Eastern Europe

21-23 May 2017 Trebinje

I left for Eastern Europe today, and am so excited for the journey ahead of us! My travel group is composed of 5 girls, Arianne, Randi, Maggie, and Susan. Bosnia is beautiful – I am so glad that I have the opportunity to be here! The rest of the group arrived tomorrow and I am so excited to start our journey!

24 May 2017 Trebinje and Dubrovnik

We are staying in a beautiful Bosnian Village called Trebinje – right on the border with Dubrovnik. It is absolutely charming & is much quieter than neighboring Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik is beautiful as well, charming streets, old city walls, and a history that dates back to the 7th century. With a history of seafaring people – it really is a unique city. During the war it was also bombed numerous times, destroying all the roofs, and many other unique features of the city.

Tonight we dined on some delicious food, right in the plaza in front of our Hotel Platani – such as Burek, shopka salad, Bosnian potatoes, Serbian beans, and stuffed peppers with meat!

25 May 2017 Mostar, Bosnia

During the early 90s war in Yugoslavia – Bosnia unfortunately was located right in the middle of the fighting Serbians & Croatians. Because of this – Mostar was actually the city that was hit the hardest. From 1992 – 1997 the Serbs and Croats fought each other, destroying all of the beautiful bridges that connected either side of the city of Mostar. Mostar is a beautiful city with a deep gorge that runs down the center of the city – splitting it for either side. One side lives the Muslims, and the other the Christians. Beautiful mosques from the Ottoman Empire and cathedrals from the times of the Roman dot the landscape. Our dinner was a delicious Yugoslavia spread of dishes from around the region.

26 May 2017 Kotor, Montenegro

Today we traveled into Montenegro, crossing the border from Bosnia. This part of the world is so interesting because you can cross borders so quickly and get to a new place. We visited Kotor, a beautiful city on a bay of the Adriatic Sea. Kotor was a city that used to be ruled by the Venetians (Romans) who ruled the world during the ancient times. The city has walls that run up and down the side of the mountain – to protect them from all their invaders. We had a lovely time and were able to return to our accommodation in time for a lovely cooking class in the village, where we learned to make many traditional Bosnian dishes – like Burek!

27, 28 May 2017 Trebijne – Tirana

Onwards to Albania! Today we arrived in Tirana – the capital city of Albania and a city that is very different than any city we have visited thus far. Albania is one of the poorest countries in the world – and you can definitely see it when you visit. The buildings are run down, the people are all out in the streets trying to sell things, and many people do not have a lot. We had the unique opportunity to go to Church in Tirana, which was a real highlight of our stay as we got to meet many wonderful people. We visit d the parliament buildings and learned about Mother Teresa and her work around the world (she was Albanian).

29, 30 May Tirana – Lake Ohrid

What is nice about the Balkans is that everything is so close together, and it is very easy to cross the borders quickly. Today we arrived in Macedonia, on the shores of UNESCO World Heritage City (one of only 28 cities in the world). Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest and deepest lakes in all of Europe and it is absolutely beautiful. It is known for its beautiful pearls that are made from the fish scales of little sardine-like fish that live in the lake. I bought some pearls & crystal jewelry, because they were just so beautiful. The city of Ohrid has some of the most beautiful churches & architecture that I have ever seen. In the evening we enjoyed some delicious Macedonian cuisine and a boat ride across the lake – definitely an evening to remember.

30 May – Skopje, Macedonia

I am glad we have one more day in Macedonia (or Makadonia as they call it here) because I really love this place! The people are so friendly, and the cities are actually quite beautiful! We are staying at an old pirate ship turned hotel in the middle of the city center – a very unique experience. It is very easy to walk through the entire city center, and explore on your own. We once again met with our local guide for a city tour, where we visited mother Theresa’s House, the Old Town, and Kale Fort – all very interesting places. During our tour I found out that the border to Kosovo / Serbia was only 25 km away – so I arranged for a taxi to take us there in the evening so we would cross the border and learn a little more about Kosovo / Serbian history. Our journey has been great, I can’t believe that tomorrow is the last day!

31 May 2017 – Sofia Bulgaria

On our way to Bulgaria now! This is our 8th country of the trip – which is incredible, as we only arrived in the Balkins less than 10 days ago! Two of those countries were Kosovo / Serbia – which we didn’t spend much time in! But hey – they still count…

1 June – 4 June 2017

Four days in Greece was enough to get me hooked! We visited the beautiful city of Athens and then embarked on a short cruise through the Greek Isles to visit the Island of Santorini – an absolute dream! I will definitely be back soon…