T'ga za jug. Postcards from the southern Balkans,
Greetings from Sofia Sofia and 'a city of 2 million inhabitants, growing rapidly. Its construction consists of the old Communist-era buildings and new buildings from urban wildlife.
The only good thing that comes to mind about Sofia Orthodox churches. Any tour guide, actually (but I found out later) insists a lot on the Orthodox churches. The Orthodox churches in general are very small and fast to visit.
The taxi driver who took me to Mount Vitosha me many times, although not requested an opinion on the subject, the concept "in Sofia you are not evil, you are not bad at all."
Greetings from Mount Vitosha
Practically the only other thing, apart from the churches mentioned by tour guides. I found out later, but already 'I had the idea watching the map.
Beautiful view, nice atmosphere.
ecological awareness is still lacking, and that 'some' a dustbin, but it will come ', too.
Between the dirt of the Vitosha Mountain and other observations, I have come to various considerations on the stages of development of a society 'in economic progression: their first cocks, then (much later) is willing to invest in the common good. For example, private cars are on average quite new, but public transport is very vintage. The services of private transport vehicles have last word, the buses are like this (but with more than 12 years').
stamp your ticket is punched with a mechanism so low-tech that I'm still trying to understand how you can 'find out if I'm recycling the same ticket on another bus after a long time.
Greetings from Sofia # 2
Coincidentally I stumbled in the changing of the guard in front of the Palace of the President. It 's very funny, and then choreography. Is not reported on the guides for tourists, and then I'm proud of luck I've had.
with a politician in a blue car (perhaps the President?) To put me in moments.
The Art of Service
This I had already 'seen in Russia: the people with whom you have a service relationship (waiters, hotel staff and transport) are very unfriendly, rude, severe. Easily see what the legacy 'of Communism (If there is no property 'there is no private incentive to reward the customer) except that instead I found a lot of courtesy in Slovakia and, particularly, in Macedonia (see below).
Greetings from Skopje
Sara 'cause Yugoslavia is and' misaligned decades before the end of communism, but the construction of the system to what I saw was much less atrocious than elsewhere in the East. And the new urbanists and architects seem to have a western flavor. The superficial impression
coming in from Bulgaria and Macedonia 'to enter a country more' rich. Actually, however, I think the opposite: Bulgaria and 'a country booming, Macedonia and instead' one of the few countries that still have GDP over the 'lower than before the arrival of capitalism. The explanations that I have been given: the dissolution of Yugoslavia hit them hard, and neighbors are assholes.
Macedonia and Greece, for example, and as' well-known, Greece.
Greece broke the balls and Macedonia since 'independent forced her to change the flag, refuses to recognize it under the name Republic of Macedonia and to stop other countries to recognize it, and vetoes at its entrance into NATO, be discussed in a very short, and the EU. Greece suggests names Upper Macedonia, Northern Macedonia, just do not call it Macedonia. For the first two years of existence of this Republic, Greece has even applied an economic embargo.
Some clarification: when the Turks ruled the region, a region called Macedonia was a lot more 'wide. Of this, 51% and 'now part of Greece, while Macedonia will comprise only 38% (properly, this would call the province of Vardar Macedonia, and Greek and' Aegean Macedonia), while the rest 'gone Bulgaria.
Greece effectively Graecised his portion with the old method that was once used by everyone and that now, for our sophisticated tastes, it sounds politically incorrect: deportations and expropriation. Also refuses to recognize the existence of a Macedonian minority on its territory. Details Interestingly, those who call themselves Macedonians on its territory are classified as descendants of tribes' Bulgarian. A Macedonian
tells me: according to modern international law, whether there was an entity 'state called Macedonia, Greece should give him a lot' of money as compensation for what 'happened in Thessaloniki (the main cities' Macedonian de- macedonizzata abruptly). So Macedonia can not 'exist, and if there is, well,' not 'Macedonia.
Currently the international name of this state and 'FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia), but I think they all agree that it' s just a placeholder.
Macedonia and Greece # 2
On the other hand, Greece and 'the most important economic partner of Macedonia. An interesting publication that I read before the trip says, among other things, that investors Greeks are the most 'courageous pioneer in the new economies of the Balkans, other Westerners are more' cautious, and in a fragile economy like we are Macedonian yet at the stage where the lion still have it's forerunner.
Albanian Albanian minority (25%) cries out for more 'rights. But among its demands more 'feel there is' the recognition by the government, the new state of Kosovo.
ethnic Macedonian Macedonians are extremely sharp in that regard: to recognize Kosovo and the 'unthinkable. (Can accept, as they have already 'done to ensure quotas protected the Albanians in all state jobs, power of veto in parliament, bilingualism in the schools of the western provinces, but the recognition of Kosovo, not really.)
Motivation: would a bad example and incite the Albanians of Macedonia to secede they too, leading to disintegration of the already 'small, fragile country.
The temptation to point out that you and 'just finished giving the bastards to the Greeks for exactly the same thing and' this, but something, a sixth sense, it makes sense that the conversation could be unpleasant.
The same intuition leads us to seek alternative topics of conversation in a hurry when they begin to speak of congenital laziness Albanians who get state jobs.
Continued ...
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