Sunday, 19 May 2013

Featured Destination


Kosovo
Kosovo: Tea and Tito in Mitrovica's North

It's known as "Bosnian Mahalla". Home to many of northern Mitrovica's Bosniaks, the neighbourhood in the city in northern Kosovo is also frequented by Albanians and Serbs, making it an ethnic mixing bowl.

On the surface, life feels tranquil. At the stores, you can buy chocolates as well as traditional specialties such as ajvar (hajvar) and lutenica. New buildings have sprung up, financed by the Serbian government. Landmarks include a Jugobanka branch office and, above all, the locally famous Shera's Café.
Full Story


Epicure


Kosovo
Kosovo: Pristina’s Best Qebaptores

As much as we might hate to admit it, everyone of us regularly gets that yearning for a plate of those meaty bundles of joy most of the region refers to as qebapa.
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News


Kosovo
Rivalry Blocks the Salvation of the Balkan Airlines

16 November 2012 | A full-scale revolution is taking place in the former Yugoslav skies. National airlines are constantly in the red and low cost flights are expanding. Full Story

Balkans
Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia Mark Mother Teresa’s Centenary
Kosovo
Kosovo's Muslims Celebrate Ramadan


Routes Less Travelled


Kosovo
Kosovo: Off, Off, Off the Beaten Track in the Balkans

The Balkans, this troublesome part of Europe that in the last two decades flooded Western European and US media with news of violence, hides the greatest variety of pristine, off-the-beaten track destinations on the Old continent.

With Kosovo’s status now apparently resolved, even more spots become accessible to adventurers – from the underdeveloped ski-resorts and spa wells, hidden in majestic mountains and numerous, yet-to-be-explored natural parks, to the rich and intriguingly cultural heritage sites brimming with controversy. Full Story

Kosovo
The Serbian Monastery of Dečani: a Blind Prodigal King in a Sea of Frescoes
Kosovo
The Serbian Patriarchate of Peć: Wild, Barbaric Colours against the Dark Prokletije Mountains


Curiosity Chest


Kosovo
The Balkans: Natural Born Historians

The obsession with history is so commonplace on the Balkans that local people do not even notice it. For outsiders, however, it quickly becomes a part of the experience of being precisely in the Balkans and nowhere else. Raymond Detrez, a Belgian scholar of Bulgarian and Balkan Studies, describes this sometimes entertaining and other times annoying, and even dangerous, social phenomenon. Full Story




Hidden Sofia


Bulgaria
From Soviet Saviours to American Superheroes and Back: Sofia Keeps Pace with the Times

21 June 2011 | Just four days after an anonymous graffiti artist transformed the Soviet Red Army monument in the centre of Sofia, turning it into a congregation of various comic-book characters Full Story

Bulgaria
Sklada: The Space that Stores and Showcases Contemporary Design
Bulgaria
Before and After: A Tango Milonga in the Midst of Sofia

Hidden Bulgaria


Bulgaria
Go Green in Bulgaria: 23 Eco-Hotels and Guest Houses to Choose From

Bulgaria's countryside is a pristine treasure. Poor and underdeveloped, many regions, with hills and valleys, mountains and gorges, have remained untouched for decades.
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Bulgaria
Julian Perry's Walks in Bulgaria's National Parks
Bulgaria
From Sofia to the Village of Lakatnik in an Old Locomotive






Balkan Coasts & Mountains


Fresh Fish, Olives, and the Albanian Bay of Ksamil: All to Yourself

Albania

Albania remains a rough diamond, undiscovered territory, the most challenging destination in Europe. Bob Berwyn of the Summit County Citizens Voice selects pictures from his travel files to compose this simple, and yet charming photo story, in which places and people stand out full of character. Full Story

Breathtaking Highlights of a Balkan Cruise!
Biking Along the Adriatic Coast



Balkan Towns


Five Not-To-Be-Missed Cities around the Balkans for 2009

Balkans

To many the Balkans region may be more popular for its nature than for its sprawling metropolises. And while the majestic mountain ranges of Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania or the crystal sea waters of Croatia and Greece are impressive, the region also boasts an amazing collection of cities. Full Story