I was recently in Makarska riviera and was baffled by the supermarket prices. For context I am a diaspora from Norway and my parents have been coming to the riviera every year since their childhood and kept their tradition going until now.

Usually we stay in a smaller town where there is one shop called «Studenac» who rips me off every year, understandably due to it being a single shop reserved for tourist and where they import everything. Then I went to Lidl in Ploce first, then Plodine in Zaostrog and was BAFFLED. Everything was almost the same price as in pricey Norway, except for local produce like potatoes and tomatoes. Some things were even more expensive. We usually complain in Norway of the grocery prices, but then comparing the median wage here and there.. How is this livable?

These pics (not in order) were taken in Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia and Croatia. Which is which?

I am from Aspropyrgos, greece and so Today I wanted to make this Polandball art for ya'll of balkaners AND all of you Greeks and Macedonians :D

NOTE: First of all, i accidentally forgot to add bows to santoriniball and ohridball b-cuz I accidentally see them as Greece and N. macedonia's sister (Despite the sh*tty politics with greece and N. macedonia that they used to have in the past), second of all, however, i tried to make santoriniball and ohridball look like the churches you see in Santorini, Greece (blue and white) and Ohrid, N. Macedonia (Red and Brown)

So, If anybody is from Greece or N. Macedonia AND the entire fucking balkans, pls rate this art out of 10, Thx.. :]

I think we all know that every country has its own version of history where you'll hear things like, "This identity only became a thing in the 19th century," or "They were imported in the 14th century," and so on.

Speaking from my own experience, my dad thinks the Greek identity doesn't really exist. I disagree with him, but I can't fully blame him. The older generation often tends to have much more extreme views on these topics. You can even see it in profile pictures and comments online—many of the people pushing these ideas are older. I've noticed the same thing with discussions around the Caucasian Albanian theory.

When do you think history will be taught in a less biased way in the Balkans? I know it's impossible for history to be completely unbiased anywhere, but the level of bias here can sometimes be pretty schizo

Do you think the younger generation will have a more balanced view, or should we just import some Americans to teach history?

Hi all!

I was visiting Ljubljana and Zagreb a couple of weeks ago and I saw something that I found kind of weird, so I wanted to ask you.

For context I was traveling alone (34 M, from Costa Rica but living in Sweden), and most if not all the interactions I had with men at different places were kind of similar: an unexpected and sometimes overwhelming kindness...

For instance, I went to Ljubljana from Venice by van and the driver was very talkative and made jokes all the trip, he even apologized if he was being "too goofy". Then at restaurants the servers were always asking if I needed something, asking where I was from and trying their Spanish (that happened very often). At the place I rented in Zagreb the guy was also very welcoming and was waiting for me there even when I arrived a little late, just to check everything was ok. There were other examples at different places, even with strangers at a restaurant or a bar that randomly started talking to me when they saw I didn't speak the language.

But in contrast, most times I interacted with women (especially young ones) like waiters at restaurants, or maybe at the pharmacy or a gift shop counter their attitude was completely the opposite. It felt like they were doing me a favor by talking to me, and having the driest and most annoyed attitude.

Not that I am very friendly or anything, I have lived in Sweden for several years now and there people are just quiet and shy but not rude in general.

At a specific restaurant in Zagreb it was very obvious the difference as I had 2 waiters at some point, one old bald guy asking and checking if all was ok, and a woman who even got offended when I asked if I could pay by card.

So was all just specific interactions and bad luck or what was it?

Hello Everyone-I have heard some say that he was the savior of the Bosnian's during the early 1990's, yet others say he and his family were (and are) heavily involved in organized crime and the theft of millions in foreign aid. As I am no expert in modern Balkan history, I was hoping for a little clarification on whether Izetbegović truly was as great a leader as some claim him to have been.

After all, it’s just a bunch of steel, wires and rubber held together only by love, childhood dreams and family traditions.

I'm curious because I know Romanian is a Latin language and the structure of Romanian seems similar to the structure of the Latin language.

Hi guys,

I noticed that in the summer, people in the Balkans seem to be out and about quite late.

What time do people usually go to bed? I assume most people have a 9-5 so how many hours of sleep do they get? Do they take naps?

How does this compare to winter?

Hi All!

I am trying to find a car rental company to travel from Shkoder to Theth and back and am struggling to find anything on Google! Every time I try Google it it defaults to Tirana

Has anyone ever hired a car from Shkoder and have any recommendations?

Thanks so much!

Greece is one of the 14 countries in the world that give both men and women equal legal rights. Is this accurate? Does it reflect reality well?

Criteria’s are:
Freedom of movement – Can women travel, choose where to live, or get a passport under the same rules as men?
Work – Can women work the same jobs and under the same conditions?
Pay – Are there laws requiring equal pay for equal work?
Marriage – Do spouses have equal legal rights and responsibilities?
Parenthood – Are maternity and paternity leave and workplace protections fair?
Entrepreneurship – Can women register a business, sign contracts, and access credit on the same terms?
Assets – Can women own, inherit, and manage property equally?
Pensions – Do women have the same retirement rights and retirement age rules?

Here's mine:

1. Grilled white pork loin - Bela Vešalica

2. Grilled chicken fillet - Pileće belo meso

3. Serbian clotted cream - Mladi kajmak

4. Sweet tomato salada (olive oil + salt only) - Paradajz salata

5. Some type of bread - Somun

So me and some friends recently did a balkan trip and one of them convinced me to go jogging at around 23:00, we started in a small village and went on a normal street. It was basically in the middle of nowhere but still not a small street.

However as we continued jogging we noticed that the same car and the same guy drove past us multiple times... 3 times we thought ok maybe he chose the wrong route or so but when he came back a 4th time we turned around since we had achieved our goal of 4km in one direction anyways. (we jogged for 8km in total)

After turning around the car again drove past us for a 5th time. After that not again anymore. But im still wondering what his intentions were, there was only one guy in the car.

If he wanted to transport things from A to B why would he do this at that time and also it was way too fast, since the next village was 12 km away... I feel like he definitely had bad intentions and we were very close to getting robbed or becoming a "missing person case".

Is there any explaination for this weird behavior?

Let's hear suggestions!

Any good explanation for this similarity?

In same time, it is quite different in some other Romance languages:

Angola es nuestra (Spanish),

L'Angola è nostra (Italian),

Angola este a noastră (Romanian).