An Increasingly Stable Array Of Independent Countries Based Slightly On Ethnic Populations, But Also On The Economic Imperatives Of Recently Found Autonomy : Capitalism, Development And Tourism!

Stumped? It's actually a little bit of a trick question . Geographically, the Balkan Promontory is regarded as Southeastern Europe - the landmass south of Austria and Hungary and east of italy. It's known for craggy and remote mountains, impressive coastline and furiously partisan populations. The Adriatic is to the west, the Black Sea to the east, Greece at the southernmost tip.

But politically, the answer depends on the year. 5 centuries of war, oppression and ethnic conflict have melted and created states on the Balkan Cape several times over. If you answered Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania or Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH) - A-plus! They all have coastline on the Adriatic Sea. If you presumed Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, or Kosovo - C-plus. Balkans, though not Western Balkans. Yugoslavia? No go. It crumpled over ten years ago.

The better news for travelers? An increasingly stable range of independent nations based rather on ethnic populations, but also on the industrial imperatives of newfound independence : capitalism, development and tourism!

Dubrovnik, Croatia, is now a top destination on Eastern Mediterranean cruises, like the one Bud and I did in 2003. Our Dubrovnik guide lived through the 1991-92 Serbian siege, and bullet holes were still everywhere. But Maria's optimism was transmissible. "Come back," she urged. "After the roads are fixed and borders opened, you'll adore it."

7 years on we landed in Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia, on the 1st leg of a four-country Western Balkan trip. Customs and immigration were smooth and efficient and our rental vehicle, a Czech Skoda Fabia, waited just steps from the terminal.

We'd drive northeast through Slovenia's Julian Alps, south along coastal Croatia and down to Montenegro's beaches. We'd finish over Montenegro's legendary mountains and into BiH to finish in Sarajevo. Perhaps best, we were flying solo - no package tours, no booking agent. Just us!

Euro-GPS

We brought a GPS with a preloaded European chip. First stop : iconic Lake Bled. Our GPS let us choose : back roads or highway. We took the smallest roads and were immediately smitten. Each home sported lush window boxes. In the foothills of the Julian Alps, each hamlet reached higher, with taller ancient pines, and roads narrowing to single lanes, often weaving thru steep pastures. Around one corner a pristine church sat atop a brilliantly green hill.

Lake Bled's Grand Hotel Toplice was wonderful and historic. It housed Fascist Officers during World War Ii, and was so prestigious that the officials had to pay for rooms, although they were the occupying forces. The Toplice was full of talkative Brits and sporty Germans, and life revolved around the lake - shaded walkways along the shoreline, swans paddling about, boats with brightly coloured canopies to ferry visitors around. Wonderful!

Our next stop took us even higher, to a sporthotel in Kranjska Gora. Sporthotels are clearly Western european : spare decoration, few luxuries, but huge rooms to hold skis and bikes. At the Toplice we were told that Northern Americans visit occasionally. In Kranjska Gora, Americans are rare. We were treated like celebrities and advised to go to the ski jump at close by Planica where the world record for ski-flying was set in 2005 : 717 feet "airborne" coming off the end of the jump.

We were cautioned about the drive over Slovenia's 9,300-foot peak, Mount Triglav, at the eastern end of the Alps. It was wet and misty. The route was really steep and narrow with fifty or even more switchbacks. "Follow a bus," they said. "It will lead you."

Great guidance! We arrived at our next stop, Lipica, in fine shape and ready to go to the famed Lipizzaner Stud Farm in its 430th year of breeding and training the fascinating white horses. We caught the dramatic "Airs Above the Ground" equestrian show and marveled at the elegant facility with dressage schools, lodging, cafes and marriage chapel as reported tagza.com.
King Gambler

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