Meet ex Yugoslavia - 6 beautiful and charming countries

Flag of the Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe during most of the 20th century. It came into existence after World Ward I in 1918 under the name of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes by the merger of the provisional State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs with the formerly independent Kingdom of Serbia.

The constituent six socialist republics that made up the country were the SR Bosnia and Herzegovina,  SR Croatia, SR Macedonia, SR Montenegro, SR Slovenia, and SR Serbia.

In this blog, I will write about 10 tourist attractions in 6 ex - Yu countries. There are: Lakes Bled and Bohinj (Slovenia), Plitvice Lakes and Dubrovnik (Croatia), Bay of Kotor and Durmitor National Park (Montenegro), Međugorje and Mostar ( Bosnia and Herzegovina), Belgrade, Novi Sad and Đerdap George (Serbia). All these places are natural and anthropogenic and worth visiting. They attract tourist from all world. Lets start with Slovenia!

Bled & Bohinj

It is no over statement to rank Lake Bled & Bohinj amongst the most beautiful Lakes in the Alps. Lake Bled is a world famous destination, named by Yahoo Travel as one of the World's 10 Most Beautiful Lakes and not without good reason – surrounded by mountains and with a fairytale castle perched on a crag overlooking a 17th century church on an island, it is an outstandingly beautiful place. The town at one end is fairly developed with lots of bars, restaurants, hotels and other tourist facilities, whilst at the other end it is quieter and generally less built up. Taking a “Pletna” boat out to the island is certainly one of the highlights of any trip to Slovenia. Bohinj; less than half an hour’s drive west from Bled is located in the Triglav National Park and has an altogether more remote and tranquil feel – the serene lake, surrounded by beautiful mountains and quiet villages is a superb place to rest and unwind and is bursting with opportunities for outdoor activities from walking, mountain biking and boating / swimming in the lake in summer to skiing in winter. The popular ski resort of Vogel is perched on a mountain overlooking Lake Bohinj. Bohinjska Bistrica is an attractive town which also features the excellent Bohinj Water Park. Bohinj is also a popular starting point for treks up to Slovenia’s highest mountain Triglav, past 7 smaller high altitude lakes. Other attractions of the Lakes area include the charming medieval town of Radovljica10km south of Bled, the lovely Vintgar Gorge, numerous waterfalls, the Sava Bohinjka River running down from Lake Bohinj which offers scope for fly-fishing, kayaking and swimming. Overall the Lakes region is a wonderful area to enjoy Slovenia’s great outdoors all year round and a great place for a holiday.

Bled, already famous at the beginning of the 20th century as the most beautiful health spa of the then Austrian empire, attracted the European aristocratic elite. After WWII, one of the most attractive state residences of the former regime was located in Bled. Many of the world’s most important people thus enjoyed the beauties of Bled.

Map of Slovenia with Bled and Bohinj