So now we know the Euro 2020 final will be between Italy and England. Phew!

Two former Yugoslav nations are the subject of nations that did not qualify for the finals.

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Mostar is a wonderful city to visit. Synonymous with the Yugoslavia War when the iconic Ottoman Bridge was blown up, it is now bouncing back as a major attraction.

First of all the bridge was rebuilt, and as life started getting back to normal visitors returned.

The compact city is great for wandering through its narrow stone streets to visit mosques, coffee houses, colourful shops and great restaurants.

Capital Sarajevo is also perfect for a visit. The larger city is also bouncing back from a siege which lasted nearly 3-years.

Named the Jerusalem of Europe on account of the multi-faiths practiced there, wander the old town to visit mosques, churches and synagogues, have a delicious beer in the city brewery and don’t forget the opportunity to picture the infamous bridge that saw the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand of Austria that effectively set in motion WWI.

Read about my Bosnia visit by clicking HERE.

Kosovo

We reached Kosovo and the newly built highway from Tirana. Kosovo is largely inhabited by ethnic Albanians so the highway was welcomed with open arms by the hordes of people that regularly travel between the countries.

What was once a tortuous 8-hour journey is now comfortably done in around 3.

Prizren was our entry point, before we took another bus to the capital Pristina. It was all great fun to take in Europe’s ‘newest’ nation, again synonymous with the Yugoslav conflict and still subject to Serbia’s annoyance that they are recognised by many countries as independent.

We left on Kosovo’s only working train line up to the North Macedonia border. Read about my Pristina visit by clicking HERE.