'Staying Alive By Not Staying Still'
A small nation in the western Balkans of southeastern Europe
I’m back in Balat, my favorite neighborhood in Istanbul, biding time and getting some work done in advance of the Rolf Potts Travel Writing Workshop I’m attending July 30-Aug. 4 in Paris.
The Flixbus trip from Sofia, Bulgaria, to here was eventful.
What good New Jersey native could pass up an opportunity to visit a genuine “New Jersey Snack Bar Coffee” in Tirana, Albania?
Well, I couldn’t, but I have to confess, I walked out thinking there was more going on there than met the eye.
My friend Peggy, whom I met in a cafe in the White Mountains of Crete, sent me advice in a cautionary email after reading a brief post I wrote mentioning my night in the Skopje bus station.
Skopje is the capital city of Northern Macedonia, one of the Balkan states in southeastern Europe. It was formerly part of Yugoslavia until it gained its independence by referendum in 1992 following the Yugoslav wars.
I was just passing through on my way to Sofia, Bulgaria.