A language learners’ forum

Have you ever visited Serbia? If not, do you plan?

Yes, I went to Serbia in 2014. I was travelling around the region, so initially took a bus across the border from Skopje to Niš and spent a couple of days there, before travelling on to Montenegro. I was planning to take the railway from Bar to Belgrade, because it looks like an absolutely stunning journey, but unfortunately there had been really bad floods that year and the track was closed for repairs. Instead I had to take a bus from Bar to Belgrade, which was a very long journey and not a lot of fun. However, I did love Belgrade itself once I got there and I also visited Novi Sad, which was really lovely.

I would definitely like to go back one day, but I don't have any immediate plans

I have been there several times - the last time to participate in the 2014 Polyglot conference in Novi Sad. And I definitely want to visit the country again - maybe not Beograd or Novi Sad or Niš which I already have visited, but other less wellknown towns. However I have to revive my Serbian before going there. It would be a shame to revisit Serbia without being able to have conversations with people there.

I am glad to hear that you have nice memories and plan to visit Serbia again.

I don't have fond memories about the railways (old and worn out), but the rest of Serbia functioned well, and I definitely had a good time there each time I have visited the country.

But apart from the railways I have one grievance: on an earlier trip I bought a Cyrillic Serbian<>English dictionary, and last time I went there I tried to find a bigger and better one - still with the Serbian part in Cyrillic letters (which I prefer since it makes it easier for me to keep Croatian and Serbian separate). But no, even though I went to at least five or six bookstores in NoviSad and Beograd I didn't find one. ALL dictionaries with Serbian plus a Western language used Latinitsa. I have later bought a small yellow Langenscheidt (German<>Serbian) to supplement the old one I mentioned first, but it doesn't fill the void.

Yes Iversen, that is a big problem here. It looks like we forgot Cyrillic. Almost everything is in Latinitsa. It is even hard to find some children's books in Cyrillic. Few of my son's favorite books are in Latinitsa. For him it is still hard to read it so my husband and I read to him (he is 6 years old). There is same with a lot of books he is interested in.

Yes, versus, I have visited Serbia several times. My work gives me the opportunity to visit a factory in Elemir at least once a year. My first visit was in 2016, I think. A trip to Serbia for me usually means flying into Belgrade, driving to Elemir, and staying one night in Belgrade before flying on to the next destination. I did get to spend a day in Novi Sad on the last trip.

I think Serbia is a great place to visit. It is very beautiful and I always enjoy myself there. Hopefully, I can make more time for sightseeing on my next visit and possibly take my wife there someday. In addition to the great landscape and people, there is a feeling in Serbia that I can't explain, but do find very appealing. It has something to do with having the right combination of modern and traditional aspects.

Because I am trying to learn Russian, I haven't put any time into Serbian yet, but plan to if/when my Russian reaches solid "B" territory. Right now, I have to be content just reading the Cyrillic signs and recognizing place names and words that are similar to Russian words I know. It is really quite easy and interesting to sound out the Serbian (Cyrillic) words, except for the uniquely Serbian letters.

Unfortunately, COVID forced me to cancel a trip there last month. I hope things can get back to normal soon so that I can get back on the road.

I haven't visited Serbia yet and I would like to. In 2018 I decided to travel solo in the Balkans and it was a wonderful and eye-opening experience, but I stopped short of reaching Serbia. Time limits! I want to visit the country properly.