Aug 10th, 2006 at 8:27AM:
The ending of any vacation is always a sad affair. Sure, it's nice to return home after a long time on the road, but a little piece of me always dies when leaving a place that has brought me so much joy and adventure.
The Balkans turned out to be far better than I had expected. Although much of the region is still very synonymous with war and tragedy, the people are moving on, becoming part of ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
balkan posts
Balkan Odyssey Part 24: The End
Aug 10th, 2006 at 8:27AM:
The ending of any vacation is always a sad affair. Sure, it's nice to return home after a long time on the road, but a little piece of me always dies when leaving a place that has brought me so much joy and adventure.
The Balkans turned out to be far better than I had expected. Although much of the region is still very synonymous with war and tragedy, the people are moving on, becoming part of ...Balkan Odyssey Part 23: Final Stop, Gallbrunn, Austria
Aug 9th, 2006 at 8:04AM:
The final stop of my very long Balkan Tour was the small town of Gallbrunn, Austria which is nowhere near the Balkans.
I had come here to visit my girlfriend's hometown and stayed to enjoy the charm of a small farming community about half an hour east of Vienna. Gallbrunn is the typical, small village populated with one church, one grocery store, and two pubs/restaurants. A small road cuts ...Balkan Odyssey Part 22: Hungary?!?! That's not in the Balkans!
Aug 8th, 2006 at 8:16AM:
Sometimes when you travel by the seat of your pants, things work out wonderfully. Other times, they don't.
I usually have a pretty good idea of the places I plan to visit on any given journey. But as my Balkan Odyssey was winding down, my girlfriend and I found ourselves in Split, Croatia wondering how we were going to get to Vienna where she had to do some business and I had to catch my flight ...Balkan Odyssey Part 21: Split, Croatia
Aug 7th, 2006 at 8:08AM:
I'm sorry to say but Split, Croatia was my second-least favorite town I visited on this trip (just edging out Shkodra, Albania).
Split is not a horrible place by any means, but it did take a while to warm up to. My girlfriend and I had arrived after a long bus trip from Mostar and were a bit taken back by all the hustle and bustle. Split is a large port town with enormous ferries pulling in ...Balkan Odyssey Part 20: Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Aug 6th, 2006 at 7:47AM:
I've learned over the course of my travels that those "trouble spots" which make the news often stay lodged in the public consciousness far longer than such spots actually remain troubled.
With this in mind, I was a little concerned about talking my girlfriend into detouring our travel plans to include a visit to Bosnia. So, I broached the topic by showing her some photos of Mostar similar to ...Balkan Odyssey Part 19: Kotor, Europe's Southernmost Fjord
Aug 5th, 2006 at 7:49AM:
After spending a few days in Dubrovnik, my girlfriend and I grabbed a 10:30 bus from the main station and headed south. Our destination was the city of Kotor, situated on Europe's southernmost fjord in neighboring Montenegro.
Tickets were just $10 each and the bus was very comfortable. I had taken this same route a few days earlier while traveling from Montenegro to Croatia, so I knew what to ...Balkan Odyssey Part 18: Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic
Aug 4th, 2006 at 8:10AM:
Even during communist times Dubrovnik was a hot destination for Western European vacationers and even some Americans. When communism fell, however, and war raged through the area, Croatia was shelled like everywhere else despite it having no military value whatsoever.
Naturally, this scared away tourists and continues to do so despite the war being long over. Although everyone is touting ...Balkan Odyssey Part 17: The Long Road to Dubrovnik
Aug 3rd, 2006 at 8:27AM:
In today's modern age, getting from Point A to Point B is often very easy. Of course, there are exceptions; such as when Point A is Ulcinj, Montenegro and Point B is the Dubrovnik airport where your girlfriend is flying into.
I sort of got the hint before embarking on my solo journey of Albania that if I wasn't at the Dubrovnik airport to meet my girlfriend when she flew in, the rest of my ...Balkan Odyssey Part 16: Ulcinj, Montenegro
Aug 2nd, 2006 at 8:02AM:
Although technically still part of Serbia until the end of the year, quaint little Montenegro has a personality all its own. That would explain why the people of this region voted just a few months ago to secede from Serbia & Montenegro to become their own country.
Sandwiched between Croatia and Albania, Montenegro is easy to get to from popular Dubrovnik (more on that in a later post). I ...Balkan Odyssey Part 15: Albania Wrap-Up
Aug 1st, 2006 at 8:17AM:
Balkan Odyssey will continue but before moving on to Montenegro, I though I'd just wrap up the Albania segment with a few thoughts.
First off, I highly recommend this country. A few years ago it was almost impossible to travel here as a result of the craziness and crime which resulted after 50 years of isolation came undone with the collapse of communism. Things have settled down tremendously ...Balkan Odyssey Part 14: Bunkers, Bunkers, Bunkers!
Jul 31st, 2006 at 8:23AM:
It's impossible to speak about traveling through Albania without mentioning the bunkers.
The bunkers are the product of the demented, twisted mind of dictator Enver Hoxha who ruled the country from 1945 to 1981. During this time he broke off relations with the Soviet Union, China and every other socialist country on this planet, not to mention the sworn enemies of communism, the western world. ...Balkan Odyssey Part 13: Shkodra, Albania
Jul 30th, 2006 at 8:11AM:
Sometime there are disappointing travel days and this was one of them.
My goal was to get from Prizren, Kosovo, to Shkodra, Albania. To do so, I woke early and went to the Prizren bus station where I was hoping to grab a minivan across the border to Kukës. It was told, however, that minivans did not run that route, just shared taxis. I'm not sure if this was true, but since I couldn't find a ...Balkan Odyssey Part 12: Kosovo!!!
Jul 29th, 2006 at 7:50AM:
After spending a few days in the mountains of northern Albania, it came time to leave the village of Valbona.
The best way to do so is to hike up the valley and over a mountain pass to the village of Thethi. This 7-hour hike is supposed to be amazing and should be done with a guide, as it is not clearly marked. Such trips can be arranged through Alfred at the bar/cabin in Valbona, or with the ...Balkan Odyssey Part 11: Valbona, Albania
Jul 28th, 2006 at 8:19AM:
Not many people get to northern Albania. I suppose it is off the beaten path in a country that itself is off the beaten path.
During communism, northern Albania marched to its own drum. It was somewhat cut off from the rest of the country by mountains and a rugged landscape, and entirely cut off from neighboring Kosovo and Montenegro by a tightly sealed border. The mountains, however, were ...Balkan Odyssey Part 10: Lake Komani, Albania
Jul 27th, 2006 at 8:12AM:
Before I left the states, I was able to dig up only a little information about it, but I did learn that the ferry ride across Albania's Lake Komani promised to be one of the most spectacular boat trips in the world.
Surprisingly, the remote lake, located high in the northern Albanian mountains, proved rather easy to get to. Every morning, minivans leave from just south of the Unknown Partisan ...Balkan Odyssey Part 9: Albanian Transport, Living to Tell about It
Jul 26th, 2006 at 7:41AM:
Prior to 1992, it was illegal to own a car in Albania. There were, of course, a few automobiles running around but these were either driven by high communist officials or municipal employees doing their job. No one actually owned the wheels they were driving.
In March 1992, a new democratic government was elected and the universal right to own a car was one of the many benefits which quickly ...Balkan Odyssey Part 8: Berat, City of a Thousand Eyes
Jul 25th, 2006 at 8:31AM:
Fortunately for mankind, someone many years ago had the foresight to designate the ancient town of Berat a "museum city." It was this designation which helped spare the town from city planners who ran amuck during communism tearing down churches and mosques.
Berat, located just three hours south of Tirana, has been inhabited for more than 4,000 years. Time has been kind to the town, showering it ...Balkan Odyssey Part 7: Tirana Photo Essay
Jul 24th, 2006 at 7:40AM:
During communism, the buildings of Tirana, Albania, like all eastern European cities, were smothered in depressing gray monotones. Painting these buildings more cheerful colors after communism fell, however, would have been expensive and cash-strapped governments throughout the eastern bloc simply had more pressing issues on which to spend the little money they had in their coffers. Tirana proved ...Balkan Odyssey Part 6: Tirana Accommodations
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Jul 23rd, 2006 at 8:13AM: Despite being the capital of the poorest country in Europe, Tirana has a surprisingly decent selection of places to stay. As a service for those of you who may consider venturing here, I've spotlighted four great hotels for four separate budgets.
Rogner Hotel One of the most expensive and classiest hotels in Tirana with singles running upwards of 210 euros. The hotel is perfectly located just on ...Balkan Odyssey Part 5: Eating in Tirana
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Jul 22nd, 2006 at 8:05AM: One of the most frustrating things in Tirana is simply finding a good place to eat. The problem isn't one of quality, however, but of quantity. Tirana must have the fewest restaurants per capita of any city in Europe. At first glance, this doesn't seem to be the case. The Bllok area is crammed with people sitting at cafes and watching the world go by. But when I looked closer, I noticed none of ...
