A Balkan Recap

So how does one sum of 1600 plus (1,652.3 to be exact) miles through six countries over the course of fourteen days?   

A Balkan overview

 

Upon learning about our summer plans some people told us we were crazy while others were simply intrigued.  (I mean, who goes to Bulgaria and Romania for their summer vacation?)  I have to admit, I was thinking that we were a bit of both.  Just by looking at the map I could tell that the trip would entail a lot of driving and I hoped our poor little Honda would be up for the challenge.  And there weren't a lot of roads where we were going.  Sure once we were out of Albania our Tom Tom was able to map out a route for us but we weren't so sure about it all.  With a three and a half year old any road trip is always an iffy proposition; just how many hours is he willing to be strapped into a car seat before demanding to be set free?  And I knew it would be hot.  Very hot.  After all, the residents of the places on our itinerary flee the area in July and August to escape the heat.  So why were these crazy Americans actually going into the depths of the heat?  For the adventure and to be able to say we did it.  (And we are glad we did).  So here's a recap of the highlights and commentary about the trip.

 

Greece:

 

• The monasteries of Meteora are amazing and if you ever have a chance to visit, do it.  Yes it was hot but because of the heat it was "off season" for the area so we had much of the place to ourselves.  It was breathtaking to take in the sweeping views from the mountain peaks and with an occasional breeze, the heat wasn't so bad.  And at night I loved sitting on our hotel balcony and looking back up at the looming hills.  I can completely understand why the monks settled here.

• We didn't love Thessaloniki.  We wanted to but we just couldn't.  With the exception of a few hidden gems and the fabulous view from our hotel room, we found the city to be dirty, graffiti covered, and down trodden.  Venturing outside of Thessaloniki was better and afforded us the opportunity to explore ancient ruins and take in a waterfall or two.  

• The vast area in between our two stops in Greece was flat, dry, and seemingly endless.  We witnessed firsthand how the depressed economy has effected northern Greece.  The bright spot along this stretch of road was the road itself.  Maybe I have been in Albania too long but I found the road, or divided highway as it was in most places, to be well maintained.  (Greeks love their signage as well.  I quickly lost track of the number of signs we saw warning us of the presence of bears or cows).  The main highway was obviously new and in places, still under construction.  You just don't realize how important the quality road is to a place until you live in a place that doesn't have them!

Romania:

• We absolutely loved Bucharest.  This up and coming city felt grungy yet hip.  It appears that the city is slowly awakening from a dark past and being renovated without becoming completely gentrified.  From churches and cafes to public parks and large scale apartment buildings, everything seemed to be under going a slow renovation. (I say slow since our Romanian friends say that they work just isn't being done fast enough).  And Bucharest has plenty of true pedestrian only areas.  I love being able to meander through these areas without the fear of being run down by speeding mopeds.

• You only have to walk down a Bucharest street or two to witness Romania's Communist past first hand.  During Ceauseascu's reign, entire neighborhoods had been demolished leaving areas devoid of character yet so many of the churches dating to the Byzantine Empire had been left untouched.  Combine this with architectural influences from both western Europe and the Ottoman Empire and Bucharest is nothing if not eclectic.  All of this made for a interesting city where we never knew what we would discover around the corner.  

 

Bulgaria:

• Who knew that Bulgaria is expected to produce 1.4 million tons of sunflowers in 2013 and 2014.  I didn't and it wasn't until we spent hours driving through field after field of sunflowers that I began to understand the extent of Bulgaria's sunflower oil production.  Bulgaria also produces corn and corn oil and we saw our share of these crops as well.  Having driven a large portion of the country my impression of Bulgaria is that of a largely rural and agricultural nation.  These rolling fields, mountains, and deep gorges were beautiful and my favorite part of Bulgaria.

• Customs and passport control in and out of Bulgaria is tough.  We had our required visas but even (or perhaps) of our diplomatic passports and Albanian license plates border crossings were long and a bit tedious.  Crossing from Greece into Bulgaria resulted in our (and Russian plated cars) being pulled over on the side of the road for close to a full hour as other cars zipped past.  Crossing into Bulgaria from Romania was slightly easier.

• Signs of Bulgaria's Communist past were readily evident whenever we entered a city or urban area.  Blocky concrete high rises ominously filled the skylines reminding me of how harsh living conditions had been for so many people.  This was particularly evident in the city of Ruse which is located across the Danube River from Romania.  Here kilometer after kilometer of depressing and dilapidated buildings lined the highway reminding me of many of America's public housing projects.  The fact that they are still occupied by hundreds of families reminded me how poverty stricken this part of the world really is.

• We covered a lot of miles here but spent our time in two Bulgarian cities, the historic city of Veliko Tarnovo and the capitol city of Sofia.  In between were hundreds of miles of narrow but paved roads and unexplained detours.  (Well, maybe they were explained but in Cyrillic only).  Veliko Tarnovo was hot and interesting but not my favorite stop along our journey.  In many respects Sofia felt like a smaller version of Bucharest.  It was both historic and modern.  It may be because we ate better food there, but I just might have liked Sofia better.  

 

Macedonia:

 

•  Macedonia produced the biggest surprise of our entire vacation.  Skopje proved to be a small vibrant city filled with a surprisingly high level of buildings and reconstruction going on.  Not only is the city investing in new municipal buildings but the building boom includes a large number of monuments, statues, and fountains.  Our brief Skopje stop was the perfect way to end our trip.  So much so that we are trying to find a time to go back.

 

We then passed through Kosovo on our way back to Albania.  We've been there before and in many respects the country feels like a slightly more developed version of Albania.  We were greeted by Albanian flags at the Macedonian-Kosovo border where our passports received only the slightest glance by the Albanian speaking customs official.  Crossing into Albania was even less stringent with a mere wave of the hand before we sped off.  But we didn't go too far too fast; a herd of cows was standing in the middle of the divided highway.  Yes, at this point we definitely knew we were back in Albania!  (And unlike Greece, there were no signs warning us beforehand).  

 

So this was our summer vacation.  It was a far cry from our much more relaxing Scandinavian adventure of last year.  This year we returned home weary and travel worn but so glad we had undertaken this endeavor.  We saw places we had only heard about and experienced a culture that is so unlike what we are used to.  From the Cyrillic language to the local cultures we were pushed outside of our comfort zone but for me, that is what travel is all about.  So if you want clean and pristine, go to northern Europe; if edgy and up and coming is more your style, then come visit the Balkans.  It won't always be easy or comfortable but it will be an adventure.  

The Other Greece In The Other Macedonia

Graffiti

There are two Greeces and two Macedonias.  The first Greece is the aquamarine island covered one filled with small fishing villages, fresh seafood and boats carrying sun-kissed  tourists.  The other Greece is the breadbasket of the country; rural, rugged, and decidedly untouristy.  The first Macedonia is the a fore mentioned northern most region of Greece; the second Macedonia is technically the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), an independent country north of the Greek border that is recognized by most of the world yet whose name is disputed by its southern neighbors.

While the FYROM will be the last leg on our Balkan adventure we visited the Greek Macedonia early in our trip.  We had returned to Greece again with the goal of exploring the central and eastern environs of the country.  We clambered over the hills and monasteries in Meteora before setting out for Thessaloniki and the Aegean Sea in the east.  I'm not sure what we were expecting to see along the way--perhaps the sun drenched coast and quaint fishing villages that beg tourists to visit.  Instead, our drive took us through the flat and dusty plains of central Greece.  The roads were mostly in good condition alternating between freshly rehabilitated and still under construction leaving us to rely on common sense rather than our GPS.  The land was alternately rugged and somewhat fertile with farm tractors far outnumbering private vehicles.  We drove through one small town after another with each looking more forlorn than the last.  Greece's economy has been on a downward spiral for some time and this was so apparent as we drove through kilometer after kilometer of the countryside.  Even in the middle of the week businesses appeared to be shuttered--with the exception being places selling farm equipment.   We had lunch one day in the mountain village of Edessa where the highlight of our visit was their giant waterfalls.  (Well, the highlight of Sidney's day was watching a graffiti covered train come through the station while we were eating lunch nearby).  The waterfalls were a pleasant surprise but their beauty was marred by the obvious neglect that surrounded them.  Grass and shrubs were overgrown and then there was the graffiti. Graffiti seems to be the national signage of Greece with everything from road signs and buildings to trees and even vehicles being covered with the colorful artwork (?), vandalism (?) symbols of free expression (?).  There was just graffiti everywhere.

Standing under the waterfalls of Edessa

Taking a break from exploring the Bey Hamam in Thessaloniki

And yet more graffiti

Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city after its capitol Athens, wasn't quite what we had been expecting either.  With the city sitting on the edge of the Thermaic Gulf I had visions of crystal waters and fresh fish gracing every menu.  Instead I was disappointed to hear that because of the rampant pollution the water was neither clean nor the source of the fish on restaurant menus.  The streets were filled with people but they appeared mostly to be disenfranchised youth lounging at cafes or hanging around the waterfront.  Again, the amount of graffiti here was unbelievable. Maybe it is because I have worked in inner cities for so long but the sight of that much graffiti had me wondering about the levels of crime and personal safety of the area.

Thessaloniki is a city with a long history so we were excited to visit her most famous landmarks.  Despite the intense July heat we dutifully set out to explore the area.  The Bey Hamam didn't disappoint.  Having visited a functioning hamam in Istanbul we knew what to expect and enjoyed following Sidney through one chamber after another exploring each nook and cranny.  The Roman Agora in the heart of Thessaloniki was another surprise.  It still amazes me that in this ancient part of the world one minute you can be in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the modern city and in the next you are standing in the middle of ancient ruins.  Now that is cool.  What wasn't so cool however; were the boarded up graffiti covered store fronts that circled the ruins.  The juxtaposition between the preserved old and the neglected new was ironic.  There were other sites we had hoped to visit but upon arriving at them we found them shuttered.  (I don't think it was the day of the week we were visiting either because by the looks of the overgrown grass these sites hadn't been opened to the public for some time).  What we did find were restaurants that were open for business and knew how to treat customers right.  While none of them were full all were eager to serve us and staying away from fish, we were treated to some of the simplest but tastiest food we had eaten in a long time.  It wasn't fancy but it was served with a smile and as Sidney said, "made his tummy happy".  Now it really doesn't get much better than that.

A beautiful view of a not so clean bay

I wanted to like Thessaloniki and the Macedonia region of Greece; I really did.  It is Greece after all!  So many people had raved about the region that I was excited to visit. Perhaps I had set my expectations too high.  Or as Glenn said, after all of the traveling we have been doing in the past couple of years, it was time we experienced a dud.  I can honestly say that Thessaloniki and the Macedonia region of Greece is an area I won't be rushing back to.  Perhaps we missed out on the real treasures but I left there feeling a bit depressed and wanting a bit more.  Or perhaps I need to stick to visiting Greece's islands.  I wanted the area to be cleaner, brighter, and better cared for.   As a first time visitor I'm not sure if the conditions we saw are a direct reflection on Greece's fragile economy or if that is the way the city has always looked.  I hope it is the former since that gives me hope that it can turn around when the economy rebounds.  I do love this region's wine though, and am pretty sure I will be able to find it at home.  That will be my Thessaloniki / Macedonia / Greek souvenir.

Ancient ruins right in the middle of the city