A Balkan Adventure


More talksMore about JohnBooks and how to orderSome impressions
Come to a talk!Contact detailsEmail John nowIntro and main menu


              Travelling againTravelling again

In 2013 I spent the summer walking from Trieste to Istanbul. To be more exact, walking, hitch-hiking and generally bumbling, which I thought would be the best way to enjoy the mountains and meet people in the remotest villages. I’d visited the Balkans briefly in the 1970s, since when they’ve abandoned communism, suffered brutal conflicts and taken small steps towards coming together with the rest of Europe. In Bosnia and Kosovo I found people still traumatised, but many were working hard to create a peaceful future.

                               People of the BalkansPeople of the Balkans (click on map)

From Albania the route took me through Greek Macedonia and Bulgaria’s Pirin and Rhodope Mountains to the River Evros, where migrants play cat-and-mouse with European Union border guards. In October I reached Istanbul – capital of two empires each lasting 1,000 years – and finally the Bosporus, where Europe gives way to Asia.

                       John’s routeJohn’s route (click on map)

“John was absolutely outstanding. You could see the professionalism shine through as he was doing his lecture.”
(Alnwick and District Camera Club, Northumberland)

Follow John’s journey as it happened through his monthly updates:

15th June 201310th July 20135th August 201329th August 201320th September 201310th October 2013

First updateLast update

Come to a talk!

Huge thanks to Becky Serieys at Rohan Designs and to Zoë Brookes at the Brasher Boot Company – now Berghaus – for equipping me for this trip, as they’ve done so many times before.


Book now for this slide/sound show.

View details of talk  A Balkan Adventure   (Right-click to download)


Back to topMore talksMore about JohnBooks and how to orderSome impressions
Come to a talk!Contact detailsEmail John nowIntro and main menu

Made on a Mac