Serbia

                                                          Outside of Bujanovac, Serbia, 2015

Kutrubes Travel planned an exquisitely complicated tour for me through “eastern” Europe, helping me to make the most of seeing the highlights of these countries in the most meaningful way, without just zipping through.

I started out in Romania, flew to Bulgaria, then drove through Serbia, next to Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Boznia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, and ending in Venice, Italy.

In the capital Belgrade, a great site to visit is the Belgrade Fortress, which overlooks a nearby park and river. The fortress is a tribute to how old Belgrade truly is; while other parts can look more modern, the fortress carries memories of a long and vibrant history beginning around 7000 years ago.

Travelers who love outdoor adventuring should visit the Vinatovača rainforest, a nature reserve that is over 350 years old. Chopping down trees, picking plants, and moving fallen trees are all prohibited activities, making this forest untouched by humans. Also amazing to see is Devil’s Town, or Đavolja Varoš, known worldwide for its spectacular rock towers – over 200 of them!

In Serbia, there are about 7.2 million people and the capital is Belgrade. The official language is Serbian, but because Serbia is nestled between many other countries, many regional languages are spoken as well such as Polish, Turkish, Romanian, Albanian, Russian, and Ukrainian, to name a few. The dominant religion is the Serbian Orthodox Church.

A unique fact about Serbia is that the raspberries you eat likely come from Serbia, which has been at times the largest raspberry exported in the world! Also interesting is that Serbia is full of natural and manmade attractions, such as Gostuša, a village made entirely of stone, mud, and natural materials that people still live in today.

In a remote village in Serbia, where this is the normal means of transportation

Syria

Syria is officially known as the Syrian Arab Republic. The capital is Damascus and the official language is Arabic. About 18 million people live here (as of 2021) though many refugees are leaving the country. The largest religion is Sunni Islam, making up over 70...

Russia

  Men playing backgammon in the park. The Russians lost 25 million men in WW2, notice their formal dress and that they still wear their medals from 40 years ago. Super-cool picture ... Russian submarines at port! Country Information: The capital of Russia is...

Laos

A country slightly larger than Utah, Laos is a landlocked country home to approximately 7.5 million people. The capital of Laos is Vientiane. The official language of Laos is Lao, but French, English and various ethnic languages are also widely spoken. The majority of...