My two month adventure is over and I'm finally back home with my family in Toronto. This was the longest adventure I had ever done with only 2-3 wk trips in the past. This brought its advantages and disadvantages, most notably hauling luggage, and having my laptop for daily blogging.

Travelling to Budapest to do the four week Celta training course the flight and apartment were paid for as part of the course so in a way I got a 'free trip' by adding some extra travelling at the end. This was my first time back in Europe since 2009 and nice to be back in familiar surroundings after three years in Asia with short visits home.

Luggage

I had two possible leads for teaching jobs right after the end of my Celta course so I had to pack in the event I would be going direct to another job and not home for another year. Once I was in Budapest I changed my mind and decided to go home after travelling but was stuck with all the luggage to haul daily from town to town.

I will never travel with two suitcases again which was a nightmare going up and down escalators almost knocking everyone down like skittles as it went sliding down in Istanbul. With all the rips and cracks I was hoping it would make it to the end and fortuantley they made it

Budapest and Hungary

I've visited Budapest and Istanbul, the start and finish of the trip, both two times before. For Budapest I long wanted to return and do some day trips outside the city.

Arriving a week before the course started I was able to do day trips to Eger, Pecs, and Gyor. It was also interesting seeing how the country had changed so much over my three visits in 2004, 2007, and 2013.

I had a home base in Europe for five weeks, something I've never had, and was feasting on the bakeries and strudels so abundant in Budapest which where practically non existent in Korea.

The CELTA training course

I really have to temper what I'm going to say about this. It was one of the most ridiculous experiences I put myself thru, out of touch with reality, contrary to the high reputation and benchmark standard it appears to have in the ESL community

It validated a lot of things I was doing on my own and gave me some formal structure of how to do them such as concept checking, monitoring/microteaching, meaning/form/pronunciation, and taught some new techniques such as the phonics chart and grammar reference manuals.

However it fails to address basic motivational problems such as what if the class is bored, refuses to do the work, fill in worksheets, or do pairwork? This was my constant daily struggle of getting students who showed no interest to do minimal tasks.

It was nice interacting with the Hungarian adult students. The first group threw a surprise party for us with cakes and sparklers which almost set off the fire alarms. The second group also made a dummy quiz handout about each of our characteristics.

I wouldn't call taking the course a waste of time, but it discourages independent thinking outside their model which wont work all the time, and doesn't completely prepare you either for the real teaching world

Romania

Heading into Romania I was able to make a brief stop into the bordertown of Timisoara which was formerly part of Hungary. It had interesting architecture and was a good introduction to the country. I wasnt able to venture further in as it would divert me too much of course from my intended through thru the Yugoslavia countries but it would be nice to do Romania as a seperate trip.

Belgrade and Serbia

Belgrade excited me and was somewhere I long wanted to visit being the hometown of my Yugoslav Aunt. There was a worry with the private bus getting there as there is no direct train from Timisoara but eventually I made it in the rain.

Unfortunately the rain did not clear the entire four days affecting my mood in the town where I was also starting to get a cold. Novi Sad made an interesting day trip to the north with its Austrian architecture formerly being Hapsburg and Hungarian territory.

Moving south to the ancient crossroad town of the Nis the atmosphere changed for the better. The skies cleared and the temperature began to rise. The town also had a much more relaxed laidback feel to the downbeat atmosphere of Belgrade.

I was also coming into the Ottoman heartland and seeing more influence left behind in the fortress such as the mihrab style gates, Mosque, and Turkish baths

Novi Pazar

Moving onto Novi Pazar was always problematic. There is not much online as most people don't go there so finding bus or hotel information was near impossible. After much determination I was able to find a bus route in and out and hotel accommodation.

After being dumped on the side of the road outside the town market and making my way to my hotel where they spoke no English, all the trouble paid off as the town does live up to its reputation of being the 'oriental gem'.

The character is very Turkish and similar to Sarajevo or Bosnia, strikingly different from Serbia.
These were ethnic Serbs, not Albanians or Kosovars who I was to meet later. Many homes were chopping wood for the winter while distant sheep grazed on the mountainside.

You could easily spend a few lazy days here escaping all the bustle of city life and locals were also curious and warming up to me whether they could speak english or not. Its a shame the town is not more well known and on the tourist trail

Getting out of Novi Pazar proved to be more challenging than I expected almost leaving me stranded there. This should not deter from the fact I long wanted to go, really enjoyed it there, and wouldnt mind going again

Kosovo

After comandeering a taxi for 70 euros to drive us, crossing into Kosovo was a big unknown for this newly independent country borne in such conflict, controversy, and continued ethnic tensions.

The border seemingly appears out of nowhere since Serbia does not recognize it so there is no signage. After being searched for guns or any weapons we were in the northern Serb enclave where giant Serb flags were proudly displayed before heading thru another police checkpoint

Kosovo at first just seems like more Serbian green hills until you near the capital and see the level of investment that is pouring into the country. At this rate and with its semi independent status it could become the Monaco or Dubai of the former Yugoslavia and a haven for offshore banking should they decide to go that route

Pristina is modernizing and restoring its old town. Prizren was a delight with its rich historical heritage and worthy of an overnight stay. I enjoyed Kosovo so much I actually spoke to two schools and gave my resume.

Macedonia

The-Former-Yugoslav-Republic-Of-Macedon ia (as Greece insists it be called) was also a treat full of surprises. One would expect this to be a "Greek Macedonian" heartland but surprisingly the rich Turkish character continues in Skopje and Tetovo.

I would have liked to have spent more time in Skopje's museums which I didnt get to see so there is the opportunity for a return visit with Kosovo

Bulgaria

Where do I begin? After the single worst border crossing in my entire life, Sofia was dead scary and felt like either a zombie apocalypse or a brutal police state with the city centre in lockdown

Fortunately things were much friendlier and less scary in Plovdiv and the Rila Monastery. If I were to return I would visit some of the smaller historical towns staying well clear of Sofia.

Turkey

It only takes one person to sour your mood for an entire city. This was my third time here and one of the reasons I loved Turkey was how friendly and hospitable everyone was. However the greed of the bus station restaurant charging me 20TL for a meal that I was paying 5TL for everywhere else left me suspicious of everyone this time.

I offended the hotel owner when I checked out and changed hotels, everything was mostly closed for the holiday week, and the weather turned cold and rainy for the last two days, ending the trip literally on a damp note.

Food and Music

One of the reasons I love the Balkans is its music. I only ever heard "gypsy fiddles" at the Budapest street festival. Yugoslav music is very much Indo-Persian influenced, and Bulgaria has very strong Hindi roots. Kosovo and Macedonia are Albanian influenced and use lots of pipes but I wasnt able to buy any music due to time, language, and all my luggage.

Some favourites to look for on youtube

Bosnia
Hanka Paldum - Turkish Sevdah Music http://youtu.be/0wvIy_lOCss and folk pop http://youtu.be/y3O47uL4Da4
Ilahije - religious music ranging from melodious, pop, and light rock http://youtu.be/PVuqkdruPIk

Serbia
Dragana Mirkovic - Queen of Turbo Folk http://youtu.be/4puBb9Eqgf0 and http://youtu.be/RTohrTfy8ls
Sinan Sakic - Heavily Indo-Persian influenced and almost Pakistani Qawwali sounding at times
http://youtu.be/6dTK_9OUqOY http://youtu.be/dEuFmtLJndc http://youtu.be/rPUyjIjwE18

Bulgaria
Sofi Marinova - Chalga style http://youtu.be/i2rgsGIpzEo
Azis - Roma drag queen with strong Hindi inflluences http://youtu.be/0JbNpWc0DGE
(this is actually what walking in Sofia felt like!)

There was even a Pakistani singer that tried to represent Bulgaria at Eurovision singing in Urdu which seemed very odd but now makes sense when I hear the stuff they listen to down there http://youtu.be/TUE7MrgqYn8

Food was a bit problematic during the trip. While I was spoilt for bakeries in Budapest, most of Yugoslavia has a heavy grilled meat diet and not much else which my stomach cant handle everyday. Fortunately in Turkey there was plenty of variety and rich desserts for my sweet tooth which I had been deprived of in Korea

Return to Sarajevo

This was certainly a once in a lifetime trip having no job worries to return to and the luxury to travel at ones own pace. I had wanted to do this trip to some lesser known towns for many years to explore and experience the culture and heritage I had been reading abut in my research.

There are certainly places I really enjoyed and would visit again in the 'Yugoslav basin' from Novi Pazar to Skopje. I also saw some amazing Orthodox Churches and artwork which we dont see in western Europe. Its a wonder they all lived together when they dont even have a common language in some parts

But my favourite is and still remains Sarajevo in Bosnia. Not only does the Turkish heritage remain but they have embraced it as their own and are more Turkish than the Turkish. The old town quarters in Sarajevo and Mostar are living museums where you can still see the artisans stamping away at their copper and metals creating their fine hand crafts.

The Ottoman Empire may have ended and some may say 'Turkey is not part of Europe'. However the cultural heritage and traditions of the Turks from food, music, architecture, language, and religion all live on in the western half of the empire.

Having been to most of the Balkans now its perhaps time to return to Sarajevo after my last visit in 2007, make my way down thru Montenegro and Albania across back to Macedonia and Kosovo, and yes even to Novi Pazar if I can get back there. There are also places in northern Greece and Athens where Ottoman heritage can still be found but that may be a seperate trip.

For now I am back in Toronto looking for another overseas teaching job and seeing where my next home base and region to explore will be.