The road trip across Serbia lasted from 16 to 22 May and began in the capital, Belgrade. Jelena and Joshua covered 526 km and visited five different locations exploring and documenting how cooperation with the EU helps local people develop their projects. They also immersed themselves in the amazing nature and fascinating history of the region. Thanks to the amazing storytelling talent of our travellers, all the adventures are available through webalkans.eu website and social media.
Meet our Vloggers
Jelena Radovanović
Jelena loves storytelling and photography and is passionate about nature and ecology. This is why she decided to give up her 9-5 job as a social media manager at a marketing agency and is now juggling freelancing with travelling and volunteering. She has been a camp leader in Iceland and a park ranger in Croatia. Jelena has two degrees in management under her belt.
Joshua Steib
Some people combine talent with ardent activism. Joshua is undoubtedly one of them. He’s not only a pianist and a poet who performs internationally, but he’s also been a delegate at several UN Conferences. As the German UN Youth Delegate for PreCOP26, he co-wrote the Global Youth Position Paper on Climate Change. He is working for UNICEF and reported from COP27 for the UN Climate Change Youth Constituency.
Itinerary
Day 1
Belgrade
Vloggers arrive in Belgrade, appear on the national “Radio Belgrade 1” and visit the Kalemegdan Fortress.
Day 2
Belgrade, Pančevo
The 'Made of us' media brunch in Belgrade, visiting 'Transport Community' and Anoris, two projects supported by the EU.
Day 3
Novi Sad
Learning about Agrobot Lala, an EU-funded project.
Day 4
Ruma
Visiting an EU-funded project dedicated to producing healthy and affordable food.
Day 6
Golubac, Krupajsko vrelo, Manasija Monastery
Stopping at the Golubac Fortress and the historic city of Kragujevac.
Follow our vloggers on social media!
The diary
Our adventure finally sets sail in Belgrade!
Together we will explore local culture, nature, mentality, traditions and food, and will share some amazing ideas, opportunities and projects. These are our goals in this adventure and we presented them in our guest appearance on national Radio Belgrade 1.
The day started out rainy, but as soon as Joshua arrived, the sun came out! We spent the day exploring the Kalemegdan Fortress.
For Jelena, this was like a walk down memory lane, because she always used to come here with her grandparents when she was a child.
The golden sun reflecting on the river's surface, wonderfully weird trees, beautiful purple Elephant Garlic flowers and the small, sweet moments of life - dog bathing in the fountain, made this day an amazing starting point of our adventure.
Inspiring people, inspiring projects, inspiring ideas
We started by visiting the first EU-funded project, the "Transport Community", an international organisation working to integrate different transportation markets within Europe!
Later, we attended the ‘Made of us’ media brunch which was truly inspiring. We were surrounded by young change makers, the Young European Ambassadors actively working towards fostering EU values.
In the afternoon, we visited Anoris, a start-up supported by the EU. Anora is a smart glove that can recognise colours, banknotes and other objects. It helps blind and partially sighted people orient themselves.
Finally, we closed the evening with a delightful dinner at a traditional local restaurant.
Architecture, Agriculture and History
We started the day by visiting the magnificent Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad. The history surrounding its ancient walls and the panoramic views were amazing!
Later, we attended the Mileva Marić-Einstein exhibition, which shed light on the remarkable life of Albert Einstein's brilliant wife. Her contributions to science and her untold story showcased once more the importance of gender equality these days!
We then had the opportunity to visit BioSens Institute in Novi Sad. The scientists there invented the Agrobot Lala, a project that was funded by the EU. It is a state-of-the-art robotic solution for the farming sector in Serbia and the world, in order to ensure higher yields with smaller investments.
Eating healthy pizza and running away from hungry donkeys!
On the 4th day of our adventure, we left Novi Sad and headed to Ruma, where the students from vocational high school "Branko Radičević" were waiting for us!
We were visiting an EU-funded project created by Limitless Association in cooperation with high schools in Ruma and also Zvornik (BiH) and the aim is to produce healthy and allergen-free food.
We talked with students and professors about healthy recipes and in the end, we had a chance to try them ourselves! They prepared healthy pizza and pancakes for us and it was amazing!
With our tummies full we went to our next destination - Zasavica. It is a special nature reserve full of animals walking around freely! We had a chance to feed the donkeys but we ended up running from them since we didn't have enough carrots and they were really really hungry! We wonder what they would think of healthy pizza...
Embracing Sustainability: A Journey in Fruska Gora's Eco Paradise
We started the morning by enjoying a delicious vegan breakfast at an eco-friendly accommodation in the beautiful Fruska Gora National Park. The family who runs the place shared with us their sustainable practices, like using natural materials such as sand, soil, straw, wood, and water to build the entire accommodation. It was fascinating to learn about their commitment to environmental conservation. After our breakfast, we embarked on a hike through the forests of Fruska Gora. The scenery was breathtaking, with towering trees as far as the eye could see. It felt incredible to be surrounded by nature's beauty and to explore the hidden gems of this national park. As the day progressed, we made our way to Golubac, where we ended the day with a delightful dinner by the Danube River. The peaceful atmosphere and the stunning views created a perfect setting for a memorable evening.
A day full of contrasts
The Sun welcomed us on our way to the Golubac Fortress. It was built in the 14th century directly on the Danube River and in the past, it successfully repelled over 120 attacks! Recently, the EU has invested 2.4 million euros to renovate the fortress! Nine towers have been reconstructed. Also, an exhibition building of 600 square metres of floor space was built. Extensive archaeological research was conducted both inside and outside the fortress. Walking paths and stairs have also been built, allowing visitors to reach all parts of the fortress.
We then visited the Monasija monastery, one of the most significant monuments of local culture. It was built between 1406 and 1418.
The last stop before returning to Belgrade was the "October in Kragujevac" memorial, an impressive and thoughtful monument to commemorate the losses of WWII.
To wrap up the day, we enjoyed ice cream and milkshakes together with our driver Slavos in Kragujevac.
Back to the beginning
After a good night's sleep, we took a bus to Zemun, a municipality in the city of Belgrade full of houses built in Austro-Hungarian style. We were admiring the beautiful homes and gardens and the road took us to the Gardoš Tower a monument built and officially opened in 1896 to celebrate a thousand years of Hungarian settlement in the Pannonian plain. Running away from a storm we noticed a man feeding swans and we had to take some photos! The contrast between the white swans and the dark blue sky was amazing!
We decided to hide from the weather in "Venecija", a restaurant built in 1913, one of the oldest in Zemun. There we had a delicious meal and after the storm stopped we continued our walk along the Danube River all the way to the centre of Belgrade.
In the end, we had a farewell drink with Adrijana and Anja, the YEAs from Serbia. With laughs, drinks and pancakes we officially ended this adventure!
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