Pre-pandemic travels in the Balkans

Louis Aston is a young, aspiring architect from Scotland where he is currently enrolled at the Glasgow School of Art. Louis and his passions stem from his interests in Phenomenology and this relationship between history and society where he reflects upon his role of designing sustainable architecture. This journal began with Louis reading the works of Graham Hancock and researching his hypothesis of an previous advanced ancient civilisation which constructed such works as the Great Sphinx of Egypt prior to the last ice-age that differ to main stream sciences sequenced development of mankind.

This initially inspired Louis to question the rational thinking of architecture, how sequential movements build upon pre-established ideas that contextualise their place in today’s society leading him to challenge and construct architectural proposals based upon their historical context with gingerly reverenced esteem. These insights inspire Louis to travel the world in search of forming his own ideas and opinions of architectural theory and their corresponding movements.

These selected photographs are an amalgamation of architectural fauna taken from his travels where he travelled to some of the least visited parts of Europe investigating potentially untapped landscapes to gain a broader understanding of places of the world.

A brief photo-journal to The Balkan Countries

By Louis Derek Aston 2018-2019

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Shot on Samsung Note 9

Slovenia

I

8 - 19

II

8 - 19

III

8 - 19

Bosnia & Herzegovina

IV

8 - 19

Croatia

V

8 - 19

Montenegro

VI

8 - 19

VII

8 - 19

Ljubljana, Lake Bled & Skocjan

Serbia

Novi-Sad & Beograd

Sarajevo & Mostar

Dubrovnik

Bay of Kotor & Budva

Albania Shkodër, Tiranaa, Berat & Sarandë

Romania

Braşov & Bucharest

Many thanks to my parents also Robbie whom I travelled with ~3 months

I Slovenia

Lake Bled, Skocjan & Ljubljana

Starting chronologically, I arrived to Slovenia after spending a month visiting the Baltic states, Russia and Central Eastern Europe. I had just spent the last few days climbing the high Taras mountains of Slovakia, pictures of Slovenia’s Lake Bled and its glass like turquoise snow melt covered what seemed every travel magazine I came across so I must start my journey here. For Slovenia being nestled between Italy, Austria and Croatia it is an geographical heaven, full of mountains that reach down spreading their many transversal underground rivers to Ljubljana and countryside beyond. Although many tourists only visit the edges of Lake Bled failing to venture much further than the seemingly compulsory boat journey to Provost house much discovery can be found by simply walking around, finding quaint meadows spotted with timber shacks which fall into themselves appearing to hide from the typical tourist, you could easily spend days swimming and mountain gazing around Lake Bled. For me, this is where Slovenia is at her best allowing us to discover her hidden gems within the backdrop of the Julian Alps, for any picture I would take is postcard worthy.

Historically Slovenia faired the best of the Balkan nations from the death of Josip Broz Tito and the subsequent beak-up of Yugoslavia evidenced throughout the sparsity of soviet inspired architecture although remnants remain in the administrative buildings in Ljubljana which now become organic monuments to a past time.

The city itseslf gives off a spirit very much not oppressed, markets litter the artisan streets where people dart from vegan takeaway establishments to fill themselves for the nightly entertainment, there is a genuine solitude in Slovenia which is not easily forgotten however the conflict of 30 years ago seemingly has been.

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Provost House on Lake Bled in Juliun Alpes 10

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Image to be added

Timber Shed in Juliun Aples 12

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Gorge in Reka River near Skocjan

Reka river

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Unnamed Gorge

Skocjan Caves

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Ljubljana River front from Cobblers Bridge 18

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Meseum of city Heritage, Ljubljana

Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, Ljubljana

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Staircase for supermarket, Ljubljana

Ljubljana Cultural Centre

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II Serbia

Novi-Sad & Beograd

The journey from Ljubljana to Belgrade or Beograd was not a pleasant one. I was cocooned in a hot box of sweat and grime, crammed in a retired ex-German railway carriage for 13 hrs where unfamiliar knees rubbed against mine while Slavic tongues filled the air, of which 4 hrs were spent at the border crossing into Serbia leading me to arrive near dusk in the city of Novi-Sad to meet my friend Robbie whom set out for Hungary when we split in Slovakia. I was told in broken English by a local babushka, that Serbia is a troubled country full of natural beauty suffering from corruption which stopped innovation long ago and now survives to line the pockets of government officials. I found the capital of Beograd most unique and interesting, it is a relic of a past time. Filled with Soviet inspired architecture in sparing states of repair it is a concrete jungle where one should walk to the old Railway station in the Savamala district to fully appreciate what the peoples of Serbia have endured; it still houses a currency exchange, police station and kiosk sitting in its self forming dilapidated ruins. You can witness first hand the scars left from its past conflicts, one can only imagine the gandeur of what was once these iconic series of buildings.

Further West across a tributary of the Danube the city of “Novi-Beograd” or newwhite-city can be found following the tradition of everything being grey. If one were to look back into work of 1940’s Le Corbusier, “Novi-Beograd” would not look misplaced in his book of urban planning disasters where the layout of the city is segregated into blocks assigned a function and purpose connected through 6 lane streets where each facade is devoid of subsistence. Although, for me one can see the beauty in the interior of the Sava centre decadent with space race paraphernalia. The high ceilings fitted with large reinforced concrete beams speak vertically where one can only be inclined to reach up out of wanderlust in a time all but disappearing, I feel small in this colossal now all but abandoned palace of culture.

True Beauty lies for Serbia in and around the Northern city of Novi-Sad or “New Orchard” named after its many hills that fill the surrounding landscape populated with monasteries and vineyards which has claimed the name “The jewel of Serbia”.

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View from Centre for the Protection of Infants, Children and Youth, Belgrade 26

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Old Belgrade Railway station, Constructed 1884 28

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Old Belgrade Railway station 30

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Old Belgrade Railway station, Abandoned 2018

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Palilula District, Belgrade 34

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Savamala District, Belgrade

“Novi Beograd” Block-23

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Sava centre, Belgrade

Sava centre

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View from Sava centre onto Block-22 40

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Novi-Sad Old Town 42

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III Bosnia & Herzegovina

Sarajevo & Mostar

Bosnia & Herzegovina stands today as a paradox, the meeting point of Western Christendom and Eastern Islam thrown together to form the melting pot of Sarajevo, where one does not arrive but rather travel here. As I was travelling from Beograd I was subject to an agonisingly long journey by bus where roads seem to dissipate and become fiction the closer you get, smooth tarmac swaps for deep crevasses where you become one with the bus sharing in every agonizing pothole.

However, once in Sarajevo one cannot deny the magnificent beauty of the terracotta roofs sloping in every direction which navigate the steep hillsides to which the abandoned bob-sleigh track resides, a monument left from the 1984 Winter Olympics when it seemed like Sarajevo was poised to rival Vienna in cultural gravitas. For if one would wonder a street in London for 5 minutes and be able count the seconds one would get lost in Sarajevo and loose days.

As Juhanni Pallasmaa envisioned the ideal city full of intricate experiences conjured up from smell, taste, touch, sight and hearing one becomes overloaded in Sarajevo just as Kathmandu or New Delhi, we should look no further to study Phenomenological urban planning.

Arguably Bosnia faired the worse from the break-up of Yugoslavia resulting in the infamous 1425 day siege of Sarajevo and destruction of the 16th Century “Stari-Most” bridge in Mostar, you do not have to look far to see how this country has suffered. In my opinion this country is at a breaking point should it become like either of its neighbours of Serbia or Slovenia? For Bosnia & Herzegovina should follow “Floreat Labore” or effort blooms to fully blossom into which it is capable of those so many years ago.

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Abandoned Bob-sled Track on Serbian Border outside Sarajevo 46

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Abandoned Bob-sled Track

Abandoned Bob-sled Track

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Unknown Author depicting bloodshed of Sarajevo

Depiction of the rebirth of Sarajevo

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City of Sarajevo from Cable car 52

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Sarajevo River Front 54

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Near assassination spot of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, Heir to the now deceased Astros-Hungarian throne, Sarajevo

Some clothes for sale, Sarajevo

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Street to Stari-Most, Mostar 58

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Merchandise of Mostar 60

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Turkish Coffee + Baklava Pastry, Sarajevo 62

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Serbian man jumping off Stari-Most, Mostar 64

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Sarajevo Railway Station 66

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IV Croatia

Dubrovnik

The old town of Dubrovnik flourished from the Venetian expansion into the Adriatic where much of the conceptual Renaissance ideals still exist today as consequence of the styled façades that follow parity in symmetry and regimented forms bringing stability and sense of fulfilment to peoples lives, the average person can simply look to the beauty of humanist forms in surrounding art and architecture rather than understanding complex philosophical theorem mimicking much of the Northern Italian cities of that time. It is difficult not to imagine yourself in the 15/16th Century dashing between the merchant shops of ice cream parlours and boutique cafés. The city is brought to life through experiences; walking is like a dance where one navigates the slippery limestone street which is worn from the passing of footsteps forming a glass-like surface where a film of water spans each stone, gazing upon the façades of buildings become like deciphering a poem of time where city walls are tempered from weathering decay and the passing of bodily garments in the search of shade from the midday sun and street entrances are marred, seemingly sculpted into concave shapes by the feet of travellers that haptically invite you into visiting merchant houses that form the many palaces and museums of today.

Dubrovnik is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited but I wish not to spent long there as walking around is an exhaustive task like squirming around a sardine tin if I one was to visit he should become a voyeuristic architect to fully understand the beauty of Dubrovnik, making observations from a rooftop far away from the crowd.

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Lovrijenac fortress, 16th Century 70

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Port of Dubrovnik 72

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Stari Grad / Old Town 74

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Stari Grad from Pile gate

Alley of Stari Grad

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Dubrovnik Bastion, 16th Century 78

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V Montenegro

Bay of Kotor & Budva

The Bay of Kotor in Montenegro is a sea of labyrinths where roads forever spiral into the surrounding mountains overlooking the valley filled with limestone bastions which flourished from the Renaissance era where the streets condense to form a library of time sheltered from the modernism of Central Europe, Montenegro meaning Black-mountain derives its name from Mt Lovćen one such mountain covered in black trees. I entered the domain of Kotor by crossing the Kamenari ferry and navigating the mountain passes by motorbike in a celestial experience where light and shadow paint against cliff faces to a backdrop in harmony where one can look in awe atop Mt Lovćen from whence one came only to sail down past hamlets and fortifications where water meets the land in the terrene towns of Budva or Kotor.

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Kamenari ferry leading to Bay of Kotor 82

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Road near Cetinje 84

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View atop Lovćen (Black Mountain, 1749m) 86

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Atop Lovćen looking towards Bosnia 88

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Mausoleum of Petar II Petrovic-Njegos

Mausoleum

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Bay of Kotor from Above 92

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Ladder of Kotor

Channels to funnel snow melt

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Budva bastion 96

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Typical Facade of Kotor and Budva old town 98

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Budva 100

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VI Albania

PL

AC E

H

O

LD E

R

Shkodër, Berat & Sarandë

Albania, apart from Nepal was the country I spent the longest time duration abroad and without a doubt my favourite. Albania is a country bursting at her seams, begging you to discover for yourself what she has to offer. Interestingly just as many Albanians live outside the borders as inside with many fleeing North during the communist dictatorships only in the 1990’s she opened up to outsiders which allowed many of her landscapes to remain unspoilt and untouched. The region known as the Albanian Alps or accursed mountains bordering Kosovo and Montenegro is such a place, known to the locals as the Valbona to Theth hike you are transported to South America in series of landscapes shielded by modern civilisation where much of the population migrates South during the winter months. Initially you would make your way along the river banks of Shkodër to the Koman ferry where you travel up snow melt rivers which transverse mesmerising mountain valley’s eventually arriving in Fierza, then its just a short walk to Valbona where you stay the night and prepare for the journey tomorrow which crosses mountain passes to Theth stopping to swim in water pools and shower in glacial runoff as you go.

Next I travelled to Berat; a city as old as European cities go. First recognised in the 5th BC as an Illyrian settlement deriving its name from the Ottoman occupation period but affectionately named the city of 1000 windows after its white washed houses that dominate the skyline where it is one of the only castles left in Europe where locals still inhabit today.

My final stop in Albania was the ex-communist seaside resort of Sarandë home to the nearby ancient Greek colony of Butrint originally belonging to Epirus filled with countless examples of Greek, Roman, Byzantine and medieval habitation it is a trove of architectural monuments preserved by an earthquake taking it off the map allowing us to marvel at it today.

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View a top Rozafa Castle over Shkodër Plateau 104

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Koman ferry on Dirn River 106

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Guesthouse Mehmeti in Valbonë Valley 108

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Valbonë Valley floor 110

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Shale river bed ,Valbonë Valley 112

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Old mill of Valbona

Portrait of Maja Jezercë

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Pack horse heading to remote village

Work in Valbona village

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Limestone mountains of Albanian Alps 118

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Mountain trail 120

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Accursed Albanian mountains 122

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Thethi Valley floor 124

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Thethi Valley floor 126

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Village of Fushe -Thethi 128

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The Church of Thethi 130

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Nderlysaj Village 132

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Nderlysaj Bar 134

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View from Vaskat Nderlysaj

The Blue Eye

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‘Town of 1000 Windows”, Berat 138

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View over modern city of Berat 140

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Ottoman Suburb of Berat 142

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Enterance to Berat Castle

Streets of old Berat

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Street Vendor of Berat 146

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Vilnuis: Trakai Castle

Vilnuis: Trakai Castle

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Overlooking Tomorri Mountains

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Venetian Tower of Butrint

View onto Lake Butrint via Vivari Channel

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Aisle of The Great Basilica of Butrint 154

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Nave of The Great Basilica of Butrint 156

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The Greek Theatre of Butrint 158

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The Greek Theatre of Butrint 160

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Roman Hypocaust

Apse Floor Mosaic

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Butrint landscape 164

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VII Romania

Braşov & Bucharest

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Apartments of Braşov 168

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Sports track, Braşov 170

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Râşnov Parade 172

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Râşnov

Râşnov Bastion

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Sign of Braşov

City of Braşov atop Tâmpa

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View onto the region of Transylvania 178

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Exterior of Palace of Parliament, Bucharest 180

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Vilnuis: Trakai Castle

Vilnuis: Trakai Castle

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View onto Union Boulevard 184

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Fin.