An 18-day odyssy in the Balkans

Safe travel, sojourner!

Ah, my favorite part of the world. Well, one of them anyway. I've been to Tirana in 2000, I heard it changed a lot since. Apparently Tirana has an artistically inclined mayor who decided to paint all the godawful communist cement structures in cheerful colors, so the whole town is colorful. When I was there, it was a drab gray jungle...then again, i was used to that.
greece...ahhhh, hope you get to go island hopping a bit.
can't wait for the travelogue.

dag, You're right! So many buildings with multi-bright colors. UGH! However, our local guide told us that 60 percent of their economy is in the building trades, and there are many new buildings going up. What impressed me the most about Tirana is the preponderance of Mercedes on the road. Wealth?

Our flight from San Francisco to Washington DC, Dulles, was late 1.5 hours, so we missed our flight to Vienna. We stayed overnight in DC, and I was rerouted through JFK to Vienna to Tirana. At least I got my check in luggage, but the couple I'm traveling with didn't get theirs. They were re-routed to Rome and Tirana. Lucky for Calvin, I usually over-pack, so I lent him some of my clothes. Another lady lent his wife some clothes.

Did the optional castle tour yesterday afternoon. Much history to learn and study when I get home.

Talk to you later; we must get ready for our departure at 8:30am, and it's now about 8am.

Tuning in for the ride...

Ditto

The wonderful tyranny of traveling, .

We're now in Ohrid, Macedonia. We had our first tour this morning, going on a 1.5 hour cruise to St Naum's monastery on the south side of the lake. St Naum is the gentleman that created the Crylic alphabet seen all over the Balkans and Russia. Was surprised to learn this simple fact. The church at the monastery is a Macedonia Orthodox church - the same as St Sophia in Istanbul that was built in the 10th century. We were given time in old town to have lunch and shop, then went to a school where we saw children perform cultural dances. We're on a break until 7pm for dinner. I'm gonna go to the bar and have a beer.

Have one for me too, CI..

Fascinating, as usual!

Have you seen any of the old bomb shelters on the side of the road?

patiodog, As a matter of fact, we stopped to take pictures of some of them on our way to Macedonia.

It was a really dark period in their history, from what I've read. I'm glad they're letting people in now. That seems like it would be an important part of their reintroduction to the outside world.

We spent today travelling from Thessaloniki to Banski, Bulgaria. We're staying at the Kempinski Hotel here; very nice. It's a ski resort town, and many Europeans come here to ski. Also, many Brits own property here. Later.

I suppose, c.i., you're in Bansko (those stupid European keyboards - or is yours in Bulgaria in cyrillic?).

Hi Walter, No, it's Bansko. At my age anything is possible. he he he... however, you must appreciate the fact that I know how to spell Thessaloniki.

I do, c.i., I do.

(And at such an early time ) :wink:

We are now in Plodiv, the second largest city in Bulgaria. It's history goes back 6,000 years, and many of the old homes are still in relative good shape. We visited one built in 1835, and the murals inside and outside are excellent examples of how the wealthy lived in this area. We're staying at the Novotel not far from the old city. We had a walking tour this morning walking over cobblestone streets, visiting some of the old reform church and old houses. We were told by our local guide that there are actually 9 hills of Plodiv, not 7. There's a high statue of Philip II in the city square; it was once controversial here, because Philip is Macedonian. We have this afternoon free, so I walked around old town. It's not a little after 2pm, so I'm going up to my room to frehen up. See ya later.

The tour guide is going to get sued by the folks who own the Seven Hills Hotel.

Joe(so maybe it's a mountain?)Nation

Joe(gonna sue)Nation, That guide has to get caught first. he he he ...