Thanks for all the info.  How are Serbians towards outsiders/tourists?  I know some places fall all over themselves for "Americans" while others can't stand us.

Under 30-35, people love outsiders. Older people are never hostile, just grumpy (no one can forget the '99 bombing of Serbia). But no tourist had a problem that I've heard about recently (Hooligans killed one French guy a few years ago, that left a dark spot on our reputation).

Which actually got here pretty damn fast. I was surprised.

 

Also wanted to show you some of the awesome stuff you guys have given US(The US shooting community in the last 15 years or so) Most of these are not mine but still. Most of what is available as far as ak parts kits goes comes from the former Yugoslavia so thank you to you and your countrymen for that.

I love this thread, and it is so much better learning about a country from someone that lives there than our media/government.

Serbian people are weird.

Thanks for the nice pics Saigaman :)


Thank you for the offer, I hope that I get an opportunity to drop by someday




What is it that you find weird about us?

Could not have said it better sooo, I'll just echo five's sentiment.  Thanks for sharing with us, really enjoying the thread.



 

FYI there's a huge Serbian community here in Chicago. My best friend growing up was a Serb. I've been to many of the I picnics, dances, et

Dating myself here but in the summer of '92 or '93 while on leave Iwent to their St Sava campground for a festival. There were several American Serbs in full military uniforms recruiting for the ongoing conflict in the Balkans. They gave me an Arkan t-shirt.

Ah, yeah, over here, Chicago is known as "the biggest Serbian city after Belgrade" there are even shops with Serbian food brands, for the homesick
Oh, and I remember seeing these on some random news website, random Serbian stuff




But, yeah, we dont even do that here. Except on weddings. And with....less blanks

Most metro cities in the US are very ethnic diverse.  With that said, my area of Indiana, we have an extremely large Grecian and Serbian population...I mean I bet we have more Orthodox churches around here than Catholic churches.  
 

Learned something knew and you probably do it with more automatic gunfire

 

Sometimes. Closer to Bosnia= More full auto

Also, an interesting custom. Part of the wedding ceremony, when the groom comes to the bride's parents' house, is that, in order to be "good enough" to take her to the church, groom is asked to shoot down an apple from a high pole (bride's dad/brother puts it up) and when the apple falls, the bride can be bought (symbolic amount of money) and taken.
Also, I've witnessed a few tricks, for an example, my aunt's dad wrapped the apple in 2-3 transparent stockings, so that even when you hit the apple, it keeps it's shape. Took them around 20 shells filled with buckshot to break the tip of the pole

Great thread. Thanks for the info, Trooper1911. It's always interesting to learn about other cultures, particularly from someone who has common sense and isn't pushing some agenda. I spent some time scrolling through the pages today. I was too young to know anything  about the Kosovo War, etc.

At some point in the thread someone was asking about YouTube/internet documentaries about the conflict. Were there any ever shared? If not, anyone have any recommendations?  Thanks in advance.

I'm not sure if this has been posted already.... This is a youtube channel of american guy currently living in Serbia and his experiences and thoughts of the country, it's pretty informative and entertaining....



https://www.youtube.com/user/cather76

I don't suppose you can get some Zastava underfolding AK safeties? I'd gladly send you a Western Union money order for a handful of them...they used to be available here in the states, but they dried up. No one sells them anymore, and there is a bit of a demand for them...

Never liked to watch those, heard that this one is pretty good
A bit anti-Serb oriented from the snips that I've watched, but lots of good interviews (even when pulled out of context).

Also, good movies on the topic are Pretty Village pretty flames and Saviour


I can try, but I'm not sure if those are legal to sell here (since you need a permit to buy most of the gun parts, even if you want to fix your own weapon)

No need to go out of your way I can search for and find them here, I was just hoping you might have some handy. If you don't, don't worry about it

The epic awesomeness of this thread cannot be overstated.

I know you already have an invitation to the Boston/NH area.  If you ever do make it over here, make sure you contact me as well!!  I'd love to meet up with you and the local arfcom guys and make a trip to the range as well as maybe take in a few local bands.

I play guitar myself and have been in a few small local bands.  Besides hitting the range, it would be fun to get a few musicians together and have a jam session in the basement.

I'm sure we could round up plenty of guns, ammo, guitars and amps to have a fun time.

Thanks for the thread, the education it provides and I look forward to its continuation!!

Jim

Oh yea......do you watch the Superbowl,  and if so, are you rooting for the Patriots or the Seahawks.

Thank you for all the neet pics and a view into Serbia.  
You have some nice to look at women over there.    
I have been a touch reluctant to post in this thread.
About 1993 time frame I was on a US navy ship doing interdiction/blockade duties off of your coast line.  
Long slow boring duty 5 knots criusing speed.    
We never fired at anything though.  
Just burned fuel and did slow boring boxes in the water.  
 

Could you just send me a picture of the exact part that you need, so I could look for it here :)?



Thank you for the awesome offer, I'm humbled.
Jam session to blow off steam after some range time would be beyond awesome. I could even bring my most prized possession back home to the USA



I don't really watch football, but I have seen a few Patriots games a few years ago, so if I have to choose, I pick the pats.



Feel free to post mate, there are no hard feelings here. Politicians start wars, soldiers are just following orders.
If anyone has any picture requests or whatever, feel free to ask

The most beautiful part of that bass is the signs she's obviously been played by someone who loves to play her!!!

Yeah, that nitro finish rules. I actually bought it randomly, from a neighbor upstairs who just asked one day "Hey, I've heard you practicing, I play bass too, thinking of selling it". He plays Serbian folk music in restaurants, on weddings etc, so I'm helping the bass recover by playing something hard and heavy whenever I can


(old picture, when I just got it, I know how to wrap strings )

Wow, first time I saw that video. It's really nice, but they could have done better with a different, less "alternative" guide maybe.

They sold me on the sites. Gypsy Island looks interesting.

 

Ah, that's 15 minutes away from my place by car. It's nice and peaceful in the morning, nice place to relax (in the summer it gets swarmed by people, but you can still find some peace if you go closer to the island center, away from the beach)



But sometimes, you forget about the crowd and just enjoy

Can you give us a rough translation on this? I am assuming its a joint patrol?

Yeah, name translates to Joint patrol. Village close to Medvedja, around 12 miles form Pristina. The guy talks about the village dying at the start, how not many people are remaining there, how there are no jobs.
Then they talk about the border zone, how Serbian special forces and Gendermerie are working with Nato/Un forces to patrol and secure the border zone, trying to help demilitarize paramilitaries in the zone.
The guy then shows off the base a bit, talking about the quality of life on the base, how it's set up like a regular standing army base.
THe guy with the bicycle talks about how some ages ago, the trade over the border was working big time, how there were no real borders and how Albanians traded with them all the time. But now, instead, the border is used for smuggling drugs, stealing firewood from Serbian forests (this is real, few month ago lumberjacks opened fire on the Serbian police) and human trafficking.
When the soldiers meet, the translator helps them set up a joint patrol route (which is IMHO ridiculous, that they can't speak each other's language).
The patrols are each organised individually, they meet at a spot, finish coordination prep (radios, route planning etc) and report to each other on the ending point, after which everyone goes to their own base
Then our guy talks a bit about the patrol procedure, how Serbs walk on the Serbian side of the border, with KFOR forces on the other side, regrouping at set control points.
Then goes the part where the US forces talk, you dont need help with that :)
Before the US guy describing his gear, Serbian soldier describes how they take a mixed patrol, with k9 unit, radioman, medic etc.
After the gear guy, they talk how this is a new experience for our soldiers, and how their first patrol included the Swedish unit, and how every patrol so far went great.
The narrator talks about how KFOR units come from different armies with different backgrounds, and then soldiers introduce themselves.
Then our guys talks how the patrols go from Macedonian to Montenegrin borders, and a bit about how they are doing them for 5 years now, and how it's nice for our soldiers to learn new stuff from different KFOR units.
They mentioned Bondsteel base, then Serbian "South" base, and then they switched to the small, container-based base near Medvedja. And in the end, the guy with the bicycle says how they are used to the soldiers and how they are happy that someone is there to protect them.

They can't type while looking at those posts...

Hey Trooper, wanted to say THANKS for the answers to the questions I asked.  

Not a problem :)
It's SBOTD time :D













GD approves?

Haha, hell yeah. Free beers if you're lucky

What's up with the Grouch Marx eyebrows on the Serb chicks?

Worldwide trends. This is one of the most popular models in the world.

Bushy eyebrows are in this season, i guess

Nice vid, but potato quality

 Hell YES!

Thanks

 

Not sure if it has been asked, but what is the weather like in Serbia? Warm summers and cold winters I assume, but what about humidity and snow?



Again, very nice thread and thank you for posting.

The weather is pretty... average. Summers go from 85-100 (I suck at Fahrenheit, 30-40 Celsius), spring-autumn 60-80, winter -4 to 60 (this winter was cold, but not lots of snow, -16 degrees Celsius on New year's eve).
Humidity is nice, nothing special, varies based on temperature (as in, it's not a generally humid or dry climate, really depends on the weather). Snow is lacking these last few years, in Belgrade it snowed maybe 2-3 days, ~5 inches or so, then it melted away. Last night it snowed a bit, but under an inch, it will melt away in a few days. 33.8 degrees F outside right now.

Are there any Hussite's left?

Have you been to Prague to see the Jan Zizka statue?

Not sure about Hussites, had to google it.
And yeah, I've visited Prague two times, really lovely city. Saw the statue once. One of the nicest places I've been, really relaxed town, with plenty of good pubs

Some Serbian music (friend plays guitar in this band)

Miroslav I have a question. I'm sure there are plenty who have hung on to their weapons but why do you think so many have given up their guns following the conflicts? Seems like following the war the UN started huge collection programs and a lot of folks gave up their guns. Why do you think that was? Fear of breaking the law?