As promised here is my short note about our one day in Bitola and couple of days in Skopje, containing never before seen details of Jade actually finding Roman ruins interesting.
As I have mentioned before, compared to Albania, everything seems really easy in Macedonia. On our last day in Ochrid, we woke up, packed, had breakfast and got a taxi to the bus station. We bought a ticket to Bitola and said goodbye to Nick, who was going to Skopje directly, and got on a bus that just happened to be there and on time (just like the bus timetable had said it would be). Bitola isn't very far from Ochrid and so we were only on the bus for just over an hour before we could get off and settle down in our lovely private room with its own ensuite - sad how little things like a clean bathroom become so exciting after you have put up with other people's hair on the floor for four weeks.
Bitola is really a bit of a nothing town. It's located on a plateau and so the drive there was full of winding climbs, followed by long straights through flat areas of farm land and orchards... all very quaint and pretty. The original town (Heraclea) was a prosperous trade center (founded by Philip II of Macedon, Alex the Great's dad), which later became even more prosperous because it sat right on the via Ignatius - the Roman road linking Italy and Greece (essentially the road that joined the western and eastern halves of the empire) - so you can imagine there was a lot of trade (and consequently duty and tariffs). It continued to be important during the Byzantine period because it had a lot of religious influence, and then, under the Ottomans, the town became a trade center again, with a large artisan population. So, in short, I wanted to stop for a day in Bitola to see the Roman ruins that they are still excavating... secretly knowing that, due to the general lack of health and safety, I would be able to climb over the ruins and, hopefully, in the diggings!
So, as well as some ruins and a nice guest house to stay in, Bitola has a pretty and relaxed town center, which Jade and I, (becoming less inclined to look at churches, mosques and museums as the days pass), decided to go for a wander around. The first thing we noted (or were reminded of) was how bad the Lonely Planet maps are - we followed the map and ended up at the far end of the center (and then got lost on the way home too). There is a pedestrian area that leads down to the 'river' (aka. rubbish filled riverbed and small creek) - there are lots of nice cafes and, again due to general lethargy, we spent a while people watching over a glass of red wine. We also had a wander around the old bizarre area, which used to have over 3000 artisan stalls and now plays home everything from shops selling shrines to wedding dresses. Jade and I did decide to look inside one church, (where I had to put on a wrap-around skirt); the main draw card here was some amazing ceiling frescoes and a really detailed altar screen but, if we're honesty, we were both more taken with the huge chandeliers and both secretly fancied one in our houses one day... or maybe that was just me and my delusions of grandeur.
We did go to the supermarket and get some snacks, which proved our downfall later in the evening. Our private room had about 80 channels so when we got home (at about five), we each got into bed, turned on the TV and watched 'Fox Crime' until ten thirty, while eating ALL our snacks... which inevitably made both of us feel a little ill.
Because everything seems so much easier in Macedonia, we decided to be daring the next day and try to go to the ruins in the morning and then catch the bus to Skopje in the afternoon. (This is not the start of a paragraph on all the things that went wrong because that was our plan and it actually worked without any hitches - amazing!) Heraclea was a large provincial center during the Roman Empire but, because of where the modern buildings are, there is only so much that can be excavated. We spent the morning climbing over the ruins and looking at some really well preserved mosaics. Again, I turned into Teacher Rose and had fun explaining about the baths and hypocausts, courts and basilicas to Jade - who said that, usually she would finds all the Roman stuff really boring but, because I explained it so well, she really liked it and that I should be a tour guide - thanks, Jade!!!
Then it was back on the bus and to Skopje, (a bus journey I slept through most of - the lack of proper nutrition has hit me well and truly now and I am really tired a lot of the time...and sometimes a little snappy, which can raise the level of tension somewhat between two such stubborn taureans!) Skopje isn't a very pretty city but it has a nice feel about it, although this may be partly due to the fact that a lot of the population are currently on holiday at Ochrid and on the Adriatic Coast. There was a major earthquake here in 1963 and many of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian buildings had to be flattened... result: a lot of gray, communist style apartments and civic buildings. The clock at the old train station (which is now the city museum) stopped at the moment the earthquake struck... hmmmmm, 'Back-to-the-future' anyone? There is a really nice central pedestrian area (again), with cafe filled streets radiating out from a central square next to the old Turkish bridge. Across the river is the old town, or the Turkish quarter.
Our sightseeing in Skopje has been limited to wandering. We spent most of yesterday morning in the old town, looking in the shops and markets. There are a lot of mosques in this part of the city and it was really cool to hear the call to midday prayer, as we were coming down from the town fortress, as it echoed from all parts of the old town. We did go into one church; a monastery on the hill below the fortress, which had to be built underground because of an Ottoman law that a church building could not be higher than a mosque. One of the Macedonia freedom fighters is buried in the courtyard and, inside the monastery church, there was an amazing altar screen, carved with flowers, leaves and birds which boarder carvings of bible stories and amazing painted icons. (Pretty cool... and I managed to get some sneaking photos in before a woman came to explain it all to us.) Apart from the church and wandering the old town, we went to see the Mother Theresa memorial... and then went to the shops. (Not a word! I got some really nice shoes.)
Today, we went to Lake Matka, which is 30 mins outside of Skopje and was created by the building a hydro-station in a narrow canyon. The canyon, itself, is pretty amazing with craggy rock-faces rising almost straight up out of the water in some parts and, in other parts, beautiful, lush bush coming right to the water... according to the wildlife signs there are a lot of protected bird species in the area, including 4 breeds of vulture! We had lunch in a cafe, which was on a terrace which overhung the water, and then we went for a boat trip up the canyon to see a cave. The guide was telling us that there have recently been a number of underwater cave systems discovered in the area including one, that they were diving when we were there, which may be the largest in Europe. After that we sat around for a bit waiting for our taxi driver to take us back to the hostel.
Hmmmm... I seem to recall using the work 'short' at the start of this! Anyway, we are catching a midnight bus to Sofia tonight and to be quite honest, although we are both still really enjoying seeing new things and being away, I, at least, am really ready to come home. I think in the end it has really come down to the food situation - I did do a lot of research before I left but there isn't much you can do if the traditional food that you found out about isn't served anywhere. I'm pretty proud of myself for sticking to the decision I made to go vegan but it has been really hard (and boring!) especially when I've really wanted an ice cream and all you can order off the menu is a tomato and cucumber salad... maybe next year I'll choose my holiday destination based solely on the local food!
I'll write one more little snippet, either from Sofia on Tuesday morning or from London - I think a little sum up may be in order.
Rose x
Sunday, 9 August 2009
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Into Macedonia
After the insane, chaos of Albania, (regardless of what people keep stating), Macedonia has so far proved to be model of order… well in so far as the street lights exist (and work), there are road markings (which are generally adhered to) and the ratio of men to women, in public places, seems a bit closer to normal.
We had one final night in Tirana, after our random road-trip to the coast and before we embarked on what threatened to be (and ultimately was) a slightly trying attempt to go to Macedonia. Generally, the hostel owners (and random other people) had been really helpful and have given some good advice about buses, things to see etc – in Tirana, we managed to get a taxi ordered for us and to get to the minivan stop…
…however, it became apparent, after sitting in a stinking hot van for 15mins that we wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon and, owing to a lack of linguistic prowess, we couldn’t figure out if we were waiting for a specific time or for the whole van to fill. We were under the impression that the guy standing by the door and, (you guessed it), staring at us, was the drivers little helper, so we vented a lot of annoyed looks in his direction. Finally, with the help of the ‘point-at-a-phrase-in-the-phrase-book’ technique, we managed to figure out that we had to wait ‘til 1:15 before we would leave… almost an hour after we had arrived!! Not a good start but we soldiered on and were quickly distracted both by the erratic driving of the van-driver and the amazing view out of the windows – the road wound up through a mountain pass and then along a ridge so that there were sheer drops (and AMAZING views) out both sides of the van. It was literally like we were driving through the sky.
Apart from scary, staring man (whom both Jade and I had a turn sitting next too and who made a point of not only staring but looking us up and down – ew!) and the view, the only major event of the actual trip was when we stopped to pick people up and we took the opportunity to raid a roadside stall for its water and crisps, resulting in general laughter from the rest of the van. We stopped for lunch about half an hour later… oh well, our bagel crisps only cost 30p!
There are four boarder crossings between Albania and Macedonia, and we had assumed that (considering the general correctness of the advice given to us) that we had caught the mini-van from the best station, to go to the easiest boarder crossing, to get to Macedonia and Ochrid… it became apparent rather quickly that this was not the case and, as has been mentioned before, due to how useless the Lonely Planet has been about the ‘less visited’ Balkan states, we only had a very rough idea of how to get to our desired destination. And when we got out of the van in Pogridec, near the boarder, the fun began…
First, there was (again) a language issue – we couldn’t explain what we wanted (a taxi/mini-van to the boarder) and couldn’t understand the replies we were getting. (And while this was happening, Jade’s pack got partially run over by one of the million Albanian, Mercedes Benzes – typical!) Finally, we got a mini-van, which dropped us off at Albanian boarder control (see FB for photos – it was very pretty). There was nobody there (because they were all on the other side of the lake at the boarder crossing we should have gone to!) so we got through really quickly and, as per the sparse Lonely Planet instructions, walked to the Macedonian entry check.
The next problem we met, again owing to the LP, was that there are only 4 buses per day from the boarder to Ochrid town… and the LP doesn’t give the times. Added to this was the fact that neither Jade nor I had any Macedonian money… in fact between us we had a total of 8 Euros (and, as Sveti Naum consists of a church and a camping ground there wasn’t much hope of fixing the situation)! So with no money and no idea of when a bus would come, we ventured into the camp ground between the lake and the entry check point, in search of some help. Again, using the point-to-the-phrase technique, we managed to get an old man (with a boat) to accept the 8 Euros and take us somewhere where, he ‘implied/said’, we could a) find an ATM and b) get a bus.
The boat ride was lovely, and a nice break from the bus (and Albania in general), but it turned out that the old man’s plan was to drop us by a few batches, with a 10 min walk to the main road… and we still didn’t know if there would be a bus… luckily for us, there was a taxi sitting right where we came out onto the road. (Although, he did end up ripping us off when he got to our hostel… but at least we got there in the end.)
Right, so that was our little adventure to boarder… now for a few Macedonia facts – I feel like you may have missed out on the joy of informative information, while we were in Albania.
So... hopefully, most of you know that Alexander the Great was born in Macedonia and this piece of historical fame has been the cause of a lot of problems for Macedonia, in the recent past (and still today). The modern republic is only one third of the original area called Macedonia, with Greece and Bulgaria each stealing bits in the 1800s - Greece took the bit that dirty old Alex the Great was born in and now they say that modern Macedonia doesn't even have the right to call itself Macedonia!!! (There have already been changes to the flag and name of the country since its split from Yugoslavia... and Greece's continued protests may make it impossible for Macedonia to ever be accepted into the EU.) Anyway, as well as getting picked on by Greece, Macedonia has some amazing historical and archaeological sites... one near Ochrid is rumoured to be the possible resting place of the aforementioned Alex the Great... now that would piss the Greeks off! Apart from that, my only other interesting fact is that Macedonia is the only former Yugoslav state to split from Yugoslavia without a bullet being fired. (Now that is some pretty good negotiating!)
Our hostel in Ochrid was really great - nice and big, with a bit of a lived in feel (lots of maps, lists of bus times and discarded novels). There was a really good group of people staying there and on our first full day there, a group decided to go down the lake (yes 'Sveti Naum - the return!) - however, there was a polish group booked onto the ferry so there was apparently no room for us - they never showed up but the ferry people still wouldn't give us their seats... so we had the brainwave of chartering a boat instead. Unfortunately, our one-armed Captain Birdseye didn't check that both his outboard motors were working BEFORE he left port so we ended up on a 3 hour, 4 horsepower, dinghy ride - not so much fun when you're busting for the loo after an hour!
In Sveti Nuam we had a quick look in the monastery and then spent most of our time there looking at the tat in the little market. Jade and I lost the others and walked to the main road to catch the bus, only to find that we couldn't catch it there - luckily, we were offered a taxi ride for less than the bus would have cost. (We then went to the beautician and got a pedicure, acrylics and our eyebrows done... only 25 pounds each!! Hey - we've been backpacking for nearly five weeks and were going to get it done in London... we see this as a money saving operation!)
Day two saw me turning back into Teacher Rose, (combined with my alter-ego 'Tourguide Barbie'), so that we could go on a walking tour of the Old Town with one of the kiwi guys we had met at the hostel. So we had a look at some of the churches, the ancient theater and the fortress, before having lunch beside the lake. There are 365 churches in Ochrid (one for each day of the year) and it has been called the Jerusalem of the Balkans - we didn't visit all of them but we did go to a couple, including one where the ticket lady turned out to have a PhD on the frescoes in the church and was willing to explain their meanings to us.
It was a beautiful day so I left Jade by the lake (for a bit more sunbathing) and had a wander on my own... before going back to the hostel for a nana nap. It has been stinking hot for most of the time I have been traveling, so it was actually quite a welcome relief to see thunder clouds roll across the mountains from Albania. I think both Jade and I were starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by the number of places we have been and things we have seen over the last two weeks - we pretty much veged for the afternoon and evening... I was even so desperate for football that I ended up watching a third-round Champions League qualifying game.
We actually got to Skopje this afternoon, after a day in Bitola but I will write a little short entry tomorrow about that. We're flying home on Tuesday morning, from Sofia, so I will do one last entry from there on Monday evening... and then I'll see some of you soon, in London!
Rose x
We had one final night in Tirana, after our random road-trip to the coast and before we embarked on what threatened to be (and ultimately was) a slightly trying attempt to go to Macedonia. Generally, the hostel owners (and random other people) had been really helpful and have given some good advice about buses, things to see etc – in Tirana, we managed to get a taxi ordered for us and to get to the minivan stop…
…however, it became apparent, after sitting in a stinking hot van for 15mins that we wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon and, owing to a lack of linguistic prowess, we couldn’t figure out if we were waiting for a specific time or for the whole van to fill. We were under the impression that the guy standing by the door and, (you guessed it), staring at us, was the drivers little helper, so we vented a lot of annoyed looks in his direction. Finally, with the help of the ‘point-at-a-phrase-in-the-phrase-book’ technique, we managed to figure out that we had to wait ‘til 1:15 before we would leave… almost an hour after we had arrived!! Not a good start but we soldiered on and were quickly distracted both by the erratic driving of the van-driver and the amazing view out of the windows – the road wound up through a mountain pass and then along a ridge so that there were sheer drops (and AMAZING views) out both sides of the van. It was literally like we were driving through the sky.
Apart from scary, staring man (whom both Jade and I had a turn sitting next too and who made a point of not only staring but looking us up and down – ew!) and the view, the only major event of the actual trip was when we stopped to pick people up and we took the opportunity to raid a roadside stall for its water and crisps, resulting in general laughter from the rest of the van. We stopped for lunch about half an hour later… oh well, our bagel crisps only cost 30p!
There are four boarder crossings between Albania and Macedonia, and we had assumed that (considering the general correctness of the advice given to us) that we had caught the mini-van from the best station, to go to the easiest boarder crossing, to get to Macedonia and Ochrid… it became apparent rather quickly that this was not the case and, as has been mentioned before, due to how useless the Lonely Planet has been about the ‘less visited’ Balkan states, we only had a very rough idea of how to get to our desired destination. And when we got out of the van in Pogridec, near the boarder, the fun began…
First, there was (again) a language issue – we couldn’t explain what we wanted (a taxi/mini-van to the boarder) and couldn’t understand the replies we were getting. (And while this was happening, Jade’s pack got partially run over by one of the million Albanian, Mercedes Benzes – typical!) Finally, we got a mini-van, which dropped us off at Albanian boarder control (see FB for photos – it was very pretty). There was nobody there (because they were all on the other side of the lake at the boarder crossing we should have gone to!) so we got through really quickly and, as per the sparse Lonely Planet instructions, walked to the Macedonian entry check.
The next problem we met, again owing to the LP, was that there are only 4 buses per day from the boarder to Ochrid town… and the LP doesn’t give the times. Added to this was the fact that neither Jade nor I had any Macedonian money… in fact between us we had a total of 8 Euros (and, as Sveti Naum consists of a church and a camping ground there wasn’t much hope of fixing the situation)! So with no money and no idea of when a bus would come, we ventured into the camp ground between the lake and the entry check point, in search of some help. Again, using the point-to-the-phrase technique, we managed to get an old man (with a boat) to accept the 8 Euros and take us somewhere where, he ‘implied/said’, we could a) find an ATM and b) get a bus.
The boat ride was lovely, and a nice break from the bus (and Albania in general), but it turned out that the old man’s plan was to drop us by a few batches, with a 10 min walk to the main road… and we still didn’t know if there would be a bus… luckily for us, there was a taxi sitting right where we came out onto the road. (Although, he did end up ripping us off when he got to our hostel… but at least we got there in the end.)
Right, so that was our little adventure to boarder… now for a few Macedonia facts – I feel like you may have missed out on the joy of informative information, while we were in Albania.
So... hopefully, most of you know that Alexander the Great was born in Macedonia and this piece of historical fame has been the cause of a lot of problems for Macedonia, in the recent past (and still today). The modern republic is only one third of the original area called Macedonia, with Greece and Bulgaria each stealing bits in the 1800s - Greece took the bit that dirty old Alex the Great was born in and now they say that modern Macedonia doesn't even have the right to call itself Macedonia!!! (There have already been changes to the flag and name of the country since its split from Yugoslavia... and Greece's continued protests may make it impossible for Macedonia to ever be accepted into the EU.) Anyway, as well as getting picked on by Greece, Macedonia has some amazing historical and archaeological sites... one near Ochrid is rumoured to be the possible resting place of the aforementioned Alex the Great... now that would piss the Greeks off! Apart from that, my only other interesting fact is that Macedonia is the only former Yugoslav state to split from Yugoslavia without a bullet being fired. (Now that is some pretty good negotiating!)
Our hostel in Ochrid was really great - nice and big, with a bit of a lived in feel (lots of maps, lists of bus times and discarded novels). There was a really good group of people staying there and on our first full day there, a group decided to go down the lake (yes 'Sveti Naum - the return!) - however, there was a polish group booked onto the ferry so there was apparently no room for us - they never showed up but the ferry people still wouldn't give us their seats... so we had the brainwave of chartering a boat instead. Unfortunately, our one-armed Captain Birdseye didn't check that both his outboard motors were working BEFORE he left port so we ended up on a 3 hour, 4 horsepower, dinghy ride - not so much fun when you're busting for the loo after an hour!
In Sveti Nuam we had a quick look in the monastery and then spent most of our time there looking at the tat in the little market. Jade and I lost the others and walked to the main road to catch the bus, only to find that we couldn't catch it there - luckily, we were offered a taxi ride for less than the bus would have cost. (We then went to the beautician and got a pedicure, acrylics and our eyebrows done... only 25 pounds each!! Hey - we've been backpacking for nearly five weeks and were going to get it done in London... we see this as a money saving operation!)
Day two saw me turning back into Teacher Rose, (combined with my alter-ego 'Tourguide Barbie'), so that we could go on a walking tour of the Old Town with one of the kiwi guys we had met at the hostel. So we had a look at some of the churches, the ancient theater and the fortress, before having lunch beside the lake. There are 365 churches in Ochrid (one for each day of the year) and it has been called the Jerusalem of the Balkans - we didn't visit all of them but we did go to a couple, including one where the ticket lady turned out to have a PhD on the frescoes in the church and was willing to explain their meanings to us.
It was a beautiful day so I left Jade by the lake (for a bit more sunbathing) and had a wander on my own... before going back to the hostel for a nana nap. It has been stinking hot for most of the time I have been traveling, so it was actually quite a welcome relief to see thunder clouds roll across the mountains from Albania. I think both Jade and I were starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by the number of places we have been and things we have seen over the last two weeks - we pretty much veged for the afternoon and evening... I was even so desperate for football that I ended up watching a third-round Champions League qualifying game.
We actually got to Skopje this afternoon, after a day in Bitola but I will write a little short entry tomorrow about that. We're flying home on Tuesday morning, from Sofia, so I will do one last entry from there on Monday evening... and then I'll see some of you soon, in London!
Rose x
Sunday, 2 August 2009
And we're still in Albania
So after the closing words of my last post, it should come as no surprise to anyone that Jade and I are still in Albania. (Jade tried her best to get run over but couldn't quite manage it - there is something innately difficult about looking left and then right before crossing the road... habit of a lifetime?)
Albania is really a country of extremes, not just in its scenery, which ranges from beautiful beaches to barren cliffs to green fields, but socially and economically. During communist rule, (if Yugoslavia was the best advert for communism, Albania was the worst), the leaders of the communist party lived in luxury, in an area called the Bllocku. (Meanwhile, the people remained, essentially, in a pre-industrialised society, carrying out strange laws - like the construction of tens of thousands of concrete bunkers... just in case someone invaded.) Today the extremes are still there but for a different reason - while the whole country is crazy with bad roads, half completed houses and people driving donkeys and carts, there are a lot of multi-national companies pumping money into Albania, and this has created a huge wealth and lifestyle gap.
Jade and I went out on Friday night, to the Bllocku, which is now full of lovely bars (and the noveau riche), and got a glimpse of this foreign money first hand - the young people (who go out every night in Tirana!) are well educated, very western in their attitudes and ideas and have money to burn because, even working as a bank teller, they can earn up to five times the monthly average income. Some of the bars where amazing and the two clubs we ended up in were really good (beautiful and great music). I do need to admit that the night wasn't that straightforward - as the bars emptied out, we couldn't figure out where everyone was going and we were about to go home. Then we heard the faint sound of bass and so we followed a group of girls until they ended up at this great outdoor club. Apparently, we stick out like sore (foreign) thumbs - not only was there a lot of staring, we actually got told that you could tell we were foreign because of attitudes (eh?). We did meet a whole group of people though... and this is the reason why we are still in Albania.
The main problem with being a backpacker is that you need to rely on public transport and, especially in a country like Albania, this can be really very hard - not only does the public transport system not always make sense but, when you have time constraints, taking 7 hours to cover a distance that should take 2 hours can mean you just scrap going to certain places... this was what happened to the south of Albania - luckily, we met some locals who had a car and were going there anyway. Apparently, a lot of people from Tirana go to the coast every weekend and so, on Saturday, Jade and I tagged along with our new friends and spent Saturday night and Sunday at Dhermi, in the south, right on the Adriatic. (Oh yes, this is the life!)
After our late night on Friday, we got picked up at 11am and spent the next five hours(!) driving down the coast - had a really nice lunch at a great, 'expensive' seafood restaurant, (where I was a pain and made them make me something that wasn't on the menu). It was such a beautiful drive, not just for the sea views but also for the huge gorge and mountain pass that we drove over - the mountains are right next to the sea but are so high that, in winter, they are covered in snow. The road down from the main road down to the beach is unsealed (reminds me of Martin's Bay 15 years ago but really, really bumpy) and took about 20mins to drive - once down, the beach was so unspoilt, with hardly anyone on it. We stayed in these really cute little chalets, surrounded by palm trees and 5mins walk to the beach. That night we went to the other end of the beach (where the rich and glamorous live), to another outdoor club called Havana - yes, we have been everywhere on this holiday! Jade and I were wearing shorts and singlets - everyone else was in their best clothes... lucky we're still living according to the 'meh, we're tourists' mentality.
The next day, we slept in (Yay! Air conditioning!) and then lay on the beach until 4 o'clock - the water was amazingly clear, like it is in the islands, and really warm. (The fact that you could walk 5mins to a restaurant and get drinks delivered to you on the beach just made the whole things that much better - if that's possible!) So after lounging around on the beach all day we drove back to Tirana and had another really good nights sleep back at the hostel - Having read back over what I have written, the last few days have, comparatively, been pretty lacking in interesting events... except for the whole meeting random people and going on a road trip with them thing. (Jade and I did tell some people that we were an Educational Psychologist and a Lawyer respectively, and I made up a fake lawyer email, but that is pretty much it, in terms of crazy behaviour.)
We are definitely going to Macedonia later today - I have booked the accommodation so there will be no change of plans!! We've got a week and one day left of our trip, which is going to be spent in Macedonia.
Will write again from Skopje.
Rose x
Albania is really a country of extremes, not just in its scenery, which ranges from beautiful beaches to barren cliffs to green fields, but socially and economically. During communist rule, (if Yugoslavia was the best advert for communism, Albania was the worst), the leaders of the communist party lived in luxury, in an area called the Bllocku. (Meanwhile, the people remained, essentially, in a pre-industrialised society, carrying out strange laws - like the construction of tens of thousands of concrete bunkers... just in case someone invaded.) Today the extremes are still there but for a different reason - while the whole country is crazy with bad roads, half completed houses and people driving donkeys and carts, there are a lot of multi-national companies pumping money into Albania, and this has created a huge wealth and lifestyle gap.
Jade and I went out on Friday night, to the Bllocku, which is now full of lovely bars (and the noveau riche), and got a glimpse of this foreign money first hand - the young people (who go out every night in Tirana!) are well educated, very western in their attitudes and ideas and have money to burn because, even working as a bank teller, they can earn up to five times the monthly average income. Some of the bars where amazing and the two clubs we ended up in were really good (beautiful and great music). I do need to admit that the night wasn't that straightforward - as the bars emptied out, we couldn't figure out where everyone was going and we were about to go home. Then we heard the faint sound of bass and so we followed a group of girls until they ended up at this great outdoor club. Apparently, we stick out like sore (foreign) thumbs - not only was there a lot of staring, we actually got told that you could tell we were foreign because of attitudes (eh?). We did meet a whole group of people though... and this is the reason why we are still in Albania.
The main problem with being a backpacker is that you need to rely on public transport and, especially in a country like Albania, this can be really very hard - not only does the public transport system not always make sense but, when you have time constraints, taking 7 hours to cover a distance that should take 2 hours can mean you just scrap going to certain places... this was what happened to the south of Albania - luckily, we met some locals who had a car and were going there anyway. Apparently, a lot of people from Tirana go to the coast every weekend and so, on Saturday, Jade and I tagged along with our new friends and spent Saturday night and Sunday at Dhermi, in the south, right on the Adriatic. (Oh yes, this is the life!)
After our late night on Friday, we got picked up at 11am and spent the next five hours(!) driving down the coast - had a really nice lunch at a great, 'expensive' seafood restaurant, (where I was a pain and made them make me something that wasn't on the menu). It was such a beautiful drive, not just for the sea views but also for the huge gorge and mountain pass that we drove over - the mountains are right next to the sea but are so high that, in winter, they are covered in snow. The road down from the main road down to the beach is unsealed (reminds me of Martin's Bay 15 years ago but really, really bumpy) and took about 20mins to drive - once down, the beach was so unspoilt, with hardly anyone on it. We stayed in these really cute little chalets, surrounded by palm trees and 5mins walk to the beach. That night we went to the other end of the beach (where the rich and glamorous live), to another outdoor club called Havana - yes, we have been everywhere on this holiday! Jade and I were wearing shorts and singlets - everyone else was in their best clothes... lucky we're still living according to the 'meh, we're tourists' mentality.
The next day, we slept in (Yay! Air conditioning!) and then lay on the beach until 4 o'clock - the water was amazingly clear, like it is in the islands, and really warm. (The fact that you could walk 5mins to a restaurant and get drinks delivered to you on the beach just made the whole things that much better - if that's possible!) So after lounging around on the beach all day we drove back to Tirana and had another really good nights sleep back at the hostel - Having read back over what I have written, the last few days have, comparatively, been pretty lacking in interesting events... except for the whole meeting random people and going on a road trip with them thing. (Jade and I did tell some people that we were an Educational Psychologist and a Lawyer respectively, and I made up a fake lawyer email, but that is pretty much it, in terms of crazy behaviour.)
We are definitely going to Macedonia later today - I have booked the accommodation so there will be no change of plans!! We've got a week and one day left of our trip, which is going to be spent in Macedonia.
Will write again from Skopje.
Rose x
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Kotor to Tirana... in one piece.
It feels like it has been a long time since I wrote my last entry in Kotor but I think that may have more to do with the dramatic change of locations and crazy encounters that Jade and I have had over the last few days than anything else. In Kotor, I felt like I had nothing to write and that really this was turning out to be an unplanned relaxation holiday... oh yes, famous last words.
After I finished writing, Jade and I went home (like a couple of nanas)and made our dinner - on a whim we decided to get a little dressed up (comparative to the rest of Kotor) and see if we could watch the fashion show, which we had seen being set up earlier in the day. Not only did we see it, we managed to get a table at a cafe pretty close to the runway. We then decided to go and find one of the funky little cafe/bars we had seen on Saturday and settled down at one playing some pretty good house music. After a misunderstanding over which bar we were actually sitting in, the manager came over and asked us to come stand with him. (I maintain that this was because he quite liked Jade.) This was the started of a pretty cheap night, as everything was on the house! (Good one Jade!) He did then ruin all his hard work by asking us if there was something wrong with us... something about being 28 and 27 but not being married - the icing on the cake was when he asked us if we had seen a shrink... apparently they are pretty cheap in Montenegro. While we stood there, trying to make polite conversation, (which got a bit harder after his inferences about our mental health), we heard some people talking English. It was a group (Aussie, Saffa, Israeli and Englishman) who were working on one of the massive super-yachts moored in the fjord. We ended up going to Maximus (apparently the best night club in this part of Europe) and danced the night away to Yugolslav pop. Very funny night - photos are up on Facebook.
The next day we were planning to travel down the coast to Ulcinj, which is a holiday resort full of people from Albania and Kosovo. We had packed up and went to say goodbye to the old lady, who we were staying with, when she demanded to know who we were staying with; we had planned to just find someone at the bus station. She insisted that she write down the name of a sea captain, who she used to teach, stating that everyone in Ulcinj knew him... needless to say Jade and I were a bit dubious about this. The trip to Ulcinj was very pretty. We drove along the coast, between steep mountains and pretty, sandy beaches (and a few ugly built up resorts).
When we got Ulcinj we decided to try and find captain - when we showed the piece of paper to the ticket lady, she laughed and gave us an address (so far so good). The taxi took us to the address (a school) and then the driver asked a random person on the street... who knew which house. (So everyone does know this person.) We knocked, he looked at the paper and instantly knew we had come from Kotor... but he didn't have any rooms (by which point Jade and I began to doubt if he did actually rent rooms out in his house), so he sent his son to ask all his neighbours (which was just embarrassing). After his wife had given us some juice, his son offered to take us to find a room... which he did... and then we got taken to a great beach (called Ibiza), with the offer of a day on a boat and a night out. It was one of the most bizarre things to have happened to me (and to us)... I guess we were pretty lucky to have a) stayed where we did in Kotor and b) to have accepted that piece of paper.
Ulcinj, to be honest, was a bit tacky - lots of souvenirs made out of shell. (I hope nobody wanted a shell lap-shade.) The main beach was jammed with umbrellas and a lot of sunburnt people. Jade and I went to the old town on both nights we were there and it was pretty neat to see so many people out but we were quite glad that the place we were staying (while a bit odd - it used to be a weather station!) was further out. We spent our one day in Ulcinj at a very pretty private beach (yip, we went back to Ibiza)... turns out Jade is a tan-orexic. (I got bored in the end, because I was trying to avoid a repeat of my previously mentioned mega-burn, and went into town to sort out a few things... like how the heck we were meant to get to Albania!)
The 'bus' to Albania (well, its actually a mini-van) leaves from a carpark above the old town, at 6(ish)am. I spent quite a bit of time trying to nail down an exact time, place and cost... pre-purchase of a ticket was asking WAY too much. So we woke up this morning at 5am, the taxi picked us up at 5:30am and we waited around at 'the old bus station', as it is widely known. A guy came over and showed us where to go... but it turned out you had to book in advance, (thanks tourism centers!). We were then approached by a taxi driver offering to take us to Skohdra (just over the boarder for 30 Euros) - there was another girl there who looked less than impressed by this and we got the distinct feeling this was a bit of a rip-off. Another guy came along so in the end we all chipped in for the fare.
The taxi turned out to be another piece of good luck - after a very near death experience, involving an overtaking manoeuvre on a blind corner, Jade hiding her head and me squealing (and swearing) at the same time, we started to talk to the other girl. She was from Albania and was going home to see her parents for the day - she offered to help us find a money changer and to talk to the bus driver so that we didn't get ripped off paying for our ticket to Tirana. (Also, the taxi driver seemed to have friends who worked at boarder control, so not only did we get to jump the queue, we didn't have to pay the 10 Euro that Lonely Planet had talked about. Ah, corruption!)
So Albania... turns out that it is pretty ghetto. The countryside is lovely and seems to be full of opportunities to take photos of donkeys and carts and other equally rustic scenes. The towns and cities seem to be pretty nothing.. except insanely crazy. Tirana is very flat, with only few buildings taller than five or six floors. Added to this is the fact that the roads are full of potholes and the people drive like mentalists... and the main rule for crossing the road is just to walk out... yes well, it is pretty fun. We are staying at a new hostel, close to the centre of town and so, after a nana nap (Hey! We got up at 5am!), we walking into the centre, stopping for an amazing traditional Albanian meal (more about this later - but it was huge and only 4 pounds each!), and then had a look around the History Museum. It was pretty interesting because there have been so many layers of culture and civilisation in this area for such a long time. (I did, however, notice they had mis-labelled a Julio-Claudian bust as 3rd century BC rather than 1st century BC/AD - geek, I know, but really!) There were only a few labels in English (which was a bit disappointing) but it may have given me enough scope to start a new obsession - insurrection leaders of the Balkans!? Karageorge and Skanderbeg?
So a quick note on food... I am getting pretty sick of eating carbs, carbs and more carbs and am now at the point where I will never look at tomato, cucumber or any variety of pasta in the same way again. I am having a great trip but, at the same time, I really just want to get home and eat some chickpeas!!! Like I said, we did go out for an amazing Albanian lunch today. I think I may enjoy eating in Albania a bit more - they cook a lot of vegetarian food here and you order the meat separately... so no more funny looks (hopefully).
We are hoping to go to Kruja tomorrow for a little day trip, (hopefully with out the drama of my trip to Novi Sad), to look at some Ottoman houses. We are planning to spend the day after 'exploring' Tirana - but who really knows... we may leave, stay, or get run over.
Will keep you up to date... but probably not before we get to Macedonia on the weekend.
Rose x
After I finished writing, Jade and I went home (like a couple of nanas)and made our dinner - on a whim we decided to get a little dressed up (comparative to the rest of Kotor) and see if we could watch the fashion show, which we had seen being set up earlier in the day. Not only did we see it, we managed to get a table at a cafe pretty close to the runway. We then decided to go and find one of the funky little cafe/bars we had seen on Saturday and settled down at one playing some pretty good house music. After a misunderstanding over which bar we were actually sitting in, the manager came over and asked us to come stand with him. (I maintain that this was because he quite liked Jade.) This was the started of a pretty cheap night, as everything was on the house! (Good one Jade!) He did then ruin all his hard work by asking us if there was something wrong with us... something about being 28 and 27 but not being married - the icing on the cake was when he asked us if we had seen a shrink... apparently they are pretty cheap in Montenegro. While we stood there, trying to make polite conversation, (which got a bit harder after his inferences about our mental health), we heard some people talking English. It was a group (Aussie, Saffa, Israeli and Englishman) who were working on one of the massive super-yachts moored in the fjord. We ended up going to Maximus (apparently the best night club in this part of Europe) and danced the night away to Yugolslav pop. Very funny night - photos are up on Facebook.
The next day we were planning to travel down the coast to Ulcinj, which is a holiday resort full of people from Albania and Kosovo. We had packed up and went to say goodbye to the old lady, who we were staying with, when she demanded to know who we were staying with; we had planned to just find someone at the bus station. She insisted that she write down the name of a sea captain, who she used to teach, stating that everyone in Ulcinj knew him... needless to say Jade and I were a bit dubious about this. The trip to Ulcinj was very pretty. We drove along the coast, between steep mountains and pretty, sandy beaches (and a few ugly built up resorts).
When we got Ulcinj we decided to try and find captain - when we showed the piece of paper to the ticket lady, she laughed and gave us an address (so far so good). The taxi took us to the address (a school) and then the driver asked a random person on the street... who knew which house. (So everyone does know this person.) We knocked, he looked at the paper and instantly knew we had come from Kotor... but he didn't have any rooms (by which point Jade and I began to doubt if he did actually rent rooms out in his house), so he sent his son to ask all his neighbours (which was just embarrassing). After his wife had given us some juice, his son offered to take us to find a room... which he did... and then we got taken to a great beach (called Ibiza), with the offer of a day on a boat and a night out. It was one of the most bizarre things to have happened to me (and to us)... I guess we were pretty lucky to have a) stayed where we did in Kotor and b) to have accepted that piece of paper.
Ulcinj, to be honest, was a bit tacky - lots of souvenirs made out of shell. (I hope nobody wanted a shell lap-shade.) The main beach was jammed with umbrellas and a lot of sunburnt people. Jade and I went to the old town on both nights we were there and it was pretty neat to see so many people out but we were quite glad that the place we were staying (while a bit odd - it used to be a weather station!) was further out. We spent our one day in Ulcinj at a very pretty private beach (yip, we went back to Ibiza)... turns out Jade is a tan-orexic. (I got bored in the end, because I was trying to avoid a repeat of my previously mentioned mega-burn, and went into town to sort out a few things... like how the heck we were meant to get to Albania!)
The 'bus' to Albania (well, its actually a mini-van) leaves from a carpark above the old town, at 6(ish)am. I spent quite a bit of time trying to nail down an exact time, place and cost... pre-purchase of a ticket was asking WAY too much. So we woke up this morning at 5am, the taxi picked us up at 5:30am and we waited around at 'the old bus station', as it is widely known. A guy came over and showed us where to go... but it turned out you had to book in advance, (thanks tourism centers!). We were then approached by a taxi driver offering to take us to Skohdra (just over the boarder for 30 Euros) - there was another girl there who looked less than impressed by this and we got the distinct feeling this was a bit of a rip-off. Another guy came along so in the end we all chipped in for the fare.
The taxi turned out to be another piece of good luck - after a very near death experience, involving an overtaking manoeuvre on a blind corner, Jade hiding her head and me squealing (and swearing) at the same time, we started to talk to the other girl. She was from Albania and was going home to see her parents for the day - she offered to help us find a money changer and to talk to the bus driver so that we didn't get ripped off paying for our ticket to Tirana. (Also, the taxi driver seemed to have friends who worked at boarder control, so not only did we get to jump the queue, we didn't have to pay the 10 Euro that Lonely Planet had talked about. Ah, corruption!)
So Albania... turns out that it is pretty ghetto. The countryside is lovely and seems to be full of opportunities to take photos of donkeys and carts and other equally rustic scenes. The towns and cities seem to be pretty nothing.. except insanely crazy. Tirana is very flat, with only few buildings taller than five or six floors. Added to this is the fact that the roads are full of potholes and the people drive like mentalists... and the main rule for crossing the road is just to walk out... yes well, it is pretty fun. We are staying at a new hostel, close to the centre of town and so, after a nana nap (Hey! We got up at 5am!), we walking into the centre, stopping for an amazing traditional Albanian meal (more about this later - but it was huge and only 4 pounds each!), and then had a look around the History Museum. It was pretty interesting because there have been so many layers of culture and civilisation in this area for such a long time. (I did, however, notice they had mis-labelled a Julio-Claudian bust as 3rd century BC rather than 1st century BC/AD - geek, I know, but really!) There were only a few labels in English (which was a bit disappointing) but it may have given me enough scope to start a new obsession - insurrection leaders of the Balkans!? Karageorge and Skanderbeg?
So a quick note on food... I am getting pretty sick of eating carbs, carbs and more carbs and am now at the point where I will never look at tomato, cucumber or any variety of pasta in the same way again. I am having a great trip but, at the same time, I really just want to get home and eat some chickpeas!!! Like I said, we did go out for an amazing Albanian lunch today. I think I may enjoy eating in Albania a bit more - they cook a lot of vegetarian food here and you order the meat separately... so no more funny looks (hopefully).
We are hoping to go to Kruja tomorrow for a little day trip, (hopefully with out the drama of my trip to Novi Sad), to look at some Ottoman houses. We are planning to spend the day after 'exploring' Tirana - but who really knows... we may leave, stay, or get run over.
Will keep you up to date... but probably not before we get to Macedonia on the weekend.
Rose x
Monday, 27 July 2009
Fun (at a slower pace) in Montenegro
It seems as if the pace of my trip has suddenly slowed and as a result, not only have I been feeling like sleeping a lot in the afternoon, I really feel as if I don't have very much to write about.
After my eventful trip to (or rather return journey from) Novi Sad, I really didn't feel like another evening of dancing on the Sava and so opted for dinner in the Old Town and then bed. It was a really nice way to spend my last evening in Belgrade and gave me a chance to have one last walk around the city and take a few last minute snaps.
My plan, for the next evening, was to catch the overnight train from Belgrade to Podgorica in Montenegro (and you'll be pleased to know that this plan came off without any hitches or alterations). I packed my stuff in the morning and then went to buy my train ticket, and then pretty much did nothing for the rest of the day - a bit of internet 'research' and then I went to see Harry Potter. Luckily, almost all the English movies shown in Serbia aren't dubbed and just have sub-titles down the bottom. (FYI - I really enjoyed it but there were a few parts that should have been in and weren't. Also, who knew that the Dursleys lived near Surbiton - I play hockey near there!)
Anyway, it was a good way to waste away a few hours and even then I still had to wait another three hours until my train left at 11:10pm. I had bought another book, 'The Bridge on the Drina' (written by a Bosnian Serb, Ivo Andric, in the 1940s, who had won the Nobel Prize for Literature) so I spent my evening and some of the time on the train reading that. I wasn't too sure about the train and, after meeting people who had been robbed on the train (whilst asleep) I was extra carefully - I really didn't want to have to repeat my fun with the Bulgarian Police (in Montenegro). I did manage to sleep but what with the noise of the train, the boiling temperature and getting woken at four in the morning by the Serbian Police and Boarder Control, it wasn't as restful as it could have been. Needless to say, I didn't get robbed and, after a short wait at the Podgorica bus station, managed to get on a bus to Kotor.
Kotor is right up the coast near the Croatian boarder and sits on the edge of the deepest fjord in Southern Europe. I found a little apartment, underneath an old ladies house - own bathroom and kitchen AND 2 mins from the bus station and old town. Kotor is a really pretty town with amazing fortifications... although, as it is built into the side of a cliff, I can't really figure out why the fortifications needed to be so extensive! There are very few tourists here but a lot of super-yachts! Jade and I went for a walk through the town on Saturday evening, after she got here from Croatia, and we felt a little bit under-dressed and... well poor! I guess, though, Kotor is what you hope an old town will be like; narrow, cobbled streets, shuttered windows, big open square with cafes and bars, and pretty empty of people, (which means more photo taking opportunities).
Yesterday, Jade and I went to the beach for the day. It was brilliant to not be too crowded (very different to Varna) and the water was beautiful - clear and warm. Unfortunately, a year and a half in the UK has made me a little bit less careful about the sun and, as a result of the clear, sunny day and the tyrannical beach hire men, who wouldn't hire me an umbrella, I am now walking around on two very pink legs. (I have invested in some after-sun but keep forgetting about how burnt they are and accidentally slap them... often while I'm laughing.)
Today we headed up the fjord a little way, to a town called Perast. For the last 550 years the inhabitants have been building islands out in the fjord - once a year they sail out into the fjord and drop rocks in the same place. The result has been 2 islands; one which has a monastery on it (which you can't visit) and one which has a church on it 'Our Lady of the Rock'. Again, this is a gorgeous little town and we were pretty much the only tourists there. After having lunch by the water and having a little walk around, we caught the boat out to the island, took some pictures and headed back to Kotor. (See! I told you the pace of my trip was slowing down... Jade and I both felt like going to sleep on the bus back to town too!)
So that is pretty much it - the last few days of very relaxed sightseeing and, well, relaxing. We are going to head down the coast for more beach time (well a little less sun time for me) at a place called Ulcinj. Then, from there, the plan is to go to Tirana and explore Albania for a bit.
Will write soon... I'm sure we can muster up a little bit more drama before then!
Rose x
After my eventful trip to (or rather return journey from) Novi Sad, I really didn't feel like another evening of dancing on the Sava and so opted for dinner in the Old Town and then bed. It was a really nice way to spend my last evening in Belgrade and gave me a chance to have one last walk around the city and take a few last minute snaps.
My plan, for the next evening, was to catch the overnight train from Belgrade to Podgorica in Montenegro (and you'll be pleased to know that this plan came off without any hitches or alterations). I packed my stuff in the morning and then went to buy my train ticket, and then pretty much did nothing for the rest of the day - a bit of internet 'research' and then I went to see Harry Potter. Luckily, almost all the English movies shown in Serbia aren't dubbed and just have sub-titles down the bottom. (FYI - I really enjoyed it but there were a few parts that should have been in and weren't. Also, who knew that the Dursleys lived near Surbiton - I play hockey near there!)
Anyway, it was a good way to waste away a few hours and even then I still had to wait another three hours until my train left at 11:10pm. I had bought another book, 'The Bridge on the Drina' (written by a Bosnian Serb, Ivo Andric, in the 1940s, who had won the Nobel Prize for Literature) so I spent my evening and some of the time on the train reading that. I wasn't too sure about the train and, after meeting people who had been robbed on the train (whilst asleep) I was extra carefully - I really didn't want to have to repeat my fun with the Bulgarian Police (in Montenegro). I did manage to sleep but what with the noise of the train, the boiling temperature and getting woken at four in the morning by the Serbian Police and Boarder Control, it wasn't as restful as it could have been. Needless to say, I didn't get robbed and, after a short wait at the Podgorica bus station, managed to get on a bus to Kotor.
Kotor is right up the coast near the Croatian boarder and sits on the edge of the deepest fjord in Southern Europe. I found a little apartment, underneath an old ladies house - own bathroom and kitchen AND 2 mins from the bus station and old town. Kotor is a really pretty town with amazing fortifications... although, as it is built into the side of a cliff, I can't really figure out why the fortifications needed to be so extensive! There are very few tourists here but a lot of super-yachts! Jade and I went for a walk through the town on Saturday evening, after she got here from Croatia, and we felt a little bit under-dressed and... well poor! I guess, though, Kotor is what you hope an old town will be like; narrow, cobbled streets, shuttered windows, big open square with cafes and bars, and pretty empty of people, (which means more photo taking opportunities).
Yesterday, Jade and I went to the beach for the day. It was brilliant to not be too crowded (very different to Varna) and the water was beautiful - clear and warm. Unfortunately, a year and a half in the UK has made me a little bit less careful about the sun and, as a result of the clear, sunny day and the tyrannical beach hire men, who wouldn't hire me an umbrella, I am now walking around on two very pink legs. (I have invested in some after-sun but keep forgetting about how burnt they are and accidentally slap them... often while I'm laughing.)
Today we headed up the fjord a little way, to a town called Perast. For the last 550 years the inhabitants have been building islands out in the fjord - once a year they sail out into the fjord and drop rocks in the same place. The result has been 2 islands; one which has a monastery on it (which you can't visit) and one which has a church on it 'Our Lady of the Rock'. Again, this is a gorgeous little town and we were pretty much the only tourists there. After having lunch by the water and having a little walk around, we caught the boat out to the island, took some pictures and headed back to Kotor. (See! I told you the pace of my trip was slowing down... Jade and I both felt like going to sleep on the bus back to town too!)
So that is pretty much it - the last few days of very relaxed sightseeing and, well, relaxing. We are going to head down the coast for more beach time (well a little less sun time for me) at a place called Ulcinj. Then, from there, the plan is to go to Tirana and explore Albania for a bit.
Will write soon... I'm sure we can muster up a little bit more drama before then!
Rose x
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Novi Sad and a date with Tito.
I have been trying very hard to fight to geek within but, with the temperature in Belgrade reaching 37 degrees today, I had to give in and I may have started a love affair with a communist leader...
...ok so he is dead and therefore will not be returning my affections but, as of today, you should all look forward to hearing a lot more about Tito as I, not only visited his grave today, but also bought a book about him. (Don't worry, as an historian, you can rest easy in the knowledge that my comments will be as balanced as possible.)
After a very nice, first Serbian day strolling the streets of central Belgrade, basking in the glory of vegan shopping opportunities, I decided to take a day trip to Novi Sad, (Serbia's second city and the capital of the Vojvodina region). The Lonely Planet says that it is about a 2 hour train ride and I thought it would be nice to see not only the Petrovaradin Citadel but also to spend a few hours looking at the scenery. (The Vojvodina region is the major food production area of Serbia - essentially it is a vast, fertile plain that stretches north to the Hungarian boarder.)
So off I trotted, down to the train station early, with no idea of when the trains to Novi Sad leave or how frequently - it seemed I was in luck, as one was leaving in the next ten minutes... well, the train hadn't actually arrived yet and no one knew where it was leaving from but that was the plan. In the end the trip to Novi Sad took three hours; enough time for some more reading on Montenegro and Macedonia, and some scenery watching. (Leaving Belgrade itself was very interesting, especially going through New Belgrade and past the Roma slums beside the railway lines - I guess this
is the unattractive side of the city that the LP was talking about.)
By the time I had got to Novi Sad, and had, once again, made a poor judgement call and walked into town, I wasn't really in the mood to visit may of the major sites (not that there are that many). It seems that, since the few days of rain in Veliko Tarnovo, the temperature in this part of Europe has steadily risen and risen - in other words, it was hot weather to be walking in. (And it was 37 degrees today in Belgrade!) So I walked the 2.5km into the city centre and then the further 1.5km to the citadel AND managed to get up to the top... at which point all I wanted was something to eat and drink. The views of the city and the Danube where pretty great and having the 'Gibraltar of the Danube' as the setting for my little picnic made it even nicer... although dread of the walk back did hang over the whole thing. So in the end I pretty much spent 3 hours on the train there, walked 4km in the boiling sun, ate some lunch and went back to the train station. The ride home was punctuated by a sudden stop at a random place called Indija, where we were told to get off the train and then had to wait for an hour for another train... a pretty spectacular summation of the poor Eastern European train system. So all in all the day was little more than a glorified picnic and train ride - it did (strangely) make me want to come back for the Exit Fest next year though. (A big music festival, held every summer inside the citadel - there were heaps of posters up around the city, advertising the acts for this year's festival, that was on a few weeks ago.)
I got back to the hostel boiling hot and really tired but the promise of some dancing on at a floating club made me wake up pretty quickly. Firstly, a few of us from the hostel went to a party being held by the hostel owner to celebrate the opening of his second hostel, in the middle of town. So we spent a couple of hours there, chatting and waxing lyrical about how great the new place was and then we headed down to the Sava River, where there are a number of clubs on barges. Some of these places are pretty amazing; not only good music but the 'interior' and lights were pretty great too, with open sides so the place stays cool and you can see the city. (V - you would be so proud of how out of control some of my moves were.) We went to one bar that was relatively empty but was playing really good music... so we stayed there til it closed, which did mean that the sun was coming up and, by the time we walked home, it was seven by the time I got to bed. (And I was starting to feel a bit old! Pah!) It was a really good night but it did mean that, due to my sleep in this morning, I had much less time to peruse the Historical Museum of Yugoslavia.
I have been getting more and more disillusioned with the Lonely Planet (especially after it said that Belgrade was ugly... and it actually isn't) but one thing I really wanted to see, (that I wouldn't have known about without the LP), was Tito's grave. Now, as a you know, I have been trying hard to avoid any more historical obsessions and I have also never been overly enamoured with 20th century History nor anything about the rise of communism in the mid 20th century... until today. The Historical Museum of Yugoslavia (or the Museum of the 25th May, as it used to be called) was orginally a way of showcasing Tito's idea of brotherhood amoungst the southern Slavic people but now (apart from being mostly empty) it is used to display some the pretty amazing things that were given to Tito by foreign representatives, during his time as leader. One thing that really stood out was not only how much he was loved by the Yugoslav people but also how much respect he commanded from foreign leaders - Apollo 11 even took to Yugoslav flag to the moon because of the good relationship Tito had developed between Yugoslavia and the USA! So yes - it seems that I have developed a little bit of a crush on a communist leader who has been dead for 25 years... have even bought a boook about him for light reading on the way to Montenegro. (It was well worth the 45min walk through 37 degree heat to see his grave - sigh!)
I also went and had a look inside the Sveti Sava (the 'Temple' of Saint Sava), which they started to build in 1935 but had to stop twice; once due to Hitler and once due to a cash crisis. The thing is massive - it is meant to be the largest orthodox church in the world and I wouldn't doubt it for a second. It is pretty much complete on the outside (copper domes and white marble tiles) but inside there is scaffolding and safety fences everywhere. It is interesting to see all the tools and the structures being used and to think that for centuries amazing churches were built without any of this (albeit, generally, on a smaller scale).
So tomorrow is my last day in Belgrade (there should be enough time to do a couple more museums) and then I am catching the overnight train to Montenegro, where I am going to meet my friend Jade.
Will write from Montengro in a few days.
Rose x
...ok so he is dead and therefore will not be returning my affections but, as of today, you should all look forward to hearing a lot more about Tito as I, not only visited his grave today, but also bought a book about him. (Don't worry, as an historian, you can rest easy in the knowledge that my comments will be as balanced as possible.)
After a very nice, first Serbian day strolling the streets of central Belgrade, basking in the glory of vegan shopping opportunities, I decided to take a day trip to Novi Sad, (Serbia's second city and the capital of the Vojvodina region). The Lonely Planet says that it is about a 2 hour train ride and I thought it would be nice to see not only the Petrovaradin Citadel but also to spend a few hours looking at the scenery. (The Vojvodina region is the major food production area of Serbia - essentially it is a vast, fertile plain that stretches north to the Hungarian boarder.)
So off I trotted, down to the train station early, with no idea of when the trains to Novi Sad leave or how frequently - it seemed I was in luck, as one was leaving in the next ten minutes... well, the train hadn't actually arrived yet and no one knew where it was leaving from but that was the plan. In the end the trip to Novi Sad took three hours; enough time for some more reading on Montenegro and Macedonia, and some scenery watching. (Leaving Belgrade itself was very interesting, especially going through New Belgrade and past the Roma slums beside the railway lines - I guess this
is the unattractive side of the city that the LP was talking about.)
By the time I had got to Novi Sad, and had, once again, made a poor judgement call and walked into town, I wasn't really in the mood to visit may of the major sites (not that there are that many). It seems that, since the few days of rain in Veliko Tarnovo, the temperature in this part of Europe has steadily risen and risen - in other words, it was hot weather to be walking in. (And it was 37 degrees today in Belgrade!) So I walked the 2.5km into the city centre and then the further 1.5km to the citadel AND managed to get up to the top... at which point all I wanted was something to eat and drink. The views of the city and the Danube where pretty great and having the 'Gibraltar of the Danube' as the setting for my little picnic made it even nicer... although dread of the walk back did hang over the whole thing. So in the end I pretty much spent 3 hours on the train there, walked 4km in the boiling sun, ate some lunch and went back to the train station. The ride home was punctuated by a sudden stop at a random place called Indija, where we were told to get off the train and then had to wait for an hour for another train... a pretty spectacular summation of the poor Eastern European train system. So all in all the day was little more than a glorified picnic and train ride - it did (strangely) make me want to come back for the Exit Fest next year though. (A big music festival, held every summer inside the citadel - there were heaps of posters up around the city, advertising the acts for this year's festival, that was on a few weeks ago.)
I got back to the hostel boiling hot and really tired but the promise of some dancing on at a floating club made me wake up pretty quickly. Firstly, a few of us from the hostel went to a party being held by the hostel owner to celebrate the opening of his second hostel, in the middle of town. So we spent a couple of hours there, chatting and waxing lyrical about how great the new place was and then we headed down to the Sava River, where there are a number of clubs on barges. Some of these places are pretty amazing; not only good music but the 'interior' and lights were pretty great too, with open sides so the place stays cool and you can see the city. (V - you would be so proud of how out of control some of my moves were.) We went to one bar that was relatively empty but was playing really good music... so we stayed there til it closed, which did mean that the sun was coming up and, by the time we walked home, it was seven by the time I got to bed. (And I was starting to feel a bit old! Pah!) It was a really good night but it did mean that, due to my sleep in this morning, I had much less time to peruse the Historical Museum of Yugoslavia.
I have been getting more and more disillusioned with the Lonely Planet (especially after it said that Belgrade was ugly... and it actually isn't) but one thing I really wanted to see, (that I wouldn't have known about without the LP), was Tito's grave. Now, as a you know, I have been trying hard to avoid any more historical obsessions and I have also never been overly enamoured with 20th century History nor anything about the rise of communism in the mid 20th century... until today. The Historical Museum of Yugoslavia (or the Museum of the 25th May, as it used to be called) was orginally a way of showcasing Tito's idea of brotherhood amoungst the southern Slavic people but now (apart from being mostly empty) it is used to display some the pretty amazing things that were given to Tito by foreign representatives, during his time as leader. One thing that really stood out was not only how much he was loved by the Yugoslav people but also how much respect he commanded from foreign leaders - Apollo 11 even took to Yugoslav flag to the moon because of the good relationship Tito had developed between Yugoslavia and the USA! So yes - it seems that I have developed a little bit of a crush on a communist leader who has been dead for 25 years... have even bought a boook about him for light reading on the way to Montenegro. (It was well worth the 45min walk through 37 degree heat to see his grave - sigh!)
I also went and had a look inside the Sveti Sava (the 'Temple' of Saint Sava), which they started to build in 1935 but had to stop twice; once due to Hitler and once due to a cash crisis. The thing is massive - it is meant to be the largest orthodox church in the world and I wouldn't doubt it for a second. It is pretty much complete on the outside (copper domes and white marble tiles) but inside there is scaffolding and safety fences everywhere. It is interesting to see all the tools and the structures being used and to think that for centuries amazing churches were built without any of this (albeit, generally, on a smaller scale).
So tomorrow is my last day in Belgrade (there should be enough time to do a couple more museums) and then I am catching the overnight train to Montenegro, where I am going to meet my friend Jade.
Will write from Montengro in a few days.
Rose x
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Belgrade and the end of Varna
The Former Yugoslavia - Four countries down, One to go.
(Ok, let's not talk about the Kosovo issue - I'm going to try and get down there so any comments about my opening statement can be saved for a few weeks, thank you!)
As always seems to be the case whenever I'm traveling on my own, as soon as I finished my last entry my plans changed and my train journey through Bulgaria and Serbia with new friends, became a night bus to Sofia and a 9 hour train to Belgrade... on my own with only strange old men to keep me company. The night bus left Varna at quarter to one in the morning and I had planned to sleep on the way to Sofia - the incessant rattling of some bus part and the fact that, it turns out, that the back seat of the bus is not cool... it is blimmin hot!!!, meant that I had a grand total of an hours sleep.
The main flaw, in my plan to get to Belgrade, was going to be the connection between the bus and the train - Bulgaria's use of the internet to display travel information is not exactly user friendly. Luckily the train to Belgrade wasn't leaving until midday so I had a few hours to go and re-take some of the photos that were lost in the Great Varna Camera Heist of '09. (AND they had even turned on the lights in the cathedral so I could actually see the frescoes.) The weather in Sofia was really nice as well so, although Sofia still remains to dullest capital in Europe, I did get to revisit it in a better light.
I was really worried stepping on to the train to Belgrade - it was exactly the same inside as the horror train from Sarajevo to Budapest last year and all I could think about was the possibility of getting bitten by more seat bugs. Ew!! Luckily, the day wasn't as hot as it was on the day of the aforementioned horror trip and the whole journey (although interspersed with bored) was generally really pleasant.
Serbia, like most countries in Eastern Europe, has some stunning scenery and the train track weaves through some really pretty valleys - sheer, rocky cliffs that descend into lush, green valleys, meandering rivers and tumble down houses... very rustic and sweet. I spent huge periods of time standing in the corridor looking out the windows trying to get the perfect picture - hopefully a few turned out ok! As well as beautiful scenery and a little boredom, I had some old men to keep me company - they knew I didn't speak ANY Serbian but still insisted on talking to me and so, I'm ashamed to say, I reverted to the tried and true smile and agree... still don't have a clue. The other highlight of the trip was the Bulgaria-Serbia boarder crossing where everybody in my compartment got kicked off the train (hence there being room for the old men to sit)!!! One guys for only having an EU ID card and no passport and the other two for illegally importing goods. (From what I could see it was electrical wire - ?)
So finally, at 8pm, I got to Belgrade, made the stupid decision of walking to the hostel (up a hill with 15kg pack), got lost and discovered that Belgrade has a mosquito problem... I did get to the hostel in the end after asking for directions and helping three small children practice their English - just a bit of 'Hello. My name is...' The hostel is about 15mins walk from the center of town, on the same hill where they're are building a MASSIVE (!!!!) new 'temple' (aka. church) - marble tile, domes, stain glass windows and all.
As part of my month of being a 'yes person', (I figure I can sleep for the month after I get back), after nearly 24hrs of traveling I agreed to go out - well, Belgrade is known WAY more for what happens there at night than during the day. I'm glad I did because it meant I made a major discovery in my quest to travel in Eastern Europe as a vegan - not only is there a vegan shop across the road from the hostel, there is a 24hour supermarket on the main road that sells vegan food too... I LOVE BELGRADE ALREADY!!!
This morning I slept - I know exciting... but it is also one of the best things about traveling on your own; do what you want when you want to, change the plan or do nothing at all. (I didn't sleep all the way from Varna and did get home at 4am so I do feel the sleep in was justified.) My plan for Belgrade is to stay for four nights and then catch a night train down to Montenegro. I'm thinking of spending a couple of days exploring the city and then use it as a base to go on a few day trips to some other towns and a couple of monasteries.
This afternoon I did my first explore of Belgrade. The city sits beside the meeting of the Danube and Sava Rivers and so, as with most raised, riverside land, has been fought over again and again for centuries - 115 battles in the last 2300 years, razed 44 times! So I went up and had a look around the Kalemegdan Citadel, which covers a really large area, most of which is just a nice park. Most of the current fortress was built in 18th century, although many of the gates are older. (And there was a park bench shaped like a water melon!)
It was a really lovely walk down the hill from the hostel to the fortress; large parts of the 'old' town are pedestrianised and there are lots of street side cafes - it generally makes for a relaxed but vibrant atmosphere. The old town isn't really that old - most of the buildings are from the 18th and 19th century (good old Habsburgs) but it is pretty impressive that so many of them survived to communist cull of beautiful buildings that happened throughout the rest of Eastern Europe. There is also a lot of art around the city and in a few of the squares there are mini exhibitions of clay sculpture - odd but pretty cool too.
As well as generally walking about having a look and taking photos, I went to the Ethnographic Museum for more ethnic costumes and fun information on the traditional methods of Serbian textile production! (There were also mock-up interiors of different houses in different areas... completed with different table displays - Christmas, Easter, Saint's Day, etc.) All quite cool (and in English) and appealing to my openly geeky self.
Am hoping to see the National Museum and make a trip to Tito's grave tomorrow - don't worry I'm still trying my hardest not to get obsessed with communist history of the former Yugoslavia (although I did buy a Yugoslavia pin for my collection today)!
Will write again soon!
Rose x
(Ok, let's not talk about the Kosovo issue - I'm going to try and get down there so any comments about my opening statement can be saved for a few weeks, thank you!)
As always seems to be the case whenever I'm traveling on my own, as soon as I finished my last entry my plans changed and my train journey through Bulgaria and Serbia with new friends, became a night bus to Sofia and a 9 hour train to Belgrade... on my own with only strange old men to keep me company. The night bus left Varna at quarter to one in the morning and I had planned to sleep on the way to Sofia - the incessant rattling of some bus part and the fact that, it turns out, that the back seat of the bus is not cool... it is blimmin hot!!!, meant that I had a grand total of an hours sleep.
The main flaw, in my plan to get to Belgrade, was going to be the connection between the bus and the train - Bulgaria's use of the internet to display travel information is not exactly user friendly. Luckily the train to Belgrade wasn't leaving until midday so I had a few hours to go and re-take some of the photos that were lost in the Great Varna Camera Heist of '09. (AND they had even turned on the lights in the cathedral so I could actually see the frescoes.) The weather in Sofia was really nice as well so, although Sofia still remains to dullest capital in Europe, I did get to revisit it in a better light.
I was really worried stepping on to the train to Belgrade - it was exactly the same inside as the horror train from Sarajevo to Budapest last year and all I could think about was the possibility of getting bitten by more seat bugs. Ew!! Luckily, the day wasn't as hot as it was on the day of the aforementioned horror trip and the whole journey (although interspersed with bored) was generally really pleasant.
Serbia, like most countries in Eastern Europe, has some stunning scenery and the train track weaves through some really pretty valleys - sheer, rocky cliffs that descend into lush, green valleys, meandering rivers and tumble down houses... very rustic and sweet. I spent huge periods of time standing in the corridor looking out the windows trying to get the perfect picture - hopefully a few turned out ok! As well as beautiful scenery and a little boredom, I had some old men to keep me company - they knew I didn't speak ANY Serbian but still insisted on talking to me and so, I'm ashamed to say, I reverted to the tried and true smile and agree... still don't have a clue. The other highlight of the trip was the Bulgaria-Serbia boarder crossing where everybody in my compartment got kicked off the train (hence there being room for the old men to sit)!!! One guys for only having an EU ID card and no passport and the other two for illegally importing goods. (From what I could see it was electrical wire - ?)
So finally, at 8pm, I got to Belgrade, made the stupid decision of walking to the hostel (up a hill with 15kg pack), got lost and discovered that Belgrade has a mosquito problem... I did get to the hostel in the end after asking for directions and helping three small children practice their English - just a bit of 'Hello. My name is...' The hostel is about 15mins walk from the center of town, on the same hill where they're are building a MASSIVE (!!!!) new 'temple' (aka. church) - marble tile, domes, stain glass windows and all.
As part of my month of being a 'yes person', (I figure I can sleep for the month after I get back), after nearly 24hrs of traveling I agreed to go out - well, Belgrade is known WAY more for what happens there at night than during the day. I'm glad I did because it meant I made a major discovery in my quest to travel in Eastern Europe as a vegan - not only is there a vegan shop across the road from the hostel, there is a 24hour supermarket on the main road that sells vegan food too... I LOVE BELGRADE ALREADY!!!
This morning I slept - I know exciting... but it is also one of the best things about traveling on your own; do what you want when you want to, change the plan or do nothing at all. (I didn't sleep all the way from Varna and did get home at 4am so I do feel the sleep in was justified.) My plan for Belgrade is to stay for four nights and then catch a night train down to Montenegro. I'm thinking of spending a couple of days exploring the city and then use it as a base to go on a few day trips to some other towns and a couple of monasteries.
This afternoon I did my first explore of Belgrade. The city sits beside the meeting of the Danube and Sava Rivers and so, as with most raised, riverside land, has been fought over again and again for centuries - 115 battles in the last 2300 years, razed 44 times! So I went up and had a look around the Kalemegdan Citadel, which covers a really large area, most of which is just a nice park. Most of the current fortress was built in 18th century, although many of the gates are older. (And there was a park bench shaped like a water melon!)
It was a really lovely walk down the hill from the hostel to the fortress; large parts of the 'old' town are pedestrianised and there are lots of street side cafes - it generally makes for a relaxed but vibrant atmosphere. The old town isn't really that old - most of the buildings are from the 18th and 19th century (good old Habsburgs) but it is pretty impressive that so many of them survived to communist cull of beautiful buildings that happened throughout the rest of Eastern Europe. There is also a lot of art around the city and in a few of the squares there are mini exhibitions of clay sculpture - odd but pretty cool too.
As well as generally walking about having a look and taking photos, I went to the Ethnographic Museum for more ethnic costumes and fun information on the traditional methods of Serbian textile production! (There were also mock-up interiors of different houses in different areas... completed with different table displays - Christmas, Easter, Saint's Day, etc.) All quite cool (and in English) and appealing to my openly geeky self.
Am hoping to see the National Museum and make a trip to Tito's grave tomorrow - don't worry I'm still trying my hardest not to get obsessed with communist history of the former Yugoslavia (although I did buy a Yugoslavia pin for my collection today)!
Will write again soon!
Rose x
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