One last Balkan post

I enjoyed my time in Ljubljana, despite my failure to get the memo that summer in Slovenia ends on August 28th at 3pm SHARP. Autumn here is just delightful, though.

Yesterday I rode the bus one hour to the mountain town of Bled (pronounced kind of like "blade"). Although I would have preferred to be a little warmer and less wet, I have to say that the weather actually enhanced the picturesque surroundings: a fortress on a mountaintop, looming over an emerald green lake. The fortress has been there for a thousand years, and in the mid-1800s the lake and environs were part of a renowned spa resort. The castle within the fortress is now a museum with a VERY comprehensive history of the area: I mean, they were dealing in geological time, showing how the mountain was formed and during which eras it was under the sea. I liked seeing the collection of fossilized shells.










Museums in Ljubljana were equally comprehensive. This country has the most impressive museums I've ever visited, and I'll stand under the blue whale at the AMNH and say it loud and proud. I went to the city museum, the ethnographic museum, and the contemporary history museum (I'm a sucker for 20th century European history. I daresay it's why I do all this traveling in the first place). All three were very engaging, and featured sound and video clips along with the artifacts. They really did a lot to immerse you in the experience.

So that concludes "Balkans Bonanza 2010". Since leaving New York on August 5th, I have visited Italy, Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. It has been an amazing trip, truly. Prior to this trip I had been to only one of the former Yugoslav republics (Croatia); now I have been to all seven.

In my amateur assessment, I'd say Slovenia is the most "European", and Bosnia the least so, owing to its Islamic Turkish heritage.

Kosovo was the friendliest because they were so "yaaaay, America! You totally came through for us in the 1999 war!"
(and believe me, "yay, America!" is not a sentiment you hear all that often overseas. Oh well, screw everybody else; I'll always have you, Kosovo.)

Macedonia was the prettiest but we were at a resort town on a 1,000 year old glacial lake so that's kind of cheating :-) Montenegro was absolutely gorgeous, too, as was the Croatian coast.

I think someday, when I'm planning another adventure, I'll come back to one of these countries and learn the language. Croatian-Bosnian-Montenegrin-Serbian-Macedonian are all pretty similar, and it is a fantastic language filled with loads of fun words (see below, "K is for potato"). If I were to choose a place to set up shop, I'd say either Split, Croatia - a happenin' city with frequent ferries to the gorgeous Adriatic islands - or Sarajevo, Bosnia, which is small and friendly and has the richest history.

But I sort of have my heart set on a different adventure this time around. My next post will be from England - if I have time and am not swept away with wedding festivities - and I recently purchased my ticket onward from England to my next destination. So feel free to start guessing where I'm headed next. :-)