When I read some information about Mani, the southernmost part of the Peloponnese, I was struck by similarities in history, landscape and culture between Mesa Mani (also called Inner or Deep Mani) and Montenegro/North Albania, although there is a distance of 1000 km between these two regions. A good reason to make a trip around […]
Balkans
PELOPONNESE: THE CASTLES OF METHONI AND KORONI
As May is said to be a perfect month to explore the Peloponnese, we traveled this large Greek peninsula by camper and convinced ourselves of its extraordinary beauties. One of the most attractive regions appeared to be Messinia, a land full of contrasts in the southwest corner of the Peloponnese. We didn’t only discover vast […]
7 HIGHLIGHTS OF HERZEGOVINA YOU SHOULD NOT MISS
In the last few years, I have been criss-crossing many countries of the Balkans, but one of the regions I like most is Herzegovina, the most southern region of Bosnia & Herzegovina. Although situated close to Montenegro and in the direct hinterland of the Dalmatian Coast, most tourists have not discovered it yet. It might […]
ALBANIA BY CAMPER
Apart from Montenegro, there is another country in the Balkans that is very interesting and attractive for adventurous camper tourists: Albania. During the last decade, many good camping sites have been opened in all parts of Albania. Parking lots or camper sites in front of hotels, restaurants or gas stations are another possibility. But maybe […]
DECEMBER IN TIRANA
If you decide to spend a weekend in Tirana these days, you will experience a lot of surprises. We wanted to escape Podgorica – where “our” (catholic) Christmas is not celebrated at all – and we thought it a good idea to visit Tirana. The last time we were in Tirana was 4 years ago […]
THE CURSE OF LOKRUM
As we are spending our summer holidays in Slano, it was quite easy for us to make a day trip to Lokrum, also called the „Island of Peacocks“, only a 10 minutes boat ride away from Dubrovnik. Paul and I had both visited the island several decades ago and we were really curious what we […]
IMPRESSIONS OF HVAR
As I heard that June should be a perfect month to visit Hvar, we traveled to Croatia last week with the intention to spend a few days on this beautiful island. What does Hvar offer to its visitors, apart from an extremely mild and sunny climate? According to brochures and websites, we could expect untouched nature, […]
MY 5 FAVORITE CAMPSITES IN THE BALKANS
Are you traveling the Balkans by camper van this summer? In that case you might need some tips about “special” campsites. We have accompanied two camper groups from the Netherlands through Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia last month and this seems to be a good reason to share our experience and give some recommendations. MONTENEGRO Ethno-village […]
STUDENICA MONASTERY IN THE SERBIAN “VALLEY OF KINGS”
Did you know that – apart from Egypt and France – Serbia has its own Valley of Kings? It is the valley of the Ibar river, situated between the towns of Novi Pazar and Raška. This is the place where the first medieval Serbian state was founded and where the kings of the Nemanjić dynasty […]
5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ROADS IN ALBANIA
We are just back from a short round trip through Albania and, although we have crisscrossed the country many times, it was another extraordinary experience. If you want to visit Albania, you should know that getting around to see this undiscovered tourist destination with its stunning landscape, unspoiled by mass tourism, is not always easy; […]