Magster - Lake Ohrid was very scenic, Skopje was quirky, Start here: http://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com/...sed-by-skopje/

thursdaysd -- Thanks so much for the link -- what a fascinating trip! Bulgaria looks better than ever to me now --especially Veliko Tarnovo and the opportunity to drink Bulgarian wine. Lake Ohrid looks lovely and Subotica also caught my eye, a place I had never heard of before -- just one more place to add to my long travel wish list.

Magster - glad you enjoyed the blog. If you have any interest at all in Art Nouveau I urge you not just to visit Subotica, but to cross the nearby border to southern Hungary for Pecs and Szeged and maybe Kecskemet.

<i>and maybe Kecskemet.</i>

Definitely for Art Nouveau:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...th/4186907660/

Michael - I preferred Szeged to Kecskemet. Kecskemet had more National Romantic style buildings, and I like my AN eclectic.

And I found Szeged too monumental and imitative of European capitals, thanks to the reconstruction after the 1879 flood.

"Overall, the atmosphere is somewhat depressing -- so many people look defeated. When we say we are from America, many of them get this sad, wistful look. Paul believes the biggest problem is that people here don’t want a better life. He said, “The people have forgotten how to dream.” They wistfully dream about getting into 16 trillions of debt to China. And then they are sad that they can't find the way.

Just re-found this, as I'm planning on going back to Romania this fall - the southern part this time. Thanks for the hotel and restaurant recommendations, I'll be following up on them.

Bookmarking. So interesting!