Serbia

The recent history of the Balkans region are complex, man. I wouldn't dare to understand it completely as a foreigner, hence this is why I decided to visit it first by starting with Serbia, a key country in the former Yugoslavia republic and beyond.

Many years ago, I used to play skirmish matches with my Serbian buddy Marko for online games like Warcraft III, Defense of the Ancients and Heroes of Newerth. Now he has welcomed and guided me towards this capital he was born in, and it made my stay more special.

Belgrade is for a tourist like me easy to explore, as pretty much all of the sight seeings and highlights can be walked or done with public transport in a close range of proximity, plus since the Euro isn't used here, but the Dinar instead, the prices in general are low.

My main reason for visiting was to experience the Nikola Tesla Museum, which does not offer much once you're inside, but the scientist gets plenty of respect for me, for the various important inventions he has given towards humanity.

Seeing the Yugoslav Museum and the House of Flowers gave me an introduction to the Balkan communism, and the various landmarks such as the Kalemegdan Fortress, the Church of Saint Sava and "downtown" Zemun all offered different kinds of visual reactions.

I was also introduced to many of Marko's social circle, including his roommate, his colleagues at his office space, friends who arrived at a Serbian picnic and band members of two rock bands in Studio Sova where he would do rehearsals, which sounded nice!

Serbia might not be the first country you think of visiting considering it's recent history, but what I found was not only a wave of interesting culture phenomenon, but also friendly people who were curious and open. And I might have never drank as much beer, or have eaten as much meat before, as when I stayed over here!