Short tips about important things

   According to some researches, Belgrade is commonly found on top of lists for best night life. But, there are some things that every visitor must know so he or she can take the best memories from Belgrade.

   1. To much brandy. If you overdrive yourself with traditional Serbian drink, šljivovica for example, you can feel warmth in your chest and you will most likely hug toilet. Advice is that you drink 3 or 4 shots maximum.

   2. Opening the window. It's believed that you can catch cold from drift, even die. So citizens in Belgrade rarely open window in a bus, even when it's hot. They don't go to sauna during the summer, they simply go for a bus ride.
   3. Enjoying onion. Learn to enjoy onion before coming to Serbia, eat it every day, because you will eat it as an apple in Serbia.

   4. Don't say anything bad about Novak Djoković. He is like a national hero for some. Some extremes are that you can get tied up, feed with onion and you will be forced to watch domestic series (which you don't want to, no matter what).

   5. Paying public transport. Functioning of public transport is an economic mystery, because no one pays the ticket. If you decide to do such a thing, you will feel wrath of other passengers, because they will stare at you like you are some criminal.

   6. Visiting fancy rafts. Don't go to the rafts where you stand to far from the dance floor and you drink expensive import beer. You will get better fun on smaller rafts or in taverns, where dancing on tables is usual until dawn.
   7.Standing near the window on the New Year's eve. Serbs love to wait New Year at their homes, and that can be dangerous if you are standing next to the window.

Savamala

   During the whole year, Savamala is one of the most visited quarts of Belgrade. With the start of nicer weather, this industrial part of the city visits a lot of visitors, because clubs race to have the best program. No matter from which side you come, you will find some place that will attract you. Don't let unsightly outside of the clubs bluff you, because here is one different rule - the worst club is outside, the best fun is inside.

   Main street in Savamala is Braće Krsmanovića street,from where you can hear a mixture of different music genres. First club you will encounter is KC"Grad", which is located on the right side. Here you can see a lot of performers and good parties.
   Just across the street, there is a whole different world, because in "Čorba kafe" main visitors are rockers. Right next to the KC"Grad", just recently was opened first stand-up comedy club in Serbia - "Ben Akiba", where guests warm up their belly's with a laugh. Of course, some music is also always played.
   If you continue few meters straight and if it Friday or Saturday, you will see a huge line of people - that's "Peron" and be sure that you will find an excellent fun there. Cafe "Prohibicija" is definitely one of the warm-up places in this party zone. Clubbers love to go there first before going to a party in some of the clubs around.
   "Mladost - Ludost" always make a great atmosphere. Piece of advice here is that you come before midnight, because there can be a lot of people waiting to enter. On the other side, "Mikser haus" is designed to give visitors different types of fun, which means concerts,shows, presentations and parties.
   On same address, but with separated entries and two different stories are "Depo" and "Monsun". "Depo" organizes huge electronic parties, but also fashion shows and some smaller tootles. Next entry is reserved for "Monsun", who became one of the leading spots in the city for going out right after his opening. Rock, hip-hop, electronic and many more parties can be found here.
   Club "Brankow" is different from the others, because its pretty fancy place. Everything is new here, so a crew that assembles here is a bit different, and expensive drinks are commonly seen in this club, just as non-stop dancing.

Business meetings

   Business meetings are very important in today's society. Whether you are going on a job interview or you are already working at some company, there are numerous business rules about how you should behave in a business meeting, 

   First, it's polite that you introduce people that are working with you. Whenever you have a chance, introduce them, because that gives them a feeling that they are admired no matter what they do. 

When you greet someone, it's considered polite that you handshake with your partner. That gesture shows that you are also self-confident and accessible and that can make a huge impact for your future cooperation. Always say "please" and "thank you", because even in the relaxed business atmosphere, these two words are considered as an imperative. 

   It is rude to interrupt someone while he or she is talking, so don't do that. It also shows that you don't respect other people opinion. When you are about to talk, chose wisely your words. Even thought verbal and written communication today is becoming more and more informal, your words can't possibly be spoke in slang language, because that will show that you aren't taking the meeting seriously. 

    It's offensively to even think that you have right to interrupt someone in his business, so don't thrash into someones office. Knock or great if the doors are open, and than ask for a moment of time. If you know that your conversation will last longer than few minutes, it would be wisely to call or e-mail first, so you can agree about the best time for your conversation. 

    Subjects that are highly recommended to avoid are topics about religion and politics, because your never know what attitude your partner have about those. 

    One of the most important things is that you must be always accurate. Being late doesn't mean that you have more work to do than others, it shows that you are reckless and nobody loves that kind of person. Also, during the meeting, your phone must be turned off, and you should focus on your meeting, not on some other stuff. Don't speak on the phone, text SMS or check your e-mail, because that shows you aren't respecting your colleagues. Show some interest be keeping an eye contact, hearing what others are saying and ask questions about the topics. 

   You shouldn't give your visit cards to every person you meet. It is polite that you first ask for theirs, or tell them that you can leave them your visit card for further contact.

Wedding traditions

     For many traditions and rituals that follow the wedding ceremony, it's believed that the will bring happiness and joy to newlyweds. They are inseparable part of wedding in Serbia, not only because, according to folk tale they bring happiness and well-being, but they are also authentic for our region. Besides the symbolism, traditions represent an excellent way to include relatives and friends in wedding. These are some of the most popular wedding traditions:

    When newlyweds decide to get married, they have to buy shoes to their matchmaker - which is a person who participated in their first meeting. Belief: So they can live happily ever after.

     Between engagement and wedding, the bride must not wear mourning. Belief: Her marriage will be very sad.

    

     After bestowal of gifts, and before the main dish, bridesman goes in front of the house and with his back turned to the wedding guest, mostly unmarried men, he tosses the "pogača" (johnnycake) which was made by mother-in-law for that occasion. Belief: Who catches it will be getting married soon, and it's tradition that every wedding guest receives one piece of it. 

     When newlyweds arrive after the wedding into their new home, bride takes a sieve which contains an apple. She tosses the apple behind her back, and sieve to the roof of the house. If the sieve stay on the roof - so will the bride.

     When groom goes to get bride, it's tradition that his father-in-law put an apple on top of the highest tree in yard. Groom can't take the bride until he shoots the apple with a rifle.

    Bride's gate is ornamented with fresh flowers and tulle and is decorated with ribbons. That wreath is kept long after the wedding and it stand in the garden, at least until religious holiday "mladenaca" which celebrates newlyweds who started their life together in that year. 

   Also traditionally, when you come to the wedding, you leave your gifts to a woman who notes what you brought so that newlyweds can know who brought them what, and more importantly, so they can know what they need to return as a gift. 

  In some parts of Serbia, it's tradition that bride changes her wedding dress with a red dress, which symbolizes great love in marriage.

Dos and don'ts when using public transport in Belgrade - Bus Plus

    Public transport  is one of the most famous things about Belgrade. How public transport is functioning is economic mystery because almost no one is paying ticket. When someone in public transport checks ticket, everyone will look at him or her like he/she is a dangerous criminal. Even though bus ticket price isn't high for European standards, 0.8 euro cents or 90 dinara is pretty high for low standard in Serbia. A lot of people are smuggling them self in public transportation and when they see control entering a bus, they run out like wild. When a control catches a passenger without a validated ticket, they can either be kind and ignore you, tell you to leave the bus on next station or they can demand passenger personal ID, usually being aggressive, rude and threatening. If passenger refuses to give them ID card, they ALWAYS threat that they will call municipal police. On next station, they will force passenger to go out of the bus and they will try to stop him to leave before municipal police arrives. If passenger tries to leave, they can't stop him because that counts as a physical attack and the passenger can sue controller.

    Most common excuses for not validating ticket are:

• Validator has been blocked
• Their health is bad or they are injured, so they must sit first before they validate ticket
• That they are going only one station and there is no need to validate ticket
• They think that controller should validate their card
• Driver didn't have change so they couldn't buy a ticket
• That they aren't from Belgrade, so they don't know how the sistem works

    Fines for not validating a ticket is 2000 dinara and with that fine you get a one-day-ticket, but it's a bit expensive. If you don't pay the ticket within one week, fine is 6000 dinara and until you pay your fine, you can't buy a personalized ticket. Personalized tickets contain your picture and there are numerous packages like student, unemployed people, pensioners, etc. If you are a tourist, you can buy a one, three or five day ticket which grants you access to all public transportation in the city.

Dos and don'ts when traveling through Serbia

       Well, first thing you need to know is that when you arrive at national border of Republic Serbia is that the average waiting time is around half an hour, which is not that bad. Next, try to avoid pouring gasoline on first petrol station you see, because most likely petrol will be more expensive then on the next station on your road. My personal advice is that you check prices of petrol before going on a trip, because maybe some countries before Serbia have cheaper petrol. Roads in Serbia aren't that good, so you will encounter dozens of chuckholes on side roads until you reach some major city. Main streets in big cities are good, with good street lightning and they are spacious. The thing you need to be aware of are pedestrians, which don't really care about cars, whether they cross the street on zebra crossing or on any other part of the street. They will most likely swear you if you don't let them pass and you will find yourself wondering what's wrong with those people. Some of them will eventually hit your car, but don't get aroused, it's just the way people here function. 

       When you continue your journey to your next destination and you leave the city, you'll either exit on highway or motorway. In Serbia, there is 646 km of motorways and speedways. One of the most important corridors of Europe, corridor X, is entering Serbia in Horgoš, at state border with Hungary, it continues through Novi Sad, Belgrade, Niš and leaves Serbia at Preševo, border with Macedonia. That motorway is called E-75 and from Hungarian border till Belgrade is in a good shape, while on the other hand, from Belgrade to Niš is in some parts bumpy and undulating. You have a dinning restaurant at every 150 km and a petrol station at about 100 km along motorway. One of the most famous restaurants is "Predejane" which is located in the southeast of Serbia, between Niš and Vranje. 

      Next thing you need to know is about police officers and traffic rules. Speed limit on highway is 100 km/h and on motorway 120 km/h. There are radars and cameras that record if you are exceeding speed limit and there are also interceptors that will force you to stop your car in the stopping lane. Fines are between 5000 dinars up to 120000 or even jail. 

Dos and don'ts when visiting someone in Serbia

        When you are visiting someone from Serbia for the first time, you should probably be aware of a few manners, which Serbian people are expecting you to know already.

       For example, when you come to someone's house for the first time, you should bring a gift to your hosts. Usually, it's a coffee, biscuits and maybe some vine. When you enter the house, it's  expected that you take off your shoes when you enter the house, which Serbian folks picked up from Turkish tradition. Next, you must take off your hat, if you have one, as the sign of respect. After you sit in the living room, you will be offered with rakija, traditional Serbian drink, most likely šljivovica, which is like a plum brandy, but way more stronger. Serbs are proud of this domestic product and you'll hardly find a house without it. All strangers should know how to drink rakija,  since it is very strong. It is  almost disrespectful to refuse  rakija and if u don't feel like drinking any more, you should leave some in the bottom of the glass because when when your hosts see it's empty, they will keep pouring more.

Šljivovica 

          Also, it's a tradition to be offered with domestic (Turkish) coffee.Traditionally, all guest in a Serbian home are greeted with a spoonful of  slatko and a cup of water as soon as seated. Slatko is a thin fruit preserve made of fruit or rose petals in Serbian cuisine. It's acceptable to take one more spoon of slatko, but if you ask for it third time, it is regarded as an improper behavior, although usually granted. 

Slatko made of quince

     Usually, you will be offered to eat and it is considered polite to do that. Also, your hosts will be offering you more and more and more food.