ICELAND in a week for only 100€. Who said Iceland is expensive?

Seljalandsfoss. The most beautiful waterfall in Iceland in my opinion 

On the ring road in 6 days in Iceland

Exactly 6 nights is what I had in Iceland. I knew I was cutting it pretty short with my ambitious plan to go on the ring road…but it was already in my head and no chance getting it out.  

SECRETS OF THE ICELAND RING ROAD

A full loop around Iceland on the Ring road - Route 1 is 1340km (830 milkes)— is the only route that circles the island. It feels like someone put the most amazing natural phenomenon I’ve seen around the world in a blender: volcanoes, glaciers, waterfalls, icebergs, geysers, geothermal pools…all crammed onto this island. If you are not that impressed by one, you are just a few hours from the next. And you cannot do it by bus…the buses don’t go to the sights..thy only go from town to town…unless you are on an organized tour but that’s is not something that I would ever do anyways.

MACEDONIA. Ohrid and Lake Ohrid.

Lake Ohrid

Ohrid and lake Ohrid

Going to Macedonia was never on my plan. Been there before (only to Skopje though) and thought I wouldn’t have time on this trip to do it (only 3 months around the Balkans). But….I was just on the other side of lake Ohrid in Pogradec in Albania and thought I can’t just not go to Macedonia as literally you cross the border walking. Well, I did it on a bike.

Albanian Riviera. Only for the brave or just keep it to yourself?

Gjipe beach

Drymandes beach

The route

Not so long ago, when the Balkans were considered an "only for the brave" travel destination, only the bravest of the brave trickled into Albania. It is not gonna be off the beaten track for much longer so make sure it gets on top of your bucket list!

"Ask anyone to give you their list of "paradise" destinations and Albania is probably one of the least likely places to crop up. But as I drop my bags, kick off my flip-flops and dive into a turquoise sea, the "P" word is the only way to describe what I'm seeing" by Matt Carroll.

I divided my Balkan tour into two parts – first one going south from Serbia to Greece all inland and non-coastal areas of the Balkan countries and the second one starting from Saranda, Albania and Corfu Greece and going north the coastal road. After exploring the interior of the country it was time to see the Albanian coast or as they call it the Albania Riviera. 

The Albanian Riviera stretches nearly 300 miles from Vlore down to Butrint, forming one of the last stretches of unspoilt shoreline in Europe. Around almost every corner there's a strip of empty sand that is still untouched by invasion of the package holiday hordes. Yet…I’m sure it is about to change pretty soon…The road is winding and you have to take it slowly but the views that reveals at every turn are just breathtaking.

CORFU in 4 days. Green and hot.

August 2^nd 2014

The island of Corfu in the north-western corner of Greece , or Kerkyra (ker-kih-rah) in Greek is one of the greenest. With more rainfall than any other island there is a variety and abundance of plant life that makes this Ionian island in combination with its charming architecture and hospitable people a great place to visit. Beaches with sometimes oppressively thick development punctuate the entire coastline. But if you have someone to guide you, you can still find some secluded beaches far away from the crowds. 

ALBANIA. THE INLAND.THE NORTH, LAKE OHRID AND BERAT

Komani lake, North Albania

Lake Ohrid

Albania may not be on top of your list at the moment but push it up there... The country is still a virgin in the sense that humans have not interfered in nature much. And it is not as popular to tourists as its neigbours Greece and Montenegro. People are still genuinely curious to talk to you and know why you chose their country and are happy to answer all your questions. They don’t want to sell you anything, not yet…And you are not looked at as a walking dollar. Reminded me of what Bulgaria was when I was growing up – no resorts or shiny hotels, lots of wild beaches and camp sites, of course, really bad roads and poor infrastructure but people were much nicer to each other. The poorer, the nicer. Much less to lose, much more to give. So please, hurry up to see one of the few unique places in Europe left…I give it maximum 2 years and all that will change. The big corporations would bring their cranes and excavators to “develop” the country and as a result people would realise that they could actually make money instead of being so nice.

AUSTRALIA. EAST COAST

Not my first but almost (contacts with a surfboard).

On 26th of Feb, after all the hassle getting my visa, I finally made it to Australia. Landed in Brisbane, quite late at night. It took less than 30 seconds to pass the immigration (I was expecting to go through all the questioning again) and my luggage didn’t get checked (probably because I said NO to everything…although I had spices in my bag and my hiking shoes were quite muddy). Andrew (our host from CouchSurfing) and my friend Pesho came to pick me up at the airport and we went straight to the house and bed. Although we stayed awake for a while, as we had to catch up for the 3 weeks Pesho spent in Oz and I was in NZ. I missed my flight to Cairns because of my Australian visa so Pesho was 3 weeks ahead of me, he did the stretch between Cairns and Brisbane which I missed. That means I didn’t get to scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef :(.

KOSOVO. A newborn country

  

A self explanatory part from the "NEWBORN" sign in Pristina.            And Peja of course

In Prizren

Kosovo is not on anyone’s bucket list! There is very little known about the country and I was not an exception to the rule. 

It is the youngest country in Europe, born in 2008 after proclaiming independence from Serbia. Serbia rejected this declaration. Countries including the US, Japan, Australia, NZ and most of the European Union sided with Kosovo, acknowledging its independence; many countries, including China and Russia, did not.

With about 93%-96% of Kosovo Albanians in the country  (depends on the source of information), it has almost nothing to do with Serbia in my opinion. I recommend to anyone going to Kosovo, to spend some time with locals (both Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo Serbs). You might hear different versions of the same story but that is normal for such a conflict zone. I am not saying that what you are going to hear is nice or a fairy tail like. Actually quite the opposite, it is mind boggling. But it is the reality and it happened in Europe, not long ago taking much more victims that any other terrorist attack today.

MONTENEGRO. BLACKMOUNTAIN. CRNAGORA. ЧЕРНА ГОРА

One of the few not crowded beaches in Montenegro...I am not saying it easy to find them but they do exist!!

Inside the Kotor´s city walls