You can always pretend you are from Canada !

Just kidding (Canad has recognized Kosovo a few weeks ago).

It is hard to know, but I don't think most Serbs are like the rioters we saw on TV.

Tyler,

I would say you'll be fine in Albania. They love Americans and there haven't been any problems there.

We just returned from the Balkans, including Kosovo, last week. While we were there, there were problems in Mitrovica in northern Kosovo but my impression is that things are calmer in Serbia now. I just checked the Dept. of State website. The last warning for Serbia was March 3. They strongly advise against traveling in southern Serbia, near Kosovo, but other than generally being careful and understanding that peaceful demonstrations can turn dangerous, there aren't any current warnings.

I know that tensions are high, though, and if you go, just be very alert. Why don't you visit Kosovo? There's no other country on the planet right now that loves the US more than they do - it's very refreshing and there's still very much an air of celebration.

Keep us posted!

Yea one of our friends from Serbia said that most of the people rioting were basically soccer (football) fans without a game to go to that night haha. Hopefully life is back to normal there.

Aren't we safe in guessing so long as we don't go out at night on some dark alley singing the American anthem, that we will be just fine?

If not, I'd love to hear it though We have to decided in the next couple days!

Re your first sentence, I'm not sure who was rioting - may have been football types, but at least two people (the last one, a UN employee) were killed, so just be aware of your surroundings.

Let us know how things are in Belgrade - we're visiting at the end of May and are very much looking forward to our trip. Being aware of your surroundings is just common sense for wherever you're at-be it at home or on vacation. ENJOY your travels and be safe!

Thanks so much for your replies!

And wow, yea I hadn't thought about how much Kosovo must love us right now haha... We should have scheduled that into our trip. And what runs through my head is that that will be the only country that I will have not gone to down here in the Balkans hehe. Oh well, I'll come back It seems like Albania would really love us then too? No?

So we are definitely going now. Fun, it sounds adventurous but not too careless now. I can't wait. I think a couchsurfer from Belgrade is going to meet us and give us a little tour so that will be nice. Maybe I'll just buy a Serbia t-shirt and wear that when I'm there =)

I'll definitely have all sorts of updates and pictures on my messageboards from the trip so check in to see if we survived.

Thanks again everyone!!!

Yes, Albania loves us, too. Despite the language barrier in Albania, everyone we met (including police) were very warm and welcoming.

You'll definitely have to get to Kosovo; it's an interesting place and worth the trip.

I'm glad you decided to go to Serbia. Please post when you can; I'd love to hear about your experiences there!

Great travels!

Thanks! Maybe we will try and make a quick stop over in Kosovo this trip afterall. I'm sure it's smarter to come up into Kosovo from Albania than to try and go down from Serbia? Eh? =)

We will keep updating our travel logs at:

tylernofziger.com/messageboard

And Barney's is at:

http://brownvanman.wordpress.com/

Loved your pictures!

Please give us your impression of Serbia; can't wait to hear.

Yes, you should definitely try to get into Kosovo if you can, especially since you're so close. It's not expensive (be sure you have change; they don't make it!) and don't try to enter from Serbia.

Are you traveling by train?

I'm tempted to day trip up from Montenegro into Kosovo now. I'll see if it's worth it once I get there I suppose.

We are traveling mostly by bus in this part of the world unless someone says we should do otherwise. I really don't know much about how to get around here. I actually have no idea where the train station is here in Dubrovnik. We take a bus from Dubrvonik to Mostar tomorrow morning. That bus costs 70 kuna fyi =)

Great website Tyler, terrific detail in your writing, you really have a talent for bringing a place to life in the mind of the reader, and fantastic photos - I could almost smell the sea and sense the fun you and Barney are having!

Last October I drove from Split up to Mostar and then down to Dubrovnik. I loved Mostar, and found it to be just about the most picturesque place ever - so I can't wait to see your pictures of this lovely city.

Enjoy the rest of your travels and keep posting the report and photos!

I spent two weeks in Novi Sad last summer and am currently looking at airfares to return this summer. My daughter's ballet teacher, who is originally from Novi Sad, says that family tells him things are fine there. His perspective on the whole situation is that they HAD to demonstrate, but once it's been taken care of, it's taken care of.

Tyler - Unfortunately, no train service to/from Dubrovnik - rail lines a casualty of the 90's war. Hope you're enjoying your trip!

Debs, now that you mention it, that's true; when I was researching our trip to the Balkans (including Albania) in 2007, I realized that train travel is not an option for the most part. I had assumed we'd be traveling by train because it's such a good way to travel in Western Europe. Surprise, surprise. . .

So Tyler, I think you're doing well to be traveling by bus. I hope you do get to Kosovo; it's very different from where you've been so far.

Happy travels; looking forward to your next post!

Thanks everyone for the kind posts! We took a bus to Mostar and are absolutely loving it so far. This is definitely one of the most picturesque places I've seen in my travels.

It looks like the bus to Sarajevo is just a few more Euro than the train, but the bus goes far more often. The train leaves too early for us tomorrow so we'll be taking the bus out around noon. If Sarajevo is anything like Mostar, I'm definitely going to be giving rave reviews to Bosnia! I wish we would have pulled a day off of Dubrovnik and given it to Kosovo now so we could have made sure to hit that. Oh well... we'll see how it all plays out =)

Loved your pictures. Still laughing about the ones where you pushed each other down the stairs!

Kepp us up to date with posts and pictures!

Thanks from an old lady.

Your pix are great & you look like you're having so much fun! Oh, and have a couple of Cockta's for me - just love em!!

Can't wait to see more of your adventures ...

Haha thanks! I was hoping those pictures weren't too gruesome =)

Wow, is Cockta actually good? I never actually had any yet. I'll try and have one before I leave in your honor hehe.

Tyler,

Tell us about Serbia. What were your impressions? Was there any American backlash?

And how about a picture of you enjoying a cockta!

Seriously, hope you guys are enjoying the local culture and hopefully haven't encountered any difficulties along the way!

Tyler, I cannot begin to tell you how much I've enjoyed reading your trip reports and browsing through your pictures. Thank you so much!

My maternal grandparents were born in Karlovac, not too far from Zagreb. Your pictures of the area are wonderful and inspiring. I hope I get to visit there one day.

Have fun and be safe! And please keep posting!

Paula

Well, we've been to Serbia and no one lost an eye

We had a great time and while we occasionally got the feeling that we weren't everyone's favorite people, we never once felt at all in danger or anything like that. And actually the few Serbians that we really got to talk to were incredibly nice and understanding.

I just wrote more on my messageboard and would talk a bit more about it now but it's 1 am and I need to sleep for Ohrid tomorrow!

So you can check out the new update I just put up and hopefully I'll have pictures soon too...

Also, what on earth was I thinking Albania wouldn't like us for? They basically did everything but throw a parade for us as we passed through... All is well with the world today =) hehe