A Balkan Adventure
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Travelling again
In 2013 I spent the summer walking from Trieste to Istanbul. To be more exact, walking, hitch-hiking and generally bumbling, which I thought would be the best way to enjoy the mountains and meet people in the remotest villages. I’d visited the Balkans briefly in the 1970s, since when they’ve abandoned communism, suffered brutal conflicts and taken small steps towards coming together with the rest of Europe. In Bosnia and Kosovo I found people still traumatised, but many were working hard to create a peaceful future.
People of the Balkans (click on map)
From Albania the route took me through Greek Macedonia and Bulgaria’s Pirin and Rhodope Mountains to the River Evros, where migrants play cat-and-mouse with European Union border guards. In October I reached Istanbul – capital of two empires each lasting 1,000 years – and finally the Bosporus, where Europe gives way to Asia.
John’s route (click on map)
“John was absolutely outstanding. You could see the professionalism shine through as he was doing his lecture.”
(Alnwick and District Camera Club, Northumberland)
Follow John’s journey as it happened through his monthly updates:
15th June 2013 – 10th July 2013 – 5th August 2013 – 29th August 2013 – 20th September 2013 – 10th October 2013
First update – Last update
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Huge thanks to Becky Serieys at Rohan Designs and to Zoë Brookes at the Brasher Boot Company – now Berghaus – for equipping me for this trip, as they’ve done so many times before.
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Travelling again
People of the Balkans (click on map)
John’s route (click on map)