Balkans
The Balkans is a region in the southeast of Europe, located between the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea. The region has a mixed scenery with many tall mountain ranges, as well as deep forests, plains and rivers. The region has many historical sites, having some of the oldest cities in Europe. Countries[edit]
The Balkans is characterised by the Balkan Peninsula, which is generally defined as lying south of the Danube and Sava rivers. However, the borders of the Balkans often extend beyond the peninsula. Although Slovenia is often considered to be part of the Balkans, it is generally included in tour packages as part of Central Europe. Since its independence from Yugoslavia, Slovenes have somewhat distanced themselves from the Balkans. Hungary is sometimes included in the Balkans for cultural reasons, partially due to its time spent under Ottoman rule, but is generally included in tour packages as part of Central Europe. The European part of Turkey, including Thrace, is also sometimes considered to be a part of the Balkans. Whilst much of Greece geographically resides upon the Balkan Peninsula, it is often not regarded as a part of the Balkans. The Greeks, like the Slovenes, have distanced themselves from the region. Moreover, since Greece's major travel destinations (apart from Athens) lie upon its islands, it is generally included in tour packages as part of Southern Europe or the Mediterranean. Danube - many of the above-mentioned countries are located along this great European river. Cities[edit]
Other destinations[edit]
Understand[edit] Monastery of St Jovan overlooking the Lake Ohrid  Old town of Dubrovnik on the Adriatic  Râşnov Fortress on the Carpathian Mountains While lately the very word of Balkans may translate to ethnic strife and civil wars in people's minds due to the headlines in the last decade of 20th century (and unfortunately, there is some truth in this perception), Balkans, with its rich, though often turbulent history and wonderful nature, offers much more than that. Charming multicultural towns, impressive monasteries and citadels dotting the hillsides, mighty mountains sprinkled with a liberal dose of beautiful forests and pleasant lakes, and last but not the least a great folk music tradition—coming off both as much joyful and melancholic as it could be—all survived various wars, if sometimes suffered a bit from the atrocities. With hundreds of kilometres of coastline on both the Adriatic and Black Seas, beachgoers won't be disappointed in this region, either. Talk[edit]Languages on Balkans include:
Before nationalist tension rose in the wake of the Yugoslav Wars, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin were all considered a single language, Serbo-Croatian. And indeed the distinction is purely political, as, except for a few specific words, it is the exact same language with different names. In fact, national languages of most of the countries in the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia) and Bulgaria are members of the South Slavic language group — therefore, due to much commonality between words and language structure, it is possible to communicate verbally between countries if you have a basic understanding of Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian or Bulgarian. Some other useful languages might be Turkish, which some people in Greece and Bulgaria speak, and Romani may be useful in all of the Balkan states. Most of the people, especially in cities and touristic areas speak English, and sometimes German, Italian, French (in Romania). Get in[edit]By plane[edit]There are numerous international airports in the Balkans. The major airports in the region are (by country):
By boat[edit]Get around[edit]Though three of the Balkan countries (Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia) have joined the European Union and are now part of the Schengen Area, no other countries in Balkans have implemented the Schengen Treaty yet. This means, unlike most of the rest of Europe, border controls are still a reality in the region—which is rather inconvenient but a joy for the ones who want all those entry and exit stamps on their passports. Detailed maps of most of the countries in the Western Balkans you can find with torrent downloaders; look for "Topografske karte EX YU" (Topographic maps former-Yugoslavia), a file of approximately 4.13 GB. Note that this does not include Bosnia. To download only the maps you need, see the matrix at the Military Geographical Institute of Serbia. By train[edit]A cheap way for traveling around the Balkans is the Balkan Flexipass, which is valid in Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Turkey. By bus[edit]BalkanViator is a new website that aims to make life easier for anyone travelling by public transport in the Balkans. As many travellers in the region are aware, details of bus routes in the region can be frustratingly difficult to pin down when planning a trip. Websites with bus timetables are often fragmentary and provide limited information (for example departure times but no arrival times, or routes listed by final destination with no indication of intermediate stops). The idea behind BalkanViator is to put an end to all this by making available in a single website the information about bus routes held by the Ministries of Transport of Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Bosnia - more than 20,000 routes in all. Blog about BalkanViator on Balkanology.com It is, however, far from complete at this point and you might be better off going to the local bus station to inform about arrival/departure times. It is common to pay an additional (cash) fee for any luggage you store in the baggage bays of the bus. Prices are around €0.50 in local currency. It is important to note that this is also the case during transfers. Taking the bus from Sofia to Belgrade, with a transfer in Niš, you will have to pay the bus driver in Niš 50RSD to stow your luggage. Be prepared and bring some currency of the country you are travelling to or through. See[edit]
Do[edit]Events[edit]
Music Festivals[edit]Balkan people love music a lot, there're lots of music festivals, their biggest digest are in Croatia, Serbia and Romania. The biggest techno and trance festivals occur in Novalja on Croatia island of Pag in summer time. Romania, Albania and Serbia also host a big techno festivals. You can learn more in Music Festival Circuit article. Activities[edit]
Winter sports[edit]
Homosexual[edit]Whereas it is generally not safe to openly display gay behaviour in the Balkans (See "stay safe" The situation is changing for better, Croatian, Serbian or Bosnian cities have their own pride parades but due to clashes accomppnaing the events so participating in them is strictly not reccommendable. Eat[edit]Balkan cuisine is one of the most exquisite one. The most popular dishes are cevapcici, pljeskavica or sarma. The most popular fast food is called burek. It's usually stuffed with meat, cheese or spinach. You can also see mjesano meso option in menu cards. There's a all kind of mentioned meats on one plate dish. There're fishes and sea food popular in Croatian or Montenegrin coast. Drink[edit]Regional firewater of choice is rakija (spelling varies from country to country; very similar to Turkish raki), a hard liquor (around 40%, and can be higher if home-made) common to all countries in Balkans. Rakija is distilled out of just about any fruit grown in the region, with the most popular varieties being plum, apricot, mulberry, and grape. Another local drink is boza, a thick and sweet ale made of millet, maze, or wheat with a very low (less than 1%) alcohol content and traditionally drunk in winters. There are excellent local beers to be had in each country in the region. Wine is also common, the peninsula being dotted by vineyards from one end to another. Low taxes on alcohol coupled with a laid-back lifestyle and a liberal attitude towards alcohol consumption mean even smaller towns in the region has a considerable nightlife scene. Belgrade in particular is noted as the region's party hotspot. Stay safe[edit]While the horror stories of 90s are long gone and the likelihood of an armed conflict in the foreseeable future is next to none, unexploded land mines as a legacy of Yugoslav Wars continue to be a safety risk, especially in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Serbia. What is worse about them is that they are where you don't expect them to be at all—they tend to be moved away from their original positions by the abundant rainfall in the region, and therefore riverbanks close to former hotbeds of conflict are especially dangerous. Don't stray too far into wilderness unless you are absolutely sure where you are heading is free of mines. In most Balkan countries it is not a good idea to display openly gay behavior. Slovenia and Croatia are more liberal exceptions and the situation more similar to Central Europe. Sex trafficking happens in the Balkan states. Get out[edit]The Balkan countries are surrounded by Greece and Turkey to south, Ukraine to northeast, Central Europe to northwest, and Italy to west across the Adriatic, all of which have greatly influenced the regional culture now and then.
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