Tag: Balkans
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The Windows of Diocletian’s Palace – Split, Croatia
Split, Croatia is the stuff of explorers’ dreams. Situated along the sparkling Adriatic Sea and crowned by the Palace of Roman Emperor Diocletian, its Old Town features maze-like passageways and weathered limestone buildings and lanes. In the Fourth Century AD, Roman Emperor Diocletian had his retirement palace built here. Emperor Diocletian indeed recognized the good life. In…
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Making a ‘Split Decision’ in Croatia
With a need to escape the borders of Europe’s Schengen Zone, we packed our bags for the winter and made a ‘Split‘ decision to head to Croatia’s splendid seaside city of the same name. Incredibly, the city has been continuously inhabited for 17 centuries, ever since Roman Emperor Diocletian had his retirement palace built here.…
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Photo du Jour: The Impending Journey – Perast, Montenegro
A wooden boat sits tethered in the fjord-like Bay of Kotor, near the town of Perast, Montenegro. On a crisp, spring afternoon, we took in this incredible vista from a nearby café, while imagining what adventures lay ahead. “The journey not the arrival matters.” T.S. Eliot
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Photo du Jour: The Red Balloon – Šibenik, Croatia
A young girl, carrying a cherry-colored balloon, explores the entrance to the Cathedral of Saint James in Šibenik, Croatia, as lion statues seemingly look on. During our café break, across the square from the cathedral, we actually saw a steady stream of local little ones climbing atop the lions and playing hide & seek. This…
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A Mask-Maker in Ohrid, North Macedonia
In Ohrid, North Macedonia, the Marinov family has been crafting utilitarian and decorative objects from copper and brass for over a hundred years. Shawn and I stumbled upon the small studio of third- and fourth-generation artists one afternoon while exploring Ohrid’s UNESCO-registered Old Town, which is replete with hundreds of Eastern Orthodox churches. The Marinov…
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Mingling Over Macedonian Wines: A Wine Tasting & Lecture in Skopje
North Macedonia’s legacy of winemaking goes back to the 13th Century BCE, and today the southeast European nation’s industry is witnessing a rebirth. On our first night in the country’s capital, Skopje, we were lucky to be taken under the wing of Ivana Simjanovska, one of the country’s foremost wine experts, as we attended a wine…
