Kate Hennessy : Freelance Writer

October 20, 2008: Novi Sad, Serbia

Today I walked across the Varadin Bridge in Novi Sad. As far as bridges go, it’s nothing amazing. But it’s a moving experience all the same because it’s not the original Varadin Bridge. The original was bombed by NATO on April 1, 1999, as part of Operation Allied Forces during the Kosovo War.

Varadin Bridge, Novi Sad

The day after Varadin Bridge was destroyed in 1999, I turned 22. I had been accepted into Poli Sci at Berkeley so I was living back at my parents’ house and working double shifts as a waitress to save money. I’d hurtle up and down the Great Western Highway seven days a week in my rusty old Dato, immersed in dreamy thoughts of California.

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Belgrade: October 22, 2008

‘Beo’ means white; ‘grad’ means city. White city. And I was lost again.This time, worse than Budapest. About 3 hours worse. It was the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet on the street signs that really did me in. Hungarian was hard enough.

Part of the problem is that it’s a city with so much raw energy I kept losing focus. It’s true Beograd isn’t beautiful. Neither is it white. But it’s got incredible life force and, if you’re feeling resilient and energetic, it’s a fascinating place to wander. The outdoor cafes swarm with people-watchers at all hours drinking coffee / pivo, and the volume of people on streets rivals New York. I only spent two days in Belgrade but I’d love to return.

I went out with some fellow travellers on the second evening and we ordered a litre bottle of Montenegrin wine (which came with a serrated beer-lid top!). It cost about $4. As we returned to our hostel at about 11, the city was filling and filling. Every time I woke up in the night, I’d part my curtains and look down onto a street scene that, but for the darkness, could have been the middle of the day. If I do return to Belgrade, I’ll absorb the city by night.

Here’s my time in Belgrade in pictures…

Tito's grave

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Novi Sad is the second-largest Serbian city after Belgrade, with around 300,000 residents. It’s the capital of Vojvodina, a Northern Serbian province seven hours south of Budapest by train.

Srbija (Serbia)

Novi Sad is renowned for Petrovaradin Fortress, the Exit Music Festival (held at the fortress) and NATO’s intense air bombardment in 1999. I’m sure it was once renowned for other things too. After all, various sources refer to it fondly as the ‘Serbian Athens’.

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