Belgrade Travel Forum

Hello everyone! I am planning a trip to Belgrade in December, and will then be heading by train to Zagreb. I was wondering a.) how much does a train ticket cost...I found the timetables, but no cost! b.) I am looking for a nice hotel that is not too overpriced and c.)recommendations for restaurants. I was good serbian food, not 'americanized or westernized' food.
Thank You!

- You will have probably tough time to find "americanized" food in Serbia or Croatia.
- Serbian (or Croatian) food is western because it's part of Western culture.
- Iranian food is western because Iran is part of Western culture.
- Both can be considered "Mediterranian"; Mediterranian cooking style is very diverse but in it's diversity you will find many common things. The usual picture is grilled meat, many greens, useage of olive or grapeseed oil, milk products. The best veggies are considered the ones with strong color (and taste). Veggies like the almost colorless, tasteless lettuce is considered to be useless (and it is).

The level of "americanisaton" is fairly small all across Mediterranium - for good.

Try Austrian-style cakes also and not just cakes. December is normally Strudel-time. The filled gingerbread hearts can be bought in Serbian grocery stores all year (yeaaaaaah!!!!!), not like only before X'mas in the U.S.

Tickets:

The ticket "bible" wib site is "JIZDENKA" (Y-EE-Z-D-E-N-K-AA), www.jizdenka.cz. It has all prices (you can calculate a Rome-Zagreb-Belgrade-Tumangan price between Italy and North Korea via Serbia, if you like and have the experience). For the beginners:

1) launch www.jizdenka.cz (it will begin to speak Czech language with you)
2) find the "Union Jack" in the lower left corner, it will switch to English.
(not all people do it.... many who speak Slavic languages just let it be the way it is)
3) Click on the "International Tariff Calculator" on the top.

- Notice, the prices in the lower right will change to "dual" Czech Crown/Euro.
- Notice, the issuing place is "Praha", so the price will be in some cases the "regular international" price because the office in Praha (Czech Republic) does not know about the local discounts. Also - in certain cases - the price people pay in Praha will be lower than the local (Switzerland, Russia) ones.

In your case the issuing office (Praha) won't know anything about ex-Yugoslavia-discount (AFAIK up to 50%) which applies to tickets issued within ex-YU. So you can expect the price being up to twice as high as in Serbia, it really depends on the place, where you buy the ticket.

4) Place your cursor to "From" and delete the word "Praha" (you starting from Beograd). Type "Beo" and you will see the only logical choice offered underneath of the blue field: "Beograd".

5) Double-click on "Beograd" and it will be now opposite the "from".

6) Place the mouse over the "To" field and click. The machine will acknowledge, you are going to select the destination. Type "Zag".

7) From the menu-like list of cities choose the main railway station of Zagreb: "Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor" or "Zagreb Gl. k"

8) Click on the "Zagreb Gl. k" and the "To" will automatically filled with "Zagreb Gl. kol.".

9) Notice, the non-discounted price is now 1142 Czech Crowns or 40.20 Euro. This is the price you will pay in any "third" country outside of Croatia and Serbia.

I am not sure, what is the discount "key" between Serbia and Croatia. I know, for instance, the discount "key" between Serbia and Hungary as well as Croatia and Hungary is "60% OFF" if you buy a round-trip but NONE if you buy a simple ticket. The situation between Serbia and Croatia is different, somewhat tells me, the key should be "50% OFF" or somewhat close to it even on one-way tickets.

For American (AMTRAK) circumstances even the 40.20 Euro is dirt-cheap. You may find it useful, the Serbian and Croatian sleeping car accomodation prices are a joke compared with Amtrak: it's between 10 and 20 Euro depending on the class of service you use. Normally, expect it to be in 15 Euro range in a 2-bed compartment between these cities.

In other word, buying the ticket with the sleeper in Beograd (or Zagreb) you unlikely to pay more than 40 Euro including the sleeper, probably even less.

How come? I did see thingies 100% like "Rétes" all the time in the shops as long as few weeks ago. It had the typical cherry filling and sugar-powder covered thing (you know, it's like what burek is covered with, but inside is cherry-filling). I fight with my wife all the time, she does not want me to eat (too much) of it. "Rétes" = "Strudel". Also I managed to escape in G. Milanovac to a grocery shop and filled the trunk of the car with "hearts". She steal all hearts from me and put them somewhere in the house I can't find anymore. :-((

Yes.

If I eat it for a while I also feel, it's being too sweet.