Review: Cities and Places

Albania

 

Tirana

Many development was ongoing in this city, including the project in the main square.
Our walking tour guide explained about the difficulties for development after the transition from communism to capitalism due to disputes on property ownership. He said due to that reason, still not many foreign investors came, for example, there was still no McDonald's and Starbucks, there were 2 KFC shops though.
Tirana was quite a pretty and nice not that big city, I think.
Combination of historical Ottoman, communist and new modern structures.
One monument caught my impression was the big communist pyramid. This was one of the three big communist building I encountered during this trip, the other two were UFO like building in Bulgaria and Star Wars like building in Kosovo.
Skanderberg Square is the main square with the hero statue on the horse in the middle. Construction was ongoing to reface the square.
Surrounding the square, the National Historical Museum with remarkable huge mural.
There were several drinking water fountain in the city, donated by various governments.
Bunk'Art
http://bunkart.al/
Communist paranoia, believing they were too great that other countries would attack them, was the reason they built thousands of bunker across the country, and the main and biggest one was now a museum, called Bunk'Art.
It was a nice museum basically with informative displays about the communism.
Dajti Cable Car
About 10 minutes walking from Bunk'Art.
The cable car or gondola was quite a long ride, about 10 minutes I think, going to the mountain with good view of the city and to the sea.
On the mountain, there were hotel and restaurant, and several hiking routes. Some local people offered horse riding and shooting game.

Kruja

It was about 40 minutes drive from Tirana. The birth place of the national hero, Skanderberg.
There was a museum about Skanderberg and a fortress ruins.
Many souvenirs shops between the parking area and the way up to the museum. Good place to shop souvenirs since in Tirana I didn't spot souvenir shop.
On the way here, there was a small town with former US President George Bush statue, and even Bush cafe (didn't find the cafe though).

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Bosnia War was the only thing I remember about this country before my visit.
It is a unique country, as per the country profile, it consists of 1 federation, 1 republic and 1 special district.
I visited only Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation part.
Though the war is over, but there is still potential break-up between the ethnics.

Sarajevo

Growing rapidly as a tourist destination, this city is indeed an interesting place to visit due to its mixed cultural places and heritages. However, somehow I don't think I like this city, felt it was a bit too touristic and felt the people was not that friendly. Maybe I just didn't stay enough long to feel its charm.
The old city is divided into Turkish area with the famous mountain, and western area, and even there was a line dividing east and west on the main pedestrian street (Sarajevo Meeting of Culture).
Though there were many sightseeing spots, I felt there was no spot that really impressed me.
The Trip Advisor number one spot for this city was the photo exhibition of the massacre during the war, which I didn't find it good enough to be number one spot of the city.
Galerija 11/07/95
KM 12, but following the walking tour guide instruction by saying his name, I got KM 2 discount.
Opposite of the cathedral, this was photo exhibition of the massacre at Srebrenica (8000 Muslim men killed by Bosnian Serb force). Depressing, as expected. Don't how it was voted as #1 things to do in Sarajevo in Trip Advisor.
Avaz Twist Tower
Just opposite the train station (thus near bus terminal), as per Lonely Planet, this twisted tower was the tallest building in Balkan.
There was Cafe 35, and one stair up, there was observation place with good view of the city.

Mostar

The famous bridge was indeed impressive and beautiful.
The old town was quite small, but there were other spots outside the old town, like war torn buildings and a Bruce Lee statue.
Unfortunately, I didn't see the diving from the bridge, waited for long, but it seemed they didn't get enough money to make they jumped out the bridge.
Would like to return during the world dive competition here.
Best view points of the bridge:
- The river bank down. Free and easy to access.
- Koski Mehmed Pasina Mosque tower. Paid KM 10 for access to the tower.

Bulgaria

I put as my last stop since there was direct flight with Qatar Airways to Doha.
Buzludzha was my main destination after seeing FB postings from friends.

Sofia

Sofia was a good surprise.
Didn't expected the city is pretty and many historical things to see.
Multicultural air showed by churches, mosque and synagogue located stone throw distance.
It is said that there are 3 layers city, including Roman layer, excavated some.
My impression was everything is big here.
Many big buildings, and the road is big too.
The main pedestrian street with shops and restaurants.
Night life is there too.
The free tour was one of the best I have ever joined.
Surprised so many tourists, the hostel room was fully booked (was in late September) and the huge number of people joining the free tour, our guide said it was due to RyanAir cheap ticket.

Rila

It is said that Rila Monastery is the most visited tourist attraction in Bulgaria.
It is also in UNESCO World Heritage list.
It is unique for its colorful outdoor, arches and column are in stripe like zebra.
Built in 927 and heavily restored in 1469.
Located 120 km, about 2 hours drive, south of Sofia.
I joined the day trip by Hostel Mostel Sofia, included a short hiking to Tomb of St. Ivan, the founder of the monastery.
The entrance to the monastery is free, but you have to pay to enter the museums, there are three, the main museum, the icon museum and the kitchen museum.

Plovdiv

The city with 7 hills.
There were really 7 hills surrounded the city, but one hill was exploded to make paving for the city.
The old town is really lovely.
Roman ancient theater and Roman stadium serve performances now.
The main pedestrian street was full of shops and restaurants.
There are 3 famous statues in the city, the most famous one was Milyo the crazy.
The houses in the old city have its own characteristic that the upper floor is bigger than the ground floor, said as mitigation of paying tax.
Kapana or The Trap is the art district, with some cafes and galeries.
The fortress remain on top of one of the hill in the old town is nice place to see the city below.

Buzludzha and Shipke

The Buzludzha communist monument was my main destination in Bulgaria.
To visit this place, I rented a car from Sofia and drove three hours to this place.
I followed a blog on the monument, and visited also the pretty gold and pink church in Shipke on the way to the monument.
There is another monument in Shipke, but didn't go.
Buzludzha monument is magnificent.
Every time I saw the monument during my driving from the distance, I got excited and said wow.
Nearby, it was interesting also with many grafities.
Unfortunately, it was impossible to enter. Due to safety reason, as per websites, it was heavily locked with welded steel bars and cemented, impossible to sneak in, like many visitors did in the past.

Kosovo

The newest country in Europe.
The country is re-building after the war between ethnic Serbian and Albanian.
Am not really know the details, but the Albania got advantage during the conflict with the support of US and NATO, that most Serbian left the countries. I saw many abandoned and burnt Serbian Orthodox churches. Many tributes to US Presidents, there are streets named after George Bush and Bill Clinton in the capital Pristina. I also saw many establishment built by US Aid fund.
Despite of Serbian friend feeling on the country, generally I loved the country especially the smaller city, since the people are friendly, and the cost is cheap.

Pristina

The capital of the new country is not quite a pretty city, but it is changing.
The main pedestrian street is Mother Teresa Boulevard with many shops and restaurants at both side.
I stayed in a hostel near this boulevard,
A complex feeling roused, seeing a burnt empty church in the middle of the field near the university library. I heard many Serbian was killed and flee the city during the ethnic war with Albanian. Many Serbian blamed US for their fate.
Not many places as tourist attractions.
Mother Teresa Cathedral. Still under construction when I visited in September 2016, but the lift of the tower was already in operation and a guy selling ticket to climb the tower for EUR 1.
Brand new elevator, but I was afraid got stuck on the top since the stairs were not accessible, blocked for construction.
Starwars like Youth Sport Stadium. It's not the official name. It's another communist style strange shape building I found during this trip beside UFO Building of Buzludzha in Bulgaria and Pyramid in Tirana, Albania. The stadium is still functioning as a stadium.
New Born. The famous big letters of the words New Born. Just down the stairs of the stadium.
Turkish Old Town. Small area with mosque, clock tower, not-functioning Turkish bath and fruit market.
The main square at one end of Mother Teresa Boulevard. There is big lego block structure, a fountain and the statue of Ibrahim Rugova, the first president of Kosovo. The Opera House is just near the corner.

Prizren

I love this city because of the friendly people and the beautiful setting of the city, with the river flowing in the middle and the castle above the city.
Pretty small city, especially the old town district.
The young people there treated tourist as a rare person and interested to interact.

Macedonia

Macedonia is one of the countries independent from former Yugoslavia.
The country name of Macedonia was protested by Greece since Macedonia is a city in Greece where the Alexander the Great was born, when they voted independent by referendum from Serbia-Montenegro, that the official name of the country is Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia.
It seems like this country trying to find its identity, and they chose their identity with relation to Alexander the Great.
I heard from many people that this country was historically never been a country before Tito the former leader of Yugoslavia formed it.
The People in the country is Serbian/Bulgarian and Albanian.

Skopje

The first impressions of this city were crazy, absurd, fake.
It is like they are trying to become Las Vegas of Balkan.
They made newly many buildings and structures that look historical and classical, and so many historical statues.
I thought the city was rich, but the guide in the free walking tour informed that all built by government loan.
Many local people was against the government plan, the project called Skopje 2014.
They copied many world landmarks, such as Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
The guide informed they are building London Eye too.
The people against the plan did Colour Revolution, by throwing balloon filled with paint on the statues, still now remaining in the statues (this was what I heard from the guide, but Wikipedia tells differently).
Despite negative impression expressed above, there are some authentic charms of the city, like the Turkish corner (the Kebab shop Destan was my favorite), the fortress and some interesting places can be visited with a day trip, such as beautiful valley called Matka (didn't have time to visit, but saw the picture at the hostel).
But, somehow I feel the Skopje people was not friendly.

Ohrid

One of my favorite place during this trip. The lake is beautiful.
Swimming in the lake, though cold, was refreshing, and drinking beer after that was too nice.
Not only the lake is beautiful, there are many historical places to visit, many churches and the fortress.
Unfortunately most churches apply entrance fee of MKD 100.
Church of Sveti Jovan at Kaneo. The most pictured church in Ohrid, located on top of the rock in the lake bank. The view from the hill of the church with the lake background is superb. Entrance was free.
Kaneo Beach. Just down the Kaneo church. Very nice beach with some restaurants to sip a beer after the dip.
The Castle. Visible almost from everywhere in Ohrid. Located on top of the hill thus offer a good view of the city and the lake. Entrance was MKF 70. I think it is more like a fortress than a castle, there is no remaining building inside the wall.
Church of Sveta Bogorica Perivlepta. Just after the old city wall gate. There is an icon gallery adjacent to the church. There is a fountain spring that good for drink. There is an entrance fee of MKD 100, but managed to sneak in with the crowd. The inside was beautiful with orthodox type pictures on the wall.
Plaosnik or Church of Sveti Kliment i Pantelejmon. Just above the Kaneo church and below the Castle. MKD 100 entrance fee. Renovated church. There is pretty mosaic outside the church under the protection roof.

Sveti Naum

It is a popular and a nice day trip from Ohrid. About 1 hour bus drive from Ohrid, located the other side of the lake near the border with Albania. I heard people can even walk to Albania from here. There is famous monasteries. Also famous for the spring that makes pretty clear lake with high visibility. There is a boat trip to the spring, but didn't have time to do it.
Did a short hiking surrounding the spring lake, there were three churches in the hiking course.
The monastery is pretty, and doubles as a hotel too with a restaurant inside. There is another restaurant outside near the lake.

Montenegro

Kotor

One of the prettiest city during my trip.
The old town was surrounded by well preserved wall, between the sea and the high steep rocky mountain, where the fortification was.
There were several churches, many nice restaurants, cafes, shops, hotels and hostels, even one disco club.
There were several gates to the walled town, with the main one facing the harbour where the big tourist ships landed.
Just outside the wall, there was a big modern shopping mall.
The Fortress
It was about 30-40 minutes climbing up, but the view from up there worth the effort.
During daytime (I think about up to 8pm) we needed to pay entrance fee of EUR 3.

The North by the Tour

The guide was cute young guy but one of the worst guide I have ever met during my traveling.
Our first stop was breakfast in a restaurant, then we had several stops at
- Our Lady of the Rocks and St. George churches, lovely two churches on small island in the sea,
- Slano Lake or Salt Lake,
- Durmitor National Park, one hour stop only to visit the Black Lake
- Tara Gorge, beautiful valley with beautiful bridge, where we could do zip lining
- Ostrog Monastry, the famous monastery with lots pilgrimages, hewn in the rock mountain,
with a lunch stop after visiting Durmitor National Park.

Ulcinj

It was not in my original plan to visit this city, thank to the missing passport incident, I got a chance to visit this pretty city.
It is a resort city, with beach and old town up on the rock.
The beach sand was black though.
Many people just were sunbathing and playing in the water in the beach.
I walked up to the old town up on the cliff.
There were several restaurants and hotels in the old town.
I took a nice lunch in one of the restaurant, enjoying the view of the beach and the town.
The beach and the old town were about 20 minutes walking from the new town or Hostel Pirate.

Slovenia

Ljubljana

The capital of Slovenia is a pretty city and green.
The old town with the castle above the mountain was pretty.
The churches were pretty too.
The open market selling fruit and vegetables, and food were nice.
The bridges were interesting. The castle was less impressive though.

Kamnik

We decided to stop by in this small city on the way to Bled from Ljubljana since there was a festival.
http://www.kamnik-tourism.si/index.php/prireditve/46-dnevi-narodnih-nos-in-oblacilne-dediscine/

Bled

The touristic gem of Slovenia, the Lake Bled is indeed pretty, with the small island in the middle.
We swam in the lake together with many ducks and swans.
The castle was a disappointment for me. The view was far better from the hill near the swimming spot called Mala Osojnica.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g274863-d10241672-Reviews-Mala_Osojnica-Bled_Upper_Carniola_Region.html
We rented a boat  and rowed to the island. Was EUR 15 after 6pm (normally EUR 10).
We visited also Vintgar Gorge, about 15 minutes drive from Lake Bled. Pretty gorge, but my travel mate said Taiwan gorges are prettier :)
http://www.slovenia.info/en/Jewels-of-nature/Vintgar-Gorge.htm?naravne_znamenitosti_jame=110&lng=2

Bohinj

Less touristic than Lake Bled, Lake Bohinj was indeed beautiful, and more spiritual, like my travel partner said :)
There are several activities and places to visit in this area.
We did one day hiking to Triglav National Park.
The next day we visited Savica Waterfall and rode the cable car to the mountain for the view of the lake.
Vogel
Vogel is a cable car going up to the mountain, located south west of the lake, nearby the Savica Waterfall and the camp site.
On the mountain, there are several trekking route, short and long ones, including trekking going far to the Triglav National Park.
There was also sheep farm and a restaurant.
We bought the lift ticket which included lunch, cost EUR 18 per person.
Savica Waterfall
Located not far from Vogel and the camp site. Entrance fee was EUR 4 (if I am not wrong...).
About 10-15 minutes walking till the waterfall.
There was a fence so that we could not go very near to the waterfall. Therefore we could only see the waterfall from far. So the visit was so so.
Stara Fuzina
A lovely village, with pretty village houses, about 10 minutes drive from the Lake Bohinj.
We stayed in this village, and started our trekking to the Triglav National Park from Plato Banini, about 20 minutes drive from this village.
There were few restaurants and cafe.

Vršič Pass

We intentionally drove this exceptionally winding road to the top of the mountain heading to Soca Valley since we heard about the scenic route. The road involved about 100 180 degree turn passing the mountain top and went down again.
We saw a convoy of fancy cars drove by elderly locals enjoying the drive.
 

Soca Valley

After getting down the Vršič Pass, we arrived in the Soca Valley.

We stopped in several locations just to enjoy the view and took photos.

This area is famous for natural activities such as rafting, zip lining etc., unfortunately we didn't have time to do those activities.
There are several cities along the Soca River, we decided to stay over in one city called Bodec, the major stop to enjoy activities in Soca Valley.

The next morning, we decided to stop at Tolmin Gorge, for a nice and easy about one hour walking. It was at the lower Soca (most southern part) and the entrance to Triglav National Park.
http://www.thinkslovenia.com/slovenia-holiday-attractions-tolmin-gorge.php#.WCps2vQl_Sc

Postojna Cave

We visited both Postojna Cave and Škocjan Cave on the same day.

Postojna Cave is more touristic with train inside the cave.

The stalagtite and stalagmite were quite impressive, especially the curtain shape ones.

There is Predjama Castle, a rock hewn castle, about 20 minutes drive.

Škocjan Cave

Listed in UNESCO World Heritage. Less touristic than Postojna Cave.
We had to join the walking tour (about 2 hours).
Photo was not allowed inside the cave, they said because it would annoy the living creature inside and potential danger of falling over.
The big big chamber was quite impressive. In general, I think it is more impressive than Postojna Cave.

Piran

A small but pretty city. Many restaurants and cafes.
Can swim in the sea from the old town.