The first time I touched down in Serbia was in 2008, after accepting a teaching post just over the border in north-east Bosnia. Travelling on the highway from Belgrade to the border with Bosnia, I had little to go on in terms of forming my first impressions of Serbia. However, I suffered from culture shock and a half when my driver and I trundled through Bosut, a sleepy village whose only real asset is the possibility to escape it via the nearby Sremska Rača border crossing with Bosnia. Deprivation, run-down, dreary. The driver then proceeded to show me her Croatian, Euro, Dinar and Bosnian Mark currencies which nestled in bulk in her purse.
There is more to Serbia than meets the eye, though. Allow me to briefly mention Poland for a moment. Poland's landscape is comparatively bleak compared with Serbia's - and I spent four years in the former. Poland's cities generally revolve around a central Market Square. Not so in Serbia. One could amble around Novi Sad and Belgrade at will and there's always something to look at with interest, or in disbelief. A bit of bustle here. An argument there. Varied architecture. Even Sremski Karlovci, a quaint little town a few miles south of Novi Sad, has more to offer than the major Polish city of Poznan, in my view.
There is more to Serbia than meets the eye, I reiterate ...
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