but it was raining and so I didn’t fancy those (and I don’t like sitting outside anyway, it’s full of insects and heat). Inside there were two tables downstairs and there were two people sitting at one of them, so the staff member suggested that I could go upstairs if I wanted.

It was a bit bare, but I liked it. There are numerous venues which operate from the site, which is the former BIP brewery, which went bust in 2015, although they stopped brewing at this site in 1989.

The authorities were going to demolish it all and redevelop the site, but it has evolved into something that I think is more exciting. And it has saved them spending a fortune on restoring it.

The beer was the Hoptopod from Dogma Brewery, a clean and hoppy little number. I was merrily engaged with scrolling endlessly through my phone and I realised that 35 minutes later that my food hadn’t arrived. I decided that if it didn’t arrive within five minutes I’d better go and chase the matter up, but just at that moment the staff member comes up full of apologies and mentions that he’s forgotten to put the order through. I mean, he did only have one order to put through, but I was in no rush and I liked the place, so this wasn’t a problem.

My chicken katsu, which I accept isn’t the most Serbian of dishes, was excellent with the sauce being full of flavour and the potatoes and carrots (which I’m not sure are staples of Japanese cuisine) were soft and actually tasty. The chicken was tender, but crispy on the exterior, with a depth of taste to the sauce. The rice was perfectly cooked and it was suitably filling, so all very agreeable.

Despite the long wait for food, I was here for just over an hour and that worked out well as it had stopped raining by the time I left. I liked the friendliness of the service, with an effort made to provide tasty food and a selection of craft beers. Asian style craft beer restaurants are high on my list of favourite food and drink combinations. Definitely recommended.

After all that walking, I felt that it was necessary to get a quick beer. I had a look at the Untappd Verified venues and this one was nearby and it looked like it had a decent selection of craft beers. It’s the venue in the centre of the photo, I would have likely walked by it if I hadn’t of known that it was here.

The beer list is neatly presented on the wall and there was a friendly welcome, although I thought the staff member thought I was lost rather than looking for a beer.

I started with the Hop Charger from Axiom Brewery, a very hoppy beer, although that isn’t unexpected given the name. It had quite a bitter kick, but the fruitiness lingered. I’m not keen on these little glasses, they don’t seem entirely functional to me.

The environment, there was wi-fi and there were places to charge devices for anyone who needed them. There is food served, but I think they just go and acquire it from premises a couple of doors down. But, that seems like a practical solution.

The prices were reasonable (well, by UK standards) and it was a welcoming venue, so I went for a can of Danube Fruit Stew from 3bir, as that sounded like a suitable local beer to get. It’s a fruited sour, which is one of my favourite beer types, and it wasn’t thick or lumpy, but was smooth, suitably tart and with lingering blackcurrant flavours. And it was obviously very healthy with all that fruit in it.

A suitably positive experience for my first beer in Serbia.

Located within the Belgrade Fortress, this is the not inconsiderable Victor monument which stands where the Rivers Danube and Sava meet. Incidentally, I thought that the statue leaning was more evidence simply of my photographic prowess, but it is genuinely leaning which is sub-optimal for the city engineers. Like many things in the city, there were lots of arguments about this monument and where it was going to go. Designed by Ivan Meštrović, it’s not of any one particular person, it instead represents some sort of mythical being who has won the war and is now leading the city into peace. The monument wasn’t meant to be placed here (it was instead meant to be at Terazije which is in the city centre), but there were arguments that the lack of clothing meant it wasn’t suitable in case ladies looked at it, so it’s been moved out here.

As a quick timeline, the idea for such a moment came in 1913 following the Serbian victory in the First Balkan War when the Ottomans were defeated. The Hercules type statue was designed, but then World War One broke out and that caused somewhat of a delay, even when the conflict was over. Eventually, the monument was delivered to the city in 1923 and it was then put in a shed for four years whilst the authorities worked out where to put it. Bored of argument, a final decision was made in 1927 and this is where the monument was plonked down.

There he is, defending Belgrade. The monument is cracked and the whole lot has had to be repaired several times to stop it falling down, but it looks quite majestic today.

And that’s the view that he’s looking out onto. Some have suggested he isn’t guarding the city, but simply after all of the arguments the authorities wanted it looking away from the city centre so they didn’t have to look at him. Either which way, it’s quite an impressive monument.

I’m not going to pretend that I knew that Bora Todorović was a famous Serbian actor, but there’s a Wikipedia page which gives more information about his life. I just liked the mural, the quality is really eye-catching and it’s pleasing that no-one has vandalised it, especially given that there was lots of graffiti elsewhere down the street. It was painted by the Grobarski treš romanticism group and I’ve seen more of what I assume are their artworks dotted around Belgrade. All very lovely.