A picture from back home

This is a picture of the Todd River in Alice Springs, Australia, where I grew up. It must be one of the few towns of 30,000 so well known around the world, possibly more so than Adelaide. Anyhow a usually dry river bed winds it way through the middle of town, and about once a year it rains enough for it to flow for a few days at the most. Dad took this photo while I was in Albania, and the people in the photos are standing on the other side of the road that runs through the river. When it is running there is only one bridge across the river in town, and everyone in town seems to be using it. Gum trees, red sand, still looks like home to me.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik, supposed to be heaven on Earth or the jewel of the Adriatic (sea) was supposed to be my victory stop, where I could chill out and enjoy some sunshine before heading back to Zagreb after what has been a huge trip for me. It wasn´t to be, Dubrovnik really didn´t turn the weather on, and it rained the whole time. While I can see that the city is beautiful, and it would be AMAZING with a bit of sunshine I gave it up as a lost cause after two days and headed to Zagreb.

Tirana, Albania

I decided to go to Albania before I realised that it was an adventurous decision. After travelling a little and talking to people in hostels who had been travelling a lot I realised that this is not a place that people visit, and before arriving in Tirana I had not met any people who had been there. A few sane people told me that I should be VERY careful, and one not so sane guy who started talking to me in a cafe in Athens suggested that people in Albania were somehow evil (Albanians to the rest of the human race are according to him what wolves are to dogs.... hmmm). Now while I did lose my camera or have it stolen on the bus from Athens to Tirana, that was the only bad thing that happened to me, and anyone that knows my track record for losing things is probably surprised I didn´t lose it sooner (Mum).

So some Albania stories, upon reaching the Greek-Albanian border I realised that I was the only person on the bus who wasn't Albanian and the only person who spoke English, most people on the bus found me quite novel and had fun pointing me round, and let me to the front on the border line with the rest of the women. At the border the border-man looks at my passport, "Tirana?? Albania??" he says. Oh no I think, I´d triple checked I didn´t need a visa, but it was the middle of the night and I really didn´t want to be turned back. I said yes, and he looked at me, wondering what type of crazy foreigner would want to visit Albania, and stamped my passport. Hooray, I was in.

The roads from the border to Albania or something else, and after a few hours I was sure I would have done some kidney damage and would be pissing blood, the bus was vibrating something chronic . What would pass for a really dodgy back country road in Australia appeared to be the highway, and there was often nothing between me and a steep drop aside from the bus window and what felt like 10cm of road. We passed a man riding on a donkey, and some very provincial looking scenery, and then suddenly we were stuck in horrific traffic in a rather cosmopolitan city. Tirana is a city in the middle of quite a run down country that looks like it belongs in a more affluent country, almost.

Why almost? Albanian people have a lot of trouble leaving their country, because nobody will really give them a visa (aside from Turkey and Malaysia- I believe because they share being Muslim in common, and Macedonia...not a lot of choice for holiday destinations). I think that Tirana reflects this, because it looks a lot like a city should look, and people dress like they should be dressed, if you make these judgements from watching TV and reading magazines...which means that it looks a little bit odd. So enough bullshitting on, there are not photos of course (camera stolen), so here are a few observations:

• There were a lot of men with machine guns in Tirana, including a sniper on the roof across the road from the hostel (the hostel was in the embassy area of town)
• In the town square there are these men with huge wads of cash wondering around. They are ´money changers´and according to Lonely Planet it is quite safe to change money with them, I wimped out though and just went to a bank.
• People say that the driving in Greece and Italy is insane. Having been to those two countries I would agree, but in comparison to Albania they are orderly and law abiding drivers. Prior to 1990 only about 600 cars were on the roads in Albania, as only the elite were allowed to drive. When communism eventually ended everyone was allowed to drive, and so they did. I have NEVER seem so many Mercedes on the road, or so many cars for SHITET (For Sale in Albanian, no joke).
• People shake their head to say yes, and nod to day no. This is also the case in Turkey and Bulgaria, but coupled by barely anybody speaking English (very unusual in Europe) this leave you out in the cold.
  
• There were no tourists there. This is the first place I have been to that is pretty much untouched by tourism. The hostel I stayed in is the only one in town, and there were 4 people there on the first night, and 2 on the second. I hope the tourist numbers improve because it is an interesting country to visit, and the hostel is one of the best I´ve stayed in.
• The whole city seemed to be being built, now. During the 90´s a heap of pyramid investment schemes collapsed, leaving a lot of Albanians without their life savings, it would appear that the country is recovering, and its capital is in a mini boom of development. I think if I go back in 5 years it will be completely unrecognisable.
• Its very colourful. Eastern Europe is full of ugly grey concrete apartment buildings. An initiative by the mayor of Tirana means that the city is full or concrete apartment buildings painted very colour of the rainbow. Its a nice effect.

So how did I leave Tirana. Getting from Tirana to Dubrovnik was always the weak point of my whole trip...There was nothing about it in Lonely Planet, and nothing about it that I could find on the internet. I went to a travel agent in Tirana and they told me the ONLY way out was a 150 Euro taxi to the border. I decided to go back to the hostel and take a nap, and maybe things would be easier after that, and they were. By this time some of the hostel staff had finished their day jobs and turned up to chill with the people staying at the hostel...they gave me some advice, and my journey to Dubrovnik followed it:

1. Go to the bus paddock in Tirana. The city doesn´t (yet) have a bus station, but a place where buses congregate, with destinations on the windscreen. I jumped on one of these and went to Shkodra, a city in the north (I use the word city loosely here).
   
2. In the Shkodra bus paddock I wondered around looking at the buses, but couldn´t see one to Montenegro (a small province in the bottom of Serbia), but with my backpack on I was very obvious and also very obviously trying to get somewhere, so some nice people pointed me in the direction of a hotel. Here somebody spoke English and told me there was a bus going to Montenegro in a few hours. So far so good.
3. I got off the bus (and here I use the word bus loosely) over the border in Montenegro, and the bus driver pointed out a bus leaving to  Dubrovnik in 10 minutes. I was the only person on it for the several hours to Dubrovnik.

Interesting times.

I made it out alive

Yes, thats right I made it out of the place that I was told I should not go because it was too dangerous by quite a few people. I am now in Dubrovnik, a bit crook from some dodgy Albanian sausage I ate, I suspect. I am going to be chilling out here in Dubrovnik for a few days before heading to Zagreb. Will update you all on Albania when I am not paying an arm and a leg for the net!

Athens, Greece

Well I almost didn't visit Greece at all, and only ended up going because I couldn't go to Macedonia without a visa and couldn't be stuffed getting one. Like Turkey, I have to go back! I was expecting Italian prices (read bloody expensive), but got something more reasonable and close to Aussie prices, even though I was staying in the middle of Athens, and the middle of the tourist district. I had heard from other backpackers that Athens was not that nice- polluted, unfriendly and difficult to get around, and not much to do...all of these descriptors was wrong according to my experience. I found Athens a lovely city, easy to get around, and although bustling, not rude or unfriendly.

 

I checked out all the historical sights, the Acropolis and Pantheon, and was a little awed to be looking at structure built BC. But as usual I had the most fun wondering around the city and watching Greek people do their thing. I must comment on the driving- bloody hell. Traffic lights and road rules are guide lines, not hard and fast rules (wait until I tell you about the Albanian driving, thats bad in a while different degree), but everyone drives slowly enough due to the traffic congestion so that its more funny than dangerous.

 

Highlights:

• Watching old men playing with worry beads: I don't know if you've seen these, I bought a set, although they seem to be a male only thing. They are a set of beads, almost as big as a necklace, that it seems all Greek men hold and flick around and play with unconsciously ALL the time. The Turkish have the same sort of thing, although the beads are purely for flicking about it seems, not fiddling with as the Greek do.
• Gyros: I have found perfection, the 1.50 Euro Gyros, in either pork, chicken or beef. Dad- you have to go to Greece and try a few of these. I had them for every lunch and most dinners, under the excuse of being a tight arse, but more because they were so damn good. My stomach still hasn't forgiven me. I must say though, the ones we get in Australia aren't bad in comparison.
• Catching up with Evi: Evi was outgoing MCP of AIESEC Croatia when I first arrived in Zagreb, and one of the people that made me feel welcome. It was great to catch up for coffee and swap news and gossip. Good Luch Evi as you go through the bastard that is finding a good AIESEC traineeship!
• Watching to changing of the guard: By far my most amusing experience. Military service is mandatory in Greece and Evi told me that a lot of the guys who guard the palace have to go through the humiliation of their school friends coming to watch them prancing about in what really is a beige dress with white tights and jester style shoes...very interesting stuff.

Well I am still mulling over what I will write for my Albania post, its an interesting place for sure. Cheers, Renee

In Albania

Ah, this was going to be a victorious moment for me- arriving in Tirana, Albania, but damn it my camera is gone. I have done the chase around, but some lucky Albanian has either found or stolen it, and will hopefully get a good price for it. I don't know if they'll enjoy my Bulgaria, Istanbul or Athens happy snap though, all gone. Oh well, shit happens and hopefully that is the worst of it. I'm off to get some sleep before I get out and about. :( Renee

Istanbul, Turkey

Well I am spending a few days in Athens at the moment, and heading off to Tirana, Albania tomorrow arvo...I thought I'd better give a bit of an update on what I've been doing!

 

Well I rocked up to Istanbul in the evening after an interesting bus ride from Bulgaria...these Turkish buses are great- they give you coffee and water and snacks and stuff, a nice touch. It was the usual unpack everything at the Bulgarian side of the border, repack, and then unpack everything at the Turkish side of the border. As per usual nobody is very interested in my backpack, more interested in dodgy looking plastic bags that might hold lots of illegal duty free goods. The bus driver also did a round of all the Bulgarian speakers (I know this because the Bulgarian girl next to me explained) to get their passports so he could get a heap of duty free stuff himself- all very amusing. I also liked the Turkish visa I had to purchase- 15 Euro for a little sticker, not even a proper looking visa like the one you get in Bali. I talked to some Canadians though, who have to pay 60 Euro for some reason, which is pretty bloody steep.

 

Anyhow I managed to get from the enormous bus station to the city with the help of some random guy who was on the bus with me, and upon arriving to tourist central, Sultanahmet where my hostel was, I felt the kind of excitement I hadn't felt since I visited Sarajevo. The mosques, the people, it is all just amazing. I had a quick shower and headed out to have a walk around, and there is this carnival type thing on in the street around  where I am staying, for Ramadan (the Muslim fasting month). It was a real bonus to be visiting in this time, and great to look around, grab a kebab and watch the crowds go by.

 

Istanbul did not meet any of my expectations, except to be excellent. I was expecting it to be a step down from Bulgaria- which is quite a poor and underdeveloped country, in short I was expecting it to be something like Bali. Instead I find a really Westernised city, something more like Rome than anything Asian. I spent my time there looking at the sights: a few of the huge and awesome mosques, the spice bazaar, the grand bazaar, and just having a wonder around...I will tell a little more when I can upload some of my photos. It was quite strange to be walking around a city that can accommodate most of Australia (the population of Istanbul is about 16 million)...but despite its size it is still quite a friendly and easygoing city, not like the feeling I get when I visit the big Australian cities like Melbourne and Sydney.

 

I think I only just scratched the surface on Istanbul, and Turkey is high on my list of countries to go back to and explore.

 

Okay, well it is beautiful weather here in Athens today- probably some of the last decent sunshine I will get before returning to Oz, so I best get out and enjoy it! :) Renee

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

PA090043, originally uploaded by Renee de Jong.

This is the view of Plovdiv's old town. I am liking Bulgaria, and it is going down on my ever growing list of places I want to come back to and explore some more. It is a bit dirty and a polluted, but still manages to be a bit charming too. There are a few impressive sights, but the most fun to be had it people watching while drinking at one of the many cafes.

PA090036, originally uploaded by Renee de Jong.

This is a Roman Ampitheatre built in the 2nd century AD. I was jealous to hear that a British couple I met here at the hostel, in Bulgaria to teach language for a year, saw an opera here the other night...what an awesome experience. Go Bulgarian opera.

PA090022, originally uploaded by Renee de Jong.

What a great way to start the day- brunch at a cafe on the main street milling with all the locals dressed up in their best clothes (80's fashion sensibilities abound, as do the haircuts) to socialise and compete in the 'I can sit here and drink one coffee for longer than you can' contest. Great fun to watch everyone milling about.

Sofia, Bulgaria

PA070008, originally uploaded by Renee de Jong.

Aleksander Nevski Church

This place is amazing- it was built to commemorate the many Russian soldier who died fighting off the Turks, and those domes have 8kg of gold over them. It is cavernous inside, and looking at all the iconic woodblock prints of saintly figures is different and interesting.

PA070004, originally uploaded by Renee de Jong.

Supplement to Public Transport

Loved this idea- this surveillance size vans run routes around the city with a hop on hop off type of service...It mean you have to be even more careful at traffic lights (which are used as an optional guide by cars and pedestrians alike) because they are a popular stopping point.

Mc Dolands Bulgarian Style, originally uploaded by Renee de Jong.

Mc Donalds, Bulgarian style. Yes I have encountered Cyrillic again, which renders all maps in my Lonely Planet useless (because they have the names in 'normal' Latin script), makes ordering anything at a restaurant a point and hope for the best process, and really makes you feel like you are somewhere exotic and different. Great stuff.

Getting to Bulgaria (via Hungary and Serbia) and Italian Opera in Sofia, Bulgaria

The trip to Sofia was excellent, it was actually about 15 hours instead of the 22 I expected, and the bus was just great, everyone had their own seat and their were some hilarious people on board that were fun to watch. A few interesting border crossing occurred. For those of you who haven't travelled about so much, you effectively check in and out of a country- so every time you cross a border you go through passport control on the way out of the country you've been in, and then go through passport control for the country you are going into. Also the non-EU 'dodgy' Eastern European countries (such as Bulgaria and Romania) get hassled by the EU countries because they have a bad (and I'm not sure justified) reputation for going and working illegally on the cheap in EU countries. ANYHOW on the way into Hungary, no worries, but on the way out a few of the guys on our bus got called off and there was much yelling for about 30 minutes with the word visa mentioned frequently. Eventually some money changed hands (probably legitimately...). Then comes the entry into Serbia, all was fine, another stamp. Then the bus driver goes to give the passport people some paperwork. He left the bus with the paperwork and a bottle of whisky, and comes back with neither (probably not legit). THEN we wait for about an hour to get checked at the Bulgarian border at 5 in the morning. The passport man makes us get all our bags out, and has us stand in the cold for a while. He prods a few bags, and we were finally on our way.

Photos of Sofia will have to wait sorry, but in the meantime let me try and describe Sofia. It reminds me of Belgrade, being quite large and gritty and a bit polluted, but it has some type of quirky charm. Everyone is dressed really nicely (even if some people do look a bit 80's) and seem quite busy, however there don't seem to be much work going on. This means the city is buzzing, but not with that frantic rat race pace that I feel when I am in the Melbourne CBD. Also, I love the public transport supplements here. Get a surveillance size van, fit it out with seats and ply a route. You pick people up when they hail, they pay cash...no receipts or tickets involved here, and drop them off wherever they say. Like a communal taxi. There are also some AMAZING orthodox churches here, which are my favourite with the gold and the onion shaped domes.

This morning when I arrived at the hostel (which is AWESOME, I have not met owners so friendly and helpful before) there was a kiwi chick, Anita, who was talking about going to the opera, and I said I was interested. So tonight we went to the Sofia Opera House and saw an Italian Opera with Bulgarian subtitles. The general forbidden love storyline could be figured out, and the music and singing were amazing. Plus we had quite good seats for about $5 Australian. Awesome. La la la. ;) Renee (By the way I'm heading off the Plovdiv tomorrow morning instead of sticking around here for another day as I have heard many good things about it...so next report will be from there).

Greece here I come

Well I looked at my little map in Lonely Planet, and tried to figure out how to get from Turkey to Albania withough going through Macedonia, because I am going to follow my original pledge to not bother with visas for these travels....and Greece is in the way...so I am making a stopover in Thessaloniki and Athens instead of Skopje and Ohrid in Macedonia.

I just got into Sofia, Bulagaria...then I'm off to Plovdiv, Bulgaria, then Istanbul in Turkey, AND then Greece, before hitting Albania and Croatia. So watch this space for some more exciting times.

Visa Woes

I thought before I head off to the random countrie on the next leg of my trip I should check the visa requirements again. Macedonia is the only former Yugoslav country I am yet to visit (after Solvenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia), so I was a bit peeved to see that they changed the visa requirements in September. I got up in the middle of the night to call the Macedonian embassy in Australia, and was told no worries, if I went to the embassy in Vienna I would just have to fill out the form, pay about $30 and bam Macedonian visa is yours.

So I navigated the Vienna subway system to the embassy, and was given a whole different story by this embassy. I liked his line- well if I want to go to Australia I have to have about 2 kilograms of documents, so it shouldn´t be such a problem for you. He he, I have been waiting for someone to make a comment on what arseholes Australia is on letting people onto the country, but I am hoping my travel plans can still be done.

So I don´t have a Macedonian visa YET. I should be able to get one on the border, and if I can´t, well it will have to go onto my next time list.

Everyone, please cross your fingers that the Dutch embassy has my working holiday visa ready for me tomorrow.

Enjoy my Vienna and Salzburg pics! I´m off to Bulgaria tomorrow! :) Renee

Salzburg, Vienna

Salzburg is lovely- if you come to Austria make sure you get out of Vienna because the smaller cities and countryside are beautiful, like something out of a picture book. Hayley and I went to Salzburg for the weekend- it is the birthplace of Mozart, but funnily enough it attracts more tourists for being the backdrop of The Sound of Music.


Not the best photo, but this is the castle that overlooks Salzburg- if you have seen the Sound of Music you might find it familiar as it features quite a bit in the movie. Hayley and I spent a few hours wandering about on the hill looking down at Salzburg and catching up on the goss.


Finally we found some AWESOME coffee and cake, and it didn´t cost an arm and a leg like in Vienna, plus the waiter was hot. My cake is the Mozart cake, styled after the Mozart chocolates that fill tourist stands around Austria. I hope one day I achieve something great enough in life, like being a musical genius or something, to have a cake named after me.



Gotta love the Sound of Music cow. The ones in Bratislava are still the coolest I´ve found though.

I am 16 going on 17, I know that I´m naive. Hayley and I acting like posers at the Sound of Music Gazebo. It was relocated from its orginal setting after too many people climbed the fence at night to do a little re-enactment.


This is the house used for the back of the Von Trapp house in the Sound of Music.


The church that Maria and the Captain got married in.



Myself and our American friend Dee Ann doing another Sound of Music pose in the park where the Do Ray Me song was filmed.


How picturesque is this? This is in one of the two little villages we visited on the Sound of Music tour...compulsory cheesy tourist viewing.

Vienna, Austria

So what have I been doing with myself in Vienna? Well Hayley and I have been having a great time seeing the sights, chilling out, getting drunk, and trying out various coffee and cake establishments which Vienna is supposed to do really well. I have also got Hayley rehooked on Ballykissangel, which plays here on BBC everyday at 2pm. For those of you who haven´t seen this marvellous program, you are missing out! I have also viewed several hours of quite terrible TV with that ´I can´t believe this is on TV, I just have to watch it to the end´ quality on German MTV, with shows like Pimp my Ride, Dismissed, and other shows that seem to be displaying how low Americans can stoop.

I have also been getting a bit cultural, with the Wurst Stand (this is sort of like a hot dog stand, except these Austrians do the best hot dogs ever, yum!), Schnitzel, Opera, and I also found many statues of men on horses- the hallmark of a good European city.

Here are some piccies for your viewing pleasure:


The before shot: This is the lovely Hayley and I on out first (of about 7) cocktails looking beautiful. No joke, if Hayley wanted to she could get free or cheap cocktails nearly everyday of the week here in Wien (Vienna)- now that is what I call a student organisation doing its job!


The After shot: For more incriminating shots you will need to get in touch with Hayley. We had a big Aussie style fry up the next morning, the first I have had in nearly 6 months and it was THE BEST.

Hayley hay completely lucked out with flatmates, these are three cool girls, and I am sure that they are not only going to help her improve her German, but also help her have a blast here in Vienna. There is me, Martina, Stephan (aka Steffi´s boyfriend), Steffi, Christina and Patrick (aka Christina´s boyfriend). Big thanks for these guys for letting me crash at their very nice apartment.

Men on Horses: Yes Europeans have a thing for men on horses, I never feel that I have really seen a city until I find at least one statue of a man on a horse.

Amazing Architechture: This photo doesn´t really do Vienna justice, but this city is amazing, and you could wonder around for ages just looking at the amazing buildings and lovely gardens everywhere.

Aussie Pub: We had to go to the Aussie pub for a drink after a busy day of sightseeing. They were all out of the good Aussie beers (Coopers and Tooheys...still plenty of XXXX, VB and Fosters around the place) after the grand final (AFL).

Schnitzel: Here is me getting all cultural with a HUGE slab of schnitzel. This is an Austrian thing so I had to clog up the arteries with this kilo of meat.

So that´s Vienna! Thanks Hayley for an awesome stay.

Hooray - I have the visa

Well after a week bumming about here in Vienna at Hayley´s I FINALLY have been granted my Dutch working holiday visa. This means I can get on with my little jaunt about Europe (Bulgaria, Turkey, Macedonia and Albania still remain on the itinerary...now that´s going to be interesting) before busing over to Holland to work for a little while, and host my little sister Monica on her first trip to Europe before heading home early next year sometime.

I will let you in on what I´ve been doing here in Austria before I hit the road again on Thursday!