As I got off the train that took me to Ljubljana Slovenia I was preparing myself for "Eastern Europe". I had heard from other people that Eastern Europe was much less developed than Western Europe and a whole lot cheaper. I was begining to think that those people were lying to me. Ok so I wasn't deep into the East but as far as first impressions go Ljubljana could easily be a random riverside town in France. There were nice restaurants, pretty bridges and even a hilltop castle to complete the setting.
After Croatia, I headed over to Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was a very scenic bus ride through mountains and along a winding river. Until we started to pass through the city of Mostar. I started seeing what looked like bullet holes in the building walls. And then, wow, they are bullet marks. So many of them! It seems like the fighting stopped long ago but there were a lot of very obvious scars left behind. The same was true when I arrived in Sarajevo. I dimly remember when I was young hearing news stories about "the fighting in Bosnia" but seeing things up close is a completely different story. All I can say is that it definitely makes an impact on you.
As a city, Sarajevo is still an interesting place to visit. The scenery reminds me of something in Switzerland but with Mosques. I enjoyed pleanty of sausages and fried dough things. I was also introduced to plain yougurt as a beverage which seems to be common in this part of the world. Yum.
Next was Belgrade in Serbia. Here was where I was really beginning to realize my ignorance of world affairs. I was on my way to visit the US embassy to get some extra pages taped into my passport. I noticed a couple of bombed out buildings on the way. I made a mental note to ask someone about them. Here is how the conversation went later with a Serbian:
Me: "So, who bombed out those builings I saw down the street?"
Guy: "You guys did. The Americans."
Turns out it was actually NATO but really mostly the Americans who took action. Hmm...maybe next time I'll just Google that kind of stuff. No wonder he liked Canadians better. Maybe the reason we never learned that in history class was because it wasn't history yet. I think the books only went up to the 80's.
The rest of my time in Serbia I spent at the big old fort by the river. There was some kind of medieval festival going on so I watched lots of fights with fake weapons. The fort contains the Military Museum so there were plenty of real weapons like tanks and cannons to look at too.
Next came Budapest, Hungary. No, being in Hungary did not make me hungry though plenty of people have already asked. It did however, make my fingers and toes very wrinkly from all the time I spent at one of its thermal baths. The thermal baths were great because they had a bunch of indoor and outdoor pools all with a different set temperature. You didn't have to worry about getting too hot or too cold because the next pool over was just the right temperature.
There are a lot of things to see in Budapest. I spent much of my time going to museums and admiring the incredible achitecture of the city. I won't bore you with names (OK so I don't really remember the names of most of them) but I enjoyed checking things out. A number of attractions centered around communism which was helpful because as I mentioned above I don't really know much about the history of this part of the world.
After running around to so many big cities I decided to stop and relax for a while in the mountains of Transylvania at a place called Brasov. There were plenty of castles to see and plenty of opportunities for great hiking.
From Brasov I stopped in Bucharest. Then it was on to two different cities in Bulgaria, Sofia and Plovdiv. These places have lots of Roman ruins in their museums and many visible traces of the communist era. I was introduced to the Cyrillic alphabet which makes street signs useless to someone who can only read English.
I have to say that it takes a bit of getting used to when a Bulgarian shakes his or her head back and forth instead of up and down when they mean yes. And I am glad that I will not be celebrating my birthday in Bulgaria since I would be expected to buy all my friends drinks! Who came up with that idea?
Next stop Turkey. Turkey has become one of my favorite places I have visited so far. The variety of the landscape, the history and the friendliness of the people has left a very positive impression in my mind. Best of all Turkey was where my mom and (honorary) Aunt Becky came to visit me!
I spent a little over a week in the country before their arrival. I ate kebabs just about every day and discovered I have the enviable talent of sleeping through the call to prayer even if the hostel is right next to a mosque. (This should come as no surprise to those who know me well.)
I spent some time in a region called Capidoccia in central Turkey. The best way to describe the towns would be for you to picture the Flintstones' town of Bedrock. It's a place where people carve their homes out of rocks or build underground cities. The rock formations are amazing and like nothing I have ever seen before. Well, except maybe in Star Wars. The hiking trails are great because there are early Christian churches and tombs carved into the rock and scattered around to peek inside as you go.
The tourist attractions like the monasteries, church clusters and underground cities are fun to climb in and around and kind of make you feel like you are a kid on a gigantic playground.
Back in Istanbul I met up with Mom and Becky. I have to say that the anticipation of seeing them was a little bit like waiting for the arrival of Santa Claus. It was a wonderful reunion and good to see familiar faces for the first time in over four months. They came prepared with Rick Steves' guidebooks and comfortable shoes. We were about to "do" Istanbul.
We saw the major tourist things like the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Underground Cistern, a Bosphorus cruise, museums, bazaars and palaces. I had the privilege of hearing them quote Rick Steves at every opportunity.
I reveled in being spoiled by sleeping in a real hotel bed, eating good restaurant food and not having to think about planning my day. What a life! The food in Turkey is considered to be some of the best in the world. I was certainly not disappointed. Even just the fruits and vegetables were some of the most delicious I have ever tasted.
We flew south to Ephesus where we did things like lie on the beach, see a show of traditional turkish dancing, view famous Roman ruins and drink a lot of Efes (the local beer). We rented a car and I got to drive a car for the first time in a long time. We stopped in Pamukkale for more Roman ruins and really cool water springs that leave behind rocks that look like snow. Then back to Istanbul for more Baklava.
Just as they were getting used to being called "lady" by the locals Mom and Becky were off for home. I was sad to see them because I had had such a good time.
Now I am on the hunt for a Russian visa. I tried without success in Istanbul and also stopped in Bucharest on my way up here to Ukraine but to no avail. I am in Kiev at the moment and will give it one more go. My plan is to take the Trans-Siberian over to Mongolia but I may have to find a plan B. The good news is that I will be meeting up with my Ukrainian friend, Maria while I am here. Maybe she can help me decipher some of this Cyrillic...
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for (unless you've already seen them), photos!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27899&l=8e560&id=638697758http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28449&l=5c68f&id=638697758
Enjoy.
