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Amazing travel experiences can happen anywhere in the Balkans.
On the Friday night the couples son Andi took us out around Tirane, which was a lot like going around the center of Leeds - the bars were well decorated and friendly but the people looked like they were trying to hard with their appearance. After our trip through the north of Albania this was not what we had expected. The final bar, the Living Room, was a grand Victorian style house with the second floor converted into a club with a clientele that looked like they belonged in Pacha in Ibiza. Whereas Leeds costs 3 pound a drink, we got wasted in Tirane for about a tenner and had enough change for about 12 kebabs. We ate 2.
Bosnia is a land of rolling green hills and mountain roads. Much is empty land with natural forests and crystal clear rivers. The small hamlets are surrounded by many fruit trees, corn fields and orchids. Each little village has its own character.
Bulgaria. The weather had turned horrible and cold again so we had to pull out the gortex. There were no Bulgarian grannies to meet us at the bus station so we had to find a hostel. Our first dorm for a very, very, long time!!! It was small which was good, but I still had the worry of snoring strangers that you can't do anything about.
This morning the four of us drove to Split. Marina didn't have to teach class, so we got to spend the day with our own private tour guide. Our first stop was a cafe at the top of a hill, looking over the bay. We could see the waterfront and the old part of the city dating back to the 3rd century. Split was a favorite city of the Roman Emperor Diocletian and he built his palace there. Because of this, Split has always been a very modern city.
The city of Famagusta (Mağusa in Turkish) is one of the finest examples of medieval architecture in the eastern Mediterranean. Joe, Jon, Scot, Devin, Laura and I went together and we visited Othello Tower. This citadel was built in the 12th century during the Lusignan period, to protect the harbour. The Sea Gate and the Land Gate were the two major entrances of walled Famagusta. We walked around the entire tower below and above. It was a lot of fun and really interesting. It was beautiful out that day and we had our own personal taxi driver that drove us around to all of the places we visited and waited for us...all day for less than 20 Euros a person. It was amazing!
After three days of teaching, I escaped the confines of Prishtina and headed to Orhid, FYR Macedonia with three other teachers, our curriculum coordinator and my principal. Orhid is a beautiful location on a lake, Lake Orhid of course, and half-way across the lake you enter into Albania. We arrived around noon on Thursday and set about discovering some wonderful food - fried zucchini and breaded cheese. I think I could have lived on the cheese alone. The interesting part was paying - the FYR Macedonia money is not worth very much, so items on the menu can be 200 denar, and gelato for five is 180 denar. The money looked really cool though, even if it wasn’t worth very much. After lunch we wandered among the shops, as Orhid is quite a tourist town. Aside from the beautiful lake, their main attraction is the Orhid pearl. These pearls are made from the scales of fish that are native to Lake Orhid. Some of the jewelry is beautiful, but some of it is just huge and obnoxious looking.
Well Athens is a lot nicer than I thought it would be. It's an amazing historic town and nothing like the rest of Europe. The buildings here seem ancient and of course most are different shades of white.
In a little cove on the Montenegro coast, cleaved between staggers of rock and water clear as glass, I’ve discovered what is simultaneously the most beautiful and depressing place I’ve never been: Sveti Stefan.
Another great weather day. High about 75 without rain. How long will we be this lucky.
Today we sailed all day without stop. There were two river locks, known here as the Iron Gates, that we passed through. This, I guess was the technical highlight of the day. I missed the second as I chose to get a massage. We passed through the lock as I was getting my back rubbed down. I did not see a thing but Jackie said it was interesting as there was a large hydro power plant at the site and the lock bypassed the dam.
Lara and I spent the day exploring Ljubljana. As we waited for a bus into the city centre, a bus painted as an ice cream drove up and people got off to hand out free ice creams to everyone waiting at the bus stop!
After the secludedness of Butterfly Valley, it was to the backpacker and hippie town that had sprung up at Olympos. The town is famed for its beach, ruins, chimera and the fact you get to stay in Tree houses. Yeah, hopefully I wouldn’t be starring in a Treehouse of Horror episode on the simpsons.
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