Dobar Dan from the Balkans

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Howdy peoples,

Well Taryn is correct in that my blog wasn’t going to take a whopping 1 month to write! Although, we’ve got some catching up to do as I’m starting this on a train in Romania from Arad to Sibiu, finishing it in Brasov, and a lot has happened since, including cutting our travels shorter than originally expected.

Taryn left off in Spain and that’s where I will pick it up. It was a random decision to fly from Spain to Croatia. Basically, we knew we’d seen enough of Spain (although we loved it and could of spent heaps more time we did want to see other places on this trip) and didn’t know where to head next. We would of liked to have gone to Italia before Croatia but the timing meant that tourists and Italians alike would be holidaying at the same time so prices would be high and accommodation hard to come by (July and August are peak times in Italia). As it was, we were very lucky to get accommodation in Split as it is usually full this time of year but possibly the Euro 2012 Football tournament in the Ukraine/Poland helped with people maybe going there instead and also the London Olympics means that a lot of people were probably heading that way too. Taryn spied a pretty decent flight deal which had us fly from Madrid to Barcelona, camp in Barcelona airport for 5 hours waiting for our next flight to Split, Croatia so that is what we did. As is the way with the cheapest deals, the awkward flight times and unfriendly transiting come with the territory, and this was no different. Flight from Madrid left after midnight, and then in a near empty Barcelona airport we tried to rest up on the hard floor until our next flight around 7am. We then got to a scorching Split at about 9.30am in the morning and I swear it must’ve been pushing close to 40 degrees!

Our first order of business off the plane was getting into Split. The airport is a few kms out of the city so there are buses waiting to take you there. I lined up for tickets and the lack of sleep and scorching sun were definitely unwelcome in this snail line, but hell we were in Croatia so not too much to complain about! Now, being that we made a random decision to come here we had not pre-organized any accommodation, which was a concern. We’ve become accustomed to booking ahead to ensure we get a good deal and to make sure once we arrive somewhere we have accommodation to go to. Even though where we are going next is never set in stone, once the decision has been made we make sure we have a place to stay. Once in Split and off the bus it didn’t take long before an annoying little geezer approached us with a proposition to stay at his place. Now I hate bus station accommodation propositions with a passion and although I’ve used them before in previous trips, with Niamh we have to be really careful where we’re going and who we’re going with. But we were stuck with no accommodation and possibly none available in Split so we decided for sh*ts and giggles to go with this guy on the condition that we look at his place and if not happy we simply leave no questions asked. It was a bonus that his place was in the middle of the old town and close to the Tourist Information place so it was a strategic decision to let him guide us, as we had no real plan to stay in his place. So off we went and soon were in the old town where we wanted to be and took a look at his digs. Up 2 flights of stairs was his place … a place he seemed quite proud of and that we would be “guaran-satisfied” with what he was offering. We weren’t. He wanted 50 euros a night for somewhere with no air-con (did I mention the 40+ degree heat wave in Croatia and high humidity!!) and pretty basic to say the least so I kindly informed it was too much and thanks for letting us look and adios. This little toe-rag kept going on that we wouldn’t find anything better yadda yadda yadda, the price is the best blah blah blah and even dropped to 45 euros. Again we were adamant that we’d take our chances. This is when he got a little too annoying for my liking and accused us of agreeing at the bus station to stay with him, agreeing for 50 euros a night, and then coming and basically wasting his time by not taking his room. I promptly, and firmly, told him to watch what he was saying and how he was saying it, and corrected him that we only came with him, as we had no obligation to stay here and to get his facts straight. He was apologetic about his behavior until we left and he closed the door and we could hear him durka durka what seemed to be pissed off comments as we walked down the stairs. You would think that would be the end of seeing him but it wasn’t.

So off to the Tourist Information we went. They had free Wi-Fi so we frantically searched for alternate accommodation and ended up finding somewhere for the same price as our annoying little friend but was the cheapest we could find, as Split is crazy expensive. We were happily booking our accommodation when who should enter but our annoying little friend, who was promptly told to leave by the staff after more propositioning towards us. We got to say no to him for the 100^th time once we left the Tourist Information place to check in to the place we chose. He was just annoyed that he’d have to go back to the bus station and try again with other people but that’s not our problem. The place we ended up staying was in a lady’s house and she was great. She only spoke Croatian and German so communication was difficult but she took a real shining to Niamh and vice-versa and her place was in a great location, had air-con, was clean and tidy and suited as just fine.

Now we only stayed in Split 3 nights then basically split across the border to Mostar, Bosnia. Reason being is that Croatia at this time of year is crazy busy, crazy expensive, so we thought we’d possibly come back later in the trip to do it properly, or save for another time. Split is crawling with tourists which is never fun. And yes, we are tourists too, but we prefer to go to places where there are not many of us if possible. In Split, we explored the old town, which was pretty cool, went for a swim in one of the many swimming holes along the coast of Croatia, and that was basically it. I must admit, I struggled in the heat … and this is after spending 5-6 weeks in Spain! There was some crazy heat wave going on over here that had temperatures up to and into 40 degrees with high humidity, so I just had to be looking out the window of our air-conditioned room and I would start sweating! It really is hard to walk around with sweat constantly pouring off my face, especially when everyone else seems fine … I must have some crazy sweat gene! Bit of a dumbarse decision to head to extremely hot places for 6 months straight but hey by the 6^th month I may have just acclimatized ready for a New Zealand summer.

So next stop on our journey was Mostar, Bosnia. The bus ride from Split was gorgeous, taking in a lot of the Croatian coast before heading inland. Mostar featured heavily in the Bosnian war with its famous bridge (Stari Most) being bombed to pieces by Croatian forces. The city was pretty much left in ruins and many people lost their lives here. Entering the city on the bus it looked like not much had changed since the 90s. The street where the bus station is still has many remnants of the war in bombed left to rot buildings, giving the place an eerie welcome. Once we settled into our accommodation, this time staying with an extremely friendly Bosnian lady, we headed to the old part of the city for something to eat and to get our bearings. The old town is really interesting. There is an old bazaar among cobbled streets, many mosques dotting the landscape, a beautiful river running through it, lots of cozy restaurants, and the Stari Most has been rebuilt to its former glory and looks fantastic. Such is the importance of this bridge, it was built using original materials and with original methods, and replicated to exactly how it was before. We took so many photos of this bridge (a select few featured in our blog photos) as it really is a beautifully designed bridge. It is far from big, or extravagant, but it really stands out high above the river and amongst the surroundings. I rate this as possibly my favorite bridge in the world, and that’s saying something considering some of the bridges in Western Europe. For money, locals jump from the bridge into the river below. They basically stand on the side and wait for tourists to arrive then providing they get enough euros they jump in. They are pretty annoying to be honest and it’s actually not that exciting to see them jump in so there’s no way our money was contributing. We ate some nice food in Mostar, walked around the city, old and new parts, and took in the river area around Stari Most many times in our few days here. We also did a day trip to a place called Blagaj. This is where a fresh water spring is and there are a few eateries where you can sit amongst the clear springs and soak your feet in the freezing water. We thought just putting our feet in was just too pussy so we found a semi-secluded spot away from the diners and stripped off for a proper plunge. F*ck me that’s cold! I went in first and was out as fast as I got in as it’s a real body shock, but it was a scorching hot day so actually felt pretty good. The second time was a little easier. Taryn then gave it a whirl and I’ve never ever ever seen her move so fast when she hit the water! We both gave it a few more goes before catching our bus back to Mostar.

From Mostar, the best way to get to Sarajevo was by train. The train was to take in spectacular scenery, and be a cheaper, and more comfortable ride, than taking a bus. The train ride was through some beautiful landscapes and it was a real bargain, as well as being better to travel with for Niamh as we could get up and walk around. The trip was only 2 hours so before we knew it we were in a city that I was pretty excited to get to. A favorite book of mine is by Anthony Lloyd and titled “My War Gone By, I Miss It So.” I first read this book as part of a second year history paper I was doing at university, a course that was focused on conflict and religion … right up my alley. This book is a real life account of what Lloyd saw as a journalist whilst in Bosnia. He covers other conflicts he reported, but Bosnia is the main focus. It is a fantastic, and disturbing, read and really got me interested in Bosnia, and Sarajevo in particular. I ended up writing an essay about the conflict in one or my third year International Relations papers that focused on nationalism and conflict, allowing me to get my interest in religion involved as well. Anyways, Sarajevo was under siege for approximately 4 years during the war. People were largely without food, were constantly fired upon by missiles and snipers (there’s a route from the airport to the old town called Sniper Alley as it was a heavily targeted thoroughfare and many people were killed), and were without power, while the world watched on. I’ve seen many documentaries on the conflict and we watched some more when we were here and it’s amazing what people had to go through on a daily basis, such as running through the streets avoiding snipers just to go anywhere. There are so many stories to be told from this city but one that makes for a great Hollywood movie is the killing of a young couple dubbed Romeo and Juliet, who died in each others arms on a bridge whilst trying to escape the city. He was Serbian Orthodox Christian and she was Muslim. There are YouTube clips and a documentary if you’re interested in all the details. It’s tragic how religion and nationalism destroyed this city but it has done its best to get on with life. Sarajevo is far from fully rebuilt. There are still many bombed buildings, many buildings riddled with machine gun fire, bridges not usable, important buildings still to be repaired, but it’s got on with things and it’s a really interesting place to spend a few days … so that’s what we did.

Of course the conflict features heavily in anything you do in Sarajevo. You cannot walk far without seeing something, be it a bombed building, a memorial of some sort, or even one of the Sarajevo “Roses” on the street. These roses are where mortar shells killed people in the city and the mortar imprint left on the ground was filled in with red, creating a constant memorial to the fallen. Like many cities in Europe there is an old part and then the sprawl of the new city. The old in Sarajevo is not as interesting as others we’ve seen but contained many religious buildings, such as mosques, churches (Catholic and Orthodox), even a Jewish synagogue, which really shows the diverse nature of the inhabitants now and in the past. The new part of the city surrounds the old and rises up to the hills on either side. We went to the Bosnian History Museum, walked the old city a number of times, strolled around points of interest in the conflict (such as Romeo and Juliet’s bridge) and the guy who owns the place we stayed at even drove us out to the source of the Bosne River for a look. This area was similar to the springs in Blagaj, and was a great place to escape the heat of the city. One of the days we even ventured out of the city on the hunt for Romski Most (Roman Bridge), a bridge allegedly built by the Romans but I don’t think it’s confirmed. We made it after taking a wrong turn somewhere and had a picnic and gave Niamhie a dip to cool down.

We had intended on spending more time in Bosnia but after weighing a number of things up Sarajevo was to be our last stop here. I looked at places up north, and even toyed with a visit to Srebrenica (where one of the worst atrocities took place in the mass killing of Muslims), but in the end we decided to catch a train to Belgrade, Serbia. Bosnia was certainly an interesting place. It was extremely cheap compared to anywhere else we’d been. The people we met were friendly, even considering what they had to live through in the war and even now in a pretty poor country, so it stands as a highlight to places we’ve been on our trip. If we get over this side of the world again I would definitely come back to see more and would recommend it as a destination to anyone. The beauty of unplanned travel is that we can just make a snap decision and head wherever we want … I didn’t think we’d go to Serbia, but it seemed as good a place as any.

I will leave it here for Taryn to pick up from. We only briefly stayed in Serbia, and the last couple of weeks have been spent in Romania, which is where we are now. We are soon to be leaving Romania for Turkey, and then heading back to Malaysia. Things have changed of late with Taryn having to make her way back home, continuing from Malaysia all the way back to New Zealand, while I will continue on for a month or so then head home too. It will be a bit of a change travelling alone, and being away from Taryn and Niamh, but this gives Taryn some time to sort out some important affairs at home and allows me to go off and do some things by myself, as I’m not quite ready to touch down in New Zealand just yet. Not too sure what I’ll do, but I’m toying with the idea of heading to Borneo to trek in the rainforest and possibly see some Orangutans in the wild.

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