Kragujevac, a place we never expected to end up. Paul and I like to plan our Airbnb’s in advance, mainly because it saves us money and we can plan around the new Brexit rules (90 days in the EU, 90 days out). We found a nice two-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of town for about 600 euros including everything. That may sound like a lot, but these days it’s cheap! We’ve been to Belgrade and Nis a few times, but rents have gone through the roof since the end of the pandemic. So we had to think of an alternative city to stay, and that’s how we ended up here. Now I have to be honest that Kragujevac is not the most exciting place to be and there is little to do. But it served its purpose and that was to save money for our big trip at the end of the year. Which you will hear all about in a different post! 🙂

Here are a few pictures of the view from our balcony and the surrounding area.

Kragujevac has a beautiful park, Memorial Park, where, on a sunny day, it’s nice to go for a walk. We were lucky that we were here during spring when the trees were just starting to bloom. Gorgeous! We didn’t do much, because the purpose for our visit wasn’t a vacation, but let me share some useful information with you if you ever travel to Kragujevac.

Supermarkets

I think that Maxi and Idea are the best supermarkets to go to. The quality of fruits and vegetables is pretty good. You can also have your groceries delivered (only at Idea) through the Glovo app (food delivery app), but the downside is that you sometimes get old fruit. Prices are very reasonable, but many of the healthy things (nuts, seeds, etc) can be a bit on the expensive side. The same goes for the coffee. If you can bring some from another country (like Macedonia) it saves a lot of money!

Taxi’s

Now, the cabs over here are very affordable. Much cheaper than in Belgrade and also reliable. We used the Pink Taxi App and could always get a cab within 2 minutes, or simply just jump in one. Pink Taxi was our favorite, but there are other companies that are probably just as good. We paid about 420 denars (500 if you include a tip) for a trip of 4 kilometers. In euros, that’s about 3.5 to 4 euros. The cars are quite old and smell a bit smokey, but they do the job.

Smoking

I feel a bit hypocritical when I say this, because I used to be a smoker, but going out to dinner or lunch as a non-smoker is not so much fun in Serbia. Or any Balkan country for that matter. Smoking is still allowed inside, so if you want to eat nice food, you have to expect to inhale a lot of cigarette smoke and smell like cigarettes when you leave. For this reason, we only ate out once and enjoyed our homemade meals.

Craft beer

Of course, my blog about travel has to include a place to drink craft beer. Sputnik 1957 is the place to be. It is in the middle of downtown, but a little hidden. They have many craft beers from different breweries, such as Tron, Dogma, 3Bir, Cabinet, and a few European breweries. The food is also very decent and the prices are very affordable.

Stray dogs and cats

In the Balkan countries, you will find many stray dogs and cats. The barking can be a little annoying, especially when you are trying to sleep. But the dogs (and cats) don’t bother you and are generally very friendly. We always walk around with dog treats and if a stray dog passed by (with a wagging tail) or a stray cat came for a cuddle, we would give them some treats. We also met a sweet couple in the neighborhood who rescued stray dogs and we got to pet a few every night. It was the highlight of our stay! ❤

Would we come back to Kragujevac?

Probably not. There is not much to do. Belgrade, Novi Sad en Nis are a lot nicer. But if you want to experience a quieter part of Serbia, this is a good place as any. A few days will be enough. 

Love, Renée