I was *very* excited about going to Kosovo. I was excited to visit given its history, its location, its politics and its place on the international scene in recent years. I was also excited to be able to say i’ve been to the world’s newest country (newest generally recognised country) – until I remembered that South Sudan exists and was thoroughly disappointed. But regardless, given the few tourists (especially few from the UK) who visit, it would be an exciting new experience.
Author: lxthrdg
B A L K A N S (part 5 – Montenegro)
Montenegro is another of these places i’ve always wanted to visit, without being entirely sure of the reasons why. One of Europe’s newest countries, it narrowly voted by referendum in 2006 to become independent of Serbia and go it alone. We’d already driven through Montenegro on our way from Albania to Dubrovnik, but this time we would be driving to the capital city, Podgorica (pronounced pod-gore-itza) and using it as a base to explore the rest of the country.
B A L K A N S (part 4 – Dubrovnik and BiH)
Dubrovnik is hardcore, unadulterated sightseeing. This is the kind of place you can go on a two-day walking tour of, and still only have seen the main streets. The Old Town (Stari Grad) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for culture, as well as being one of the most visited places in the Mediterranean and as a setting for Game of Thrones. Its position in Europe also makes it easily accessible from Central Europe, and Croatia’s position in the European Union has given people easy access to visit. Walking down toward the Old Town it is clear to see why this walled city has become so popular.
B A L K A N S (part 3 – Driving to Dubrovnik)
How can 265 kilometres take 5 and a half hours to drive? Easily, it turned out. The epic trek from Tirana in Dubrovnik through the entire country of Montenegro was certainly an experience. We decided to add Dubrovnik to our itinerary because a) Rich is a huge game of thrones fan and b) I had no say in the matter whatsoever. I suppose it would have been a shame to go so close to Dubrovnik and not actually visit – and also meant we got to visit another country – Croatia.
B A L K A N S (part 2 – Albania)
Leaving Ohrid behind, we headed toward the Macedonian/Albanian border about 45 minutes drive away. This was the first time I had ever driven across an international border, and we were expecting to be promptly interrogated and searched as we had to join the ‘other nationalities’ queue. Less than 10 minutes later however, we had new passport stamps and crossed over the border into country number 2.
B A L K A N S (part 1 – Macedonia)
I am not a pleasant person to fly with. Not only do I find the whole airport experience ‘rather unpleasant’, I am also convinced that every plane I board will crash into a mountain, or the sea, or be hijacked, or explode (etc etc etc). Nothing, however, can prepare you for the sheer untold trauma of flying Wizz Air, from Luton Airport, having been awake since 4am. Once you accept, however, that there is no cheaper way to get from the UK to the Balkans (return fare for £75 each) it becomes slightly more palatable. We landed at Skopje Alexander the Great airport, making the Republic of Macedonia (or, to be compliant with UK Foreign Policy, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) our first country.
Travel writing take 2 – Balkans
I started this blog after finding my travel notes from the Middle East, and wanted to write them up into prose so I don’t forget the things I’ve done. I found myself really enjoying this – actively taking the ephemeral scribblings of my trip and constructing them into a more logical narrative – so have decided to just keep on writing, this time about my most recent trip to the Balkans (Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo). Considerably more contemporary than my Middle East trip, what I’m going to write might actually be useful for anyone thinking of undertaking a slightly different but fantastically rewarding European adventure – so hopefully this manages to inspire someone to do something a little different to usual.
I nearly got a full body cavity search by two Israelis
Thought I’d post this as a separate post purely for the comedic value of me, sat in an interrogation booth at an Israeli airport, highly unsettled about the prospect of being cavity searched by two surly Israeli border guards wielding semi-automatic guns…
I S R A E L (part 2 – West Bank & Tel Aviv)
No journey to Israel would be complete without going to the places responsible for causing a significant portion of the religious tension in the Middle East – Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We had already explored the religious cornucopia of Jerusalem, so the next logical step was to board a bus and head over the 1948 UN Armistice Line and into the Palestinian territories. This trip was to contain one of the most surreal experiences of my life, as well as one of the most humbling.
I S R A E L (part 1 – Jerusalem)
Israel was to be our 5th and final country – and a logical place to end the trip, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, budget airlines such as EasyJet and Jet2 provide regular services to the UK from Tel Aviv, reducing the cost of getting home and secondly, whilst you cannot enter Syria or Lebanon with an Israeli stamp in your passport, you are able to enter Israel with a Syria/Lebanon stamp. This sounds straightforward in principle, yet ended up involving interviews with the Israeli Defence Force and almost being strip searched.
L X T H R D G 