TauniWhy the Balkans? In all honesty, why not? We want to go everywhere and see everything, and we hadn’t yet been to the Balkans. Also, we had visited the Baltics a few years earlier and loved that region, and we wanted to continue exploring Eastern Europe. Now having been there, our top reasons to explore the Balkans are:
- History – the Balkans sit at the intersection between the East and West, and experienced political, religious, and cultural upheaval throughout the centuries. In the last century multiple of the countries consolidated into Yugoslavia to protect themselves from influences from Russia and Germany, and then split apart again. Moldova was part of the USSR and then regained its independence. Moldova still has splinter areas – Transnistria – claiming to be Russian. I’ve read a few books and articles about the region – but there is so much history layered in the area, I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface.
- Amazing sites – from castles and monasteries, beautiful cities, and canyons and mountains.
- There were very few tourists when we were there – and while Covid was definitely a factor, there is less tourism in the Balkans than in the western European countries, and we felt like we had a more authentic experience because of it.
- Wine– Wine-making is part of each of the countries we visited, with Moldova being especially known for its wine, though little of it is exported to the US. It was all amazing, and since traveling there, we have been seeking out Macedonian and Moldovan wines in the US.
- Cost effective – Costs were reasonable, and generally less than we have paid in Western Europe.
