Thursday, May 26th
Morgan leaving Split, Croatia...
I have to admit, I hate buses. After 4 years of commuting back and fourth between Madison and the twin cities, I think I am allowed to have a distain for them. I feel that buses are fairly inefficient mode of transportation when you compare it to a car. (Natalie Note: My bus took 5 hours, his train took 8 hours...now whose mode of transportation is inefficient?! :) ) The thing I like about trains is that there is a novelty about them. In a train you have the ability to sit down and converse with fellow travellers; you can even get up and stick your head out the window, soak up the fresh air, and scenery. My favorite thing about trains is that there is a life to them. Who knows, maybe my parents let me watch a little too much "Thomas the Train Engine" growing up. However, there is something about trains that the moment you board it a sudden sense of excitement takes over and the train no longer is a mode of transportation but a gateway into an adveture in itself.
Some of my favorite memories from this trip and past travels take place on trains. One of the first times my roommates and I in Barcelona bonded was on a train to Madrid. It was only a week into the program, and we had decided to go on a trip together by train. When we first started we each did our own thing (ie reading/music listening...the usual), about an hour in Rodrigo grabs my sketchbook while I'm writing in it and starts making a doodle. Nick then took his turn and finished off the sketch. When they finally finished it, it had turned into a charachature of a corn-dog person. After a confused glance and a classic sarcastic "really guys?," Rodrigo turns to mean and states matter of factly, "it's you!". It was in reference to the fact that earlier that week I thought I heard them call me corn-dog and I answered to it. So from that train ride on they nicknamed me corndog. The funny thing is that the nickname actually caught on to the point that other students and professors from the program started calling me corndog or cd for short by the end of the program. To this day Nick still calls me corndog.
After so many of these types of train situations, I've come to be excited about riding in them. After multiple never-ending and rather humerous debates over what mode of transportation we would take from Split to Ljubljana, we finally came to a conclusion that it didn't have to be one or the other since both are extremely safe to travel alone on. So Natalie caught an early afternoon train to Zagreb and I stayed around Split for the evening to catch the night train with the hostel manager's girlfriend.
I'm actually pretty glad I stayed as I got to meet some awesome new people who arrived at our hostel that day. Two were girls from Indiana, one of which now lives in Madrid and is sending me a detailed list of things to do in Sevilla. There was also a 26 year old graphic designer Aussie, who had been traveling around for 16 months. The stories he told of all the places he'd been were phenomenal. The last interesting person I got to talk with was Rory, a 31 year old Irish university student majoring in spanish and marketing. He and I talked about a multitude of things ranging from U.S. college towns and European soccer to corporate social responsibility. These people made the seven hours I had to kill interesting and fly by.
The time came to say goodbye and head to the train station, where I became incredibly anxious. While I have taken numerous trains through out Europe, this would be my first overnight train. Like always, I worried about the possibility of not finding a cabin for Chelsea and I to share to be able to collapse the chairs down. I was also a little worried about how you make sure that no one grabs your bag while you're sleeping. Luckily I had Chelsea there, having traveled by train alone throughout Europe and southeast Asia, she knew her stuff. After taking one of Chelsea's Valium I conked out. The only thing that was not exactly pleasant about the night train was that my back and hamstrings were severley sunburned. Each time the train moved ever so lightly, my body would shift and cause me to hit the sunburned areas up against the grooves in the seat cushions. Let's just say it wasn't the most pleasant experience.
Friday, May 27th
Zagreb, Croatia...
When Chelsea and I arrived in Zagreb at 6:30am we had two hours before Natalie was to meet us at the train station for our train to Ljubljana. Since Chelsea also had a few hours to kill before catching her train to Budapest, we decided to put our bags in a locker and walk around Zagreb for a little bit. She'd been there before so she took me down the street from the station was, and all of a sudden a sprawl of comissioned graffiti was in sight. This was one of the coolest things I'd seen and an ingenious way to prevent pointless street tagging. Essentially it was a mile long wall of graffitti esque murals, don't worry I took lots of pictures (speakig of which I'm actually fairly surprised I haven't used up the first of three memory cards yet).
After seeing the street art, Chelsea headed back to the station and I continued my exploration of Zagreb. While I only spent two hours walkig around I can honestly say Zagreb is an incredibly beautiful city. I kind of wished we would have spent more time there. Having just been in a very touristy beach town, in a hostel managed by an Aussie surfer type, I felt like I was not able to meet the locals and I think I might have had that opportunity in Zagreb. Don't get me wrong Split was cool but I wish I had met more Croats.
By the time I got back to the station at 8:30, Natalie was here waiting for me. We first set our bags with Chelsea, then bought the tickets and were met with a concluding dilema....what to do with the ten euros worth of croation kuna we had? The answer was pretty simple for me: FOOD! I went to the stations bakery counter and bought a giant cured ham and chess sandwich, a pretzel roll, and a double espresso. They were all delicious.
Train to Ljubljana, Slovenia...
So if you didn't get it from the train post. I freaking love them. And this journey was no exception. When we first got on the train most of the cabins were full, so we decided to sit with a nice couple that looked liked they might speak English. Sure enough, they were Canadians. Can I just say I love the Canadians; the accent just makes me right at home and they are always incredibly happy and outgoing. As usual, we exchanged the normal traveler information about where we'd been and where we are headed.
After about an hour of conversation we each settled into our own things. The Canadians and Natalie read, while I put on some headphones and listened to my iPod. After about a minute I turned to my left to look out through the window. I was captured by the sight of these small, beautiful villages resting alongside a river that was cutting through the mountainous terrain of Slovenia. Wanting to remember these sights, I grabbed my camera, left the cabin, opened the window, and started snapping some pics. I lost complete track of time and ended up standing there with my head out the window soaking up the fresh air. I'm sure the sight of me there to anyone was reminiscent of a dog with their head out of a car window with their tongue and ears flailing about as the vehicle speeds down the road.
Ljubljana, Slovenia...
Upon arriving in Slovenia, we followed the Canadian couple to the same hostel I failed to book the night before. After arriving at the hostel they luckily still had two beds available for that night. So we got the keys, a map, a few suggestions on what to see, where to go, and left the hostel to grab lunch and walk the town.
For lunch we went to a traditional Slovene restaurant called "Number 6." We were seated in a quaint little courtyard area at the back of the restaurant and began searching the menu for something appealing. It really wasn't all that hard as everything sounded delicious. They had pictures of most dishes and let me tell you, these pictures were the types of menu pics that cause your mouth to salivate with just a glance. Feeling adventurous Natalie chose veal soup and grilled veggies, while I chose a buckwheat dumplings rolls made with cottage cheese and walnuts.
Having some spare time while waiting for our food, we began plotting our future travel plans. We realized that if we took the night train to Budapest, cut a day off Krakow and Budapest, and skipped Vienna, Austria altogether we would be back on our original schedule. After a few conversations about how crazy it was that we were in Slovenia, (Cut to Natalie saying slow-vain-ya, krinkling her nose as she stresses the "vain" in an igor from Frankenstein like fashion) and repetitive immitations of the British chick in split saying "literally" our food finally came. Like always we broke out my camera and took pictures of the food and then demolished our plates. The dishes we chose were absolutely delicious and artfully presented. As we began talking about how great the food was, a local man from the table next to us said he noted us taking pictures and wondered if we were doing a food blog as he has friends who do that. We explained that we were just typical dorky tourist wanting a picture of everything. He told us that we chose very traditional and brave dishes for our first meal. He then began to tell us about all the places to see and eat in and around Ljubljana including a local wine town called Madonna, that had about 20 vineyards. He also wrote our on map places to buy good wine, and the famous horse burger butchery and restaurant. We never sought out this burger place though...Maybe next time. Even with this daily conversations with locals, it still amazes us how incredibly friendly the people from the Balkans are.
After about 15 minutes the local man said he had to get going and wished us luck. We asked the waiter for the bill and were pleasantly greeted with a shot of wine liquor on the house. It was a traditional Slovenian drink and the waiter taught us the Slovenian "cheers". The liquor was delicious! It was similar to mulled wine but instead of hot it was cold. The waiter called it Teranova Liquor with a dash of cinnamon, sugar, and lemon. We wondered who had deemed us worthy to have this concoction. Was it the waiter because he saw us mingling with a local? Or was it the local himself? Either way were incredibly grateful.
After lunch we wandered the city, took photos, climbed a steep hill to a castle and went to hippy area where all the buildings in this hippie square are plastered with street art. Ljubljana truly is a beautiful city.
When we got back to the hostel, we cracked open a bottle of wine and chatted with our fellow hostel guests. The conversations went every which way. Some how we started talking about cinema which led to a discussion about Spanish and European cinema. Then this Macedonian started spewing loads of bullshit. He was extremely anatagonistic and would continue to be so as the night progressed to the bars. He even tried to tell a polish person what her culture is. All in all we were not a fan of Alex the Macedonian. The bar drinks did not help the situation because Natalie and Martyna's drink apparently contained no liquor! So after one nonalcoholic drink out Natalie, our new Canadian friend Martyna, and I decided to grab some food and call it a night as we were going to Lake Bled the next day.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Split, Croatia
Tuesday, May 24th
Today we left for Split, Croatia from Sarajevo. Our bus left at 10am so we woke up, packed, and walked around the city one more time. We checked out of the hospital and said goodbye to our good Aussie friend Jo. She is going on to Mostar, Bosnia this evening. We are really going to miss her. She was a wonderful edition to our group. The hostel said we had a 15 or so minute walk to the bus station. We did not want to repeat our run to the train station in Bulgaria so we left at 915am. We walked, and walked, and walked. At 935am we asked somewhere where the bus ration was. She said 5 more minutes that way. We walked. We asked another person 5 minutes later, and they point to this building and said turn left then 1500 meters. We asked another and we finally see it. By this time its 950. We haul ass the last 3 blocks and somehow found this obscure entrance to the actually buses. We find our bus, hand our driver the tickets, spray on some deodorant, then jump on the bus. We left two minutes later. The Balkans have a twisted sense of time, so never trust anyone from eastern europe about time or distance. A 15 minute walk, turned into a 45 minute marathon.
The bus ride, however, may have slightly made up for it. These few sentences will never do it justice. We followed a river that was blue green nearly half the time. The river was surrounded by massive mountains and cliffs covered with beautiful tall green trees. Then the river started getting wider and wider, so we knew the ocean was close. We turn around a mountain, and the whole view opens up. On the right are massive cliffs. On the left, a huge beautiful green blue ocean. There a towns with white walls and orange roofs everywhere. It is absolutely gorgeous. By far one of the most beautiful bus rides we will probably ever take. We finally make it to Split around 4pm. We were able to walk to our hostel from the bus station, which this time actually is a true 5 minute walk from the station. We set our gear down, and went out for some food. We snacked on chips the whole bus ride so we wanted some veggies. We got two nice salads, and Morgan got bruschetta. This bruschetta was on a toasted English muffin, with 3 sardines, tomatoes, and tons of melted mozzarella. I attempted one and nearly gagged from the fishy, salty taste of the sardine. Apparently sardines still taste horrendous even over here. Morgan was hungry and didn't mind the taste, so he ate everything.
Natalie: The city reminds me a lot of Venice, Italy. It is a huge coastal town with tourists from all over Europe. There are fairies going in and out to the Croatian mountains, and cruise ships docking daily. There is only one major the road where we are, the rest of the streets are very tight pedestrian walkways that are barely 8 feet wide. It reminds me a lot also of Pirates of the Caribbean. There is a huge fortress on the hill too. There are many souvenirs stands that even have Pirates of Croatia shirts! I could stay in this city for days traveling to the beautiful islands. I will definitely return to this coast.
We went back to the hostel and met some of the other travelers. Two Aussies run the hostel at the moment. The owner went on vacation, so they are just helping out for a week or two. There is another girl Aussie, who lost her voice at a pub crawl that week. She had been traveling for a few months, but mainly spoke about her time in India. There was a British girl, whose accent was 'lovely' (Our new British vocabulary word). She was from a very rich part of London, and had traveled the world. She was 28, drank a lot, and smoked like a chimney. She was incredibly fun to listen to just because of her accent, but also because she had great travel stories. We all had some shots of rakija then the left for the bar. We went to Element bar first, which is two doors down from our hostel. I had pineapple juice and vodka, and Morgan had walnut rakija. The group got in various political conversation about different countries. It was mostly about India, china, and the war that went on in the Balkans. We then moved on to the bar Charlie's, where they played tons of old school classic rock like Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. It was loud and out of control. We tacked on to a pub crawl and moved on to another bar nearly 20 minutes away. There was not a lot of people, so we left after 15 minutes. We got lost going home, but had a wonderful conversation with the Australian, who was actually also Croatian. Her parents left Croatia and moved to Australia, so she gave us a wonderful history about Croatia from her families point of view. She did say some family members are still bitter towards Serbians for what they did, but other members of her family are not. It had a lot to do with politics and how the government never paid their soldiers after the war. Croats that no longer live in Croatia can actually vote about the laws and vote for Croatian officials, which seems very unfair for the people that actually live and work in the country. Another wonderfully, informative night. Beach and tanning tomorrow!
Wednesday, May 25th
Today was an absolutely beautiful day. We went to the fresh food market this morning to buy carrots, green beans, and figs. An odd combination, but everything was so incredibly delicious and fresh. We then headed to the rock beach which was about a 45 minute walk down the promenade. There are two types of beaches here: sand and rock. The sandy beach is very touristy, and the water, we heard, isn't very nice. The rock beaches are less touristy, and the water is blue green. It was a nice walk around the marina, through a park, and along the coast. We stopped at the third and last beach, which had only about 5 local couples. The rock beach is more like a pebble beach, so it's not that uncomfortable. We stayed there snacking on our fresh vegetables, reading, and swimming in the water. Morgan didn't think the water was that cold, but I thought it was freezing. Morgan became a lobster around 230pm so we left for some food.
We stopped at a classic Croatian restaurant called Fife. We ordered a mixed fish plate, mixed meat plate, and potatoes. The fish was grilled, skin, bones, and all. We had mackerel and silver hic. I liked the mackerel better than the hic. The meat was a mix of sausage, possibly veal, and chicken. Frites also came with the meat, so we finally got to enjoy some crispy French fries! The potatoes were soaked in butter, which isn't a bad thing. We then walked around looking for a souvenir patch for Morgan, then got dessert. We had an amazingly, chocolatey tort and some snickers/"Philadelphia" gelato. A free city tour started at 6pm, so we headed to the promenade to meet the tour group. The tour guide never showed, so everyone just left. We went for a beer and apple cider with a guy from the Netherlands. He was very nice and told us all about the Netherlands. His country is only 300km long and has 16 million people, so it seems incredibly dense. We came back to the hostel fairly early, and I, Natalie, called it a night. Morgan went out for a few drinks and came back around 1230am.
Thursday, May 26th
Today we woke up fairy early to climb the hill surrounding Split. We first stopped at the bus station to buy our tickets. I bought a bus ticket for Zagreb, Croatia that left at 3pm that afternoon. Morgan bought a ticket for a night train that left at 9pm and arrived in Zagreb at 630am tomorrow. I value my sleep, so I wanted to sleep in a hostel not a train. After buying our tickets, we went to the hill. The trek up took about 40 minutes. We had to stop a few times because it was a lot of stairs! At the top is oddly the Split Zoo. There was also a purple building that said Observatory. We walked inside up a few flights of spiral stairs. However, while walking up there was an open door that looked like a living room with computers...We realized this probably wasnt a tourist stop, so we sprinted up the stairs. At the top was a lot of high tech equipment, but we took pictures of the amazing view anyway! It was a beautiful day, so you could see incredibly far. We sprinted back down the stairs to the normal path. We walked around the fortress area for another 30 minutes or so then went back down the hill.
For lunch we stopped at the hidden restaurant we found the first night. I ordered spaghetti carbonara, while Morgan ordered a pizza. My pasta was very good, but incredibly rich and creamy and overly salty from the pancetta. Morgans pizza was incredible with ham, bacon, and a porcini type pepper. We then walked to the beach and laid out for a few hours. I actually decided to jump in the ocean, as well, since it was so hot outside! The water was so cold and salty! It was like eating a spoonful of salt. After getting out of the ocean, the salt actually sticks to you. So we had salt stains all over our skin. We walked back to the hostel around two, where I packed my things and left for the bus. The bus ride was uneventful. I slept for most of it.
I arrived in Zagreb around 730pm and had to find my hostel. I did not have a map, so I just started asking which way to a street called Dordica. I asked people every few minutes to make sure I was on the right track. One man was getting in his car and overheard me. He said he would drive me. I was hesitant at first, but he was short and skinny so I figured I could take him. He was extremely nice, and a musician/music teacher in Zagreb. I made it safely to the hostel, where I was one of three guests. It was very quiet compared to the other hostels I stayed at with 20 plus people! I walked around the city for a few hours then went back to the hostel. A mother and daughter, who were Canadian, were back also from their walk when I got back. We drank tea, ate cookies, and talked for an hour or so. We went to bed and planned to eat breakfast together the next morning before we all headed to the train station at 8am.
Morgan took the night train at 9pm that night with a girl from our Split hostel named Chelsea. The train was apparently not that bad, since they had a 6 person compartment to themselves. This meant they got to spread out over the 6 chairs plus a few Vallium didnt hurt. After Zagreb, we are on to Slovenia!
Today we left for Split, Croatia from Sarajevo. Our bus left at 10am so we woke up, packed, and walked around the city one more time. We checked out of the hospital and said goodbye to our good Aussie friend Jo. She is going on to Mostar, Bosnia this evening. We are really going to miss her. She was a wonderful edition to our group. The hostel said we had a 15 or so minute walk to the bus station. We did not want to repeat our run to the train station in Bulgaria so we left at 915am. We walked, and walked, and walked. At 935am we asked somewhere where the bus ration was. She said 5 more minutes that way. We walked. We asked another person 5 minutes later, and they point to this building and said turn left then 1500 meters. We asked another and we finally see it. By this time its 950. We haul ass the last 3 blocks and somehow found this obscure entrance to the actually buses. We find our bus, hand our driver the tickets, spray on some deodorant, then jump on the bus. We left two minutes later. The Balkans have a twisted sense of time, so never trust anyone from eastern europe about time or distance. A 15 minute walk, turned into a 45 minute marathon.
The bus ride, however, may have slightly made up for it. These few sentences will never do it justice. We followed a river that was blue green nearly half the time. The river was surrounded by massive mountains and cliffs covered with beautiful tall green trees. Then the river started getting wider and wider, so we knew the ocean was close. We turn around a mountain, and the whole view opens up. On the right are massive cliffs. On the left, a huge beautiful green blue ocean. There a towns with white walls and orange roofs everywhere. It is absolutely gorgeous. By far one of the most beautiful bus rides we will probably ever take. We finally make it to Split around 4pm. We were able to walk to our hostel from the bus station, which this time actually is a true 5 minute walk from the station. We set our gear down, and went out for some food. We snacked on chips the whole bus ride so we wanted some veggies. We got two nice salads, and Morgan got bruschetta. This bruschetta was on a toasted English muffin, with 3 sardines, tomatoes, and tons of melted mozzarella. I attempted one and nearly gagged from the fishy, salty taste of the sardine. Apparently sardines still taste horrendous even over here. Morgan was hungry and didn't mind the taste, so he ate everything.
Natalie: The city reminds me a lot of Venice, Italy. It is a huge coastal town with tourists from all over Europe. There are fairies going in and out to the Croatian mountains, and cruise ships docking daily. There is only one major the road where we are, the rest of the streets are very tight pedestrian walkways that are barely 8 feet wide. It reminds me a lot also of Pirates of the Caribbean. There is a huge fortress on the hill too. There are many souvenirs stands that even have Pirates of Croatia shirts! I could stay in this city for days traveling to the beautiful islands. I will definitely return to this coast.
We went back to the hostel and met some of the other travelers. Two Aussies run the hostel at the moment. The owner went on vacation, so they are just helping out for a week or two. There is another girl Aussie, who lost her voice at a pub crawl that week. She had been traveling for a few months, but mainly spoke about her time in India. There was a British girl, whose accent was 'lovely' (Our new British vocabulary word). She was from a very rich part of London, and had traveled the world. She was 28, drank a lot, and smoked like a chimney. She was incredibly fun to listen to just because of her accent, but also because she had great travel stories. We all had some shots of rakija then the left for the bar. We went to Element bar first, which is two doors down from our hostel. I had pineapple juice and vodka, and Morgan had walnut rakija. The group got in various political conversation about different countries. It was mostly about India, china, and the war that went on in the Balkans. We then moved on to the bar Charlie's, where they played tons of old school classic rock like Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. It was loud and out of control. We tacked on to a pub crawl and moved on to another bar nearly 20 minutes away. There was not a lot of people, so we left after 15 minutes. We got lost going home, but had a wonderful conversation with the Australian, who was actually also Croatian. Her parents left Croatia and moved to Australia, so she gave us a wonderful history about Croatia from her families point of view. She did say some family members are still bitter towards Serbians for what they did, but other members of her family are not. It had a lot to do with politics and how the government never paid their soldiers after the war. Croats that no longer live in Croatia can actually vote about the laws and vote for Croatian officials, which seems very unfair for the people that actually live and work in the country. Another wonderfully, informative night. Beach and tanning tomorrow!
Wednesday, May 25th
Today was an absolutely beautiful day. We went to the fresh food market this morning to buy carrots, green beans, and figs. An odd combination, but everything was so incredibly delicious and fresh. We then headed to the rock beach which was about a 45 minute walk down the promenade. There are two types of beaches here: sand and rock. The sandy beach is very touristy, and the water, we heard, isn't very nice. The rock beaches are less touristy, and the water is blue green. It was a nice walk around the marina, through a park, and along the coast. We stopped at the third and last beach, which had only about 5 local couples. The rock beach is more like a pebble beach, so it's not that uncomfortable. We stayed there snacking on our fresh vegetables, reading, and swimming in the water. Morgan didn't think the water was that cold, but I thought it was freezing. Morgan became a lobster around 230pm so we left for some food.
We stopped at a classic Croatian restaurant called Fife. We ordered a mixed fish plate, mixed meat plate, and potatoes. The fish was grilled, skin, bones, and all. We had mackerel and silver hic. I liked the mackerel better than the hic. The meat was a mix of sausage, possibly veal, and chicken. Frites also came with the meat, so we finally got to enjoy some crispy French fries! The potatoes were soaked in butter, which isn't a bad thing. We then walked around looking for a souvenir patch for Morgan, then got dessert. We had an amazingly, chocolatey tort and some snickers/"Philadelphia" gelato. A free city tour started at 6pm, so we headed to the promenade to meet the tour group. The tour guide never showed, so everyone just left. We went for a beer and apple cider with a guy from the Netherlands. He was very nice and told us all about the Netherlands. His country is only 300km long and has 16 million people, so it seems incredibly dense. We came back to the hostel fairly early, and I, Natalie, called it a night. Morgan went out for a few drinks and came back around 1230am.
Thursday, May 26th
Today we woke up fairy early to climb the hill surrounding Split. We first stopped at the bus station to buy our tickets. I bought a bus ticket for Zagreb, Croatia that left at 3pm that afternoon. Morgan bought a ticket for a night train that left at 9pm and arrived in Zagreb at 630am tomorrow. I value my sleep, so I wanted to sleep in a hostel not a train. After buying our tickets, we went to the hill. The trek up took about 40 minutes. We had to stop a few times because it was a lot of stairs! At the top is oddly the Split Zoo. There was also a purple building that said Observatory. We walked inside up a few flights of spiral stairs. However, while walking up there was an open door that looked like a living room with computers...We realized this probably wasnt a tourist stop, so we sprinted up the stairs. At the top was a lot of high tech equipment, but we took pictures of the amazing view anyway! It was a beautiful day, so you could see incredibly far. We sprinted back down the stairs to the normal path. We walked around the fortress area for another 30 minutes or so then went back down the hill.
For lunch we stopped at the hidden restaurant we found the first night. I ordered spaghetti carbonara, while Morgan ordered a pizza. My pasta was very good, but incredibly rich and creamy and overly salty from the pancetta. Morgans pizza was incredible with ham, bacon, and a porcini type pepper. We then walked to the beach and laid out for a few hours. I actually decided to jump in the ocean, as well, since it was so hot outside! The water was so cold and salty! It was like eating a spoonful of salt. After getting out of the ocean, the salt actually sticks to you. So we had salt stains all over our skin. We walked back to the hostel around two, where I packed my things and left for the bus. The bus ride was uneventful. I slept for most of it.
I arrived in Zagreb around 730pm and had to find my hostel. I did not have a map, so I just started asking which way to a street called Dordica. I asked people every few minutes to make sure I was on the right track. One man was getting in his car and overheard me. He said he would drive me. I was hesitant at first, but he was short and skinny so I figured I could take him. He was extremely nice, and a musician/music teacher in Zagreb. I made it safely to the hostel, where I was one of three guests. It was very quiet compared to the other hostels I stayed at with 20 plus people! I walked around the city for a few hours then went back to the hostel. A mother and daughter, who were Canadian, were back also from their walk when I got back. We drank tea, ate cookies, and talked for an hour or so. We went to bed and planned to eat breakfast together the next morning before we all headed to the train station at 8am.
Morgan took the night train at 9pm that night with a girl from our Split hostel named Chelsea. The train was apparently not that bad, since they had a 6 person compartment to themselves. This meant they got to spread out over the 6 chairs plus a few Vallium didnt hurt. After Zagreb, we are on to Slovenia!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sarajevo, Bosnia
Sunday, May 22nd...After our epic night at Sensation White, we woke up at 6am to catch a bus at 630am. The bus was to pick us up at our hostel and drop us off at our hostel in Sarajevo, Bosnia. According to the driver, he was caught in traffic from Sensation White which ended at 6am so he didn't pick us up till 830am! We drove through the gorgeous countryside of Serbia and Bosnia. After crossing the river that seperates the two counties, we had a great bus climb through the mountains. Morgan did get a little sick, but Jo and I just slept through most of it. The mountains were decorated with farms and incredibly lush forests. I thought it was similar to driving through the alps in northern Italy.
We arrived in Bosnia around 3pm. We asked the hostel for some good Bosnian food, which is basically a plate full of meat. We got three different meat dishes plus sides of onions, mustard, and GIANT pita bread. All this for only 19 dinar, 9 euro, or $12 for three people. We then walked around the old town section of Sarajevo, which is very quant. There are only two major roads, one that follows the river, and another that goes the opposite direction on the north side of town. The rest of the streets are pedestrians walkways lined with souvenir shops, tons of jewelry stores, Turkish lamp stores, cafes, and dessert stores. We had no idea that Bosnia had such a Turkish influence. There was a mosque every 4-5 blocks, Turkish restaurants, and typical turkish souvenirs. You can severely tell the difference between Bosnia and Serbia. Bosnia is not a modern city, but still a very small knit city recovering from a civil war.
That evening we went out for some drinks which included some montenegrin wine for Morgan and I, while Jo had a gin and tonic. We went back to the hostel, to watch the stanley cup playoffs versus Vancouver and San Jose Sharks, because there were canadians and a sharks fan staying in the hostel. After the game, Morgan was hungry so we walked around. We were looking for "Tornado fries", but were so turned around by the time we found it, the store was closed. We went to a bakery by our hostel, where Morgan got a chocolate pastry thing that looked like an eclair. It wasn't that great...
Monday, May 23rd...
This morning we went in search of tea and coffee. We found a small coffee shop that served us tiny cups of tea and coffee for 4 kn or 2 euros. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. We walked around the entire rest of the morning, where we passed probably every souvenir shop known in Sarajevo. There were tons of metal shops for Turkish coffee or tea sets, metal plates and jewelry, also tons of Turkish clothing stores. I bought a few souvenirs for friends, and Morgan bought his patch souvenir and a bullet key chain.
We met Jo for lunch around noon. We were in desperate need of vegetables, so we asked our hostel for a good suggestion. They pointed us in the direction of a place called small kitchen, which was ten minutes away. We walked in to a restaurant with three tables and three bar stools in front of the tepanyaki style grill. The decoration very contemporary, and the smell was incredible the second we opened the door. The chef had small glad boxes full of freshly diced veggies, and fridge full of great sliced meat. The waiter said we don't have a menu, just to tell him what we liked. We said we wanted vegetables but meat was okay too, so he told the chef to makes us a combination with extra veggies. We also shared a bowl of hot, delicious soup that tasted similar to chicken noodle soup, but with veal, vegetables, and no noodles. He also gave us free rakija shots on the house. Our food came and we about cried. The plate was beautiful to look at. In the center was gorgeous grilled vegetables including carrots, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, as well as, meat, nuts, and cranberries. Around this massive center of vegetables was a ring of yellow rice follow by another ring of sauce placed in dots all around the edge of the plate. Then orange peels were sprinkled on top. It smelled amazing, and tasted even better. It was an incredibly amount of food too. All this food and drinks, for 50 dinar or around $33, so $11 dollars per person!
Afterward, we started doing a walking tour of our city from a map that pointed out all the interesting places. We only made it to the first site on the map before it started to rain! Good thing we had a twenty minute walk back the the hostel with no umbrellas...needless to say we were drenched. After three hours of waiting for the rain to end, we started our walk around the city again. We saw some beautiful mosques and churches, as well as, some buildings that were riddled with bullet holes and crumbling from the civil war. It was incredible that the city had not torn down these buildings or at least renovated them. It's sad to think that Bosnians have to walk by these buildings that are daily reminders of the war and death that their ravaged their country.
We were told to head up the the fortress to watch the sunset and see the city at night. On our walk up, Morgan's stomach was calling so Jo and I waited outside the fast food place. Sitting on a chair outside the door was a man in jeans and a leather jacket. He said in an almost aggressive tone if we were from America. I automatically didn't say anything because of his tone, but Jo stepped right in and said we were Aussies. We talked to him for over 20 mins about his life. He was a native Bosnian, with a Muslim father and catholic mother. He was muslim. He was in his twenties during the war and was in the military. He was on the front lines near the train station and one day he went out for a look. He was shot once in both knees by snipers and he showed us his scars. He stood nearly six foot five and could still walk around without a noticeable limp. After that war, he had to train the Montenegrins to fight the Albanians. Afterward, he was giving no money for his work in the military so he moved to Denmark where they pay his pension. He only comes back to visit his parents, because most of his friends died or left. He even said he still smells blood when he comes back to Sarajevo. Even though many areas have been renovated, he can still visualiye what they looked like in the war. So coming back to Bosnia is very difficult for him. He said in Sarajevo, 16,000 children died of the 30,000 killed. Another town lost 100,000 people. The genocide that happened in the region is unconscionable.
After this sobering discussion, we hiked up the hill to the fortress. We passed a Muslim grave site with all gravestones showing deaths during 1992-1995. Finally at the top of the fortress, we could see the entire city. Sarajevo is actually much larger than we though, since we are in the old town area. Sarajevo is surrounded by mountains on all sides with a large river running through it. The river is extremely muddy looking, but we are not sure why. The sky was very cloudy from the rain that day, so we could not see a sunset.
Next, we walked down and treked to a bar for some Somersby Apple Cider! We found a place and had one bottle each, then walked to another bar. This bar was on a street filled with chairs, tables, umbrellas, and TVs. We ordered some cider and watched the hockey game. Only two other men on the block were even near us, and they were in their late 60s it looked liked. We had asked the waiter for menus, but he said they did not serve food. These men had overheard us, and one was actually the owner of some bars on that strip. He ordered a few burgers and crepes and gave half to us! We asked him to sit next to us, but he didn't speak any English so the waiter translated for us. This man who we thought was late sixties, was actually 80 years old. He walks to work everyday and owned most of that block. He was a gentleman and even put a jacket around Jo because he thought she was cold. He went home, so then we chatted with the waiter for an hour or so about his life since we were his only customers. He was 27, married, and had two kids. He was a Muslim Bosnian, and his wife was Croatian. He was eight when the war happened. He remembers living in his apartment and the city being at siege for four years. He says Bosnian is still recouping from it, and is even worried for another war in the future. Money and power are major issues that caused the war and are still a problem today. Soldiers were not paid for their service, money was given to the wrong people, and Bosnia's credit debt as a country as astronomical. Presidencies now change every six months, which makes political decision making nearly impossible. Religion did play a major role in it, but now no body can tell who is who. Everyone, Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians, who all have different dominant religions are now trying to put aside the death and destruction to better their country. He also talked about how expensive it is in Bosnia, when Jo, Morgan, and I thought the complete opposite. A typically Bosnian makes 200-300 euro a month, which is only around $500. He works constantly while his wife it sounds like never sleeps or eats since she takes care of the children. We are incredibly blessed not to have to worry about money as they do, nor have to relive constant memories of a recent 15 year old genocide in your backyard.
Today was incredibly informative and interestingly. We loved learning about the history of this country and speaking to people who lived through it. Bosnia has a long way to go but they are trying. We leave tomorrow for Split, Croatia which is on the Adriatic Sea.
We arrived in Bosnia around 3pm. We asked the hostel for some good Bosnian food, which is basically a plate full of meat. We got three different meat dishes plus sides of onions, mustard, and GIANT pita bread. All this for only 19 dinar, 9 euro, or $12 for three people. We then walked around the old town section of Sarajevo, which is very quant. There are only two major roads, one that follows the river, and another that goes the opposite direction on the north side of town. The rest of the streets are pedestrians walkways lined with souvenir shops, tons of jewelry stores, Turkish lamp stores, cafes, and dessert stores. We had no idea that Bosnia had such a Turkish influence. There was a mosque every 4-5 blocks, Turkish restaurants, and typical turkish souvenirs. You can severely tell the difference between Bosnia and Serbia. Bosnia is not a modern city, but still a very small knit city recovering from a civil war.
That evening we went out for some drinks which included some montenegrin wine for Morgan and I, while Jo had a gin and tonic. We went back to the hostel, to watch the stanley cup playoffs versus Vancouver and San Jose Sharks, because there were canadians and a sharks fan staying in the hostel. After the game, Morgan was hungry so we walked around. We were looking for "Tornado fries", but were so turned around by the time we found it, the store was closed. We went to a bakery by our hostel, where Morgan got a chocolate pastry thing that looked like an eclair. It wasn't that great...
Monday, May 23rd...
This morning we went in search of tea and coffee. We found a small coffee shop that served us tiny cups of tea and coffee for 4 kn or 2 euros. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. We walked around the entire rest of the morning, where we passed probably every souvenir shop known in Sarajevo. There were tons of metal shops for Turkish coffee or tea sets, metal plates and jewelry, also tons of Turkish clothing stores. I bought a few souvenirs for friends, and Morgan bought his patch souvenir and a bullet key chain.
We met Jo for lunch around noon. We were in desperate need of vegetables, so we asked our hostel for a good suggestion. They pointed us in the direction of a place called small kitchen, which was ten minutes away. We walked in to a restaurant with three tables and three bar stools in front of the tepanyaki style grill. The decoration very contemporary, and the smell was incredible the second we opened the door. The chef had small glad boxes full of freshly diced veggies, and fridge full of great sliced meat. The waiter said we don't have a menu, just to tell him what we liked. We said we wanted vegetables but meat was okay too, so he told the chef to makes us a combination with extra veggies. We also shared a bowl of hot, delicious soup that tasted similar to chicken noodle soup, but with veal, vegetables, and no noodles. He also gave us free rakija shots on the house. Our food came and we about cried. The plate was beautiful to look at. In the center was gorgeous grilled vegetables including carrots, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, as well as, meat, nuts, and cranberries. Around this massive center of vegetables was a ring of yellow rice follow by another ring of sauce placed in dots all around the edge of the plate. Then orange peels were sprinkled on top. It smelled amazing, and tasted even better. It was an incredibly amount of food too. All this food and drinks, for 50 dinar or around $33, so $11 dollars per person!
Afterward, we started doing a walking tour of our city from a map that pointed out all the interesting places. We only made it to the first site on the map before it started to rain! Good thing we had a twenty minute walk back the the hostel with no umbrellas...needless to say we were drenched. After three hours of waiting for the rain to end, we started our walk around the city again. We saw some beautiful mosques and churches, as well as, some buildings that were riddled with bullet holes and crumbling from the civil war. It was incredible that the city had not torn down these buildings or at least renovated them. It's sad to think that Bosnians have to walk by these buildings that are daily reminders of the war and death that their ravaged their country.
We were told to head up the the fortress to watch the sunset and see the city at night. On our walk up, Morgan's stomach was calling so Jo and I waited outside the fast food place. Sitting on a chair outside the door was a man in jeans and a leather jacket. He said in an almost aggressive tone if we were from America. I automatically didn't say anything because of his tone, but Jo stepped right in and said we were Aussies. We talked to him for over 20 mins about his life. He was a native Bosnian, with a Muslim father and catholic mother. He was muslim. He was in his twenties during the war and was in the military. He was on the front lines near the train station and one day he went out for a look. He was shot once in both knees by snipers and he showed us his scars. He stood nearly six foot five and could still walk around without a noticeable limp. After that war, he had to train the Montenegrins to fight the Albanians. Afterward, he was giving no money for his work in the military so he moved to Denmark where they pay his pension. He only comes back to visit his parents, because most of his friends died or left. He even said he still smells blood when he comes back to Sarajevo. Even though many areas have been renovated, he can still visualiye what they looked like in the war. So coming back to Bosnia is very difficult for him. He said in Sarajevo, 16,000 children died of the 30,000 killed. Another town lost 100,000 people. The genocide that happened in the region is unconscionable.
After this sobering discussion, we hiked up the hill to the fortress. We passed a Muslim grave site with all gravestones showing deaths during 1992-1995. Finally at the top of the fortress, we could see the entire city. Sarajevo is actually much larger than we though, since we are in the old town area. Sarajevo is surrounded by mountains on all sides with a large river running through it. The river is extremely muddy looking, but we are not sure why. The sky was very cloudy from the rain that day, so we could not see a sunset.
Next, we walked down and treked to a bar for some Somersby Apple Cider! We found a place and had one bottle each, then walked to another bar. This bar was on a street filled with chairs, tables, umbrellas, and TVs. We ordered some cider and watched the hockey game. Only two other men on the block were even near us, and they were in their late 60s it looked liked. We had asked the waiter for menus, but he said they did not serve food. These men had overheard us, and one was actually the owner of some bars on that strip. He ordered a few burgers and crepes and gave half to us! We asked him to sit next to us, but he didn't speak any English so the waiter translated for us. This man who we thought was late sixties, was actually 80 years old. He walks to work everyday and owned most of that block. He was a gentleman and even put a jacket around Jo because he thought she was cold. He went home, so then we chatted with the waiter for an hour or so about his life since we were his only customers. He was 27, married, and had two kids. He was a Muslim Bosnian, and his wife was Croatian. He was eight when the war happened. He remembers living in his apartment and the city being at siege for four years. He says Bosnian is still recouping from it, and is even worried for another war in the future. Money and power are major issues that caused the war and are still a problem today. Soldiers were not paid for their service, money was given to the wrong people, and Bosnia's credit debt as a country as astronomical. Presidencies now change every six months, which makes political decision making nearly impossible. Religion did play a major role in it, but now no body can tell who is who. Everyone, Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians, who all have different dominant religions are now trying to put aside the death and destruction to better their country. He also talked about how expensive it is in Bosnia, when Jo, Morgan, and I thought the complete opposite. A typically Bosnian makes 200-300 euro a month, which is only around $500. He works constantly while his wife it sounds like never sleeps or eats since she takes care of the children. We are incredibly blessed not to have to worry about money as they do, nor have to relive constant memories of a recent 15 year old genocide in your backyard.
Today was incredibly informative and interestingly. We loved learning about the history of this country and speaking to people who lived through it. Bosnia has a long way to go but they are trying. We leave tomorrow for Split, Croatia which is on the Adriatic Sea.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Belgrade, Serbia
After a great night sleep, our time in Belgrade begins...
Friday, May, 20th...
We have been so fortunate with our Belgrade hostel. It is fairly small, and could be deemed a home away from home. The young adults that run the hostel and the other guests had gone out for drinks a couple days before we got there. During their pub crawl they had come up with the brilliant idea for a boat cruise! They told us about it last night and said we had to be ready by 1030am this morning. AND it was only 6 euro! We had to do it. With 5 other hostel guests, our Aussie travel friend, Jo, and the hostel owner, Dunja (pronounced dune-ya) we took a boat around the river.
Since the boat was docked a little ways away, we all piled into this small car (small for 9 people that is).
Morgan: On the way over the woman sitting in front of me introduced herself and when while we exchanged the normal get to know you niceties she suddenly said she was from Rochester, New York. I couldn't believe it I just looked at her and said I lived there when I was very little and then we got to chatting about Rochester, penfield, Webster and wegmanns. After about a minute I finally told her what elementary school I went to and as it turns out we went to the same one. It's just absolutely absurd that in all places I would run into a person from rochester in a small hostel in Belgrade, Serbia. The world truly is a small place and getting smaller by the minute. She then told us about how she lives in Turkey and had met her husband while backpacking in southern France and they had shared a taxi and that's how they met. Hearing that story puts you at ease with the uncertainty of where life will take you. Here were two strangers who were thousands of miles from home and found eachother in the most random of ways. Life is beautiful in this sense. Being a planner type, I found this story thoroughly inspiring in the sense to stop planning. I focus way too much on the future and need to remember to be aware of the present and just have fun.
So with that being said back to our day trip. Once we got to the docks, we all climbed out of the car, the scene was similar to an image of 10 clowns crawling out of a mini car. As soon as we were all out of the vehicle Bojan (boy-on), the guy from the hostel who drove us over (who is hilarious by the way) started pulling the supplies out for the day trip. The supplies consisted of cups, three bottles of wine, one bottle of water, and a beach volleyball. Upon boarding the boat we each were given a potion-beaker-like shot glass of Rakja (rak-ya). Rakja is a potent fruity brandy like liquor that Serbs love. Some countries have wine, others have beer, and the Serbs have rakja. So at 11 am in Belgrade we started drinking.
During the boat ride, Dunja told us a little about the city and the things we were seeing but to be honest the day trip was more about good drinks, good food, and good company. About 30 or 40 minutes after cruising around the water we docked the boat at an island in the middle of the river. We grabbed the bottles of wine and water to head to the other side of the island with a sandy beach.
The environment that travelers create when interacting with each other is absolutely amazing. Its wonderful to tell stories of your journey and listen to others. Especially "older" travelers who have been around the world with more passports stamps than one can count. Topics range from a country's literature and politics, along with the older travelers careers, advice, and tips towards traveling.
At lunch time, we went back to the boat for some traditional fish soup. It was a red/yellow broth with fish parts. The bones were still in the fish, and the broth was exceptionally hot. It may have had saffron in it? It was also served with GIANT bread roll with sesame seeds. Afterward, we walked around the island. There were many shack/tree house looking homes that people actually lived in. It was very primitive with generators running their electricity. They also had a large patch of land to grown their own food. After our walk, the boat drove us back. So in total: a boat at hand for 6 hrs, 3 bottles of wine, fish soup, bread, and rakja all for 6 Euro each! Or ten dollars.
We relaxed at the hostel for a few hours than went for dinner. A taxi drove us to a section of the river with restaurants floating like boats on the edge of the land. We were supposed to find the Balkan Express, but our leader accidentally went the wrong way. So after an hour or so of walking, we were all starving! We ended up at a restaurant with cute menus, and a nice waitress. The restaurant ended up being an Italian restaurant. We all had some fun variations of salads, bruschetta, carpaccio, pasta, and steak. We were all exhausted so we saved our going out energy for tomorrow night.
The next day (Saturday, May, 21) we had a walking tour starting at the city center called Republic Square. Republic square is the classic place to start a first date, grab a coffee, see business men eating lunch, and meet friends before the clubs. We continued the walk around the city seeing various old buildings, statues, and fortresses. A lot of stories centered around the Turks and drinking. Everything it seems in Belgrade revolves around drinking/"inspiration". A classic saying in Belgrade is that there is 3 levels of drinking. One: Sitting at the table. Two: On the table. Three: Under the table..We ended the tour at the fortress that overlooks the city. The city was named "The White City" because the fortress used to look white when it was built. It was a phenomenal view overlooking the entire city, river, and lush scenery.
After the tour, we headed for a classic serbian meal. We ordered cevapci (similar to breakfast sausage we found out), a cabbage wrapped sausage, grilled veggies, a spicy cucumber tomato salad, and of course Rakja. We then went to a sketchy market looking for black market bottles of Rakja. It had been raining, so the market was fairly empty. We couldn't seem to find the right person to point us in the direction to buy some black market liquor. A Texan, who lives near Austin, found a clothes stand to buy some pants. He was going to White Sensation Serbia with us that night, which required white pants and shirt. He bought an excellent pair of white European style capris for 75 cents! We walked around the city an hour or two more, then went to get ready for White Sensation!
White Sensation is a very large event in Serbia that is similar to an American rave on steroids. There is a light/laser show, women dressed in bikinis walking a cat walk, giant jellyfish hanging from the ceiling, two jumbo trans, a lineup of 5 famous DJs, and everyone is in white. If you did not have white pants or shirt, you would not be let in. We had tickets, but our other Texas friend, Ed, did not. We wondered around looking for a scalper. We learned the Serbian word fore ticket, carte, and just started asking. We walked around the stadium and saw a man, not dressed in white, leaning on his car. I, Natalie, asked him, "Carte? Koliko?" (Ticket? How much?) He said 100 Euro. We had bought the tickets for 60 Euro, and I said no our friend only had 70. He said no, and I asked 80?! He thought about it, then said eh, ok. So we had a ticket that we thought was legitimate. We met a group of Serbians to talk to. They were fairly wasted, so we moved on. While in line for the stadium, a girl said I looked like Britney Spears, so I started talking with her. I met all her friends, who were our age, so we tagged along with them for the entire concert!
The Serbians are absolutely wonderful! They loved the fact that americans are coming to Serbia. They continuously asked us what we thought of Serbia and if we were having a good time. Their english is impeccable, and were so excited to practice speaking it with us! They wanted us to understand that Serbians are not violent, savages caught in wars but loving people, who are extremely proud of their country. They cannot wait for us to tell our family and friends about the wonders of Serbia and for us to come again. It's not just the young serbians we've met, but every age group that wants us to have a wonderful time in their country. Serbians are truly one of a kind.
So we finally got the security, where Morgan and I walked through. However, Ed did not!! His ticket did not scan, and he was told his ticket was fake. We felt awful! Our new Serbian friends, said he would find a way in, but if he ever found us in the crowd of 20,000 people it'd be a miracle. We went down the stairs to the bottom of the arena to get easy for the opening ceremony. The stadium is a basketball arena, and it was surreal to see so much white. The stage was one of kind with balloons, jellyfish, water fountains, and models. The ceremony opened with fireworks, light show, and introduction of the first DJ. I was bracing myself for my ears to be blown, but I could still here and speak/yell to the others around me. The bass was not as loud as raves I'd been to before but it was still very intense. After listening and jumping around for an hour or so Ed shows up!! He had found us!! Or rather he'd found a short, blonde with a poof in her hair (me) in a crowd of 20,000 people!
Ed has one of the most unforgettable concert stories know to man. After being turned away by security, he found out thousands of people had been turned away because the stadium's computer system crashed for specific types of tickets. So being the brilliant, savvy concert man he is, he walked around the stadium looking for the wealthiest looking serbians he could find. Though EVERYONE in serbia dresses and looks like supermodels, he found an exceptional looking groups of Serbs. He went straight to the oldest looking woman of the group. He told this gorgeous looking Serbian grandma his story, and she said wait a moment. She called over her supermodel-esque daughter and granddaughter. They picked up their phone to make a call. Within minutes, a security guard walked over to give Ed a VIP wristband and neck pass! Ed had met the owners of the stadium!! He was taken to their VIP sweet to mingle with wealthy Serbians and drink to his hearts content for free!! He left to find us, and somehow, against all odds, saw me in the crowd! The man is insane.
So after a few beers, more DJs, dancing, crazy pictures, Serbian language lessons, and continuous signs of affection like hugs and Serbian one cheek kisses, we finally decided to leave. The concert went on until 6am, but we left at 2am because we were all leaving very early in the morning for our next destination. This night will live on in countless stories for years to come.
Natalie: Belgrade is an absolutely amazing city. Only in a certain part of the city do you see a few bombed buildings that still have not been repaired since the 90s. Overall, the city is alive and very modern, with little to no aura of a communist, war torn country. The streets are busy with traffic, the sidewalks packed with pedestrians, and shops exploding with avid shoppers. There are beautiful parks, and grand old buildings that have been excellently renovated. Serbians are also the tallest and most beautiful people I have ever seen. There is truly something in their water, because it seems they have hit the genetic lottery. The women are statuesque and the men all seem to be basketball players. At the rave, I couldn't see a man under 6 foot in site. At the rave, I was taught the countries hand sign that is holding up the thumb, pointer finger, and middle finger. It is supposed to represent the three stripes on their plane.
Overall the Serbians are amazing, friendly and very concerned about our opinion of their country. We wish we had a other day here, but Bosnia is calling our name. Their is beautiful countryside to be seen, food to be consumed, wine to be drunk, and people to meet.
Friday, May, 20th...
We have been so fortunate with our Belgrade hostel. It is fairly small, and could be deemed a home away from home. The young adults that run the hostel and the other guests had gone out for drinks a couple days before we got there. During their pub crawl they had come up with the brilliant idea for a boat cruise! They told us about it last night and said we had to be ready by 1030am this morning. AND it was only 6 euro! We had to do it. With 5 other hostel guests, our Aussie travel friend, Jo, and the hostel owner, Dunja (pronounced dune-ya) we took a boat around the river.
Since the boat was docked a little ways away, we all piled into this small car (small for 9 people that is).
Morgan: On the way over the woman sitting in front of me introduced herself and when while we exchanged the normal get to know you niceties she suddenly said she was from Rochester, New York. I couldn't believe it I just looked at her and said I lived there when I was very little and then we got to chatting about Rochester, penfield, Webster and wegmanns. After about a minute I finally told her what elementary school I went to and as it turns out we went to the same one. It's just absolutely absurd that in all places I would run into a person from rochester in a small hostel in Belgrade, Serbia. The world truly is a small place and getting smaller by the minute. She then told us about how she lives in Turkey and had met her husband while backpacking in southern France and they had shared a taxi and that's how they met. Hearing that story puts you at ease with the uncertainty of where life will take you. Here were two strangers who were thousands of miles from home and found eachother in the most random of ways. Life is beautiful in this sense. Being a planner type, I found this story thoroughly inspiring in the sense to stop planning. I focus way too much on the future and need to remember to be aware of the present and just have fun.
So with that being said back to our day trip. Once we got to the docks, we all climbed out of the car, the scene was similar to an image of 10 clowns crawling out of a mini car. As soon as we were all out of the vehicle Bojan (boy-on), the guy from the hostel who drove us over (who is hilarious by the way) started pulling the supplies out for the day trip. The supplies consisted of cups, three bottles of wine, one bottle of water, and a beach volleyball. Upon boarding the boat we each were given a potion-beaker-like shot glass of Rakja (rak-ya). Rakja is a potent fruity brandy like liquor that Serbs love. Some countries have wine, others have beer, and the Serbs have rakja. So at 11 am in Belgrade we started drinking.
During the boat ride, Dunja told us a little about the city and the things we were seeing but to be honest the day trip was more about good drinks, good food, and good company. About 30 or 40 minutes after cruising around the water we docked the boat at an island in the middle of the river. We grabbed the bottles of wine and water to head to the other side of the island with a sandy beach.
The environment that travelers create when interacting with each other is absolutely amazing. Its wonderful to tell stories of your journey and listen to others. Especially "older" travelers who have been around the world with more passports stamps than one can count. Topics range from a country's literature and politics, along with the older travelers careers, advice, and tips towards traveling.
At lunch time, we went back to the boat for some traditional fish soup. It was a red/yellow broth with fish parts. The bones were still in the fish, and the broth was exceptionally hot. It may have had saffron in it? It was also served with GIANT bread roll with sesame seeds. Afterward, we walked around the island. There were many shack/tree house looking homes that people actually lived in. It was very primitive with generators running their electricity. They also had a large patch of land to grown their own food. After our walk, the boat drove us back. So in total: a boat at hand for 6 hrs, 3 bottles of wine, fish soup, bread, and rakja all for 6 Euro each! Or ten dollars.
We relaxed at the hostel for a few hours than went for dinner. A taxi drove us to a section of the river with restaurants floating like boats on the edge of the land. We were supposed to find the Balkan Express, but our leader accidentally went the wrong way. So after an hour or so of walking, we were all starving! We ended up at a restaurant with cute menus, and a nice waitress. The restaurant ended up being an Italian restaurant. We all had some fun variations of salads, bruschetta, carpaccio, pasta, and steak. We were all exhausted so we saved our going out energy for tomorrow night.
The next day (Saturday, May, 21) we had a walking tour starting at the city center called Republic Square. Republic square is the classic place to start a first date, grab a coffee, see business men eating lunch, and meet friends before the clubs. We continued the walk around the city seeing various old buildings, statues, and fortresses. A lot of stories centered around the Turks and drinking. Everything it seems in Belgrade revolves around drinking/"inspiration". A classic saying in Belgrade is that there is 3 levels of drinking. One: Sitting at the table. Two: On the table. Three: Under the table..We ended the tour at the fortress that overlooks the city. The city was named "The White City" because the fortress used to look white when it was built. It was a phenomenal view overlooking the entire city, river, and lush scenery.
After the tour, we headed for a classic serbian meal. We ordered cevapci (similar to breakfast sausage we found out), a cabbage wrapped sausage, grilled veggies, a spicy cucumber tomato salad, and of course Rakja. We then went to a sketchy market looking for black market bottles of Rakja. It had been raining, so the market was fairly empty. We couldn't seem to find the right person to point us in the direction to buy some black market liquor. A Texan, who lives near Austin, found a clothes stand to buy some pants. He was going to White Sensation Serbia with us that night, which required white pants and shirt. He bought an excellent pair of white European style capris for 75 cents! We walked around the city an hour or two more, then went to get ready for White Sensation!
White Sensation is a very large event in Serbia that is similar to an American rave on steroids. There is a light/laser show, women dressed in bikinis walking a cat walk, giant jellyfish hanging from the ceiling, two jumbo trans, a lineup of 5 famous DJs, and everyone is in white. If you did not have white pants or shirt, you would not be let in. We had tickets, but our other Texas friend, Ed, did not. We wondered around looking for a scalper. We learned the Serbian word fore ticket, carte, and just started asking. We walked around the stadium and saw a man, not dressed in white, leaning on his car. I, Natalie, asked him, "Carte? Koliko?" (Ticket? How much?) He said 100 Euro. We had bought the tickets for 60 Euro, and I said no our friend only had 70. He said no, and I asked 80?! He thought about it, then said eh, ok. So we had a ticket that we thought was legitimate. We met a group of Serbians to talk to. They were fairly wasted, so we moved on. While in line for the stadium, a girl said I looked like Britney Spears, so I started talking with her. I met all her friends, who were our age, so we tagged along with them for the entire concert!
The Serbians are absolutely wonderful! They loved the fact that americans are coming to Serbia. They continuously asked us what we thought of Serbia and if we were having a good time. Their english is impeccable, and were so excited to practice speaking it with us! They wanted us to understand that Serbians are not violent, savages caught in wars but loving people, who are extremely proud of their country. They cannot wait for us to tell our family and friends about the wonders of Serbia and for us to come again. It's not just the young serbians we've met, but every age group that wants us to have a wonderful time in their country. Serbians are truly one of a kind.
So we finally got the security, where Morgan and I walked through. However, Ed did not!! His ticket did not scan, and he was told his ticket was fake. We felt awful! Our new Serbian friends, said he would find a way in, but if he ever found us in the crowd of 20,000 people it'd be a miracle. We went down the stairs to the bottom of the arena to get easy for the opening ceremony. The stadium is a basketball arena, and it was surreal to see so much white. The stage was one of kind with balloons, jellyfish, water fountains, and models. The ceremony opened with fireworks, light show, and introduction of the first DJ. I was bracing myself for my ears to be blown, but I could still here and speak/yell to the others around me. The bass was not as loud as raves I'd been to before but it was still very intense. After listening and jumping around for an hour or so Ed shows up!! He had found us!! Or rather he'd found a short, blonde with a poof in her hair (me) in a crowd of 20,000 people!
Ed has one of the most unforgettable concert stories know to man. After being turned away by security, he found out thousands of people had been turned away because the stadium's computer system crashed for specific types of tickets. So being the brilliant, savvy concert man he is, he walked around the stadium looking for the wealthiest looking serbians he could find. Though EVERYONE in serbia dresses and looks like supermodels, he found an exceptional looking groups of Serbs. He went straight to the oldest looking woman of the group. He told this gorgeous looking Serbian grandma his story, and she said wait a moment. She called over her supermodel-esque daughter and granddaughter. They picked up their phone to make a call. Within minutes, a security guard walked over to give Ed a VIP wristband and neck pass! Ed had met the owners of the stadium!! He was taken to their VIP sweet to mingle with wealthy Serbians and drink to his hearts content for free!! He left to find us, and somehow, against all odds, saw me in the crowd! The man is insane.
So after a few beers, more DJs, dancing, crazy pictures, Serbian language lessons, and continuous signs of affection like hugs and Serbian one cheek kisses, we finally decided to leave. The concert went on until 6am, but we left at 2am because we were all leaving very early in the morning for our next destination. This night will live on in countless stories for years to come.
Natalie: Belgrade is an absolutely amazing city. Only in a certain part of the city do you see a few bombed buildings that still have not been repaired since the 90s. Overall, the city is alive and very modern, with little to no aura of a communist, war torn country. The streets are busy with traffic, the sidewalks packed with pedestrians, and shops exploding with avid shoppers. There are beautiful parks, and grand old buildings that have been excellently renovated. Serbians are also the tallest and most beautiful people I have ever seen. There is truly something in their water, because it seems they have hit the genetic lottery. The women are statuesque and the men all seem to be basketball players. At the rave, I couldn't see a man under 6 foot in site. At the rave, I was taught the countries hand sign that is holding up the thumb, pointer finger, and middle finger. It is supposed to represent the three stripes on their plane.
Overall the Serbians are amazing, friendly and very concerned about our opinion of their country. We wish we had a other day here, but Bosnia is calling our name. Their is beautiful countryside to be seen, food to be consumed, wine to be drunk, and people to meet.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Morgan's thoughts on a train to Serbia...
Morgan: It never ceases to amaze me how many freaking ways there are to pack one bag with the same combination of miscellaneous clothes and things. In preparing for a trip you pack everything so perfectly and neatly. Rolling shirts and everything in to tiny cylinders, but then once you get to the first place you're going, you start to rip through the organization, undoing the order and introducing a chaos.
And then by the time you need to leave that very first place, you're faced with questions on how to pack up those things that are no longer so clean and that are in heaps. Do you embrace the chaos, and let all worries go free? Or do you pack in the same way that you packed at the start? Or do you try a new system and reassess the order in which the bag was once packed? I can tell you right now that this morning while waiting around I abandoned my system and gave a new one a try. It might not be as tight or as neat but it works and that's all that's important.
I'm writing this because similarly to a bag, an itinerary can be planned in so many ways and often times the best moments in life are made from plans gone a rye. Today we are on a train with an amazing Aussie we met at the hostel. Had we kept with the plan we would not have seen the villages so lost in these picturesque hills. We would not have had the many conversations on people and places.
I look forward to the spontaneous changes that will inevitably occur during the rest of our travels!
And then by the time you need to leave that very first place, you're faced with questions on how to pack up those things that are no longer so clean and that are in heaps. Do you embrace the chaos, and let all worries go free? Or do you pack in the same way that you packed at the start? Or do you try a new system and reassess the order in which the bag was once packed? I can tell you right now that this morning while waiting around I abandoned my system and gave a new one a try. It might not be as tight or as neat but it works and that's all that's important.
I'm writing this because similarly to a bag, an itinerary can be planned in so many ways and often times the best moments in life are made from plans gone a rye. Today we are on a train with an amazing Aussie we met at the hostel. Had we kept with the plan we would not have seen the villages so lost in these picturesque hills. We would not have had the many conversations on people and places.
I look forward to the spontaneous changes that will inevitably occur during the rest of our travels!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Travel Day to Belgrade, Serbia
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| A Sirbian Village we passed while on the train |
Or a plane to go, Or the mail to come, or the phone to ring...
Everyone is just waiting! - Dr. Suess
Our time in Bulgaria was amazing but we're ready for Sofia today! Originally we had planned to stay all day and take a night train tonight that would leave at 8 pm and get in at 4 am. But after seeing the mountains from the plane we decided to hop on an early train to see the country side.
Our decision might have also been effected by the description our friend the Canadian Tazmanian Teacher, Matt, gave us of his night train experience from Belgrade to Sofia. Apparently from all the stops you end up continually sliding about on the mat in the sleeper cars, which to us didn't sound pleasant at all.
This morning we woke up, got ready, and repacked our bags. Here are a few entertaining and interesting moments from preparing to leave and the actual travel on the train today.
1.) Choosing a souvenir...
One of the best things to ask when speaking to fellow travelers is what do they keep as an icon or trinket from each city or country they visit. Some people buy postcards, some buy patches, others buy pins or spoons. The reasons for doing this are different for each person. Some want to display to the world where they have gone and others seek a daily reminder of the places they've seen and experienced.
Today at breakfast we sat with our new friend Jo, I (Morgan) told her how I needed to find a patch before leaving Sofia as it was a tradition my sister had started and I'd had continued. Jo then took out her necklace and told us how in each city she added a piece to her chain. There were rings, pendants and even a coin from Turkey. No one else can tell where each item was from but she wears them with pride; a daily reminder of Vietnam, Turkey, Ireland, and many more.
2.) Natalie gets hit with the shopping bug...
When we got to Sofia we did not realize Bulgaria uses the Leva not the Euro. We decided to take out just enough for the two of us to pay the hostel, buy tickets to Belgrade, get a nice lunch at a traditional Bulgarian restaraunt, buy some souvenir patches and snacks for the trains. We figured we would go back for more if we found something we really wanted.
So come this morning, we have 21.80 leva and leave in 3 hours. Which is just enough to buy 2 patches, some water, snacks and a sandwich to split for the train. After buying the patches, Natalie gets the shopping bug. We'll be talking about one thing and then all of the some Natalie stops right in her tracks! It seriously was like me in a grocery store when I'm (Morgan) especially ADD. Those that know me will get this. It was just hilarious because 20 minutes before this she was talking about how she doesn't believe she will buy anything in Europe besides postcards, patches and a wine stopper. Then she see's a fidora, some purple butterfly shoes and a shot glass! If we'd actually cashed in some Euro for Leva to shop, she would've been looking pretty shnazzy in some new kicks, a rockin hat while pulling a shot from her new Bulgarian shot glass. And all the while I (Morgan) am there thinking to myself FOOD. Let's get some food. 8 hours on a train! Food. FOOD.
3.) Serious power walk to make our train...
Basically, I, Morgan, made an error in estimating the time we could chill at the hostel and still make our train on time if we were walking to it. Right as we were getting ready to leave, I went to the bathroom and Natalie went to ask the front desk how to read the ticket. The desk girl said "By the way, you need to get going NOW to make it." First thought when Natalie told me this "oh crap!" and so essentially I spazzed out and started power walking down the street. After about a block I look back and see Natalie is about 20 feet behind me. After 25 minutes of walking, we make it to the station. A man comes up to Morgan and asks if we are going to Belgrade. From previous Europe experience, I (Natalie) knew he would ask us for money once taking us to our train. Morgan followed him not knowing, but he took us to the train and would not leave unless we gave him money. Good thing we had no money, other than 2 British pounds!
4.) Natalie stain removing...
When I (Natalie) decided to get up from my seat to take a picture of the country side, my butt area of my pants was exposed to Jo and Morgan. Apparently, I'd sat in something! Morgan broke out his Tide To Go pen and I preceded to stand on my chair to look in the mirror and clean away. Not the most attractive thing to do in front of friends and an old Bulgarian woman but it had to be done. The Bulgarian woman I'm sure was thinking these crazy English speaking kids. Oh, well :)
5.) Serbians sat next to us on the train...
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| Jo, Natalie and Morgan and their new Sirbian Friends! |
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| View of another village from the train |
It began with an old man walking in our compartment to see three open seats. A woman and young man followed his lead and sat down. We helped them put there bags up above and then continued about our own business. When we stopped at a city, a large group of children entered on the train. The younger man immediately closed the door and pushed his foot against it. The woman began trying to explain that they were gypsies by tapping her fingers together above her head, as if she were clicking tiny symbols. None of the Serbians spoke a wink of English, so pictionary and maps were the only ways to get across simple info such as our names, age, & where we were traveling. It was all very entertaining & enjoyable.
After nine hours on the train, we'd finally arrived at what we thought was the Belgrade train station. However, it was not! We were nearly 20 feet off the train, when Serbs started yelling at us to get back on. We hustled back on, waited two more stops till our actually exit! Our next obstacle was finding a taxi and exchanging money. Serbia uses the Dinar not the Euro. At every train station in Europe there are VERY corrupt cabs. Thankfully, an older Serbian saw our dilemma. He spoke fantastic english and rung us a cab. He spoke to the cabbie in Serbian and told him to give us a good rate, which he did. We have been incredibly blessed with the amount of helpful Serbs today.
We arrived at our hostel around 930pm. The hostel is amazing, with wonderfully colored walls, artwork, hardwood floors, and a GIANT shower. The front desk is incredibly informative. They helped us look up trains, buses, food, and tours. Four others arrived and we introduced ourselves. The group is incredibly diverse: Bosnians, French, Swiss, and another American. We then all took a shot of the traditional Serbian liquor: Rakia. Our Rakia flavor was grape, but the most traditional is plum.
There is a new law in Serbia that says bars can no longer serve alcohol after 1030pm. It was past 1030pm, but someone knew of a bar that would serve us. It was about 15 minutes from our hostel. We each had the local Jelen beer and talked about everything imaginable: literature, yugoslavian languages, how Morgan and I know each other, sexuality, education system, politics, and much more. English was the intermediate language, but periodically couples would break off speaking in German, French, Spanish, and Serbia. Morgan attempted to join in the Spanish conversation, but we won't talk about that.
Natalie: On the walk to the bar, I spoke with Mary, who just finished her residency and is beginning her fellowship in July. I was really blown away, the a young doctor was actually traveling. She said she'd disliked medical school very much and took time off between her second and third year to travel to South America and Cuba. During that time she'd learned Spanish, which is incredibly helpful she says. She was very downtown to Earth and I really enjoyed talking to her. I'd always hoped for the ability to travel during medical school and she gave me hope. At the bar, I am completely in awe with the subjects of conversation. It's difficult to have a worthy conversation about politics, education, etc. with an american, let alone Serbians, Frenchman, and Swiss. For one person to know 5 languages fluently (while I know only one), makes me feel incredibly incompetent. Maybe this experience will light a fire under my ass to learn a language.
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| Morgan with a girl from the Hostel |
Overall, even at night, Belgrade, Serbia is completely different than Sofia, Bulgaria. The streets are actually lit, people are everywhere, buildings are not crumbling, and everyone says it is a very safe city. We look forward to our boat cruise around the city and traditional fish soup tomorrow!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Sofia, Bulgaria - Day 2-3
“You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?”
~ Oh! The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss
When we last left you we were on the plane to Sofia, Bulgaria. While the flight may have been uneventful, the descent into the city was quite the opposite.
Natalie: I was extremely excited. We descended into a city surrounded by mountains. On the left side of the plane were mountains partly covered with snow along with black clouds ready to unleash their rain. The country side was incredibly green and beautiful. I had to crane my neck to see out the right side of the plane, which looked like a city with very old sky scrapers - if you could even call them that.
Morgan: The views from looking down at the open land surrounding Sofia are absolutely phenomenal, it’s just mountains and perfectly green forests and fields and then you see Sofia. Let’s just say that if Sofia were a person it would be like some one hit it with giant creepy ugly stick. First thought when Sofia came into view = “This place is SKETCH AS HELL!” It was honestly the first time that I started to think what have I gotten myself into. The out skirts of Sofia are crowded with decrepit ruin like Stallenist style buildings... i.e. essentially giant slabs of concrete that are crumbling around the windows and doors.
So clearly we had very different impressions of what visiting Sofia would be like based on the plane ride in. By the time we got to the gate and off the plane, we were hit with a completely new realization. Bulgarian is not exactly our strong point, and neither is English for most Bulgarians. After being approached by a creepy taxi driver we ran for the desk marked OK Taxi (our hostel recommended it). So having found a legitimate taxi company to drive us to our hostel, we made our way across the city for only 15 Euro. We found out later that others at the hostel had paid 45 Euro! I'm glad we did our research and actually listened to the recommendations of our hostel as many taxis are scams. There are no laws in Sofia that set a minimum and maximum rate a driver can charge.
After having driven through the Soviet Buildings leading into the city center area, not going to lie, we were pretty scared. Essentially the outskirts make this a place where you expect to be jumped and stabbed. But part of this could have been that we were sleep deprived, in a city where we can't speak or even read the language, and it is dark and rainy outside. Anything can look scary when it's rainy, why do you think horror movies use it. Think about it.
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| Wine makes everything fun! |
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| This is where we got the hot do |
One of the best things about Hostels is talking to all the foreign travelers. It's almost like they are their own tribe of people who engage in certain forms of communal bonding and celebration of rites of passage. Hearing the incredible wealth of knowledge they have of so many areas of the world and the processes to travel to them is absolutely fascinating and down right inspiring. Seeing their faces light up when describing their need to apply for additional passport pages because they have already traveled incredible amounts of time across infathamable distances makes you want to readjust your plans for the future and embrace the beauty of frequent traveling.
Anyways enough ethnography breakdowns, after telling the group we were going to Belgrade, Lisa one of the women at the table got up and moved to talk to Natalie. Matt, the Canadian Tasmanian Teacher began telling an interesting story to the rest of the group.
Morgan: First thing to know about Matt is that he is very intense and super energetic and yet still laid back. He's what I'd call a type A hippy teacher. So he began his story by telling us that he had an amazing time in Belgrade and that he ended up staying an entire week despite having only planned on being there two days. So he looked at me then pointed to Natalie and said "I assume you two are together?" I laughed it off and said no, we're just good friends from freshmen year of college. He then told me "you'll have some fun in Belgrade, the Eastern European women are always looking for western men, just be careful but then again there's nothing a little bit of penacillin can't cure." He then proceeded to explain how I should avoid the MILFs out at the clubs that are hitting on younger men. He told us about a situation in which a 44 year old woman hit on him (he's about 32) at a bar but she didn't speak English so she called her 11 year old daughter and had her translate inappropriate things. Let's just say this story goes on to end with him leaving the bar after an hour of talking to this woman through her daughter. He finally apologized to the daughter that her mom subjects her to this and that it's well "fucked up" (his words, not mine). Angenette, one of the Australian women, chimes in with "Don't tell him that not all older women are bad, plus maybe he's into Cougars." Matt then did a very alarming impression of a cougar, the animal, not the human type. This by far was a hilarious and well inappropriate conversation that was thoroughly entertaining.
Natalie: The group conversation was going well, then the American woman came to sit next to me. She wanted to have a direct conversation with me, which was a little intimidating. I sensed she grew up on the east coast. She was very smart, new a lot about everything, and a great name dropper. She was a world traveler - with her current trip starting in Indonesia and ending in Iceland. So she has been around. She was incredibly nice, and really wanted to know about my future as a doctor. Overall, I really enjoyed having conversations with these people from all over the world.
The following morning the hostel served breakfast, which included salami, tomatoes, cheeses, bread, spreads, tea, and coffee. We had a conversation with a girl from Finland traveling with her friends.
Next, we went on a free Sofia tour organized by Sofia University students. It was an incredible amount of information with tons of history. The symbol of Sofia is the Lev, which means lion. Lev or Leva is also their currency.
Current Bulgaria is a huge mix of French influenced Renaissance buildings, Byzantine Empire yellow and red buildings, and Communist monstrosities of buildings. A single block can reflect every type of influence. There are many religious buildings including an area where a synagogue, catholic church, mosque, and orthodox church are all within in few blocks radius. The guide called it the square of tolerance. Natalie: I noticed a few things about Sofia. The first is how INCREDIBLY noisy it is. With the screeching electric trams, honking taxis, jack hammering construction, police sirens, low flying airplanes, and water fountains, there is not an ounce of silence. The women here also where the highest heels I’ve ever seen. The ground isn’t exactly pavement either. It’s old, broken, slippery cobblestone! These women also wear the most outrageous tights/stockings I’ve ever seen. Crazy colors and patterns that clearly do not match their business suits. The men here resemble Russian gangsters from a typical American movie. Sofia does have an abundance of trees for a big city. Beautiful chestnut trees line most streets, and there are parks every few blocks.
Morgan: When I started planning this trip with Natalie, I honestly didn’t know what to expect from Sofia, when I saw it from the plane I thought it looked rather terrifying, but after walking the streets, watching it’s people and interacting with the people I found it to be a charming city in an unconventional sense. While the buildings may be repetitive in four different styles there is beauty in them.
Afterward, we went to a traditional Bulgarian cuisine restaurant. There was this stew (almost gravy like) with meat, grilled onions, potatoes, and carrots = HEAVEN. Also had some lamb, a neat cucumber and tomato salad, the butteriest mashed potatoes ever, and of course their draft beer. It was all delicious! We walked in to their Central Park, which housed more Communist statues. We grabbed some great desserts on our way back to the hostel, including some chocolate cakes, chocolate mouse, and some white cake. Please forgive us for not knowing the names of foods - not many of the local food shops speak English, so we just point and say “DA” (Yes). Now we are drinking some great Bulgarian Villavinifera King’s Wine Merlot, while uploading pictures. We leave for Belgrade tomorrow!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
On the Road To Europe
The Beginning May 16-17
The longest part of any trip abroad is always the initial travel to get where you're going! Our experience up to this point is no different. Like all travelers we sat around at our separate airports, Natalie in San Antonio and Morgan in MSP, watching people, listening to music, reading books and paying exorbitant amounts of money on small quantities of food and beverages.
Morgan: I have to admit I am not the most savvy person when it comes to planning for airport eating. I always have the idea of buying food on the way to the airport but then inevitably forget too. It's nothing new, I was the kid Freshmen year who would go to badger football games and have to have friends hold my wallet so I wouldn't make a detour concession purchase when on a bathroom trip. Life lesson: "Eat before you go to the airport and pack a snack for on the plane!" I know what you're thinking, "No shit dumb ass!" but I truly never register the legitimacy of this idea.
Natalie: I left San Antonio this morning heading to Chicago to meet up with Morgan. As usual, my pack back ended up being stuffed to the brim! In San Antonio I was asked how in the world I'm able to carry it. Good question.
Upon both of us arriving in Chicago, we followed the normal greeting protocol for when you haven't seen a friend in a long time (ie big hug followed by "I can't believe it's been sooo long!"). We then grabbed a bite to eat while catching up on what's happened in each others' lives. Once we finished with our airport meals we moved on to the Goose Island brewery bar where we drank our first pint of the journey. While sipping on our pints we were suddenly greeted by the sight of our enormous oversized plane, realizing that the plane was suppose to board in ten minutes we chugged our beer (we're badgers, what do you expect?) and made our way to the gate.
After about forty minutes waiting in line, we boarded our overbooked flight and found our seats in the second to last row! The flight was uneventful, other than a a fiasco at the bathroom. Essentially we had just eaten dinner and were ready to down some benadryl and get some shut eye but first both of us needed to use the bathroom, after all no one likes getting up in the middle of the night to go. With excessive turbulence, we watched as the stewardesses told each person making their way to the bathroom to go back to their seats. We were going to have to do this mission impossible style if we're gonna get to sleep son. We waited until all the flight attendants had gone to the middle and then up shot Natalie making her way to the bathroom. Two words for you "epic fail;" the door was locked. Since no one had passed Morgan on the way to the bathroom for fifteen minutes, it meant some one had been in there for a while. Ten more minutes passed and still no one has exited the lavatory and after another ten minutes the following conversations ensued....
Morgan: "I wonder if the door slid into the locked position during the turbulence?"
Natalie: "I don't know but if it didn't that person's been in there a lonnnggg time, i don't want to go in there!"
Morgan: "Well there are only three explanations. One: a person is taking a massive dump. Two: the door locked during turbulence. Or three: a person died in there! I wondered what they would do if a person died in a bathroom while in flight? Would they quarantine the bathroom? Or would they put it in cargo or the back where the flight attendants sit?"
Natalie: "Maybe up above?"
The suspense was killing us, we just had to know. And so we asked the flight attendant if the door had locked itself during turbulence? The nice Midwestern accented attendant made her way back and rapped on the door three times and asked "excuse me, are you all right? I just want to make sure you're all right." and to our unfortunate surprise a voice answered back. We had our answer and a sad one at that. Neither of us used that bathroom!! Now we know what you're thinking, if you didn't use that bathroom where did you go. Well to answer that question here's a little insider info: there is more than one bathroom on a plane that size. Shhhhhhhh! That's top secret, the kind of intel that's guarded by Langly. (Yes, this is Morgan being delirious after no sleep - Nat)
With four hrs of sleep and two plane meals later, we arrived in Munich, Germany. Having four hours until our next flight we perused the different duty free shops and ogled the beer steins and cafe selections until we found our gate and sat down to write out this blog! After some decent people watching we boarded our plane. With Natalie in row 10 and myself in row 26 we were ready to go.
The flight from Munich to Sofia, Bulgaria was pretty uneventful. We both pretty much just read and slept. The only slightly eventful experience was the exotic chicken wrap that really didn't taste that great, let's just say it was interesting.
The longest part of any trip abroad is always the initial travel to get where you're going! Our experience up to this point is no different. Like all travelers we sat around at our separate airports, Natalie in San Antonio and Morgan in MSP, watching people, listening to music, reading books and paying exorbitant amounts of money on small quantities of food and beverages.
Morgan: I have to admit I am not the most savvy person when it comes to planning for airport eating. I always have the idea of buying food on the way to the airport but then inevitably forget too. It's nothing new, I was the kid Freshmen year who would go to badger football games and have to have friends hold my wallet so I wouldn't make a detour concession purchase when on a bathroom trip. Life lesson: "Eat before you go to the airport and pack a snack for on the plane!" I know what you're thinking, "No shit dumb ass!" but I truly never register the legitimacy of this idea.
Natalie: I left San Antonio this morning heading to Chicago to meet up with Morgan. As usual, my pack back ended up being stuffed to the brim! In San Antonio I was asked how in the world I'm able to carry it. Good question.
Upon both of us arriving in Chicago, we followed the normal greeting protocol for when you haven't seen a friend in a long time (ie big hug followed by "I can't believe it's been sooo long!"). We then grabbed a bite to eat while catching up on what's happened in each others' lives. Once we finished with our airport meals we moved on to the Goose Island brewery bar where we drank our first pint of the journey. While sipping on our pints we were suddenly greeted by the sight of our enormous oversized plane, realizing that the plane was suppose to board in ten minutes we chugged our beer (we're badgers, what do you expect?) and made our way to the gate.
After about forty minutes waiting in line, we boarded our overbooked flight and found our seats in the second to last row! The flight was uneventful, other than a a fiasco at the bathroom. Essentially we had just eaten dinner and were ready to down some benadryl and get some shut eye but first both of us needed to use the bathroom, after all no one likes getting up in the middle of the night to go. With excessive turbulence, we watched as the stewardesses told each person making their way to the bathroom to go back to their seats. We were going to have to do this mission impossible style if we're gonna get to sleep son. We waited until all the flight attendants had gone to the middle and then up shot Natalie making her way to the bathroom. Two words for you "epic fail;" the door was locked. Since no one had passed Morgan on the way to the bathroom for fifteen minutes, it meant some one had been in there for a while. Ten more minutes passed and still no one has exited the lavatory and after another ten minutes the following conversations ensued....
Morgan: "I wonder if the door slid into the locked position during the turbulence?"
Natalie: "I don't know but if it didn't that person's been in there a lonnnggg time, i don't want to go in there!"
Morgan: "Well there are only three explanations. One: a person is taking a massive dump. Two: the door locked during turbulence. Or three: a person died in there! I wondered what they would do if a person died in a bathroom while in flight? Would they quarantine the bathroom? Or would they put it in cargo or the back where the flight attendants sit?"
Natalie: "Maybe up above?"
The suspense was killing us, we just had to know. And so we asked the flight attendant if the door had locked itself during turbulence? The nice Midwestern accented attendant made her way back and rapped on the door three times and asked "excuse me, are you all right? I just want to make sure you're all right." and to our unfortunate surprise a voice answered back. We had our answer and a sad one at that. Neither of us used that bathroom!! Now we know what you're thinking, if you didn't use that bathroom where did you go. Well to answer that question here's a little insider info: there is more than one bathroom on a plane that size. Shhhhhhhh! That's top secret, the kind of intel that's guarded by Langly. (Yes, this is Morgan being delirious after no sleep - Nat)
With four hrs of sleep and two plane meals later, we arrived in Munich, Germany. Having four hours until our next flight we perused the different duty free shops and ogled the beer steins and cafe selections until we found our gate and sat down to write out this blog! After some decent people watching we boarded our plane. With Natalie in row 10 and myself in row 26 we were ready to go.
The flight from Munich to Sofia, Bulgaria was pretty uneventful. We both pretty much just read and slept. The only slightly eventful experience was the exotic chicken wrap that really didn't taste that great, let's just say it was interesting.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Itinerary
Hi Everyone! It's 14 days till our Europe Adventure so I thought I'd publish our first post. Here is our itinerary:
May 16th Leave USA
May 17th - 19th Sofia, Bulgaria
May 20th - 21st Belgrade Serbia
May 22nd - 23rd Zagreb, Croatia
May 24th - 25th Ljubljana, Slovenia
May 24th - 25th Ljubljana, Slovenia
May 26th Travel Day Through Vienna, Austria
May 27th – 29th Budapest, Hungary
May 30th – June 1st Krakow, Poland
June 2nd – 4th Prague, Czech Republic
June 5th – 6th Munich, Germany
June 7th – 9th Berlin, Germany
June 10th Natalie Goes Home, Morgan Goes To Spain for 3 weeks
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