The Former Republic of Yugoslavia
These three countries, which use to belong to one big country, intrigued me the most out of all those we visited in Eastern Europe.
For a region travelled so little by foreigners and even less by neighbouring locals (since the civil war) its amazing how quickly you find yourself becoming intrigued by the past, present and future of this former Yugoslavia.
The buildings are old, grey and are completely unappealing to the eye however, there is something unique about the history within this region that forces you to pull back the outer layer and look beneath.
Probably the most unique thing about this region is that the most recent civil world occurred within this region, as well as, a tear provoking genocide.
Our time within these three fascinating countries was spent piecing together the events of the break up of Yugoslavia and the how the civil war came to be. We spent at least a solid day in each country, or more, visiting museums or photography exhibitions trying to piece it all together. It was a very valuable experience to have the chance to travel throughout each of these three countries and see the perspective from each newly founded nationality. We were also blessed with the gift of making new friends and meeting old friends upon each stop, which allowed us to ask important questions to fill in the blanks in our knowledge of this regions history and compile more.
We had the pleasure of skiing in Sarajevo, attending the Women's European Hand Ball Championships in Belgrade and hiking to the highest cross in the world in Skopje. We once again stuffed our faces with local cuisine and local pints of beer at every stop. As Christmas fast approached we made our way to Macedonia to connect with some travel friends of Liam's, Toshe and Marija, whom we got to spend Christmas with.
Liam and I arrived in Macedonia just before Christmas completely unaware that our friends, whom we had come to spend Christmas with, were actually Orthodox Christians and therefore celebrate Christmas on alternate days. Nevertheless, they welcomed us with open arms and made our Christmas away from home extremely special. The two of them combined spent almost every spare moment they had away from work with us. Whether it was visiting local pubs for stomach wrenching rakia, inviting us into their family home for a feast fit for kings, or coming by to relax with us over a movie. They ensured they we never felt home sick during this special time of year and showed us a level of kindness we will remember forever.
See you again one day Toshe and Marija, hopefully sooner than later
Much love L & L
Serbia
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| Liam enjoying the first snowfall of the season |
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| Church outside our window in Belgrade, Serbia |
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| First local beer in Belgrade, Serbia |
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| Love. |
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| Exploring the castle in Belgrade, Serbia |
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| Exploring Belgrade, Serbia |
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| Best goulash we've ever had! At '? Cafe' in Belgrade, Serbia |
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| New friends. Red Door Hostel Belgrade, Serbia |
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| Women's European Handball championships in Belgrade, Serbia |
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Our eerie approach to the museum in Belgrade, Serbia
Bosnia
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