2016 - Easter holidays in the Balkans

From Switzerland, we flew to Pristina/Kosovo to visit Saskia and to relax.

Saskia let me use her car (a nice Mitsubishi Outlander) to go and visit some outstanding towns:

During 11 days I shall cross 14 borders !

Switzerland - Kosovo - Montenegro - Croatia - Bosnia & Herzegovina - Croatia - Bosnia & Herzegovina - Montenegro - Albania - Kosovo - Macedonia (FYROM) - Greece - Macedonia (FYROM) - Kosovo - Switzerland.

1/ KOTOR - Montenegro.

The old Mediterranean port of Kotor is surrounded by fortifications built during the Venetian period. It is located on the Bay of Kotor, one of the most indented parts of the Adriatic Sea. Some have called it the southern-most fjord in Europe, but it is a ria, a submerged river canyon. Together with the nearly overhanging limestone cliffs of Orjen and Lovćen, Kotor and its surrounding area form an impressive and picturesque Mediterranean landscape.

In recent years, Kotor has seen a steady increase in tourists, many of them coming by cruise ship. Visitors are attracted both by the natural beauty of the Gulf of Kotor and by the old town of Kotor.

Kotor is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 

Kotor 1615 

2/ DUBROVNIK - Croatia

It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva County. 

The prosperity of the city was historically based on maritime trade; as the capital of the maritime Republic of Ragusa, it achieved a high level of development, particularly during the 15th and 16th centuries, as it became notable for its wealth and skilled diplomacy.

Although it was demilitarized in the 1970s to protect it from war, in 1991, after the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was besieged by the Serb and Montenegrin soldiers gathered in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) for seven months and suffered significant damage from shelling.

According to CNNGo, Dubrovnik is among the 10 best preserved medieval walled cities in the world.

In 1979, the city of Dubrovnik joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

3/ MOSTAR - Bosnia-Herzegovina

Mostar is a city and municipality in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, situated on the Neretva River. It is the most important city in the Herzegovina region and its cultural capital. 

Mostar was named after the bridge keepers (mostari) who in the medieval times guarded the Stari Most (Old Bridge) over the Neretva. The Old Bridge, built by the Ottomans in the 16th century, is one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's most recognizable landmarks, and is considered one of the most exemplary pieces of Islamic architecture in the Balkans. 

Stari Most is a reconstruction of a 16th-century Ottoman bridge in the city. The Old Bridge stood for 427 years, until it was destroyed on 9 November 1993 by Croat forces during the Croat–Bosniak War. Subsequently, a project was set in motion to reconstruct it, and the rebuilt bridge opened on 23 July 2004.

Mostar is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 

 4/ THESSALONIKI - Greece (with all of us!)

Thessaloniki is the second-largest city in Greece and the capitalof Greek Macedonia, the administrative region of Central Macedonia. 

The city of Thessaloniki was founded in 315 BC by Cassander of Macedon. An important metropolis by the Roman period, Thessaloniki was the second largest and wealthiest city of the Byzantine Empire. It was conquered by the Ottomans in 1430, and passed from the Ottoman Empire to modern Greece on 8 November 1912.

The city is renowned for its festivals, events and vibrant cultural life in general, and is considered to be Greece's cultural capital. 

In 1988, fifteen monuments of Thessaloniki were listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 

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