A kick in the Balkans

I'm back!

Yes, after an epic (well not quite) two-week journey spanning four countries on the western part of south-eastern Europe’s Balkan peninsula it’s back to the old routine. We began the Balkan odyssey in Trieste, north-eastern Italy, a former haunt of the writer James Joyce – I have pics of the statue to prove it! After one night in rain-soaked Trieste we crossed the border into Slovenia for a brief sojourn in the capital Ljubljana, where it was also raining. Good weather for museums and art galleries I suppose. And the old town with its Viennese style décor was worth a visit. From here we took a train through Slovenia’s Alpine scenery of forest, mountain and lake to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia with its pleasant old town on top of a hill with a network of narrow streets and rather good beer. This was followed by a 10-hour train journey through the green rolling hills of northern Bosnia Hercegovina to Sarajevo, a city that has made a remarkable comeback from the ills that befell it just over a decade ago. After a night in the battle-scarred town of Mostar with its famous bridge, it was back into Croatia to sample the delights of Dubrovnik, Split and the Dalmatian coast. So after a fortnight of paddling in the azure waters of the Adriatic, hiking in the Croatian hills, roughing it in less-than-luxurious hostels, negotiating with traders over the price of engraved pen-holders made from bullet cartridges and used mortar shells, being photographed outside bombed out buildings and drinking the odd glass or two of Ožujsko it’s back to normal.

But what a trip it was.