Talk:Serbia/Archive 2006-2011

For future reference the Project:CIA World Factbook 2002 import can be found at Talk:Serbia and Montenegro/CIA World Factbook 2002 import.

Research links removed from article
These links may assist contributors -- (WT-en) Huttite 02:29, 18 Jan 2006 (EST)
 * B92 The most popular news portal
 * Burek Forum The Biggest forum in Serbia and Montenegro
 * RTS Webpage of National Television
 * Krstarica The most popular local search engine
 * Visit Serbia The most popular Serbian travel portal.

Registration
My experience is that I was never asked for the white card registration confirmation ever at the border. If you enter without a passport it would anyhow be difficult to prove how long you stayed. Even though they scan the ID they seem to have no way of knowing. I often entered with passport and left with ID. Nobody ever asked any question about that. So I would suggest people relax a bit about it. This registration law is commonly not enforced and your host is more likely to be paying a fine than you anyhow.

You need the registration when you stay longer to open a bank account, prove you address etc. I once registered a week late and nothing happened to me. However my landlord got a 50€ fine (which I ended up paying).

Safe for American civilians?
Is travel in Belgrade and the rest of Serbia safe for Americans, and are they generally well-received if they can speak at least some phrases in Serbian or Russian? --153.104.16.114 01:17, 18 March 2006 (EST)

My experience is that it was fine. They're generally very friendly. (as of 2003)

Another question about Americans ... I recently (6 months ago) went to Serbia, but left via Kosovo and thus never got a Serbian exit stamp (I don't have a MIK stamp either as they stamped a piece of paper a la Cuba) will this raise any eyebrows with the occasionally testy Serbian border guards? thanks, I'd like to make another trip into Serbia.

In my experience this was never a problem.

Depleted Uranium
Come on... You're probably going to get more of a radiation dose on your 30,000 ft airplane flight than you will from 7-year-old DU exposure in Kosovo! (That's my best guess, but I would invite anyone to show some good evidence otherwise.)


 * You are correct, DU is basically just lead. So unless tourists eat it, they'll be fine. --153.104.16.114 16:04, 4 May 2006 (EDT)

Wrong. Uranium does eventually decay to lead, but the half life of U238 is 4.5 billion years, and that is only the first step. Uranium stays radioactive effectively forever. On the other hand, it is not highly active, so I doubt it is worth worrying about unless you plan to spend a lot of time touring battlefields. Does anyone here actually know. (WT-en) Pashley 06:16, 28 May 2006 (EDT)


 * Um, an extremely long half life basically means it's not dangerous, because it's decaying veeeeeeery veeeeeery slowly. Wikipedia says that the issue with DU is not the radioactivity, but the fact that uranium in itself is kinda nasty stuff.  (As is lead, for that matter.)  (WT-en) Jpatokal 06:58, 28 May 2006 (EDT)
 * Plutonium has a long halflife, and, well, i wouldn't want it under my bed either, thank you. I wouldnt mind very much about a slap of lead, though. --10:25, 28 June 2006 (EDT)


 * I'm not sure anyone "actually knows," but I've worked with the stuff for a living, and Jani's explanation is correct. Its specific activity as a radiation source is so low that it's routinely used as radiation shielding, since it's dense.  There is a fair bit of controversy surrounding the heavy-metal-poisoning aspects of DU in the environment, with some anecdotal reports of health issues but little in the way of concrete epidemiological evidence that it's a real problem.  To cite it as a specific and objective health issue, anyway, seems like overkill (so to speak).  One could as justifiably point to areas infested with honeybees, which definitely do kill people.  If that text should be in the article, it's probably because people react psychologically to the "threat" of DU in the areas -- which is a real phenomenon, if one that may or may not be objectively justified. -- (WT-en) Bill-on-the-Hill 09:28, 28 May 2006 (EDT)

Montenegro independence?
I've seen news reports this week that an independence vote in Montenegro got a small majority. Does that mean they'll be independent soon, and how should our pages change? (WT-en) Pashley 21:46, 23 May 2006 (EDT)
 * Montenergo isn't in the clear yet. There will probably be a recount and assuming the current outcome is confirmed again the parliment must then vote to change the constituion with a two-thirds majority. It's unclear if the change will occur to the constitution, because apparently pro-Union parties are objecting as so are the anti-independence blocs, so we have to wait for the parlimentary vote, first before we could consider such a move. - (WT-en) Andrew Haggard (Sapphire) 21:56, 23 May 2006 (EDT)

Montenegro exists as an entity in Wikivoyage and is pretty close to being a country article already, so it wouldn't be a huge task to deal with when/if the split goes into effect. We'd have to: - (WT-en) Todd VerBeek 09:35, 24 May 2006 (EDT)
 * Clean up Montenegro to conform to MoS (should be done in any case) and add the necessary nation-state bits.
 * Add Montenegro to Mediterranean Europe, Europe, etc.
 * Change Montenegro's IsIn.
 * Delete the existing redirect at Serbia and move this page there.
 * Remove any Montenegran content from this page (e.g. recolor the CIA map).
 * Check "What links here" and change the links to "Serbia", "Montenegro", or "Serbia and Montenegro", as appropriate.
 * Update the IsIn for the this article's current subarticles (in theory just the regions, but the cities' IsIns might not all be region-specific.

Update
Ok, Montenegro is officially a completely new and independent state. Begin the seperation on Wikivoyage? - (WT-en) Andrew Haggard (Sapphire) 01:56, 4 June 2006 (EDT)
 * Jpatokal and anyone else who wants to help with the seperation,
 * Apparently we need to change the isIn for cities. I changed Montenegro's isIn, however, that change was not reflected on Montenegro's city articles. Is it a caching issue? The solution was moving the isIn tag to a different location within the article, which, seemingly fixed the issue with the breadcrumbs. - (WT-en) Andrew Haggard (Sapphire) 02:34, 4 June 2006 (EDT)
 * Yeah, that's a caching issue. The next time any of these articles get updated, the breadcrumbs will sort themselves out. - (WT-en) Todd VerBeek 10:19, 4 June 2006 (EDT)

Kosovo Independence
This page needs some renovation now that Kosovo has declared independence from Serbia. (WT-en) Buriedalie 11:17, 17 February 2008 (EST)

Kosovo edits were made but have been put back! I'm assuming they were politically inspired by someone who does not want Kosovo outside of Serbia regardless of the self-determination of the vast majority of the native population! I agree that because Kosovo is de-facto independent and from a travelers point of view not SERBIA it has no place in this article anymore and that is why it is a page of its own... I am not going to make the edits again if they just keep reappearing... frustrating...

Cities and other destinations list
Please have a look at the cities and destinations list, only 9 listed per section, some destinations on the other destinations list should be reduced and moved to the cities section in order to balance both sections. :( Article needs attention also. Have a nice day. -(WT-en) SnappyHip 21:16, 25 February 2010 (GST)


 * The issue with this country is that it has no proper regions list. I think proposals have been made, so I'll make some region articles from that. --(WT-en) globe-trotter 15:39, 25 February 2010 (EST)


 * I now added some regions and a map :) --(WT-en) globe-trotter 18:10, 25 February 2010 (EST)

Visas
The article mentions registering at the local police station if you are not staying in a hotel. In 2009 and 2010 I went to Serbia three times and stayed in private accommodation, not a hotel or hostel. I didn't bother to register with the police and I left without any problem leaving three times respectively at the airport, crossing into Croatia on a bus and into Macedonia on a train. I have an EU passport. I wouldn't want anyone to be fined, but I wonder if this information about registering with the police is up to date or if there is no mechanism to enforce this law anyway.

Yes, the information is correct. The thing is not that there are no mechanisms to enforce it, but that this is one of the laws which are selectively enforced. Meaning: it pretty much depends on the good will of the border police if they'll charge you on it or not. The same goes if you get asked for an ID by the regular police within Serbia. When you register with the police*, you get a white piece of paper/cardboard (something like the I-94 you fill out when you enter the U.S.) which you are supposed to carry with you for the duration of your stay in Serbia and surrender it to the border police (they just take it out of your passport when they stamp it) when you leave the country.

Failing to produce the registration card at the border can result in: a) nothing (most common), b) a fine, c) getting arrested and brought before a judge, getting fined, and deported (be nice and you probably won't get here), d) being asked for a bribe (highly unlikely at the airport(s), mostly restricted to land crossings).


 * The actual procedure for registration varies from place to place, in so much that some police stations are more lax in what they actually require for the registration of foreigners than others. For example, whenever I registered guests coming to stay with me they didn't even need to be present, I just took their passports and filled out the registration card and gave it to the police official with my ID. I've heard that in other towns they require the foreigner to be present, and for the person registering him/her to have some sort of document serving as proof of ownership of the apartment, etc.

Recent anon edits
A well meaning anon has done loads of work on the article today. Much of this though was adding a vast list of Other destinations, most of which are either towns or attractions. The cities list is also out of control. It would be good if the anon would open an account so we can communicate the Nine rule etc. In the meantime, here is the list I have cut from the article. I am sure most of this excellent material can be placed somewhere, but not in the country article.


 * Drvengrad (Serbian Cyrillic: Дрвенград- meaning Wooden Town), also known as Mećavnik, is a traditional village that the Serbian film director Emir Kusturica built for his film Life Is a Miracle. It is located in the Zlatibor District near the city of Užice, two hundred kilometers southwest of Serbia's capital, Belgrade. It is located near Mokra Gora and Višegrad, best known for Yugoslav Ivo Andrić's Nobel-winning novel, The Bridge on the Drina. Kusturica was the 2005 recipient of the Philippe Rotthier European Architecture award.In this small town are wooden and cafes, accommodation, hotel, pool, sports courts, and nearby is the famous narrow gauge railway: Sargan Eight(Шарганска Осмица)


 * The Šargan Eight (Serbian: Шарганска осмица/Šarganska osmica) is a narrow-gauge heritage railway in Serbia, running from the village of Mokra Gora to Šargan Vitasi station. An extension to Višegrad in the Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was finished on 28 August 2010.The so-called Sargan Eight is part of the narrow gauge railway line between Uzice and Visegrad, and Mokra Gora and Kremna, Sargan over the hill. This track has a large number of bridges and 20 tunnels (22 to the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina) of which is the longest Šargan: 1660.80 m. According to the number of bridges and tunnels, and the rise of 18 per thousand, Sargan Eight is unique in Europe. Sargan Eight is one of the tourist attractions of Zlatibor.


 * Sremski Karlovci(Serbian:Сремски Карловци) - Sremski Karlovci, north of Belgrade, near Novi Sad (old road).Sremski Karlovci have a very rich history, numerous monuments, museums, churches, galleries, the famous wine cellars, and others. Some sites:The Patriarchy residence,Karlovci’s Grammar School – the oldest Serbian high school,The Chapel of Peace – built in 1817,The Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church, etc.


 * Vrnjačka Banja(Serbian: Врњачка Бања) - Vrnjačka Spa is the largest and most famous spa resort in Serbia and traditionally very attractive tourist resort for rest and recreation. The spa is located in central Serbia, 200 km south of Belgrade.Vrnjačka Spa is could be said, the only place in the medical world, that the pedestrian circle of three square miles, has four different mineral waters, and the first class of evolved healing.The climate is temperate continental. The influence of the nearby mountains provide micro-climate of the Spa a special character and makes it very pleasant. Summers are moderately warm with fresh mornings and evenings, and winter snows are no sharp frosts.


 * Brezovica - Šara (Serbian:Брезовица-Шара)- With its gigantic appearance, height and broad pattern has a dominant position in the Balkan Peninsula. Sar mountains with many peaks higher than 2500 m rising in the broad valley of Kosovo length of about 80 km route from the north-east to southwest.Patterns on the northwest side there is Brezovica, the famous ski resort. It is located 12 km from the same place in Štrpce. Climatic conditions, duration of snow cover from November to May, and length, suitable tilt and height differences of individual services, are classified among the most famous alpine ski center in Serbia.


 * Divčibare(Serbian:Дивчибаре) In the central part of the mountain Maljen, 38 miles southeast of Valjevo, are Divcibare, famous mountain tourist resort, the second category. Divčibare a mountain field that extends from the Black top, Paljba, Golubac to the Big Hill. Divcibare lies at an altitude of 980 meters.This mountain is a tourist spot known for its beautiful landscapes, meadows,places for walking, hiking, skiing, camping there, and sports fields.


 * Vlasina Lake (Serbian: Власинско језеро, Vlasinsko jezero) is a semi-artificial lake in Southeast Serbia. Lying at the altitude of 1211 m, with the area of 16 km², it is the highest and largest artificial lake in Serbia.The lake is located near the town of Surdulica, on the road between Nis and Vranje(Skopje).The lake's flora and fauna are rich, and includes several endemic species. The lake's surroundings are a mixture of meadows and high-altitude forests, especially birch, beech, pine and juniper .The region is beautiful Vlasina recently developed tourism, so now there are more hotels, apartments and other facilities.


 * Golija(Serbian: Голија)-Golija is one of the most beautiful and richest forests of the mountains in Serbia. It is located 40 km southwest of Ivanjica and provides great opportunities for recreation in virtually untouched nature. The highest peak is Jankov Kamen, 1833 m.MAB / UNESCO Committee within the Park Golija declared a Biosphere Reserve Golija - Studenica.On Golija there are several resorts, hotels and sports facilities.


 * Stara Planina(Serbian:Стара Планина)- Stara Planina is the highest mountain in eastern Serbia, the high mountain range that extends as a natural border with Bulgaria. It is located 330 km from Belgrade, 70 km from Nis and 50 km from Knjaževac and Pirot. The highest peak is Midžor, 2169 m.Babin Zub is one of the peaks of Stara Planina Mountain and is located at 1780 m above sea level. The plan is to build a tourist center "Babin Zub," alpine ski resorts with capacity 14,000 skiers, 40 km of ski lifts, 100 km of ski runs and storage capacity of over 8000 beds. Currently the content of the ski center "Babin Zub" are run at locations Konjarnik, Sunny Valley, and Mark Meadows...


 * Niška Banja(Serbian: Нишка Бања)- Niska Spa is located in southeast Serbia, in addition to the main road Sofia-Nis. It lies at the foot of Koritnik, Suva Planina, at an altitude of 248 meters. It is located 10 km from Nis and 250 km from Belgrade.Natural healing in Niska Banja are mild, temperate continental climate, mineral water and natural mineral mud. Mineral water, originating from five sources.


 * Vranjska Banja(Serbian:Врањска Бања)- Vranjska Spa is located in southern Serbia, 10 km from Vranje, and 6 km from the highway Belgrade-Skopje. It lies at an altitude of 380 meters. Spa has a temperate continental climate, the summers are very pleasant, with warm days and fresh nights. Forest covered peaks of the strong protect the spa and cold winds.Vranjska Spa has more sources of mineral water, high temperature (94-110 ° C) and it is one of the hottest water spas in Europe.Near Vranje Spa is a beautiful mountain Besna Kobila(the highest point is 1922 m), where the building of a tourist center, with all facilities (skiing, sports fields ..)


 * Đerdapsko Lake(Serbian:Ђердапска језеро)- is an artificial reservoir on the Danube in eastern Serbia on the border with Romania. Founded in 1972. when Romania and Yugoslavia built a hydroelectric plant, "Đerdap 1". The lake lies in the Đerdap gorge (the longest and the biggest gorge in Europe). On the shore of the lake is a National Park Đerdap.Lake is over 100 kilometers long and at widest point is 8 km wide.In the gorge there are archaeological findings and cultural and historical monuments.Đerdap(Iron Gate)


 * Obedska bara ,Obedska pond or Obedska bog, (Serbian Cyrillic: Обедска бара)- is a large swamp-forest area and natural reserve stretching along the Sava River in Southern Srem (Serbia), some 40 km west of Belgrade.Obed bar is very rich in flora and fauna and rarities.Obedska pond is one of the world's oldest nature areas, first administrative protective measures having been introduced 1874.Special Nature Reserve "Obedska Bara" under the special protection regime and is registered under the Ramsar Convention List of Wetlands of International Importance 1977th.Since 1989, "Obedska bara" is on the List of areas of special significance for birds of Europe of Important Bird Area project, and UNESCO's list of world's most important wetland areas.


 * Srebrno jezero or Silver Lake(Serbian Cyrillic: Сребрно језеро)- is an oxbow lake along the right Danube bank in the Braničevo region in eastern Serbia, near the town of Veliko Gradište(about 120 km east of Belgrade on the Danube).Is 14 km long, with an average width of about 300 m. It is a popular tourist resort.There are sandy beaches, sports fields,places for fishing, hotels and camping near the lake, on the Danube and Yacht Harbor.


 * Ivanjica(Serbian Cyrillic: Ивањица)-is a small town in western Serbia, 200 km from Belgrade and 45 km from Čačka.Located between the mountains Golija, Javor, Mučanj.Ivanjica is a region of healthy air, declared a health resort, where there is a Medical Rehabilitation center, fishing locations, trips,sports fields, rich history.

--(WT-en) burmesedays 08:42, 31 August 2011 (EDT)
 * Ovčar-Kablar Gorge (Serbian Cyrillic: Овчарско-кабларска клисура)- is a gorge in the western Serbia, part of the composite valley of the West Morava river.Morava is reconstructed dams so they formed two artificial lakes. The maximum depth is 710 m. The gorge is protected by the state.The Ovčar-Kablar Gorge is on halfway between the towns of Čačak (17 kilometers on the east) and Požega on the west, some 15o km south-west of the capital Belgrade.The gorge is a region of outstanding landscape diversity, beauty and attractiveness.Along the cliffs there is a place for fishing, boat excursions, restaurants etc.In the gorge is located Ovčar Spa(Овчар бања) and culturally significant Ovcar-Kablar monasteries(Овчарско-Кабларски манастири)-The first monasteries were built in the 14th century(the arrival of monks from "Holy Mount Athos"), and there were dozens, but because of the tumultuous history of the Ottoman destruction, the remaining 10 monasteries located along the gorge.Monasteries in the nation called, the "Serbian Holy Mountain".