next time bring wifi device, it's everywhere and i could keep up better

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let's see:
from belgrade, serbia i took the slow train to sarajevo, bosnia/herzogovenia. we crossed through croatia and made all the required passport checks. we even changed train engines at each border? why is beyond me because none was any faster than t'other. at least i added a bunch of stamps to passport, or rather i should have. i have had to just rely on the border guards for my stamps because i don't know what the hell they are doing. i didn't get stamped leaving serbia and worried a bit about this. especially when the croatian border guard balked when she perused my passport and then said "moment" and walked away with passport. i heard her calling in my numbers to check on it. a short while later she returned and stamped passport. don't know what it was about but again i don't know when the stamps are coming and thus can't make sure they are correct as recommended in all the guidebooks!!
oh well! no worries till there are worries.

back to belgrade for a minute. there is a nice old town with plenty of greenery, surprisingly. it was worth two days of walking about and the third was just a rest.

then sarajevo. it too has a very nice old town. though there are still signs of the civil war from 1991-95. i visited a bombed out museum of said war. interesting though small. most of their antiquities were destroyed by the serbs/croats during the aforementioned war. i stayed in a hostel to save money as it is expensive for a room. i had a dorm to my lonesome and met some great travellers from around the world (they were in rooms or the other dorm). we partied and played cards for three nights. i was tempted to stay a fourth but figured i must leave at some point. that is if i want to make my athens connection to the homefront.

from sarajevo, i went to mostar. it is known for a bridge that was destroyed and then rebuilt by UNESCO. i was told to stay only a couple of hours which is what i would have preferred. but as i exited my bus there i found that the only other bus that day to where i wanted to go was in 5 minutes. so i decided to stay.

the only good of my stay was that i found a great room for only 10 euros. satellite tv, heat, en suite (that means toilet/shower). the next morning i went to pay and the mother said that her daughter was incorrect and the price was 20 euros. well two daughters and one husband told me 10 so i gave her the 10 and got on a bus straight out of the country. just kidding i didn't have to run. but i really did leave. a couple hours later i was in dubrovnik, croatia. croatia again for the passport. i think i got stamped? who knows or cares, i certainly gave up on it.

haiku time:
panhandler on cell !
hey, must go i see someone,
must ask for money!!!!

anyhow, dubrovnik is a wonderful old town. matter of fact, the entire thing is a UNESCO heritage sight. i heard this on past trips but didn't know what it is. it is united nations educational scientific cultural o= oops i forgot. anyway, in my opinion the term is tossed around way too freely and i wouldn't put much faith in it's value. nor would i base a trip on it. however, dubrovnik was a wonderful old town on the back alleyways that is, as much of it is now a disneyish tourist place. i really wish my camera hadn't crapped out, though as it is very picturesque!

after a night there, i would have stayed but the hotelier wouldn't give me a price break, i left. i ended up in kotor, montenegro. both dubrovnik and kotor by the way are on the adriatic sea. this area is really gorgeous and a car is advisable. anyway, kotor is far better though smaller. there is no disney to this place fortunately. i found a room in a private residence. after a long hike into the mountains i also found a lost hong konger. it was dark and rooms are tough to find, so i took wilson to my residence as i had noticed an empty room when i checked in. it was fortunately still empty so he could now rest. well after we went out for pizza and a local brew!

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