What's New in Balkanology

Significant changes to the site are listed below. You can keep up to date with future changes by subscribing to the Balkanology Blog or by following the site's Facebook Page.

Do you have something to say about travel in the Balkans? I am now accepting contributions to the site - please see the About page for details.


2013
January 18 Changes to the international rail timetable in December 2012 saw major cuts in international services in Croatia, Bosnia, and neighbouring countries. I've summarised the changes in a blog post. It will take me some time to update the various references to train connections scattered through Balkanology, so some pages on the site may currently be out of date.

2012

 2011 and 2012 were quiet years for Balkanology as I was busy with other things including marriage, fatherhood, and moving house from Ireland to Spain. I hope to be able to devote more time to this site in 2013.

2011
March 12 Anna Wiman, a journalist living in Prishtina, has kindly contributed some practical advice for first-time visitors: Kosovo for Beginners.

2010
December 31 For those of you who would like to keep up to date with the site through Facebook, Balkanology now has its own Facebook Page.
July 25 I have updated the Books pages to reflect new and updated guidebooks published in 2010 - see the blog for full details.
July 07 Following a recent return trip to Croatia I have added new photos to several of my galleries. The "Around Zadar" gallery features the islands of Dugi Otok and Ugljan as well as Zadar itself. The "Istria and Kvarner" gallery includes new photos of Rab and Lošinj islands. And I have also added a few new photos of thePlitvice Lakes.

2009
June 7 Last month I spent a week in a part of Romania that I had never previously visited, the Székely Land. A selection of photos taken during the trip is now online.
March 2 I have revised all the guidebook pages to bring them up to date with recent guidebooks and updated editions. See this blog post for more details.

2008
November 3 Following a recent trip to Croatia, the Croatia Photo Galleries have been significantly expanded. A variety of places that I had not previously visited are included, among them the islands of Korčula, Mljet, Vis, and Šipan. I haven't forgotten about inland Croatia either - there are new photos of Osijek, Imotski, and the Samobor hills.
July 14 The guides to Sarajevo and Mostar have been expanded, and now cover more possible excursions such as Lukomir, Bukovik Mountain, and Stolac.
July 5 I have added a separate section for Kosovo. The content is currently quite limited as I haven't yet visited Kosovo, but I hope the links and books listed will help other travellers planning to go there.

2007
November 5 The page on Scenic train journeys in the Balkans has been expanded. It now includes a description of the Skopje-Prilep line in Macedonia, and more detail about the Sarajevo-Mostar line in Bosnia. I travelled on both these lines earlier this year. Unfortunately the weather in Macedonia didn't allow me to take any photos of the rural scenery along the way, but I had better luck in Bosnia.
September 23 After a short visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier this month, I have added new photos to the Bosnia galleries. Lukomir village and the Radimlja Necropolis near Stolac appear in my galleries for the first time, along with some fresh views of Sarajevo and Mostar.
July 23 The rewritten Macedonia section now includes guides to Skopje and the surrounding area and the Pelagonia region, including Bitola and Prilep. The guide to Lake Ohrid has also been expanded to include more details of places outside Ohrid town.
Jun 23 Following my recent trip to Macedonia, I have added a large number of photos to the Macedonia Photo Gallery. As well as new photos of old favourites such as Ohrid, there are pictures from some places I hadn't previously visited, such as Kruševo, Matka, and Treskavec Monastery.
March 19 The Serbia pages have been thoroughly overhauled, with a more detailed look at Belgrade and an improved guide to Vojvodina.
February 7 The most common question asked by visitors to this site is "How do I get from Croatia to Greece?". The second most common is - yes, you guessed it - "How do I get from Greece to Croatia?". Although the Croatia FAQ originally included a brief answer to these questions, I have decided that such a popular topic deserves a page of its own. And here it is: The Croatia to Greece Page.
January 27 One of the places that has most impressed me in my travels through the Balkans is Durmitor National Park in northern Montenegro; I've finally got around to giving Durmitor a page of its own.

2006
December 26 I have added a number of new links to the site. The authors of the Lonely Planet guides to Romania and Croatia have launched web sites of their own, independent of the LP site. And Montenegro's recent independence is reflected in the addition of links to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Montenegrin Railways.
November 7 I've added a pictures of Durmitor National Park to the Montenegro Gallery, and there are also many new photos in the Serbia Gallery.
October 16 Following my most recent trip to the Balkans, I finally have a gallery of Photos from Albania. I have also expanded the Albania section of the website to reflect my experiences there.
August 6 I have expanded the page about Bulgaria's Pirin region to include some information about Gotse Delchev and to reflect recent developments in Bansko.
July 7 Two new pages have been added to the Romania section, taking a more detailed look at the province of Transylvania. One article introduces Braşov and the surrounding area; the other looks at Sibiu, Sighişoara and Cluj.
July 2 I have completely rewritten the pages about Greece. As well as an expanded introduction, I have taken a closer look at the monasteries of Meteora, Greece's second city Thessaloniki, and the varied attractions of the northern province of Macedonia.
July 1 I have made quite a few changes to the guidebook pages - see the Blog for details of new guidebooks and new editions published in the last few months.
April 25 After a recent trip to Greece I have added many new photos to the Greece pages of the Balkanology Galleries.
March 13 I have added a more detailed look at Vojvodina and several places in Southwestern Serbia.
February 28 New descriptions of about a number of places in Slovenia, including the Soča Valley and the Julian Alps.
February 23 Today marks the debut of Balkanology's first outside contributor. My own lack of familiarity with Albania has meant that there is not much detail about that country on the site, but some of those gaps have now been filled with a list of practical tips: Albania for Beginners.
I have also added information about a variety of destinations in Croatia.
February 17 A more detailed guide to Kotor and the surrounding area has been added to the Montenegro pages.
February 16 Lonely Planet have just published their long-awaited Western Balkans guidebook, and I got my hands on a copy today. I have updated the Guidebooks page with my thoughts.
February 15 The Overview section now includes a short introduction to the Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Serbian variations of the Cyrillic Alphabet.
February 13 Added more detailed descriptions of a number of destinations in Bosnian and Herzegovina, including Sarajevo and Mostar.
February 11 This week I have added extra material about a number of places in Bulgaria, and about Ohrid in Macedonia.
February 6 New article in the Overview section: Scenic train journeys in the Balkans.
I've also added main airports and national airlines to the Links pages.
February 4 I've added links to over 70 newspaper articles about Balkan destinations - they can be found under the heading "From the Travel Pages" in each country's Links page.
February 1 Balkanology is launched.