Soko Banja - Soko Grad

Situated in a idyllic location in Eastern Serbia, surrounded by lovely hills & forests and overlooked by mountains, Soko Banja is one of the most popular tourist resorts in Serbia.

Soko Banja - picture curtesy of the local tourist organisation

Soko Banja - town center - picture curtesy of Wikipedia

The main purpose for visiting this small municipality is "taking in the healing waters" - the hot springs, with radioactive elements, are well-known and recommended for those suffering from asthma, hepatitis or chronic rheumatism...
Yet Soko Banja and its surroundings has much more to offer to suit all travelers.
For the inveterate fishermen, lake Bovan (some 10km away from the town) is heaven - nor rain, nor shine, or nor a cold March day can hold them back from a few peaceful hours on the lake shore, with rod in hand...

Bovan Lake and Mt Rtanj in the background

Fishermen "in action" on the shores of Bovan Lake

Many hiking paths criss-cross the hills and forests in the vicinity of the spa town, which makes it ideal of active outings, with friends and family...
The area is teeming with relevant Serbian history too - the names of Milos Obrenovic, Ivo Andric, Branislav Nusic and Stefan Sremac are inextricably linked with Soko Banja's.
Definetly, the one excursion which combines both beautiful nature and turbulent medieval history, is the hike to Soko Grad.

Whether you take the longer version, starting on foot in town center, or drive up to Lepterija picnic area and then continue along the picturesque path by the river, the trip to Sokograd is a treat.
Here are some of the sites you pass along the way:

In spring, many beautiful wild flowers adorn the ground and brighten up your path:

And then it starts uphill...

The fortification known as Soko Grad (the Falcon's Town), first mentioned in the time of Stefan Nemanja (15th century), was originally built and owned by the Serbs, but then was conquered by the Turks who fortified it and ruled over it until the 19th century. When it changed hands again, the new Serbian masters made sure to bring it to ruins, lest it fell again in Turkish hands...

This beautiful ruin crowns a rocky peak overlooking the whole valley, with breathtaking views of the surrounding area:

Tours2Serbia definetly recommends visiting Sokograd in nice, dry weather - you can do a by-drive from Nis or Zajecar, combine it with a day at the spa (or in summer, with amazing fun at the local Aquapark "Podina"), or throw in a handfull of monasteries too - two of Serbia's best known ones, Manasija and Ravanica are on your way from Sokobanja to Belgrade...
See you soon in Eastern Serbia, Soko Banja, Sokograd... 

Serbia's National Day - Dan Drzavnosti

While for the rest of the world mid-February means chocolate, candies, big red hearts and bouquets of red roses for Valentine's Day, ever since 2007, on February 15 Serbia celebrates their national day (Dan Drzavnosti).
This date has, however, other meanings too.
It was first and foremost a religious celebration called Sretenje (The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple). Traditions on this day include divinations about up-coming weather conditions - if the day of Sretenje is cloudy, the winter will end quickly and warmer weather is just around the corner....if this day is sunny and nice, then winter will linger still, with snowfalls and cold winds ahead.

Icon of "Sretenje"feast - source: www.pravoslavlje.net

Then, in 1804 it was on this very day that the first up-rising against the Turks took place, under the leadership of George Petrovic, nick-named Karadjordjevic. Ultimately this revolution resulted in the recognition of Serbia's statehood by the Ottoman Empire (de facto in 1817, de jure in 1830).
Note: to visit the memorial house of George Petrovic and the mausoleum church of the royal family Karadjordjevic, whose line he founded you can take our day trip to Topola and Oplenac).

Picture of George Petrovic Karadjordje by Vladimir Borovikovsky - source: Wikipedia

Another event commemorated is the promulgation, in 1835 in Kragujevac (central Serbia), of modern Serbia's first democratic constitution.

Kragujevac

And, none the less, February 15th is also considered the Day of the Army - and sometimes parades and other events are held in the capital city.

Serbian army and flag

All in all, a lot to celebrate - and this year the government has made sure Serbs can do so with a mini-vacation. Monday and Tuesday are school free days and many state institutions will also be closed or will work shorter hours.
If in Serbia, avoid the ski resorts of Kopaonik and Zlatibor, which are packed!

Pljeskavica or Big Mac?

For a country with their own "hamburger"-like menu item (the famous "pljeskavica", sold in every restaurant, fast food or even street corner at very affordable prices), where being a vegetarian is still rare ("A vegetarian? Really? And you don't even eat chicken?") and fasting before major Christian holidays is the only concievable reason why anyone in their right mind and their right health should ever go without a nice juicy piece of roast pork or lamb on the spit, it is surprising that McDonalds survives and even thrives in select locations...

In March of 1988, Belgrade - then the capital of Yugoslavia, became the first city in the communist world to open a McDonald’s restaurant. And its success story continues ever since.

Whether it is the desire of the locals to get a taste of the Western world, even in this "culinary" form, whether it is the young generation, always in need of free wi-fi to continuously access their favourite social networks, whether it is the ex-pats and travelers who loath the thought of dining in this fast food while at home, yet strangely flock in the overseas venues for fear of trying the local food or the nostalgia of the US-way, it would seem that the McDonalds restaurants are always popular with young and old alike, always have the busies counters in shopping malls and seem to be always increasing in number with new locations opening every year...

Next time you visit Belgrade, do not miss trying out a true Serbian dish, the pljeskavica...but also check out this Mcdonalds restaurant in Slavija Square, house in a historical, turn of the century building - close to shopping (King Milan's street) and sightseeing (St Sava temple, Nikola Tesla Museum)...Contact us at www.tours2serbia.com and let us know how you're loving it :) !!!

Serbian Christmas, as celebrated in my family

The Serbs, who are 85% Orthodox, celebrate Christmas according to the Julian calendar. Therefore, January 6th is Christmas Eve, and January 7th is Christmas Day and National holiday (official day off).

Depending on each person’s area of origin, family traditions and own beliefs, a variety of customs are observed in preparation and celebration of Christmas, ranging from the more traditional approach, including fasting & attending church, to the western-world inspired Christmas tree decorating and presents exchanging version of the same holiday.

I would like to share with you Christmas as observed by my family  - which has both its typically Serbian traits, but also some elements that are representative exclusively to us – so do not judge all of Serbia based on this.

My mother would fast, in a loose sense (no meat) for approx. four weeks before Christmas as required by the church tradition. Very commendable, but hard to follow when one goes out to celebrate the New Year’s Eve and culinary and alcoholic temptations spring up everywhere.

On BADNJI DAN, Christmas Eve, my father and I go out early to the forest that starts just at the back of our home and search for the perfect branch of oak tree, to become our BADNJAK. Supposedly, the BADNJAK symbolizes the wood that the sheperds brought to the barn where baby Jesus was born, and kindled a fire with, so the new born can be warm. So cutting the tree branch comes along with a small prayer and the sign of the Cross. We actually do not fell just one branch, but two, one bigger, one smaller, the male and female versions of the BADNJAK. We then take them home and lean them on the wall of the house, near the entrance door.

The rest of the day is dedicated to the preparations for the Christmas lunch...we men play an important part, as we are the ones that go out, slaughter a suckling pig or a lamb or both (depending on how tight the budget is for that respective year or not) and then set it up on a spit and roast it to perfection...a lot of rakija is consumed in the process and we do some tasting too,  to verify the quality of our work (so you see, fasting would have a lot of disadvantages J ).

The women of the house, my mother and my wife, would be in charge of cleaning the house spotless and preparing the rest of the goodies – a humble, fasting meal for the evening of January 6th, and a copious lunch to be shared with all close family members on Christmas Day.

Typical dishes that are served for the Christmas Eve dinner would include: a special bread for this occasion (BADNJI KOLAC), fish, prebranac beans, noodles with ground wallnuts and other fasting dishes.

As for the Christmas Day celebrations, they say that the richer the meal, the richer the coming year, so you are supposed to eat large quantities of many courses. The menu will normally include: any number of cold cuts and cheeses, salads & bread spreads (ruska salata, urnebes, ajvar, etc) CESNICA (a special Christmas Day bread), PECENICA (cold cuts from the roasted pig and/or lamb), SARMA (ground meat, rice and spices filled sauerkraut leaves), sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and other side dishes, and of course, deserts (my personal favourite is BAKLAVA with ground wallnuts and raisins).

In the evening, on BADNJE VECE, we go to town – depending on each place, either in front of the local church, or in front of the city hall or on the main square, we have the burning of the BADNJAK – a ceremony accompanied by a church service (vespers) made by the local priest, Christmas songs, food and drinks shared with the participants.

As for the children, in other culture, on this day they would probably be joyously decorating the Christmas tree and excitedly awaiting Santa Claus to make its appearance with many presents, but Christmas – Serbian style does not involve presents at all. Actually, the winter holidays are much different in terms of reaping presents and money rewards for the children. Serbians have no Halloween for candy treats, no St Nicholas for little presents put in clean little boots lined up by fireplaces, neither neatly wrapped Christmas presents under the festive tree, brought by either Father Christmas or the Christ Child.

With us, both centuries old traditions related to our orthodox beliefs, as well as the influence of communism during the reign of Marshall Tito&co lead to a different set of  customs.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we have what is called the MATERICI and the OCEVI. Observed the second Sundays, respectively first Sunday before Christmas, these old customs imply that the children have to tie up their mother’s, respectively their father’s feet, and only cut them free upon receipt of a small gift or pocket money.  

Then we put up the Christmas tree, shortly before the New Year’s Eve, although this is a custom copied from the Western world. It is during the school festivities at year end, before winter vacation, or at New Year’s Eve in the homes, when DEDA MRAZ (in a literal translation, Father Frost) comes to deliver „PAKETICI“ to well behaved children. The PAKETIC is a literally a package, a small set of pre-packaged presents, usually consisting of an assortment of candies, chocolated, maybe a few books and toys.

Luckily for my daughters, my wife is Romanian and she insists we celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar too – this time with the routine that she grew up with – and that includes a proper Christmas tree, carolling, rich food, and a lot of presents for the children and all other family members.

Coming back to Christmas Day a la Serbia, BADNJI DAN...

We greet the birth of Christ with a lot of noise to show our joy at the news...firecrackers sound everywhere, and in more traditional households guns can be fired too.

On this day, and the whole following week actually, we greet eachother with: MIR BOZIJI, HRISTOS SE RODI (God’s peace on Earth, Christ was born), the standard answer to which is VAISTINU SE RODI (He was truly born)

It is generally considered lucky if a man (called POLAZNIK) will be the first to enter your house on Christmas Day – some families might even arrange with someone to drop by on purpose. The POLAZNIK himself, or a male member of the family (in my case) is the one who will kindle the fire with a BADNJAK little branch, shaking it as he does that, thus setting of may sparks. While he does this, he utters a small incantation meant to bring good luck and prosperitity for the host family („How many sparks, that much happiness in this house; how many sparks, that many sheep in the stall“, etc). He is rewarded with a gift: new socks or a new T-shirt seem to be the favored gift in my family, and one can sure always use those.

There are many superstitions related to Christmas Day. In my family, before noon, it is compulsory to take a shower and put on clean (and preferably brand new) clothes – a fresh start for a new year. Also, we have to work something – to be hardworking and successfull till next Christmas. And of course, the BADNJI DAN lunch (more of a brunch, really) must be started before 12:00noon too.

My father, the head of the household, says a small prayer, then makes the sign of the Cross over the CESNICA bread and cuts it in four (in our case). Four members of the family (the adults), get one piece of bread each, and then seek inside the bread their fortune for the coming year. When making the bread, a small item was hidden in each quarter, and what you find defines your life until the bext Christmas: a coin (means money, of course), a bean (means sheep), a twig of cornel (means health), piece of wood (means house), and other things, each with its meaning (which may also depend on each household and region in Serbia).

Finally, we sit down for the big meal, toasting with a glass of red wine.

Christmas Day is spent with your family or even extended family, in harmony (well, about that, you all know what it is like to spend holidays with your family :) ). The next day is generally dedicated to good friends – and a lot of visits take place, with more eating and drinking.

So all in all, this is Christmas a la Serbia, a la Ilic family...

I will try to post more about Serbians and their traditions, but it would be a bigger pleasure to have you come visit our country and spend the holidays like a local...if you need help with your arrangements, you know where to find me: www.tours2serbia.com.

MIR BOZIJI, HRISTOS SE RODI!

Testimonials of our guests - 2014

At Tours2Serbia, we are proud of our little corner of the world and happy to show it in its best light to all our guests. In turn, they let us know how they enjoyed their trip, they share their impressions of the whole area and tell us what are the valuable memories they will take home and share with their loved ones. Testimonials of real people, our former guests, with real photos and original texts, you can see here. And for videos - check out one below, and more on our Youtube channel...

Fortress of Nis - Winter visit...

Any place looks fabulous on a sunny day and with the help of a touch of color enhancing in Photoshop... The challenge is to take a real place and see it through the eyes of real people, with "normal" cameras, in real weather condition...Tours2Serbia chose:
- a cold, grey winter day, with snow flakes dancing hesitantly through the air
- a regular camera
- an amateur photograph behind the camera
- St Sava Temple, the largest Orthodox Church on the Balkans, still under construction (the inside is not finishes yet).
The conclusion of the experiment: judge for yourselves....

St Sava Temple and Karadjordje monument

St Sava Temple

St Sava fresco on the facade of the church

St Sava statue on the side of St Sava Temple