Balkanhopping

From: Dubrovnik, Croatia

I'm getting close to the finish line now. This post is about my path from Greece to Croatia, with stops in the F.Y.R.O.M. (Macedonia), Albania and the brand-new nation of Montenegro.

I like the Balkans a lot. A while back, I spent two weeks in the former Yugoslavia -- Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro -- and was impressed by the cultural diversity and range of cool sights packed into such a small space. In many parts of the region, you can feel the aftermath of the violence from the Yugoslav civil war. I also had fun this time around. I wish I'd spent more time here, but I'm glad I got a least a peek at the 'other half' of the Balkans.

I've covered a lot of ground in a few days, so I'm going to stick to the highlights. In order of appearance:

1. Macedonia-Macedonia Border Crossing

If you've been following this blog very much, you know that I don't like border crossings. In Central Asia, they're horrible -- hour-long waits in the heat, arbitrary visa regulations, unfriendly officials on the take. So I'm a bit biased. The checkpoint at Gengeli between Greek Macedonia and the Republic of Macedonia, however, was the best border crossing ever!

Our train pulled into the checkpoint around dinner time and they told us we could actually leave the train (unheard of). Instead of surly officials, the guards were friendly and told us to get something to eat. There was loud, excellent salsa-esque Latin music playing, a grillmaster making these gigantic hot dogs filled with 'Greek meat' and French fries, and lots of people drinking beer at a bar. I even saw a group of kids my age who didn't look like they were on the train. Maybe they just came to the station for the atmosphere. It was so much fun that I was a bit sad to leave. Come to think of it, it was actually more fun than Skopje, my destination.

2. The Mullet King

I've seen some bad haircuts on this trip. The worst do's usually fall into one of two types: very short hair, except for a well-oiled tuft above the forehead (the 'hip' Russian), or; very short hair will a generous mullet in the back (the 'sophisticated' Russian). But I got a single snapshot of a Skopje mulleteer who definitely wins the prize for foulest hair. Enjoy:

3. Struga
I ran into some logistical problems trying to get from Skopje to Tirana and found myself stranded in Struga (Macedonia) for the better part of a day. Struga is a secondary resort town on the shores of Lake Ohrid near the Macedonian-Albanian border. It was unexpectedly fun. I sat around by the beach most of the afternoon, drinking beers and trying to avert my gaze from the many older men in smallish speedos. The beach:



There is a lot of Albanian influence in Struga. In the last decade, there was a full-blown civil war between the Albanian minority in the West of the country and the Macedonian majority. It was the usual deal: minority wants to separate and create their own state; majority wants to retain territorial integrity. It was resolved in 2002 with the UN-backed Ohrid Agreement, which guaranteed stronger minority rights for the 20% or so of the population that's ethnically Albanian. Like in Canada, there are now two official languages (even street vendors have to display in both languages). Here, an example:



Back to Struga. While I was there, I saw an interesting ethnic dance performance by local ethnic Albanians. It sounded somewhere between Bosnian and Turkish, and it was really cool.

4. Shkodra
When I got to Albania, I skipped over Tirana, the capital, and went straight to Shkodra in the north. Culturally, it's an interesting city since it has a lot of Catholic Albanians; the people are also renowned for their friendliness. I trekked across town to the imposing Rozafa fortress, a giant, largely-intact castle with fantastic views of the surrounding area. A shot of the valley from the ramparts:

5. Ulcinj
My last stop before Croatia was Ulcinj, a small, picturesque Adriatic beach town in Montenegro near the Albanian border. I ran into two cool guys from Austria and Germany and we ended up hanging out for the rest of the day. Montenegro is not a cheap place to bed down for the night. After some oh-so-precise mental calculations, we realized that we could actually save money by buying beers and food and spending the night on the beach, rather than going to find a hotel. When we first got there, the beach was jam-packed with people, but they trickled away towards dusk. In true Balkan fashion, people took to the streets at night, hanging out at the bars, restaurants and nightclubs along the beach. We watched it all happen and then went to catch our bus at 3:30 am. The beach at night, with the cliffs in the background:



P.S. I saw some funny Ingrish in Skopje. Among the instructions for guests at my hostel:
- "It's ok! Water from the tub is drinkable."
- "Please be quiet after 10 pm (bed neighbors)."