Balkans Vibe (1st part)
Last year I decided that Me and Iuli should go visit Balkans. I mean why not, right? It’s well known that Romania, especially the Southern part of Romania is as well part of the Balkans countries, so we have the benefit of not going too far. Traveling is my addiction, my passion, my life. It’s that part of me which makes my eyes sparkle when I’m talking about what I’ve seen and where I want to go next. We decided to take more time for ourselves and visit all Balkans in 6 weeks.
In this post I will describe part of our itinerary as we see it before actually going. There will be another article with what we really saw and experienced there, because you know that what you want is not always the same with what will happen - and that is the beauty of it.
Our itinerary is split in 3 parts : MUST SEE, MAYBE and IF WE HAVE TIME.
“MUST SEE” as you already figured it out is about the places that, well... we really, really wanna go and see.
“MAYBE” is about the places that are nice, but it’s not really necessary to visit them now, and “IF WE HAVE TIME” are places which are indeed wonderful, but we can let them for the next trip. I did this category because I want us to enjoy the trip and have spare time for things I didn’t know about but we might encounter along the way and want to visit. We’ll hike the mountains, listen to waterfalls and do island hopping, eat local food and sleep in in small villages, where I am certainly sure that we will get recommendations of non-so-touristic places (To replace some of the locations in the “IF WE HAVE TIME” category).
BULGARIA
Bulgaria is one of my favorite countries, thinking about it’s raw nature. It has really wonderful National Parks.
MUST SEE:
1. Belogradchik
The rocks of Belogradchik are rock sculptures in the fore hills of the western Balkan mountain range. They contain groups of rock figures resembling people, animals, fortresses, pyramids or different objects with imposing sizes - from a few meters to several dozens of meters.
2. Melnik
The Pyramids of Melnik are a well known site in Bulgaria but are not famous among tourists. They are unique natural, sand pyramids formed because of the soil erosion.
3. Seven Rila Lakes
Just wow! Can't wait to hike this and enjoy its beauty.
4. Eagle’s Eye
Eagle's Eye is a sightseeing platform built at 1563 m above the sea level, next to the St Ilia peak in the Rhodope mountains and close to the village of Yagodina and the famous Yagodinska cave
5. Devil’s Throat
Located in the Rhodope Mountains of Smolyan Province in the far south of Bulgaria, the Devil’s Throat Cave (Dyavolsko garlo Cave) is a spectacular cave
MAYBE: Raisko Praskalo Waterfall, Provadia, Rila Monastery and Yagodinska Cave
GREECE
Eleutheromania(n) is a original greek word which means the intense desire for freedom. I can say that I was born with eleutheromania.
I visited Greece in September 2016 when I went to Athens ( I’ll write about it soon) and Thiva. I instantly fell in love with it - it gave me a part of the feeling I had living in Turkey. That time we thought about going to see Mount Olympus but time wasn’t on our side. But luckily now it is.
MUST SEE:
1. Mount Olympus
2. Kalambaka (Meteora Monasteries)
Kalambaka is the gateway to Meteora.
IF WE HAVE TIME: Corfu - We will be crossing to Albania near Corfu, so one or two days exploring the island would fit perfect. Another Island that we want to see is Samothraki Island. If not now, for sure in the future.
ALBANIA
Albania is a country which surprised me with its beauty and virgin, raw places. Searching for places to visit, I got so many information about its history and culture that I put it on top of ''I really, really, really wanna see country.'' category. I am looking forward to truly experience this beauty.
MUST SEE:
1.Berat
Berat is a collection of white Ottoman places. A turistic place in Albania, but surely worth visiting.
2. Ksamil
Ksamil has four islands The Twin islands, Emeral island, Small island and Stone island. We're going to enjoy each one of it, discover its hidden places and explore the cultures.
3. Dhermi
It's knows as a party beach, but has very wonderful hidden places where we can camp our tent and enjoy the fresh air.
4. Butrint
Inhabited since prehistoric times, Butrint has been the site of a Greek colony, a Roman city and a bishopric. Following a period of prosperity under Byzantine administration, then a brief occupation by the Venetians, Butprint is now a UNESCO World Heritage Center worth seeing.
MAYBE: Gjirokaster
IF WE HAVE TIME: Tirana, Korca, Gjipe, Blue Eye
MONTENEGRO
MUST SEE:
1. Kotor
2. Budva
IF WE HAVE TIME: Podgorica, Sveti Stefan
Here is the first countries that we will visit this summer. I will be back later with a new post about Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo and Serbia.
If you wanna do your own Balkan trip, here you are some websites that will make your work easy:
Via Dinarica is an awesome trail that crosses all Balkan mountains. You can find accommodation here, trips and tips about mountains and National Parks and also guidelines for your expedition. It really helped me organize the trip.
https://www.airbnb.com/ - for good priced accommodation.
If you want to search for places, but you are not satisfied with what Mr Google is offering you, try Pinterest. There I found most of the non-touristic places that we will visit.
For more info and question, please write me. I'll be happy to help you.
