Serbian Irritants Volume 1
I am not sure there will be future volumes, but I wanted to share some of the things about Serbia and life here that are irritating. Why I love my adopted country for many reasons, the food, the people, the rakia there are some things just quite irritating. Let me tell you about a few of them
Smoking: I have mentioned this before, smoking in Serbia is almost a way of life. It is not bad when the weather is nice as Serbia most places having outdoor seating in the summer. When there is bad weather, not so much. While it seems to be getting somewhat better, such as places with real non-smoking sections, not just signs on tables that as the restaurant fills up get changed from non-smoking to smoking as needed but actual nonsmoking rooms. Then there is the cigarette butt issue. They are everywhere! You sit on a park bench and there is a pile of cigarette butts at your feet.
Trash: They definitely need a “Don’t Mess with Serbia” campaign here. There is so much litter on the streets (along with all the cigarette butts). There is a whole army of workers who try and keep up with the trash people throughout. For example, in front of our apartment is a city-provided ashtray stand. A cement block with a pan of sand at the top for butts. There are rarely any butts in the ashtray but a bag of trash which of course doesn’t fit because it is not a trash can. Then there are several bags of trash laying next to it because there is no room. All this mess is 30 steps away from the dumpster where the trash goes.
Dog poo: This is a real problem on the streets. There is a practice here of not keeping your dog on a leash and letting them run especially in the parks. However, they do not pay attention or in some cases even carry and plastic bag to pick up the poo. I have seen dogs pissing and pooing off the leash right in front of the Dog Forbidden sign in some areas of the parks.
Aggressive Serbians: While on an individual basis Serbs are generally very warm and friendly in a collective, they can become quite selfish and aggressive. We were at the shop buying some parts for the bathroom the other day and in comes two guys who could not wait and just started in asking the attendant for help with what they wanted while she was working with us. Now she should have said I will be with you in a moment but no she tried to wait on both of us at the same time and could never focus on either one of us to the point where I finally walked out complaining.
Cabs and lane surfing: Drive down any major street and you sometimes feel like you are taking your life into your hands with the back and forth of lane changes. The cabs will you off in a heartbeat and will hopefully stop with you in a crosswalk but sometimes you are not sure.
So there you go a few things about Serbia that I find irritating.
Next up Langouste my favorite fine dining resturant in Serbia