Photos: Belgrade, Serbia

Picture 1: Some of the castle grounds. From this side we could see the intersection of the Danube and Sava rivers.

Picture 2: A sandwich that is one of the most incredible things a person could ever eat that is fast food. It is called Pljeskavica and I have no idea how to pronounce it. The patty is as big as your heart and it was a chore to eat it but oh so worth it.

Picture 3: The friendly waiter at Le Petit bar and our free homemade rakija. This guy was awesome and I hope he gets that job on the cruise ship that he wanted.

Picture 4: The largest orthodox church in the world. The inside was so vast that I still felt like I was outside. You know that difference you get when you’re inside? Maybe for me it’s a very minor form of claustrophobia but inside this structure, I didn’t feel it at all. I think the couple pigeons soaring through the inside felt the same way. I’d like to go back and see it when it’s finally finished someday.

Picture 5: The remains of a building that was bombed by NATO. The residents have not torn it down but instead have let it be. It just has a fence around it but it does mean something since they haven’t demolished the building. Perhaps they are planning to turn it into a memorial.

Belgrade, Serbia

Jeff was so hyped up after his encounter at the border that he spent the next 3 hours smoking and chit chatting with some other smokers in between the train cars (the only place you can smoke, which by no means helps the other passengers if the door is left open).  There he made several friends, most notably a Serbian who was returning home from studying in Montenegro to work in a casino.  Well, this individual offered to show us around and he only asked that we give him a chance to shower and change.  We asked if there was someplace with free wi-fi and coffee and he led us several blocks away from the train station to a coffee shop that was probably the Starbucks of the region.  On the way, some other associates of Jeff were directed to a eating place that our friend insisted was awesome.  This is important to mention since we'll come back to it later.  Recall also, this was Sunday.  

So for the next 2 or 2.5 hours, we sat at this coffee shop enjoying the largest mocha I have ever seen.  Yes, they had mocha on the menu and it came out in a giant soup bowl thing with two handles.  Wow.  Internets at last again and I was able to see all the birthday wishes on my facebook which lightened my spirits since I was pretty tired and down.  We hung out for some time past the meeting time for our friend (yes, you can tell I never caught his name) but eventually we decided something either happened to delay him or he wasn't coming because he was already late and he thought we wouldn't have stayed.  Either way, 40 minutes after the meet time, we headed off on the pedestrian way to explore ourselves.  We walked towards the castle or fortress thing which turned out to have a great many statues in and around it.  There was also a military museum and there were enough various artillery batteries on display outside to wage a war.  We were pretty hungry by this time and recalled where our friend had sent the others.  Since nothing else was open, this would be it anyway and let me tell you something!  This was a monstrosity of meat and flavor and you'll have to wait for the picture.  I couldn't finish and if I had, it would have been bad.  

We stumbled our way in the opposite direction now from the initial coffee shop and went deeper into downtown looking for a bar or something for a beer.  Our end goal was the huge orthodox temple at the end of the road.  But first, the bar for a break.  Inside Le Petit Bar we met a very nice waiter who is hoping to work on a Danube river cruise ship.  We talked with him for most of our beer, during which he gave the Lucky Strike brand ashtray to Jeff (just for kicks), and after our beer he asked if we knew what rakija was.  Well of course we said yes and he gave us free shots of the owener's homemade rakija.  He even had one with us.  It was very cool to still be meeting people like that.  We said our goodbyes and kept walking to the temple.  In our Lonely Planet this temple is labeled as the largest orthodox temple in the world but there was no mention of when it was completed.  I pointed this out because I was curious how long it took to build.  When we walked in and saw a great host of construction, we realized it wasn't renovation work, it was still under construction.  National Socialists and then Communists coupled with a lack of funding had delayed and is still delaying construction.  Still, it was a sight to see and I invite you to look at some pics once they're up.  

We took a different street back down the hill by the advice of our friend at the bar.  He said there was a ruined building still standing from the NATO bombings that took place.  There were two buildings, one on each side of the street.  I'd never seen a real bombed building.  It was pretty heavy being there and looking at the damage.  With several hours to go until our train for Budapest departed, we went and bought our tickets, saw what funds we had left and decided to go have coffee again at the coffee shop we started the day at.  We stayed and read for many hours and then just after it got dark went back to the train station.  There we discovered a train where our train should be but it was dark and scary looking with no identifiable marks to show it was going to Budapest.  We waited in a heated waiting room.  

This room was for lack of a better word uncomfortable.  It was large and square with one ceiling light, one heater in the corner and seats only along the walls.  Smoking seemed to be allowed inside and there were homeless arguing near the heater.  Some other youths opposite us were listening to their conversation and laughing at their responses to each other.  3 police officers came in about 5 minutes after we did looking both tough and menacing, two things I dislike cops to do.  They chatted with the homeless folk and escorted them out and then went and chatted with the youth group and they got up and left too.  I was terrified they would talk to us so I kept my nose in my book.  They passed us by.

Finally, tired of being in that room and with the train still parked at platform 1, I went out to examine the other cars.  There, I saw lights on and signs on the windows that indicated this train would be going to Budapest.  The back two cars had no power I believe, though they were connected, and I believe this was what several people were investigating as they continuously made rounds about the train with flashlights.  We decided to get on and just sit in the dark, if there was a problem and the train started moving before it was supposed to leave, we would know we were on the wrong train and we'd jump off.  Other people joined the train in the dark and we eventually received power but no heating.  The time of departure came and we were off.  Thus was our day in Belgrade.  

Border Crossing into Serbia

So we had just been to Kosovo the day before heading to Serbia and right now there are some tensions between the two entities.  Rae had definitely done her research and in hindsight, trying to go from Kosovo to Serbia would no doubt have resulted in our being turned away at the border.  Going through Macedonia first though was still charting unknown waters and I think it is safe to say we were all very interested to see how this was going to go.  This trip had my first land border crossings and everywhere else I’d been so far in the world outside the US didn’t really check the passport thoroughly.  I was not accustomed to the border guard actually thumbing through and looking at where I’d been.  Every time I felt they were going to call me off the bus and ask me questions.  How much more so for Serbia!

So we’re on the night train from Skopje to Belgrade and we know that most of the trip will be through Serbia.  Only an hour or so into the trip and we easily pass out of Macedonia, the exit stamp clearly made.  A little ways more down the track and we reach the moment of truth.  It’s late but we’re wide awake.  I think the best way to picture the guard that we got is a guy of bulk build but not fat, gruff to the point of irritated and angry but not quite.  This is my interpretation and he might just have been tired or recently lost a game of poker.  Who knows?  Well he takes Jeff’s passport, glares at it and him, stamps it (I think he stamped it right then) and then makes a vague motion suggesting he needs to check something and put it in his pocket!  The same went for Rae and me.  Another guard goes by and they jabber something and I swear there were glances our way.  Well the guard continues checking everyone else and is gone for about 5-10 minutes.  It could have been shorter but when you’re trying to pass into a country that has some tension with your own plus one you just came from, it makes you nervous.  The same guard comes sweeping back in and, to my worst fears, taps Jeff on the shoulder and motions him to follow him off the train.  Rae and I start to get up thinking to follow but he says we should stay.  Hoo-boy.

Another 10 minutes or eternity goes by in which we wonder what they asking Jeff.  I imagined questions pertaining to politics that I’m not comfortable answering in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.  Jeff comes back smiling then chuckling and then laughing quietly out loud while handing our passports back to us.  He tells us that he followed the guard a ways down the station as he met up with two other guards.  They proceed into a guard hut of some kind but when Jeff tries to follow, they say he should stay outside.  He has no coat and another person is there and Jeff merely says, “passport?” and they nod.  Jeff says the guards were inside not really doing much and then they were laughing.  Near the end of the time frame we were waiting in the train, the original guard just opens the door and hands the passports back to Jeff and motions to go!  Wha?!  Jeff thinks it might have been some sort of joke or game they were playing.  After he told the story to us, it did seem that was probably the case.  We were still strung up on adrenaline but the train was moving and we were in Serbia.  Our passports that had both an entrance and exit stamp from the Republic of Kosovo now had an additional stamp over them – the nullification (in the Serbians eyes) of the stamp and our having ever left (or entered I guess) Serbia before then.  I’ll include a picture when I have it.  So there you go.  The rest of the trip involved trying to get some sleep as we made our way to Belgrade.

Photos: Skopje, Macedonia

Picture 1: A view from the castle grounds. The visibility was amazing and the valley that Skopje is nestled in made me think of Middle Earth. I’m not sorry that makes me out to be a nerd but its the best way to convey the way I felt.

Picture 2: Another view via a great hole in the outer wall. I think that yellow building was some sort of museum, but unfortunately I can’t confirm that.

Picture 3: This stone bridge is over 300 years old. This is where we were when the gypsy kids accosted poor Jeff. While exploring down along the river, Jeff and Rachel spotted the bronze statues of divers. If you look, you can see a pair of feet in front of the other diver. Sometimes the river covered them up and it took us about 10 minutes to see them.

Picture 4: An interesting statue near the stone bridge. Something I would notice later in Budapest as well is the tendency for statues in the area to come off the pedestal. Most statues I’ve ever seen are confined to the base they are placed on. This particular one is of a human form with its arms becoming branches and one leg becoming a root that encircled the pedestal. Very interesting.

Picture 5: Rakija from the Rakija bar we discovered nearly by accident. Good stuff. Nice people.

Skopje, Macedonia

The bus ride from Prizren to Skopje began as I said with frigid temperatures and snow and ice on the ground. The bus station was miserable and though there were a great many buses waiting, none said Skopje. None that is until I figured maybe it is spelled completely differently from what we’d expect and sure enough the bus was already there waiting. O blessed warmth! All of the border crossings, by the by, have been easy as pie but of course we still had the difficult one ahead, but I digress. Macedonia greeted us with yet another abrupt change in scenery. Every country’s border has been a natural border between different climate/scenery/feel/look. It was a little unnerving since to my eyes it was as extreme as changing from a blue room to a yellow room. Well, maybe more like a dark blue to a light blue room...but still way different right after the border. Ack! Alright, to Skopje we go.

We were completely turned around when we reached the bus station. We had no idea which way was downtown nor which way we had come in. The Lonely Planet map we had with us was only giving a rough idea of landmarks and we didn’t even know if we were on the map. Our first course was to identify the train station since our travels would now be exclusively by train. After walking back and forth around the blocks surrounding the bus depot trying to follow some signs that said “Railway Station,” I reached another snapping point in shyness and just up and asked for the Railway Station. Turns out it was directly behind and above the bus depot. I had seen the tracks but didn’t know where the station was. I wish I had space to describe how different and yet the same each station or depot was from each other. After getting our bearings, we headed for the river to explore the large bazaar, fortress, and surrounding river area.

At the fortress, Jeff was accosted by a man selling knee braces and perfume/cologne. He literally followed us up two set of steps up into the outer grounds of the fortress stating that he knew English well and so we couldn’t say we didn’t understand him. I ignored him all the more after this since his snobbery would not help his sob story inspire me to buy things I did not need. After escaping, we were treated to beautiful views of the valley we were in. It was a partly cloudy day and quite comfortable. We wandered down through the bazaar again towards a stone bridge which had been there for some time. Across the bridge we found an ice skating rink set up and a host of people skating to music. We explored the river’s edge for a bit and then on our way back up from the edge to the bridge, two gypsy kids, aged 8-10, were suddenly among us, invading my personal space like nobody’s business. Their single phrase “give money” still haunts my ears since it was practically said with harsh, demanding anger. Poor Jeff. The kids were centimeters away from putting their hands in his pockets. I guess Rae got away because she’s a girl and I am pretty tall. They finally left us alone as we crossed the bridge again. I tell these two instances, not as a negative review of Macedonia, but because I want the reader to understand that our day trip to Skopje was not going so well and we were not having a good time. What can cheer up a not good time? Coffee and beer. Or in this case, coffee and rakija.

We hesitated outside a cafe on the edge of the bazaar area for the briefest of moments and in that moment, the owner came out and invited us in. We decided we might as well and were treated to a stone, brick and wood beauty of a bar and floor area with an upstairs that was just as nice. To describe the place with a word, we chose ‘comfortable.’ It felt like it belonged in Seattle. We sat upstairs and started with espressos. Later, we decided to try some hard alcohol since we had nothing else we really wanted to see and still had 4 hours to kill or so before we needed to be at the train station. Turns out we had entered a rakija bar. We told the owner some things we thought we’d like to try and it was amazing! We stayed for an hour and a half or so and on our way out, it seemed it was a dead time since the waiters, owner and I assume some of the owner’s interest partners were having dinner and drinks. Well, one of the partners said to us out of the blue if we’d like anything on the house - food, drink, whatever. Tongue tied briefly, we replied that we would but wanted to go get a postcard before any of the places closed. Less than 5 minutes later we walked back in and sat downstairs at a table next to them all and were then treated to a carafe of their homemade rakija (2 5cl shots each), not one but two helpings of incredibly seasoned potato slices with a kind of local goat cheese on top and fun conversation. All free. Turns out this place had been open for a week. Basically when we started our Balkans trip, this place opened. If I lived in Skopje, this is where you would find me. If you visit Skopje, I recommend this place and their potato slices to you. I’ll include a link if I find one.

We said our goodbyes and headed back to the train station, but the hidden generosity of Skopje was not quite done. While waiting for the train at the station, we entered a pastry store to order some tea. We sat outside so Jeff and Rae could smoke and the lady behind the counter came out and made conversation, asking why we were sitting outside (there was nobody in the small diner). So we went in, talked with her a bit, and then (I’m not sure how it happened) were given a pastry each, wrapped up for eating later! Well I left Skopje with a better impression than I would have otherwise. But now came the hard part of the journey: the border crossing into Serbia.

Photos: Prizren, Kosovo

Picture 1: This is a view across the river that was right outside of the hotel we found to stay in. The cafe that we would frequent is just past the mosque. There were a great many eateries that way as well.

Picture 2: The hill above Prizren had interesting ruins. I have no idea what it used to be since it was just walls and they were very nearly gone as well. Lots of space though. It also snowed during our walk up there and this was the pretty sweet view that we got on top of a thick portion of wall that was still there.

Picture 3: A public fountain. You can occasionally see people cupping their hands and drinking out of it. I’m not sure I would have only because it was really cold and my gloves were always on. This square was also very near the cafe we went to a lot. While people watching, we were astounded by the number of young people that went by in both directions. I joked that it may be the same group of people going around and I may have been right. It felt like the entirety of Prizren’s teenage population had gone by us.

Picture 4: The local beer of the area. I include it because it wasn’t half bad. Because I seem to have a problem with German beer and desperately miss my microbrews of the Pacific Northwest, this beer is honored with a photograph because it was awesome in comparison. Should you go, order a Peja.

Prizren, Kosovo

So I was pretty nervous about Prizren after Pristina. It wasn't that I disliked Kosovo, it just didn't seem to be ready for 'tourists' (I hate that word) just yet. Prizren was very different from Pristina. Imagine something like a turkish quarter or two to three story buildings with many alleys and narrow streets with markets and meat vendors dotting the storefront along with open markets at central locations. That was what the whole city was like. Quite a difference from the city we came from of skyscrapers, large streets, and a university. Upon arriving in the bus station and not finding any hint or tell of hostels or even hotels in the area, I reached a breaking point in my shyness and began asking anybody for information because I didn't want to wander what appeared from the bus to be an even more confusing town. Hostel? Hotel? That's how it went and finally one guy in a travel agency spoke English well and advised us to try the Hotel T*****. He said it was about 20€ a night which was better than nothing and as I said before, it seems Kosovo wasn't ready for travelers yet so they might not have hostels at all. We headed for city center and every 500 meters or so I would ask a person for the hotel and we would receive additional directions...that weren't working. Jeff noticed a lot of people delivering tea, just like we would see mailmen or pizza delivery people on foot. Having come from a background like that, he suggested we snag the next delivery guy we see and sure enough, the directions from him were impecable. Kudos to Jeff the Idea Man.

We see the hotel sign and walk hesitantly up the steps and into a room that has tellers sitting at stalls with a few people talking to them and a man in a suit at the door. "This is a hotel," I say haltingly as we look around and the man at the door says, "no, this is a bank." Seriously, the dialogue and rhythm of speech was right out of a movie. We chuckled, apologized and the man told us it was the next door over. To be fair, the hotel sign was directly above the room we were in but also over the bank sign. We get to the hotel, speak with the gentleman, who we believe in retrospect spoke better German than English, nail down a price and get 3 beds for one night, later to be two nights. It was raining now outside so we took a late siesta and hoped the rain would stop. It didn't really but we went out later anyway and found ourselves at a little café run by a very nice gentleman. We settled on machiatto's with Bailey's regardless of price because we were tired and wanted some alcohol and caffeine at the same time. Friends, right now, a large coffee with alcohol is 1€ I kid you not. We got another one and then headed to a pizza place for dinner which had an amazing calzone and the Kosovak beer for 1€ (I mean the beer was 1€). Thus ended the first day in Kosovo (don't forget Pristina). This day was also my birthday and I turned 27 while drinking and eating in Kosovo. Cheers!

The second day, it was snowing. I prefer snow actually over rain only because it is easier to deal with. Your shoes stay perhaps drier than stepping in puddles and you can dust yourself off when it accumlates too much on your jacket. As such, we braved the weather and climbed the hill to the fortress ruins above Prizren. It was a nice hike and quite peaceful in the snow. There weren't a lot of people about and the visibility was not too hampered by the snow. Afterwards, local lunch and a dessert followed by more coffee. Since traveling always involves a budget, I was pleased with how cheap things were. We wanted to try some brandy but they said they only had whiskey. Whiskey all around then while watching dubbed Discovery channel! We splurged and ate out again at the pizza place and had the same waiter. After eating, paying and tipping him, he came back less than a minute (seriously that fast) to ask if we would like anything on the house, espresso...whatever. A little confused at first, we politely replied that we could go for an espresso. So again we were blessed by the generosity of the people here. We shook hands with him on the way out and thanked him heartily.

Saturday morning comes around and there is now ice on the ground. Our hotel host advises that it is better to take a taxi to the bus station for our 0845 bus to Skopje. It was only 2€ but the problem was the taxi driver didn't seem to know what a bus station was. I guess I thought that was a universal phrase like coffee (kafé, kaffee) or beer (bier, bire). We tried "bus, skopje" and another taxi driver tried interpreting and eventually they figured out where we wanted to be going. A little later and we're on a comfortably warm bus, heading out of Kosovo and into Macedonia. Pictures to follow.

Photos: Podgorica and Pristina

Picture 1: This was a park in Podgorica. It was just outside of and across the street from the Mall of Montenegro. We sat and enjoyed the view of a school packed with kids and the peacefulness of being off the bus. We also ate some Jaffa brand cookies that tasted a little like the smell of lemon dish soap.

Picture 2: I just had to include this. It is somewhere on the way to Pristina on the night bus. This was the overnight bus that decided people don’t need or want to sleep on a bus that travels all night. The loud music played all night and the lack of any kind of ventilation gets a 7 out of 10 for uncomfortableness. But at the second of two bathroom breaks, the establishment had a little display up. This little guy was in there along with some deer and an enormous bear.

Picture 3: In Pristina, they have the main university for Kosovo and this is their library. It’s pretty much a normal building but the outside has additional metal work that makes for a really cool effect. I imagine it as being a product of a grad students final project in metal art or architecture or both.

Picture 4: Also in Pristina, and one of the primary reasons we stayed so long since we couldn’t find lodging, is a monument to Bill Clinton. Yes, the former president of the US. Not only is there a monument, but there is also a huge billboard with his face and the street is named Bill Clinton Boulevard. It was amazing. He is honored due to his role in the independence of Kosovo.

Pristina, Kosovo

So our first stint in Kosovo was the capital, Pristina and unfortunately seemed to be a continuation of the capital syndrome first observed in Podgorica (e.g. not a lot going on here). There was one thing we wanted to do here since it was just a stop over on the way to Prizren, but during the trip we decided to try and find a hostel for the night. The one thing we knew we had to see here was Bill Clinton Street. Yes, thanks to our former former President's actions with regards to Kosovo, he got a street named after him here and it was a must that we find it. Well let us start with Pristina was a little hard to navigate. And on top of that, for all the pomp and talk about it, there was not a lot of english or german being spoken around here and communication was dicey. There was also no map of the city available at the bus station. So we picked a direction and started walking. This isn't exactly a travel blog so if some traveler is reading this just comment that you'd like more info and we can email.

It was a nice enough day in that it wasn't freezing and there wasn't a strong cold wind. We walked for a spell heading towards what appeared to be Lady Liberty on top of a squat cube shaped building. On the way we passed many US flags. It was quite interesting. Liberty was sitting on top of an international hotel that looked too expensive for our meagre budgets, so we pressed on and found another hotel that looked shoddy on the outside but the inside turned out to be lovely...and expensive. Discussion ensued and it was decided we should find Bill Clinton Street and then proceed to Prizren that day. Recall please we have no map. And we're looking for a street and we hesitate to try and talk with anyone. Errrr. Let's keep walking this way! (Have I mentioned yet that eastern Europe enjoys not putting up street name signs?)

Down the street, some interesting graffiti leads us to the University of Pristina's library...which when I walked inside had an "American Section!" Rae and I stay outside and elect Jeff to go in an try to find a map. He is gone so long that Rae and I begin planning what the rest of the trip would be like without him. Little did we know he would come back in sparkling triumph. Ok, so he wasn't sparkling for real, but he was triumphant at getting a map, information about the possibility of student housing...and the location of Bill Clinton Street! The student housing thing sounded iffy from the beginning so we only gave it a half-assed attempt because we were already in the mindset to get to Prizren that day (which turned out to be good, but that's told later). We looped up and around the block and came down to Bill Clinton Boulevard (yeah, not a street). Jeff really wanted a picture next to it but when we passed the first sign, which was tiny and in the middle of the road, we kept walking past and didn't see another street sign again. We did however find the statue of Clinton which was backed by a ginormous poster of him on his street. Then we saw (finally) another street sign and now have photographic proof there is a street named after him in Kosovo.

We headed back to the bus station via a neighborhood and more of downtown and that's really all I have to say on Pristina. We hopped on a bus in the early afternoon and headed for Prizren and hopefully a place to sleep. I admit that with the first city in Kosovo down and all that I'd heard from Rae about this place, I was thinking that I wasn't going to like it here. Let's get to the next blog to find out why I was mistaken.

Busing to and out of Podgorica, Montenegro

We left Kotor in the morning, catching a bus to Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. It is a town that is on a plateau/valley in the mountains and I think the only reason anything is there is because they needed something to be there on the way from the coast to somewhere else inland. Podgorica, as of the time of this writing, is unfortunately not a very exciting place. The bus ride there had some final beautiful views of the Adriatic coastline and then a windy path up into the mountains. Once at the bus stop, and seeing that there may not be a whole heck of a lot to see, we began walking with the intention of getting cold medicine (since Rae and Jeff finally got what I got) and a new memory card for Rae's camera. We swung by the apothecary and had fun trying to describe a head cold so we could get medicine. We kept walking wherever our feet and pictures took us since our bus to Kosovo was not for several hours.

The walking eventually led us to what looked like a mall, but which was in fact an unfinished mall. The Mall of Montenegro, while largely incomplete, had a working Target-like store where we procured a new card for the camera and some munchies for the road. There was also a large indoor market/bazzar going on with an entire room devoted to eggs. There will be a picture. We wandered just a bit more outside and then settled at a coffee place for cheap espressos while we waited the next few hours.

Making our way back to the bus station, we took a different turn (since we hate exploring the same way twice) and found that the streets of Podgorica are not very nicely linked. We wound up walking past the bus station one block down, probably half a mile down we get to cross up and past the street the bus station is on, then double back all the way down past the bus station again only this time a block above it. There was no other way to the station then the path we took leaving it the first time. Anywho, who should we spot at the bus station restaurant but the two gents from our Kotor hostel! They were waiting for a 2330 bus to Sarajevo. We chit chatted a bit more while waiting and then hopped on our night bus for Pristina. I was secretly hoping that we'd be able to sleep, but that was not to be. The bus was more packed than I thought it would be, was quite dusty leading to allergy problems, and apparently (after a vote which we didn't understand) we would be listening to music the whole time there. All night long.

The border crossing into Kosovo was amusing. I believe we were the only Americans on the bus and when the passports were being handed back out (since they collect them all for stamping off of the bus) Rachel got hers back near the beginning and Jeff and I were handed ours back last. The guy distributing them was all the way at the front of the bus acting really confused. The guys behind us were laughing at him and making motions towards us probably saying things like "dude, they're right here." We chuckled as well. Several hours and a couple rest stops later and we arrived in Pristina, Kosovo.

Photos: Kotor, Montenegro

Picture 1: This was a hole in the wall at the top of the big hill we hiked. It was the only opening from the way we came up to the other side of the hill. As soon as we passed through to the other side, all the sounds of the city down below were cut off. The deep valley we were looking into was quiet and peaceful. The small church or chapel was down below and we hiked over it to it next.

Picture 2: A look at the Montenegro flag and Bay of Kotor. It was a great day for a hike even if it turned to misting a few times. We were very nearly within the cloud level.

Picture 3: A view of the walled city (where we stayed) during an early part of our hike up the hill to the ruins.

Picture 4: The street outside of our hostel. That is the hill in the background we hiked up. The streetlamps were very pretty especially with the wet ground and cloudy dusk. The mist on the hill was also beautiful to watch.

Picture 5: One of the first sites we saw when we arrived in Kotor. The crystal blue-green pond water looked clean enough to drink. The vastness of the hill was also in the first impressions. I think I would definitely enjoy coming here again.

Kotor, Montenegro

After the wonderful 3 days in Croatia our little crew made its way down into Montenegro. I had never seen a fjord (nor do I even know how they are defined) before, but I always imagined it would be beautiful. I was not disappointed. The bus into Kotor, which itself sits at the end of the fjord, follows said fjord for a long time. A deep water channel with steep mountains on each side that disappear up into the clouds...it was like being sent into some sort of fantasy world. A normal person shouldn't ever get to see something so cool. Our hostel was located within the walls of the old city and unfortunately our arrival coincided with some lower clouds that brought rain. A brief tramp from the bus station to the hostel gave us a chance just before the rain started to get a feel for the city. It seems that the car horn is used differently in ever place we'd been so far. Frankly it was irritating as hell in any form now but I would eventually get used to it. When we got to the hostel, I finally saw what I had been expecting a hostel to look like the whole time: a single hallway - two rooms on either side of the hallway with 4-6 beds, a bathroom on one side, a kitchen on the other - that ends with a common room with couches, main desk and a computer with internet. The girls working there were very nice and I was excited to use the computer, as the posts from Sarajevo and Dubrovnik were written there. But, about the layout or image if you will of a hostel in my mind, this place finally fit the bill. Sarajevo didn't have a common area or computer and the main desk was a city block away and Dubrovnik we were actually living with a family. Moreover, here in Kotor we met two guys (one from Pasadena and the other from New Zealand) who then shared our room.

Due to the inclement weather, we started just by wandering around the Bay of Kotor. I loved seeing the deep water and all the boats moored there. It got me wishing that I owned a boat. Since it isn't tourist season at all, we found a small restaurant on the water that was open and had a coffee machine as well. We sat down, ordered what turned out to be a crap load of meat *giant thumbs up* and then sampled some of the local beer. Speaking of which, I will be posting separately all the different beers and food we tried since I think it would get out of hand here. Anyway, something odd happened afterwards. We tipped, because that's what we do, and then stepped outside to where it was still drizzling to have a smoke. Basically you could say we were loitering. Not one minute in and our waitress comes out again and in her pretty good english asks if we'd like an espresso. We had money so we naturally said yes and thank you. We sit down outside and start petting the local kitties when out comes a fantastically pulled shot and some sort of gelatin dessert. It was quite tasty. When we tried to pay, she said no it is on the house! Thus we were first introduced to the generoisty of the area. I don't know if it's because we tipped, tipped to much, they're bored, or they really are that generous, but it was much appreciated.

Moving on, the next day was a nice morning, partly cloudy and we decided to climb up to the old fortress at the top of the hill that the old city is built at. Mind you, this isn't to the top of the fjord, but it was still pretty stinkin' high up there. It was quite the trek but the view as we continued to ascend was amazing and I can't wait to post pictures. Once we made it to the top and had explored the ruins, we discovered that this hill was separate from the real fjord mountain and so on the back side, there was a steep drop that led to small valley before proceeding vertically again. Nestled in this valley was the remnants of a small cloister or chapel (I'm not sure on the word) and the ruins of what could have been a village. We climbed down, explored and made our way back to the bay by a different path that zig zagged down behind the first hill. It began sprinkling and raining again by the afternoon and so our exploration of the Kotor was limited to the old city.

Earlier that morning, before the trek up the hill, I had inquired of our hostess if there was a bakery nearby for some breakfast. She told me of a place that had just opened, was cheap and really good. She was not lying! We walked into this hole in the wall place and our glasses instantly fogged up and our nostrils were blessed with the savory aroma of fresh bread. Our breakfast was so good, we decided to come back in the afternoon for lunch. The couple who owned the bakery were from Slovenia and they were so nice to us. The owner visits New Jersey every year to visit some family so his English was great. We talked to him for a bit while having our lunch and he up and gave us a free beverage from his cooler! If you should ever go to Montenegro, contact me and I will tell you how to get there.

Although our stint in Kotor was only two nights, we felt that we had seen what the old city had to offer. Had we stayed longer, we would have explored some of the other small towns along the fjord and perhaps hiked more up the mountains. I left with a good feeling since we were blessed with two free items from different establishments. Pictures and more specifics to follow.

Photos: Dubrovnik, Croatia

Picture 1: Outside the old city's walls. The beautiful Adriatic on an absolutely fantastic day. The Sun was out, it was slightly cloudy, and everybody was about their business. Winter seemed to be a thing that never happened. You can see a fisherman in this pic. I'm not sure if he was looking for anything specific, but a few other people were out on these rocks fishing. We saw one guy catch a fish, unhook it and chuck it behind him into an alcove in the rocks. I felt bad for the fish and wondered why the guy didn't put him out of his misery, but I guess to each their own, culture-wise that is.

Picture 2: A view of the old city and a nearby island on our way up to the old fortress and museum at the top of the hill. It seems the first three places we were going to be at (Sarajevo, Dubrovnik and then Kotor) were going to have impressive hills that would provide awesome views. Can you make out the walls of the city?

Picture 3: The bay for the old city. Lots of little boats. This view is from up on the wall. You can actually take a tour of the city from the walls but it cost more than we wanted/had to spend so we were only able to be on a portion of the wall. Thankfully, it was one that gave a nice picture.

Picture 4: Outside the walls on the sea again. This time looking the other direction than the fisherman picture. Not much to say other than that there was really blue water below me.

Picture 5: The terrifying pigeons of a square in Dubrovnik's old city. It seems that everyday at noon, these pigeons will get fed a ton of feed. Starting about 1115 when the bells of the church ring every 15 minutes, every pigeon within earshot flaps its way to this square. This was the indication to me (thankfully) that they could not tell time. They came, they left. But then, it was noon and they came and so did a guy with a huge bucket who very ungracefully chucked it on the ground. The pigeons swarm to the very small area the feed is covering and I can only assume many are smooshed in the ensuing chaos. It is so chaotic that the feed is kicked up and moved around and so there is a wave of pigeons taking off and then landing and then taking off and landing and the whole group moves in one direction.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Days 4-6 of our trip through the Balkans found us in Croatia. Our hostel turned out to be a full on family owned affair. Mostly because, I think, it was the off season, we were treated as VIP's. This means we were on the floor that they live on and our common area room was their living room and kitchen! Basically the mom got 3 more kids for 3 nights. Firstly though in case you missed it, I posted a separate blog just before this one that is a tiny story about the trip between Sarajevo and Dubrovnik. Upon arriving at the bus station, we were met by a couple people who were staking out the station for backpackers. We unfortunately had to tell them that we already had a place but thanked them for the offer. Our host came and picked us up, was very nice and excited to meet us. Something we were told about but not offered in Sarajevo was the welcome drink and when we reached the apartment, honey brandy was poured into my small pewter shot glass. I may have found my favorite hard alcohol. It was so sweet, smooth and easy to drink...I bought a half liter off of them before I left. :) This family was amazing and so loving. They just loved having us there.

We were situated 30 minutes by foot away from the old walled city. The afternoon/night we arrived was stormy and rainy, complete with lightning. But the next day dawned bright and fair and huddled nearly all day at a comfortable 15 degrees C. We walked around one of the hills and then made our way very nearly along the coast down to the old city. We had purchased the night before a loaf of fresh bread, some pepperoni meat and a smoked cheese and we ate this in a garden area on the coast around 1130. Wandering through the city, we noticed (as it had been mentioned to us by our hosts) how the city is half venetian and half ottoman in that the lower part closest to the coast is more haphazardly arranged, unlike the upper area which is very even and uniform in building distribution. A little treat awaited us at noon in one particular square of the old city: feeding time for the pigeons. It seems that everyday (unless the pigeons can really tell the difference between days) at noon, the church bell rings and somebody from one of the restaurants surrounding this particular square comes out with a huge 5 gallon barrel full of feed and just throws it onto the ground. The pigeons know this and they wait. They were on every roof but I only noticed the several dozen on the ground around the central statue. Noon tolls and every stinking one of them takes off at once while simultaneously the ones from the roof and any straggler in the city comes rushing into the fray, all hovering and flapping 7 feet off the ground. I thought they were spooked until a man came out and dumped the feed. Instantly the air was clear and a mass of distracted pigeons was on the ground. Crazy. I'd never seen pigeons act like that before.

We did not take the tour of the wall but we did find a portcullis if you will in the wall that led to a stepped area outside on the rocky coast. It was so beautiful with sun out and the sea blue and calm that we took our siesta there. We doubled back there for the sunset and my hopes were high with the clear skies for a chance to see the green flash. Alas, there were some clouds far out at the horizon that obstructed the final setting. Oh well, it was still beautiful from that spot.

The next day was cloudy and much cooler so we hiked down to the bay near to where we were staying. It was a nice walk around the bay looking at the boats. They had some older style boats moored there as well. We wandered again to the old city, had coffee and ice cream at a cafe we'd seen in pictures (a weird feeling being at a place one had only seen in pictures) and then went outside the wall at our spot again. That night we enjoyed a gnocchi dinner, more honey brandy, the Croatian Who Wants to be a Millionaire(in Kounas) and then a movie with the family called Bottle Shock, starring Chris Pine (the new Kirk), Bill Pullman and Alan Rickman. It was actually a very well done and interesting movie about the Napa Valley in the 1970's. We had wine while watching it and it just seemed right.

Lastly, our host's son took us up to the old fortress on top of the hill, which gave us a magnificent view of not only the city below us, but Bosnia and Montenegro as well. I'm learning a lot about the history of this area and that tour was very insightful. I found a piece of shrapnel while walking around. It's hard to believe what the state of these places was less than 20 years ago. All in all, Dubrovnik is a beautiful city, even in the off season and if we had been staying directly in the old city we may have wanted to stay longer. As it was we felt good about all we had seen and gotten to do, not to mention the incredible hosts we had. As before, I'll post some pictures as a separate post and you can search for a link here or by keyword Dubrovnik. Cheers!

Bus from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik

So our plan from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik was supposed to take us to the city of Mostar in Bosnia for a few hours first. Unfortunately, it seems life wanted to throw us a curveball for this one. The lady at the train station in Bosnia was so helpful for getting us two separate tickets for Sarajevo to Mostar and then Mostar to Dubrovnik. It just wasn't what I was expecting. The first thing that caught me funny was that the bus was actually just a large van with seating for 13 and standing room for 2, assuming no large amounts of luggage. It was amusing. The 'bus' had many stops and people would come and go, paying as they got on the bus. About 30-45 minutes in, we passed by a landslide that had occured. Police had the 2 lane road down to one as they cleared the road. The reaction of the woman next to me as our driver talked to the police suggested to me that somebody had been injured. Moving along though, we continue and begin to follow a river with misty hill tops. It was very pretty but pretty soon it began sprinkling. This would eventually become the storm that accosted us our first night in Dubrovnik. Anyway, about an hour in to the trip to Mostar and what turned out to be 45 minutes from Mostar, the traffic slows down and comes to a complete stop. People are turning around ahead of us and our driver gets out, lights a cigarette and starts jabbering with some other drivers. One of our passengers actually gets out and starts walking down the line of cars, which disappears around the corner of the mountain. Our driver gets in, pops a U and we head back. I wondered what we were going to do about the other guy and also how I hadn't noticed any other signs or way to get to Mostar. Our driver pulls off at a restaurant on the river. There doesn't seem to be any town associated with this restaurant. He says something to us all and gets out.

Jeff goes up to our driver after about 10 minutes of us pacing and wondering what is going on. He tries English first but the driver doesn't speak it so he trys German. Bingo. Turns out German is your next bet after English in Bosnia. Anyway there was another landslide and we might be at this restaurant for a couple hours! Our layover in Mostar was only a couple hours but seeing as how there was nothing we could do, we got espressos and then some food along with the other passengers. I bet that waiter wasn't expecting that much work right then! We keep our eye on our driver and a little over an hour later he head motions to us and we carry right on to Mostar. Luckily the bus we were going to connect with was also delayed (for the same reason? most likely) and so we did not miss our connection to Dubrovnik. That bus was uneventful. Pictures to follow in the future. Prost!

Photos: Sarajevo, Bosnia

Picture 1: There was nothing finer than beginning a day with some coffee and here it is primarily Turkish coffee.  I tried looking up the actual name for the method of preparation and it seems to really be called Turkish coffee.  While in Bosnia though, it was called simply kahve or Bosnian coffee.  The cup came filled with Turkish Delight, sometimes doused in powdered sugar and sometimes with coconut.  The individual serving would fill the cup twice, although by the end the dregs were a substantial portion of the cup.  The coffee was always served with water, no matter where we went and as far as the coffee went, it was perfect every time.

Picture 2: This is the view from one of the many cemeteries dotting the hillsides around Sarajevo.  We met the groundskeeper and spoke with him for a while in German.  After chatting, we made our way around the grounds.  There was this structure overlooking the valley and I do not know what it was for.  I saw no plaques or writing.  It just was.  It was hard not to think about the history of the place when standing there looking down on a city still recovering in some areas. 

Picture 3: This is just a part of a normal, heavily trafficked sidewalk that happens to have shrapnel or explosive damage from a grenade or other device used during the 4 year siege of the city.  The residents, instead of repairing the damage, filled in the holes with a red resin as a reminder/memorial.  We spotted them all over the city and also other holes that weren't filled in.

Picture 4: Sebilj fountain and Bascarsija Mosque.  They say if you drink from this totally potable fountain that you will always come back to Sarajevo.  Rachel drank from it.  I took a picture.  The mosque in the background, according to the friend we met who then took us on that tour of the city, was commissioned to be the leader's mosque.  Upon arriving though, he mistook a different smaller, but perhaps more elaborate, one across the river as the mosque for him.  It was a funny story and I have messed up the details no doubt, but the idea is there.

Picture 5: The local beer of Sarajevo at the brewery.  It wasn't bad.  We went there two nights in a row.  The establishment had a large central room with alcoves in various places for additional tables.  The ceiling was vaulted brick and quite cool.  Large bar and moderately friendly staff.  I recommend at least going for the beer.  We never ate there.  Oh well. 

Sarajevo, Bosnia

Thankfully, I have access to the internet here in Croatia and can begin writing the blog posts for the various cities I'm visiting on my epic adventure. Pictures taken by my beautiful girlfriend Rachel will of course have to wait for another time. Also, I will try to hit the big points of the trip (since so much happens that is worthy of mention) and as such my flow or style of writing may be hindered. So let's go!

Our journey began like any other in that we had problems with the train system. Instead of flying out of Frankfurt-Hahn like we normally do, we flew a different airline and flew out of Köln. Landing in Sarajevo was a little freaky as it's in a valley. A pretty tight valley at that and there were quite a few wind shears shaking the plane around. I am usually ok with pitch and even roll, but when yaw comes into play, that just freaks me out. Needless to say, I'd like to not ever fly to Sarajevo again. Once there though, we pace back and forth outside the airport trying to find the bus that we know would take us directly to our hostel. Instead, we finally give in and pay for a taxi (which turns out to be pretty cheap and quick, i.e. a good choice) and arrive at our hostel.

I should also mention briefly that I am sick and got sick one day before leaving. Fantastic. Anyway, Sarajevo is in a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains and cliffs that are dotted with houses. The signs of the recent wars are still visible. Houses are pock marked with bullet holes and there are depressions and blast patterns still in the streets and sidewalks. Many houses all around the city are still abandoned and we were taken one time into a neighborhood named the Court of Maria which had a large 3 story structure with no floors or roof. Only the walls remained. There were many vivid contrasts, old Eastern Bloc architecture with new constructions all right next to each other. There are a great many mosques. There was one every few hundred meters. Every now and then, depending on where we were, we would hear the calls to prayer. We visited the area where there is a mosque, cathedral, synagogue and orthodox church all within a hundred meters of each other. Really cool.

We hiked up both the north and south 'hills' and visited several of the cemetaries. The view from up these steep mountain sides was breathtaking and imagining how this city was under siege with artillary and snipers all along the mountain tops was moving. The local beer and brewery, which is made with a spring underneath the brewery, was amazing! We went two days in a row and paid, it seems, top dollar for this tasty dark beer. It's funny. We did not know how much English might be spoken here, but the first night we were there, we found the brewery and walked inside. We sat at the bar and Rachel and Jeff hesitated for just a moment when the barman came up so I blurted out the universal word: beer? He came back with "dark or light?" to which we said "dark." Then he said "big or small?" Of course we said "big." So there you go.

On our last night in Sarajevo, we were heading towards the brewery for a third time when Rachel stopped to take a picture of a church which is perhaps 70 meters from the brewery. A young man of our age (28-30) came up and commented on us taking a picture and how this church was one of his favorite spots. He was 'happy' drunk we think and before long we were talking about all manner of things and he was telling us all about his city. It was amazing and I will admit my initial hesitation to following him around but after a while I realized he really loved showing us around. We started on one end of the city, didn't go to the brewery (because he was going to take us somewhere better), and ended up walking through nearly the entirety of downtown and surrounding Sarajevo with this fellow for the next 2 hours. I wish we'd found him sooner, but now if we ever go back, he said he would put us up.

All in all, we enjoyed our trip to Sarajevo immensely. We learned a lot about how to get there and what to do while there. 3 days was a good amount of time and we do hope to go again. Once I have pictures, I will include a link or you can search the labels for Sarajevo.

Big Trip

So Rachel, Jeff and I have a big trip planned.  Next Tuesday, the 23rd, we will begin a 16 day trek through 7 countries.  We will be visiting Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo, Hungary and Slovakia.  Our tentative itinerary is as follows: 

Sarajevo, Bosnia - (arrival) by plane - 3 nights

Dubrovnik, Croatia - by bus - 3 nights

Kotor, Montenegro - by bus - 2 nights

From Kotor to Prizren is currently going to involve an overnight bus from Podgorica, Montenegro to Pristina, Kosovo and a bus from there to Prizren.

Prizren, Kosovo - by bus - 2 nights

Skopje, Macedonia - by bus - day trip

Belgrade, Serbia - by overnight train - day trip

Budapest, Hungary - by overnight train - 3 nights

Bratislava, Slovakia - by train - day trip

Many of the hostels we've looked at, and have pre-booked, have internet so I hope to be posting tidbits of what we're seeing as we go.  That way I won't have so much to do when I get back, since my return to Giessen on March 11th is only 3 days before my sister comes to visit me.