I made it into Belgrade, Serbia Saturday afternoon after a 10 hour bus ride from Podgorica, Montenegro that left first thing Saturday morning. I had ended up staying up all night in Podgorica. When I noticed the sun coming up as me and my (British) host were in the middle of a heated debate over US world supremacy and China and all that type of stuff, I figured that I may as well get a headstart on my trip to Belgrade and so made my way to the bus station. The sun was already fairly high in the sky bt 630am and I was completely blinded by it. The central European time zone borders go WAAAAYYY too far to the east. I guess that's just another example of these ex-commie states wanting to be more like the west....
The last time I posted was Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzogovina - in other words, three countries ago - four countries ago if you count the 15 minutes I spent driving through the little sliver of Bosnia along the coast that cuts Croatia in two. From Sarajevo, I took the train further south to Mostar, then to Dubrovnik, Croatia along the coast. Then to Kotor, Montenegro, then Podgorica, then Belgrade. It'd be ideal if I could add a little map to the side of my blog that shows my route. Does anybody know how to do that?
I've been trying to avoid being a tourist this past week and trying to get a feel for real life, but the Dalmatian coast is not a good place to do this. Not that I'm complaining. A friend of my host in Zagreb was kind enough to put me up in his five star hotel in Dubrovnik for two nights - he even gave me a seaside view! IMPORTANNE RESORT, people! If you ever go to Dubrovnik or are thinking about a good place to go for a summer trip, I highly recommend Importanne Resort in Dubrovnik, Croatia. See the pictures I added to my flickr stream for some visuals.
I used my time in Dubrovnik to catch my breath a little. The hotel was a few kilometers outside of town and was nice and quiet - a perfect place to decompress after spending about 10 straight days in the city. Mixing up city life with more rural life is very important. I guess I can hardly call Importanne Resort rural though... but you know what I mean.
From Dubrovnik, I took the bus along the coast to Montenegro - The Bay of Kotor. This place is amazing! The largest fjord on the meditteranean. Kotor is located at the very southeastern most tip and is the biggest town on the fjord. It is also the home of the oldest and most well preserved walled town and fort on the fjord - an example of how their strategic location at the end of the fjord appears to have helped them over the years. I actually got to stay with a host in the old town, behind the walls and everything. It's amazing how you can really feel the effect of the walls. Passing from "new Kotor" to "old Kotor" is full of contrast. Inside the walls, you don't hear any cars (they aren't allowed in the old town, and probably wouldn't fit, anyways) nothing is more than about a 5 minute walk away. I got a good taste of the village life there.
However, I can also appreciate modern amenities now. My host was great in Kotor, but his apartment, to be honest, sucked. He was in a tiny basement flat where the water would spontaneously shut off and his cat would take morning shits in the shower. He was also hosting four of us couchsurfers, which was about 3 more than he had space for. I ended up sharing a bed with two other people one night, sleeping shortways across the bed to make space. I value this experience as insight into the life of poverty in a tiny, walled, old Adriatic town. It was a great time, though, and Micky, our host, was very gracious. He took us fishing and "octopus hunting" at this beautiful spot along the fjord.
Even though everyone told me not to go to Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, because "there was nothing to see there", it was perhaps my favorite city since Sarajevo. It was the perfect example of how you shouldn't just blindly follow Lonely Planet and, that if you have someone to show you around, you can have a great time anywhere. In this case, couchsurfing came through again. I stayed with a Brit teaching english there and we met up with two other couchsurfers at a bar and had a great night. In the process, I learned a lot about Podgorica, too. Sure, it's not the most tourist friendly town. No sections of the original wall left, no Austro-Hungarian era administrative buildings or old Ottoman markets left. Instead, Podgorica sits in a plain in southeastern Montenegro that gets invaded and destroyed about every fifty years, according to my host. This allows the city to reinvent itself about twice a century, making it much more modern and less distinctive. But, as I learned in Podgorica, "distinction" and tourist attractions do not necessarily make for a livable city. Podgorica seemed very livable to me. Small town, but a capital so there were things going on and young people and liveliness. Podgorica was free of the single file lines of middle age American tourists shuffling through narrow streets complaining about all the walking and wondering when was their next meal.
And now I'm in Belgrade. The capital of former Yugoslavia and my last checkpoint during my stay in former Yugoslavia. It has been cool to see all the provinces of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro first before coming to see the center of it all. I think being able to contrast Belgrade with its surroundings has allowed me to appreciate the city more. You can see how it really is like a London, Paris or Berlin for Southeast Europe. Compared to the rest of the cities in the neighborhood, it's clear that Belgrade is the most metropolitan and "capitalesque" of them all.
Friday I take off for Romania, where I'll meet up with a friend from Austin who is doing peace corps in eastern Romania - a little town called Barlad. I'll be sure to update from there.
The last time I posted was Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzogovina - in other words, three countries ago - four countries ago if you count the 15 minutes I spent driving through the little sliver of Bosnia along the coast that cuts Croatia in two. From Sarajevo, I took the train further south to Mostar, then to Dubrovnik, Croatia along the coast. Then to Kotor, Montenegro, then Podgorica, then Belgrade. It'd be ideal if I could add a little map to the side of my blog that shows my route. Does anybody know how to do that?
I've been trying to avoid being a tourist this past week and trying to get a feel for real life, but the Dalmatian coast is not a good place to do this. Not that I'm complaining. A friend of my host in Zagreb was kind enough to put me up in his five star hotel in Dubrovnik for two nights - he even gave me a seaside view! IMPORTANNE RESORT, people! If you ever go to Dubrovnik or are thinking about a good place to go for a summer trip, I highly recommend Importanne Resort in Dubrovnik, Croatia. See the pictures I added to my flickr stream for some visuals.
I used my time in Dubrovnik to catch my breath a little. The hotel was a few kilometers outside of town and was nice and quiet - a perfect place to decompress after spending about 10 straight days in the city. Mixing up city life with more rural life is very important. I guess I can hardly call Importanne Resort rural though... but you know what I mean.
From Dubrovnik, I took the bus along the coast to Montenegro - The Bay of Kotor. This place is amazing! The largest fjord on the meditteranean. Kotor is located at the very southeastern most tip and is the biggest town on the fjord. It is also the home of the oldest and most well preserved walled town and fort on the fjord - an example of how their strategic location at the end of the fjord appears to have helped them over the years. I actually got to stay with a host in the old town, behind the walls and everything. It's amazing how you can really feel the effect of the walls. Passing from "new Kotor" to "old Kotor" is full of contrast. Inside the walls, you don't hear any cars (they aren't allowed in the old town, and probably wouldn't fit, anyways) nothing is more than about a 5 minute walk away. I got a good taste of the village life there.
 | |
| View from our fishing spot in Kotor Bay |
However, I can also appreciate modern amenities now. My host was great in Kotor, but his apartment, to be honest, sucked. He was in a tiny basement flat where the water would spontaneously shut off and his cat would take morning shits in the shower. He was also hosting four of us couchsurfers, which was about 3 more than he had space for. I ended up sharing a bed with two other people one night, sleeping shortways across the bed to make space. I value this experience as insight into the life of poverty in a tiny, walled, old Adriatic town. It was a great time, though, and Micky, our host, was very gracious. He took us fishing and "octopus hunting" at this beautiful spot along the fjord.
 |
| View of Kotor from the fortress |
Even though everyone told me not to go to Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, because "there was nothing to see there", it was perhaps my favorite city since Sarajevo. It was the perfect example of how you shouldn't just blindly follow Lonely Planet and, that if you have someone to show you around, you can have a great time anywhere. In this case, couchsurfing came through again. I stayed with a Brit teaching english there and we met up with two other couchsurfers at a bar and had a great night. In the process, I learned a lot about Podgorica, too. Sure, it's not the most tourist friendly town. No sections of the original wall left, no Austro-Hungarian era administrative buildings or old Ottoman markets left. Instead, Podgorica sits in a plain in southeastern Montenegro that gets invaded and destroyed about every fifty years, according to my host. This allows the city to reinvent itself about twice a century, making it much more modern and less distinctive. But, as I learned in Podgorica, "distinction" and tourist attractions do not necessarily make for a livable city. Podgorica seemed very livable to me. Small town, but a capital so there were things going on and young people and liveliness. Podgorica was free of the single file lines of middle age American tourists shuffling through narrow streets complaining about all the walking and wondering when was their next meal.
 | |
| Blankets for Pilgrims to Ostrog (Orthodox monestary near Podgorica) |
Friday I take off for Romania, where I'll meet up with a friend from Austin who is doing peace corps in eastern Romania - a little town called Barlad. I'll be sure to update from there.
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