Serbia - A Cultural Journey (56/151)

Serbia - A Cultural Journey (56/151)

Serbia is the largest country to emerge from the dissolution of former Yugoslavia in 1991. Where a wall once stood to divide East from West, Orient from Occident, at the border of the Roman Empire 2000 years ago, lies Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Serbia is just emerging from a dark period of history under dictator Slobodan Milosevic, who plunged the country into political, economic and moral crisis. After his fall, Serbs embraced democracy, and today it seems incredible how quickly once festering wounds have healed. Today, the visitor to the Balkans finds a busy and bustling capital on both sides of the Danube, its major artery, with forts and castles to the left and right. The Danube is a force of nature here, which first broadens into a lake before rushing and roaring through narrow cataracts. Over a dozen monasteries tend to the introspective way of life in the Fruska Gora ("Franks' Forest"), the athletically-minded meet atop Mt. Zlatibor ("Pinewood") and the nostalgic daydream on the shores of Lake Palic. Fans of high culture will not be disappointed in the major metropolises of Novi Sad and Belgrade, where you can enjoy theater, dance and art at the highest level. But there are also painful memories under the surface, a combination which comes out impressively in this vivid portrait of modern Serbia.