perkov salaš

Last weekend, Grant and I joined an embassy trip organized by the CLO (Community Liaison Office) to Perkov Salaš, about an hour outside of Belgrade in a region called Fruška Gora. A salaš is a working farm that is open to the public during certain hours and provides a slice of typical Serbian life. Although this was our first time at a salaš, Perkov seems to be the favorite among those who go often. It is family-owned and although the patriarch does not speak English, that doesn’t stop him from welcoming visitors into his home.

As a special treat, we were treated to demonstrations on how to make both rakija and jam. Rakija is an ubiquitous fruit brandy that many people make at home, and it was very interesting to see how it is made. Although the jam demonstration wasn’t quite as interesting, it was very popular with the kids, who enjoyed mashing the fruit with a hand-grinder.

One of my favorite parts of this salaš visit was watching Scarlett have the time of her life. Someone mentioned she was going to bring her dog to the salaš, so Grant and I decided to bring Scarlett as well. As a big treat to her, we let her off-leash and she ran around, met new dogs, played with kids, sniffed lots of new scents, and had a great time even though she never strayed too far from us. She exhausted herself enough to be a perfectly behaved poodle when we went inside to eat lunch.

Lunch itself was delicious. The first course was a noodle soup, followed by fresh vegetable salads, platters of chicken and sausage, mashed potatoes homemade noodles, goulash, and fresh bread. We also got a pitcher of their house white wine. All of this was followed by a dessert of light apple cake and coffee for those who wanted it.

It was a perfect day trip from Belgrade and a nice way to spend a Saturday. We didn’t luck out with the weather as it began to rain during lunch and did not let up for the rest of the day, but we still enjoyed ourselves. A trip to a salaš is quite popular for both families with children and anyone who has visitors in town. I know I would recommend it!