Macedonia or Bust

Google maps does not permit a border crossing into Kosovo - very curious as I think we did it and were not shot at much. Aliali was not to keen either.

View from our Hotel Nadin at Mostar

I would not like to ride this on 2 wheels.

By luck we drive past the National Library at Sarajevo rebuilt following destruction in the 1990 war by Bosnian Serbs

Too may sign posts in too many languages

Display ouput of Aliali, the new Balkan proof navigator replaces Tomtom showing potential route directions

Dodging small arms fire I take a photograph at the border - we thought we had enetered Kosovo...

Aliali, the new Balkan proof navigator replaces Tomtom seen in action downloading updated coordinates and route directions

Kosovo Road hazard #1

Countryside in Kosovo

As night drew in and Aliali was beginning to flicker we decided to stop at the splendid Hotel Dva Lava somewhere in Kosovo between Novi Pazar and Kosovska Mitrovica

Wine - expensive and bad

Food - cheap and bad

Next day...

Morning view. Although this is somewhere in Kosovo between Novi Pazar and Kosovska Mitrovica it  nevertheless provided a convenient place to spend the night.

Kosovo Road hazard #2

I think we took the right fork

 Kosovo is the land of the palatial filling station every 1km. There is no evidence of monopolistic oil company domination in this land.

Palatial filling station #1

Palatial filling station #2

Mosque alert

Kosovo Road hazard #3

Kosovo Road hazard #4 -12 - Peace keepers and awful roads with heavy taraffic

Palatial filling station #3

Aliali state of ther start moving map display system (C)

Palatial filling station #4

Palatial filling station #5

Kosovo Road hazard #13

Palatial filling station #6

Palatial filling station #7

I think we went straight on

Palatial filling station #8

Palatial filling station #9

Palatial filling station #10

Palatial filling station #11

Palatial filling station #12

Palatial filling station #13

Palatial filling station #14

Palatial filling station #15

Palatial filling station #16

 I think we crossed into Macedonia but Aliali told me to stop taking photos.

Crap Macedonian  filling station #1

Macedonian road hazard #1

A war memorial...

...situated in a mine field!

Crap Macedonian Palatial filling station #2

Anyone for morning prayers?

Macedonian public lavatory

I think we turned right to Aliali's Home location

To be concluded...

To Mostar in Style of E. Lear

 Rose with sun. Breakfasted from packets.  Funny serbic advice from hostel prop. Drove in motor contrivance south along coastal vista with Mrs N and Ali N[Navigatorofsorts].Edward Lear style...

Coast south of Rijeka

Into long tunnel and out into bright sunshine.

Descending towards Trogir and Split

Trogir walls and lunch

Trogir

 Here we conferred on our future route.  It was necessary to reconsider our original plans, which were to take the mountain road under Parnassus, Delphi and Solona to Dubrovnik - rather we headed inland to Mostar....

Into Bosnia!

Mostar Ottoman town

On the famous Ottoman bridge built in 1558 by the Ottoman architect Cejvan Kethoda.  - destroyed in the war by the Croats and rebuilt by 2004.

Mosque

Turkish style food

Something resembling a cow pat with chips

Next episode - Kosovo