Monday 7 July 2014

Lake Skadar, Montenegro


Lake Skadar - also called Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër and Lake Shkodra — lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, the largest lake in the Balkan Peninsula. It is named after the city of Shkodër in northern Albania.

Skadar Lake is the largest lake in the Balkan Peninsula with a surface area that seasonally fluctuates between 370 km2 (140 sq mi) to 530 km2 (200 sq mi). Skadar Lake itself is located on the western Balkan with approximately two-third (229 km2 (88 sq mi)) of its surface belonging to Montenegro and about one-third (142 km2 (55 sq mi)) to Albania. The lake’s water level also varies seasonally from 4.7 to 9.8 m above sea level. The lake extends in the NW-SE direction, and it is approximately 44 km long.




Friday 4 July 2014

Speeding Ticket in Bosnia and Herzegovina





Foooooook......I got caught speeding.......

So we arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina and were headed to Sarajevo. We needed a green card for the car but didn't have one - our insurance company assured us that we wouldn't need one even though we asked several times. Luckily due to language barriers on the border crossing we managed to get into Bosnia without the it.
Joe drove most of the way to the capital and we swapped just before we got there. Whilst coming down a hill into a 30 mph/50 kph zone I was doing 37 mph and got flagged down....

The police man directed us to pull up while he was dealing with another speeder. We waited till he came over and spoke either Croatian, Serbian or Bosnian at me.

Err English?

"driving license" and "Passport"   

He took these and beckoned me to follow. I did grimacing. He proceeded to fill out some paper work and said something in maybe Bosnian. He waved his finger at me and shook his head. He then pointed at the document and handed me a pen.


"You sign"

"Sign? What am I signing" I then rephrase my words as English means little. "I sign, fini?"

"Yes fini" I scribble my name and he returns my license only to keep hold of my passport telling me to drive 5 minutes down the road to get some money out.

40Bosnia-Herzegovina Mark was thankfully not much - £16. 
My first speeding ticket...

Once I'd paid we continued the short distance and arrived in Sarajevo.