What a crazy trip!
Mackenzie and I both were given a very long break for Easter, and we took the
opportunity to explore what I believe is the most interesting part of Europe:
the Balkans! The trip lasted 2.5 weeks for me, whereas Mackenzie stayed for 1.5
weeks, left for a few days to get back to class, then came back for the final
weekend. The general route was quite simple: we took a long series of trains
down to Slovenia, where our trip started, then followed the Balkan coastline
down through Croatia, into Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Montenegro, then made
a U-turn in Macedonia and worked our way back up the interior of the Balkans through
Kosovo and Serbia into Hungary, where we finished the trip.
This trip was the first time we really felt like travelers,
rather than tourists, as we were going to places very much off the beaten path
and exploring some less-than-glamorous locations. We embraced this change and
certainly fell in love with the quirks of this fascinating corner of Europe.
Warning: This post is super long. I considered splitting it
into parts (as it has been written in parts throughout the many long trains and
buses of the trip), but I suppose I can keep it as one post to reflect the length of
the trip. Skimming is recommended, as I have a nasty habit of describing things
to an unnecessary level of detail, but after editing I figured I might as well
leave everything in and just suggest skimming as an alternative to cutting out bits
here and there.
Lake Bled
The trip started with an incredibly long train down from
Copenhagen to Lake Bled in Slovenia. We left Copenhagen around 3:30 PM on
Friday, travelling down to Hamburg through the evening, taking a long night
train towards Vienna through the night, and then going from Austria into its
southern neighbor, Slovenia. After multiple hours of delay, running to grab our
connecting trains, attempting to sleep in chocked-full compartments filled with
awe-inspiringly loud snoring, and many, many hours, we arrived in Lake Bled at
2:00 PM on Saturday.
Our initial view of Lake Bled from the shoreline, featuring its iconic island church
The train station and our nearby hostel were still about a
10-minute bus from the actual lake, so our trip started by getting acquainted
with our hostel, exploring the tiny surrounding town of Bled, and waiting for
the local bus for about an hour. By 3:30 PM we were at the beautiful lake.
Boasting some of the bluest water Mackenzie or I had ever seen, the lake is
surrounded by mountains on all sides, and even has its own castle perched up
high on a cliff rising out of the shore. Still, of course, the most popular
characteristic of the lake is its small island in the center with its peaceful
church. We began our afternoon by taking the leisurely 7 km walk around the
lake, stopping often to grab a photo of the ever-changing view. Along the way
we bought a small painting from a local man named Bobi, who, after saying he
would leave us a “note” on the back, proceeded to paint the two of us on the back
of his picture. Beyond the awesome painting we got, Bobi’s joyous attitude was
infectious, and his little comments and constant laughter had us smiling for
the rest of the day.
Different angle on the lake, now showcasing the popular pletna boat
and castle on a pinnacle in the background
After a couple hours walking around the lake, we returned to
the start and grabbed some dinner at a Chinese restaurant before embarking out
back towards the lake, this time with the goal of climbing up to the castle.
Despite the apparent height of the castle, the climb wasn’t too difficult, and
we had summited after around 20 minutes. The views were alright, but the castle
itself wasn’t worth going inside (it has been converted into a museum of
sorts), so after being at the top for a bit we headed back down to the
lakeside, where we sat on the beach as the sun set, before heading back to the
hostel for the night.
The next morning we were back up early and took the hostel’s
shuttle to the lake, arriving at 10 AM. We set off on the 7km trail around the
park once more, but this time we stopped halfway through to take another path
away from the lake heading to Ojstrica Point. Hiking up to the
point took about 30 minutes and afforded us the best views out over the lake
and island below us.
View over all of the lake from Ojstrica Point
After taking our time at the top, we walked down, continued
along the path (making sure to say “hi” to Bobi along the way), and decided to
rent a small boat about a kilometer from the end of the path to row out to the
island.
Lake Bled island featuring Row Boat Guide Jacob
On the island, we grabbed some ice cream, took in the views
of the mountains and lake all around us, relaxed, and headed back to the rental
place to drop off the boat and finish circumnavigating the lake. Soon after, we
headed back to our hostel in Bled, did some logistical planning for the rest of
the trip’s transportation (it was here when we joyously found an affordable
flight back to Copenhagen for Mackenzie so that she didn’t have to make a 48-hour
train journey back solo!), and hopped on a 6 PM train to Zagreb, where we
arrived a few hours later.
More views from the shoreline
On the train, we ran into some issues at the border crossing
from Slovenia to Croatia, as we were leaving the Schengen Area (a group of about 20 EU countries that agreed to have open borders) and I had
accidentally illegally stayed there without a residence permit for 93 days,
when 90 days was the legal limit. There’s a lot of weird border/passport complications
that the Schengen Treaty creates, and by being lazy and never picking up my
residence permit (which I paid for and already was awarded – just haven’t
picked it up) I ran into them. After talking to the border crossing guard for a
bit, I got into Croatia (and out of the Schengen Zone) with only a verbal
warning.
Zagreb & Plitvice National Park
We arrived in Zagreb around 8 PM, dropped our things off at
the hostel, and spent a couple hours walking around the nighttime streets.
Zagreb shocked both Mackenzie and I by its beautiful architecture and generally
western feel. The buildings that lined the streets reminded us of Brussels rather
than of our expectation of a Balkan city. Despite being the capital of Croatia,
the city is remarkably small and compact, and we found that a couple hours at
night was really all that was needed to see the highlights. We saw the
Cathedral and St. Mark’s Church (with its unique roof), and spent most of our
time just walking along the streets lined with beautiful houses.
Cathedral of St. Mark in Zagreb
We woke up early on Monday, walked down to the train
station, and jumped on our train to Karlovac, where we would switch to a bus to
make the trip to Plitvice. After an uneventful morning, we arrived in Plitvice
National Park around 11:00 AM. Located in the otherwise boring middle of
Croatia, Plitvice is a series of 7 lakes with crystal clear
turquoise water that flow into each other via a series of dozens (possibly
hundreds) of waterfalls. It’s one of the most beautiful places Mackenzie and I
have either been to.
Dozens of waterfalls flowing one lake to the next
We spent 4 hours taking the C trail around the park, which
brought us to all the lakes, up cliffs, and even into caves. With every bend
along the miles of wooden walkways the unveiling of another new and majestic
waterfall or shimmering blue water took our breath away. It was a wonderful
day-trip from Zagreb.
Plitvice seen from above
After finishing our Plitvice experience, we took a bus back
to the entrance and another bus back to Karlovac, where we explored for a
couple hours as we waited for the next train to Zagreb to arrive. Back in
Zagreb for a couple hours before our night train down to Split on the Croatian
coast, we filled our time by grabbing dinner at a Mexican restaurant in hopes
of filling our chips & salsa craving (which, we learned, cannot be filled).
After a couple hours it was 11:00 PM and time to jump on our train to Split.
Thankfully, the journey was much quieter and easier that the original night
train down through Germany, and we both got ample shut-eye before arriving in
Split around 7 AM Tuesday.
Split
Both Mackenzie and I loved Split! We spent the morning
wandering around the seemingly endless street markets selling fruit, fish,
clothing, trinkets, and everything in between (we grabbed some strawberries)
and in and out of Diocletian’s Palace. Built in the 4th century AD
by Roman Emperor Diocletian as a retirement home, the palace complex nowadays houses
the heart of downtown Split. The Roman influence is still incredibly strong
here, which results in fantastic Roman architecture, great Italian food
(particularly seafood), and that relaxed café culture that is so native to
Italy.
The center of Dioclecian's Palace. The tower belongs to the Cathedral of St .Dominus,
a Catholic Church originally purposed as Diocletian's Mausoleum
After plenty of wandering in the morning, we took a pit stop
at the hostel to settle in a little before heading down to Split’s most popular
relaxation hub: Bacvice Beach. We found some great seats overlooking the ocean
in a beach bar and tried some Croatian beers while watching the locals and
tourists play in and around the water. Especially fun was watching the young
local guys play picigin, a popular Dalmatian sport that involves
keeping a small rubber-looking ball from touching the water by hitting it with
the palm of your hand. The guys made it even more fun to watch by excessively
diving around in the water to save the ball, creating huge splashes and a great
spectacle for viewers.
Bacvice Beach
From Bacvice Beach we walked along the boardwalk to Marjun
Hill on the other side of town, grabbing some frittule along the way, a local
sweet of fried dough balls with powdered sugar (basically funnel cakes in donut
hole form). Once at Marjun Hill, we took the short climb to the top, grabbed
some great pictures of the view over Split in front of us, then headed back down
to our dinner spot for some tasty burgers.
Split seen from atop Marjun Hill
Following dinner, we continued to walk in and around Diocletian’s
Palace in the center of Split, taking time to sit by Diocletian’s morgue and
listen to our live entertainment from a popular cafe, as well as wander through
the skinny back streets that are now littered with lively bars and young
people.
Before heading back to our hostel, we finished the day with
a very touristy act: rubbing the Statue of Gregory's toe, which guarantees that
you will return to Split. Looks like we have no choice but to come back to this
lively and beautiful coastal Croatian town now!
Mostar
We woke up in Split, cleaned up our area, gathered our
things, and headed down to the bus station for a very long ride up to Mostar, a
small city in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The bus was an hour late
leaving, but after a grueling 3.5 hours journey that winded along the many
bends down the coast of Croatia before turning north into B&H, we arrived
in Mostar a mere 15 minutes late. Our predictions that the bus driver was
cruising absurdly fast around the tight bends was confirmed. Regardless, the
drive along the coast was breathtaking from start to finish, and the blue water
of the Adriatic has not yet failed to awe us both.
Our "hostel" for the night was just a tiny apartment in this building,
where we were crammed in with 6 others and hosted by an elderly Bosnian woman
Arriving in Mostar was our greatest culture shock of the
trip yet far, and we loved it. It felt a lot like “We’re not in Kansas anymore”
as we stepped out into the old city. Unlike the rest of our European
destinations thus far, Mostar was a very Islamic city, as it used to be an
Ottoman stronghold. Even about 100 years after the fall of the Ottoman Empire,
the influence is incredibly strong in every aspect of Mostar, from the busy
bazaars to the beautiful Ottoman architecture to the countless mosques and
their respective minarets piercing the mountain-backed skyline.
Overlooking the minaret-filled Mostar skyline
Not sure exactly how to navigate this new experience, after
dropping off our bags, Mackenzie and I walked towards the main draw of the
city: Stari Most, the Old Bridge. On the way, though, we took our first stop at
the most influential mosque in the city, walked inside, and even climbed up
the nausea-inducing spiral staircase to the top of the minaret, which provided
fantastic views over all of Mostar. While up here, we had a fantastic view of
Stari Most, and even saw a local man jump off it into the river 35 meters
below! Young men will stand in their speedos on the bridge, asking
tourists for money, and once enough has been collected (around 25 euros), they
will make the long and breathtaking jump into the cold water below. It’s quite
the spectacle, and we were both happy to get the chance to view it! After
reading up on the history of the mosque (which is intertwined with the history
of greater Mostar), we continued down the winding streets and through the
bazaar towards the bridge.
Beginning of the Old Bazaar
The bridge originally built in the 16th century,
and since has been a magical feat of architectural prowess. Simply looking at
the bridge, I cannot fathom how something like that was constructed 500 years
ago using the techniques of the age, and how it was able to stand for
centuries. The bridge was tragically destroyed during the civil war in 1993,
and after funding from across the continent, was rebuilt about 10 years later
using the same traditional methods with which it was originally constructed. Arriving
at the bridge meant we were in the center of the Old Town, and from here we
walked slightly further to a dinner spot with an awesome view of the bridge,
where we ordered cevacici, a Bosnian dish with some pita bread, cabbage, onion,
and a bunch of sausages – very simple, very tasty, and very filling. Following
the meal, we grabbed some ice cream and found another great vantage point of
the bridge, where we relaxed for a bit as the sun began to fall in the sky.
Beautiful Mostar and Stari Most, taken from atop Koskin-Mehmed Pasha
Mosque, the most important in town
From here, we continued to walk through the old streets as
the bazaar shops closed, and after walking past a café bar right next to the
bridge, we were flagged down by a couple that was staying at the same hostel as
us whom we had chatted to earlier. We took a seat with them, ordered some
Bosnian beer, and talked about Mostar and our respective travels for a while
before walking back to the hostel.
Sunset over Mostar
Because Mostar was such a small town, having only spent
about 8 hours in and around the town was enough for us! We absolutely loved our
short stay here and the fantastic glimpse it gave us at Ottoman culture. We
awoke the next morning to a (very salty) breakfast prepared by our host at the
hostel, and set off on a 10 AM bus ride back into Croatia to our final Croatian
stop: Dubrovnik!
Dubrovnik
Despite what was supposed to be a 3-hour bus-ride becoming a
4.5-hour one, after many windy bends along Croatia’s coast line and 3 remarkably
long border stops, we arrived at Dubrovnik safe and sound around 2:30 PM
Thursday.
Interesting farming landscape on the road through Bosnia & Herzegovina
We started our day in Dubrovnik with a leisurely stroll
through the walled Old Town, both spending considerable time walking along the
main stretch and into the Cathedrals there and also perusing the many tiny
alleyways with their hidden cafes and shops. We found the most popular Buza in
Dubrovnik, which translates to “hole in the wall” and was exactly that: a
literal hole in the walls of Dubrovnik that opened out onto a lively bar with a
fantastic Adriatic view. It was even equipped with cliffs down into the crystal
blue water below suitable for the more adventurous of us to take a long jump
down, but the water was unfortunately far too cold for that.
View from the Buza, looking deep into the Adriatic with the island
of Lokrum in the center
We continued our wanderings until we found an affordable
café bar to settle down in for a bit, where we relaxed for an hour before
continuing our self-guided walking tour. Before long it was time for dinner,
and we found a local favorite called Barba, serving up locally-caught fast
seafood; I took a chance and got the delicious octopus burger, and Mackenzie
had a salmon sandwich.
The main street in Dubrovnik's compact Old Town leading up
to the main square
From dinner, we walked outside the walls of the city and
around the Dubrovnik marina, where we were able to catch a great view of the
red sun setting in the distance. We finished the night by spending some more
time walking through the center of town after nightfall before heading back to
our Airbnb to prep for the next day.
Outside the walls of Dubrovnik at Dawn
On Friday we woke up and prepared for a long day exploring a
slightly less touristed part of the area: the small island of Lokrum, located a
short distance off the coast of Dubrovnik. Even in the off-season, Dubrovnik
was filled with tourists from all over the world, and because the walled area
of the town is quite small, the density of tourists was a bit much for the two
of us. To remedy this, we grabbed our bathing suits and hopped on the first
boat over to Lokrum, arriving at 10:30 AM.
Our friendly welcome: one of the dozens of peacocks that call the island home!
Over the years, the island has served a few different
purposes, from being a luxury island getaway for the King of Dalmatia to a
quarantine to keep foreign merchants from spreading their germs to the city to
its current state as an unpopulated island attracting tourists looking to get
out of the hustle of Dubrovnik. Upon arrival, we started our half-day on the island
by taking the long hike up to the Old Fort. On the way, we ran into plenty of
the island’s only permanent inhabitants: peacocks! Originally brought centuries
ago to please a king, the peacocks lived on long past the king and now happily
survive and thrive on the small island.
View back towards the mainland from the highest point on Lokrum
Arriving at the top of the fort and the highest point on the
island, we took plenty of time to take in the fantastic views in all
directions, looking north and south the long Croatian coastline, westward deep
in the blue Adriatic waters, and eastward towards the commanding walls of
Dubrovnik. From the summit, we climbed down to the water, touring an abandoned
port, the remnants of the castle, and the old quarantine grounds (now filled
with donkeys and rabbits). We crossed the island and viewed the steep cliffs of
the western side before searching through the interior to find the popular Dead
Sea Lake, a small lake with a similar salinity level and (purportedly) the same
buoyant properties as the Dead Sea. We took a quick dip in the freezing waters
during which we tested how easy it was to float (finding that it didn’t seem
any easier than normal water) before quickly escaping the cold.
The very farthest I was able to wade into the icy-cold waters of the Dead Sea Lake
On the way off the island, we passed through a fun park and an
old monastery before grabbing a ferry and arriving back to mainland Dubrovnik
around 3:00 PM, where we walked around the city a little more and relaxed in
our same café bar from the previous day before setting off on our bus out of
Dubrovnik and the country at 5:00 PM.
Kotor
The drive once again took us along the Croatian coastline,
giving us our final look at the turquoise blue Adriatic water before crossing
the border to Montenegro and promptly dipping into the country and away from
the water. For the last portion of the trip, we followed the shoreline of the prominent
Bay of Kotor for an hour before arriving at Kotor around sundown. We stayed at
the Old Town Hostel in the middle of Kotor, which occupied a building
originally created by the Venetians (who controlled the surrounding area for
centuries towards the beginning of the second millennia) around 1250. The
hostel served as a mini-museum, housing random trinkets and paintings dating
all the way back to the 5th century – it was really cool to walk
around in for a little bit and check out, and definitely one of the coolest
hostels of the semester.
One of the many museum-quality artifacts on the walls of the hostel. This one
is a 1500-year-old carving of the Virgin Mary found in Kotor.
After a break to recover from the fast-paced bus ride, we
headed out around 9 PM to walk around the town and grab a late-night snack and
something to drink. We saw the many churches of Kotor, and got our feel for the
winding alleyways similar to those we had become accustomed to in Dubrovnik.
We awoke early the next morning in preparation for a very
long and eventful day! We had decided to commit to a 12-hour “Great Montenegro
Tour” that the hostel was advertising. The tour would take us all over
Montenegro, a country both known for its natural beauty and difficulty of
travel (unless, of course, you have your own tour guide to drive you around and
navigate the mountainous roads).
Taken from the top of the Mt. Lovcen overlooking the Bay of Kotor all the way
to the Adriatic Sea on the far left of the photo
The weather was fickle, and while it was blue and sunny as
we left, the weather quickly took a turn for the worst towards the middle of
the day, only to turn back to blue skies for the latter part. We left the
hostel in a passenger van at 8:30 AM with about 8 others and first winded our
way up the 25 serpentine bends of Mt. Lovcen to where we grabbed the most
fantastic view over the bay. After time for a photo op, we continued over the
mountain and to the raised plateaus of inner Montenegro, where we stopped for
breakfast in Njegusi, a small town known for having some of the best prosciutto
in the world. We ate the prosciutto with some local bread and cheese, and even
got to try some rajika. Popular to all Balkan countries, rajika is the
local firewater typically made using grapes or apricots. It’s also usually
around 115+ proof (57% alcohol). A small sip is all
Mackenzie and I could take at 9 AM.
Inside the Mausoleum of King Peter II.
We continued our tour upwards through the mountains,
eventually making it to the Mausoleum of King Peter II, the most important
ruler in Montenegrin history. The Mausoleum sits high upon the second highest
peak in Montenegro, and once arriving by car we had to climb another 500 steps
to get to the actual site. Beyond the grave was our next viewing platform, from
which on a clear day you can see 70% of the whole country! At this point it was
pretty overcast and foggy so the visibility wasn’t optimal, but it still
provided a great view over plenty of the countryside.
Cetinje Monastery
It was all downhill from here (literally, not figuratively),
as we worked our way down from the mountaintop to the city in the valley:
Cetinje. For centuries, Cetinje was the capital of Montenegro, and it wasn’t
until Tito took over following WWII that the capital was changed to the current
(very boring) Podgorica. Because of this, all the cultural history lies in
Cetinje, and despite the weather being the poorest of the day during our visit
here, we still had a good time walking around the city and visiting an active
monastery.
The picturesque Rijeka Crnojevica River Bend -- better than expected!
Our next stop was the real reason I took the tour: The
Rijeka Crnojevica River bend! Only accessible via car, this picture-perfect
river is one of the most beautiful sites we’ve been to all semester, and
something I’m been wanting to view in person ever since I first heard of it.
From there we continued to lunch at another local restaurant where we got some
fresh fish (served whole), and then onto a river boat that slowly plowed its
way through the picturesque windings of Rijeka Crnojevica for 45 minutes.
Incredible views during our long boat ride through Rijeka Crnojevica
After a bit more driving, we arrived back to the coast in
Budva, a popular tourist destination known for its beautiful beaches and lively
nightlife. We followed our guide on a tour of the city here before heading back
to Kotor as the sun set, arriving around 8:00 and quickly retiring to our beds in the hostel. It was a fantastic day filled
with natural beauty and fascinating history!
High above Budva, our final destination of the tour on the coast of the Adriatic
The weather was a little nastier the next day, but that
didn’t stop us. We spent the morning wandering through Kotor’s Old Town and
surveying everything we had seen the first night during the daylight. After
spending some time finding the best way to get to our next destination, we took
an afternoon bus to Budva, where we waited and relaxed for a couple hours for
our next bus to Skopje. The 10-hour bus to Skopje took us through the night,
passing through Albania and Kosovo on the way to Macedonia, which resulted in
an unfortunate number of long border stops and a very unsteady sleep. We
arrived in Skopje at 4:30 AM, headed to our hostel, and slept in to catch up.
It wasn’t the most glamorous way to get to Skopje, but we needed to be there
for Mackenzie’s flight in a couple days, and it was the safest way to ensure we
didn’t miss it.
Skopje
Our first day in Skopje, Monday, was our day to explore the
city. Without mincing words, Skopje was an absolutely bizarre city. Macedonia
is both the least-touristed country in Europe and one of the poorest, meaning
that Mackenzie and I were inundated with beggars while walking through the
streets. Usually this isn’t an issue, as we’ve become quite accustomed to
hecklers, but Skopje was at a rate that was on a whole new level
(we were approached 4 times during our short lunch). Along with this, the
communist-style buildings that lined the streets were covered with graffiti,
stray dogs and cats roamed around en masse, and trash was littered throughout
generously. Lastly, Macedonians use the Cyrillic alphabet (the same one as
Russia), which only added to our feel as foreigners. Now, of course, all of
this would be relatively normal and expected of one of the poorest countries in
Europe, but what was not expected at all were the statues.
The beautiful, newly-renovated Skopje Museum of Archaeology
Lining every street leading to the center of the city and
very generously thrown all over the center were countless huge statues, mostly
portraying Alexander the Great (the most famous Macedonian), but covering a
huge range of relatively unknown Macedonian figures as well. Mackenzie and I were
totally floored; how could a country so wracked with poverty afford so many of
these amazing statues? It turns out that a few years back, the Macedonian
government started a project to beautify its capital city called “Skopje 2014”
in which 250+ statues were erected across the city and many prominent buildings
near the center were either built or renovated in neo-classical style. What
resulted was a super weird juxtaposition between these opulent granite and
gold-plated statues and the background of graffiti-covered deteriorating
buildings filled with homeless dogs, cats, and people alike.
Short video to get an idea of just how many statues there were. They were everywhere!
Out of context, the new buildings and statues were
wonderful, but in the context of all the surrounding poverty, they really weren’t
all that beautiful. We wondered why the Macedonian government wouldn’t instead
funnel this obvious wealth into helping its very needy people. The answer came
from speaking to a few locals, who informed us it was due to the corrupt government.
The government could easily lie about costs of erecting these statues,
drastically inflate the numbers, and pocket the difference. The example we were
given was that they claimed that hollow statues were filled with gold, which
allowed them to say a statue that cost $50K actually cost $250K, and they would
pocket the $200K difference. This claim is ludicrous, of course, but the people
had no power to challenge it. Once again, Mackenzie and I were totally shocked
at hearing this, and it was a big wakeup call to how fortunate we are to live
in the US.
Walking along the inner wall of the Kale Fortress, which overlooks the city
We spent the entire day walking around the city, over the
many large bridges, past the newly-renovated museums in the center of the town, and
into and around the old bazaar. We grabbed some Turkish coffee and sweets at a
café within the bazaar before heading to one of the main attractions of Skopje:
the ancient 6th century Kale Fortress that now watches over the city. From the outside, the
fortress looks strong and well-maintained, but after walking up the hill to
enter, we learned that the fortress was severely un-managed. Covered in trash
and the leftovers from unfinished renovation projects, the once-strong fortress
showed only signs of disrepair. After walking along the walls of the fortress,
we strolled back down to the center of the city for dinner.
The most popular man in Skopje: Alexander the Great! This is the largest
statue in the whole city, and sits in the very center of the main square
We had a tasty dinner at a kebab place in the middle of the
bazaar, where we each ate a combination of kebabs with grilled onion, pepper,
ajvar (a local pepper jam), and bread. With drinks, the dinner came out to
about $3 each and we both were too full to finish our meals.
From dinner, we walked up the hill to the local microbrewery which was (somewhat surprisingly) super fun! Full of life and with some of the best beer
we’ve found in all of Europe, we spent a while in this happy place. We loved
listening to the local Macedonian band play classic American country songs, and
even got a callout after clapping especially loudly for a great rendition of
“Country Road”. They pointed at us, laughed and smiled, said some stuff in
Macedonian, then played “I Can’t Stop Loving You”! A very fun and memorable
night, and the highlight of our interesting visit to Skopje.
Our first look through the center of Matka Canyon
The next morning we took our time getting ready and caught a
morning bus to Matka Canyon, a natural canyon a mere 14 km outside the center
of Skopje. The canyon was beautiful, and we spent a couple hours hiking along
its ridge, grabbing coffee at the café at the canyon’s opening, and taking a
small boat to Vrelo Cave. Filled with dripping stalactites and noisy bats, the
cave was easily walkable and we spent about 15 minutes checking out the two
large underground lakes and the rest of the cave before hopping on the boat
back to the canyon’s entrance. We took the bus back to Skopje and grabbed
dinner at a popular fast food joint, where we each got a massive burger packed tight
with french fries.
Another view of the canyon towards the end of our height, now showing the small
boat we would soon be taking to Vrelo Cave
Mackenzie’s flight was scheduled to leave from Skopje
airport at 6:10 AM on Wednesday, so we rose early and walked to the local bus
that took her there, leaving at 4:00 AM. Her journey back to Copenhagen was
less-than-glamorous, but after a cancelled plane, delayed bus to a different
airport in another country, delayed plane, missed bus, delayed bus, missed
train, cancelled train, delayed metro, and metro ticket fine, she was home (and
only a few hours after missing the sole class she returned to Copenhagen to attend)!
Kosovo & Belgrade
After dropping Mackenzie off at 4 AM, I headed back to the
hostel for a few more hours of sleep before getting up early and figuring out
my plans, which were to go to Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. I met someone
else in the hostel with the same plans, so the two of us grabbed a morning bus to the new country and arrived shortly after noon. On the bus, we met a few locals who
were incredibly kind and helpful to us, and we knew that we were going to like
Kosovo already.
The only statue of Bill Clinton in the world!
Kosovo is an interesting place to visit as an American. The
newest country in Europe, it gained its independence from Serbia in 2008 after
a long and ugly civil war. During this war, the US was one of the first backers
of Kosovo, and due to this Kosovars absolutely love America. Like, to a weird obsessive level sometimes. The main
street running through Pristina is called Bill Clinton Blvd. (they also have
George Bush Blvd. – no partisanship going on over here), a huge statue of Bill
Clinton (the only in the world), and a large Statue of Liberty replica standing
near the main square. Additionally, I saw as many American flags flying high as
I did Kosovo flags. Compiled with this serious obsession with the US, American
tourists are really infrequent in this part of the world, so the Kosovars would
go crazy whenever they learned I was American. The many interactions I had with
the already-friendly locals turned a relatively average city into a really fun and unique experience. Kosovo really put America’s influence into perspective. Here is a
country so small that 99% of Americans have probably never even heard of it,
and yet we changed their world and they absolutely love us for it over there.
Really interesting.
The "ugliest building in the world"... I won't argue with that one.
After arriving and checking into the lively hostel, I
decided to spend some time walking around the city despite the freezing
temperatures. I bundled up in as many layers of clothing as I owned and braved
the snow (yes, snow in the Balkans at the end of April – crazy!) for a few
hours to see the highlights of the city. I ate lunch at Shaban, where I had a
massive loaf of bread, a side salad, five large kebabs, and a drink for $2. If
the locals aren’t enough to make this place attractive, the prices were. I
continued my trek through the cold to see the Bill Clinton Statue, the old
bazaar, a few of the main mosques (Kosovo is one of two majority Muslim nations
in Europe), the National Library (commonly called the ugliest building in the
world), and the NEWBORN monument, ending at a small café. I got the best coffee
I’ve had in all of Europe for $1 when I ordered a large macchiato.
The NEWBORN monument is painted with a different theme every year. This year, "No Walls"
is spelled out on the ground using the "N" and "W". America politics is everywhere.
After a few hours, I headed back to the hostel to dry off,
and spent the evening socializing with the other travelers. Unlike some of the
previous places Mackenzie and I have traveled, Kosovo is a bit off the beaten
track, which meant that all the hostel-goers here were really well-traveled, which resulted in a lot of fun storytelling.
The night was super fun, and I met plenty of friends from across the world!
Waking up the next day, my plan was pretty convoluted. I
wanted to take a bus to Prizren (another Kosovar city), half-day-trip there,
take a bus back to Pristina, take a bus to Skopje, then take a night bus to Belgrade to get there the next morning. After spending
a lot of time researching the bus timetables and trying to line everything up,
a couple British friends from the night before woke up and told me they were
planning to go to Prizren then to Skopje in their rental car! I ended up
hitching a ride with them (Tom and Guy, both civil engineers in their late-20’s
and both super well-traveled with around 75+ countries down each).
Cute bear cub at the Kosovo Bear Sanctuary!
We started the day by heading to a nearby bear sanctuary,
where local bears that had been rescued from abuse across Kosovo were gathered.
We walked around the still-freezing and snowy weather and checked out the many
brown bears before heading on towards Prizren. Similar to Mostar but with less
character, Prizren was an old, very Turkish town filled with mosques and Ottoman
influence. We grabbed lunch and walked around the Old Town for a couple hours
before hopping back in the car and cutting through the country to get back to
Skopje around dinner time. From here, we parted ways and I made my way to the
bus station to buy tickets before heading back to the microbrewery to wait the
few hours before my midnight bus left. After a boring evening I took the 6 hour
train up through Serbia and arrived in a very wet Belgrade at 6 AM.
View over the modest Ottoman town of Prizren with the Alps in the background
I intended to spend the whole day in Belgrade and take the
night train up through the country to arrive in Budapest the next morning, but
I could tell shortly after arriving that this would not be the case. Guy and
Tom from Kosovo had told me (before knowing it was my next destination) that
Belgrade was their least favorite city in Europe, but I went in committed to
giving it a fair, unbiased shot. I ended up spending only 5 hours in the city,
and hopped on an early 11:30 AM train up to Budapest, arriving around 7:30 PM.
Walked along simple, grey, communist streets like this with a heavy backpack
on for five hours. Didn't give me much reason to stay in Belgrade.
While in Belgrade, I spent the better part of my visit simply
walking around the expansive downtown area in the quiet early morning hours. The
city was the most communist I’ve experienced, and the simple grey architecture
in the cold and rainy morning made for an unexciting stroll. I made my way to
the main attraction of the city, the old Fortress, by 8 AM and found myself to
be the only one strolling around its sprawling grass interior for about an
hour. After exiting, I found a café where I could grab something to eat and
connect to wifi, and it was here that I realized (after consulting TripAdvisor)
that I had already seen all the city’s main attractions within only a couple
hours of walking around with my heavy backpack on my back.
Found this out-of-place juxtaposition outside the entrance to Belgrade's
most culturally significant site very amusing.
I stayed in the café for an hour, weighing the merits of
leaving early, before making my decision and sauntering back in the direction
of the train station. Shortly thereafter I left and took the 8-hour train
through Serbia, up to the Hungarian border, and into Budapest. Thankfully,
despite the troubles I went through at the Slovenia-Croatia border when exiting
the EU, I faced no issues when reentering the EU via Hungary due to a less-than-thorough border agent.
Budapest
After arriving, I headed to the hostel Mackenzie and I had
booked for the next night, where I was able to grab an additional bed for the
extra night that I would now stay in Budapest. I chatted with the
receptionists, grabbed some doner kebab for dinner, and headed to bed early to
catch up from the prior restless night on the bus.
Budapest's Green Bridge spanning the Danube River
I awoke early for breakfast on Saturday, and headed into the
city around 10 AM to explore while waiting for Mackenzie to join me. While she
was expected to arrive at 11 AM, one of her trains had been delayed causing her
to miss a connection, which led to her untimely arrival around 2 PM. For the
few hour wait, I strolled around the downtown, seeing many of the sights I
would revisit with her later in the day.
Panoramic view from atop Gellert Hill, looking over to the expansive Pest half of the city
2 PM finally came, and Mackenzie arrived in Budapest. After
settling her into the hostel, we headed out to really explore Budapest for the
first time. Starting at the hostel, we headed to the Danube River, which we
followed along Vaci Street, the main pedestrian walking street of the city.
While covered in an array of different architectural styles and plenty of
beautiful buildings, the sheer size of Budapest took away from some of its
glamour. Unlike Prague, which had a very small and dense town center, Budapest
was sprawling, and it took around 45 minutes to walk from one side of the
center to the other. Our first destination was the top of Gellert Hill, where the Liberty Statue was standing tall and proud, looking down over all of Budapest. After taking in the panoramic views, we headed down and spent the remainder of our Saturday making the long and slow
walk through town, surveying the many beautiful, nameless buildings, and ending
at St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
In front of the beautiful and enormous St. Stephen's Cathedral
Ranking as likely the second most wonderful church in Europe
(behind St. Peter’s, of course), St. Stephens was a massive church with an
ornate interior. Additionally, in an adjoining chapel, one could view the literal
right hand of St. Stephen, the patron saint of Budapest who lived around the
beginning of the 11th century and is credited with the city’s
founding. From the church, we walked towards and around the Jewish district,
which centers around the Great Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Europe. We finished the day by heading back to Vaci Street, where we
got some tasty food at an Irish pub (I ended up trying the most popular
Hungarian dish, goulash).
The Hungarian Parliament Building -- stunning!
On Sunday morning we got up early and walked across town to
meet up at 10:30 for our walking tour of the downtown. We only stayed with the
tour for about 1.5 of its 3-hour length, but with the lively guide we walked
around the majority of the downtown, crossed the famous Chain Bridge, and ended
on the Buda side of the city (Buda is on the western side of the Danube; Pest
on the east). From here, we walked along the shore of the Danube northward to
get a great view of the famous and architecturally amazing Hungarian
Parliament, before catching a metro back across town to the hostel to grab our
things and head to the train station for the long journey back to Copenhagen.
We only spent about a day exploring the town and didn’t do a
couple of the highlights, but that only means we’ll be forced to return! We
both really enjoyed Budapest, and view it as a much-more-spread-out Prague.
With beautiful architecture, friendly locals, an interesting history, a lively
nightlife, and affordable prices, there’s something for everyone in Budapest.
And now I have finished typing this (very long) essay! Congratulations if you have made it this far – this post comes out to around 7100 words and is no quick read.
The Balkans were a wonderful, diverse mixed-bowl of culture.
Mackenzie and I are awed by and grateful for this great opportunity to
see such a fascinating corner of the Earth. We managed to spend considerable
time in eight different countries on this trip, and saw natural beauty
unrivaled through much of Europe. The trip was at such a rapid-fire pace though
that we leave quite exhausted and ready for some time off. To truly experience
the Balkans would require months, and we’re already hoping
for a return trip in the future to delve deeper into many of our favorite spots
and explore new ones.
We are on our very final train of the rail pass (not
counting my short train going Copenhagen > Lund), and are certainly going to
miss this. The journey to and from has become so much an integral part of our
experience that, despite the long 20+ hour trips that have become commonplace,
we cannot imagine what this semester would have been like without our faithful
trains.
For now, we plan to take a couple weeks off before taking
one more large trip via airplane. We will be flying from Copenhagen to Paris, then
Dublin, then Edinburgh, spending a few days in each location, before Mackenzie
continues to Portugal then Madrid to meet her family, and I return to
Lund to finish my classes.
***Final Note****
I will add that all the events mentioned above have long elapsed, as it is now June 15, I am in Washington DC, and have finished my fantastic semester. That's enough of spoilers for now though! Only reason this hasn't been posted in that I seriously procrastinated on adding photos -- rest assured the post itself has been written since the week of the trip. :)
***Final Note****
I will add that all the events mentioned above have long elapsed, as it is now June 15, I am in Washington DC, and have finished my fantastic semester. That's enough of spoilers for now though! Only reason this hasn't been posted in that I seriously procrastinated on adding photos -- rest assured the post itself has been written since the week of the trip. :)
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