Taste of the Balkans

A 7-day adventure by JHarwood & Greg Read more

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Trip start
September 22, 2022
Taste of the Balkans
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Day 1
Thursday, September 22, 2022 at 11:38 AM
⛅ 12 °C
Altitude: 531 m
Bulgaria Sofia Airport 42.691078, 23.40712442°41’28” N 23°24’26” E
Arrived in Sofia
September 22, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
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Day 1
Thursday, September 22, 2022 at 12:46 PM
⛅ 14 °C
Altitude: 560 m
Bulgaria Sv. Petka Samardzhiyska 42.697765, 23.32154542°41’52” N 23°19’18” E
3
Sofia City Centre
September 22, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Straight off the plane and into the city centre for a quick explore and lunch!

The photos also include Roman remains for the old version of Sofia which was called Serdica. But is now a metro station, and when building it they discovered old Serdica buildings, that date back along with artefacts on the platform date from 29BC - 45AD.Read more
Traveler What’s this place Josh
9/25/22Reply
JHarwood This is actually a metro station, and when building it they discovered remains of Roman remains of old Sofia which was called Serdica. So these buildings as well as artefacts on the platform date from 29BC - 45AD.
9/26/22Reply
Traveler Nice one mate. Forgot you were there and rang you 🤣. Rang Barry. Cheers.
9/28/22Reply
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Day 1
Thursday, September 22, 2022 at 4:41 PM
⛅ 16 °C
Altitude: 547 m
Bulgaria Sofia 42.68877, 23.33378842°41’20” N 23°20’2” E
Soviet Walking Tour (by Josh)
September 22, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
This afternoon we did a Soviet walking tour around the eastern (in more ways than one) part of Sofia. This included the national stadium built by the communist, a monument to the soviet army for liberating Bulgaria (note this has since been vandalised with blue and yellow for Ukraine), after this we walked further back in history to a monument for the emperor of Russia who liberated Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire.Read more
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Day 1
Thursday, September 22, 2022 at 5:00 PM
⛅ 16 °C
Altitude: 558 m
Bulgaria Sv. Aleksandar Nevski 42.695522, 23.33218342°41’44” N 23°19’56” E
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Alexander Nevsky Cathedral & Sqaure
September 22, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Our final stop included the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, a huge building which involved many Russian chants and us getting told off for having squeaky shoes.

After that it was over to the St. Sophia Church built in the 3/4th Century under the Byzantine ruler, and has had a church on the site ever since.Read more
Traveler Love that
9/25/22Reply
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Day 1
Thursday, September 22, 2022 at 8:42 PM
⛅ 10 °C
Altitude: 550 m
Bulgaria Sofia 42.702172, 23.32049742°42’8” N 23°19’14” E
Night in Sofia
September 22, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C
Tonight’s adventure was drinks in the city centre (at £1.90 for the local beer it’s hard to say no). The night resulted in us visiting a local restaurant that included a questionable bar, your served yourself with bottle beers in the fridge, soft drinks in crates under the serving hatch and wine coming from boxes 📦. Vodka was sold in small or large, large consisted of two 100ml glasses.

But we had tonnes of meat, flat bread, salad, 2 beers, 200ml vodka, and 2 bottles of beer for £15. And it tasted amazing.Read more
TravelerGreg will be happy with vodka at those prices!
9/24/22Reply
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Day 2
Friday, September 23, 2022 at 10:36 AM
⛅ 10 °C
Altitude: 554 m
Bulgaria Perlovska Reka 42.685945, 23.31914742°41’9” N 23°19’9” E
Tour of South Sofia
September 23, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C
Lots of Soviet treasures in south Sofia includes the cultural palace, which had beautiful views of the 2000m mountain ranges that surround the city.
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Day 2
Friday, September 23, 2022 at 1:21 PM
⛅ 14 °C
Altitude: 558 m
Bulgaria Rotonda Sv. Georgi 42.696817, 23.32317242°41’49” N 23°19’23” E
Walk round central Sofia
September 23, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Final stops in Sofia include a church from the 300s in the centre of the old Roman city Sardika.
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Day 2
Friday, September 23, 2022 at 7:01 PM
⛅ 7 °C
Altitude: 1,167 m
North Macedonia Ramne Nive 42.22057, 22.45895342°13’14” N 22°27’32” E
Crossing the border
September 23, 2022 in North Macedonia ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C
🇧🇬 —> 🇲🇰
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Day 3
Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 8:45 AM
☀️ 8 °C
Altitude: 337 m
North Macedonia Sveti Andreja 41.95026, 21.29980541°57’1” N 21°17’59” E
1
Matka Canyon
September 24, 2022 in North Macedonia ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C
After arrive late into Skopje, we headed straight over to Matka Canyon, arriving in the dark it only became clear this morning where we were actually staying.
TravelerWow! This looks incredible!!!
9/24/22Reply
JHarwoodWait till you see the boat tour pics!
9/25/22Reply
Traveler Love this pic. Looks so peaceful
9/25/22Reply
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Day 3
Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 10:51 AM
☀️ 13 °C
Altitude: 332 m
North Macedonia Visoki Rid 41.93055, 21.29144741°55’50” N 21°17’29” E
Matka Boat Tour and Vrelo Cave
September 24, 2022 in North Macedonia ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
After a morning walk and breakfast overlooking the Treska river, we went on a boat tour down the canyon along to the Vrelo Cave. The tour guide only spoke Russian so luckily a Lithuanian person was able to translate for us. The caves are natural and have an exploitable depth of 240m but could go down much further.Read more
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Day 3
Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 3:51 PM
☀️ 22 °C
Altitude: 269 m
North Macedonia Macedonia Square 42.000453, 21.43234242°0’2” N 21°25’56” E
Skopje Walking Tour
September 24, 2022 in North Macedonia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
This afternoon started with a walking tour of Skopje with what can only be described as a member of the Macedonian Nationalists. He gave us an excellent overview of the history of the city but also what life is like in Skopje and Macedonia itself (including his hatred of the word “North Macedonia” and the new flag). The tour included stops at:

• Skopje fortress
• Skopje market
• Alexander the Great statue (all built in 2011 for a city rejuvenation project).
• Mother Teresa Museum
• and many more stops along the way.Read more
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Day 4
Sunday, September 25, 2022 at 7:17 AM
⛅ 6 °C
Altitude: 244 m
North Macedonia Archaeological Museum of Macedonia 41.997258, 21.4334841°59’50” N 21°26’1” E
1
Skopje to Oursleves
September 25, 2022 in North Macedonia ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C
Due to the 6am bus to Pristina being non-existent we had Skopje to ourselves as we walked round for a coffee shop to kill time before our 10am bus.
Traveler Great pic Josh 👍🏽
9/25/22Reply
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Day 4
Sunday, September 25, 2022 at 9:01 AM
⛅ 11 °C
Altitude: 261 m
North Macedonia Macedonia Square 41.993775, 21.43077541°59’38” N 21°25’51” E
Mother Teresa Museum
September 25, 2022 in North Macedonia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
Short stop at the Mother Teresa museum, someone who was born in Skopje Macedonia 🇲🇰! The museum was a short introduction to her life and included the scariest wax work model I’ve seen so far.
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Day 4
Sunday, September 25, 2022 at 10:58 AM
⛅ 16 °C
Altitude: 375 m
Kosovo Proi i Konopit 42.14237, 21.30251742°8’33” N 21°18’9” E
1
Kosovo Border 🇽🇰
September 25, 2022 in Kosovo ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Border crossing into Kosovo 🇽🇰. The breakaway state from Serbia 🇷🇸.
Traveler What a view 👍🏽
9/25/22Reply
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Day 4
Sunday, September 25, 2022 at 11:54 AM
⛅ 17 °C
Altitude: 597 m
Kosovo Pristina 42.665733, 21.16477542°39’57” N 21°9’53” E
Pristina (Приштина)
September 25, 2022 in Kosovo ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
First stop in Kosovo was the capital Pristina 🇽🇰 , it had it all starting with a statue of Bill Clinton, a library that evidently was designed by a very special person, massive lunches for 5€, a marathon, only one free ATM (the rest were 5€) and a tonne of pro-NATO, EU and US signs.Read more
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Day 4
Sunday, September 25, 2022 at 6:55 PM
☁️ 17 °C
Altitude: 413 m
Kosovo Prizren 42.209522, 20.74148742°12’34” N 20°44’29” E
Prizren
September 25, 2022 in Kosovo ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Final stop in Kosovo is Prizren, the second most populous city and located on the banks of the Prizren River between the foothills of the Sharr Mountains in the southern part of Kosovo.

We arrived late in the evening and headed for a walk before going for a MASSIVE dinner (which included an indoor pond with ducks) and of course local beers for under £1.50.Read more
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Day 5
Monday, September 26, 2022 at 7:45 AM
☁️ 14 °C
Altitude: 506 m
Kosovo Prizren 42.209808, 20.74493842°12’35” N 20°44’42” E
Prizren Fortress
September 26, 2022 in Kosovo ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Early morning walk up to the top of Prizren Fortress with some fantastic views as the sun rose of Kosovo. The fortress itself was built around the 6th century Byzantine Empire.
TravelerYOUR TRAVELOGUE IS BRILLIANT JOSH 👍
9/26/22Reply
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Day 5
Monday, September 26, 2022 at 1:08 PM
🌧 20 °C
Altitude: 330 m
Albania Shalqin 42.155278, 20.54524742°9’19” N 20°32’43” E
Crossing into Albania 🇦🇱
September 26, 2022 in Albania ⋅ 🌧 20 °C
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Day 5
Monday, September 26, 2022 at 1:26 PM
🌧 17 °C
Altitude: 397 m
Albania Shtrungaj 41.891708, 20.10821141°53’30” N 20°6’30” E
Views on the road
September 26, 2022 in Albania ⋅ 🌧 17 °C
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Day 5
Monday, September 26, 2022 at 7:58 PM
🌧 18 °C
Altitude: 115 m
Albania Tirana 41.328725, 19.8219541°19’43” N 19°49’19” E
1
A VERY wet Tirana
September 26, 2022 in Albania ⋅ 🌧 18 °C
After getting off the bus (which was torture- 4 and a half hours of Albanian music), we’ve arrived into a very wet Tirana, so nothing for it but to hit the pub for £1 pints and pay with a 5000 Lek note.Read more
Traveler My kind of view
9/28/22Reply
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Day 6
Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at 10:05 AM
🌧 19 °C
Altitude: 106 m
Albania Tirana 41.328892, 19.81888341°19’44” N 19°49’8” E
1
Tirana Walking Tour
September 27, 2022 in Albania ⋅ 🌧 19 °C
Finally some sunshine, this morning setting out on a morning walking tour of Tirana so that we can get out bearings. Included on the tour was the usual history of the city and Albanian people from Roman Empire to Ottoman rule, to brief independence and communist control and the consequent fall out a Balkans war. The tour included many many stops on the way including:

Skanderbeg Square
Skanderberg statue
clock tower
Et'Hem Bey Mosque
Bunk'art 2
National Art Gallery
Tirana Castle
Saint Paul Catholic Cathedral
the pyramid
AirAlbania Stadium
Mother Teresa Square
Boulevard The Martyrs of the Nation
Postblock CheckPoint
Former Residence of Enver Hoxha
Orthodox Cathedral of the Resurrection of ChristRead more
Traveler Wow
9/28/22Reply
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Day 6
Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at 4:28 PM
🌧 20 °C
Altitude: 127 m
Albania Tirana 41.330533, 19.82398841°19’50” N 19°49’26” E
Afternoon exploring
September 27, 2022 in Albania ⋅ 🌧 20 °C
Final stops in Tirana were exploring the spots from the walking tour that seemed interesting. We visited the old Russian embassy which had moved to an undisclosed location after the local government had renamed the street to “Free Ukraine Road” and donned the street with large Ukrainian flags. After this it was time for dinner before boarding the coach, dinner was traditional Albanian (since forgotten the name of the dish). But what I can say is it was absolutely NUCLEAR ☢️ and has led to me burning the top of my mouth. BUT, it was very very tasty.Read more
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Day 6
Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at 9:09 PM
⛅ 17 °C
Altitude: 19 m
Montenegro Hamala 42.329506, 19.41838342°19’46” N 19°25’6” E
Montenegro Border 🇲🇪
September 27, 2022 in Montenegro ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Not the safest border in the world, the Albanian side consisted of collecting everyone’s passport on the coach to get signed (I could have given them anyones). And entering Montenegro the border man was chatting on the phone.Read more
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Day 7
Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 10:02 AM
⛅ 17 °C
Altitude: 35 m
Montenegro Trg Nikole Kovačevića 42.43558, 19.2602242°26’8” N 19°15’37” E
1
Podgorica
September 28, 2022 in Montenegro ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Final stop on the taste of Balkans tour is Podgorica, capital of Montenegro and home to 30% of the countries populations. Up until 1992 the country was good Titograd in honour of Yugoslavian communist leader Josip Tito.

The city was a world away from the hustle and bustle of Tirana, but was a really lovely city to explore. I googled a walking route that took in the min sites which included: The Clock Tower, Osmanagica and Doganjska Mosque, Skaline (the old stairs), St.George Church, Millenium Bridge, Russian Bridge, Vladimir Vysotsky Monument, Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, Roman Square, King Nicola's Castle.Read more
Traveler That’s unreal. Alice needs to see these
9/28/22Reply
TravelerGREAT PHOTOS JOSH 📸
9/28/22Reply
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Day 7
Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 6:42 PM
⛅ 20 °C
Altitude: 36 m
Montenegro Podgorica Airport 42.367928, 19.24734242°22’5” N 19°14’50” E
Trip in Numbers
September 28, 2022 in Montenegro ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
🚶🏼 119.51KM walked
🚶🏼 154,594 steps taken
🛣️ 768KM driven
🚌 4 international buses
🚌 1 domestic bus
💰 4 Currencies
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Trip end
September 28, 2022