Novi Sad
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It always makes me a bit sad… meeting backpackers in the Balkan who mention Serbia in their travel plans, but limit that potentially phenomenal encounter to just Belgrade. Grey, polluted, uninviting Belgrade. I understand that with limited travel time and underdeveloped public transport it isn’t always feasible to include the country’s highlights: The ‘Lungs of Serbia’ in the South-West (Tara NP, Zlatibor, Kopaonik etc.) and Stara Planina. However, if you just have a few days on your hands to swiftly pass through a preferably well-serviced city, please do me a favor and choose Novi Sad instead. It’s just 100km north-east of Belgrade, but it will change your overall perception of Serbia a 100%.
Why Novi Sad Beats the Hell Out of Belgrade
Why Novi Sad Beats the Hell Out of Belgrade
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Nature
As a hiking enthusiast, this is by default the decision-making factor in whether I decide to like a city or not: proximity to nature. The option to escape. Where in Belgrade you might trace down a city park hidden under the permanent cloud of exhaust fumes, Novi Sad swoops in with an actual national park at its side: Fruška Gora, the oldest one in the country. With the title “Jewel of Serbia,” you get a bit of an idea of what you’re dealing with: Bordered by the fertile Danube and 90% forested by lush linden, oak and beech trees, this unique natural area forms the home for a wide variety of protected animals, some of them extinct elsewhere in the world. Fruška Gora is inhabited by 13 amphibian-, 11 reptilian-, 30 bat-, 60 mammalian- and 211 bird species. Keep an eye out to spot fire salamanders, pine martens or European polecats! Another interesting detail is that the park contains rock formations dating from almost all geological periods. On top of that, the park houses no less than 35 monasteries, adding a bit of a cultural flavor to your natural endeavour.
Besides a national park, the city has an actual beach, allowing for a refreshing dive into the famous Danube River: Štrand. Novi Sad 2 points, Belgrade 0.
* Find GPS hiking trails in Fruška Gora on Komoot and Wikiloc. Fruška Gora can be reached with bus line 72 (Paragovo), 74 (Popovica), 76 (Stari Ledinci), 78 (Beočin village), departing approx. hourly from the main bus station. The price of the bus fare depends on the destination, but buying a daily ticket is more economical (€2-3). The tickets are bought directly from the driver. You can also take a train to Sremski Karlovci.
As a hiking enthusiast, this is by default the decision-making factor in whether I decide to like a city or not: proximity to nature. The option to escape. Where in Belgrade you might trace down a city park hidden under the permanent cloud of exhaust fumes, Novi Sad swoops in with an actual national park at its side: Fruška Gora, the oldest one in the country. With the title “Jewel of Serbia,” you get a bit of an idea of what you’re dealing with: Bordered by the fertile Danube and 90% forested by lush linden, oak and beech trees, this unique natural area forms the home for a wide variety of protected animals, some of them extinct elsewhere in the world. Fruška Gora is inhabited by 13 amphibian-, 11 reptilian-, 30 bat-, 60 mammalian- and 211 bird species. Keep an eye out to spot fire salamanders, pine martens or European polecats! Another interesting detail is that the park contains rock formations dating from almost all geological periods. On top of that, the park houses no less than 35 monasteries, adding a bit of a cultural flavor to your natural endeavour.
Besides a national park, the city has an actual beach, allowing for a refreshing dive into the famous Danube River: Štrand. Novi Sad 2 points, Belgrade 0.
* Find GPS hiking trails in Fruška Gora on Komoot and Wikiloc. Fruška Gora can be reached with bus line 72 (Paragovo), 74 (Popovica), 76 (Stari Ledinci), 78 (Beočin village), departing approx. hourly from the main bus station. The price of the bus fare depends on the destination, but buying a daily ticket is more economical (€2-3). The tickets are bought directly from the driver. You can also take a train to Sremski Karlovci.
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Wine
Talking about its natural splendors… Fruška Gora brings more than just a breath of fresh air and a pleasantly challenging hike or bike-ride. It brings forth some of the most prominent wines of the country! Hallelujah, praise! As is the case in most Southern European wine-countries previously under the Ottoman thumb, the golden age of the local viticulture began after this Islamic influence was pushed out (in Serbia in 1699). This region turned out to be specifically suitable for the Bermet production, which apparently is a rather famous dessert wine. Not famous enough that I, a very devoted hobby-drinker (hmm that sounds bad), has ever heard of it before. Probably because it is indeed a sweet dessert wine, and for me personally dry and red are keywords. Traminer and Riesling are other key players of the Fruška Gora wine scene. If you want to give it a go, all you have to do is get out to the village Sremski Karlovci, an 8km bus- or train ride from Novi Sad, and drink your way around the many different wineries in this area, incl. Probus, Petrovic, Bajilo, Vinum, Dulka and Zivanovic. Maybe take a cab back.
* Your best possible timing to visit Novi Sad is September, when the annual Wine Festival is held in Sremski Karlovci.
Talking about its natural splendors… Fruška Gora brings more than just a breath of fresh air and a pleasantly challenging hike or bike-ride. It brings forth some of the most prominent wines of the country! Hallelujah, praise! As is the case in most Southern European wine-countries previously under the Ottoman thumb, the golden age of the local viticulture began after this Islamic influence was pushed out (in Serbia in 1699). This region turned out to be specifically suitable for the Bermet production, which apparently is a rather famous dessert wine. Not famous enough that I, a very devoted hobby-drinker (hmm that sounds bad), has ever heard of it before. Probably because it is indeed a sweet dessert wine, and for me personally dry and red are keywords. Traminer and Riesling are other key players of the Fruška Gora wine scene. If you want to give it a go, all you have to do is get out to the village Sremski Karlovci, an 8km bus- or train ride from Novi Sad, and drink your way around the many different wineries in this area, incl. Probus, Petrovic, Bajilo, Vinum, Dulka and Zivanovic. Maybe take a cab back.
* Your best possible timing to visit Novi Sad is September, when the annual Wine Festival is held in Sremski Karlovci.
Grey versus Color
One thing that bothered me most in Belgrade, is that it seems to lack color. It’s like jumping straight into a black-and-white picture, without the vintage charm. I had a rather opposite experience in Novi Sad, where the cheerful colors and patterns brightening up the buildings and connecting the street scenes instantly put a smile on my face. Go for a stroll on the Dunavska Street, look around on Svetozar Miletić and Liberty Square, and take a peek up to witness the wild and creative roof patterns of the Church of the Name of Mary to see what I’m talking about. A colorful cityscape to reflect the variety of influences over history as well as the current ethnical variety. Beautiful.
One thing that bothered me most in Belgrade, is that it seems to lack color. It’s like jumping straight into a black-and-white picture, without the vintage charm. I had a rather opposite experience in Novi Sad, where the cheerful colors and patterns brightening up the buildings and connecting the street scenes instantly put a smile on my face. Go for a stroll on the Dunavska Street, look around on Svetozar Miletić and Liberty Square, and take a peek up to witness the wild and creative roof patterns of the Church of the Name of Mary to see what I’m talking about. A colorful cityscape to reflect the variety of influences over history as well as the current ethnical variety. Beautiful.
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Studentesque Culture
Fair enough, both Belgrade and Novi Sad host a vibrant cultural scene. Obviously, as Belgrade is the capital, it houses a vast variety of government-funded museums which are definitely worth visiting. However, also Novi Sad plays its cards with 3 free-to-visit art museums! The Gallery of Fine Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Art are always free, whereas the Matica Srpska Gallery lets people in without a ticket on Fridays. On top of that, it’s recommended to spend some time in the popular Museum of Vojvodina, as well as the City Museum.
I’m now covering “Culture with the big C,’ but it’s evidently a wider concept than just museums and higher art. Culture is reflected both visibly and perceptibly in its people, their way of life and radiated ambience… not just by the objects they create in the form of art and architecture. To me, Belgrade breathes a standard fast-paced city vibe of stress and business, inevitably resulting in steam being blown off in a more wild and explosive nightlife. However, what makes Novi Sad more unique and breezy, is in my opinion the strong mark left by the student culture, resulting in a more light-hearted and laidback bar scene. Obviously, there are universities in Belgrade as well, but that strong studentesque influence easily evaporates in the big city where everything else is present as well. My student days were one of the best of my life (until I started traveling fulltime), and I’ll take any excuse to go back in time to shortly relive these golden years. A cheap drink at the Zmaj Jovina combined with some people-watching, or dancing on the bars in jeans and sneakers in some hole in the wall around the Laze Telečkog area… less pretentious, more real. Novi Sad scores again.
Fair enough, both Belgrade and Novi Sad host a vibrant cultural scene. Obviously, as Belgrade is the capital, it houses a vast variety of government-funded museums which are definitely worth visiting. However, also Novi Sad plays its cards with 3 free-to-visit art museums! The Gallery of Fine Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Art are always free, whereas the Matica Srpska Gallery lets people in without a ticket on Fridays. On top of that, it’s recommended to spend some time in the popular Museum of Vojvodina, as well as the City Museum.
I’m now covering “Culture with the big C,’ but it’s evidently a wider concept than just museums and higher art. Culture is reflected both visibly and perceptibly in its people, their way of life and radiated ambience… not just by the objects they create in the form of art and architecture. To me, Belgrade breathes a standard fast-paced city vibe of stress and business, inevitably resulting in steam being blown off in a more wild and explosive nightlife. However, what makes Novi Sad more unique and breezy, is in my opinion the strong mark left by the student culture, resulting in a more light-hearted and laidback bar scene. Obviously, there are universities in Belgrade as well, but that strong studentesque influence easily evaporates in the big city where everything else is present as well. My student days were one of the best of my life (until I started traveling fulltime), and I’ll take any excuse to go back in time to shortly relive these golden years. A cheap drink at the Zmaj Jovina combined with some people-watching, or dancing on the bars in jeans and sneakers in some hole in the wall around the Laze Telečkog area… less pretentious, more real. Novi Sad scores again.
Other sights not covered in this article, but truly recommended: Petrovaradin Fortress & Catacombs, as well as its Clocktower that has its hands reversed in order to aid the fishermen to more conveniently read the time.
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