Posted by Kate
on May 29th, 2009
Bosnia and Hercegovina was created when the former Yugoslavia collapsed in 1991 and they got off to a bad start with a war that went from 1992 - 1995. The scars of this war on the buildings and roads is still very visible, but the people are getting on with life, and they were some of the friendliest we met.
Our first stop on another whirl wind tour through another Balkan country was the city of Mostar.
The famous Stari Grad bridge where the locals make a sport of diving into the fast running river below.
A plea for people to remember the actions of the war.
From Mostar we headed to the capital Sarajevo on a train which is famed for it’s scenery. It was lovely, unfortunately we missed out on a window seat and found ourselves in a smoking compartment so the trip was not pleasant - but the scenery was beautiful.
In Sarajevo it was hard not to notice the damage caused by the war - it looks as they are still rebuilding. Sarajevo was under siege during the war as the Serbians hung out in the hills around the city firing shells and sniper shots constantly so the people were constantly in fear.
This is the Latin Bridge where The Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914 sparking the first world war.
Sarajevo is a lovely city though and we spent only one night there. The vibe of the place is kinda cool with lot’s of curb side cafe’s and plenty of drinking. The people are friendly and seem to be working hard to completely rebuild their city.
May 29th, 2009
Posted by Kate
on May 27th, 2009
Continuing our whirlwind tour through the Balkans our next stop was the coastal town of Kotor in Montenegro. We had a bit of culture shock after arriving from Albania where everything is under construction to Montenegro which is very developed. We were expecting this town to be very beautiful but not too touristy….We were faced with swarms of tour groups following guides with umbrella’s held above their head. This was until all the buses packed up and moved on and the cruise ship pulled out of the bay. Kotor is only busy for the fraction of the day that it fits into the tour’s itinerary before they move onto the next destination. Phew…. we chose not to go to Dubrovnik because we wanted to avoid this, and for a second we thought we had walked into something just as bad. But things looked very different once they had gone. Kotor was indeed lovely and it’s old town very picturesque and it still shows signs of normal life going on.
We got active one day and climbed the hill to the castle above the town. You can see a cruise ship moored at the jetty - soon the hill started buzzing with cruise ship tourists, who weren’t quite sure if they would make it all the way to the top. A rather large American woman asked “how much further to the top” as we made our way down, I answered “your a third of the way” to this her mouth dropped, “A Third!!!”. We weren’t too sure they would make it either, Luke was sweating and he’s a marathon runner!
One of the gates to enter the old town
Kotor was pretty, we spent 2 nights there and really enjoyed the scenery and general vibe. However, it was time to get on another bus and head towards Bosnia and Hercegovina with a stop in Croatia for a few hours.
Dubrovnik, Croatia
The reason why we avoided staying in Dubrovnik, Croatia!
In order to get to Bosnia and Hercegovina we had to go through Dubrovnik in Croatia. So we got up early to ensure we could spend some time in Dubrovnik to see what we had missed by skipping this “must do” destination. We arrived at about 10am and had to catch another bus at 2pm, so we put our backpack’s in the left luggage store and headed for the old town.
In order to get a quick overview of this pretty town we walked around the top of the city walls. It was hot.
In Dubrovnik we enjoyed a fabulous meal at the first vegetarian restaurant we’ve seen in weeks (being touristy is at times a good thing). We then trudged back to the bus station (we accidentally took the wrong city bus and ended up a long way from the bus station and had to walk - oops) and got our ride to Mostar in Bosnia. We were happy to have stopped in Dubrovnik, where the reason why it has become such a hot destination was obvious as it is very beautiful, although I think we were both happy that our time there was limited to 4 hours.
May 27th, 2009
Posted by Kate
on May 27th, 2009
We were expecting Athens to be a major shit hole from what people had been telling us, but we were pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t dirty and it was very easy to get around - which we have the 2004 Olympics to thank for. Plenty of parks with plenty of benches offered a rest from the sun, although the weather was perfect and we were very glad to be there in spring rather then summer when the temperature and number of tourists rises.
The Acropolis. The scaffolding business needs to be very lucrative in Europe, everything seems to be covered in it at the moment.
We enjoyed our 24 hours in Athens, although it felt like we were in Disneyland when in the super touristy parts. A day was enough to see the main sights and at least get a bit of a feel for the City.
ALBANIA
At 8pm the day after arriving in Athens we got on a bus and headed for Albania. This journey transported us back to reality after being in tourist central (Greece). Albania was a communist state until 1991 and was pretty much totally isolated from the rest of the world. Since the communist were kicked out and democracy restored there has been some unrest and Albania today seems to be in development - literally, with half finished buildings everywhere you look. There are hardly any tourists, mainly because any tourist attractions that exist have not been pitched to tourists and it seems like there is no reason to go there. Albania was an experience, I am glad we went to see how the country is looking after being so isolated for 40 odd years. They have a lot of work to do if they want to make it more tourist friendly, for example there are no bus stations and everyone tells you to go somewhere else to catch a particular bus - It appears very unorganised to us who are so used to highly developed transport systems, however, it seems as though it works for them.
We spent only 2 nights in Albania which was enough time to spend in the capital, Tirana. The city is actually quite lovely and if they were to complete a lot of the work that is ongoing it would be even better. We had such a hard time finding somewhere to eat - there are cafes everywhere that just serve drinks and are full of Albanian’s drinking coffee into the night.
May 27th, 2009
Posted by Luke
on May 19th, 2009
After the ‘interesting adventure’ that was our sailing trip through the islands we said goodbye to our companions and settled in Santorini for a few extra days. Santorini is known for its landscapes, sunsets and wine so you can understand why we would be inclined to hang around. As it turns out the stereotype is correct, the wine was white and good, the sunsets red and the landscapes volcanic.
Santorini isn’t a big island so we hired a car for a couple of days and hit the wineries, beaches and sites. ‘Unfortunately’ I left my license in London so Kate had to do all the driving, its my turn next time.
We visited 5 wineries, from big nationals to one-man operations. Our ‘wine-of-the-island’ actually was a Vinsanto from the one-man operation but his Grappa was horrific. Were getting low of hand-sanitising gel so I was tempted to buy a bottle of his Grappa for this use.
Watching the sunset over Santorini, as you can imagine I had been consuming a bit of the local produce.
The traditional way to grow the vines is in a ring to protect it from the strong winds.
Greece is expensive. Very. With the strength of the Euro even the Pounds were travelling on don’t stretch very far so we ate our fair share of Chicken pittas. Kate has a ham one here, were back on the no-meat bandwagon now.
May 19th, 2009
Posted by Luke
on May 19th, 2009
When we moored at Koufonisia this was the first thing we saw, a man with a propeller strapped to his back taking flight.
Message in a Bottle
May 19th, 2009
Posted by Kate
on May 19th, 2009
Thanks to STA refunding the return leg of our ticket to London we had some money to spend! With our new ticket home already purchased (arriving on the 6th June 2009 can’t wait to get home!!!) we searched the brochures to spend our cash. The winner was Yachting in the Greek Island. The trip took us to 6 islands, starting in Mykonos then to Syros, Naxos, Koufonisia, Ios and ending in Santorini. We were aboard a 50 foot yacht with 2 others and the skipper, which made it roomy considering the yacht can and will be taking 8 participants at a time!
Mike our skipper from England, Yuki from Japan and Heather from Canada and us. It was an interesting combo. It was not all smooth sailing, both in regard to the seas and being in a group on a small yacht. Altogether the trip taught us a lot about sailing and confirmed that we are not cut out for tours.
50 knot winds got us off to a rough start and I spent some time gripping the side of the boat hoping not to fall in while being sick - Fun!!!!! Is this how the week is going to be? if so I’m getting off the next island! The weather cleared up, although it go too good and we could hardly sail because there was no wind. The sun came out and we finally got to get some shorts on - Unfortunately we didn’t get to swim until after finishing the trip in Santorini.
Not all of our time was spent on the yacht as we spent the nights moored at the various islands and got to enjoy the local scenery and food.
May 19th, 2009
Posted by Kate
on May 15th, 2009
After leaving Turkey we headed for the Greek Islands in order to join our sailing tour. Fist stop was Chios just a hop skip and jump from Turkey. We stayed just one night in the town of Chios before taking a ferry to Mykonos.
Approaching Chios from Turkey on the ferry.
At the harbour in Turkey we met the man standing behind me who also took the same route as us to Mykonos. He was on a whirl wind tour of Turkey and Greece and had done some seriously fast travel. He popped up all the time while we made our way to Mykonos and always had his camera out clicking away.
The very picturesque town of Hora on Mykonos island.
Enjoying some Samos desert wine down at the ocean.
Our bottle of wine chilling in the cool Greek Island waters.
Glitzy Mykonos.
May 15th, 2009
Posted by Kate
on May 1st, 2009
The food of Turkey has been a revelation especially for Luke, although any new food is a revelation for him since he kept himself in a box for so long. He thoroughly enjoys a chicken kebab and has also developed a greater fondness for Eggplant which the Turks do fantastically!!
Mezze for a starter is a must at a restaurant these days and this one has been rated best out of all the ones we’ve tried - probably 95 points!!
Vegetable Moussaka for Luke and Vegetable Kebab for me - Mmmm Yummy! Topped off with an Efes, of which we have come to enjoy.
So with all this healthy eating now and since what has become known to us as the wine revolution (when Luke discovered his taste buds) there have been some serious changes to Luke’s waistline. Losing all the weight is of course because of the Marathon training, however I question if running the Marathon would have been possible on his diet of years gone by. These shorts had been locked away in the cupboard (London will do that), Luke packed them expecting some sun but forgot that since they were purchased in Italy last year some kilos have come off.
Rice Pudding……
Basilica of St John, this is what is thought to be St John’s Tomb. Turkey has been fascinating in regard to the sights and archaeology.
Temple of Artemis, was one of the great wonders of the ancient world - it is now not even a pile of rubble because the Christians used the building material to construct other buildings.
Time for Cay (tea), in Turkey the street corners seemed to be filled with men gossiping, rather then women.
Ephesus, one of the Ancient Roman Cities is now a major tourist attraction in Turkey. They have found evidence of settlement in the area from 6000 BC (crazy).
Luke has enjoyed marvelling at the mosaics.. Don’t be surprised if you see a mosaic created by Luke in the future - he’s pretty keen on giving it a go!
As expected there were plenty of others keen to check out this awesome ancient city.
Inside the Terrace houses at Ephesus. Another entry fee is required and the space is tight, as a result no tour groups go in so you have the place mostly to yourself.
The Terrace Houses are still being worked on by Archaeologists trying to put the pieces back together like a jigsaw.
Frescos in a Terrace House.
Public Latrines in Ephesus.
Enjoying a salad and some squid in the small town of Cesme, where we will get our ferry to the Greek islands - we’ll see you after our sailing adventure.
May 1st, 2009
Posted by Kate
on April 28th, 2009
We arrived in Istanbul, Turkey on an overnight bus from Bulgaria at 5:20 am. This meant that our first impressions of the city were of a smoky bus station cafeteria while we waited for the sun to come up and a decent time to turn up at our hotel. This impression didn’t last and after a few hours sleep , a shower and a feed we were reintroduced to a city which has made it into our top 5 cities ever visited.
We spent 4 nights there and we not just taken back by the sights, smells and tastes of Istanbul but the functionality of the city. We saw all the main sights and spent a lot of time at sidewalk cafes sipping turkish tea. The food has been nothing short of amazing and were enjoying being in a country where we can eat the local cuisine at all meals and not have to resort to bad cheese pizza. A standout favourite we have been constantly ordering is Imam Bayildi, char-grilled eggplant with tomato, garlic and onion sauce.
Luke carted a Noon Cabernet Sauvignon from London in order to drink on the road. We decided to drink it in Istanbul. Luke was stoked with it and very excited to be finally opening it. There are 3 more bottles of the Noon shiraz with our stuff in London ready to be taken home.
The Galata Bridge full of men fishing all day everyday. They catch small fish which we are unsure if they sell or a simply taking home for dinner.
The main shopping street of Istanbul.
The Bosporus Bridge which spans the stretch of water that separates Asia from Europe.
Looking out to the Black Sea from the end of the Bosporus straight. We took a ferry down the straight and climbed the hill with the rest of the tourists for the view. It was quite cool to see all the ships making their way from the Black Sea ports through the straight.
Istanbul is home to a lot of great sights. This is the Hagia Sophia, which was built as a Christian church in 532 AD after the Romans came to town. It was then converted into a Mosque in 1453 when Istanbul was taken over by Islamic Ottoman’s. Now it has a strange merging of both Islamic and Christian art and symbolism. You can see a mosaic of the Virgin Mary and below the same church with Islamic art.
The interior of the Hagia Sophia.
A mosiac inside the Hagia Sophia.
Luke wants me to pose like the other tourists do!
The Basilica Cistern also in Istanbul. It is a massive underground water storage place built by the Romans way back when in order to supply the Church and palace with water that came from the Aqueducts. It is now full of fish just chillin and posing for the Tourists (maybe I could have some lessons!).
The Basilica Cistern was great and lingered for ages enjoying the ambiance of the lighting and the water.
Baklava, a Turkish sweet that is yummy. Luke are thoroughly enjoying the food of Turkey. Each day is a new and great experience.
The worlds first shopping mall. The Grand Bazaar, Turkey’s largest covered market. Yes, its bloody huge with 4000 or so shops selling all types of Turkish carpets, glazed tiles, pipes, pottery, copper, silver, brassware, apparel made of leather, cotton and wool, and enough tourist nicknacks to fill a large rucksack.
Kates head covering to enter the Mosque.
The not-so-blue, Blue Mosque. Built 1603-17, probably Istanbul’s premier attraction. Its a working mosque which you can visit which we did. To enter you have to remove your shoes and cover your head if your female. So, as grand as the interior was it was subdued a little by the stench of smelly tour bus feet.
April 28th, 2009
Posted by Kate
on April 27th, 2009
Bulgaria. What an interesting place. Sofia the capital of Bulgaria was the beginning of our Eastern Europe trip. Bulgaria was included in the European Union in 2007 and has since had some trouble maintaining the high expectations of such an exclusive club. What we found was a place where although there were disappointments it didn’t feel as though you were 20 years to late to discover it, unlike the rest of western Europe. It’s got some rough edges but some beautiful scenery and was definitely worth visiting.
Luke getting friendly with his new favourite seasoning. We have no idea what it is as it is written in Bulgarian which is a Cyrillic language and very difficult. This was our first meal in Bulgarian, the food was not bad. Here Luke has some tasteless chicken which really benefited from the seasoning!
We had booked a dorm room from London before arriving, however, when we arrived were told that the hostel had not booked a bed for us! They gave us back the deposit and helped us find another place to stay. Unfortunately the place we ended up at was this crazy crap hotel where we could not communicate at all with the staff. It was a dump and really brought our time in Sofia down (the city was a dump as well so this didn’t help). It looks ok in the picture however, I am sure it had bed bugs and we couldn’t sleep for the owners arguing all night just outside our room.
The only sight that we saw during our very short time in Sofia. We had booked 2 nights but with the booking failure we ended up getting out of there this was lucky for Bulgaria as our next stop saved it.
I am excited not because of my shitty bus station snacks but because we are at the bus station about to leave Sofia!
Tsarevets, the main tourist attraction in town which is a mediaeval stronghold land served as the Second Bulgarian Empire’s primary fortress and from 1185 to 1393.
Veliko Tarnovo, a surprisingly large place which was the first capital of Bulgaria and dates back about 7000 years. It was beautiful and really made us feel like Bulgaria was worth visiting after the car crash that was Sofia.
Bulgaria jumped on board communism after WWII. The evidence is everywhere, and is an interesting contrast in such a historical place as Veliko where there are literally ancient ruins. Here you can see a lovely hotel that bears the mark of communist architecture.
Last supper, having a feast before boarding a 10 hour overnight bus to Istanbul….
April 27th, 2009
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