Highlights of our Balkan trips from 2015 and 2016
Whynow? It’s been a while. J
BecauseI’ve closed a cycle this year!
Changeswere perceptible even then, but maybe I wasn’t supposed to pay that muchattention to them.
I’llwrite only a few words about the energy of these two trips and whom/what I leftbehind. I’m not fighting anything, it was what it was.
2015
Thetrip was one of our most complex and best. We teamed up with Andra and Iulia,two of our closest friends. I won’t lie – we did have fights and difficulties,but that’s life and an unforgettable trip is made of those.
Oursincluded thousands of km, many river descents, kayaking, meetings with friends,the making of new friends, and delicious food.
Theitinerary was – more or less –:
RomaniaàBulgaria àNorth Macedonia à Albania à Montenegro à Bosnia andHerzegovina à Croatia à Slovenia à Austria à Germany à Liechtenstein à Switzerland à Italy à Hungary (viaSlovenia) à Serbia à home ♥
(andI did fall harder for Albania)
Whatstayed with me? (even more so, after all these years)
The sunset swim wehad in Sapareva Banya, Bulgaria
Wearrived late and only one place allowed us to enjoy a dip. We did(by laughing, singing, and dancing in the water, of course)!
The trek to MarkoviKuli, North Macedonia
Itwas my last moment of joy in North Macedonia – nasty things happened in 2021 –,maybe that’s why I also cherish it this much! I am not the biggest fan ofhiking, but I did enjoy this one, together with the feeling of lingering summerand the extreme 37⁰C at 5pm!
TheOsumi and Vjosa descents, the mountain roads, the sweets that I dreamt of, andall the moments in between were my favourite part of this journey. There was alot of friendship and raw fun.
Thesea meant a break from all these and a different Mediterranean dream.
Differenthighlights in my beloved Bosnia
Namely?The trek from Kulen Vakuf to Ostrovica and the evening light, plus the eveningsspent in a swing chair by my favourite river in the whole world (still) – Una!
A visit to Zagreb,to see dearest Pauli and Maya
Asalways, delicious food, great company, and secrets of the Croatian capitalrevealed!
Surprising Villach,Austria
(nota big fan of Austria as an overall destination here)
However,this is why generalising is not good. We had a hearty mealand a pleasant walk in Villach on the toughest day of the trip.
Triensenberg,Liechtenstein, mamma mia!
Iexpected Switzerland to blow my mind. It didn’t. This petite country, though, did. Everything is condensed inLiechtenstein. If you disregard the prices and only look at the mountains, joywill never leave. J
Italy’s Lake Como
Itwas my second favourite region of the trip. I did have a mojo moment in Dorio,after an evening swim in a rooftop pool, trying to stare at the opposite shoreof the lake. In the morning, I kayaked bits of it with Marcel and our friend,the swan.
Finishing it offwith Piran and Maribor, Slovenia
Oneby the Adriatic Sea and one by the Drava River! Both are utterly charming! Iloved walking around Piran early in the morning and the stop in Maribor in thelate afternoon light.
2016
Theend of 2015 brought us the ‘Best Rafting Team 2015’ title. We couldn’t make itto Tirana then, so we decided not to wait more than April 2016 to return to –we thought – the friendship and raw fun experienced in the previous year.
Agloomy feeling accompanied us during the entire trip, which was mainly rainyand cold. I had let Iulia go in November 2015, but Andra was still accompanyingus.
Thetrip brought another goodbye – a man we thought of as our friend turned out tobe a foe.
Theitinerary was – more or less –:
RomaniaàBulgaria àGreece àAlbania àKosovo àSerbia àBulgaria àhome ♥
Whatstayed with me? (even though it was not one of my favourite trips; I now knowthat I could have created it differently, but it was meant to be that way…maybe this is what ‘destiny’ actually means)
Lovely Tryavna inBulgaria
Whenyou also discover Nero ice cream (which became an addiction) and you stumble upona very cute village on Palm Sunday, you fall in love.
A different take onGreece
Innorthern and mountainous Greece, with the same delicious food, though!
Naousaoffered fantastic views and the company of a 43-day-old Husky baby girl.
Thessalonikispoiled us with the best dinner of the trip, at Molyvos.
Arachthos River was the greatest challenge, with a turquoise waterfall along the descent,the trip’s first wow.
Changed Albania
Almostnothing felt the same. Still, the country looked stunning in its spring coat.
Thefireflies guiding us to Çobo Winery – and the visit there – made their mark.
Asthe south – even though my love for it never faded – left us with a bittertaste, we headed north: Velipoja and its stunning beach, Komani Lake (my lake,as I’ve joked since), and the Valbona ‘River God’.
Kosovo takes thecrown
Ifelt best – and most welcome – in Kosovo. We saw old friends, ate as much trileqe as we could, and felt at ease.Gjakova, Prishtina, Prizren… it felt good to visit and revisit them.
A tasty discoveryin Bulgaria’s capital
‘Made in Home’ – we loved it so much that we visited it again, years after. Cosy,colourful, great food (even for vegetarians) and some wow desserts.
Nowthat this cycle’s closed, too, we can start over. To be continued.
