A Little Balkan Shuffle

The other Eternal City, with seven hills no less: the Acropolis, hoisting a glowing Parthenon above the city, is one of them.

Uninhibited zest for life meets soulful dancing at Klimataria, in Athens. (Click on photo to enlarge and view slideshow.)

A Belgrade native observes the Sava River and its bridges, targeted by the NATO bombing campaign in 1999 but destined to be saved by the people of the city, who danced and toasted on them all night long. Having made lemons out of lemonade (they were ordered by the government to act as human shields), many Belgradians remember these makeshift parties as some of the best nights of their lives.

Let it be known that anywhere in the Balkans is where you should be visiting now. The landscape is intriguing, the people are warm and welcoming, the history is fascinating!

Recent forays into the former Yugoslavia and to Greece left Mediterranean Moves agape at the local beauty, tastes and mentality.

At To Je To, the Cevapcici is hearty and divine, and served with fermented cabbage, pita, mustard and sour cream.

My host Ria welcomed me and my buddy Liz at Rome if You Want To to Athens with an assortment of homegrown goods from her native Corinth, along with tzatziki and some curative Rakia (the week before, the Serbians generously plied us with their version of the same liqueur, Rakija, in an assortment of fruit varieties.)

A seafood fry tempts at an Athens restaurant specializing in cuisine from the island of Lesbos. (Meanwhile, its diners specialize in Opa.)

The stamp of the Ottoman Turks is distinctly and keenly noticed in southeastern Europe , whether in the Turkish (nay, Serbian!) coffee tried in Belgrade - an improved-upon version of that tried last year in the Rhodes Old Town - in the joyous abundance of honey-infused baklava in both Belgrade and Athens, or in the gorgeously fiery and intense music savored at Saran in the Serbian town of Zemun, and at Klimataria, in what has long been considered a gritty barrio next to the Monistiraki district of Athens.

Paint me a picture of the Blue Danube: the Petrovardin Fortress reigns high above the terrain, facing Serbia's third city of Novi Sad from across Europe's second-longest river.

These places are all heart, soul, and ancient fable. For now my little Balkan shuffle has come to a close, but of course the shuffler is angling to resume the dance, particularly to Sarajevo, the Montenegrin Coast, and equally to Dubrovnik and Zagreb!

An olive tree peacefully overlooks the city from Athens's Mt. Lycabettus.

P.S. This blogger said it more than once and she'll say it again: travel is all about the connections you make, both with locals of the terrain you're visiting and with fellow travelers. And sometimes, the best trips are not necessarily those most thoroughly planned, but rather, those that allow you to go with the flow - unexpected encounters that led in turn to surprising discoveries made our dance across the Adriatic and down to the Aegean a perfect ten. 

Thanks to Liz, Caron, Kate, M, Stefanos and Ria for an unforgettable March, 2016!

...And dance we did. After picking up some advice from the quirky and eclectic Trazhabar in Belgrade.

Djordjey with Belgrade Food Tours reads my fortune from Serbian (don't say Turkish!) coffee grits at  Belgrade's "?" Cafe or kafana. (Photo Courtesy of Caron Cassady Guillo)

Athens sprawls like a map around mountains and along its ample coastline, a bitter-sweet sight for those of us who leave a little piece of our hearts in the Balkans. Until next time!

Links: Try the "Serbia on a Toothpick" Tour with Djordjey! Or get a taste of the spontaneous local dance numbers that warmed our hearts at Klimataria!