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Published: June 19th 2005
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Dubrovnik in the evening
A capture from outside the city walls of Dubrovnik, Croatia. An enchanting city with many hidden treasures. Last week was the beginning of my second departure, and in many senses, the greater departure of the one made previously. I am no longer departing for a place where I will live for some time as I did in Slovenia. I am now on the road, traveling to many places varied and distant. I will make my home within the journey, in many different and temporary places, but enjoying each place for what it has to offer. It’s an interesting lifestyle; completely out what you might call a comfort zone. But that is the beauty of travel.
Slovenia has now come and gone. I don’t know exactly when I may return to visit again, but I know that I have taken away from it many spectacular memories as well as many friendships that will serve to make my world much bigger than I could have previously imagined. However, that means that I have about three times as many places that I must visit in the near future. I can’t say that I’m complaining about that.
It hasn’t even been one week since I left, and I find myself sitting in a family’s home in Kotor, Montenegro after passing
Kotor From Above
Here is what we got after 1350 steps to the top... through Dubrovnik (I’ll include a couple of pics) on our way down south. Kotor is a city along the seaside that is nestled in along Southern Europe’s largest fjord. The old town (Stari Grad) is surrounded by fortress-like walls that are 16 meters thick in places and were erected between the 9th and 19th centuries. Last night we followed a winding and dilapidated path up the mountainside to the pinnacle of the walls around the city. From there we had a spectacular view of the city of Kotor and the bay that stretches out into the fjord. Of course, we had to trudge up around 1350 steps to get there, but the view was well worth it. That made the 2 liter beer that we bought for 1.20 Euro at the bottom taste all that much better though. And no that was not a typo—they really sell beers in two liter bottles here.
For the next few weeks, I will be traveling with a number of friends from Ljubljana. Right now we number seven: Adrian, a Belgian; Joao and Patricia who are Portuguese; Malte, a German; Vanessa, an American girl we met in Dubrovnik; and Patrick, one of my
The impossible step
In Dubrovnik, Croatia in the center square there is a small stone step that is aggravatingly impossible to balance on. This is Patrick and Adrien attempting to find a creative solution. old college roommates from Oklahoma. It has been interesting traveling with this many people; a little bit slow of course as there are many opinions to consider, and thus we spend a lot of time doing some intensive deciding. On the whole is has been very entertaining and enjoyable. The people we have met so far in Montenegro are extremely kind and relish in the fact that most of us after studying in Slovenia can speak a little bit of their language. They technically speak Serbo-Croatian, but many of the basics of Slovene and Serbo-Croatian are similar, so with a little bit of effort we can communicate somewhat with the people we encounter. In fact, the entire Balkan travel experience has been much more enjoyable because I have lived in the area for half a year, have grown to understand much of the culture, and am making an effort to get my arms around the unbelievable amount of history that surrounds this area. It’s difficult though; there is still a great amount of resentment left over from the conflicts that occurred in the former Yugoslav regions throughout the past decade. The lives of all the people here were great affected
However not completely impossible...
Here I am attemtping to complete the ultimate test: once you get balanced on the step you must take off your shirt and then put it back on. However, I falter at the last moment...Better than my attempt two years ago though. by the wars in Bosnia and in Kosovo, and Serbia still feels that they should be the power center of this region. For that reason, you can sometimes feel the undercurrent of hate among some of the people; however, that is offset by the great number of people who live here that are extremely giving and helpful. They find it flattering that you are interested in their country, that you know where there country is, and maybe actually know a little bit about the history.
All of us have therefore found Montenegro fascinating, and we will continue to travel here for the next week or so, visiting Budva, Bar, and Ucinj, all cities along the coast that are south of here. Following that we will cross the border into Northern Albania to visit the cities of Shkodra, Durres, and Tirana (the capital) before making our way into Macedonia which sits just above Greece. Albania will be one of the most interesting and foreign places that we will visit on this loop considering they only emerged from Communist rule in 1992. Shortly thereafter, they were faced with an economic meltdown that devastated the country. For that reason, they have only recently been able to invest in developing their infrastructure in turn making ATM’s nearly non-existent and bus and train connections sketchy. Since these things all result in a scarcity of travelers, our experience in Albania should be very authentic and interesting. We will discover a new place that many people would never even think to visit. That does not mean that there is nothing to see; I just failed to mention thus far that Albania is noted for its austere and pure beauty that consists of crystal clear lakes and an azure seaside of white beaches. But the most important aspect of experiencing any country is meeting the people and getting to know the culture. That is likely what we will spend most of our time doing.
(Having technical problems uploading photos in the cafe I'm in right now, but I promise to add more photos soon)
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Jill Wise
non-member comment
checking in
Grant, I just wanted to let you know that I have enjoyed each and every one of your posts, and I look forward to the next and all of the adventures it will entail. Thanks so much for including me in your blog group. Safe traveling! Take care, Jill