All Posts

As our bar circle thinned out (because at this time, the youngsters had already formed their own little bands, my roommate included, and made their own night-out plans), I told our Tour Director that I had two questions for him before I retired for the night. First, I wanted to know where Medjugorje is and what the closest major city is. I told him that I am Catholic and that a pilgrimage to Medjugorje is on my bucket list (even though this apparition site is not yet formally

On our way to the hotel, our Tour Director once again reminded us that we were in Bosnia, so we had to lower our expectations a little bit when it comes to hotel amenities. He said that our hotel was not bad at all and the staff are friendly and helpful, but the rooms could be lacking in certain ways. Once we got there, we understood what he meant. The room assigned to my roommate and I was a spacious suite in a corner of the top floor that could fit a family of five or more.

Our Tour Director walked with us to the Latin Bridge, the one place that I wanted to see in Sarajevo. This is not an ordinary bridge. This pale-stone triple-arch bridge was constructed in 1798 to replace a stone bridge that was washed away by the floods in 1791, and an older wooden bridge. It was named after the neighbourhood on the other side of the river where Sarajevo’s Catholic community resided. But the attraction here is not the bridge per se, but the incident that occu

No, we didn’t go to Nikola Tesla’s house nor visited a museum dedicated to him. We didn’t ride a Tesla car either (this was 2019). Instead, we went to the Tesla Pub, obviously named after the famous inventor and engineer. And if anyone had doubts, the life-sized sculpture of Nikola greeting you by the pub’s door would obliterate it. The Tesla statue sits there, in a “thinking” pose with a light bulb placed on his lap. It was as if he was pondering on his next invention. On th

Sarajevo is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the greater Sarajevo Valley of Bosnia, surrounded by the Dinaric Mountains (which we just traversed) and situated along the Miljacka River. The first thing we explored in Sarajevo was the Old Town. I couldn’t help but notice how starkly different it is from any European city I’ve been to. In fact, it felt like I was outside Europe, or maybe, its outskirts. The vibe was a blend of East and Wes

The drive from Belgrade, Serbia to Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina took around five hours. We drove west on Highway E-70, south on Route 20, then southwest on Routes 136 and and 26, all mountain roads, until we were driving side by side the Drina River to the Karakaj Border. Our Tour Director said that the Drina is the largest tributary of the Sava River and forms a large portion of the border between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. At that moment, we were on the Serbia

Our Tour Director described Belgrade as “the Prague ten years ago.” Well, that was in 2019, when Belgrade was not really on the tourist radar yet. I wonder how it is like now and whether the line “the Prague ten years ago” still applies but fast-forwarded to another ten years. I was in Prague in 2024 and it was packed with tourists! I would be interested to find out how Belgrade is faring. Back then, I wouldn’t say that Belgrade is one of the prettiest European city I have se

If you want to learn more about Serbia’s history, I highly recommend visiting the Belgrade Fortress. This imposing monument rises above the Serbian capital as a symbol of its history that dates back over 2,000 years, and serves as a silent witness to the rise and fall of empires and armies. The Belgrade Fortress consists of the Old Citadel and Kalemegdan Park on the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers, and is easily accessible by simply walking to the end of Old Town Bel

My first Serbian meal was at the Bohemian Quarter of Old Town Belgrade. We went to an elegant hotel restaurant with a nice patio outside. I had been told that Serbian meals are hearty, accompanied by pepper-based side dishes and doughy desserts. Serbia has a rich supply of meat, dairy products, and honey and their cuisine is characterized by a highly diverse array of dishes that has a mixture of Greek, Bulgarian, Turkish, and Hungarian influences. I was excited because I was

The first landmark that greeted us when we arrived in Belgrade was the imposing Church of St. Sava. This grand structure sits on the Vracar Plateau and is dedicated to St. Sava, the founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church and an important figure in medieval Serbia. In fact, the church is said to be built upon the grounds where St. Sava was buried. Serbia is a predominantly Orthodox country, and Serbians are known to be religious. Seeing the iconic domes of their churches in ev

We traveled to Belgrade from Sofia by bus. Our group was composed mostly of youngsters, with only four others in my age bracket. My first thought was whether it would be challenging to travel with Millennials and Gen Zs (I am a Gen Xer, along with another traveler. The three other “older” people are Boomers). My past group travels were typically with an older folks, hence, I had no idea how this trip would turn out. On the morning of our departure, we were all on the bus at s

As my travel mate and I navigated the streets of Sofia on our own, we found more Roman ruins. In fact, they are on every corner of the city! We also passed by street markets selling art, including Orthodox iconographic paintings. I am fascinated with those because of the technique and the materials that they use. Eastern Orthodox iconography is not considered regular artwork, but rather, a sacred image used in religious devotion. Unlike Western religious art, production of th

A small van took me and seven other travellers from the Sofia International Airport to our hotel. They were all from England – five ladies and two guys. I was the only one from North America. During the ride, after introductions were made, we asked each other about our afternoon plans. That day was designated as the official arrival day for everybody, so there were no scheduled activities, except for an orientation meeting with our Tour Director in the evening and an optional

The Balkans is the region in southeast Europe long overshadowed by its western, central, and northern counterparts, but is now emerging as a tourism hotspot. More than a decade ago, I almost visited this place when my Iberian trip nearly fell through the cracks but got salvaged at the last minute. The Balkans was my second choice that time. Fast forward 2019 and it was also second on my travel options list. I was traveling solo again that time. My first plan was to visit Mach

(HEADS UP: This article is lengthy. But if you like local history and trivia, then this is for you. Happy reading!) Ever since childhood, I have always been afflicted by a nostalgic bug. This strong fascination for all things old and ancient has made me into a bit of a history buff. I buried my nose in books and spent hours watching documentaries about ancient civilizations, medieval tales, and accounts of gone-by days. I preferred visiting museums and perusing artifacts over

I had a restful night sleeping on the comfortable couch in our cabin’s screened-in porch, while my husband and son snored lightly on the queen-sized bed inside. At dawn the following morning, I was awakened by soft paddling sounds. I arose and watched a couple of kayakers quietly trudging the waters as their oars gently swept the glistening surface of the lake. Their faces appeared so serene as their graceful strokes synchronized with the ripple of the waves. If not for their

We arrived at the North Frontenac Astronomy Park at around ten o’clock that night. It was just a fenced-in lot with an observation pad where people could gather and gaze at the stars, and has very basic amenities - a parking lot, electrical outlets, benches, picnic tables, and washrooms. But this is said to be one of the best places for astronomy, as North Frontenac has one of the darkest skies in southern Ontario. In fact, in August 2003, it became the first municipality in

In Canada, you will hear the terms “cottage” and “cottage country” a lot, specially in the summer months, and occasionally, at winter. During my first summer of working in Vancouver, my Canadian co-workers would say they were going to spend the summer “at the cabin.” When I moved to Ontario, it was “at the cottage.” It seemed like everyone either owns or regularly goes to a “cabin” or “cottage.” This was something new to me. I didn’t know what that exactly meant. I knew of c

We drove for 20 minutes from Ogdensburg, New Jersey to the small township of Sparta, where Café Pierrot is located. After a full day at the mine (going down the tunnel, touring the museum, and rock collecting for my boys) with just hotdogs and sandwiches for lunch, we felt we deserved a proper sit-down dinner. My husband also needed to replenish his fresh bread supply. We found the perfect place on our way to Vestal, New York. Café Pierrot is a quaint old house converted into

We left the mine by way of one of the original entrances that was buried for 100 years and was dug out. Leaving the mine tunnel felt like departing from a completely different world. The tour certainly gave me a new perspective on what it was like working deep under the earth. We headed to the Warren Museum of Fluorescence, which is housed in the old mill building. It occupies four rooms filled with over 700 fluorescent minerals and other items. It was named after Thomas S. W