{"id":5578,"date":"2020-03-31T19:44:47","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T19:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mircorp.com\/?p=5578"},"modified":"2024-09-12T19:14:50","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T19:14:50","slug":"7-balkan-nations-touring-from-the-dalmatian-coast-to-the-dinaric-alps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mircorp.com\/7-balkan-nations-touring-from-the-dalmatian-coast-to-the-dinaric-alps\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Balkan Nations: Touring from the Dalmatian Coast to the Dinaric Alps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Located on what was once a war-torn peninsula, the Balkans<\/a> stand out today as some of the world\u2019s most diverse, complex and cosmopolitan countries: Serbia<\/a>, Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/a>, Croatia<\/a>, Montenegro<\/a>, Albania<\/a>, Kosovo<\/a>, and North Macedonia<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A journey through this beguiling region presents a brilliant mosaic of competing cultures, ethnicities, languages, and ideologies \u2013 and serves as a sampler of contrasting landscapes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MIR\u2019s Balkan Odyssey: Crossroads of Cultures<\/a><\/strong> small group tour is a 16-day exploration of these seven countries that digs deeply into the drama and history of an astonishingly divergent region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Joanna
Joanna on her visit to view Kotor Bay, Montenegro. Photo credit: Joanna Millick<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 20 minutes you feel like you\u2019re jumping from one planet to another,\u201d says MIR Director of Sales Joanna Millick, who helped create this tour after a three-week journey along the backroads of the Balkans.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe surroundings are so different within a few miles of each other. From the Bay of Kotor on the Dalmatian Coast (Montenegro), you take 29 switchbacks on an old donkey path up into the Dinaric Alps (Bosnia & Herzegovina) and into a completely new landscape, going from the warm Adriatic Sea into the harsh mountains.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd, as for cultures and religions, nowhere except for Jerusalem is there such diversity in one square mile as in Sarajevo: a Catholic cathedral, Jewish synagogue, Orthodox church, and a Muslim mosque all existing peacefully.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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A Travel Route through the Balkans, Designed by Experts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201c\u2026Each of [the] Balkan neighbors that we visited was a revelation and a joy. And if travel is an education, then this Balkan odyssey was like a year back at school.\u201d<\/p>Patricia Schultz, author of the New York Times #1 bestseller \u201c1,000 Places To See Before You Die<\/strong>,\u201d said of MIR\u2019s Balkan Odyssey tour.<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n

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\"Balkan
Balkan Odyssey: Crossroads of Culture map<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

MIR\u2019s Balkan Odyssey small group tour explores small towns and bustling capitals of seven compact nations:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n