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Vegetarian in the Balkans- a brief introduction

I mentioned several posts ago that I decided to become a vegetarian. While most of my posts have focused on my itinerary, where I went, what I did, etc.; I've decided to be a little more focused in this post and talk about the adventures of being meatless on the road.

Furthermore, I won't be incorporating pictures into this post- earlier this week in Ohrid, Macedonia I somehow managed to crack my laptop screen, rendering my Chromebook invalid. We arrived in Albania a few days ago, so here's hoping I can find a place to get it fixed in a short period of time. My Chromebook was only about $180, so I'm not wedded to it, and if it weren't for my blog or for my new freelance travel writing gig I could probably eschew a laptop entirely - you can do almost anything on a smartphone these days.

Another small update, if you're wondering who’s this “we” I'm referring to. For the next leg of my trip, at least through the western Balkans, I'll have a travel buddy. In Skopje I met up with Michael, an American who's been residing in Europe for several years, and we'll be exploring the former Yugoslav republic and Albania together. I'm looking forward to this experience, to take a break from solo traveling and to get a new perspective on the places I visit. Michael's fairly well traveled in other parts of Europe and the world, so I hope to learn a lot from him in the next three weeks.

Anyway, back to vegetarianism. Of course it was easy on the farm in Bulgaria, as I was only provided with vegan ingredients to cook with. In those two ish weeks, I decided I no longer wanted my diet to include meat, for several reasons. I mainly think of my personal health, but also the sustainability of our planet, and the unethical treatment it takes to deliver meat products to people cheaply and efficiently. Therefore, meat is off the table. I also plan to someday enter veganism, but have deemed that too difficult to follow on the road, and especially while couchsurfing with others who offer their food to me.

Ahhh, the Balkans, land of grilled meats, cured sausage, freshly caught fish. I was able to sample many of these dishes in my time pre-farm, and I don't think I'm missing out on much now. Fortunately, the Balkans is also known for its fresh Shopska salads, consisting usually of tomato, cucumber, and grated white cheese, as well is its white bean soups. To cut down on costs and increase variety I've also been trying to cook at least one meal a day.

So far, things have been relatively easy. During the remainder of my time in Bulgaria I stocked up on muesli, wheat bread, kefir yogurt, bananas and...peanut butter. Ignatius, my host in Plovdiv, showed me where I could buy it at Kaufland, a German grocery chain. I've been picky about buying peanut butter since I got to Europe, seeing as most brands have added oils and sugars in them, but this Kaufland brand only has added salt, so I caved. Thus, most of my meals in Blagoevgrad consisted of muesli and kefir and peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Before I got sick of them I ran out of peanut butter  (my second jar in 10 days...maybe I needed to hold off.)

After I met up with Michael I started eating out a bit more. When I'm traveling alone, I'm more likely couchsurfing, and a lot of the time I'm on my own for most meals, or I'm sharing them in a home. When I knew I would be out for lunch, I would find a traditional dish or specialty of the city/country, and go from there. Now, there isn't much in the way of planning (Michael's more of the “let's wander until we find something”) so I just keep my eye out for anything more than salad on the menu.

So far, I've been blessed with falafel, grilled vegetables, pizza, and pasta. I'm sure this is how it will be for some time, but so far so good. Last night in Dürres, Albania, we went to a pseudo Italian restaurant. Michael got some nice looking cuttlefish dish, and I ordered spaghetti with olives and spicy pepper oil. In Ohrid, a fairly touristy town by the lake of the same name, we stopped in a newly opened falafel shop  (aptly named Dr. Falafel) serving freshly fried falafel balls in a thick pita - like pocket with tahini sauce and all the pickled vegetables you could pile on your plate. Not too shabby.

Anyway, back on the road soon! Today, we head to Tirana, the capital of Albania, for a couple of nights. The transportation system here is kind of wild, but tickets anywhere usually cost less than 400 leke ($3) so can't complain too much. More about Albania later :)

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