Having now spent more than 6 weeks in all but two of the former countries that made up Yugoslavia (sorry Macedonia and Kosovo!), we felt is was high time we articulated our favorite experiences from this often overlooked region of the world. While not as popular as Southeast Asia or Central America, the entire Balkan region provides diverse history and culture at a fraction of the cost of Western Europe (we averaged $94/day total for 2 people, and we didn’t scrimp on comfort or meals out).

So without further ado, here is our list of the most unforgettable experiences we had in the Balkan region (in no particular order):

Witnessing the spectacular views from Dubrovnik’s Old Town Walls

Hiking the Old Town Walls is perhaps the quintessential Dubrovnik experience. The same structures that once provided protection for the city now provide visitors with some of the most amazing views around. Get there early to avoid the crowds!

Surviving the Eternal Derby in Belgrade

Attending (and surviving) the Eternal Derby between Red Star and Partizan in Belgrade was probably one of the most thrilling things we’ve ever done while traveling. From the noise to the flares to the fires in the stands, this was not your mother’s North American sporting event.

Hearing the call to prayer for the first time in Sarajevo

Sarajevo (and most of Bosnia for that matter) is an exotic departure from the rest of Europe. Coming from British Columbia, where Muslims constitute less than 2% of the population, hearing the call to prayer from our open window in Sarajevo for the first time was  a surreal experience – and one we will not soon forget.

Hiking through Plitvice Lakes National Park

Plitvice has it all, crystal clear turquoise lakes teeming with fish, countless waterfalls, beautiful wooden walkways and bridges, and hundreds of kilometers of hiking trails. It is truly one of the most beautiful national parks we’ve ever been to – and we live in British Columbia!

Stuffing ourselves with fresh seafood on the Adriatic Coast

One of the best things about traveling through the Adriatic towns in Montenegro, Croatia, and Slovenia was the abundance and affordability of seafood. Fresh fish and squids are available nearly everywhere along the coast, and you can easily get more than you can eat for less than $10.

Getting lost in Sarajevo’s Baščaršija

Sarajevo’s old Ottoman market (or Baščaršija) is unlike any other market you are likely to see in Europe. Built in the 15th century, the marketplaces contains a maze of wooden shops selling everything from traditional Turkish coffee pots to tourist souvenirs. Be sure to fill your water up at the fountain in the courtyard of the 16th century Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque.

Exploring Lake Bled and the Vintgar Gorge

From the moment we put Slovenia into our plans we knew that Lake Bled was going to be a must-see place – and it didn’t disappoint. However, what we didn’t expect was to find one of the most beautiful little parks we’ve ever set foot in, the Vintgar Gorge.

Discovering Ancient Cities along the Bay of Kotor

The UNESCO-listed Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor is one of the most dramatic locations in all of the Balkans. A place with something for everyone, this region of Montenegro has everything from hiking and kayaking to walled cities and island churches. If that wasn’t enough, the bay is breathtakingly beautiful.

Kayaking the crystal blue waters of the Adriatic

A spur of the moment email to a young tour company based out of Split, Croatia ended up providing us with one of the most fun adventures we had in the whole region. Spending a day  seeing the city from the sea is a completely different experience, and one we would wholeheartedly recommend.

Learning about the history of Yugoslavia throughout the region

One of the things that we found most prevalent among the incredibly friendly people we met throughout the Balkans was their openness in talking about the wars and the breakup of Yugoslavia. From tour guides to our hosts to people we met in trains, everyone was willing to share their stories of the war times with us – and we were more than happy to listen and learn about such an important subject (and one we knew relatively little about before visiting!).

So there you have it…our favorites from the Balkan region. Have you ever been to any of these countries? What did we miss?

Sharing this post over at Chasing the Donkey – check out all the submissions for some great travel inspiration!

The post Best of the Balkans appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

 Ho. Ly. Sh*t! Look at that. Pat would not like this!

This was the phrase we uttered over and over. It was an unseasonably warm night in Belgrade, and we were at the “Eternal Derby” with over 40,000 screaming Serbians.

Often heralded as one of the top 5 most intense rivalries in the sporting world, the biannual battle between the two giants of Serbian football – Red Star and Partizan – is one of the most anticipated and heated affairs of the year. And we were lucky enough to have procured two tickets to the Red Star-hosted edition of the derby.

More than 40,000 fans crammed into Red Star’s stadium – affectionately called the “Marakana”

Assured by one of our readers that we would be perfectly safe thanks to the mind-boggling police presence, we made our way to the stadium via public bus. Or that was our intention. Our bus could only make it part-way before the sheer number of people meant we had to get off and walk the rest of the way. I will admit that it was an intimidating atmosphere. Chanting and cheering fans were absolutely everywhere and we had no idea which gate to enter.

After wandering aimlessly for a few minutes, I cautiously approached an officer (who looked more like the Robocop than any police officer I’ve ever seen) and asked him if he knew where we were supposed to go. To my surprise (and relief) he answered in perfect English, and after asking some nearby stewards he directed us to our gate.

We made it in the stadium, after an obligatory search of course, just as the players were coming out onto the field. The stadium absolutely erupted – both in noise and in flames. Flares, fireworks, and other pyrotechnics went off with an inexplicable frequency, and the fans created an absolutely deafening atmosphere. Flags waved as the fans jumped up and down, creating an illusion of the stadium flexing and moving. I could literally feel the stadium vibrating under my feet.

The Red Star supporters section at the beginning of the match

This kid was fist-pumping ALL game!

With a rivalry that goes back to the end of WWII and reasons that go deeper than geography, the importance of these derby matches cannot be understated. And we were about to experience that in full.

The match, which honestly felt secondary at many points throughout the night, was a battle from the kickoff. A flurry of hard tackles set the stage for what was to be a furious match. While the quality has dipped a bit in Serbian football since Red Star won the Champions League in 1991, the play on the field was still great to watch. The problem was, there was just so much going on to distract us.

Even before the match had kicked off the real battle had begun between the two main supporters groups – the Delije (Red Star) and the Grobari (Partizan). Banners, chants, flares, fireworks – the fans went back and forth with everything they had. This only intensified after Red Star scored what can only be described as one of the most bizarre own goals I’ve ever seen. The Red Star fans around us were overjoyed, and the taunting towards the Partizan fans quickly began. Not much else happened in the first half and the teams left the field with Red Star leading Partizan 1-0.

If I thought the atmosphere was intense before halftime, it was about to take off into the stratosphere. After the Partizan section set off a huge number of flares just after the restart, some of their members began gathering up everything flammable they could find (all the seats had been removed before the game as a precaution) including their own clothes, and proceeded to start a number of fires INSIDE their own section. Yes, you read that right – inside their section. Where they were standing packed together like sardines!

Flares set off by the Grobari just after halftime

Flares set off by one of the breakaway groups of Partizan Fans

Stoked by the fans, fires multiple fires erupted in the Parizan section

They grew…

…and GREW! (via)

Slowly fans around the stadium began to notice what was happening. The fire grew…and grew…and grew – to the point where the referee called a stop to the match and gathered the players around centre field, away from the now massive bonfires. The police began circling the track and fire trucks were brought in to quell the fires The Partizan fans responded in turn by blocking the spray of the hoses with both banner and body – anything to keep the flames growing larger.

Fire trucks spray fans and fires alike! (via)

After 15 minutes the firefighters seemed to be gaining the upper hand and the match was allowed to resume. Partizan, who had been pushing hard before the “unscheduled break” never regained that momentum and the match ended 1-0 to Red Star. Some bad blood erupted between the players after the match (probably in response to the horrendous tackle that resulted in a Red Star player being shown a straight red just minutes before the end).

No one sat down during the match – who could?

The Red Star fans around us were overjoyed. Hugs, handshakes, and high-fives ensued. We (very) slowly made our way to the exit and the multitude of overjoyed fans flooded onto the street. The main street all the way back into town was completely blocked off for the cheering fans to make their way back. It was a surreal experience to be walking down the middle of a 6-lane highway with more than 40,000 other people – Calli figured this is what is must be like to be in the walking dead, just with less zombies.

So there you have it. Quite possibly the most exciting and nerve-wracking experience of our travels, and one that we will not forget. Our adrenaline was pumping long into the night and we couldn’t stop talking about the insanity we had just witnessed.

Don’t worry mother! We felt completely safe the entire time and had agreed to bail if it seemed like it was going to get out of hand.

If you want to see more pictures or videos there is a good collection of the game here.

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After a one and a half hour bus ride through the Pannonian Plain, a region of farmland reminiscent of the Canadian Prairies, we arrived in Novi Sad. A quick walk down the main street took us to the large old town full of wonderfully colourful buildings and large churches. While Belgrade is a very appealing city in its own right, Novi Sad has a completely different feel. Wide tree-lined streets and low, colourful buildings dominate the old town, and make Novi Sad feel much smaller than it is.

Across the Danube from the old town is Petrovaradin Fortress and the lower town it once protected. Set up on a hill on the bank of the Danube (very reminiscent of Belgrade fortress), Petrovaradin dominates the Novi Sad cityscape and is a great place to spend an afternoon. As one of the largest fortresses in all of Europe, Petrovaradin takes a good hour or two to explore. Many of the buildings remain intact and the views are absolutely spectacular.

A wander through the crumbling lower town below the fortress is like a window to the past. The buildings, while not as well-preserved as the old town (actually, some are pretty much falling apart), the buildings are still stunningly beautiful under the peeling paint and crumbling tiles.

Far from the hustle and bustle pace of Belgrade, Novi sad is a more than worthy daytrip and provides a great way to get a different view of Serbian culture and history

The post Beyond Belgrade – A Day in Novi Sad appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

Looking over the Danube and Great War Island

Unlike many of the other cities we’ve visited, we didn’t have overly high expectations for Belgrade – there wasn’t anything in particular we wanted to see or do, with the exception of catching a soccer match and visiting the Tesla Museum, and our overall goal was simply to wander around. However much like Warsaw, Belgrade surprised us with its storied history, surprisingly varied architecture, and an unexpected amount of green space.

The House of the National Assembly

Belgrade is full of architectural gems

With the added bonus of some warm sunny weather (in early November no less!) we joined a free walking tour to orient ourselves to the city, and Kalmegdan Park quickly became one of our favorite places in town. Located on a cliff 125 meters above the junction of the Sava and the Danube, this park is a wonderful place to relax, and the home of the remains of the Belgrade Fortress – a definite must see for anyone visiting the city.

The remains of the Belgrade Fortress

Beautiful Kalmegdan and the remains of the Belgrade Fortress

We also enjoyed taking in Belgrade’s varied mix of architectural styles during our strolls through the city. Although we can’t call it all beautiful, amongst the boxy socialist-style buildings, bland apartment blocks, and crumbling remains of structures bombed by NATO forces during the Kosovo War, it’s still easy to find some truly stunning examples of Art Nouveau, and Neo-Byzantine architecture.

One of the more interesting buildings we saw in Belgrade

The destroyed Ministry of Defence building

One such example of a stunning building is a villa built in 1929 that is now the home of the Nikola Tesla Museum. Of course Travis was excited to visit the museum so we stopped in on Sunday morning. The museum is quite small, however it houses some of Tesla’s personal belongings and reconstructed scale models of many of his most famous inventions, which visitors can see in regular live demonstrations. The museum also displayed Tesla’s cremated remains during our visit and some very interesting documentation of telegrams and flower arrangements sent in response to his passing. The Nikola Tesla Museum came highly recommended by our walking tour guide and we can see why it is one of Belgrade’s most popular museums.

The former villa that now houses the Nikola Tesla Museum

One of Tesla’s remote-controlled boats

Although we left Belgrade with feelings, it was for different reasons than we might have anticipated. Instead of being disappointed with the city, we were instead disappointed that we didn’t get to see as much of it as we would have liked. Despite this, we still felt that our time in Serbia was well spent, and we feel we are able to leave with a better understanding of the country and its people.

The view of the Sava and the Statue of the Victor (aka the naked man)

As we wrap up our time in the Balkans, we will be sure to summarize our favorite sights, places, and attractions from these past four weeks in a few posts to come.

The post Three Days in Belgrade – What We Saw and Did appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

The “Eternal Derby” (via)

What are we most excited about doing and seeing in Poland?

Travis is most excited about attending the “Eternal Derby” – the fierce rivalry between Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) and Partizan Belgrade. He is also excited about visiting the museum named after one of his idols – Nikola Tesla. Calli is excited about taking a daytrip to Novi Sad, as well as visiting the “once in a different country” neighbourhood of Zemun.

The main square of Novi Sad (via)

Have you ever been to Serbia? What were your favorite things that you saw or did while you were there? Share them with us in the comments!

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