Hiking
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Filla to Castle Likarios: Easy day Hike
About Filla (Fylla, Phylla) Village Just a ten-minute drive south of Chalkida, the village of Filla (Φύλλα) is notable for the ruin of Likarios Castle—where someone has memorably spray-painted “Όχι” (“No”) in thick white letters across its stones. On the far side of the dry Lilas Potamos riverbed, you’ll also spot the twin towers of Mytika, like something out of Tolkein. We’d driven past the village previously, spotting the castle and wondered what it was like. Today, we decided to find out. Parking in the village, as in most of Greece, is pretty easy. Finding a spot in the shade though is not so simple! We set off at 11am—early…
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Hiking in the Albanian Alps: Day Hikes from Theth
Last year we visited Theth, a valley in the Albanian Alps, for several days with friends. We fell so in love with it that we went back for another 3 weeks!
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Macedonia Revisited
We all enjoy countries for different reasons; sometimes we have special memories there. Perhaps we found the beauty of the nature or the elegance of the cities particularly charming. Sometimes you visit somewhere though and you feel moved. This is how we feel about Macedonia. It’s a small country with a great deal of heart.
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Mount Korab: Hiking the Highest Peak of Macedonia (and Albania)
This is a particularly special mountain, being the highest in two countries, a club of only a few members including Everest and Mont Blanc. At 2,764 m high, Mount Korab is also the highest out of the three mountains we attempted to hike.
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Hiking Midzor: An Adventure to the Serbian Countryside
Midzor is the highest mountain in Serbia. Despite being 2,169 m high, it’s an accessible goal for most people, as the whole route from Hotel Babin Zub and back is only around 14km, with 700m ascent.
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How to Spend a month in Sibiu, Romania
The first thing anyone who has visited Sibu will tell is how incredibly beautiful it is. The historial old town is distilled Transylvanian fantasy; each building has it's own character. Together they have more colours than a rainbow. People love exploring it's streets and admiring the quirky corners. It's so photogenic, in fact, that my yoga teacher and two-year resident of Sibiu commented that she still takes photos like a tourist. Sibiu is just a very beautiful city.
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Hiking Romania’s Fagaras Mountains: Avrig Lake and Scara Peak
If you're looking for an adventure, then the Fagaras Mountains in Romania are for you! We discovered this beautiful, challenging 21km route which offers stunning views into the valley as well as dramatic mountain vistas, waterfalls and a glacial lake.
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A love letter to (North) Macedonia: Part 2
A necessary Part 2 to A love letter to (North) Macedonia. The previous post ended up being longer than intended due to an outpouring of appreciation from me, so here is the second part!
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River Gorges, Jacuzzis and Bagpipes: A Weekend in Yagodina
Yagodina is a small village hidden up in the mountains in southern Bulgaria. It turns out that the road there is an adventure in itself...
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Wear sunscreen, you idiot: hiking the Rila 7 lakes in spring, a cautionary tale.
The next chapter of the Bulgarian tale found us a few kilometers further down the road from Kyustendil, in Sapareva Banya, a town with great access to the Rila National Park. Sapareva Banya, as the name suggests, also has significant geothermal activity which you can both see and smell. For those that enjoy it, you can visit the spa which looks actually pretty nice.
