The trip from Dubrovnik to Tirana was a 4 step 2 day trip along the coast of Montenegro to the Albanian border and then south to Tirana. We left Dubrovnik very conveniently by cab when the cabbie offered a good price. The Croatian coastline south of Dub was more of the same small coves and turquoise sea. This day the squalls kept coming from the south. The cabbie pointed out the lack farms or factories in southern Croatia: another sign of war. Crossing into Montenegro this cabbie was with us until Herzog Novi bus station. His nerves were on edge due to a history of antagonisms between these folks and the Dubrovniks. Travel to Albania is notoriously ill-defined through here. The first "quote" for our trip through to Albania border was €100 but we went with ... read more

Mostar was described by a World Bank colleague as the most integrated Yugoslavian city before the war, and now is one of the most divided along a number of lines. The famous Mostar bridge, which we both vaguely remember being destroyed, has been fully rebuilt using local expertise and money from the international community. A great deal of effort was expended in getting the bridge to look something like its former glory of 1557, even to the point of using the same materials and building techniques, but nonetheless it looks a little too tidy nowadays. Mostar was great though a bit more touristy than we have become accustomed to. We arrived on the morning train from Sarajevo after a spectacular trip through the mountains and above the mist. Great scenery, though it is impossible to miss ... read more

After some ticketing hassles in Vienna, we made it through to Belgrade and had 6 hrs to kill. Of course we decided to make a short visit to the city. Negotiations started as soon as we stepped out of the arrivals lounge, with the first taxi offer being about ten times what was suggested by the trusty Lonely Planet. We opted for the 500 Dina option of the airport bus. Nothing to see on the trip into town through the aroma suggested the urgent need for innovations in personal hygiene. The bus dropped us in a dingy part of town where all expressions were severe but perhaps 2 km away was the lovely Kalemegdan citadel. The buildings we passed on the walk were austere and pretty ugly. Some had once been beautiful but were crumbling now. ... read more

Central Bulgaria was certainly a very positive surprise for us. After Plovdiv we headed north east towards Veliko Tarnova and through low rolling hills. We specifically stopped at places that at least Lonely Planet or Alex & Jill said were picturesque or of particular significance. In general this has been a good match with our interests over the years: we just tend to get there with marginally more comfort than LP's core demographic. Tryavna has an excellent crafts community operating out of the central medieval village. Superb wood carving and wrought iron work despite the plainness of the suburbs surrounding it. We were tempted to stay the night - again - and particularly given the lack of the tourist hordes. Pushed onto Veliko Tarnova and were stunned to find a sophisticated city perched in the same ... read more

Enjoyed an excellent Bulgarian Merlot 2003 before settling in for a quite night in the village. On the morning of the 27th, pushed on out of the Shiroka Laka valley and continued on twisted, narrow, barely-maintained mountain roads. Surprisingly close to SL, we came to the Parapova ski resort. This looked great in that the forest was dense and evergreen, but not so great in that it was like an outpost of Pomland inserted in the Bulgarian mountains. Pubs, and chip butties. Worth another visit though. Dropped back into Bulgarian villages pretty quickly and then onto the Chepelare district. Spotted a side road to Skalni mostova which took us deep into the mountains and near the peak of a 2000m mountain complete with abandoned/under-utilised mountain resort. Few people around and the air was cold and damp, ... read more