Refined by the minarets of many mosques rising like middle-fingered salutes to the Serbians, Mostar lurks in a birch-forested valley.  Across the river, twice the length of the tallest minaret, stands the Croats’ new Catholic Church spire. And on the hilltop high above the town, a cross heralds what might be an uneasy truce, but time will tell.

Albania, on the western side of the Balkan Peninsula bordered by Montenegro, Kosovo, Greece and Macedonia, and 72km from Italy, offers sandy beaches, great food, UNESCO world heritage sites, a 300,000-year history and 300 days of sunshine.

Frequented in the 80s by a local motorbike gang hooked on casual dining and women of easy virtue, The White Pigeon's sign got damaged and The White Pig’ throbbed out in garish neon for years. That roadhouse is no more, but these establishments are still going

While South Africa gets hung out to dry in mephitic gusts seasoned with instability, corruption, and unfavourable tax laws, the Biltong Brigade are finding meatier prospects elsewhere

A short scenic drive from Cape Town's CBD within easy reach of the Constantia winelands and Cape Point, Tintswalo Atlantic has reopened following a devastating fire in February

Snatches of memory come and go in flashbulb moments – a handsome young waiter, a strawberry and rhubarb something or another, then lurching into the last train home (after midnight). Comfy seats are perfectly conducive to a little shut-eye between destinations and snoring on the trains late at night is practically a Danish pastime