Remember the Yugo?

I bet you forgot about the Yugo that was being sold in the US for maybe two years back in the 1980's, I think it was. They weren't a big success in the US but you still see them here in the Balkans. They're not in great shape but then most 20 year old cars aren't.
Traffic in the Balkans is a mixed bag of old sputtering cars, brand new Hummers, old Communist era buses, tractors and horsedrawn carts. This photo was taken in Skopje, Macedonia a few weeks ago when we were there. As you can see from the gypsies in the photo it was shirt sleeve weather which was really unusual for November.
I like to go to Skopje because it is only about an hour and a half trip, depending on how congested the border is. It's like a different world there...it has a McDonalds and a couple of really modern shopping centers. The old Turkish part of the city is really interesting, too, and gold shops are choked with gold jewelry. I would enjoy Skopje a lot more except the gypsies there are EXTREMELY aggressive in their efforts to get money out of you. They are at almost every traffic light and they come up to your car, knock on the windows or start to wash your windshield. Getting out of your car poses a problem, too, because they are right there either begging or trying to sell you a bunch of wilted flowers that look like they were pulled up from someone's garden, usually with the roots and dirt still attached. And they will not let you go.
Sorry it has been so long since I updated the blog here but it's been kind of quiet. Just trying to shop online for Christmas gifts and that's about it.