01. Monuments of The Balkans

Hi Friends and Family-

As some of you know I am heading out of the country again and decided to re-ignite my blog so you can all follow along. Next week I am headed to The Balkan region (South Eastern Europe) to study and learn about monumental architecture and spaces. This trip is a tour facilitated by Atlas Obscura (AO) an awesome organization and publication that I follow and read daily. They have news, articles, and trips around the world exploring various curiosities and destinations. This trip is focused around Brutalist architecture and totally sucked me in. I was so pleased to learn a spot had opened up after I had joined the waiting list for this experience!

I'm grateful for AO, my friends and family, and my boss who is flexible and encouraging. I'm honored to have this opportunity!!

Here's a brief write-up AO provides for the trip:

Take a road trip across Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina with Atlas Obscura as we explore the Balkans in search of Yugoslav memorial sites. Scores of these wonderfully bizarre monuments lay scattered across the hills and mountains of the region, vast Modernist effigies raised to commemorate the deeds of anti-fascist partisans and revolutionaries. Once upon a time, these striking sites were busy with tour buses and school children, but ever since the collapse of Yugoslavia, the visitors have dwindled. Over the course of this one-of-a-kind tour, we will visit more than a dozen of these remarkable monuments—known locally as spomeniks—and treat them to the well-deserved attention that they’ve been largely missing for these past few decades. We will honor them not as political symbols, but rather as extraordinary works of art commemorating events that should never be forgotten.

However, it won’t just be concrete and steel we’re looking at—along the way we’ll see mountains and lakes, explore underground tunnels, stay in Brutalist hotels, dig into local cuisines, and get to know the people who make up this diverse region of Eastern Europe.

Click here for the THE ITINERARY

serbia

croatia

bosnia-herzegovina

I will be physically traveling to Europe by myself- but will be meeting a small group of people in Belgrade upon my arrival. Once I meet with my group we will be traveling by van through out multiple countries to explore the monuments as well as the various natural and urban attractions.

April 16-29

CLT-NY

NY-Zurich

Zurich-Belgrade

SERBIA - CROATIA - BOSNIA+HERZEGOVINA

Belgrade-Munich

Munich-NYC

NYC-CLT

I can't wait to share this experience with you all- Stay tuned for more!