The back cover of Francis Tapon's next book will have a small photo of him in a corner. Which photos would be the best author portrait for the book?

IMPORTANT! To vote for a photo, you must vote from that photo's page! To do that:

1. Click on the photo.
2. See it enlarged.
3. Click on the Facebook Like Button on that page.
4. Vote for as many photos as you like!

You can also click on this page's Like Button, but you'll just be saying that you like this voting page and not any particular photo.

Tjasa Slana, a Slovenian, took all these photos in late August 2010.

Thank you for helping to design the cover of The Hidden Europe!

I had a glitch and all the previous voting was lost. The number of Facebook "Likes" reset to zero, so that's why the numbers are low again.

I added the last photo, the one with a orange jacket, because several people like it. Timothy Archibald took it 3 years ago for a Backpacker magazine article. If it's hugely popular, I'll use it.

If you can't vote because you're not one of the half billion people with a Facebook account, then please email your vote to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Are you (or someone you know) a budding graphic designer who wants to beef up your portfolio? Or perhaps you're a pro who has some time to spare. Either way, I'm sponsoring a $1,000 book cover design contest that I encourage you to participate in!

What is the book design contest?

Design my upcoming book's dust jacket. If you have the best design, you'll win the $1,000 prize, plus you'll get credit on the dust jacket itself!

In this WanderLearn Podcast, you'll hear from Vladimir Ivosevic, a Serbian who was born and raised in Belgrade (pictured).

To download (right click and "Save Link As..." or "Save Target...") this podcast to listen to it on your MP3 player. Or listen to it here!

Listen Now!

This 47 minute podcast includes a couple of Serbian songs, including its National Anthem performed by the US Navy band.

Vlad read my articles about my 2004 trip to Eastern Europe. In an email he thanked me for writing objectively about the Balkans.

I'm writing my book on Eastern Europe, I am trying to meet as many Serbians (and other Eastern Europeans) as possible so I can hear all sides and perspectives.

This conversation took place in 2009, so some of the issues that Vlad mentioned about not being able to travel without a visa are no longer valid. In 2010, the EU changed its policy and let all Serbians travel without visas.

Enjoy a map that show's Serbia and its neighbors. Below is an excerpt of my chapter on Serbia.

Serbian villages mentioned in podcast

In the podcast, Vlad mentions three different Serb villages that are worth mentioning. They are:

1. Salas 84
2. Guca
3. Veliki (Big) Grabovski

Are Serbians the least accepting to ethnic and racial minorities?

Nearly 71 percent of Serbians told Gallup that their area is a “good place” for ethnic and racial minorities. That’s far higher than all others in the Western Balkans that had rates around 55 percent (Albania was 46 percent). Why the disparity?

Before we consider that question, let’s look at Gallup’s Diversity Index, which measures how well a community accepts different racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. The index is a composite score based on a variety of global surveys, including the above-mentioned survey.

The results of the Diversity Index show a clear east-west European divide, with all Western Europeans (except Austrians) scoring above 50 (on a 100-point scale) and all Eastern Europeans scoring below 50, with three exceptions (Finland, Slovenia, and Serbia). Slovenia barely gets by (50.3), while Serbia is a bit more robust (54.8). Serbia’s Balkan neighbors have scores around 42 with Albanians (both in Albania and in Kosovo) generating the lowest scores in Southeastern Europe of 31.8 and 39.9, respectively.

The results of the Diversity Index paints a different picture than the Western media typically draws. According to the Index, in Eastern Europe, Serbians are the most accepting of different people (assuming you don’t consider Finns, who scored 61.6, as being Eastern European). In contrast, Croatians, Bosnians, and especially Albanians, are far less accepting than Serbians.

An alien examining this evidence might come to one of three conclusions:

For my 30th birthday present, Lisa Garrett invited me on my first skydive over Monterey Bay, California.

For my 40th birthday present, Natalia Berger (a friend of mine who works at Europe's leading skydiving location, Empuriabrava, Spain) invited me (at a discounted rate) to skydive next to the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean Sea.

I hope to keep up this once-per-decade skydiving tradition until I reach 100, at which point I'll be skydiving without a parachute.

Natalia was just learning to film people while skydiving, so she didn't always have the video camera focused on us, but it's still fun. Michael did a perfect still-photography job. Most importantly, Carlos (whom I was attached to) remembered to pull the rip-cord.

Skydiving video

Just 2.5 minutes, it's shows Nati's perspective.

Skydiving over Empuriabrava, Spain (Slideshow) from Francis Tapon on Vimeo.

2009 was a busy travel year for me. I visited nearly all the European countries. However, I will calm down for 2010. In fact, this year I've only been to three countries (Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia). That's not much when you consider that to see those three countries all you have to do is drive for one hour. Below are some photos from where I'm hanging out right now.

I spent the 2009 holidays in Ljubljana, Slovenia's cute capital.

This was my third trip to Ljubljana. Isn't it pretty?

Ljubljana doesn't feel like a European capital. It's small and safe.

El Camino Santiago (The Way of St. James) is the most overrated long distance trail in the world. Millions have walked its path, and most gush about how great it is. It's time to expose El Camino Santiago's ugly underbelly.