Winter Vibes at Lake Ada, Belgrade.

Winter Vibes at Lake Ada, Belgrade.

February 2021.

I can still picture Sladja and I wincing out the window of our apartment. “Hm, is this really the right afternoon for a lakeside walk?” It was a biting cold, grey, gloomy February morning in the Serbian capital. We really could have just stayed at home, curled up on the couch with coffee and bites. But it was our day off and we were determined to head out for a walk to see Belgrade’s famous lake.

Thus we wrapped ourselves up, headed out and jumped on a tram towards Ada Mall. Widely considered the best of Belgrade’s city centre malls, don’t you know. Yes, it has a Starbucks, a KFC and a McDonald’s.

However, for us this was simply a jumping off point to cross the horribly hectic Radnička (workman’s street) into Park Janka Vukotića.

Home to open green spaces, a footpath and a bike lane, within seconds we had left the traffic behind and were gazing out across the Sava Marina with its docked boats. That’s the Slovenian designed, Chinese manufactured Ada Bridge in the background.

Park Janka Vukotića is a curious space. Not least because of the presence of a large art installation called Kamengrad (Stone City) by the Montenegro-born Serbian sculptor Ratko Vulanović. In English it’s known as Ada Stonehenge, as Vulanović admitted he was greatly inspired by the world famous English ruins, Stonehenge.

Winter Vibes at Lake Ada, Belgrade.

Moreover, Vulanović says he put the piece together based on memories of a stone hearth that his parents created in his family home! A mini Stonehenge in the living room that kept everyone warm in the winter. Sounds like fun, but I’m guessing a bit grim in reality.

An often controversial figure, Vulanović made headlines across The Balkans when he turned his back on his Montenegrin roots, declaring himself an Orthodox Serb.

As a result, the authorities in Montenegro destroyed some of his public art and then charged him for the removal! Vulanović was 82 years old when he passed away in March 2023, two years after our visit to Ada Stonehenge. 

From the stones we followed a path that runs along Lake Ada into Ada Ciganlija, an island that’s been artificially crafted into a peninsula of sorts. I say “Lake Ada” but actually that’s not its official name.

Rather, this is Lake Sava. It’s just that locals commonly refer to it as Ada because of its famous island, which has become a hugely popular attraction during the summer months.

Lake Sava.

But of course the crowds were entirely absent that wintry February afternoon as we stood by the island’s welcome sign. Created in 1967 from the right arm of the River Sava, the lake brings something of a coastal feel to landlocked Serbia. In fact, Serbs often refer to the lake as “More Beograda” (The Belgrade Sea).

So we had come to see the island’s beaches for ourselves. And err… the lake’s famous giant Sprite bottle. Seriously, why don’t all the lakes of the world have one of these?

We had only been standing on the viewing balcony behind the sign for a minute or so when I realised we’d been spotted. Swiftly and with not a jot of shyness, a bevy of boisterous swans came gliding across the water towards us.

Emitting varied exclamations of whistles, snorts and growls, it was clear what the swans intentions were. They were hungry! Glancing at each other with shrugged shoulders, Sladja and I knew that their efforts had been in complete vein. Indeed we had not so much as a crumb between us to offer them.

Still, the Ada swans continued with their chattering and hung around a bit. Some kept their eyes fixed on us, others searched the water hopelessly for titbits.

Winter Vibes at Lake Ada, Belgrade.

Leaving the swans to their desperate devices, we pushed on into the island. Despite the gloom and the cold, we happily sucked in the greenery, the quiet and the lake views.

There were very few people around, though we did wish this standin’ doin’ nothin’ man a cheerful “dobro jutro” (good morning!) as we went. I don’t recall getting much back.

Further on, we joined the first stretch of the island’s manmade pebble beaches. There’s around 6 kilometres of beach in total. Apparently, in July and August at the height of the bathing season, around 150.000 people flood onto Ada Ciganlija to revel in the summer vibes. Surveying the scene in that moment, I could not spot a single person aside from ourselves.

There was something pleasing about chilling there on the beach in near perfect silence. We took some photos, speculated on those summer scenes and flung a few pebbles into the water. Sadly, I’ve never been all that good at skipping stones.

Ada Ciganlija.

If I wasn’t already feeling like the king of the island I certainly did when, a little further on, we came upon a throne. The water generally runs from four to six metres deep and I guess with all those seasonal crowds there are summer jobs going for lifeguards.

With its rusty bits and loose wooden planks my throne was not comfortable. Mm, it’s not exactly Baywatch is it? But then to be fair I’m hardly David Hasslehoff.

Back on the path we came across a trio of senior locals out for their daily constitutional. Not a bad habit to get into during the winter months.

Soon after, the island’s many cafes and restaurants began appearing thick and fast. Naturally they were all closed for the off-season. At one of the larger joints we paused at a mass of chairs and tables left out on the beach. I was wondering if this was perhaps more than a touch naive, especially as nothing had been chained together.

Admittedly, we were hoping that maybe… just maybe… one cafe stayed open for the winter. It would have been nice to have had a coffee by the beach. But no…. the apocalyptic feel was consistent as we moved from place to place. Outside one joint the only sign of life was this ominous looking harbinger of doom.

Winter Vibes at Lake Ada, Belgrade.

At another, we met this friendly kitty cat, who was more than happy to receive a few strokes while eyeing some distant birds with a murderous glint in her eyes.

Eventually, we spied our fifth human on the island. He was standing with his back to us, leaning over the fence staring out over the lake. Deep in thought, perfectly still.

Considering how popular the island and lake have become, I was surprised and a little sad to see how incredibly run down many of the buildings were. This hulking eyesore, for example, was in dire need of some TLC. Essentially a sit-down restaurant with a water slide plonked on the side, Sladja explained that the sign on the front of the takeaway kiosk stated that the place was available to rent for the upcoming summer season.

Elsewhere, I couldn’t take my eyes off this magnificent monstrosity. It appears to be some manner of interplanetary craft with staircase ears. According to the washed sign on the front it’s called Element Lounge and is a cafe, restaurant, swimming pool and nightclub rolled into one.

Club Element Lounge.

Nearby we met another Ada resident, this time a gentle, lonely looking dog. Sat in the middle of the beach, he watched us motionlessly with his big sad eyes. Again, we were left cursing ourselves over a lack of snacks. We really wanted to pet him, but in truth he was too damp and smelly.

I remember thinking what a strange spot it was for doggy to station himself in. And could only conclude that someone around here must come to leave food from time to time. At least that’s the hope we clung to as we left the poor guy behind.

We had covered over 4 kilometres by the time we decided to head into the wooded park and make a turn for the walk back to the tram stop. I had read that in the high season the island’s parks and woods are typically choc-a-block with games, sports and activities.

On any given day these spaces would be awash with archery, badminton, football, baseball and volleyball. We also found a locked up shed from which folk can rent canoes, kayaks, roller-skates and skateboards. We even found a boarded up Aquarium. Which, on closer inspection, turned out to be a water tank for the island’s so-called Diving Centre.

Ada Ciganlija.

Back at the entrance to the island we spotted a couple huddled together on a bench. They were whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears and seemed faintly amused by the swans who were still on their relentless mission.

“I suppose we should come back in the summer” I said, as we returned to the welcome sign. “Just so we can compare”. But we never did. Perhaps someday we will put that right. If not, I think I can make do with these pleasant memories of Lake Ada’s winter vibes.

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