The south-east of Europe, washed by the waters of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, the Balkans is a kind of corner for soulful neighborly gatherings in their own way. In the mountainous expanses of the Balkan Peninsula, everything is, of course, European… but still completely native: taverns, potatoes and sweet peppers, Orthodox churches, cross-stitch on linen napkins, related languages and friendship strengthened in Soviet times and still unflagging. Balkan nepotism is special: the brotherhood of the Slavic peoples, bound by the socialist past, rallied in the face of an external formidable “enemy” in the entourage of their native landscapes – the same valleys and picturesque mountains, birch trees swaying in the wind and fat herds roaming the meadows with an indispensable shepherd, equipped with a flute, rags and bast shoes. So it’s not surprising that
Let’s get down to the dry facts for a second. Geographically, Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Montenegro and Macedonia, as well as most of Serbia, half of Croatia, a third of Slovenia and quite a bit of Romania, Turkey and even Italy (province of Trieste) are located on the Balkan Peninsula. In the general cultural sense, the Balkans are all of the above, without taking into account Turkey and Italy: the first is usually attributed to Asia, the second to Southern Europe. As for the coasts and the various waves washing them, the Balkans can boast of a truly biblical diversity: only a staunch skeptic will say that there are only two seas here. In fact, not only the Mediterranean and Black, but also the Adriatic, Ionian, Marble and Aegean were noted here – a total of six! – choose any water transparency,
Among other things, the coastline of the Balkans is heavily indented, and there are a lot of neat and attractive islands and islets for secluded relaxation in the middle of blue expanses.
From a tourist point of view, the Balkans is an ideally balanced region in terms of types of recreation. Here, perhaps, there is nothing with the prefix “super-“, but there is quite enough to satisfy vacationers with a variety of requests. In short, holidays in the Balkans are quite nice beaches surrounded by almost native nature (sand or pebbles plus coniferous forests, deciduous groves and low mountains on the horizon), ample opportunities for treatment at thermal springs, not an outstanding, but quite interesting “excursion” ( what are only Macabre castles worth!) – and all this at divine prices, often without a language barrier, with Slavic cordiality and all sorts of “avek plezirs”. In addition, the Balkan countries are a real center of recreational childhood: there are a lot of children’s and youth camps and a whole bunch of schools for teaching foreign languages.
And in winter, we recommend trying out the ski resorts of the Balkans: Bulgarian, Romanian and Slovenian slopes have long won the love of athletes for excellent conditions for skiing, combined with pleasing to the eye (and wallet) rates.
Balkan countries
- Albania
- Bulgaria
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Greece
- Italy
- Romania
- North Macedonia
- Serbia
- Slovenia
- Turkey
- Croatia
- Montenegro
