Bradt Serbia

by Laurence Mitchell

Book Overview

This new, thoroughly updated fifth edition of Bradt's Serbia remains the most acclaimed guide available to a country which in recent years has welcomed an increasing number of foreign tourists to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1841623261
• ISBN13: 9781841623269
• Release Date: November 2010
• Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides
• Length: 376 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A native's guide

I am Serbian but have lived in the states for most of my life. When my husband and I took a trip this part fall, we decided to tour the country side for a week and escape the obligation of seeing relatives and friends. Best decision we ever made... particularly since it got us out of Belgrade, my home, but, a city I don't think I would ever recommend to travelers... at least not until many, MANY things change. This book helped us, including me, a native, find the gems many Serbs haven't explored. A few such gems included Mokra Gora, Djerdap, and any number of monasteries, many of which have recently been repaired to their original grandeur! However, not only was this book an amazing way to help make our trip easy navigation to the hidden treasures of Serbia, it was also invaluable to fill in the (many) holes in my knowledge of Serbian history. By the end of the trip, my husband, a pure-bred American, was quizzing me on things such as "the significance of Manasija Monastery..." :-) In other words, I recommend this book to tourists as well as Serbian natives who wish to explore more deeply parts of their home!

Indispensable guide to Serbia

I purchased this guide book when I found out I would be visiting Serbia for business, mostly because it was the only guide to Serbia in English I could find. I was pleasantly surprised at the cultural background, political and social context, and historical perspective that this book provided. Before I even stepped on Serbian soil, I had a sense of what mysteries I was in store to explore. Repeatedly in my week visiting half of Serbia, my hosts would remark how I knew of little-known tidbits about this town, or that restaurant. Very impressive first impression and makes me want to check out other Bradt guides. If you're visiting Serbia, this is a MUST HAVE.

2nd edition of the best guidebook for Serbia: more informative, more correct and more interesting!

In the 2nd edition of his already excellent guidebook L. Mitchell has given a considerably enlarged, significantly improved and fully updated story about the country where I work as a licensed tourist guide and therefore I thought I knew it best. To my surprise, I was able to discover in this book not only a great deal of practical information mainly useful for visitors and tourists alike, but also some really amazing, less known and unfamiliar stories about the country and its people. The 2nd edition included expanded coverage on various background topics, such as Serbian cinema, literature and music, with boxes on Serbian personalities in these fields (for instance, Emir Kusturica or Ceca, an extravagant Balkan diva) as well as popular festivals like the annual Guca Trumpet Festival and EXIT. Many more boxes on subjects as diverse as the narrow gauge 'Sargan Eight' railway and curiosities like the 'Kremna Prophecies' and the 'Wild Man of Fruska Gora'. However, one of my favorite boxes is `Rocky comes to rescue of Serbian village' which really gives additional flavor to what is generally known or percieved about the Serbian mentality. More information are also given on natural history and National Parks in Serbia. I noticed as well that the author extended the listings, now including many of the new restaurants, cafes and bars and low-cost hostels that have opened for business in Belgrade in the last couple of years, along with privately run mid-range, luxury (`boutique') and hotels in the capital and beyond. Belgrade has recently become the capital of night life in the Balkans, attracting lots of young visitors from every corner of the world, and this fully annotated list will help them discover all the variety of day and night entertainment in Belgrade. Finally, an improved and correct use of Serbian terms (including some given in Cyrillic script with no mistakes) would be of special help to foreign visitors. Even if you are in possession of the 1st edition of the book, I would recommend that you buy the new one. It's much more informative than previous, has more correct information of any kind, offers a new design and is supplied with more photographs. And most of all, you are going to really enjoy reading it as a new book! A NOTE ON THE 3RD EDITION (07/2010) Here it is - the 3rd edition of the Bradt guide to Serbia! I received it from the UK several days ago! Everything I wanted to say about this book, I have already said in my reviews of former editions. It is important, however, to comment that city information for Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis and Subotica (the four most visited spots in Serbia) have been brought thoroughly up to date in the new edition, which is important for a traveler (fully annotated lists of hotels, hostels, restaurants etc.). Also, the author put some new additions to the text, thus covering a few remaining, previously not included towns or attractions, like Knjazevac and Devil's Town. As an informed nati

2nd edition of the best guidebook for Serbia: more informative, more correct and more interesting!

In the 2nd edition of his already excellent guidebook L. Mitchell has given a considerably enlarged, significantly improved and fully updated story about the country where I work as a licensed tourist guide and therefore I thought I knew it best. To my surprise, I was able to discover in this book not only a great deal of practical information mainly useful for visitors and tourists alike, but also some really amazing, less known and unfamiliar stories about the country and its people. The 2nd edition included expanded coverage on various background topics, such as Serbian cinema, literature and music, with boxes on Serbian personalities in these fields (for instance, Emir Kusturica or Ceca, an extravagant Balkan diva) as well as popular festivals like the annual Guca Trumpet Festival and EXIT. Many more boxes on subjects as diverse as the narrow gauge 'Sargan Eight' railway and curiosities like the 'Kremna Prophecies' and the 'Wild Man of Fruska Gora'. However, one of my favorite boxes is `Rocky comes to rescue of Serbian village' which really gives additional flavor to what is generally known or percieved about the Serbian mentality. More information are also given on natural history and National Parks in Serbia. I noticed as well that the author extended the listings, now including many of the new restaurants, cafes and bars and low-cost hostels that have opened for business in Belgrade in the last couple of years, along with privately run mid-range, luxury (`boutique') and hotels in the capital and beyond. Belgrade has recently become the capital of night life in the Balkans, attracting lots of young visitors from every corner of the world, and this fully annotated list will help them discover all the variety of day and night entertainment in Belgrade. Finally, an improved and correct use of Serbian terms (including some given in Cyrillic script with no mistakes) would be of special help to foreign visitors. Even if you are in possession of the 1st edition of the book, I would recommend that you buy the new one. It's much more informative than previous, has more correct information of any kind, offers a new design and is supplied with more photographs. And most of all, you are going to really enjoy reading it as a new book! This edition deserves congratulations and will hopefully have many readers. Some of them will no doubt be inspired by the book to visit Serbia and check everything personally. P.S. Bradt's "Serbia" is an excellent example of contemporary and INTERPRETIVE travel guides and as such it encourages a meaning-making process whereby you are able to make sense of Serbia, its life, culture and people. This is why this book stands out from other available titles. However, if you are only interested in statistical facts and figures, you might consider buying any other ordinary guidebook.

Comprehensive and insightful guide to the nearly unknown Serbia

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (2/07) Serbia is one of those European countries that most people would have real trouble locating on a map. More often than not I hear people saying that it is somewhere in Russia or next to one of those "-stan" countries. Those who are somewhat more interested in recent history seem to have a vague recollection of it being involved in the Balkan war; and they might even remember the war crimes, horrors in Bosnia, Slobodan Milosevic and several similar topics. Fortunately there is much, much more to Serbia and Laurence Mitchell did a wonderful job putting together this first edition of the only guide to Serbia in English, a least at the time of its publication in 2005. The guidebook follows the usual useful format of other Bradt Guides - starting with an Introduction, followed by Part I (General Information) and Part II (The Guide). If you are planning to visit Serbia, make sure to read the excellent information gathered in Part I. It will help you make your stay much safer and enjoyable. Pay particular attention to what should truly be discussed as little as possible (politics and football...), how to behave in a restaurant (the host pays the entire bill, regardless of their financial situation - and as a tourist you are automatically a guest), why you should never turn down an offer of a drink or something to eat (to refuse that you'll come across as haughty), and what is in store for you if you are a non-smoker (grin and bear it)... Part II, The Guide, will surprise you with the wealth of sights that Serbia has to offer. While this part of the world has not been a major tourist destination even before the war, it certainly is well worth a visit. The people are surprisingly hospitable (and here I am speaking from personal experience), food and drink plentiful and tasty, countryside inviting, museums and lots of monasteries intriguing and the national parks truly beautiful. If urban style is more your thing, Belgrade is one of the most vibrant, lively capitals of Europe; and - according to both Laurence Mitchell and my own experiences - a city that truly never sleeps. Mr. Mitchell has done his research thoroughly and in his guidebook he provides all of the necessary addresses and details to make your visit to Serbia an unforgettable one. Two very useful features in this book are the good two dozen detailed maps as well as the parallel Latin/Cyrillic spelling of place names. Since most of the signs in Serbia (as well as newspapers and everything else) are written in Cyrillic, this could be quite an important feature. I read this insightful guide, "Serbia," with great pleasure and I would gladly recommend it to those adventurous travelers who are willing to go to a relatively unknown, yet beautiful and surprisingly affordable Serbia. If you are not ready for a trip yet, but would like to learn more about that part of the Balkans, by all means get this wonderful guide and if it leave