Çanakkale, Turkey, Oct. 21st - 24th, 2009 After leaving the hustle and bustle of Istanbul, we were off to Canakkale to see the legendary city of Troy, or at least what remains of it. Six hours on the bus and half an hour on the ferry and we had finally left mainland Europe and were now technically in Asia. The ruins of Troy lie about 30 km outside of Canakkale, a short trip on a crowded minibus. We had heard from many that the the ruins are not nearly as impressive as others that can be found in Turkey, but we [View Full Entry]

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Istanbul, Turkey - Oct. 8 - 16th, 2009 During our 8 hour bus ride from Varna, Bulgaria we got a glance at how massive the city of Istanbul really is. Of the 8 hours, approximately 2 hours was spent driving through the many winding arteries of major highways leading to the center of Istanbul. With a population of 12 million, its no surprise that this is the largest city in Turkey and the fifth largest in the world. It almost felt like being back in Toronto with all the traffic, billboards, skyscrapers and shopping centers. Although as soon as we [View Full Entry]

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Montenegro & Bulgaria - September 29th - October 7th While in Kosovo we found out that due to boarder restrictions we could not leave Kosovo through Serbia if we entered in Montenegro. Just like that, our plans changed and we were off to Skopje, Macedonia instead of going directly to Bulgaria. It's a bit of a cliche but things really do happen for a reason. While in Skopje we stayed at the City Hostel and were greeted by the owner, Bobbie. He was one of the most helpful and friendly hostel owners we have met on the trip so far. He [View Full Entry]

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Montenegro & Kosovo, Sept. 25th - Sept. 30th, 2009 After finally getting off the beach in Dubrovnik, we were to head to the capitol of Montenegro, Podgorica. These plans changed once we heard about a little place called Kotor on the coast. Not wanting to miss what was supposed to be a really nice town, we decided to make a stop there on our way to Podgorica, and we were not disappointed. Kotor is another small little vacation town on the coast, but what makes it unique is St. John's Fortress. This massive fort is a continuation of the old city [View Full Entry]

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Republika Hrvatska - The Dalmation Coast, August 26th - September 25th, 2009 After leaving Budapest we decided to start exploring Croatia in the capital city of Zagreb. During our stay in Hungary we were completely spoiled by having our own apartment and having to return to the hostel life proved to be quite difficult. It was made even harder by being in one of the worst hostels we've yet stayed in on this trip. Six person dorms in a room better suited for two, no room to even unpack, and hot as hell. Clearly the only way to deal with the [View Full Entry]

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Budapest, Hungary - August 13th - 26th, 2009 After finaly leaving Prague we took a 3 hour train ride to Bratislava, Slovakia - my home country. We were greeted by, Marta, my moms best friend since childhood. Marta and her daughter Mirka welcomed us with open arms and treated us like family from the moment we met. They showed us around the town as only locals can. Thank you again for welcoming us into your family! Before heading to Budapest we also made a brief stop in Sahy, where my grandmother lived and where I spent most of my summers as [View Full Entry]

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Praha, Česká Republika, Aug. 4th - 9th, 2009 After spending several weeks staying with Dan's wonderful aunt, it was inevitable that we would have to return to the hostel life. When we arrived in Prague and started walking towards the Chili Hostel we quickly realized that Prague is like no other city we have seen so far. Most of our days in Prague were spent exploring this enchanting city. Every street we turned down was like a new fairytale waiting to be discovered. For centuries Prague has been nicknamed as the “city of a hundred spires” and "Zlatá Praha" or [View Full Entry]

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Częstochowa, Wrocław, Karpacz, Kamiena Góra - Poland, July 20th-30th, 2009 After leaving Krakow, we began our journey to my hometown of Wroclaw. We stopped along the way in the pilgrimage town of Czestochowa for a brief two night stay. Czestochowa is one of many major pilgrimage sites for Christians around the world. This particular place is a pilgrimage site because of the painting of the Black Madonna which resides there. The painting is believed to have started bleeding when it was cut by invading Hussites in 1430, who after seeing the bleeding retreated in fear. This [View Full Entry]

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Krakow, Polska - July 3rd - 12th, 2009 For the first time since leaving London, we arrived at our destination and it was not raining on us. Instead it was very hot and humid... kind of made us wish it was still raining so it would be cooler. We got to our reserved hostel only to be told that it had been double booked! Fortunately this turned out to be a good thing as they sent us to another place closer to the town square, and they paid for the first night! We ended up in a great hostel, a [View Full Entry]

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Zakopane, Poland - July 7th - 10th, 2009 After an uneventful 2.5 hour bus ride from Krakow, we arrived in Zakopane. We easily found our hostel and for the first time since Iceland had a private room with our very own shower and toilet! Fancy! Things you take for granted in normal life quickly become luxuries while traveling. The day we arrived we set out to see the town. Zakopane is a nice tourist town with one main street filled with bars, clubs, restaurants, shops, street entertainers and even working ponies that you can pet for a small price. The following [View Full Entry]

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