Food, Drink and Conversation with Sofia

It's been a few days since I've properly updated the blog but here are a few photos from Sofia, Bulgaria. After arriving with Igor and Petya we spent a short 3 nights here. Bulgarians thought we were pretty lame for spending such a short time in their country but Chris and I were eager to get back "on track" so to speak and head towards our original destinations: Moldova and Romania. Sofia was very cool though. The city itself is attractive and not too big so it's easily managed on foot. In terms of sightseeing though we didn't indulge too much. We took the attitude "people make the place" and were content to spend time with Igor, Petya and their friends as well as chatting with any other locals we ran into. Food, drink and conversation was enough to occupy us here and we had a great time.





Our favourite Bulgarian couple, Igor and Petya. They're the coolest people in Bulgaria so we count ourselves pretty lucky to have made friends with them.





Typical suburban apartment blocks from the Communist era with Mt. Vitosha in the background. The city centre is only 12 kms from it's 2200 metre peak. I took this photo from our friend Galina's balcony.





The centre of Sofia is full of these little courtyards and spaces behind buildings. Overgrown and unkempt they provide a little break from the routine cityscape.





Decaying Socialist Realist sculpture in central Sofia.

Babes, Booze and Ham Sandwiches

On Sunday we left Montenegro for Bulgaria. Our friends Igor and Petya were cool enough to let us ride with them to Sofia and the ride there was quite an adventure. Getting out of Montenegro took forever as some highways were shut down for roadwork. We drove around crazy little mountain backroads and stopped to check out a beautiful river. For such a small country it really is exceptional in terms of diversity of scenery. Things got really interesting once we approached the border with Kosovo. To start, churches gace way to mosques and the architecture and landscape changed into something a little more northern European looking. We got up to the top of a mountain pass and stopped for a snowball fight on the way; even at this time of year a little snow remained. Eventualy, we reached the UN administered border between Montenegro and Kosovo. Although only a short 4 hours to get through it things in Kosovo seemed pretty edgy. Petya and Igor were warned not to speak Bulgarian as it can be confused with Serbian and the locals don't like Serbs apparently. The country is overun with UN and police vehicles. More striking are the countless roadside monuments to "heroes" of the conflict with Serbia - statues of soldiers with kalashnikovs - and also the bombed out, destroyed buildings along the highway. We stopped in Pristina for food and also looked for accomodation without luck. Being there was strange. The place was full of internet cafes, restaurants, bars and clubs. Good looking girls walked around all over the place skimpily dressed and in the cafe we went to we were offered either tuna or HAM sandwiches. It was strange to think that war and genocide had occured here because, as ethnic Albanian muslims, the people tried to separate from Serbia. Sexy Women, booze and ham sandwiches seemed so out of place.

Leaving Kosovo was also a sketchy experience. Chris and I had our pictures taken next to the sign for Pristina and didn't realize a dude was standing in the dark only a few feet away from us - this time it was Petya that yelled at us to jump in the car. At the border the Kosovo police guard tried to bribe us saying that because we had not stopped at a stop sign a few feet back we had broken some sort of rule and told us we would have to pay money before asking us how much we had. We waited it out until fortunately he changed his mind and let us go with a warning.








It may be hard to see this picture (the light was bad) but if you look closely you can see it's a huge billboard of Bill Clinton announcing the street is Bill Clinton Boulevard. This was taken in Pristina, capital of Kosovo.





Chris and I jumped out of the car to take a picture of this bombed church. As we were snapping photos a guy up the road starting screaming and yelling at us and Igor yelled out, "Get in the fucking car!". We jumped in and raced away pretty quickly but were freaked out by the experience.





We were a little hesitant about our route but here we are: Welcome to Kosovo!





Igor and Chris engage in a snowball fight in early summer!





Beautiful green hills of Montenegro

European Cooking Lessons

Ruins of Fortress of St. John at Kotor. This place felt like Helms Deep from the Lord of the Rings movies.






Local kids in Dubrovnik playing a form of soccer next to the fortress walls. If the ball went out of bounds the kids had to dive into the Adriatic to retrieve it. Not a bad place to grow up it seems.







Fortress Walls and Old Town Dubrovnik




This sign details the damage done to Old Dubrovnik by Serbian forces in 1991-1992. people here seem intent on making sure no one, including visitors, forgets about this conflict.





Harbour at Kotor, Montenegro




Church and Square in Stari Kotor (Old Town Kotor)



After 4 or 5 days in Montenegro, as well as a quick visit to Dubrovnik on the Croatian coast, we'll be heading to Bulgaria tomorrow. Chris and I decided to travel again and we're hitching a ride to Sofia with Petia and Igor, a Bulgarian couple we met at the hostel. From there I'll probably head to Varna on the Black Sea to catch a ferry to Odessa. For the moment, that's the plan.

Dubrovnik was quite a treat. I went there for a day on my own after deciding to leave for Bulgaria on Sunday. Dubrovnik is a beautiful old town surrounded by mammoth fortress walls and jutting out into the Adriatic. At first the super touristy nature of the place put me off but once I began tp wander away from the centre it became apparent that tourists didn't own the place. Laundry was hanging out to dry, couples were arguing and kids kicked soccer balls around - just a regular neighbourhood in ancient surroundings. Outside of the fortress walls locals hung out on the sea walls to swim and nap while kids played soccer that involved having to dive into the ocean every time the ball got away. Only a day and night there was not really enough.

After Dubrovnik I took the time to climb the fortress of St. John at Kotor. This was also really beautiful. The climb up to the fortress, (a Unesco heritage site), took an hour or more but the views and the peacful surroundings were more than worth it.

In any case the past few days in Montenegro have been fun. Although there was no political excitement Chris managed to tell a group of Montenegran Serbs that they would be responsible for the next conflict in the Balkans and on another occasion announced to a group of people that the only thing Europe had to offer America was cooking lessons. Always stirring the pot...

Fortress of Sveti Stefan






















Old Town Budva and the Citadelle

Short Visit to Belgrade And On To Montenegro

Pedestrian Street and Fountain in Central Belgrade








Belgrade Castle Gate







Open Square and Column Overlooking the Danube from Belgrade Castle






So after only one night in Belgrade we decided to move on quickly to Montenegro hoping to soak up some of the atmosphere following the "YES" result for the separation referendum. What happened is that after an interesting and surprisingly comfortable overnight train ride we ended up at a cozy little resort town on the Adriatic coast - no noise, no rallies, no protests, no parties , no signs or graffiti or anything. The hostel owners told us the day of the referendum was nuts as people broke out their kalishnikovs (they;re more common than colour tvs here --- joking) and fired into the air while driving around like madmen and waving flags. Tensions are still present though - we've spoken to Montenegran Serbs that seem to not really acknowledge and are frustrated by what seems to be a political reality. Moving on, we decided to chill out regroup and organize here in Budva. One consequence is that Chris and I have decided to separate for the next couple of weeks. He wants to head south into Albania and Kosovo and experience these risky and lawless (from what we know) recent warzones and I feel like stumbling towards Ukraine via Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia (again), Bulgaria and Romania. In the meantime sand and surf, nintendo, hollywood movies, clean laundry and a little sightseeing are what we're up to.

Coin Toss - Belgrade!

So Chris and I flipped a coin the other night and decided Belgrade would be the next stop. Although a little apprehensive about going to the capital of a country on the verge of breakup (which it did Sunday night when Montenegro voted in a referendum for independence), and still was recovering from NATO bombing from 5 years ago and also UN sanctions, we jumped on the train in Budapest and arrived in Belgrade 6 hours later. On the train we met Jellena was who was returning to Serbia after finishing her Masters in Hungary. The casual indifference of Budapestians to tourists was in stark contrast to the welcome of Belgradians. Jellena and her sister, as well as a handful of taxi drivers, spent about 45 minutes or more looking at maps and making telephone calls to help us find our obsure accomodation. With their help we arrived at our hostel and after a beer with the owner headed out to hang out with Jellena and her sister. We went to the Danube River where there are dozens of barges with popular bars and clubs on them. We must have been the only tourists around and the place was blocked with locals partying to Serbian pop music and living it up. Although we expected things to be a little quieter due to the Montenegran referendum Belgradians were in high spirits and considered the split to be better for both countries. Our first night in Belgrade was a very warm welcome to Serbia.

Statue Park, Saturday 20th

We went to the Statue Park on Saturday. Following the fall of Communism in 1989 in Hungary, Budapestians removed all Communist and Soviet statues and monuments and put them in a park on the outskirts of the city. Today Budapest feels like any other Central European in terms of architecture etc. There are essentially no visible reminders of the Communist era nor the incredible destruction the city suffered during WWII.

















































Isn't it good to be friends again?

Hungarian Folk Musician

We passed by this guy on the way home from caving. He just sat in the entrance of his apartment building playing an instrument that resembled a cross between a fiddle and a grind organ. The music was equally a crossbreed sounding like something between Irish and Arabic music - I have to say it was pretty hypnotic and very fresh sounding. He sat with a friend who composed lyrics, sang and danced Meanwhile neighbours came out to sit and drink beers and listen. this impromptu concert was a nice way to end a long day.

Caves Underneath Budapest

We went caving on Friday the 19th. This was a trip and definitely the most fun yet. A little dangerous and definitely the most challening, in terms of being able to navigate such small undergound spaces, but well worth it.




















In this photo you can see a seashell in the cave walls - this was ocean floor 40 million years ago but is now hundreds of miles from the sea and 60 metres underground.

WWII Bomb Damage At The Citadelle Overlooking Budapest

Chris Ponders the View From the Citadelle's Defensive Walls

Budapestians Were In Awe of My Magnificent Physique

Some Typical Scenic Views of Budapest

Safety Isn't A Worry Here In Budapest - Hanging Out On A Window Ledge 3 Storeys Up

Frankfurt Airport, Wednesday 17 morning

I was really touched to see that Germans had taken up my cause and were fundraising for my benefit.

I'd like to live in the big zig-zag building....right across the street from the nuclear power plant...

First Impressions of Germany....

So Chris and I have finally embarked on our famed Grand Tour of Europe's nether regions. We hope to keep this page updated both as a way to keep our legions of admirers informed of our activities but also as a record of our last days should we meet an early demise {I've been having nightmares about disappearing down uncovered manholes in Odessa}. With our Bickpicks mounted, Hos-tels fully reserved and cheap alcohol at the ready we've already begun to conquer Eastern Europe on $0.87 a day. Feel free to be a fly on the wall as we humiliate ourselves and others throughout Hungary, Romania, Moldova and perhaps Ukraine and Serbia.