FIVB World Championships Notebook - Day 2

In Belgrade, Serbia

Fuel prices equally high in Serbia

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Turns out that that it’s not only Kenya grappling with high fuel prices. Here in Serbia, fuel prices are equally high with a litre of diesel going for 217.50 dinars (Sh 218). Normal Petrol is being sold at 177 dinars while that with additives designed to last longer costs 200 dinars. However, due to the war in Ukraine, the government has put in place a subsidy to regulate the prices. And it gets more interesting…every Friday the government announces new fuel prices for the following week!

Eagle, a symbol of freedom and strength

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The Serbian flag has an eagle on it with two heads. It’s a symbol of freedom and strength for the people of Serbia. The eagle has two heads with one representing the state and the other, Serbian Orthodox Church. For the state of Serbia to be formed, the communists had to be in good terms with the church who were an integral part of the pre-independent Serbia.

The car in front of you is most likely a Fiat

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Fiats are the most common cars in Serbia with Volkswagen Golf being their closest competitors in terms of popularity. Fiats are considerably cheaper compared to Volkswagen partly because they had set up a manufacturing plant in Kragujevac.

Belgrade, biggest city in Serbia

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Belgrade is the liveliest and biggest city in Serbia with its population around 2.5 million people. Novi Sad on the North is the second largest city in Serbia and is around 100km from Belgrade. Its population is around 500,000. Nish, in South East Serbia, is the third largest city with a population of 300,000.