ReneTravels - West Balkans - Pre-day-1

Why this trip?

That’s a question many asked me when I told them where I was going and I thought to explain briefly the reasons behind this amazing and enlightening journey through the countries of the West Balkans.

The main trigger was the dream to reach 100 countries visited in the world and explore a region often under-estimated by tourists and nowadays much safer than 20 years ago. War affected the region several times in the last centuries and more recently after the separation of Yugoslavia in several states and, while still visible in some destroyed buildings and the memories of people, things move on and the governments are investing a lot of money (with the help of UN and UNESCO) to change their image and attract tourists. And UNESCO is also the key word for this trip as most destinations have been chosen while looking at the interactive map of UNESCO and verify which World Heritage Sites the region offered.

5 sites in 5 different countries made it to the final list and from there was just a matter of calculating routes with the invaluable help of Mr Google, choosing the car rental company, booking the accommodation, etc.

Convincing the partner in crime and travel to get into this trip was the most difficult part but this is another story for another time. I don’t believe we need much presentation but for the sake of the story the protagonists are: me (the fearless driver and organizer) and Tas (the patient explorer who accompanied me in this travel)!

I'll go into Day 1 in a second post.

St Lawrence Fortress (Fort Lovrijenac, used also in the TV series Games of Thrones!