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
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