Day 29 - Dubrovnik

I had a lazy morning nit doing much and just getting ready to meet the girls for a late breakfast at 10am. We wandered down to the old town and after a bit of looking and flicking through some really short breakfast menus, we found a place that had a bit more on the menu. BTW you can get a discount in some places for sitting inside we got 25% off just got eating inside as opposed to on the street.

Jane and I then wandered the streets to do a bit of shopping. I only had to get something for one of my sisters, as I had gotten the rest of my family something already.

I met up with Mel again and escaped the midday heat with and ice cream and a cold drink. I then headed up to the cable car at about 2pm to get the view from the imperial fortress that over looks the city.

After spending about 30min walking around the top taking in the views I headed back down again. By this stage the weekend tourist crowds became a bit too much for me so I decided to go hide in our villa for a whole have a shower cool down and catch up on my blog.

I met up with Jane for dinner at 7pm and we headed down into the old town. I just had some grilled chicken. We then got an ice cream on the way home again. Early night tonight as I am flying out tomorrow.

Day 28 - Dubrovnik

After about 2.5 hours we arrived in Dubrovnik. We got dropped off beside the main road opposite some stairs. We headed down the stairs for a while until we got to a green metal door. Off the stairs this was the door into our villa where our private rooms were. The room is big enough but the bathroom is very compact. (the door hits the toilet when you open the door.
We had a little while to settle in before having our orientation walk around the city. After the orientation walk we decided to go to Lokrum Island for a couple of hours getting the 1pm boat. So we went different ways and had lunch. Mel and I got salads from a restaurant which were huge mine was the size of a salad I would do for a small bbq. A couple of older American women sat beside us and ordered ice cream, the bill came our and one of the American women hadn't looked at the prices. The bill just for the ice cream was more than what we paid for our salads and a drink. There bill was 220 kuna, which is expensive considering that if they went to a ice cream stand/shop not a restaurant they would have only paid about 20 kuna. That's why they give you a menu. :-)
Lokrum Island was good and only a 15min boat ride from the old town port. I went for a swim off the rocks (beach in these parts). Layed on a rock in the sun for a while before moving to the shade.
We got the 3:15pm boat back so that we could have showers and get ready for our 5pm walk around the old town wall before dinner. We had dinner down near the water outside the old town and I had a wild bore goulash with fried gnocchi followed by some creme caramel and a taste of some hot cherry pancakes with ice cream.
We then went for a drink near our villa in more of a local pub than a tourist pub and the prices complemented that fact. Only 18 kouna for a gin and tonic.
We said our good byes to our tour leader Daniel as this was our farewell dinner and Daniel had a very early flight.

Day 27 - Kotor

This morning we had a boat tour of the bay booked at 9am with a local guide. We casually putted around the bay taking in the sites around the bay we stopped off at a man made island which has a church and museum on it. We then had a beer while we putted back across the shore to have a coffee right on the waters edge. After our coffee stolen we then started our way back on the other side of the bay stopping for a swim along the way.
The tour finished at about 1pm and we decided to head out for lunch at about 2pm we stopped at an Italian restaurant on the water edge on our way back into the old town for a spot of souvenir shopping.
We had a light dinner by the bay where we just shared some entrée, wine and had some dessert.
Off to Dubrovnik tomorrow at 8am via private transfer thankfully.

Day 26 - Kotor

After an early start and two buses we arrived in Kotor at about 9:30am. We were able to check in straight away and we had breakfast at the hotel. After a pretty terrible sleep last night I took the opportunity to rest and watch a bit of tv before our city orientation walk at 2pm.
Kotor is a beautiful spot still with plenty of local charm. The old town is a bit touristy at times but what old town area isn't. We were planning on doing on kayaking tour around the bay in the afternoon but with winds increasing and the chance of rain the tour wasn't running. So we opted to sit down at a bar on the town wall and enjoy a drink. We then made our way back along the bay to our accommodation to relax and get ready for dinner.
It is great to have time to relax after a fairly intense start to this second half of my tour.
We went to a seafood restaurant near the back of the old town with a view of the fortress and walls on the mountain behind us. The meal was a bit pricey but was good and we were paying for the setting.

Day 25 - Ostrog Monastery

We left our accommodation in Sarajevo at 10 to 8am to start making our way to the Ostrog Monastery. It was a winding climb out of Sarajevo through the mountains and all the way to Ostrog Monastery. After crossing the border the landscape started to change and became more and more spectacular rugged mountain ranges with deep valleys, forests and mountain streams. We got dropped off on the side of the road near the turn off for the monastery, where our private transfer was waiting to take us up to our dorms near the lower monastery.
We had about an hour of free time when we arrived at the dorms to looks at the lower monastery and grounds. We then walked up to the upper monastery. The view was pretty spectacular but it was very hazey/smokey.
We had a bit of a look around the monastery and went into the room where the remains of a Saint are kept supposedly unpreserved and not decomposing.
We then headed back to the lower monastery area to walk down to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Early start again tomorrow with a 5:45am departure to Kotor.

Day 24 - Sarajevo

I had a bit of a sleep in this morning before going to the Srebrenica exhibit which documents the events of the srebrenica massacre in 1995. 11000 bodies have been found in mass graves so far in Bosnia after the war.
After looking at the exhibit I went for a walk up to a lookout over the city. I caught up with everyone for lunch at 1pm before going on our tour to the tunnel museum at 2pm. The tunnel was critical supply route for civilians in the city for basic needs like food. The tunnel was only 800m long and passed under the UN controlled airport. Connecting the urban area which had space to grow fruit and vegetables with the city. The tunnel was later used to bring in weapons for the Bosnia army.
When we got back Mel and I went for drink from the fountain (they say that if you drink from the fountain you are destined to return to Sarajevo). We then made our way back to our accommodation, getting ice cream along the way, to get ready for dinner.
We had dinner in the old town area at nice restaurant with a good variety on the menu. On our way home we stopped in at a pub for a drink. We sat on the sidewalk, inside very 80 with black lights and fluorescent paint splashed on the walls. There was also strangely a room with different types of casual chairs around a central pole, like a private pole dancing room very odd.
Sarajevo has grown on me and it has such a vibrant atmosphere. I should have mentioned that our accommodation was right beside the old winter Olympic Stadium from the 1984 winter Olympics (which has been repaired since the war).
Off to the Ostrog Monastery tomorrow.</p>

Day 23 - Mostar

Early start again today (6:30am departure) with our day trip to Mostar. We had a lovely 2.5 hour train journey through the beautiful Bosnia and Herzegovina mountains.
Upon arriving in Mostar, Daniel gave us the short history of Mostar before heading into the old town area which has now almost been fully restored since the end of the shelling in 1993. UNESCO assisted with funding the rebuilding and the bridge was reconstructed using the traditional methods when the bridge was first built.
After finishing our orientation walk we sat down for a coffee by the river. We could have almost sat there all day, but we thought we should go and see some of the sites. We walked back to the bridge the tower one side has a war photography exhibition by a New Zealand photographer on he other side we checked out a photo exhibition and a short film which shows the shelling and collapse of the bridge in 1993. We then got lunch down beside the river where I just ordered a burger after lunch we went into the tower on the other side for a museum dedicated to the history of the bridge and Mostar and contains artifacts found on the site, including things like wooden pipe and a wooden knife.
We then wandered back through the old town for a bit of souvenir shopping. We then went into an old style turkish house that was built in the traditional ottoman style. We then headed for the bus station with some haste as our bus was departing at 3pm to take us back to Sarajevo.
We got back to Sarajevo and our accommodation in time our cooking class at 6:30pm we made dolma which is basically spiced minced beef stuffed in vegetables (capsicum, zucchini, onions, etc) or wrapped in vine leaves.
It was great as they had prepared ones earlier so we got to eat straightaway (we didn't have to wait for ours to cook). :-) After dolma and salad we had coffee and baklava. It was nice to do a spot of cooking as I haven't done any for about 3 weeks now. Free day in Sarajevo tomorrow. Going to take it easy after a couple of busy days and we have another big travel day the following day.

Day 22 - Sarajevo

Early start this morning departed the hotel at 5:45am to catch a bus to Sarajevo. We arrived in Sarajevo at about 2pm and then hopped on a trolley bus into town to our accommodation. We had about an hour to relax before our orientation walk followed by a local guided walking tour of the city.
The city has incredibly lively vibe for a city that has been devastated by so many wars. The most interesting part of the tour was the site of the assassination of Franz Joseph and his wife that sparked the first world war.
We met back up with our tour leader at the end if the your and headed out to dinner. We had sampled the delicious local food banquet style along with some domestically brued flavoured brandy and beer.
Early-ish start tomorrow for a day trip to Mostar (6:30am).

Day 21 - Belgrade

Free day in Belgrade, only thing I have planned is the Nikola Tesla Museum tour at midday. So I had a bit of a sleep in, had breakfast and caught up with the girls (Mel & Jane) we went to the public square for a coffee and a spot of people watching before going to the Nikola Tesla Museum. After the museum I was planning on going on a bicycle tour of the city, but decided to be lazy and have lunch with the girls. We had to fend off a stray cat while we ate.
After lunch we went for a walk through the other part of the fortress and sat on the wall overlooking the Danube and Sava rivers. We then headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
We went to the Bohemian Quarter for dinner. We went to a really nice grill where I had the nicest steak since leaving Australia and it was huge. We walked back up to the public square for a drink before heading back to our hotel for the earliest start of the tour 5:40am for a 7(+) bus trip to Sarajevo.

Day 20 - Novi Sad & Belgrade

This morning I had a bit of sleep in trying to get over the end of my cold. After breakfast I headed back across the river to walk around the fortress in the daylight. After walking around the fortress I headed back onto town to walk around the main pedestrian mall, before settling in at a cafe for a drink and a banana split along with some all important people watching of course.
A quick stop at a bakery to get some snacks for the train journey to Belgrade, I then headed back to the hotel to meet the rest of the group to get the train to Belgrade.
Once in Belgrade we got settled in our hotel rooms and then went on an orientation walk up to the town square to meet our local guide (Bojana) at 5pm. We got a lot of history about Belgrade, it has seen approximately 140 wars has been destroyed and rebuilt about 60 times most recently 1999 after the NATO bombing. People have been living in the Belgrade area for 6500 years (it dates back to the stone age). It is where the Danube and Sava rivers meet.
We had dinner in the oldest building in Belgrade called ? (No I didn't forget it's name it us called ?). The building dates back to the 19th century (which is an achievement in Belgrade). We then went for a drink in silicone valley before making our way home via the Bohemian Quarter.

Day 19 - Vukovar & Novi Sad

We left Osijek straight after work breakfast and started making our way to Novi Sad via private transfer. We first went to Vukovar and stopped at the museum in the hospital basement which documents the terrible genocide and bombings that took place there in the 90's during the war between Serbia and Croatia. Afterwards we walked around and up the Danube to look at the castle before we got some more borek and cup of coffee. We then stopped at a memorial where the patients and hospital staff were taken and killed in an old barn. After a heavy morning we lightened the mood by going to a winery before crossing the border into Serbia.
We arrived in Novi Sad just after 3pm and we are only here for one night. Once settled Daniel gave us a quick orientation walk around the city. Afterwards we got a cab to a honey museum where we learnt about the origins of modern day bee keeping and we got to try some more wines and then some honey.
We then got back into our cabs and went up to the fortress for dinner. The view over the city was spectacular. We had a good discussion about the wars in the area over dinner. We then started to walk back to our hotel after a wrong turn (buy our tour leader) we got some directions from a local and we back on the bridge making our way to the hotel again.
We have a free morning tomorrow morning in Novi Sad before getting a train to Belgrade.

Day 18 - Osijek

Today we went out of town for a day trip. First we went to a training facility for the lipzana horses. We got to see their new facilities for training and eventually shows similar to that in Vienna with dancing horses.
After the horses we went to the cathedral in the town and we were invited down to the basement/crypt to see the tomb of a Saint and other important people to he town. The cathedral is decorated extensively with paintings of biblical scenes from the new and old testament and inscriptions have been written in croatian which is not very common.
We had a coffee and a beurek and a little break before heading to a park. There was a run down villa in the park where Tito. There is also a run down hunting lodge near the villa that would have been used for Tito's guests.
We then went for a drive through the wetlands however it is still to early for bird watching. We saw one flock of ducks. We then made our way to an eco farm for lunch where we had goose goulash with home made pasta, mulberry wine, white wine, apple wine, elderflower water followed by pancakes with jam.
Needless to say after a late lunch like that with so much wine I needed an afternoon nap.
We went out for dinner at the old bridge pub and then out for a couple of drinks.

Day 17 - Osijek

We got up and took about a 5 hour train journey to Osijek. After we crossed the border into Croatia a young Croatian girl approached us to practice her English. She was in high school and on her way home. We arrived in Osijek where we were greeted by the owner of the guest house at the train station who then drove us to our accommodation. We are staying in the old town area. The building we are in dates back to the 17th/18th century. We went for a short walk to get some money and others got some food.
We had arranged a walking tour at 4:30pm with a local guide Igor. He is finishing his studies to become a lawyer. He remembers some of the war from when he was a child (10/11 years old). His school was evacuated during one of the bombings to Slovenia. You can still see evidence of the bombings on the buildings baring the scars from shrapnel and some direct hits.
We walked back along the river with our ice creams and Igor told us a bit more about life in Osijek and it's history.
We had dinner at a local restaurant in the old town where we shared two stews one catfish and one venison with a cheese pasta side and some salad.
I called it early night to rest up to see if I can hit this cold I have on the head.

Day 16 - Budapest

Kiryn and I went to terror house this morning. We then walked all the way across to the buda side and along the river to the funicular which we got up to the palace. There was a chocolate &amp; sweets festival on in the gardens but you had to pay an entry fee so we decided to give it a miss. We found a street stall selling food and beer, so we stopped for a beer and got some hot food to eat. I got some chicken and onion shish kebabs with potato wedges. Kiryn got some grilled pork and sauerkraut with paprika.
We then walked back down the hill and back to our hotels we were intending on going to a bath again but my cold had gotten a bit worse so I decided to go back to the hotel for a nap.
After my nap I caught up with Kiryn again for dinner. We went to the same place I went to last night I had the venison with these apple stuffed potato croquettes which was interesting but very tasty just different though as they were kinda sweet. I had a chocolate souffle with vanilla ice cream and a baileys for dessert.
Off to Osijek in the morning.

Day 15 - Budapest

This morning I got some laundry done at a laundromat about 9 blocks away from my hotel as I think it was the only one open in a weekend. I then caught up with Kiryn to go to the baths. After a bit over an hour we got the metro back to the Octogon where the main street (Andrassy) had been closed off for some festival. We sat down had a beer with some cheese and meats and people watched as we tried to work out what the festival was for. The best we came up with transportation and active lifestyle.
We got some sweet pastry strudel type thing that was delicious. After that I decided to head back to my hotel for my 6pm goup meeting for the next leg of my tour and to meet my fellow travellers. We have only a small group of 4 people, Harley (my room mate for the next 2 weeks, an older gentlemen) from Auckland, Jane from Brisbane, and Mel from Melbourne. Our tour leader Daniel is from Melbourne but he has lead this tour about 5 times this season so we are in good hands.
We our for dinner at a local restaurant just near the opera house. Since it is Oktoberfest at the moment they had a few beers on special. I got a litre of beer and had a three course meal goulash, pepper chicken breast with dumplings (they are different here), and cheesecake. We then went to a small ruin bar near our hotel called instant for a couple of drinks before calling it a night.

Day 14 - Budapest

We got up this morning had breakfast and got on our private minibus to Budapest at 8am we arrived in Budapest at about 1pm. We had a short orientation walk around the local area and finished in this beautiful cafe at the back of a bookstore near the opera house.
Afterwards we walked around made our way toward the river, past parliament and up to the end of cable bridge. We decided to head back to the hotel for a rest before dinner. It was our last group dinner of the first part of my tour, I am the only one from our group continuing on the next leg. I will meet my new group and tour leader tomorrow evening at 6pm.
Kiryn also came to dinner which was nice and Darina had arranged a cake for Larry's birthday. I shared a bottle of red wine with Kiryn and I had the roasted duck leg.
We paid for dinner and said some of our goodbyes, as some of us were going out to a bar afterwards.
Darina took us to a ruin bar in the Jewish district, which was possibly the best bar I had ever been in. The bar staff were so efficient. It was sad to say goodbye to such a great group of people, but looking forward to the next part of my trip.
Tomorrow will probably be laundry in the morning then lunch and thermal baths in the afternoon.

Day 13 - Tatra Mountains

The weather had not gotten any better over night it was still raining so our tour leader suggested that we go for a walk through one of the caves in the Tatras. The walk was good but the guided tour was not in English but our guide did her best to translate the main points of the tour. I am sure it wasn't as good as the hike that was planned but hiking in 0°C rain and wind is not my idea of fun especially when there would be no views to enjoy.

After the tour of the cave we got some lunch at a local restaurant I had the venison. We (Matt, Janice, Sheila and I) spent the afternoon playing cards and enjoying a couple of drinks at our hotel, I while some of the others went on a train ride and hike to a lake in a nearby town.

Once everyone returned we went for dinner at the same place we had lunch I had the mixed grill with some delicious grilled corn followed by an iceceam sundae and baileys. We then headed back to the hotel for another bottle of wine and chocolate.

Whilst we didn't get to get the best experience of the Tatras is was nice to have a nice slow relaxing afternoon, enjoying the company of my fellow travellers.

Off to Budapest in the morning.

Day 12 - Krakow (and bus ride to the high Tatras)

After breakfast I repacked my bag as we were leaving Krakow at 1pm. I then headed out and caught up with Matt in the town square. We wandered around a few shops looking for something to auction at our group fundraiser for the Intrepid Foundation. After not having much success we wandered up the oldest street in Krakow up to the castle and had a look around the grounds and in the cathedral, where a number of Polish Kings and Queens are burried/entombed. We also saw Chopin's tomb in the crypt.
On the way back to our hotel, I got some hand made chocolates and a bottle of white wine to auction off.
I went our and got some street food for lunch it was it was basically a baguette pizza with mushrooms, cheese, salami and a tomato sauce and an ice cream.
I then went to the supermarket to buy some snacks for the bus trip. We got one bus which was suppose to be 2 hours but we hit a bit of traffic and almost missed our transfer, but we managed to get them to hold the bus for 10mins while we ran from one to the other.
We got to our accommodation where it was raining and we took a very short walk around the little town before dinner.
After dinner we had a charity auction for the Intrepid Foundation.
We stayed up singing songs and talking about different thing that we grew up with.

Day 11 - Salt Mines & Krakow

This morning a group of us (Matt, Janice, Sheila, Kim, Kay and I) decided to go to the Salt Mines for a tour it is a UNESCO site and the salt mine operated for over 700 years. The tour was about 2 hours or so. The salt chambers are very impressive some have taken decades to get them into the State that you seen them in today. The church chamber was probably the most impressive with salt chandeliers and carvings. We ended up at a final depth of 165m and the largest chamber is over 1000 cubic metres.
It was all very impressive.
We got back and had some lunch in the square before our bike tour of the city which took us around the old town, along the river to the Jewish quarter and the Ghetto. We saw some sites that were used in the filming of schidler's list.
We (Matt, Janice, Sheila, Kim, Kay and I) went out for dinner it was a restaurant just off the main square. I enjoyed a three course meal whist the others had 2. We had a drink in the square before heading back to the hotel for the night.

Day 10 - Auschwitz and Krakow

Early-ish start to make our way to Krakow via Auschwitz by private mini buses. We stopped for lunch about an hour away from Auschwitz.
The Auschwitz tour was a very emotional and moving experience. I didn't take too many photos out of respect and it just didn't feel right.
The scale of the camps was the most surprising they are huge. I don't really know how to put it into words so I am not going to try, but the tour is definitely worth while if you get to this part of Poland.
Krakow is about 1.5 hours drive from Auschwitz. We arrived and at our hotel which just located across the road from the old town area. We went on a dusk walking tour around the old town before dinner. We wandered up the streets and into the spectacular town square it is the largest medieval town square in Europe 200m x 200m. The old town and spacious town square has such a vibrant and relaxed atmosphere. It would have to be the most beautiful town squares I have ever been in.
After dinner (beetroot soup and Pierogi), Matt, Janice, Sheila and I went to the town square for a drink and some cake.
Off to the salt mines tomorrow morning. :-)