What would you consider the most quintessentially Balkan thing ever?
Posted by Substratas@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 81 comments
Is there any thing or trait so typical of our region that it can hardly be found anywhere else in the world?
TsarKikso@reddit
Multipurpose Jupol bucket
Particular-Highway89@reddit
😂😂😂
Particular-Highway89@reddit
Bus driver smoking with a passenger standing next to him
bassriddimworkshoinc@reddit
Weird how nobody mentioned a 1999-2005 BMW 3 or 5 Series with 6 past owners, 400.000 km and smoke on every throttle touch.
Natural_Scholar_1502@reddit
Smoking in the no smoking section
int23_t@reddit
Balkans has an overridw that disables any no smoking zone
pcmtx@reddit
Smoking to people from the Balkans is like spinach to Popeye, it is the source of their power.
RIPHALIDBESLIC@reddit
ungolfzburator@reddit
Plus one of those if you were a kid in the 90s
Excellent_Jeweler_43@reddit
The only thing missing is the bowl on top with random candy
That_North_994@reddit
In Romania we had a glass fish.
Leather-Substance-39@reddit
We had the iconic glass fish. I guess all Hungarians who visited Romania bought one as souvenir. I have just looked into it, those glass fish were produced by the Târgu Mureș Glass Factory. Most Hungarian households had one of those in Eastern Hungary. They are sought after vintage kitsch items nowadays.
Leather-Substance-39@reddit
That's Eastern European as well.
sr_dayne@reddit
Complete bullshit. We have it also in Ukraine.
dcell1974@reddit
I have like 1000 doilies that my yiayia crocheted and my wife refuses to allow me to cover every surface in our home with them for some reason.
Sea_Gap_6569@reddit
I thought it’s exclusively Turkish, lmao
YagizHarunEr@reddit
HAHAHAHAHA THIS, EXACTLY THIS
doilies on everything in the house ftw
Substratas@reddit (OP)
LMFAOOOOOO
Intrepid_District_10@reddit
Love this 😂😂 Reminds me of my granny
Buffalo-Actual@reddit
Rakija in fanta bottle with cola cap
Young_Owl99@reddit
Rakija is not common in Turkey and Greece.
But you may argue neither is Balkan, I can’t argue against it :)
Kitsooos@reddit
Raki is not common in Greece ????????? Wtf r u talking about ???
Young_Owl99@reddit
Rakija is not common Rakı and Ouzo is.
Kitsooos@reddit
Potato - Potato
Young_Owl99@reddit
It is not. That’s my point. Rakija is not like Ouzo or Rakı. It is way different. If Rakija is regularly consumed in northern Greece I don’t know. But I tasted all three and Rakija is really different.
Buffalo-Actual@reddit
Sure rhing yeni raki is made with star anise if i am not mistaken... hiwever, raki and ouzo are common in turkey and greece... rakija is in the balakans ex yu plus bulgaria...
This_Lion5856@reddit
Cevapi/Кебапчета/ in ice cream box
Buffalo-Actual@reddit
Sarma in ice cream box
essenceofadolescence@reddit
Rakija in general
Strict-Ad-102@reddit
Ethnic problems
Early-Show2886@reddit
Men wear white socks
seekTheTruth247@reddit
Why would this be Balkan?
Early-Show2886@reddit
Because most Balkan men simply wear white socks.
-I-have-no-username-@reddit
spougas@reddit
Deadly weapon
Substratas@reddit (OP)
Hahaha yesss, but latina moms do the same.
Divisive_Ass@reddit
betting shops everywhere
Substratas@reddit (OP)
Lmao I thought this was only an Albanian thing. 😆
Beneficial-War-1429@reddit
In village next to my town,most modern building is Mozzart betting shop💀
blitzfreak_69@reddit
I invite you to a tour of literally any street of any city in Montenegro
Divisive_Ass@reddit
it seems even villages up from 100 people can't go without having one
ThenCompany487@reddit
Not really unique to Balkan, everywhere in Britain and Ireland as well
morbihann@reddit
Absolute hell.
casual_philosopher02@reddit
I can't watch anything without a betting site app being advertised nowadays
hereforthebooooze@reddit
The only way I can picture my dyado dressed is in his black swishy adidas tracksuit. I think we were definitely one of the last regions to still wear those after they went out of fashion in the 90’s.
Nemzethy@reddit
Keep the change...
BarnaclePotential132@reddit
You are all wrong its Nationalism and the dream of moving to Germany (and to later come back during vacation with your 200.000km Mercedes to find a Balkan girl).
Tall_Country_5543@reddit
Basing ethnicity on religion even though most people are secular.
Substratas@reddit (OP)
I’m not familiar with this concept…
belay_that_order@reddit
someone rececently said that a drunk waiter on a cigarette break, signalled them to go get their food (which was ready) from the counter
thats the most balkan thing i ever did hear
Lord_Gobbledygook@reddit
Not only would I have no problem with that, I'd actually like it
belay_that_order@reddit
same, i like to feel at home
AbbreviationsFree792@reddit
Hahaha love that
DogCivil3519@reddit
Lyutenitsa & Co.
Substratas@reddit (OP)
What is that?
DogCivil3519@reddit
Lyutenitsa - Wikipedia
loqu84@reddit
Blood pressure tests in family reunions
casual_philosopher02@reddit
certainly did not measure everyone on Easter with both the electronic one and the old school one......
Substratas@reddit (OP)
Lmao yes, and the electronic one always came first but when the results looked dodgy, they shifted to the old-school one.
casual_philosopher02@reddit
There also is always someone talking and everyone goes shuuuush, she's measuring. I also think that there is only one dedicated measurering pressure kid in every family, I am the one
My grandma asked me how her heart sounded even........... I have a philology degree.....
Exotic_Hummingbird12@reddit
The official blood pressure taker. 🤣
My bf is this! It's hilarious because his grandparents will be asking things as if he actually knows. Lmao.
casual_philosopher02@reddit
he went to uni why wouldn't he know everything????? 🤣
Substratas@reddit (OP)
Lmao yes, everyone should stop breathing until the machine is done measuring the blood pressure, as if that’s natural state of things in everyday life. 😂
😂😂😂
Exotic_Hummingbird12@reddit
Is it that the results looked dodgy or that people are in disbelief at how high it is? 🤣Â
I have a couple of times where people will swear the electric one is wrong only for the old school one to be exactly the same reading.
Substratas@reddit (OP)
Lol yesss, that’s the typical scenario - it appears too high / low and they switch to the other one only to find out the electric one wasn’t wrong. 😂
Substratas@reddit (OP)
I’m howling 😂😂😂😂😂
Kooky_Appeal_6554@reddit
Men put their feet on the living room table.
Substratas@reddit (OP)
Right_Ad_3782@reddit
Communist ugly apartments building next to the most beautiful recently renovated old building.
Orthodox-Paradox@reddit
For a man it is most certainly the t-shirt in winter, a bottle of rakija variant or beer , a cigarette and nihilism.
CommunicationNo4547@reddit
Coffee and cigarette for breakfast
Substratas@reddit (OP)
I had a friend from Lithuania who told me they do this too.
CommunicationNo4547@reddit
I'm British, but I visit every year and its the first thing I look forward to in the morning when I arrive haha
BamBumKiofte23@reddit
Arguing about what is Balkans and where the Balkans end and begin.
StevePanner@reddit
Poor guys owning luxury cars that are old or have many miles but look expensive. In other poor countries you see mostly beat up cars, in the balkans not so much.
Substratas@reddit (OP)
That’s very Balkan, but it’s even more New Jersey.
Intrepid_District_10@reddit
Your mom yelling your full name from the balcony so the whole neighborhood knows you did something wrong.
albion_shala@reddit
Honestly, comment section on Youtube&Facebook ...
Miserable-Ground-379@reddit
Balkan humor
Sea_Gap_6569@reddit
it has even a name: balkanization
T550401@reddit
In politics, it is often used analogously when an ethnically diverse region is broken apart into micro-states that are very dependant on the larger countries surrounding them, so I personally would not consider it a good example.