Australia to New Zealand Routeburn, Day 1 Our group was 39 people plus 4 guides. The age varied from school children to senior adults over 70. The majority of the walkers were locals, either New Zealanders or Australians, and a few Americans. The bus left Queenstown and slowly wound its way along Lake Wakatipu and […]
Routeburn, New Zealand, Dec 2022 Read More »
As cold weather descended on Colorado, I faced my annually recurring problem – where to go to escape winter blues? The Southern Hemisphere was a good option, summer was just starting there. My records showed that the last time I was in Australia in 2008. Perhaps, I should revisit the country of my second citizenship.
Australia to New Zealand, Dec 2022 Read More »
The last stopover of this trip was a ski resort, Razlog. The city must be packed in winter with skiers. In August, it was a quiet place with few visitors. The city center is a nice place to take a walk. Razlog has a viewing platform on top of one the mountains. The hike to
Razlog, Bulgaria, August 2022 Read More »
Heraclea Sintica Shortly, I was at the mineral springs. The area was clean and unspoiled by human presence but all facilities were there – change rooms, showers, and toilets. This water does not contain sulfur and it does not smell. The list of what it does contain is long including rare-earth-elements, metals, and minerals. I
Rupite, Bulgaria, August 2022 Read More »
Macedonia – Petrich, Bulgaria There were three places in the vicinity of Petrich that I wanted to visit: the ancient city Heraclea Sintica, the other Vanga Museum and hot springs in Rupite. All three places are located within several kilometers from each other which makes it possible to see all of them the same day.
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Strumica, Macedonia I was up early and at 7 a.m., I was already outside with my backpack. I shut the door of the apartment leaving the key inside as it was agreed with the owner, Dragan. I heard nothing from him the night before and, running ahead of the story, I can tell that Dragan
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Prilep, Macedonia From Prilep, I needed to continue toward Bulgaria, so I took the bus to the city of Strumica which is close to the border. Among attractions in the area were old monasteries, mineral springs, and good hiking trails. I set aside 2 days for exploring Strumica’s surrounding and was worried that perhaps it
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Pristina, Kosovo After 3 days in Skopje, I took the bus to Prilep. It was a stopover for one night to break a long stretch of the road ahead into two shorter parts. I booked a room at the hotel Salida one day before coming here. It was €20 per night, quite decent but with
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Lake Ohrid, Macedonia It is only 2 hours by bus from Skopje to Pristina, the capital city of Kosovo. Many travelers use Skopje as a springboard to add another entry to the list of their visited countries because Kosovo is a country. Almost 100 states recognized its independence although Kosovo is not a UN member.
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Bulgaria – Skopje My first day trip from Skopje was to Lake Ohrid, the oldest and deepest in Europe. I heard a lot about the lake’s beauty and could not wait to see it. The bus ride took 5 hours to Ohrid, the city on the lake shores. I walked from the bus station to
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