Steppesister
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2013
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A is for: Adventuring Again, Across the Balkans- A Prelude
From one adventure to another, it’s time to rack up another area of the world yet unexplored by Yours Truly. Join me, if you please, on a 2 ½ week journey through 10 countries of the Balkan Peninsula (and beyond) where I hope to find breath-taking landscapes, scrumptious food, and warm hospitality.
Point of order... This serves as a Pre-Trip Report for now, but will become my TR after I return. This is just a teaser and to get the "background info" out of the way so I can get rolling right away when I return. It's how I've always done my reports, so why break with tradition now?
If you’re a long-time reader of mine, welcome home! I love each and every friendship I’ve made here on the DIS through my almost 20 years of trip reporting! If you’re new to me, let me introduce myself. I go by SteppeSister around here, a name that came from the years of living on the steppes of Central Asia. Life has changed so much since that time in my life, as all of human existence has a way of doing, but I continue to have a passion for travel and adventure when I’m not at home earning a living so I can continue to explore the world (and the WDWorld).
When not out and about, I’m a Nurse Practitioner providing Primary Care here in the great Commonwealth of Kentucky- home of the Corvette, fast horses, Kentucky bourbon, and chicken strip shops on every corner.
(On my recent Tanzanian safari)
(My good friend Kari and I on a cruise we took not too long ago)
If you love travel, or reading about travel, I have also written about some of my other trips including a very thorough tour of Italy, a long trip through Bali and Australia, an amazing Tanzanian safari, and skads of great trips to Disney- my go-to place when I just need to go somewhere familiar, easy… comforting.
A few photos to add visual interest to this otherwise boring PTR
Bali:
Speaking of Disney, since this is a Disney forum, let me share a little background. I grew up in SoCal going to Disney as far back as I can possibly remember. In college, I became a CM where I was a hostess and cashier at the Blue Bayou Restaurant. Life marched on and I had a family of my own. I have 5 wonderful “kiddos” all grown, most married now with children of their own. Maybe someday, I’ll get to take one of the grands to the parks, but for now, I travel there as I can with friends I’ve made here on the boards or by myself. In the past I’ve had APs. I let it lapse while I was in NP school, but sprung for another one this year so I can take a trip now and then just to decompress over a long weekend.
One of my favorite places in WDW:
So how does Disney fit into all of this, you might be asking. For many years, while visiting the parks, I’ve been inspired to explore and learn about the places that Disney portrays in its stories. It’s a Small World celebrates cultures and places all around the world; Jungle Cruise romanticizes the wilds of Africa and the jungles of Asia. The fairytales throughout Disney’s storytelling history are set in real places and EPCOT, of course, gives you a small taste of the represented countries. I came to want to actually GO to those places and see for myself what these countries and people are like. So, let’s go, Friends! Let’s go explore and learn and enjoy together!!
Now, back to the trip at hand…
THE WHEN:
I chose May as it’s the shoulder season before the summer tourist crush. Prices are a bit cheaper and crowds are definitely lower. Sure, you risk a bit more rain and cooler temps, but I think it’s a good gamble for what you gain. Specifically, I’ll be leaving May 7th and won’t be returning until the 24th. A good long while to see all I can in the area.
THE WHERE:
10 countries, the majority being on the Balkan Peninsula. Of them all, I’ve set foot in exactly zero before. This is all brand-new territory to me and I’m so excited to finally experience some cultures I’ve only ever read about.
Over the coming weeks, I’ll share in more detail about the planned destinations, but the grand overview includes: Czechia, Slovakia (BRIEFLY!), Hungary, Romania (extensively), Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina (very briefly!), Croatia. Slovenia, and Austria. I’m not exploring any of them in-depth or for very long, but I’ll call this A Taste of the Balkans. Too much to see with too little time. But I think the route that’s been planned out will be full of interesting sights, loads of history, connections to classic literature, more castles than you could possibly count, and enough goulash and rich desserts to feed a medieval army.
"Dracula's Castle" in Bran, Romania... (which sounds like an incredibly over-priced tourist trap, but the story is cool)
THE HOW:
The best way to explore and do a trip like this, I’ve decided, is by car. Trains, and waiting for them, would take up too many precious hours, and with so many stops (a new one almost every day), I’ll need to keep going. I’ve researched for hundreds of hours by now and have long lists of things to see. As with every trip I’ve ever done anywhere, the chances of actually doing/seeing all of it are quite slim, but I’d so much rather over plan and have those options on a list, than to arrive and just start wandering around and not seeing much because you didn’t know where the highlights are. That’s just this gal’s opinion; I know many others just arrive and are happy with wandering and are perfectly content with what they see and do. But, with sometimes only mere hours in particular place, I want to know where the "must-sees" that I've found in my research are and to make sure I get to those at least.
The Strahov Monastery Library that I've booked a private tour for:
I spent quite a lot of time looking for a variety of nice places to stay, some luxurious and grand that remain from the height of the European age of opulence, others are family-run Airbnbs with an Old World feel. All but one has a European-style buffet breakfast included. I’m sure some will be more substantial than others.
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