Our Serbian Story: Salas 137

We spent Sunday afternoon at wonderful place north of Belgrade called Salas 137. It is a farm and a restaurant and a hotel. The word "salas" means "farm," and in this region of Serbia (called Vojvodina), there used to be more than 400 of these family-run farms. After World War II, however, the communist regime took all of these farms from the owners (actually, they took property and homes from people all over the country). Although since the fall of communism in Serbia, some families have been able to reclaim their property, we were told by the owner of Salas 137 that there are only 8 family-run salases (?) remaining in Vojvodina today. How very sad.

In any event, several of these family-run farms have been turned into restaurants/hotels, and this one is particularly wonderful. A Croatian man named Aleksandar bought the farm 15 years ago from an older woman whose family had owned the farm for several hundred years (except, I suppose, during the communist period in the 20th century). He and his business partner have lovingly renovated and refurbished the original buildings, and the result is a charming place with a very authentic old-world feel. The kids were able to pet the horses and see the pigs, donkeys, chickens, etc. We took a horse and carriage ride, were given the grand tour of the place by Aleksandar, and then had one of the best meals we've had in Serbia, to date. To all of my Belgrade friends, this place is about 15 km north of Novi Sad, and worth every minute of the ride. Pick a beautiful spring weekend day, and head up there with your kids!! You'll love it. (website is http://www.salas137.rs/)