Transdniestr is a different world; a living museum of times gone by. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, Moldova seriously considered joining Romania, much to the Transdniestrians chagrin. Next door to Ukraine, Transdniestr has more in common with Ukraine and Russia than with Romania.
After a brutal war in 1992, Transdniestr broke away from Moldova and declared its independence.
Tiraspol war memorial
This self-declared, break-away republic doesn’t officially exist. Yet there’s a Transdniestrian government, a Parliament, an army, a police force, a flag, a national anthem, currency and postage stamps. Which can only be used within the country.
Posted in Europe, Mini countries, Odd countries, Time Travel | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
While writing the post about Kosovo, I was reminded of Macedonia. A former Yugoslav republic, Macedonia (like Kosovo) is also at a bit of a standstill regarding future membership in international organizations. After two unsuccessful applications, the country was finally allowed to join the UN in 1993, providing they didn’t use the name Republic of Macedonia, but rather the long, awkward-sounding provisional name FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). Because of the naming dispute (covered in my Skopje article and in much more detail in Wikipedia), Greece has successfully hindered Macedonia’s membership in other organizations.
Last April, I visited Skopje. About the same time, NATO’s Bucharest summit decided not to issue an invitation to Macedonia to join the organization because of Greek objections. Curious to see whether there has been any developments, both regarding future EU and NATO membership, and relations with Greece, this is what I’ve gleaned:
[read on]
Posted in Europe, Odd countries | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
A year ago (April 2008) I travelled to then 2-month-old Kosovo to try to get a first impression of the fledgling nation. It was a very quick visit, just one day really, a Saturday. And I only visited Pristina.
[Continue reading this entry]
Posted in Europe, Odd countries, Travel | No Comments »
Thursday, October 16th, 2008
story is up on travelmag.co.uk -
here Posted in Europe, Odd countries, Travel Writing | No Comments »
Friday, August 22nd, 2008
I’m off to Srpska. After the end of the Bosnian war and the Dayton Accord, Bosnia & Herzegovina was divided into two political entities; 51 % of the territory for Croats and Bosniaks and 49 % for Serbs. The ... [Continue reading this entry]
Posted in Europe, Odd countries, UNESCO World Heritage Sites | 2 Comments »
Friday, August 8th, 2008
My article on Skopje is live
here Posted in Europe, Odd countries, Travel, Travel Writing | No Comments »
Sunday, March 11th, 2007
My article about Lesotho is published and can be found
here. I've also submitted it for an anthology of travel stories. Cross fingers!
It's been a few years since this Southern African journey. It was a great trip and I'm ...
[Continue reading this entry] Posted in Africa, Mini countries, Odd countries, Travel, Travel Writing | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 14th, 2007
Norfolk Island, that little paradise in the Pacific, was brought to my attention again a few days ago, when a New Zealander pleaded guilty to the murder of a young Sydney-woman on the island nearly five years ago. A dramatic ...
[Continue reading this entry] Posted in Australia/Pacific, Odd countries, Travel, Travel Writing, Travel with children | 1 Comment »
Friday, November 17th, 2006
and moving right along - here's one about
Little Liechtenstein Posted in Europe, Mini countries, Odd countries, Travel, Travel Writing | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 4th, 2006
I like to cross borders on foot and try to do that whenever I can. It's still fun in Africa - say, between South Africa and Lesotho, or Asia, even between USA and Mexico or any place where borders mean ...
[Continue reading this entry] Posted in Europe, Mini countries, Odd countries, Travel | 1 Comment »
