Official name: Republic of Slovenia
Political system: parliamentary republic
Area: 20,273 km2
Forest: 10,124 km2
Vineyards: 216 km2
Length of border with Austria: 330 km
Length of border with Italy:232 km
Length of border with Hungary:102 km
Length of border with Croatia: 670 km
Length of coast:46.6 km
Capital: Ljubljana
Population: 2 million
Ethnic origin of population: Slovene(83.06%), Italian(0.16%), Hungarian(0.43%), Others (11.57%)
Language: Slovene
Religion: Roman Catholic (82%)
Climate: Alpine, Continental, Mediterranean
Time zone: Central European Time GMT+1
Average temperatures July: 21°C January: 0°C
Political system: multiparty parliamentary democracy
Economy: GDP p.c. (2001) 9.451 USD, imports (2001) 10.9 billion USD, exports (2001) 10.4 billion USD
Currency: Euro
Education: Universities in Ljubljana and Maribor 87,056 students (2002/2003)
Culture: 14 professional and numerous amateur theatres, 2 operas, 45 permanent galleries, 60 museums, 5 professional orchestras and a symphony orchestra
Media: 6 daily newspapers, 40 weeklies, state television, private televisions, state radio station, local radio stations.

Stores
Working hours are mostly nonstop without lunch time closing.
- Weekdays: 8:00 to 19:00
- Saturdays: 8:00 to 13:00
- Sundays and holidays: On duty pharmacies, etc., and some private stores
Payment is in tolars; most stores accept credit cards: AMERICAN EXPRESS, DINERS, MASTER CARD - EUROCARD, and VISA.

Weather
Due to the changes in climate – Mediterranean at the coast, Alpine in the Alps and Karavanke mountains, and Pannonian to the northeast of the country – the appropriate clothes for each season is recommended.
Average temperatures in July are above and in January 0oC. In the summer it can be very hot at the coast and quite cold in the mountains. We advise you to check the weather forecast before coming to Slovenia.

About Croatia

Geographical position: Croatia extends from the furthest eastern edges of the Alps in the north-west to the Pannonian lowlands and the banks of the Danube in the east; its central region is covered by the Dinara mountain range, and its southern parts extend to the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Surface: the mainland covers 56,542 km2, and the surface of the territorial sea is 31,067 km2.
Population: 4,437,460 inhabitants; composition of population: the majority of the population are Croats; national minorities are Serbs, Slovenes, Hungarians, Bosnians, Italians, Czechs and others.
System of government: multi-party parliamentary republic.
Capital: Zagreb (779,145 inhabitants), the economic, traffic, cultural and academic centre of the country.
Coastline: 5,835 km of which 4,058 km comprise a coastline of islands, solitary rocks and reefs. Number of islands, solitary rocks and reefs: 1,185; the largest islands are Krk and Cres; there are 50 inhabited islands.
Highest peak: Dinara: 1,831 m above sea level.

Climate:

There are two climate zones; a temperate continental climate, locally also a mountainous climate, prevails in the interior, whereas a pleasant Mediterranean climate prevails along the Adriatic coast, with an overwhelming number of sunny days, dry and hot summers, mild and humid winters; average temperature in the inland: January 0 to 2°C, August 19 to 23°C; average temperature at the seaside: January 6 to 11°C, August 21 to 27 °C; the temperature is about 12°C in winter, and 25°C in summer.

Currency: kuna (1 kuna = 100 lipa). Foreign currency can be exchanged in banks, exchange offices, post offices, travel agencies, hotels, camps, marinas; cheques can be cashed in banks.

Note: All data refers to entire Bosnia and Herzegovina

Geography
Area: 51,233 sq. km, slightly smaller than West Virginia.
Cities: Capital Sarajevo (est. pop 387,876); Banja Luka (220,407); Mostar (208,904); Tuzla (118,500); Bihac (49,544).
Terrain: Mountains in the central and southern regions, plains along the Sava River in the north.
People
Nationalities: Bosniak (Muslim), Bosnian Croat, Bosnian Serb.
Population (July 2002 est.): 3,964,388 (note: all data dealing with population are subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing).

Education: Adult literacy rate (%) male 94.1, female 78.0.
Constitution: The Dayton Agreement, signed December 14, 1995, included a new constitution now in force.
Independence: April 1992 (from Yugoslavia).
Subdivisions: Two entities: Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (divided into 10 cantons) and Republika Srpska.

Climate: Hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long severe winters; mild, rainy winters in the southeast.

Economy
GDP (2001 est., purchasing power parity): $4.7 billion.
GDP growth rate ( 2001 est.): 2.3%.
Income per capita (1997 est., purchasing power parity): 1,800 (note: figure heavily depends on the population and does not account for the gray economy).
Inflation rate (2001 est): 5.0%.

Natural resources: Coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, forests, copper, chromium, lead, zinc.

Montenegro - basic data:
surface - 13.812 km2, population - over 650.000
seacoast - 294 km, beaches - 73 km
highest mountain - 2.522 m (Durmitor, Bobotov kuk)
political system - The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro was proclaimed on 4 February 2003 is based on the equality of the two member states, the state of Serbia and the state of Montenegro.
Border crossings:
Albania - Bozaj and Sukobin
Bosnia and Herzegovina - Sitnica, Vilusi, Scepan Polje
Croatia - Debeli brijeg
Ports :
Bar, Budva, Kotor and Herceg Novi
Airports :
Podgorica and Tivat (Cilipi - Croatia)
Visas :
For the stay of up to 30 days the citizens of the following countries do not need a visa for Montenegro: EU countries, Andorra, Albania, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Byelorussia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Israel, Island, Japan, Canada, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Moldavia, Monaco, Norway, New Zealand, Russia, Romania, USA, San Marino, Switzerland, Ukraine, Vatican. Citizens of other countries need visas (which can be issued in any diplomatic mission of Serbia and Montenegro).

Currency:
Euro

ATM`s & cards :
You have ATM`s in almoust every city.
You can use MasterCard, Maestro and Visa card for paying in in many shops and gas stations. Other card are accepted in some of the Banks in Montenegro.

National parks :
Durmitor, Biogradska gora, the lake of Scadar, Lovcen.

Must visit (the most beautiful places in Montenegro):
Ada (Ulcinj), Sveti Stefan (Budva), Kotor (Boka Kotorska bay), NP Lovcen, NP the lake of Scadar, NP Biogradska gora (Kolasin), the Tara and its canyon, NP Durmitor, Monastery of Ostrog.

One of the smallest countries in Europe, Albaniais also very mountainous and little known to outsiders. Predominately an Indo- European people, descendants of the ancient Illyrians, the Albanians are divided into two main groups: the Ghegs to the north of the Shkumbi River, and the Tosks to the south. five centuries. Some of the emperors were even of Illyrian descent, as the region became a major transit route through Byzantium. As the Roman Empire declined, Goths, Huns, Bulgars, and Slavs all tried to fill the vacuum. Then came the Normans and the Serbs.
After the collapse of Stephan Dushan's Serbian Empire, and the death of Scanderbeg, the feudal lords were soon overrun by the Turks. Albanian language and culture were suppressed for almost 400 years during Ottoman rule, although the Turks were never able to totally control the people.

Ismail Qemal led a series of revolts against Turkey, and on November 28, 1912, Albania finally gained independence.Albania underwent a cultural revolution in the mid-1960s, when Western influences were scorned, Soviet and Chinese systems were followed, and hardly anyone could enter the country.

The Republic of Macedonia occupies the western half of the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia. The part of the southern Balkan Peninsula traditionally known as Macedonia is bounded to the south by th Aegean Sea and the Aliakmon River; to the west by Lakes Prespa and Ohrid, the watershed west of the Crni Drim River, and the Shar Mountains; and to the north by the mountains of the Skopska Crna Gora and the watershed between the Morava and Vardar basins. The Pirin Mountains mark its eastern edge. Since 1913 this geographic and historical region has been divided between Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria, and only some 40 percent of its area is occupied by the independent state, MACEDONIA.

Mother Teresa, a citizen of Skopje

Mother Teresa-dedicated her life to the cause of humanity. She has done a great work to the poorest of the poor, she was gentle, human and full of energy, apostle of love devoted to the slums of Calcutta, who become a respected and loved citizen of the world. This extraordinary woman was born as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on 27 of August 1910 in Skopje, now Republic of Macedonia, ( In 1910 Macedonia was part of the Ottoman Impair ). Mother Teresa considered that "poverty is a gift of God" and she believed and served that motto, and her beloved God, all her life. According to Mother Teresa's Indian Diplomatic passport,

She was born on 26 August in Skopje, Macedonia in that time 1948 one of six republics of state Yugoslavia. But, the relatives who still live in Skopje will emphasized that she was born on 26 of August 1910, baptised August 27 in the Roman Catholic Church in Skopje and that day is count as a day of her birth. There is a confusion about hers nationality and about the history of her family. Mother Teresa spent 18 years of her life in Skopje, before she went to Ireland in 1928 to join the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, sailing later, to India as a teacher.
She had never wanted to talk about her past, or about her family. Mother Teresa always pointed out "My work that's me". During her last visit to Skopje in 1980 she was often asked if she is Albanian, Macedonian, Vlachk, Serb or some other nationality. She answered typically of her lifestyle - "I feel as a citizen of Skopje, my born city, but I belonged to the world".