Thursday, 09 February 2012

Forum room



  

You can't trust local maps. Nor some international travel guides. One of them, for instance, says, that Neretva River in Bosnia and Herzegovina flows FROM the Adriatic towards the inland of the Balkans, never reaching the sea. OK, how about the Neretva delta and channel in Croatia?
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I can only find good, comprehensive guides about Croatia and Bulgaria. Can you help me which are the reliable editions that have issued books about Montenegro, or Bosnia?
Jan Holuzska, Prague

There are two relatively new books on Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, published by Bradt. Greece and Turkey are also covered in an excellent way by Rough Guide.
Balkan Travellers editorial team
 

Epicure


Bulgaria
Shopska Salad: Three common mistakes

To Bulgarians, Shopska salad is a bit like the scrambled eggs case – while it looks as if there is no way to screw the dish, in fact its proper preparation requires nothing less then utter care and devotion. In this case – in selecting the right products and adjusting the proportions. Full Story



Curiosity Chest


Balkans
The Red and White Strings that Welcome Spring in Bulgaria and Romania

I remember walking along Canal Street in New York’s Chinatown on March 2 a few years ago, when I saw a man sporting a small ornament made of red and white thread pinned to his coat lapel. He must be Bulgarian, I thought to myself with a sudden rush of homesickness, but now realize that he may have been Romanian as well.
Full Story






Music


Bulgaria
The Choir that Turned England a Bit Bulgarian

One of the few constant sources of pride for Bulgarians is traditional folk music, and especially singing. But not the Oriental-beats-modified kind that often booms in nightclubs, giving their clientele the urge to jump atop tables and chairs and sway their hips around; rather the kind that, when heard, mesmerises you and gives you goose bumps, the kind that is haunting with its out-of-this universe quality, mostly figuratively but sometimes literally as well.
Full Story