Serbia and Montenegro are the remnants of Yugoslavia, a country that self-destructed in 1990, a decade after the death of its powerful leader, Tito. A series of wars ensued in which the flagging leadership struggled to retain seceding republics; those conflicts persist in Kosovo and Macedonia.
The result is a federal republic comprising Serbia and the tiny nation of Montenegro. Serbia's troubles have drawn ire from the West, prompting Montenegro to make hesitant moves toward greater autonomy, if not outright independence, from their fellow Serbs. This drama continues to unfold on the international stage.
Montenegro means "Black Mountains," and the country lives up to its name with picturesque alpine vistas. Serbia is a country of mostly small, quaint villages rich in Old-World charm.
Montenegro's weather is Mediterranean: sunny, warm summers and mild winters (cold in the mountains). Serbia experiences warm summers and harsh winters. Rain is abundant on the coast, except in summer, and peaks in the interior in May and June.
Serbo-Croat is the official language; it is very close to Russian, and uses a variation of the Cyrillic alphabet. In Kosovo and Vojvodina, Albanian and Hungarian are spoken, respectively. Some English and German are used as second languages in resorts and in major cities. Most Serbs are Eastern Orthodox, though there is a large Muslim (Albanian) minority in Kosovo.
Serbia's capital city of some one million inhabitants, Belgrade, is accessible by air from all major European capitals. All cities are connected by rail to the rest of Europe through Hungary, Romania, Greece and Turkey. Internal rail travel is unreliable, overbooked and generally not secure. There are ferry links through Montenegrin ports. Most roads are inadequate and in poor condition, and fuel shortages are common.
ATMs can be found in the major cities, and credit cards are accepted in many upscale shops, hotels and restaurants. But various kinds of credit card fraud are common.
Travelers are frequently targeted for petty crimes, as thieves want foreign currency. Robberies and assaults on trains and in train stations have been reported.
Though hotel prices tend to be closer to Western norms in state-run establishments, high inflation makes Serbia and Montenegro a bargain for travelers exchanging Western currencies.
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