Finally had a proper night out in Belgrade, despite the workload. Someone I had worked with briefly in my first year in Vilnius was a colleague of our French lawyer. She had never met him, just frequently talked to him over the phone. It seemed he was now working in Belgrade again and he knew it well. So we went off to dinner at Sharan in Zemun. It seemed he remembered me and my kids more than I remembered him. Embarrassing at first but we had lots of fun catching up with what had happened to all the people we worked with at that time.
Sharan is in Zemun which is a suburb just outside Belgrade on the other side of the Danube. This is what it says on the restaurant's website
To come to Zemun and not to stop by the ŠARAN is like not having been to Zemun at all, the old folks from Zemun use to say.
Tavern Šaran is a pride of zemun. Located at the very bank of river Danube, Šaran still keeps the spirit of the old city. More than century ago fisherman Vićentije Vukotić, had opened this tavern that rapidly became widely known by its fish soup, which traditional recipe is still kept in the restaurant alone. However, it is not only the famous fish soup that is Šaran cuisine known about. In there, one could find various national dishes and exotic meals from around the world too. A friendly atmosphere and a selection of quality vines are the trade mark of tavern Šaran, for more than 120 years.
From the riverside inn, former hangout of fisherman and travellers, to the modern restaurant, where true connoisseurs of exquisite cuisine and good wine gather together, artists and diplomats alike.
Tavern Šaran was still is Zemun's Soul
It's right on the edge of the Danube and in summer must be wonderful. Yesterday it was dark when we arrived and there was some building work going on on the river bank so it was not so picturesque as it might have been, even if it wasn't too cold to sit out.
We had a big fish dinner and lots of Vranac as always, and talked non-stop. Then we walked around looking for a taxi without any success. Finally we found a car park attendant who not only spoke good English but called the taxi off his own mobile for us.
Later I realised that Zemun is presumably the home of the Zemun clan, the most famous mafia organisation in Serbia, deemed responsible for the assassination of Prime Minister Djindjic. You can read about their escapades here in Wikipedia. The town itself is full of small old buildings in the Austro-Hungarian style. If a bit of money was spent on them it would be really pretty. I suppose we can hardly expect gangsters to do that sort of thing.
My last week here. Not had enough time to see friends and work memories not all that fond. But that was the internationals not the locals.
Time to go home and move into our next house.
