From the time my train pulled into Zagreb station at 9pm on 29 September 2014, the Balkans had already made a good impression on me. And not just because I was ever-so-slightly drunk. My gut feel – despite my gut being full of sangria following an impromptu train party with three fellow passengers – was […]
Getting the bus from Gjirokastra, Albania, to Kalambaka, Greece, the town nearest the dazzling rock formations of Meteora, was an adventure in itself. As we wound down around picturesque mountain bends from the town of Ioannina towards Kalambaka at the end of my long journey by bus from Albania to Greece, I held back my neighbour Kara’s […]
Famed for the Acropolis and with a history where culture is prized; a creative exuberance seeps from every pore of Athens’s being. From mafia-influenced graffiti, to the Islamic arts of the Ottoman era, art in Athens is apparent in every step you take. Street Art in Athens Street Art is encouraged in Athens. Murals are […]
“Suspended in the air”. That’s the meaning of Meteora. These monasteries of northern Greece live up to this translation, perching on rock massifs hundreds of metres above the valley floor, seemingly defying the forces of gravity. The history of the monasteries At the height of construction in the 14th & 15th centuries, some 24 monasteries inhabited […]
I can’t believe it. My month-long trip from Budapest to Athens is at an end. It’s been awesome. From the hospitality in Albania, to the Greeks who kept trying to overfeed me; from the architecture of Budapest to the “too cool for school” vibe of Zagreb. As I spend my first 24 hours after returning home […]
