7 things you need to know about business trips to Belgrade
Together with some colleagues, I recently visited Serbia’s capital. It was my third time in total and the second time on a business trip. These are the 7 things that I think are good to know about Belgrade, for Mindnow employees and other business travelers alike.
1 – Novi Beograd is the business district
Most big companies are located in New Belgrade (“Novi Beograd”). It’s the central business district, opposite the old town on the left side of the Sava River. The area is very modern, with big buildings divided into blocks and a good infrastructure.
In one of these big buildings, surrounded by bus and tram stations, spacious streets, and parking lots, you’ll find the Mindnow office (Address: Jurija Gagarina 12).
Everyone will tell you that the old town is nicer than the big concrete buildings in Novi Beograd. I can confirm that, however, I think the big city atmosphere also has something. At least everything you need on a business trip, e.g. apartments, restaurants, and good public transportation.
2 – Shared apartments are the best accommodation option
There are many accommodation options in Belgrade. You’ll find them on Serbian platforms as well as on international ones like Booking.com or Airbnb. Most of our Minds prefer to stay in apartments rather than in hotels and use their familiar booking platform for making a reservation.
Prices for a simple apartment start at roughly 50 CHF per night. If you book early in advance, you can probably find something at a lower price. Sharing an apartment with another colleague is certainly a good idea. First of all, it’s nice to spend time together. Second, the prices for apartments usually stay pretty much the same, no matter if you book it for 1, 2, or 3 persons. So split the cost and enjoy commuting together!
Mindnow-internal tip: Don’t book accommodation with breakfast included. The breakfast at the bistro in our office building is so good you certainly want to come with an empty stomach.
3 – Cash in the local currency is a “nice to have”
The local currency in Serbia is Dinar. 1’000 Dinar is very roughly 8 Swiss Francs and will get you 3 to 4 beers.
You can pay by card almost anywhere, so it’s not mandatory to withdraw Dinar. It’s nice to have some cash for giving tips at the restaurant, splitting bills, or quickly buying something at the kiosk. But don’t worry if you don’t have Dinar with you. You can easily survive without it.
Good to know: Many people in Serbia also have Euro bank accounts and will gladly accept Euro banknotes, as long as you don’t expect to get change.
4 – People are friendly and hospitable
Serbian people love welcoming guests. If you are coming, everyone at the office will be happy to see you. The Mindnow team is particularly friendly and always glad to accompany Belgrade visitors for common meals and after-work activities. (See also point 5.)
Make sure to announce your visit in advance because not everyone is working from the office all the time. Some people don’t live close by while some people are just more productive when working from home. Many companies have a remote work culture that allows people to work from wherever they want and so does Mindnow. However, if guests are visiting, our colleagues living in and around Belgrade usually like to come over to the office to say hello.
In addition to food, drinks, and office chit-chat, our Serbian colleagues are also very helpful when it comes to organizational tasks like selecting accommodation, getting to the airport, or finding the right shop if you want to buy something. Whatever it may be, you can be sure that there’s someone to help you.
Going on business trips, the local people you deal with the most are of course your colleagues. But so far I’ve also had positive experiences with any people I was in touch with, such as landlords, gastronomy staff, or drivers.
Belgrade people are really friendly and excellent hosts. This alone is always a good reason to pay a visit.
5 – Be prepared for after-work drinks
Being interested in the local culture is an excellent way to show appreciation towards the country you're visiting. After-work activities are a great opportunity for that!
After-work activities usually mean food and drinks, sometimes combined with a little walk. Questions about local traditions and delicacies will always be happily answered. The best thing is of course if you try as much as possible yourself.
If you haven’t tried it yet, make sure to eat Pljeskavica with Kajmak and drink a shot of Rakija while you’re in Serbia. Your colleagues will love to hear how you like it!
6 – How to impress your Serbian colleagues
By just showing up you can already make people happy. Of course, sweet little presents are always appreciated, too. Agree that Kajmak is the best thing in the world and you’ll conquer your colleagues’ hearts.
The ultimate cherry on top is when you try to speak at least a few words in the Serbian language. Swearwords and cursing are particularly popular, I can tell. If you are visiting Belgrade for the first time, however, I’d recommend a simple “dobro jutro” which translates to “good morning” for the start. Just to be on the safe side.
7 – Better bring extra clothes
The best thing about visiting Belgrade is definitely to spend some time with very kind and fun people. To highlight this even more, I like to mention something that I find not exactly great about Serbia: Smoking isn’t banned.
Unlike in Switzerland and the EU, smoking inside bars and restaurants is allowed and widespread in Serbia. Be it the morning coffee or the after-work beer, you’re exposed to cigarette smoke quite often.
I still recommend going out because there are just incredibly nice places to eat, drink, and spend time together in Belgrade. However, note that you might smell like an ashtray afterward. Better bring an extra set of clothes and shampoo if you don’t like to carry the smell with you during your whole stay.
Also, summer days in Belgrade are really hot, already in May when I was there. So the extra T-shirt is anyway a good thing to pack.
Workation at Mindnow
Mindnow has nice offices where we welcome guests in Serbia, Italy, and Switzerland. People are always happy if colleagues come over for a workation. It’s a great opportunity to meet people from other countries and stay connected. We usually see each other mostly on video calls so it's good to pay a visit in person from time to time. Mindnow supports these activities by reimbursing the traveling expenses.
Now you know some things about Belgrade. If you’d like to find out more about what it’s like to stay at our office in Catania, Italy, read our article about our new office on the island.
