Lithuania: A Fate Worse Than Serbia

Hello, dammit, from the same interminable day.

Lithuania has sunk even lower in my estimation since my last entry. If that's even possible.

This is a country full of boring landscapes, unpronounceable words, cold weather, dull old towns, mediocre food and people who would rather scowl than smile. 90% apparently don't know how to say Hello to foreigners, and 100% find the mere sound of English infuriating.

The ride to Siauliai took four hours. I got there and figured I might have to head all the way to Kaunas tonight as Siauliai looked pretty small and shitty with no hotels around. But I wanted to see the Hill of Crosses first, and I'd figure it out later.

I caught the bus at 15:40 to the Hill of Crosses (pissed off, once again, at the horrible Tourist Info bitch who looked annoyed at the mere notion that she might try to attempt speaking English).

The bus let me off 2km from the Hill so I walked there.

It was just okay.

(Certainly not worth the full day of travel that I spent getting there!)

I spoke to a little lamb (the nicest being I've met since I've been here), and caught the bus back to Siauliai centre.

I tried my best to find a hotel as all I really wanted was to treat myself to a nice bed rather than a pod, have a nice dinner and several drinks and end this awful day.

But the 2 hotels I found didn't appear to actually function anymore, so I had no choice but to catch the bus to Kaunas, which I'm on now, armed with a disgusting kebab and a beer.


This experience has really got me thinking.

I, who spout the advantages of solo travel at any given opportunity, have realized that travelling alone is only a good thing when you're in a place you love. The location becomes your friend, and happiness with your surroundings fills the space of companionship. You're happy to be alone with your place, so no one can distract you from admiring it.

But when you're somewhere that you hate, like I am right now, being alone just makes you angry. And anger needs to be laughed at.

In my previously darkest hour of travelling, on the million-hour bus ride into Nis, I had Mike with me and we laughed about it together.

But laughing when you're miserable AND alone makes you something completely different: a crazy person. Lithuania has not only turned me into a bored, miserable and angry person, but now it's also made me into a crazy person. And the worst part about it: I'm STILL HERE!

It's a funny thing, travelling. You feel the need to see as many new parts of the world as possible. You want to add to your list of places you've been, add another pin into the map. You want to one-up people at dinner parties, so that when your friend Alice says: "I had this amazing massage in Hungary!", you can come back with: "Oh, let me tell you about the most AMAZING spa I went to in Finland!".

Young travellers like myself should take a good, hard look at our elders and notice that they no longer hop from country to country every year. For the most part, they've left their tourism promiscuity behind, chosen a few places they like, and stuck with them.


It makes sense, of course, to see as many places as you can while you're young, because youth is all about experimenting, finding out what you like and what you don't, blah blah blah.

But when you get to the point, like I have, when you're hurtling through the barren Lithuanian countryside and you've spent a total of 6 hours on a bus just to spend 45 minutes looking at a bunch of wooden crosses on a hill, it's time to re-evaluate your travel decisions.

I'm now officially out of places to visit in Europe.

Unless I want to go to Moldova or Luxembourg, which I don't, I need to either leave the continent, or choose my favourite place and stick with it.

And that's possibly what hurts the most about this trip: the fact that I could be in Croatia right now. I love it there. I lvoe the food, the people, the sea, the language, the music, the men, the gemist.

But it was the thought of changing my Facebook status, for the 5th time this year, to "Andrea is off to Croatia!", felt a little embarrassing. I'm supposed to be this world traveller, after all, I figured I can't keep going back to the same place time after time.


But guess what: YES I FUCKING CAN!!

In fact, this experience is probably Croatia sending me bad vibes from down the continent for thinking I might enjoy another country.

Something, somewhere, has it out for me. Surely, it can't be Lithuania itself: we've only just met What did I do to make enemies with it so quickly?

I don't think I've ever given Lithuania a moment's thought before this trip, much like most other sane people along the backpacker trail.

And now I realize there's a reason for that.

It's a squalid rathole and the only people who wind up here are people like me with pretentious notions of trying something new, wanting to be different and original, smugly saying the words "Latvia" and "Lithuania" and watching people's eyes widen in admiration, thinking I'm the bravest and coolest girl in the world.

Now, I've spent the entire day on a cold, slow bus to Kaunas.

Tomorrow, I'm sure I'll be freezing to death, attacked by a crazy man in the street, with a case of the runs from the kebab I had for dinner. At least I'll have my originality to keep me warm.

The Balkans Rule - the Baltics DROOL!

I've officially decided that the whole "Seeing the World" thing is totally overrated. Screw it... from now on, I'm going no further than the Balkans where, above all its other amazing attributes, THE PEOPLE ARE FRIENDLY!!

I'm on the bus getting the Hell out of Vilnius, and not a moment too soon! How I regret leaving sweet Estonia with its saunas and nice old towns and good dancers! I'm hoping that Lithuania will redeem itself over the next two days when I'm out of its truly shit capital!

Last night, my dinner was pretty good. I had pork, mashed potatoes, brocooli and carrots, all kind of mixed up in a stew-type mess (yummy, though), and 2 half beers, and read my Salman Rushdie book. I left the restaurant at 8:30 and walked through the creepy streets, kinda wanting to go into a bar for a drink and a chat. But the bars were full of people sitting in closed little groups, totally intimidating, and even when I stopped at The Dubliner pub and asked two English guys for a lighter, they just lit my cigarette and turned away. I got a little lost for a while and decided being in bed (sorry, being in pod) at 9:30 was better than dying a creepy death in Vilnius. It's the only place I've been in where the thought actually crossed my mind more than once that if I was being mauled by one of its creepy street urchins, the whole town would probably stand around and watch!

When I got back to the hostel, the VERY weird American guy who seems to live there was hanging around being weird, and then a couple of girls came downstairs and told the reception lady that there was an old drunk man passed out in their room. I just knew it had to be my room, and sure enough, I went upstairs and on the couch, right beside my pod, there was an old guy, sprawled in a drunken stupor with a bottle of vodka below him. The American tried like a fool to communicate with him, and then the reception lady started speaking in Lithuanian to him, and told us not to worry, he'd just go to sleep and not bother us. It was an ironic turn of events, seeing as the first thing I noticed when I got into the hostel was the sign saying drunk people would be kicked out immediately.

I wanted to go to the bus station to catch the sooner bus the Hell out of Vilnius, and I wished I hadn't already paid so I could pull a runner the way Christina and I did in the Nazi hostel in Sibiu.

There was one other guy in our room; an Aussie who has been living in Japan for a few years. He and I started chatting and went down to the kitchen to make a cup of tea and chat. He was a nice guy, but we never got past the "I want to talk all about my travels" level of conversation that dear Michael Ruhfus identified in some solo travllers.

At 11:30, I went out for a final smoke, checked my email, and went to pod. As weird as the pod is, I had a nice sleep because the mattress and pillows were very comfortable. I guess I'm all for the pod revolution!

This morning, I got up at 10:00 and scurried out of the hostel. I'd wanted to go to the KGB museum before I left, plus buy Mom an amber gift, but the bus station was close and I was more than ready to leave.

The ticket desk woman at the bus station and the information woman were both horrible, rude bitches who kept trying to shuffle me to someone else so they didn't have to listen to my offensive English. I actually had to get a bit snarky with them to make them sell me a ticket. Finally, I was able to buy a ticket to Siauliai, and I got out!

I'm now 3 1/2 hours into a bus ride that Lonely Planet had promised only took a little over an hour. Fucking Lonely Planet has really pulled a fast one on me!

Vilnius Creepiness

I was expecting to be blown-away by Vilnius, but so far I haven't seen anything that compares to the beauty of Tallinn (but, to be fair, I've only been here for a couple of hours, so I'll reserve judgment for now).

The bus ride from Riga to Vilnius was a painless 4 hours (I had my raspberries and my mobile phone games to occupy me). When I arrived, I got a little lost finding my way from the bus station to the AAA hostel. The hostel had a pretty creepy feel right away, made even creepier when I found out that the rooms were made up of pods! I'm sleeping in a pod tonight ...

Lithuania, thus far, is just creepy (and it doesn't help that some nutcase has been chanting and screaming outside this restaurant for the past 10 minutes).

I dropped my backpack in my pod and then headed straight out. It was a bit of a long and dodgy walk to the old town, and then I found the streets even emptier and quieter than Tallinn had been. (SHIT, the crazy man has made his way into the restaurant and is headed in my direction ... get me out of here!).

Anyway, I wandered into a few amber shops (the Baltics are amber-central and I'm going to buy something for Mom tomorrow). I stupidly sat at an outdoor cafe for a caffe-latte and it, and my limbs, got cold before I could even finish a cigarette.

I then walked along the pedestrian street to a big square full of giant white buildings. I took a few photos but it started to rain, which lent an even creepier ambiance to the place. So I headed back along side streets, went to explore a graffiti-filled,, run-down area by a little stream but noticed a group of intimidating-looking goth kids just in the nick of time and headed straight back to the touristy part of town.

I'd wanted to see the KGB headquarters (wouldn't that make a perfect end to this day!?) but I'm hating it here and I want to leave. I'm going to stay out for a couple of drinks and dinner, then go straight back to the hostel, and tomorrow afternoon I'm getting the Hell out of Vilnius!

I thought this would be my favourite of the 3 Baltic capitals ... now I'm wondering if the movie "Hostel" is based on true events that took place here!

Talk to you later (I hope!)

Working up a sweat in Tartu

Hi from still in Estonia, just a little further South (closer to Latvia).

I had a really good sleep last night; there was an American guy in my room but we didn't really speak until just as he was heading out for a drink. I kinda wished I'd gone out with him because I wouldn't have minded a little company, but it's probably a good thing I didn't as I needed some rest.

I woke up this morning at 11:00, starving and dehydrated and, for lack of an immediately better option, I had a McChicken for breakfast. The McDonalds was right beside the vine-covered town walls: pretty nice location.

It was miserably cold and rainy so I decided to get out of dodge. I planned to go to Riga, but the next bus there wasn't for several hours and Tallinn was too rainy to walk around. So I decided to catch the 2:00 bus to Tartu instead.

It was a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to this little University town. I was pretty keen on having another sauna (when in Estonia...), so I decided to stay at the Alexandri Hotel, which has a spa attached to it! It was a bit of a hike away from the centre of town, so apart from the road heading towards it to it, I didn't see much of Tartu!

I got a nice room with a television, but didn't stay in it for long as I ended up booking a sauna right away (I was a bit gutted that the massages were all booked up for the day, as they were very cheap!).

I stopped into the adjoining restaurant, had a quick beer, then headed to the spa. It was actually a solarium rather than a sauna; apparently it's less hot but is supposed to make you sweat more and lose 600 calories. I sat in it for a half hour and thought I was going to spontaneously combust from the heat. I don't know if I lost 600 calories, but I probably sweated 600 gallons!

I ate dinner at the hotel restaurant (the Alexandri sure was a one-stop shop!), and thoroughly enjoyed my steak with mushroom sauce, potatoes and coleslaw, and red wine. I was happy to learn that an Estonian band would be playing later in the night, and just as I finished dinner, they took the stage.

There was a guy sitting a few booths behind me who I kept making eye contact with; a few songs into the band's set, he finally came over and invited me to sit with him. His name is Andras, he's from the town of Parnu, and he proved to be a great companion. He told me that all private houses in Estonia have their own saunas, he talked about Russia and about ice-fishing in Norway.

We had a few beers, a few cigarettes in the smoking room, and then - the piece de resistance! -we asked me to dance. He was probably the best partner I've ever danced with, and we had a grand old time out on the floor. When we sat down again, he serenaded me with an Estonian version of the song "Country Roads."

Tartu ended up being a real highlight of my trip (well, at least its hotel did!)

Hi from Estonia

Where the Hell are you? you ask.



Why am I not in Croatia, or the former Yugoslavia in general?


Well, I've decided to give my beloved Balkans a rest and try something new.


Last week, I was staring at my wall map and feeling uninspired because I've been to all of the most obvious places. I noticed the little Baltics, and suddenly this region, that I've never really heard much about, seemed like just the right choice!


I have five days and I plan to see Estonia, Lithuania and possibly Latvia (although I've heard Riga is Stag-Party-Hell).


Last night, I lay in bed for about three hours, not really sleeping at all, and caught a bus from Peckham to Victoria at 2:30am. I was horrendously early to the bus stop, and had to wait about 40 minutes before the good ol' Easybus arrived (40 minutes that would've been much happier spent in bed, or at least in a pub). But I got to Stansted in good time and wandered around for an hour before boarding the plane. I caught a few zzz's during the 2 1/2 hour flight.


I had two shocks when I arrived at the Tallinn airport.


1. I checked my email (what a concept: free Internet at the airport!!) and Pedro had sent me an email from home! It's always a (nice) shock to hear from him!

2. I had no money left in my account! I realized that I never stopped this months' rent payment from coming out of my account and it totally depleted me. Thankfully, I was able to switch some money from my savings account to my chequing (thanks again to free airport Internet and online banking!) so a crisis was averted. I'm counting my lucky stars that I'm a good saver, or else my time in Estonia would've been slightly more stressful than I'd hoped!


After I sorted out my money, I hopped on the bus to the centre of Tallinn. I strolled around for a bit, the spires in the distance reminding me of Varazdin, and was totally impressed (and still a little shocked that I'm here). Lots of little curvy streets, colourful buildings similar to Sighisoara, super old buildings and shops... the perfect old town!


I hadn't booked anything so I was happy to find Euro Hostel, a dive but it's right in the old town so I can't complain. After checking in, I walked nextdoor, ate 3/4 of a bacon/cheese pancake (apparently Estonia is known for its pancakes) and was stuffed to the brim.

I digested with a nice caffe latte at "The Best Cafe in Tallinn" (with a sign on its door to prove it, and I was in no position to argue).


Spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the gorgeous old town. I went up to Toompea (upper old town) and saw the Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which is amazing. I had a look out from two look-out points up there, took some photos (I'm becoming a pro at the self-portrait and timer function on my camera!), then wandered around the lower old town for a bit.

I was feeling really sleepy but decided that 5:30 was a bit early for bedtime, and I knew exactly where to go next ... the sauna! Estonians (being so close to Finland), are known for loving a good sauna, so I ventured to the Kalma Saun (the oldest one in town). It was awesome, even though I had no idea what to do half the time. I watched the other women and took my cue from them, including to take all of my clothes off and go naked (when in Estonia ...). I sat in the boiling hot sauna (furnace is more accurate), took dips in the refreshing pool, stood under the cold shower, and watched three naked women beat themselves silly with a birch stick.


All in all, a fantastic way to spend two hours!


I'm having one beer at The Best Cafe, then I'm off to bed for a well-earned sleep.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Read this article on EuropeUpClose at http://www.europeupclose.com/visit-a-happy-place-copenhagen-denmark/
and on the St. Christopher's Inn website: http://www.st-christophers.co.uk/backpacker-resources/travel-stories/denmark/the-happiest-place-on-earth

This year, when trying to beat the winter blahs, forget Florida and instead plan a trip to the real Happiest Place on Earth.

For three years in a row, the World Values Survey has bestowed that title on Denmark.

The elaborate survey, conducted over a number of years in countries all around the world, takes into consideration factors such as education, health and welfare.

One major reason for Denmark’s prosperity is that its taxes are sky-high, but the government, in return, takes care of all health care and education, making for a stable and comfortable social care system.

If being the happiest place on Earth isn’t enough, Denmark also ranks as the world’s least corrupt country, the second most peaceful country, and it has the highest level of income equality. Furthermore, it was the first country to legalize pornography and to grant same-sex couples nearly all of the rights of marriage.

The Danes have it pretty good.

But does any of that happiness and goodwill rub off on its tourists?

During my first four hours in the country, I didn’t think so.

The country is bigger and harder to get around then I had imagined, so while grabbing a cheap flight into a nowhere-town such as Billund originally seemed like a good idea, I spent much longer than planned on buses and trains trying to get to Copenhagen.

But as soon as I got my first look at the charming capital, the happiness started to seep in.

Copenhagen’s attractions are pleasantly wholesome, beginning with the city’s most famous icon, The Little Mermaid.

It dates back to 1913 and was inspired by a ballet about the fairy tale. It has become famous over the years for being vandalized, having her head cut off twice and being covered in paint several times.

The Little Mermaid is a surprisingly little statue - less than 2 metres high - out on a rock in the harbour. Without the swarm of snap-happy tourists, it would be hard to spot.


Most locals will advise skipping it entirely, but it’s an inevitable must-see and the statue - or just the fact that you walked for ages to see it - is bound to make you chuckle.

Strolling through the different boroughs of Copenhagen, recently named the World’s Most Liveable City, or riding a bicycle as most locals do, brings all sorts of surprising delights.

Grab a hot dog from one of the many vendors to save money, shop in Osterbro, visit the ethnically-diverse Norrebro, visit one of the many museums and galleries, marvel at palaces and churches in Frederiksstaden, play in the gardens of Rosenberg Castle, or visit the self-governing hippie commune in Christiania.
Copenhagen is a perfect place to wander because there is something new around every corner.

On a sunny afternoon, one of the best places to hang out is on the harbour in the Nyhavn area. Singers line the street, playing for people sitting at outdoor cafés and eating Denmark’s specialty: open-faced sandwiches called smorrebrod.

Locals and tourists sit along the harbour with cans of beer, watching boats glide by against the backdrop of vibrantly colourful houses across the water.

Choose a sound you like and a restaurant to go along with it, and you’ll probably end up spending more time than you planned there.

The perfect end to any day is a visit to Tivoli Gardens. Not many other cities can boast an amusement park that adds to its natural beauty, but Tivoli Gardens, dating back to 1843, is one of Copenhagen’s most beautiful sights.

There are rides, including the world’s oldest wooden roller coaster, games, twinkling lights, outdoor concerts and theatre productions.

On most nights you can catch a ballet or musical adaptation of a story by Hans Christian Andersen, Denmark’s most famous son.

A country that produced the author of so many beloved children’s stories must be a friendly place.

Denmark isn’t the cheapest place to visit. Like the rest of Scandinavia, it’s far more expensive than the rest of Europe and paying ten dollars for a beer can hurt. It’s certainly not Europe’s warmest country, it’s not known for its delicious food or beautiful beaches, and its media have recently come under international fire for their questionable sense of humour.

But there is an infectious innocence in Denmark. It is stimulating, friendly and fun, and before long you’ll understand why the locals are so happy to be there.

Nis ... who knew?

This morning, I headed out of the room before Mike woke up because the sounds from the open market below my window were calling me with their promise of delicious fresh fruit.

Unfortunately, the produce was rotten and disgusting, so I took a few photos and got out of there.

I wandered into town and, ashamedly, got a Happy Meal for lunch.

And that, of course, made me think of Osijek, and how much I miss Croatia.

I went back to the room at noon to fetch Mike, and we went for a wander.

We saw a Serbian-Idol type of show holding auditions (sadly, no one there spoke enough English to explain it to us), and then we sat on a terrace, had a coffee, and people-watched for an hour. The cafe was very cool; the interior was like a train, and you actually had to open a sliding train door to get into the bathroom.

We found a fortress and walked around there for a while, noticing how different Nis feels from Belgrade and Novi Sad. We're quite close to Kosovo here, so perhaps there are a lot of Albanians around? I'm not too sure. Showing up in Nis unexpectedly has thrown us for a loop!

We knew we wouldn't be back to Serbia again, so before we got on the bus we wanted to spend Mike's remaining dinars (worth about 5 euros total). What a mission that turned out to be! We bought all kinds of snacks, drinks, everything else that we needed for the next couple of days and we still didn't go through it all!

We caught the bus at 4pm and had a really nice ride with some very cute soldiers in uniform sitting in front of us.

I'll save the story of our arrival in Sofia for my next entry... it's a doozy!

We've left Sarajevo ... Nis one!

We finally extricated ourselves from Sarajevo ... yay!! (not that I'm happy to be gone from one of the most precious cities in the world, but I was starting to get afraid I might never leave!)

Last night I had the worst sleep ever. I couldn’t swallow because my glands were so swollen, I had heartburn, and I couldn’t stop coughing. I knew I was keeping Mike awake, so I tried to do anything I could to stop: I ended up sitting upright, propped up with a pillow against the wall, sucking on a candy cane in hopes that the mint would soothe my throat. I must’ve been quite a sight!

We woke up at 6:45 this morning (brutal) and caught a bus to Nis, Serbia, planning to head to Sofia from there.

It ended up being a bus ride from Hell that never ended: 7 hours passed, then 8 hours, 9, 10 ... 11 HOURS LATER we arrived in Nis, and we weren’t too happy about it.

We decided that catching a midnight bus to Macedonia wasn’t an option, and catching a 4:30am but to Sofia was just silly, so we had to spend the night in Nis, wherever the Hell that is.

We got a fairly nice room by the bus station, then headed into “town”. There is some sort of castle here, plus a very fast-flowing river, and a fair or something happening on the main street; frankly, we don't know a thing about this city.

We ate dinner at McDonald’s. Correction: I ate there. Mike is anti-McD's and actually had to go into the bathroom to give himself a talking-to in the mirror, Vincent Vega-style, because he was so tempted to have a McMeal.

We then went to a pub for a few beers (I had a Lav Pivo and Mike had a Jelen Pivo: they mean Lion and Deer), bought some apple pie on the way home, now we're watching “One Tree Hill” in bed. We have a few hours to kill here tomorrow, so hopefully we'll find out what the deal is with Nis.

Guess where I am ...?

Yep, STILL IN SARAJEVO!!

Jesus, this city is like a black hole!

Right, ONE more day, and then we should feel satisfied that we've properly done and dusted Sarajevo!

But how do you leave when every day is better than the one before?

Yesterday, we walked through the rain down Mula Mustafa road, to the big yellow Holiday Inn that housed journalists during the siege. Along the way, we finally saw some Sarajevo roses on the ground (where mortar holes were filled in with red paint).

They were also on the walls in the open market that had a bomb land right in the middle of it.

On the way back, we stopped for a couple of beers at the very lively City Pub, then had another dinner at the Steak House (we're becoming regulars there ... the quirky little promoter-guy actually gave us a flier for their OTHER restaurant!).

Afterwards, we had one drink at Hacienda, then went home to bed.

This morning, we woke up late, and headed straight for the History Museum.

We stayed the extra day today so that we could see it ... and boy am I ever glad we did!

It has a huge collection of photos from the siege and info and we left feeling flabbergasted that the war happened so recently and we really didn't know much about it.

I have no idea why the same type of thing doesn't exist in Vukovar, which, after all, suffered the same fate.

It was freezing in the museum and outside, so we went for a warm lunch down the street (and enjoyed the funny caricatures on the walls).

Coffee at Baghdad Cafe, beers at Hacienda, cevapi for dinner ... it was a perfect final night in Sarajevo.

Let's hope we escape tomorrow!!

A Sarajevo snowfall...

I never thought I'd live to see this!

And because the snow is so magical, we decided to spend ONE more day in Sarajevo. Mike, however, would be happy to spend the rest of his two-week holiday here because he loves it so much (and so do I). I'm happy I met him; I wouldn't want to be here without someone else to enjoy it with.

So, after the little fairy-dusting of snow last night, I awoke to a serious blizzard. A foot of snow on the ground, at least, and there I was with only thin little shoes that are too small and are hurting my feet already. The pain, plus the snow, made wearing them all day an impossibility, so I was determined to find new footwear.

Miraculously, I found a pair of boots in a thrift shop; they are 2 different shades of pink, fur-lined, and one size too big. But for 9KM (5 euros) ... they'll do! In fact, they've given me so much comfort today that I don't think I've ever been happier with a purchase in my life! They're the ugliest things I've ever owned and I love them dearly.

Dripping with snow, I decided to relax and celebrate my purchase with another gorgeous caffe latte at Cafe Alfonso. After a good hour, I met Mike, and we went for lunch at The Steak House. ). We sat for a couple of hours, enjoying our food and coffee, surrounded by funny old South African ladies on tour. Then we returned to Cafe Alfonso and drank green tea while watching Fashion Television and feeling cozy in our seats.

Mike went home after an hour or so, and I went to mass at the Cathedral next door. It wasn't as spectacular as the one in Osijek, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

I then went to a restaurant called To Be Or Not To Be: the Not To Be was crossed out during the siege to make it seem more positive, and they kept it that way. There was great jazz playing and cool posters on the walls and I enjoyed my Sarajevsko Pivo until Mike arrived.

We trekked to the other side of the river to find a cinema, but the only movie playing was in Bosnian, so instead we bought some delicious goodies from a bakery and walked over to Hacienda. We sat upstairs and there was great disco playing, and we had a beer and a glass of wine and a great chat.

I'm happy to have found, in both him and Patrick, people I get along with extraordinarily well.

I LOVE THIS BEAUTIFUL WORLD!!

I love Sundays (especially in Sarajevo)

Sundays are so chilled out, and if it weren't so drizzly outside I'd like to sit on a park bench all day.

Sarajevo has far surpassed my expectations, and I can see how a person could get stuck here for a very long time.

Yesterday I spent a good amount of time at Baghdad Cafe, then I wandered around Bascarsija, bought some socks (that now have holes in them... and they weren't cheap!), and returned via the river path, past the bridge where Franz Ferdinand was shot, to the big fountain in the middle of Bascarsija, with pigeons in surround sound, where I met Mike at 6:00.
We headed back to Baghdad Cafe for a little tea and a catch-up, and afterwards went to dinner at The Steak House. I had the GREATEST veal with potatoes, tonnes of vegetables, and a beer. Delicious!!




At 8:00, we met two people who had been in our room the night before, plus their friend from Brisbane, and we all went to the Guinness Pub to watch the England-South African rugby final (South Africa won). That was pretty cool; it was good to meet some different people. But they all study together in Budapest, so they weren't super interested in getting to know us.

We went for a few more drinks at Hacienda (a very cool bar which Mustafa recommended), then headed home at 2am, chatted for a little while, and went to sleep.

I got up at 11:00 this morning and walked around on a huge mission to find a Catholic church amongst all the Mosques. I really wanted to see a mass, hoping it'd be as great as last week in Osijek. When I finally found a church, its mass had already come and gone, so it was coffee-o'clock instead. I found a very chic cafe called Cafe Alfonso, with Fashion TV on big screens, catwalks raised among the tables and Moloko on the loudspeakers. Fantastic place!

I meet Mike in the afternoon and we had our first (of many) cevapcici at a little fast food joint, then took a stroll through the markets, looking at brass coffee/tea sets. We were accosted twice by a crazy old gypsy woman looking for money.

We both drank from the fountain by the Mosque; they say that whoever drinks from that fountain will definitely return to Sarajevo, so I wanted to hedge my bets.

We had planned to leave Sarajevo today, but neither of us were quite ready to go, so we're staying until tomorrow (I'm having flashbacks of Cesky Krumlov).

After spending a long day in town, we went back to the room to relax a bit. We lay on our beds and laughed, talking about how the poor Serbian Tourism bureau must have a really tough time marketing such a crappy country. Mike suggested their motto should be: "Serbia: the launchpad of Europe" (because everything else will look great in comparison!).

I now understand Serbian expansionism: they wanted to keep some beautiful parts of Yugoslavia because they have none of their own! (but even saying that, poor Serbia, being any part of the Balkans, will always put a smile on my face).

As we were about to head out again for dinner, we met a new couple staying across the hall from us: Gee (a nice girl from New Zealand) and her boyfriend, Dave (from England). They invited us to dinner with them and we accepted. We ate at a traditional restaurant full of locals. I had some sort of bean soup, salad, and a really good time.

We decided to head over to the Sarajevska Pivara Brewery across the river; it is a huge place with really delicious dark beer and good music (Richard Marx and Bryan Adams... can't beat that!). We had a lovely time.

When we left, the snow had started to come down so we threw snowballs and took photos and marvelled at the beauty of it all.

Sarajevo is really going to have a special place in my heart.

First day in Sarajevo

(first things first: I'm about to eat a breakfast but I have no idea what it is. Eggs, bread, and a kind of chocolate/vanilla/jelly/mousse concoction that looks strange but tastes delicious. Just in case it kills me, you'll know what it was).

So, the bus ride from Belgrade yesterday took 7 hours. It wasn't too brutal; Mike and I chatted for most of it and watched one of those movies about the 2 Grandpas that Sasa showed me (oh! Sasa!).

We arrived in Sarajevo at 11:00pm. We watched the temperature gauge drop as the bus drove along, so we were prepared for chilliness (thank God I bought my new coat!). At the bus station, we squabbled for a few minutes with a taxi driver who we were sure was trying to rip us off, finally deciding to find our own way to the hostel.


We first got on a tram going the opposite way, but quickly figured out our mistake and turned back. I was disappointed to arrive in town after dark because I knew it must look spectacular and I wanted to see it.

We found the hostel reception in the centre of town and a nice man brought us by car across the river and way uphill to our room. It was a dorm room in little house with a separate lounge and kitchen. Unfortunately, the place is FREEZING, but other than that, it's peaceful and quiet.

We were pretty tired, but hungry, so we had some green tea, a plate of plain rice and a smoke, then went to sleep.

This morning, I woke up and left the hostel before anyone else woke up, and I'm now waiting to go on a tour.

Haven't really seen anything yet, but I'm well impressed with Sarajevo thus far.




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It's seven hours later, and I'm officially in love with Sarajevo.

It's basically like travelling to Morocco without all the shit parts of Morocco, plus all the great parts of the Balkans.

Absolutely incredible.

And even though I'll probably have frostbite somewhere by the time I leave, I couldn't be happier.


So, the tour was very interesting. There was me, 3 snobby Slovenian girls, and a very keen Asian guy. Our guide was named Mustafa, and his father used to smuggle people out of town during the war, so he was able to give really interesting personal accounts.


First, we drove to the tunnel museum, up in the mountains, that was used to smuggle supplies in and people out of Sarajevo during the war. We got to walk through the little stretch of tunnel that is still there, really narrow and deep and dark. You can't even imagine people going up there with their whole life on their back, afraid to be snipered at any minute.


After that, we drove to the 1984 Olympic Village in the mountains (it was seriously, really cold up there ... my feet have yet to recover), where there was a nice lookout over the town. Part of the old luge still sweeps over the road, where ten years later the snipers set up shop to shoot down on the town. There are still signs posted warning of landmines.



Besides the history lesson, it was absolutely beautiful up there because there is snow on the dark green trees, and some of the leaves are yellow, so it makes a striking contrast.

I'm really impressed with the way that Sarajevo embraces and discusses its war history, unlike Osijek or Vukovar. The Sarajevo roses (haven't seen any yet), this war tour, plaques on the National Library that the Serbs burned down, a plaque on the bridge where Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. These are all good things to have, I think, because they ensure that people won't forget what happened here.


Slavenka Drakulic says, in They Would Never Hurt a Fly, that not talking about the past is a big problem in Croatia: "My father never spoke about the four years he fought as a partisan under the command of Josip Broz Tito in the Second World War. He wanted to forget it, and for a long time I saw this as a sign of sanity and self-preservation ... And the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that the combination of his silence and the official version of the historical events of 1939 - 1945 made this latest war possible ... Only now can I understand how easy it is to start a war in the absence of facts".


In Sarajevo, I feel comfortable with it because I understand it and am learning about it. Plus, I'm a bit disappointed and outraged that this went on not that long ago in these beautiful countries and apparently we all just stood back and helplessly watched? Of course, I recognize the place names, but why don't I know more?

Mustafa dropped us at the hostel reception and I had a wander through the old town, called Bascarsija. Lots of people and smells, a Mosque in the middle, windy alleyways and narrow streets. Just what I wanted today, to walk around in a peaceful area, away from exhaust fumes!


I'm now in the pefect Baghdad Cafe, just finished a delicious coffee, and I don't want to move for an hour.

Life could not be more perfect than it is right now. (Unless it were just five degrees warmer)

Cyrillic Labyrinths in Belgrade and Novi Sad

It really blows my mind to think that it’s only been one week since I left Pula! Seems like forever ago!

So, last night turned out to be pretty funny. Mike and I walked around for two hours trying to find the Bohemian Quarter (Skadarska Street). After two hours of walking in circles and never finding it, we finally settled on pizza slices down the street from the hostel.

After dinner, we had a couple of drinks at a bar, got delicious ice cream, then went back to the hostel and watched “Legally Blonde”. I know we should be taking advantage of Belgrade’s supposedly excellent nightlife, but I haven’t seen any places that have really caught my attention (they're hiding somewhere in this Cyrillic maze).

This morning I left the hostel at 9:00, had a delicious piece of cake and a sub-par coffee in a hotel, then caught the bus to Novi Sad. It’s supposed to be the nicest city in Serbia; so far, it’s just as exhaust-ridden as Belgrade, and just as much of a Cyrillic Labyrinth.

I got lost in some random suburb, then finally found my way back to the main square, which is quite pretty and full of colourful spires and painted cows. I have so little sense of direction that I couldn’t even determine where the Danube was; I finally found it, and remembered that I’m not a huge fan of that river.

I crossed over to the fortress and spent a few hours wandering around there.

The EXIT music festival is held there and I can imagine it would be a pretty cool venue.

It’s really hot outside and I searched for somewhere shady to sit and read but couldn't find anywhere out of the sun, so I went to a nice, traditional restaurant on the Danube, which reminded me of the one I ate at with David in Prague. I ordered a Greek salad and was a little afraid the waiter was going to bring me a fish paprika, but the salad arrived and it was exactly what I had in mind.

When I got back to the hostel this evening, Mike had left a note on my bed that he'd be back later in the evening for drinks. Luckily, two guys from Sarajevo had arrived and I chatted with them while I waited.

They got me really excited to visit; one of them talked about how so many cultures live together in the one city, three religions side by side. He described Balkan people as “primitive and passionate: when we love, we love, and when we hate, we hate.”

When Mike returned from his busy day, he informed me that he’d done reconnaissance work and found the Bohemian Quarter! We walked there together and had a drink at an outdoor patio, then went for one more drink at a bar called “Only Fools and Horses”. There were a bunch of locals singing along to the live music there and I really enjoyed the place and the night. It's nice to have some company for a change!

I'm back in the hostel now, where my room tonight is an oasis of quiet, unlike Mike’s room, where someone is snoring already.

We are going to Sarajevo tomorrow and, frankly, I’m happy to be getting the Hell out of Serbia. I had a good time here, but the exhaust fumes are going to kill me and I’m ready for a bit more beauty than it has to offer.