Amaury Dreher

Balkan TRip REPORT

Visa : Easy

My favorite place : Bosnia

I had wanted to travel to the Balkans for a very long time. Because of the Covid pandemic I decided to go there by road in the summer of 2021 starting from Sofia.

I planned to travel through six countries in two weeks so the program was quite intense. My final goal was Sarajevo in Bosnia. So I went successively through Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and finally I ended in Serbia to catch the flight back home.

For this first trip in the Balkans I limited myself to the main cities of the region. I plan to come back someday to explore the surrounding nature and hike in the mountains.

Hitchhiking in 42 degrees, without shade and with a nearly empty water bottle proved to be a pretty extreme experience. A Macedonian guy finally picked me up in his car and drove me to Skojpe from the Bulgarian border (120km). He also insisted on showing me around the city and offering me dinner at the restaurant. So the Balkan hospitality started from the first day and never really stopped.

In Tirana, I was lucky enough to be hosted by a local with another Albanian thanks to Couchsurfing. Together we talked, laughed, cooked and invited other people to join us to drink Raki (the liquor that can be found in all the Balkan countries).

I mainly relied on bus to get around the region as the railway network is not really developed.

Even though it was unquestionably the cutest town of the trip, I still have mixed feelings about Kotor. The place is full of History and the view turned out breathtaking from the uphill fortress. Nonetheless it is not really authentic and seems solely oriented towards tourism. Except other foreign travelers, restaurants and shops you won’t see much activity. There are not much ‘real’ Montenegro people living there on a permanent basis. However I don't regret adding the city to my itinerary.

My favorite part of the journey turned out to be Bosnia (that’s also there that I spent most of my time). I first went to Mostar. The city is gorgeous and has a very long history starting from Prehistory and getting multiple influences through Romans or Ottomans occupations. Mostar suffered a lot from the war and one can easily spot marks of this past tragedy as many buildings feature bullet impacts on their scruffy walls. For the adventurous one it is possible to explore a huge abandoned Sniper tower. The place is huge and full of street-art made by local artists. (Keep in mind that the visit is forbidden and could be dangerous due to the poor condition of the building).

The train ride between Mostar and the Bosnian capital was incredibly scenic (mountains, small villages, lakes, etc…). It’s a pity that the AC was full power on and made the whole train passengers sick. As soon as I arrived in Sarajevo I went straight for a local bakery to get some fresh baklavas and enjoy a Turkish style coffee.

Sarajevo is extremely interesting at many levels due to both its multi-cultural features and heavy past. The city still own some reminders of the bloody past and it really worths chatting with locals to get to hear their stories relating to the war and the infamous military siege of the city. The old town bazaar is full of smells and colours. It is a pleasure to roam through this fascinating maze. There are many shops all around and the quality of the crafts seemed really good.

Eventually, I was lucky to be in Sarajevo at the same time as a famous Film festival. Therefore, the city was bustling. At night streets were full of people hanging out, socialising, dancing and drinking while outdoor DJs were performing at full volume.

Besides the tremendous nightlife and cultural life, I also enjoyed venturing on the mountain next to the city where the 1984 Winter Olympics took place. The place became famous in the recent years due to the abandoned bobsleigh track which is now an urbex paradise for artists.