My journey through old Yoguslavia- From the Golden Dalmatian coast to the party town of Belgrade and all in between-part 1

I decided to go to see what the old Yoguslavia was about, me a Portuguese lurking fellow living in London for a few years.

The first time I heard about this part of the world, was perhaps when watching a report news about the Sarajevo siege in the early 90's, I must have been about 11 years old. Somehow later on in my life I find myself fascinated by this land and people.

Today, 20 odd years, after all the bloodshed and destruction, these countries have patched themselves up and are now increasingly becoming sought after tourism destinations.

So I start from Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, first country to break out from good ol' Yogu. Small quaint, gorgeous town, It seemed like I was in a cobbled Austrian town or something. Nice restaurants, of each side of the tiny river that flows through the town, humbled by a castle on top of the hill overseeing it all. Now, If you want the opposite of this ornate and fairy tail landscape, visit the Metelkova area, an ex-army base turned into a progressive artistic squat complex, not to be missed. Incredible to have a small city that can comprise such distinct offerings. Loved it!!!

Now it was time to venture down south through Croatia's golden Dalmatian coast. I absolutely recommend renting a car and just take to roads, and stop by anything interesting you come by! My first planned stay over would be the town of Zadar, first thing to be noticed once you get into the old part of town is the smooth marble white pavement, such an ethereal feeling walking through those reflective sunshine pathways, the smell of sea salt mixed with appetising smell from restaurants all around. Tourists will converge to the gorgeous 12th-century St. Anastasia’s Cathedral, which is definitely worth a visit! Great small town to wonder for a day or so, loads of boat tours to the adjacent islands around. Now, I carry on south to Split.

Just a couple of hours drive by the coast and I reach Split, its a seaside town as Zadar but bigger, more touristy, with some major important monuments and a pretty busy port where you can find massive cruise liners parked. But its a gorgeous walk able town, again the white marble pavements and faCades just reflecting sunlight all over. Everyone converges to the Diocletian's Palace, the 4th century Roman Emperor, built as a retirement retreat for himself, that says a lot about the town right! Nice bazaars and street markets along the wide sea front promenade. The centre of town is pretty much pedestrianised, so definitely leave the car behind. Great town for shopping, all the big and posh brands through out these clean cut "no cars allowed" streets. It stroke me as a sophisticated town, trying to be more than just the bog standard seaside town.

After a great time in Split, I found myself very excited heading down to the Dalmatian Jewel, Dubrovnik. This is a town that lives inside 10 meter surrounding wall. Completely closing in on the whole town. We can find various towns with partial walls still standing around Europe, but nothing like this! Original wall from the 8th century, rebuilt through out time remains preserved and still protecting the city to this day. Even after allegedly heavy shelling in the 90's war. Walking around this cobbled steep narrow streets is like being back in medieval times. As you can imagine tourists are everywhere, as well as stray cats!! On a summer days, expect body odour mixed with cat urine smell where ever you walk. But trust me, its so worth it, there's gorgeous cathedrals, old blacksmith houses, narrow like secret street passages to Narnia!! Definitely one of the best places in the world to get lost. Do take the wall tour, where you can go around the city one top of the wall, as its about 2 meter wide. The view to the city and the sea are exquisite. Just head to the marine to get a boat to the nearby islands or if you fancy a dip, there a nice beach about 5 minutes walk further along. Ah, best of both worlds!

Next stop, Mostar Bosnia and Herzegovina. Have to wait till next week folks!!!!