Desperate Serbwife

Belgrade does rock - but we only lasted until 3am

So Friday night Mike and I were invited out to the infamous "gypsy boats" with some friends (aren't you proud we have friends?). Anyway, these Serbian friends decided that as newcomers, they MUST indoctrinate us with the real Belgrade nightlife. Now, from what we have seen and heard, these gypsy boats are host to the city's crazy late-night parties. The Sava and Danube rivers that cut through the middle of Belgrade are full of these gypsy boats - however, just to be clear, these are not actually boats, but more of permanently moored barges that are permanently attached by walkways to the shore (kinda like the casinos up and down the Mississippi). Why they have chosen to put them in the water in those locations is still unclear to Mike and me, but we are guessing it has something to do with the cheapness of not having to purchase land or property in which to open a bar/club. From what we have seen, these "boats" run from the really huge, two story, quite swanky to the tiny, seedy, and smokey. The ones considered "better" by the locals are of course the tiny, seedy, smokey, harder to get to ones - therefore, that is we were taken - to the famous Black Panther. I quickly learned as I trudged through the mud to get to this boat that high-heeled boots and nice clothes were not the best attire for this affair (lesson one).

So our reservations were for 10pm and when we arrived things were still pretty subdued. The 8 tables in the little place were all full and the band was already playing, but the volume was not yet turned up full blast. We all ordered drinks and started to get to know each other a little better. Slowly but surely, the people at the 8 original tables left and were replaced by younger, more party-oriented people. At around mid-night, in walked a group of scantily clad young women, belly-dancing their way in the door. We knew the party had begun. The band (which was actually about 10 guys playing lots of different insturments and who actually doubled as the waitstaff) got very excited, and once one of the girls pressed a 50 euro note to the accordian player's sweaty forehead, we knew the table dancing would soon start. It took over an hour for the band to burn off the 50 euros before they made it to our table.

We took our turns being the life of the party and dancing on the tables, but due to the watered down drinks and our advanced age (you really have to be 22 and drunk to enjoy this place properly) we were not able to compete with the table full of women singing folk songs at the top of their lungs and stripping clothing off after every song. By about 3am our table full of working adults had to throw in the towel - besides, another young group had just showed up and they needed our table - yes, they were just starting their partying at 3am. I think next time we attempt the gypsy boats I will take a 4 hour nap to prepare (lesson two).

Even though we couldn't make it till dawn, we definitely got the feel of how crazy this town can get and how hard Serbs can party. I think there is definitely something about having lived through a war that makes people a little more able to party when things are good. The only really bad part of the night is that I think I will need to burn all the clothing I wore because the putrid smell of cigarette smoke will never come out. I think the other thing war does to a country is push it towards smoking and my gosh do most of the young people here suck those things down like they're candy!!! Next time we go gypsy boating I am definitely wearing my crap clothes and sneakers (which will also make it easier to balance when dancing on a tabletop) (lesson three).

As to why they are referred to as "gypsy" boats; is still unclear to us. The one we were at was most definitely run by gypsies, but many others are not. Our guess is that like anything in this town that is a little dilapidated, it is blamed on the gypsies.

posted by Brooke @ 1:07 PM