No problem. It’s luck of the draw sometimes. This pack looks pretty sleek and doesn’t appear as bulky and unwieldy as some backpacks, so maybe it can fly under the radar.

Thanks! I would say it will be fine for the major airlines like Lufthansa, etc. You might run into trouble if airlines like Ryanair and Wizz Air are actually looking. My only experience there is once taking a different 35L pack on Ryanair and luckily no one made me put it in a sizer.

Onebag Travel | Western Rise Voyager Travel35 Backpack Review — Seth Barham I unzip the Western Rise Voyager Travel35 backpack, which surprised me with its evenly balanced comfort and versatility, along with thoughtful features perfect for travelers that want to be light on t...

Attention all travelers perpetually in search of the perfect pack for onebag travel: I think I found it.

Join me for an extensive look at one of the newest bags on the market, the Voyager Travel35 from Western Rise.

After two weeks in Hawaii, it’s my new go-to!

sethbarham.com/blog/onebag-...

Check out a BBC documentary called The Fall of Milosevic. It’s about as comprehensive as can be on the subject and there are interviews with a lot of the major players in the conflict. If you want to go super in-depth, watch The Death of Yugoslavia first.

Here being Kosovo, but 95% of Kosovars are Albanian.

Played a major role in helping them become independent from Serbia. NATO intervention when essentially Bosnia 2.0 was beginning to happen here.

Bill Clinton statue in Prishtina, Kosovo.

I would say guess where I am based on the statue but the background kind of gives away the game…

Anyway, very much looking forward to exploring 🇽🇰 Kosovo. After starting this trip in 🇦🇱 Albania, feels like I’m coming full circle a bit.

Happy to say “Gëzuar!” again. 🍻

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Pretty much my feelings. I’m impressed by the amount of live music at bars here.

The Ottoman stone bridge, one of the oldest things in Skopje amidst all the classical facades.

If you’re a fan of Brutalist architecture, well, you’ll like Skopje.

The two national symbols of Macedonia: the best lager in the Balkans and a statue that really pisses off the Greeks.

The stone bridge at sunset.

Greetings from 🇲🇰 Skopje!

I don’t know what I expected, but I instantly vibed with this city in a similar way to 🇧🇦 Sarajevo.

Yeah, the center is a bit odd, but works in a weird Balkan kind of way. And the locals are so friendly! Welcome change from 🇧🇬 Sofia if I’m honest.

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After a year in the Balkans, I’ve seen a lot.

Bin bags measured in centimeters rather than litres is certainly one of them.

Like, dafuq?

I was lucky enough to do both. If you only had a spare day, Rila is the right choice. I think a minimum of 2 nights, maybe even 3 is needed for Plovdiv, especially if you want to see Asen’s Fortress nearby.

The main church at Rila Monastery.

The residential area of Rila Monastery. A priest and handful of monks still reside there, but many pilgrims also stay the night in the residences.

The gorgeous frescoes of Rila Monastery.

More frescoes.

If you’re in Sofia 🇧🇬 definitely don’t waste too many days in the city. Spend one at Rila Monastery. Established by St. Ivan of Rila in 927, it’s one of Bulgaria’s most important national symbols.

The current frescoes are not that old, but still incredibly impressive.

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Are you the kind of person that needs to eat at a different place every day to “make the most of” your travels, or do you find a spot you love and patronize it throughout the trip?

For me it depends but in Istanbul where a lot of places can be tourist traps, I tend to do the latter.

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Well, Istanbul 🇹🇷 via the Sophia 🇧🇬 night train is booked. If anyone has any advice, I’m all ears. Particularly for decent restaurants that don’t scam tourists (seems to be an issue based on my research).

Very close to the Blue Mosque if that helps 👍

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I would certainly ask. After living in China 7 years it’s muscle memory. Pretty common in the Balkans as well. It’s just kind of disrespectful to not at least offer or make a move to do it, at least how I feel now.

And really, if you see some of the stuff you’re walking around, kinda gross not to.

Could very well be. I will probably know for sure sometime February 👍

Looks like the only Balkan country I’ll probably miss is Slovenia 🇸🇮 which will annoy me, but flights aren’t necessarily cheap to be so close, and train links there from other Balkan countries, well if you know you know…

And if the Balkan memes are to be believed, it’s the least Balkan anyhow…

I thought I might miss Romania 🇷🇴 on this Balkan adventure due to trips I already have planned while my home base is in Sofia 🇧🇬 and work and general travel burnout.

BUT.

Cheap flights to Bucharest 🇷🇴 from Tirana 🇦🇱 where I’m planning to swing back to in April to end the journey where it began.

The most prominent landmark now is the medieval Church of the Holy Mother of God, which some scholars put its original construction back to the 11th century.

The ruins of Asen’s Fortress sit perched above it on a higher cliff. They are also cool, but not quite as photogenic.

The Church of the Holy Mother of God perched on a cliff below the ruins of Asen’s Fortress.

The Church of the Holy Mother of God as seen from Asen’s Fortress ruins.

One of the original frescoes inside the Church of the Holy Mother of God.

The altar at the Church of the Holy Mother of God.

Took a day trip from Plovdiv 🇧🇬 to Asenovgrad (30 min train ride) to walk up to Asen’s Fortress (2.5 mile from the station). Totally worth it.

Possibly first built upon by the Thracians, the strategic cliff has changed hands among every major empire in the region.

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I don’t dislike it, the center is beautiful and it’s nice to finally be somewhere in the Balkans with a metro system for a change. It’s not a very service-oriented place in my experience, unless you go to some of the higher-end places to eat. Just not as friendly as other places I’ve been.

Yeah I just try to be as friendly as I can, and usually people can’t maintain a scowl for too long if you maintain a positive attitude.

A hillside neighborhood in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On the subject of friendly vibes, which capital do you think has the friendliest locals towards tourists?

For me, it has easily been Sarajevo, BiH 🇧🇦

I never had trouble finding people to talk to or hang out with as a solo traveler in my 3 months there.

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In Bulgaria for sure so far for me. For the entire Balkans, it will be hard to top the Bosnians.

Never gotten a single solitary response when I try to chase it up with them. If anyone has advice, I’m all ears.

Things that helped in the past: switching from a business account to a personal account and making it private. But this crap suddenly started up again anyway…

Screenshot of IG removing my stories for absurd, baseless, and completely arbitrary reasons…

And so it begins again. Just posting some of Plovdiv’s gorgeous mosaics, but to Instagram that’s “spam”. Not sure what I did to get on their shitlist, but this has been happening for most of my stories.

Increasingly this app is the only platform that I will care to put the effort into…

Definitely a lot of layers to explore here! It’s so cool to see elements of Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, 19th century, and Brutalist elements intermingled with each other.

As my home base in 🇧🇬 I should say.

Although Sofia does have the rail links going for it. The metro is pretty good as well. And it will be easier to get to my next country 🇲🇰

But coming to Plovdiv sort of reminded me you can’t judge a country by its capital alone.

One of many historical houses in Plovdiv’s old town.

A detailed Roman mosaic in the Bishop’s Basilica museum of Plovdiv.

The ruins of the Ancient Theatre of Philippopolis in Plovdiv.

A fancy salad and beer at a restaurant in Plovdiv.

My biggest mistake in my year in the Balkans so far was choosing Sofia over Plovdiv as my home base.

Only been in Plovdiv a couple days, but I’m impressed. Beautiful, clean, loads of history, friendly people, much better quality food and service than grumpy Sophia.

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Thanks for the info, Carolin!