Cue the Fat Lady to Start Singing...

I’m now officially a European Pioneer. 36 days on a bus being led everywhere has been fantastic but also a bit like being a school student all over again. Now need to make decisions about what I’m going to be doing for a while. But need to finish off these stories. Another massive post because dodgy internet and been struggling with a sore throat. It seems my body starts feeling sick when I go near London. Not great when I’m planning to live here for a bit. Berlin was another incredible city with so much modern history. It’s like living in a documentary where you can point nearly anywhere and say, “And here this important world changing event occurred...”

Old Wall

Our first stop as we arrived in Berlin was the longest still standing section of the wall separating Western and Eastern Berlin. One thing I didn’t know or think about was that Berlin is geographically firmly in East Germany. But the Allies wanted half of Berlin so the whole of West Berlin was surrounded by the communist country of East Germany. It reminded me of kids drawing an imaginary line in their bedrooms splitting up the area. Glad to see that kid-sense is used in world politics.

(part of the repainted wall)

Approximately 5 years ago this wall section was repainted white and artists were chosen to paint sections of the wall with whatever they desired. Walking along it is truly an experience with the variety of work and some of the fantastic messages these artists are able to convey.

Day in Berlin

Our day in Berlin began with a walking tour and we were extremely lucky in getting a fantastic tour guide. She’d be a great history teacher, managing to make everything interesting (but if you struggle getting people interested here you’re not going to have much luck anywhere else...) It’s also an interesting outlook the German youth have on their history – too hard to describe quickly but they’re fully aware of the truth and want to move on.

(Brandenberg Gate)

This fantastic gate mostly survived the bombing that flattened nearly every building in Berlin which is extremely lucky. Don’t know whether that was good planning or luck. Just about everything had to be rebuilt in Berlin so it doesn’t really have the very old buildings that other cities we’ve visited are chock full of.

We were then led to the memorial to the Jewish victims of the holocaust. And while it’s controversial and unique, I’m glad they didn’t do another monument. As the photo doesn’t really do it justice, is just tons of blocks with varying height (most in middle heaps taller than a person) with narrow passages and sloping ground. It was built to make you feel uncomfortable and not knowing what to expect next, whether you’ll run into someone or where you’ll appear. Quite a moving experience.

(Memorial to Jewish Victims)

We wandered past another section of the original wall and where all of Hitler’s ‘governmental’ offices were located. Pretty much none of them are still there, including his bunker which is now ‘the most famous car park in the world.’

(Checkpoint Charlie)

Our final stop on the guided tour was Checkpoint Charlie. Some amazing stories about this spot, the only place American and Russian troops stared at each other during the Cold War. Couple of interesting escape or near-escape stories, including the guy who escaped by driving under barriers with a convertible. And then another person did the same exact trick a week later... Resulted in quite a redesign of the checkpoint to avoid that happening anymore.

The tour finished and the rain came down... went wandering to a museum set up on the place of the SS headquarters which went through all the despicable practices they undertook. Lots of documents recording everything that happened which is pretty fascinating.

The rain stopped so I headed to outside their main university and the square where tons of books were burned in a Nazi purge. Had seen it portrayed in a couple of movies and there’s a creepy memorial, with some empty bookcases placed in a room under the square. Too hard to photograph but still quite a unique idea.

Continued on to Museum Island with a couple of churches. Thought this photo was cool – the old church (probably rebuilt however) in the foreground with the Eastern Germany TV Tower in the back. Went to the TV Tower and was hoping to go to the top but had to wait nearly 2 hours so wasn’t that keen. Also was still a wet day and may have ruined the view.

(Church and TV Tower)

The group went on a pub crawl – which I wasn’t too keen about joining since paying to go to places where I don’t drink seemed a little silly. Another person wasn’t going either and they’d heard about a restaurant you could go to which was set up and run by blind or visually disabled people. You got to eat completely in the dark but once we got there we found it was going to cost 50 euros each. A bit out of our budget – quite a few famous people had been there including Matt Damon. Still an interesting idea.

Amsterdam

Next day we headed to our final stop before London. What should have been a 6-8 hour drive turned into a 14 hour marathon on the autobahn due to a serious traffic accident. Felt sorry for our bus driver – terrible day for him... The hostel we stayed in purposefully goes for a run-down dirty look. Probably one of the worst places we stayed in but great location. Can’t win them all.

First activity on our full day in Amsterdam was an included bike ride. It was great doing something active for a change and felt very local with everyone else riding a bike around. You don’t have to worry about cars in Amsterdam, it’s the bike riders who are the menace!

But my main aim today was to watch State of Origin live. Quickly searched the internet for an Aussie pub and got lucky. Headed there and it was pretty busy at midday with quite a few supporters. Not a great game for the Blues... and was weird hearing Warren commentating from the other side of the world. Unfortunately Gus Gould wasn’t any easier to take this far away...

After that disappointment went for a wander – very crazy city and I’m desperately trying to keep this PG so I am missing quite a lot of what goes on here. By this time on the trip my Japanese photo taking excitement had died down so hardly took any photos anymore.

Our final night on the trip! Went out to a Chinese restaurant floating on one of their canals. Had great food then headed on a cruise with free drinks. Great way to finish the trip. But my one recommendation for Amsterdam from watching people – don’t mix alcohol and weed. Not a good look.

Bruges

Another early start – and some people struggled after the excitement of last night. Our final day on the bus... Headed back to France via Belgium and did a quick stop at this quaint town Bruges. Got to eat some Fritz (double fried fries) and some chocolate. Another healthy meal.

And then, before you knew it we were on the ferry back to the UK and London. Got squashed with another group on the bus – had to wait for them so wasn’t much fun when we were so close to finished. Said farewells (even got tears from our amazing tour leader – going to miss her “Good mornings...” on the bus.)

But all good things come to an end – and now in London wishing I had been more organised. Trying to find work and accommodation with no mobile phone on one of their long weekends isn’t the best approach. Need to relax a little and just enjoy the break and not get stressed. And there’s actually sunny weather here in London! Yay! (Kinda...)

Might do a recap or ‘Best of’ summary of the trip. We’ll see how enthusiastic I can be. Thanks again to all those who read this blog – hope it was slightly entertaining and I was able to share how incredible this journey has been. Have fun!

Gareth

The Mother of all Cities with a Hundred Spires

Been another few days of ups and downs. Prague was so relaxing and beautiful. Trip to Berlin had another thought-provoking stop.

Prague

Cheers to the law makers who force our driver to have 45 hours off the bus. Two sleep-ins in a row. (not that I slept in too much... hostels aren’t very helpful on the ‘quiet’ front.) Arrived in Prague safely – no traffic jams or border checks so finally our luck might be turning. Had a quick walking tour of this fantastic city.

One of the major stops was the famous Charles’ bridge. Lots of stories but one I found interesting was about the Patron Saint of Drowning. Can’t remember his name but it was a weird thing to be sainted for. Story goes the King thought his wife was cheating on him, so he went to the priest and tried to coerce him to tell the King what the wife confesses. The priest said he would tell one person, which the King was fine with (since torture could easily extract that info from anyone). The priest told a dog... King wasn’t very impressed. So he threw the priest into the main river (boy, I can’t remember any names now – it’s a pretty river – don’t think it’s the Danube – doesn’t matter anyway) where just as he was drowning he was seen with a halo or something.

(patron saint of drowning)

Obviously my story telling skills are failing me – After nearly 30 days on the same bus I’m feeling slightly blurred in my thinking. Anyways, here’s the full bridge which has heaps of statues on it. Tons of artists and musicians were playing there. Incredible part of town to walk around.

(Charles Bridge – with castle in background – over left shoulder)

We walked around heaps more – no more exciting stories to tell (or I can’t remember them). Next day was our free day. Thankfully got to spend 2 nights in the same bed, which is proof I’m easily pleased at the moment.

Headed to the castle and since it was a Saturday it was very busy. Got a bit of a taste of what peak season could be like because the church had the longest line we’ve seen all trip. So didn’t actually go into anything I had to pay for – didn’t really get too much of their local currency out of the ATM. Saw the changing of the guard at 12 but there was some weird fun run happening I think which didn’t allow the guards to do their usual performance.

(guard at Castle – didn’t stand too close [since he’s got a gun])

By the way, it was sunny! Yay for Prague. Had poured over night and still overcast in the morning so I took my Anti-Rain Device (my water proof jacket – the only times it has started to rain while we’ve been out has been when I don’t have my A.R.D) and it was dead weight for most of the day.

Some of the group got a caricature done – didn’t want to let the artist have a go at me. They all have a smirk on their face when they’re drawing. Very creepy.

The other exciting part was in one of their main squares they had set up a massive screen to show an ice-hockey game between Czech Republic and Sweden. Was pretty cool there in the crowd but we had to head off. Really disappointed when I heard it went to a penalty shoot-out and Czech’s won the day. Would have been incredible to be there... But looked at plenty of other things – the 500 year old working clock tower display was doing well to still be going.

The most exciting and thrilling part of the whole Prague experience (sarcasm switch on) had to be the clothes washing. My Saturday night was filled with this chore but at least had free internet and there were quite a few of us who needed it done so was a little bit social.

Terezin

Left Prague with a late start and headed to another terrible part of humanity’s history. Don’t know whether I was more prepared for this one, or I had already been subjected to this terrible part of history or if I’ve reached my limit of heart wrenching visits but wasn’t as impacted as compared to Srebrenica. Still not my favourite place but glad I could see so I could know more about what happened.

Terezin was originally a fort which became a prison and ghetto. Jews and other undesirables were sent here as a way-station as they headed to concentration camps. Going into the cells where they had triple and quadruple bunks certainly stopped my complaining about double bunks. And the number of people they fitted into each room – we had a group of 25ish, and we only just fitted. They had 50 people for days at a time.

The other part I found sad was how the Nazi’s made false movies of the Jews ‘enjoying’ their time in Terezin for a Red Cross visit. We watched an emotionally charged documentary which overlaid the Nazi movie with a voice listing off the groups that were taken to concentration camps that went like this... “Group AY, 1000 persons, 3 survivors... Group AZ, 1000 persons, no survivors...” Supposedly trains starting taking people a week after the propaganda video was created.

Outside the prison is a cemetery for those who died during the Nazi control. Most had been killed just before the end of the war and placed in mass graves. Another thing of interest was the large cross in the center, with a Jewish Star of David at the back. Don’t know if you can see the star in this photo – look on the left. Our guide had left so didn’t know why there was a supposedly Christian cross there...

(cemetery)

Have now arrived in Berlin – did very quick driving tour. Could spend a week here so going to be very busy tomorrow.

Week Ahead

Mon, 24th of May Berlin

Tues, 25th of May Berlin to Amsterdam

Wed, 26th of May Amsterdam

Thurs, 27th of May Amsterdam to London

Fri, 28th of May Tour is done...

Pleasure and Pain (or Boredom and Bliss)

The last couple of days have been a series of highs and lows. I also feel as though I’m writing a script for a movie with all that is going on. I’m certainly getting my money’s worth of great stories and experiences.

Belgrade

After the counselling session of the last blog, we arrived in the capital of Serbia. I’m starting to sound like a broken record with how little time we are spending in a city, let alone a country. Did a quick driving tour and saw some remnants of the war and NATO’s bombing runs.

(bombed buildings)

We wandered in the twilight to their fortress and saw some cool tanks, artillery and cannons. No good photos in the dark unfortunately. Headed back and had managed to muddle our way through ordering tea. It’s pretty cheap here for great food. Then headed to a posh restauranty place for dessert. Big mistake. I ordered a snickers cake and hot chocolate (it was still cold and windy there) and I’ve never had such a rich cake before. And it was a massive serve. But so delicious. After loosening the belt managed to get it all down (was dared a bit) but had to roll back to the hostel.

Serbia/Hungary Border Crossing Debacle

We’ve been pretty lucky with all our border crossings – until this one. Boy what a mess...

Got out of Serbia all right –but then Hungary is part of Euro zone so extra checking. We were targeted since we have a Columbian guy on board, and so had to get all our bags off and wait in the freezing wind. As we waited, and waited, and froze they completely searched our bus. And then the unthinkable happened.

One of the guards was crawling under the bus, looked up into the engine compartment and saw a stow-away. Uh Oh... Some poor guy was hiding under our bus, desperately trying to escape where he’d come from.

Not good for us, and especially not good for our tour guide and even more bad news for our bus driver. We were all finally herded into a room and told to wait. Extremely luckily this had a bathroom or there could have been another international incident. Our bus driver and tour guide were taken and interrogated. Tour leader finally came back with a bit of news. Supposedly the man was from Palestine and said he had been on since Greece! That was ages ago...

The other part of news she shared was that we may all be questioned as well. And guess who out of all the group had been to Israel/Palestine. Very Bad News...

After waiting nearly 6 hours, and playing card games, football with a sleeping bag, ‘What’s the time Mr. Wolf?’ and eating all the scraps we could get our hands on the ordeal finally came to an end. They searched our Columbian friend’s bags but didn’t have to ask us any questions. Luckily before I went completely mad (had been pacing around a little too much) we were allowed to go and continue our holiday. I have no idea what punishment the man will face, but I’m sure it’s not good news, pleasurable or blissful.

Budapest

Finally we reached Budapest. Since we were a long way behind schedule did a quick tour, then headed out for tea. I’m seriously getting fed too well here – and with limited exercise I’m going to need a new fitness regime to get back in shape. Had a traditional dish which was massive, can’t remember the name but it was filling and so warm in the cold night air.

With a full day here in Budapest, managed to get a bit of a sleep-in. Headed out after breakfast and wandered the city. First aim was the Castle District and luckily Budapest is pretty easy to find your way around. Having the Danube River split the city into Buda and Pest certainly assists.

(castle)

To get to the castle I had to cross the river – and went across the bridge which was protected by lions. The guy who designed these lions got heaps of pressure since people couldn’t see the lion’s tongues. Eventually, after so much pressure he snapped and supposedly threw himself off the bridge and committed suicide. Bit of a bleak story... Worst part is if you can climb up and look in, you can see that he had actually included tongues.

(‘tongueless’ Lions guarding bridge)

Caught a tram to the top of the hill (having a relaxing day today after the stress of yesterday) and had an amazing view of the city. Wandered for a bit but had my mind set on achieving something else.

Hot baths... and a massage! Was directed to this hotel which had a bath complex. Budapest and Hungary in general has many springs of hot water. After eventually paying and getting through the door – I booked a massage and headed to the heated water. Very relaxing and pretty good value. Massage wasn’t too impressive, but nice change to the running around or sitting on the bus that this trip has mainly been.

(Gellert baths - before)

So another day done – and in a bit over a week it’s all going to be finished. Need to head out for tea – didn’t have lunch since it’s going to be massive again...

So internet was too slow in Budapest – couldn’t upload... Now more to add!

Travel to Austria

I think we’ve managed to get on the bad side of the gods of travel... Got diverted from the freeway and a quick trip turned into a crawl. We weren’t supposed to stop in Hungary again (so I spent all my money on little chocolates – down to 30c of their funny money) but due to the delay had to put another tiny amount on my credit card to avoid changing more money...

Vienna

Our first stop was the winter palace of the Hazburgs (bad spelling I’m pretty sure). We had 30 minutes for this palace. Nearly had to run around to get the view from the back near a waterfall... Way too rushed again.

(beautiful gardens)

They even had a hedge maze which would have been something novel to do. But since I had 5 minutes to get back to the bus, don’t think I could have fitted in getting purposefully lost. No chance of getting to see inside the impressive palace. So even after our first stop there were places I wanted to revisit.

Did a quick bus tour and walking tour. I realised that we spent longer detained on the Hungary border then we got free time in the whole of Austria. What a travesty... Since it was after 5pm couldn’t get into many places – and no point since so rushed. However, we did get some culture by going to a classical music concert with a 12 piece Chamber Orchestra. Outside the palace it was held in was this monument to Strauss.

(golden statue of Strauss)

Prague tomorrow – with our driver needing 45 hours complete break there we get a couple of sleep-ins! How exciting...

Week Ahead

Fri, 21st of May Vienna to Prague, Czech Republic

Sat, 22nd of May Prague

Sun, 23rd of May Prague to Berlin

Mon, 24th of May Berlin

Tues, 25th of May Berlin to Amsterdam

Wed, 26th of May Amsterdam

Thurs, 27th of May Amsterdam to London

Their Eyes shall be Opened and They Will Know

This is going to be a terrible blog to read. If you are having a fantastic day and want the mood to continue – don’t read this blog. If you are feeling suicidal, seek professional help – and don’t read this blog. If you want to try and answer some horribly difficult questions for me – maybe read this blog...

Writing this blog straight after a visit that just grabs your soul – puts it through a blender, then a washing machine, throws it off a cliff and then gets size 15 boots and stomps on it. I think I’m using this writing as a method of coping. May not even upload it.

Srebrenica

That name is now going to forever send a shiver down my spine.

Our day started innocently enough in Sarajevo with an early start and driving towards Serbia. However, our guide took us to an unscheduled stop near the border which was disturbingly informative about this area and the recent conflict.

Quick ‘facts’ – Srebrenica is a town in Bosnia where the only European genocide after World War 2 has been officially recognised by the UN. In 1995 the very basic story is that at least 25,000 people were fleeing the Serbian army to a U.N. Safe Haven in Srebrenica. The peacekeepers took 5000 into their compound for a couple of days and then sent them out again. The men and boys were separated from their families and disappeared. Some managed to flee to the hills and cross the border but many have been discovered in mass graves.

I have skipped over so much, including the ineffectiveness of the UN forces and the powerful documentary we sat through. I wish I had been able to bring my legal studies class here when we were studying world order – the ICTY would have had real significance and not just a random acronym. There has been a memorial set up and they’ve bought the factory where the UN were stationed and turned that into a museum and theatre. While I wanted a time machine to travel back and see some of the incredible places I’ve visited in their hey-day – this is one place I do not want to return to.

Now my therapy session with some rhetorical questions:

1. Why do we say “never again” and yet here we are?

After visiting the holocaust museum in Israel one of their themes is to remember the tragedy and to stop it from happening again. Well, that worked wonderfully well didn’t it... And my current international knowledge isn’t up to scratch but who knows what’s going on in Africa and round the world even at this exact moment.

Also, at the moment I’m down in the dumps – having all these pessimistic thoughts about what horrors man can commit. Yet I’m sure in a couple of days I’ll be back to blogging about the new impressive sight I’ve seen or the novel experience I’ve had the pleasure to partake. Maybe the story of Pandora’s Jar (Box) is true – the only way we cope is that we have blind hope that it will be better in the future.

2. Are there some problems that can never be solved?

As a maths teacher – one of the things I find reassuring is that nearly any problem can be solved cleanly and without argument. And even some previously ‘unsolvable’ mathematical proofs can be eventually solved with enough time and effort. But in this imperfect world of religious conflict and greed, are some problems always going to exist? Or is the cliché “time heals all wounds” the best we can come up with.

3. How can the world (and my trip) have such beauty and tragedy?

I’ve got nothing more... so I’ll just leave it to a higher authority and pray.

Amen.

What was once Yugoslavia...

Here’s your trivia question for the day. Name the 6 countries that came out from Yugoslavia. Bonus points if you know the point of contention in the question. I’m absolutely engrossed in the history of these Slavic countries – and with it being so recent I’m sorry if I make a cultural mis-step. It’s hard to find impartial information but our tour guide is trying to tell the story from the point of view of the country we are in at the moment. I wish I’d done Modern History (as well as Ancient History from previous stops...) and visited all these places as you learn.

Montenegro

Left Albania, had a slight ‘towel’ issue and got to see our tour guide’s ‘teacher voice.’ Was very quiet on the bus for a while. The country side reminds me a bit of hilly Switzerland but more foresty (I’ll just ignore Word’s spell check here) and some beaches. We had lunch in the country of Montenegro but didn’t really spend long enough to get a true taste of the country. It’s odd talking about ducking into a country for lunch and then heading to another country – living quite the life at the moment...

Dubrovnik

According to George Bernard Shaw, “Those who seek paradise on Earth, should come to Dubrovnik!” While I don’t fully agree – the walled city of Dubrovnik is certainly ranked very high on the ‘paradise vs hell’ city ranking scheme. We arrived latish and had our usual Chicken and Chips provided meal from the campsite. We then caught the bus in to the Old City and had a very brief walking tour since the main street only runs for about 300 metres. Caught the last bus home ready for our full day in Dubrovnik.

When I said full day – I meant “I’ll sleep in till 1pm and then head into town...” Woke up and heard the rain pouring down so took full advantage of a fantastic sleep in. We’re getting unseasonably weather with tons of rain and it doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon. Luckily it didn’t ruin the day.

Got my wet weather gear all organised and caught the local bus in. Since everyone had woken at different times I pretty much spent the day by myself. After spending some massive hours on the tour bus the last couple of days it was great to have a bit of freedom. Walked around the walls of the city – had a fantastic view of the ocean and the rain finally stopped for a bit. Due to the weather, the seas have become pretty rough – and what is usually calm and clear is now chaotic and mesmerising.

The old town is fairly cramped and reminded me a touch of Venice with its crowded walkways. Found this basketball court where the space issue resulted in a novel approach – would be fun playing a ‘full court’ game and see what effect the changed dimension have.

(funky basketball court – fort top right)

After wandering for a while – going into heaps of churches (had a bit of a nap in one I think) to avoid the rain – the clouds cleared and I headed up to the fort looking down over Dubrovnik. I was starting to run out of their local currency (kuna) but was able to pay euros. Very helpful and it seems a lot of places are happy to take them off your hands. The fort has a great vantage point overlooking the whole area.

(view back to Old Town)

The next story takes place in the middle section of the wall in the above photo. The sea was crashing into those areas and I just stopped and watched for a while. Even more entertaining were some people who tried to play chicken with the waves. The girls on the right of the next photo had just run along the low part of the wall for over 100 metres. As they arrived at the point where the wave has just crashed one of the girls got drenched by a similar wave – I unfortunately didn’t have my camera out quick enough. And then to prove their insanity, they ran back along the wall again... A couple of our group got drenched on the other side of the city with a similar wave. That put a bit of a dampener on their day.

(crazy girls getting soaked)

Had at least two options for entertainment that evening. I didn’t run into many other tour people (most headed home earlyish due to the rain) so had to choose between a classical concert in a church or watch Iron Man 2. Came down to money (and I think I’ll get my cultural fix in Vienna) since the movie was only 20 kuna. (4 AUD) Had to waste an hour so sat on a pier near a restaurant which had live music – a piano and sax duo that weren’t bad. This was only the 2nd time I’ve been to the movies alone but movie was great. Unfortunately the Russian was subtitled for the Croatians – so didn’t quite get all the dialogue but still very enjoyable. Worst part was the torrential rain at the end of the movie – I was blessed in getting straight on my bus again home!

Border Crossings

Next day dawned with more rain... My jeans are slightly soaked and struggling to dry. We crossed 3 borders today – left Croatia and into Bosnia, then crossed back to Croatia, and finally back into Bosnia. And guess how many stamps I got – NONE... We have one Columbian in our group who had to get visas for just about everywhere and each time we stop he gets questioned. But at least he’s getting stamps in his passport. Besides leaving England, think I’ve picked up 2 stamps in my passport.

Mostar

Our lunch stop today was the town Mostar which is famous for a bridge that was built early 17th century and destroyed in the recent conflict. The word ‘Mostar’ means bridge (I think) so was kinda important to their town. The bridge got reconstructed reasonably quickly and is now a tourist attraction. Another fascinating thing you see here is the bullet holes in some of the buildings – keeps reminding you that less than 20 years ago this area was a war zone. We are so lucky living in Australia and not having to fear for our lives. While most conflicts in the areas I’ve visited were before I was born – this one isn’t and therefore manages to send a shiver down my spine.

(V.I.B. [Very Important Bridge] and still raining)

Got talked into going to a restaurant and had one of the best meals ever. Don’t know what I ordered but took the waiters advice and it was ridiculously cheap.

Sarajevo

Our stop for the evening was a city I’d only heard talked about regarding fighting and wars. But if I didn’t know the history – I could easily forget and just imagine this is a city like any other European city. Until you see some of the bullet marks in the buildings. We travelled along sniper alley into town for a quick walking tour. Headed to the bridge where Franz Ferdinard was assassinated to set off World War 1.

(another V.I.B., trying to look sombre in the rain)

Not much else in town since it’s Sunday and most things are shut. Watched a couple of old guys playing chess in a park (boy I live an exciting life!) and then went out for tea. Had traditional food which was pretty good – still not quite to lunch standard but better than chicken and chips. In the restaurant was a map from 1994 showing the locations where the 3 main religions were predominant in Bosnia (Muslim, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox I think). Each religion had a colour and it looked as though a kid had thrown paint on the map, there were so many random shapes and mixing together of the religions. The waiter said that it wasn’t the same now after the fighting but it got me thinking about how much damage different religions can do to a region.

Headed back to our 4 star hotel! Had a swim in the indoor pool and now using their free internet to upload. Another early start tomorrow and another country! Serbia here we come.

Week Ahead

Mon, 17th of May Sarajevo to Belgrade, Serbia

Tues, 18th of May Belgrade to Budapest, Hungary

Wed, 19th of May Budapest

Thurs, 20th of May Budapest to Vienna, Austria

Fri, 21st of May Vienna to Prague, Czech Republic

Sat, 22nd of May Prague

Sun, 23rd of May Prague to Berlin

Who can find Albania on a globe?

We’ve left the Euro-zone... So no more euros supposedly for a while – but it seems they’re happy to take them here in Albania. Talk about a crazy/funny little country...

Athens Night

Actually went shopping in Athens. Shock, horror! Went to their markets and needed to buy a watch. Tons of expensive nice ones but looking at my track record don’t really want to tempt fate again. Managed to find one in a store that sold guns, knives and Lord of the Rings Figurines. Nice guy there though.

Went out to celebrate a birthday – and was finally let down by the Greek food. Ordered something I couldn’t pronounce again and lucked out. Made up for it with some gelato though – found waffle ice-cream which I ate in a waffle cone. Little bit monotonous by the end unfortunately but massive serve! Had to walk back to hotel to burn it off, which turned out to be a learning experience for some of our group. It gave a whole new meaning to “Sex in the City”– porn just being sold out on the streets.

Meteora

Another day, another hotel. We farewelled some of our travelling companions in the morning and headed north out of Athens. Our destination was Meteora – a place I hadn’t really heard of and was told it was famous for monasteries being built on inaccessible cliffs. After the excitement of Rome and the return to Greek standards I didn’t have high expectations. How wrong was I?

I think just seeing the geology and mountains would have been impressive but they go and build on these things. Always thought the Greeks were a little bit crazy...

(Incredible place to build!)

Quite a few have fallen into disrepair – don’t think it would be easy calling your local handyman to come and fix these things. But a couple have been maintained and become museums, while still have monks living in them. The Great monastery was the first and is still the largest. Bit of walk to it – but now with the stairs it’s a lot safer than being pulled up by a winch and sitting in a fish net.

(great Monastery – tiny people in background coming down)

Had a very pro-Greek museum in there – but NO PHOTO! As the guy kept yelling at us – even if we were just holding the cameras. Part of the main church was decorated with all the deaths of saints –very gruesome. Thought shooting arrows at a man on a cross a bit over-kill (pun intended) but it has been amazingly preserved.

The final creepy part was the ossuary (I think) – a room that keeps the skulls of their leaders. Didn’t hang around here too long...

 

(creepy skull room)

Our hotel was very nice – and this was the view from our balcony. Managed to finally find the feature on the camera I was looking for. (actually I shouldn’t claim credit – someone else found it...) There are actually tons of modes on the camera – even one that can make you slimmer. I’m very ignorant.

(another time-delayed photo)

Left in the morning and headed to Albania. 9 hours on the bus. Was extremely excited I was going to get a stamp on my passport – got one leaving Greece but the Albanian border patrol just waved us through. Saved us over an hour but no stamp... The roads in Albania are pretty bad – and were planned that way. The Albanians had a crazy Communist dictator who scared the locals by saying that everyone was going to invade. So he built the roads poorly to slow down the non-existent would-be invaders.

And the funniest thing about Albania – they’re ‘famous’ for building bunkers. Now there’s something to impress the neighbours. To give his population something to do while he was in power, he got them building bunkers. And more bunkers...

Our local guide told us this story (believe it with a grain of salt). The dictator got 5 engineers to design and build bunkers. He then placed them inside and bombed all 5. Only 1 of the engineers survived – so that design was used through-out the land. As our guide said, it was a dangerous time to be an engineer in Albania.

 

Tirana

Finally arrived at the capital – which has a crazy colour scheme on quite a few of their buildings to show to the world they aren’t controlled by communist paint dictators any longer. Crazy designs! But camera struggled taking photos out of the bus... (anyone keeping count of how many times I used the word crazy?)

Actually in apartments at the moment – so nice change and even have a double bed. Luxury! Think we hit two countries tomorrow – so not getting my hopes up about a passport stamp but fingers crossed.

Week Ahead

Fri, 14th of May Tirana to Dubrovnik, Croatia

Sat, 15th of May Dubrovnik

Sun, 16th of May Dubrovnik to Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Mon, 17th of May Sarajevo to Belgrade, Serbia

Tues, 18th of May Belgrade to Budapest, Hungary

Wed, 19th of May Budapest

Thurs, 20th of May Budapest to Vienna, Austria

What happens in Mykonos, stays in Mykonos...

I am officially slightly tanned. (I prefer that title instead of burnt like a well-done steak.) It’s been a very relaxing couple of days but I think I’m techno-musiced out.

Trip to Athens

Last entry had me leaving Italy and catching a ferry to Greece. Beside it running on Greek time (2 hours late in leaving) it wasn’t too bad. Was not quite up to the P&O standard but I slept reasonably well in the pitch dark cabins. Was an adventure climbing into a bunk bed without a ladder though – actually glad I had to attempt that in the dark because I wouldn’t have got marks for grace and style.

Eventually arrived in Greece and headed towards the Corinth Canal which links the Adriatic and the Aegean Seas. Finished in 1893 it saved a fair amount of time rather than having to sail around the peninsula. But not as big as I expected.

(Corinth Canal)

Rather than using the thesaurus to find superlative words – I’m using it to find words meaning average. Greece, while fun with the people I’m travelling with and good to tick off the list of things to do, is a bit disappointing. It’s sad that for a civilization that led the world in ancient history it has the feel of a slightly 3rd world country now. I’m probably being way too harsh and repeated conquering by neighbouring countries hasn’t helped but Greece is closer to Egyptian standards then Australian standards.

Athens

We arrived at Athens and joined another traffic jam. Those who follow world events would probably know off the trouble Greece is experiencing with financial difficulties and some dangerous riots. But when we drove through there were no problems – the main square near their parliament was empty. I was kinda hoping for at least some placard-wielding Greeks but very quiet. We saw some leftovers of the damage – smashed windows and burnt-out car. We also saw where we think the bank employees were killed – there were some flowers and memorials next to a bank.

Our first and final stop was the site of the Parthenon. Guess what – scaffolding again! It was great seeing it but still a bit of empty feeling after the short visit. I’ve become a spoiled traveller I think...

(Parthenon)

Mykonos

After a ridiculously early start we were on another ferry heading towards our Greek Island Adventure! Uploaded the blog on the boat and still had a bit of time so went to the ever reliable site of Wikipedia and found the Mykonos entry. And guess what was listed as a tourist attraction – a set of windmills and a pelican.

(Mykonos Windmill)

(Famous Pelican)

When I wasn’t searching for the terribly important local landmarks, my days in Mykonos consisted of:

1. Swim to a buoy in the freezing sea

2. Clean off the salt in the camping sites’ pool

3. Warm up in the sun on the lounge chairs

4. Repeat until hungry

One thing I can positively recommend is the food. Chips in kebabs –what a fantastic idea! Cornetto’s on steroids – great value. Had some fun evenings and walked around Little Venice while practicing our secret agent manoeuvres. We also visited Paradise Beach (which was within walking distance of where we camped) which was where an Australian was killed by some bouncers or something – I kind of remembered because his family gave his organs to save people.

It was pretty quiet on the island – since we’re travelling before high season our group seemed to take over any where we visited – not that we were able to change the songs being played. There’s only one style here – loud and techno.

I apologise for the next bit (bit of a personal joke) – but since this is also a diary I need to remind myself about this for later – ‘Oy vey’. Not a story to be told by blog or email.

So back to Athens – slept for most of the ferry ride back and back to same hotel from before. Heading out for tea tonight – someone’s 21st and need to buy a watch – managed to lose mine. Not having much luck at the moment...

Week Ahead

Wed, 12th of May Athens to Meteora

Thurs, 13th of May Meteora to Tirana, Albania

Fri, 14th of May Tirana to Dubrovnik, Croatia

Sat, 15th of May Dubrovnik

Sun, 16th of May Dubrovnik to Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Mon, 17th of May Sarajevo to Belgrade, Serbia

Tues, 18th of May Belgrade to Budapest, Hungary

Dary... Rome is Amazing!

This blog is being written as we sail over to Greece (and uploaded when we’re travelling to a Greek island). It’s been a good recovery day after all the excitement of yesterday. I think today is going to be another day to use the thesaurus. As mentioned before Rome is mind-blowing. I wish I had total memory recall – guess I’ll have to make do with revisiting this amazing city.

The Pope

Luckily (or well organised by Topdeck) we had our full day in Rome on a Wednesday. Wednesday’s are the usual day for the Pope to go for a spin in his very trendy pope-mobile. I was really looking forward to it – add it to our list of famous people we’ve seen on this trip. He was a little late getting out but he went pretty close to where we sat in the middle of the hordes. Couldn’t really follow what was going on (my Italian is less than limited) and we had to leave early to keep our schedule (and get in front of the crowds to the museum) but his holiness (?? Or another name) talked for quite a while. St. Peters Square was impressive – we got to watch Angels and Demons on the bus. Was lots of fun to see places live and then on the DVD.

 (best photo I got of the Pope)

Vatican Museums

We had an Irish tourguide and got to have our own little headsets for this tour. Took heaps of photos – and just beautiful artworks and rooms. So much history. This is another place that has to be on anyone’s travel plans who haven’t been here before. Just remembering all the places and things I saw yesterday has taken me about 30 minutes to write this part. I don’t really have any interesting stories – but I recommend it wholeheartedly and don’t want to diminish it with my inadequate descriptions.

The final stop on the tour was the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo was a crazy but gifted man. And the chapel didn’t disappoint. You’re not supposed to take photos of it all – but not for religious reasons (you are supposed to be silent) – the reason for the ban on photos is that fuji film paid for it to be cleaned and preserved only if they got copyright of it all. Didn’t think I would get a photo but I walked in and absolutely everyone was taking photos – so I grabbed one. 

(breach of Fuji’s copyright)

St Peters Basilica and Dome

We finished the tour – and the day was quickly disappearing. Due to the Pope’s visit we were running a bit behind schedule so everyone split up and tried to do as much as possible. I had a quick visit into the largest church in the world. My God, it’s incredible...

Weird story – this statue (an early one by Michelangelo) has been reconstructed.

(Michaelongos statute of Jesus and Mary - Pieta)

Australia’s claim to fame here is that a disturbed Australian managed to get to this statue with a hammer and start destroying it. He started to get mobbed by the locals and only the actions of the police dragging him away saved him. The statue had to be reconstructed and is now behind glass for its own protection.

After my way too quick walk around I decided to climb something – finally. The guide said we were lucky with the lack of the lines today so took advantage. Paid an extra 2 euros to take the elevator up half way so I could save some time. The stairs were quite an adventure – with the curved roof and the stairs leaning the other way there was a slight case of vertigo. The final ascent was pretty tight but well worth the admission price once you got to the top. Incredible view again – and the law stopping any building taller than the dome makes it even better.

(At the top)

With so much to do – and time slipping away headed off to my next date with the sights of Rome. The Colosseum. On the way managed to grab a photo of the guys in the pyjamas.

Colosseum

A small problem in my planned expedition through Rome was the ever helpful Italian Metro workers were striking in the middle of the day – and since the colosseum is on the other side of Rome was going to try and save time by not walking. Caught the first metro alright but got stuck for a bit at their interchange between metro lines. Finally got on the right one and got to the monument which led to this saying, “As long as the colosseum stands, Rome stands. And as long as Rome stands, the world will stand.” Luckily for the world the colosseum has had its 2000^th birthday (or pretty close) and looks like staying around for awhile as well.

Got an audioguide (so I could jump the queue – think I’m sensing a pattern here) and just blown away heading into the ACTUAL COLOSSEUM! Was a little bit excited. I’m glad I saw the better preserved colosseum in Verona because here it had been slightly damaged over the years. The imagination just takes over and you get lost in the history of it all.

(Inside – I’m containing my excitement for the photo)

Capitoline Museum

Started heading back – had another tipoff about a fantastic gelato spot and thought I would try but wasn’t prepared enough and running out of time. Wandered to this newish museum – with the massive guy on the horse in front (our topdeck bus could fit between the horses legs) and my photos just aren’t good enough.

On the way passed the Italian army having an open day. Could get photos with a lot of their equipment including tanks and other vehicles of war.

Back to Camp

Rome doesn’t have a great metro – got a bit lost with finding the gelato place and then found I was a bit away from the closest station. Since we were staying out of town (train then bus) really had to get moving. Finally got back to our site and had tea – hadn’t eaten all day which was a waste of the fantastic Italian food...

Good-bye Italia

The next day was most boring day ever – let’s see how quick I can describe it. On bus – slept and watched DVD’s. Arrived at Bari. Got on Ferry, which ran late (typical Greeks). Day over.

Was pretty good having a very relaxing day after the excitement that was Rome. Heading to Greece which could be exciting – have heard a bit of the news about what’s going on but will hopefully be fine. Countdown is on for our Greek Island Break!

Extra Update – been through Greece – was pretty boring excitement wise – now on way to Island. Actually have internet on boat which is great. (but extremely slow... will see how many photos I can upload)

Week Ahead

Sun, 9^th of May                  Greek Island

Mon, 10^th of May             Greek Island   

Tues, 11^th of May             Back to Athens  

Wed, 12^th of May              Athens to Meteora  

Thurs, 13^th of May            Meteora to Tirana, Albania    

Fri, 14^th of May                  Tirana to Dubrovnik, Croatia 

Sat, 15^th of May                Dubrovnik   

Italy is legen... wait for it...

Hopefully you can guess from the incomplete title that this will be a two part blog. Writing this in Rome on our 1st night but will see when/how to upload. One thing I’m afraid off is the limited capacity of my brain – all this wonderful and amazing sights are surely pushing out some information stored there. Better not forget important details like how great the Dragons are, when Mother’s Day is (oops – too late) or how to solve quadratic equations!

Today was one our biggest days so far. And someone told me we’re not even half way through this adventure. Luckily we have a fantastic group of people – no real issues and having room on the bus certainly keeps everyone sane. Don’t know how I would cope cooped up with 40 people for so long.

Starting to slip with writing these blogs – at least people reading them keep me honest. Got a few people on the bus doing travel diaries but seems they might be slipping more than I am.

Florence

After our walking tour last night, we only had 4 hours to try and fit in as much as possible of Florence. Due to the rain decided against a climb and waste of a view. Still had heaps of options so went to the palace first and got this photo.

(fake David and I)

Since the truly great art museums would take too long – decided with some others to go the Science Museum and especially see Galileo’s telescope. Pretty cool for something around 400 years old. No photos were allowed but grabbed a couple I liked, including this one.

(Science Museum – fancy machine with mirror, can just see me)

After that museum, headed to the main Cathedral which took over 200 years to complete. Very impressive. Most of the church doesn’t have any decorations but it’s still massive.

 

(Cathedral dome – can climb up there)

There was a huge flood and they discovered an even older church underneath this one. Went down then and saw a few tombs and mosaics.

(Old church under cathedral – bit tight in places)

And before you knew it the 4 hours were done. Didn’t get to see the true David so that will have to wait till next time. People said it was great but a decent line there. Had time for one final stop though...

(gelato in the rain? Of course!)

Heading to Rome

One of our shortest travel trips started badly from Florence when we couldn’t get our bus out of the hostel. Someone had parked illegally (with their hazard lights on – does that make it legal??) and boxed us in. After waiting for an hour and a half our bus driver got so fed up that with some help, bounced and moved the car around so that we could get out. Bit of damage to the car but we were gone before he returned... In case police are listening – I’m on a Trafalgar Tour Bus heading to Spain!

Walking tour of Rome

We arrived at Roma, got dropped at a train station and started our 4 hour walking tour. If Paris steals your heart, Rome must take everything else. I agree with the people saying that photos just don’t do this city justice. As I’ve travelled it’s always been Roman influence on everything – now in the heart of Rome it’s so overwhelming.

Some of the highlights we visited for those that know what’s going on – Spanish steps (financed by the French – Oui, Oui), Trevi Fountain (didn’t toss 3 coins in... but saw a proposal), Pantheon, Piazza Venezia... the list goes on.

(Pantheon – with scaffolding)

Bit of a story about the scaffolding. One of the people on the tour commented when we got to Paris that wherever she visits, there’s always scaffolding. So if anyone sees scaffolding on this tour it’s always her fault. Really disappointed when the fountain used in Angels and Demons (water death) was surrounded by fences and scaffolding...

Colosseum

Our final stop on the epic walking tour was the Colosseum which had been one the most looked forward to things on the trip. And it didn’t disappoint – so old and so much history! It would have been incredible in its heyday.

Tons of photos but the best one was an accident. I usually have my camera set on ‘Intelligent Auto’ since it is smarter than me when it comes to taking photos... We were set up on the other side of a road to the colosseum and was trying to time photos between buses. Quickly took a couple and then started this one and the camera took over and did a delayed shutter speed or something. Very nearly moved it because I didn’t understand what was going on – but got this photo...

(Very Intelligent Camera took this)

I think it says a lot about my photographic skills that an accident is my best photo. And I still can’t find that setting manually...

I’m actually writing this after the full day in Rome – it just blows your mind. Will save it for later but you just can’t do Rome in a day. Rome has taken top spot on the places I’ve visited – I wish I could just holiday forever...

Week Ahead

Thurs, 6th of May Rome to Patras, Greece

Fri, 7th of May Patras to Athens

Sat, 8th of May Athens to Greek Island

Sun, 9th of May Greek Island

Mon, 10th of May Greek Island

Tues, 11th of May Back to Athens

Wed, 12th of May Athens to Meteora