Last of Prague, beginning of another world.. Istanbul!

Well, it has been almost a week since the last post, but there's good reason.. We have been having fun. Christmas Day was not the usual, for sure..We woke up to our small tree and muesli, not the traditional gifts and brunch of eggs benedict, cinnamon rolls, and mimosas. No gifts to open, which was okay with us because we have no room for anything else. I will say it was the first time I felt really homesick, and had a little cry... Paul reminded me that this was a choice we made, so not to get upset. I agreed and sucked it up, knowing that I will have many more holidays with family in the future. Plus, we have facetime!

Luckily in Prague all the museums have regular working hours on Christmas Day.. So we took a walk up to the other side of the river to where the Technical Museum is located. This place would be heaven for someone like my dad.. There were exhibits all about photography, videography, timekeeping/watch making, chemistry, holograms, television, archaeology, architecture, and a huge room with 5 floors of artifacts different modes of transportation.. including cars, motorcycles, bikes, and airplanes... We walked around the museum for over 2 hours and barely scratched the surface.. We had to leave because we had dinner reservations, but could have spent all day in the place.. Wish I had known that when we went, and we could have gone in the morning rather than the afternoon! There is even a cafe and a restaurant located in the museum.

We got ready and headed to the restaurant, Kolkovna, for dinner. There was a cool website I found called pragueexperiences.com where you can pick restaurants, tours, pub crawls, etc and make reservations or pay online. Kind of a "middle man" who deals with different restaurants and tour companies so you can do your research before going out. I checked the menus and this place was reasonable and had traditional czech food. Winner! Paul had the biggest plate of different meats while I stuck to my guns and had the carp. It was delish! Again not the typical Christmas dinner..but still good. My favorite Christmas dinner is the English one, because it's mostly vegetables. And then you get a flaming pudding. Mmmm.  (sorry mom, not hating on all the casseroles :) )

After dinner we ventured out to see what nightlife was like. We came to the Prague Beer Museum, which much be educational at some point in the day, but at that time was buzzing with happy people. We ended up meeting 2 South African girls and a guy from the NY area, and spent a few hours talking and hanging out with them. It was a good way to end our Czech christmas... Lots of fun. We even got to FaceTime with my whole family when we got back at 2 AM our time... We were very happy to see all of them and wish them a Merry Christmas before we went to sleep :)

We spent our last day in Prague taking pictures and walking around.. I went for my last run through the park and took in the last view from the top of the hill.. It is such a beautiful city. We bought our souviners, packed our bags, and got ready for our early departure to the airport.

Turkish Airlines is hands down the best airline I have ever used. We boarded the plane (bulkhead seats! yes!) and were given a Turkish delight by the flight attendant before take off. Then, the cabin chef (as his nametag stated) came and brought a menu with two options. Later we were served a meal which altough I did not eat much because I ate before (not knowing we would get fed and not have to pay onboard!) but Paul says it was a really good burger and the best airline food he has ever had. I will make sure to call the airline and get a "special" meal so I can feast on our flight to Mumbai! Then came tea and coffee, all on just a 2.5 hour long flight. The staff were all friendly and the service was great. That's my pitch for Turkish Airlines. If you have the chance to fly with them, do it. They have won lots of awards for their service and food.. and it shows!

If you ever go to Turkey, here is a fact I did not know. I ignorantly thought they were part of the EU, but, they are partially part of the EU. So, you need a visa. Luckily, at the airport there is a little desk where you go and pay $20 per person for a little sticker in your passport. The guy at border control probably thought we were dumb when we got up to the desk with stupid smiles on our faces and handed him the passport without the magic sticker. He laughed and pointed us to this desk... paid our money and all was good. 

Our drive in to Istanbul was so different than any other drive we have had to far... The scenery of the hills, the mosques, and the Bosphorous really reinforced that we are in a very different part of the world. And the traffic. Wow.. Nuts! Kind of reminded me of Peru, with the little concern for road rules and a language of beeps.. I don't think this is a good place to rent a car... It's hard to even cross the street! 

We arrived to Taksim square, where our drop off point was and where our host, Gocke, was meeting us. We waited for her and noticed there was a large poilce presence around the area... Lots of police showing the muscle with big guns and crowd control shields.. I was getting kind of worried, since Taksim was where a lot of protesting and rioting happened over the summer. Gocke came quickly and spoke with a cab driver, and informed us that a demonstration was planned for later and that we needed to hurry to her house.. She gave us the keys, the driver directions, and off we went. So THAT's why I saw tons of police around.. Phew. The demonstration that night was against the government, for corruption. Nothing bad happened, except some police shooting people with the water cannon. No violence, and we were safe. We steered clear of the area anyways!

Gocke has class that night, so we went out with her boyfriend Umut for a while.. It is so cool being able to go out with locals and see where the locals go... That was one thing I missed in Prague. It was more like a hostel there with people coming and going and doing their own thing, here, we are like friends! It's amazing. 

The next day Umut took us to Taksim and showed us around.. much calmer than the night before, but, still a police presence.

We walked down the main street through Taksim, and it was unreal. There are so many people here, out and about, at all hours of the day, every day. It was crazy to walk through the street and be in awe of the sheer number of people. I guess it is preparing me for Mumbai, where it will be probably crazier! We have gotten really good at maneuvering through crowds so far in our trip (thanks to London) so the practice has helped... I still don't like huge crowds though. They give me anxiety!

We moseyed on down to the Old Town for a quick walk around, and then headed back to the apartment. It was so nice and sunny... a welcome change from what we have been used to!

We will come back this way when Steve comes to meet us, and buy some sweet stuff from the Bazaar! So much life in this city, it is so vibrant. There is so much for us to see, and I am glad we have 9 days ahead of us to explore more.. We have had some really fun nights with our hosts so far. Tomorrow night we will be staying in a nice hotel that has a gym and a sauna! My family's christmas present to us. :) We will be pampered for sure! More to come as we do more.. So far we have been to the movies, out on the town, and hung out with our newfound friends. Happy New Year's Eve eve!

What I've learned in Prague so far...

Merry Christmas from Prague! As I had imagined, this place is a Christmas Wonderland. On every street corner there are decorations and markets.. It is hard to resist the smell of cinnamon and praline all around the town.. They have the chimney looking cakes here, too.. And the meat, Paul has definitely had his tastings of Christmas market pork products. He'd make Anthony Bourdain proud.. Anthony Bourdain would probably think I'm lame. Ah well, can't please them all.

We arrived after freezing out butts off waiting for the bus in Brno on Friday. Since then, we have done Bikram yoga (Paul's first time, and in English!), the free walking tour, eaten at a Hare Krishna vegetarian restaurant, hiked up to Prague castle and the surrounding gardens, seen "The Hobbit" (in English!) and what is best to do in Prague: get lost in the little side streets all around. We have really enjoyed having our feet on the ground in the same place.. The last few weeks had been crazy but fun. I am FINALLY feeling normal again, no more meds. To top it all off, it has been in the 40s here. YES, the 40s! There have been times when I have been able to walk around without gloves or a hat. It's incredible.

Today, as it is Christmas Eve, we took a special river lunch cruise and went up and down the Vltava. We figured we had get on the water in one of the big river cities we have visited, so no better day than Christmas Eve. It was interesting, though. We boarded the little boat and soon learned we, and another older British couple, were in the presence of a very special tour group from Belarus (or Russia, one of the two) and enjoyed the Russian (?) tour guide tell his group alllll about the sights they could see out the window. Who knew we would be so lucky? Paul and I just enjoyed our meal and the passing scenery. We were so special we even got to have the accordion player sit at our table and serenade us nearly the whole time. It could have been a disaster had I been high strung, but, once I got some food in me and tuned out the Russian over the loudspeaker, we had a really good time and a laugh.. It was nice to just cruise up and down and see things from another vantage point.

Some things I have learned while in Prague:

- There are parts of buildings here (such as the walls of the castle) that are over 1000 years old. Wow. Prague has a long, and at some times dark, history.

- Prague was actually first inhabited by Jews.. Once the Christians came into the country, the Jews were confined to their little section and weren't allowed to leave.. They basically lived in squalor, in tiny houses and on top of eachother. Then, during WW2, the Jewish Ghetto was completely destroyed.. There is actually a place in Prague that was the waitiing room for children who would eventually meet their end at concentration camps. Back during the Nazi occupation, the children there would not be allowed to do anything at all, except paint. Now, within the walls of the Jewish Center, you can see these paintings on display. We haven't gone inside yet, but I would like to... I think? 

-The biggest day during the Christmas holiday is the 24th. Families all get together and celebrate well into the night. Everything shuts down after 4 pm, and then reopens at midnight for mass and drinks.

The Czechs also have a tradition where they buy 2 live carp from the market and leave it in their bathtub for 2 days...They the father of the household prepares one of the fish to eat, and the other goes with the mother and children out on walk into nature... They let the other carp go free. I wonder how they choose... A traditional Czech christmas dinner is usually fried Carp and potato salad with mixed salad too... And of course, beer.

-There was a guy who in the 60's set himself alight in the middle of Wincelas square to protest communism. They finally got their freedom in 1989, when the "Velvet Revolution" happened and the Russians left. Byeeeeeee.

From the perspectives of the people we have encoutnered in these post-communism countries, we can see that they have a pretty big distaste for them...Even in modern times. Sorry, Russia.

In the category of travel tips, here is what we have learned

-If you buy meat off the street from a place that weighs it, it's a scam. You will pay over 4 times what you though you would originally pay. Go for the sausage (or chimney cake thing) and skip the scales....

-If you buy drinks at a place around the city center, be sure to count your change because the bills here have high denominations, so it's easy to get jipped... And unless you say something to the staff they will get a really good tip from you. For example, 200 Crowns in $10.00. So, if you only have a 5000 crown note and spend 200, it's easy to get jipped you if you don't count correctly. This may get more difficult (and easier to get jipped) as you consume the local (strong) brews.

-Many post communist countries often use the "honor system" with their public transportation.. You buy a ticket and then get it validated at a little machine once in the bus, tram, metro, etc. If you fail to show your ticket to the inspector upon request, they will make you pay a hefty fine. And if you can't, they call the police. It was the same in Hungary. We bought our tickets, used the metro, and in my medicated stupor I couldn't remember where I had put my ticket once we got up the stairs to the friendly (not) inspector who happened to be at that station that day. Common sense would say that "you have to show your purchased ticket to the person before boarding the train (at most stations, sometimes not), and her husband has a ticket, so just be more careful next time". No. I dug around almost in tears because I couldnt remember where I put the blasted thing.... I thought it came out when I pulled a tissue out of my pocket... Freaking out, I sent Paul to get money to pay the fine (over 35 euros) and pleaded with the inspector and insisting it was a mistake. Then I looked in the pocket of my purse, there it was. Phew. Long story short, keep your ticket handy just in case; they dont play around! Same goes for Prague..They take their jobs very seriously. We could have easily hopped on for a freebie ride on many of the modes of transport, but, we were honest. I was so scared in Hungary!

Other than those first hand experiences, we have had a great time here. The best way to get around is on foot.. Prague seems like a sprawling city, but really, it's pretty compact and very walkable. Yesterday we ventured on the metro to a cafe where the yoga teacher we met at Bikram also works.. It was french cafe that serves up quiche and croissants, wine and the like.. Lucy, the teacher, had been to a lot of places we are heading to, so we figured we would visit her and hear any advice she may have. We ended up staying there for over an hour, chatting and enjoying fresh ginger tea. We felt like locals just sitting in a cafe... that's what everyone does here.. I must say it's a great way to spend a couple hours and just relax. We walked around a bit after and realized how close we actually were to the apartment we are staying in.. We just continued along one road and eventually got back.. No need for the metro, really, unless you need to get someplace fast!

On the way back, we also saw a famous landmark in Prague... the State TV Tower.. Back in 2001, an artist (who is known for his tongue in cheek art) created giant baby sculptures and put them on the tower, crawling up and down and all around. It was definitely a funny sight... I think they used to be painted pink, but now are black. 

Unfortunately the wifi at the place we are staying is probably from the time of the dinosaurs, so uploading pictures will have to wait until I write my final post about Prague.. No photo streaming at this place. 

I hope everyone out there has a very Merry Christmas.. I am missing my family and friends during the holidays for sure, but I know the memories we are making will last forever and there will be more times to celebrate together in 6 months time.. Plus, we are so lucky that we get to see Stephen in Istanbul soon and then Ian and Celia in Goa! Yay family time! 

Until then, we have a few days to check out the rest of Prague before we head off to Istanbul.. Will update more on our flight.. Be safe and have fun everybody!! Hope Santa (or Baby Jesus, as they believe here in the Czech Republic.. yes.. he comes in through the window at night) is good to you!

MC

Vienna/Bratislava/Brno

Well today is Friday, the 20th, the date of the only other reservation I made after Amsterdam way back when I was booking flights/accomodations. Everything else from Novemer 5th up until now was fly by the seat of our pants, wherever the wind blew, sort of thing. It wasn't until yesterday that I realized we had been in 4 different countries in a week. That business, coupled with the soul-sucking antibiotics (aka Cipro) I have self-medicated with after what was clearly a sinus/chest infection had devloped, has made it difficult to keep up with this little blog. So here we go, a 3-city blog post. I'll try to keep it not too lengthy.

We left Budapest via bus to Vienna and arrived last Saturday.. We arrived to a random shopping center just outside the city, and it was bedlam... Not fun with big backpacks. People were constantly bumping into us, and when I tried to get a ticket for the metro, a herd of people literally shoved their way in front of me. The leader of this mob had a crutch, as to make it "okay" for he and 20 of his friends to cut in line.. I stood there fuming for 20 minutes while they discussed which tickets to buy and figure out money, etc. After experiencing the weirdest "queuing system" I had ever witnessed at the metro ticket machine, we made our way to the apartment we were staying. We booked with a nice lady named Christy, whose apartment was in the neighborhood of Margarten. It was quiet area close enough to all the sights and markets, within walking distance.

The first day in Vienna we didn't really do much, we kept ourselves so busy in Budapest that we were kind of tired, and I finally broke down and started taking these antibiotics. We actually just ate dinner at a chinese restaurant nearby, watched the Walking Dead ( we are caught up to the mid-season finale! woohoo!) and went to bed pretty early... We knew the next day we'd be out all day, so we didn't really mind.

Sunday we walked all around Vienna and saw all the beautiful buildings... The Belvedere Palace was just down the street, so we walked around the gardens and took some pictures.. It was so nice there.

There was a museum you could go into, but, being back on the Euro, we decided to save our money for some Christmas Market fun.The palace dates back to the 18th century, and boasts some pretty baroque architecture... There are art exhibits inside too, if you are into that sort of thing. We just enjoyed being in temperatures over 32 degrees and walking around in the sunshine.

After visiting the Belvedere, we decided to walk and explore the city center, which was a short walk away. Vienna is nice by that it has all sorts of public transport, but it also has ring road that goes all the way around the city where you can walk. I think it's about a 2.5 mile walk to go the whole way around. We walked on different parts of it, and saw the museum district, lots of cool buildings, the Wein river, and walked past a lot of different shops. Unfortuantely, as it was Sunday, mostly everywhere was closed. We did manage to eat at an Australian restaurant for lunch an Paul had the biggest kangaroo burger I've ever seen. 

Vienna is known as the City of Music. You can visit Beethoven and Mozart's graves in the graveyard, go to the opera, and there are tons of really good street performers. We were walking through the center and there was a girl belting out opera music... It was a very lively place that really respects the arts. The concert halls and theatres were so beautiful.. Maybe one day we will make it back and see it from the inside. :)

Sunday night we spent our time Christmas market hopping. Vienna has at least 12 Christmas markets scattered around the city.. We saw tons of tour buses lined up along the ring road dropping off and picking up tourists to visit... There were soo many people. I can see why, though.... Vienna is so beautiful as it is, so when you add all the holiday lights and decorations it seems magical.

A vendor selling christmas tree ornaments

This is the major market, and it was so beautiful, but a mob scene. We opted to go to a different one to enjoy some local offerings.. It's fun to see all the different markets and try the local food.. The market we went to had huuuge baked potatoes with lots of different toppings. A yummy and cheap dinner indeed. 

Vienna was a nice place to visit, and I wish we had more time to spend there. It is also an expensive place to visit, so in order to save our money we decided to get off the Euro and make our way toward Prague... The next logical place was Bratislava! Except when we got there, we realized they are also on the Euro... dangit.

Ahhh Slovakia. When I told my mom we were going there, she had to look it up on the map...part of former Czechoslovakia, and another former communist country in the Eastern block. A country I  had never thought about visiting before... But, we found a way there, and a place to stay, and discovered what Bratislava had to offer. It. was. freezing.

We arrived to Bratislava on Monday and was met by a nice girl named Gabika who showed us to the apartment where we would spend 2 nights. I thought it was funny when Gabika asked "So, why exactly are  you in Bratislava?".. Turns out there's not much going on. Nevertheless, it was a nice little apartment, close to a university and about a 15 minute walk to the Old Town. Our first night, we were so cold we hardly stayed out at all... We ended up just walking to the local Tesco and buying stuff to make soup... We are big babies, it turns out. I am just so sick of freezing all the time! I miss my Florida "winter"!

We woke up the next morning and ventured out to find the post office to send some things back Stateside.. It's crazy how little things accumulate and take up space.. You get tired of lugging thing around. Luckily, it only cost 13 euro to send a pretty decent sized package home.. I was impressed. Slovakia may be on the Euro, but it was way cheaper to eat and live there, from what I could tell. 

After sending off some non-essentials, we went for a run on the Danube river... It was a short run, basically we got to a point away from town and then decided to run home because it was so cold...I am happy to say that, despite the strange looks I have gotten in some countries, I have kept up with practicing yoga and running in every city we go to... I think I got the funniest looks in Mostar. Turns out running isn't a very big "thing" there.

We spent the rest of the day seeing the major sights in Bratislava.. most of which, were closed. Par for the course. That's the only bad thing bout traveling in winter.. Everything is closed and people think you're weird for not coming in the summer.. Well soorrrrrr-y. We're here now. :)

Our host was nice enough to leave a basket of goodies at our apartment for us.. This appears to be some kind of candy bar that is the equivalent of marzipan.. I thought it was cookie dough based upon its texture and consistency. Interesting!

The blue church! It's blue inside and out.

Creepy old communist building!

Creepy communist statues!

"UFO" observatory, circa communist times

The US Embassy... with pretty heavy security around. All the other embassies had none..hmmmm..

Cool manhole statue!

Bratislava was a nice place and the people were extremely friendly... A nice stop on our Eastern European tour. Just. freaking. cold. brr.

We left Bratislava at 7:00 via bus to Brno.. The bus company we booked with was so nice. I am actually sitting on the same sort of bus right now. I was just given coffee by the bus attendant and Paul is currently watching "The Campaign" on his headrest entertainment system. I couldn't get both he and the movie in the photo so fear not that is another passenger, not Paul with long hair. The bus company is called "Student Agency", and it's the best company we have used so far with the best prices. They go all over Europe too!! I wish I had known about them before! 

Pictured below is the Winter Hell we are enduring. Everything is frozen. My toes are still kind of numb from waiting for the bus. 

After Bratislava we used this fine bus company and made our way to Brno, a medium sized city in the Czech Republic. We arrived in Brno at 9am on Wednesday... Our first 3 hours were awful. We decided to walk to meet our host at her office to get the key, rather than take the tram. Turns out Google Maps is evil. We walked around lost with all our bags, in below freezing weather, for hours. I couldn't feel my fingers or my toes. I wanted to cry. At one point I did.. Ahhh the joys of traveling. We finally found where we needed to go by asking some kind locals, who spoke no English, to point us in the right direction. They were so nice and even used a translator on their phone to tell us where to go.. We finally got to our host, Maria's, office, tired and frozen after walking in circles for EVER. Not one of our finest days. We were exhausted. It's crazy how much the cold and walking with huge backpacks can shatter you... The soul sucking antibiotics didn't help, either. haha.Needless to say we were SO GLAD to find our apartment.

We walked round Brno in a more civilized way later that day, and saw the holiday festivities. Like everywhere else we have been, the Christmas markets were in full swing. They all are starting to look the same, haha. In Brno, though, there was this stuff called Honey Wine.. it was nice and warm, and I'm sure it has some natural antibiotics in it. Honey, or "med", as it is called here, is used frequently and is revered for medicinal purposes.. They really love all kinds of teas and honey here in Eastern Europe. I love seeing all the natural remedies, its definitely not a pill popping society.

These are the "chimney cakes" we saw and tried in Budapest... It's like extreme and really delicious roller food... We didn't have another one here, but they smelled amazing.

Yesterday was the last day of our unplanned itinerary, and the last day in Brno. I started the day with a run around the city, and as usual, I was the only crazy person out running... It is funny because thinking back when I'd wake up at it said 30 something degrees on the weather, I'd go to the gym and hit the treadmill. Now look at me... I'm a "real" runner.

We went to an Indian restaurant for lunch (which came out to $5.00 per person) and it was yum.. I guess good preparation for a month of curries and rice? The nice thing about CZ is that there is wifi in abundance.. Theres even wifi on this bus. So while we were at the restaurant, I looked up places to visit in Brno. Turns out there is a huge catacomb there, so we decided to go check it out. For a small fee, you can see all these creepy bones that were put into the catacomb when parishes were moved around or they ran out of space in the cemeteries.. 

That's the remains of a lot of peeps..... Somewhere around 20,000 people were put in here, and when they discovered it beneath the St. Jabobs Church nave, it was piled from floor to ceiling with bones. Creepy! 

Brno really has lots to offer to those who like to visit museums and enjoy the outdoors.. We didn't really have much time to visit all the things we wanted to, and while it would had been awesome to go hiking in the surrounding forests, we ended up just walking around the city because of the exhausting cold adventure we had the day prior.

We ended our stay in Brno by meeting our host, Maria, for dinner in town. We went to a place where we could try the local brews. Czechs are very proud of their beer.. Budweiser actually comes from the Czech Republic, in a city called Budweis... And if you try and compare it to our American one, you will probably get slapped. There's apparently a legal battle still ongoing between the Czech company and the American... It's a touchy subject. They do love their beer, and I will say, it is pretty good.. that's coming from a non beer drinker.

Maria was a lovely host who was originally from Romania and has lived in Brno for 5 years. We had a nice chat about traveling, being an expat, and her home in Romania. She also lived through communism, so it was interesting to hear her stories. We have learned so much about how people lived and what they had to go through.. It's very cool and interesting to hear different perspectives and ways of life.. We still have a long way to go and a lot to learn.

This morning we shoved all our stuff in our bags and headed to catch our bus. All I know is I will be looking forward to spending 7 days in one place, not worrying about where we need to go, what we need to do, etc. We will have ourselves a merry little Christmas during our stay here in Prague. I miss my family, but I know that we will get to spend many more holidays together. Maybe we can have "Christmas in July" when we get back. I am sure too that Prague will be beautiful and full of holiday celebrations to keep us occupied.. I also saw that it is almost 5 whole degrees warmerr than in Brno! Where's my bikini?!!!!

Until next time,

MC

Budapest

Wow.. what a place. We arrived in Budapest on Tuesday and I feel like we haven't stopped since... I am writing this now in Vienna, and we are happy to have a quiet night in (especially since we have been walking around in below freezing temperatures for the past week).

Usually I am a big wuss when it comes to the cold... And I know that say, high of 30, isn't really that cold in comparison to other places like Russia.. But you have to really motivate me to go out walking around in anything below 35.. Budapest was successful in doing so!

We got in on Tuesday evening, and naturally, it was dark and we had fun navigating our way through the metro and to our host's house. We found some cool girls on Airbnb, one of whom is from just outside San Francisco, and the other is from Bulgaria.. Staying in Budapest with 2 people who didn't speak Hungarian! It was probably the best case scenario because Hungarian is a crazy language, reminiscent of a cross between Dutch and Icelandic....

Ashley and Iva live in a nice apartment right close to Hero's Square and walking distance to a lot of the city sights.. It's right off Andrassy Blvd, which is called the "Champs d'Elysses of the East", because Budapest is the "Paris of the East".. (So far we have been to the "Venice of the North and the "Paris of the East" haha!) Again we got to stay in an old-style architecture building with big windows and tall ceilings.. I loved it. We have been so lucky to be able to stay with really cool people in nice places.. We were pretty tired our first night so we had some coffee and relaxed a bit with the girls, then found ourselves some dinner close by.. It would be hard to have followed the vegan diet I was used to back home in Hungary.. Everything involves meat, bread, and cheese. Luckily a lot of the places had fish, so I got a lot of Omega's during our stay in Budapest. If you love cheese, beef, sausage and goose, Budapest is the place for you.

We spent our first full day walking around and made our way to the Christmas market... Wow. The Christmas market is Budapest was amazing! There were all kinds of foods, crafts, gifts, clothes, drinks, sweets, etc... And there were mutiple markets around.. we would be walking around different parts of the center and stumble upon another market. Everyone seemed to be getting into the holiday spirit..The places were always packed with locals and tourists shopping and eating. 

Paul really got in the spirit too and chowed down on this gigantic sausage... They did have some grilled vegetables and potatoes too, but unfortunately the cold temperatures quickly turned them from hot to cold... I guess that's what you get when you eat outside and it's freezing!

We learned a lot about Budapest during our stay.. I can say that I feel much more comfortable with my knowldge on the former Yugoslavia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and socialism/communism. The first day we also visited a musem called the "House of Terror". The building itself used to be where the head of the communist party was housed back between the 1950's-1989. We learned all about WW1 and 2 and how it affected Hungary, when Hitler then the USSR stepped in to "help" Hungary after being battered by both wars, and how they were basically taken over and turned communist by Stalin. 

When I think of WW2, Nazi Germany, concentration camps, or the bombings in Japan usually came to mind.. Not Hungary.. It was very interesting to learn about the persecutions that occurred in Hungary as well. Over 200,000 people left Hungary during the war and never returned, many of them Hungarian Jews. Then, after the war, communism took hold and many Hungarians were sent to labor camps in Russia and never returned.. The Hungarians faced some very hard times while Stalin had his grip on the region.. But, unlike now, everyone in those times had a job, a home, and a purpose... They were just always spied on, interrogated, arrested, tortured, etc. if they did not agree with the state or had ideas.. I think I'd rather be democratic, too, despite low wages and unemployment!

We also took some FREE walking tours during our stay in Hungary... All you have to do is tip at the end! We did the Essential Budapest tour on Wednesday, where we walked in both of the cities. Budapest is actually made up of 2 cities, Buda on one side of the Danube River, and Pest on the other.. The 2 cities are linked by multiple bridges, one of them being the famous "Chain Bridge" that is made out of giant chains. It looks like a giant bicycle chain on a bridge. We started the tour on the "Pest" side, where the main center, shopping, and christmas markets were, and made our way across the Chain Bridge to the Buda side. It was cool to see all the main sights, like the St. Stephen's Bascilica, where there is part of St. Stephen's mummified right hand (we didn't go in to see it, though). We also saw some cool old buildings, that were unfortunately next to the "beast" grey tower blocks from the Communist times, fountains, parks, and other points of interest. We then crossed the bridge and went up the Castle Hill, where you can get a great view of Pest.. There was also the Hungarian "White House" where the president stays. It was a really good way to spend 3.5 hours, and our guide was very good and knowledgable.. The only downside was by the end I could no longer feel my toes. Ouch. 

One more thing that we learned was how Hungarians got their name... I thought this was funny. Apparently a long time ago, Hungary was inhabited with people of Asian origin, during the Genghis Khan times. When the western Europeans saw these people, they called them the "Huns", which means Ogre, because they were a brutal people. From "Huns" came Hungarians, and from Hungary came Shrek. So   from what I've gathered from this history lesson, Shrek is Hungarian. It's their claim to fame. That and the guy that invented the Rubik's Cube.

We also did the "Communist Tour", which was free as well, and about 2.5 hours long. The guides on this tour were awesome - both of them lived in Hungary during communist times and gave personal stories about what life was like.. It's crazy to think that only 20 years ago everyone had very different lives in Hungary.. We walked around and learned about communist architecture and about how the walls were paper thin so that people could be spied on.. Or how the smallest room in an apartment was the kitchen...only 1-2 people could fit in the kitchen at a time so people wouldn't share meals because that could spark ideas. They wanted to force people to eat at the state-run Canteen where conversations could be overheard, and tried to prevent people from entertaining guests or cooking together in their homes. Crazy! 

We also learned about the ban on public display of beliefs or religion, and how Christmas was no longer a religious holiday, it was based upon "Father Winter" coming and was a state holiday.. The guides also reminisced on state-run TV, and how sometimes they preferred it to what we have today, because the state would show Operas, theatre, informational and educational programming, etc instead of the Kardashian crap we see now. They did not miss the communist cars, though. Apparently there was a car made out of cardboard and glue?! They also talked about how hard it was to travel to non-communist countries as well.. The state didn't want anyone seeing what life was like in Western society. I couldn't imagine living in a place like that! I guess everything about communism will be much clearer when we get to Vietnam and Laos.

One great thing about walking around in the cold in Budapest is you can find warmth and relaxation in one of their many thermal pools... Luckily for us, one of the biggest one was a short walk from our apartment. There were tons of different pools, all fortified with vitamins and minerals, with varying temperatures. The complex is huge, with saunas, steam rooms, showers, massage spas, mud baths, etc... It's a great way to spend a cold day!

We were sitting in one of the pools and Paul noticed someone he recognized... Then he pointed out this person to me, and I confirmed that I knew this person too.... It turned out that Stephen's best friend Phil, who we went to see the Local Natives with in London, was like 20 feet away from us at the thermal baths, in Budapest... We got his attention and he came over and talked to us, it was so insane to see someone randomly like that without knowing they were even in the same country! He and his girlfriend, Kate, were in Budapest for 4 days, and just happened to be in the same part of this huge complex as us at the right time.. Needless to say, we exchanged numbers and planned to meet up later.. We then braved the cold to the outdoor thermal pool, had a last soak, and headed off to get dinner and meet up with Phil and Kate.

We went to the Jewish District, which houses lots of cheap eateries and these places called "Ruin Pubs". Basically, when the Jews fled Hungary, they left behind all these housing blocks that were abandoned up until the fall of communism. Then, some university students bought up a couple of the apartment buildings (because it was so cheap) and began turning them into these multi-story, multi-room, themed pubs. A lot of these places have really cool decor, like bicycles hanging around or rooms that seem upside down because the furniture is on the ceiling. There's even places where you can sit in a bathtub. You could easily spend a whole night going from room to room in Ruin Pub.... Needless to say we lost track of time in one of these cool places and were out with Phil and Kate until like 4 AM.. I haven't seen that time on a clock since I had to get up for a crazy marathon! It was a lot of fun! 

We did so much during our stay in Budapest.. We also took a yoga class, I ran around the City Park every day, explored the Christmas markets, tried different foods (like a chimney cake! OMG), and hung out with our cool hosts. The last night (the night prior being our 4 AM night) we were in Budapest, Ashley and Iva invited us out for dinner an we were able to hang out and spend some more time with them.. They were very nice and interesting people.. Both very well traveled and smart! I learned a lot from them. :) Ashley told us some places to visit in CZ on our way up to Prague, since she lived there for a bit.... She also knows like 5 languages. I wish I knew 2 proficiently! We really enjoyed our stay with Ashley and Iva.. they made us feel right at home. 

Today we traveled on a bus to Vienna and arrived at 2pm. Our late night out had re-sparked this stupid cold that I have been trying to get rid of, so we aren't doing much tonight.. I think walking around for 3 days in freezing cold weather may have something to do with it too...We plan on heading in town tomorrow to see one of the most famous and beautiful christmas markets Europe has to offer, and see the old town in Vienna. We only have really one full day here, so it will be packed full of stuff to do I'm sure... More to come! Auf Wiedersehen!

The Croatian Encore

Well after 3 nights in Sarajevo, we decided to make our way back northish to Zagreb, where we could catch a train to Budapest. Time is ticking toward December 20th, where we have already arranged to stay at a place in Prague for Christmas.. So we need to start making our way toward the Czech Republic! Via cool places, obviously.

We arrived in Zagreb at 9 pm to the bus station after being on a bus for nearly 9 hours. It wasn't too bad, though, because for a majority of the journey we were the only ones on the bus, except for the crew. There were 4 men, 2 drivers and 2 guys who were there to enjoy the ride perhaps? I'm not sure what their role was but they sat up front and talked to the driver for most of the journey. I laughed because although I could not understand what they were saying, it seemed like they had "boys club" at the front of the bus. They talked and laughed the whole way, it was brilliant. At least the driver was entertained and wouldn't get sleepy!

We stopped a few times, though not as many as the ride from Mostar to Sarajevo. There are really some obscure side-of-the-road random bus stops in these parts. I was excepting someone to get on with a chicken or something, as we had happen in Peru.. No such luck, thankfully! It was the first time we have had our passport really checked thoroughly during our time in Europe.. We had them collected and inspected leaving Bosnia, and then had to get out and see an immigration officer at Croatia, across the river. No big deal and they were very nice. No questions asked, welcome to Croatia!

It was nice getting back on flat, interstate style roads.. The whole trip was spent weaving around big mountains on a two lane road, through small towns and out in the country. It was a pretty view.. I got confused at one point because there were signs indicating we were in Serbia... But I think it was just Bosnian Serbia, as we had learned at the museum... All theses different ethnic pockets in Bosnia have created regions. For a second there I thought we were on the wrong bus or something! We made it to Zagreb safe and sound, thanks to the boys club on the Eurolines bus. 

Despite the recommendation to catch the tram to our destination that we were given by Ivan, our airbnb host, we figured out the way to the apartment and decided to walk. Sitting for 9 hours on a bus had me wanted to jump out of my skin and despite all the bags we were ready and willing to go on foot.. It turned out to be a nice walk, and we felt very safe despite being in the dark and around the bus station (you would think it would be sketchy.. Not here!).

We arrived to the apartment and were greeted by Ivan and his adorable mother. Ivan had no one else staying in the 3 bedroom apartment, so he offered us the biggest room. It was amazing, an 100 year old building with renovations and high ceilings. The bed was awesome, I likened it to sleeping on a cloud. We were excited to have such a great place. Ivan spoke with us a bit, but he didn't live there and had to run to meet friends for a birthday celebration. His mother, though, we could have talked to all night. She wanted to speak to us about everything... In her broken English (which she apologized for..like we can speak any Croatian besides hello and thank you) she told us about the building, her husband and his architectural engineering career, her visit to London 43 years ago, and really enjoyed telling us about everything she could think of.. It was so cute! She was the sweetest lady.. We have been so lucky to have met so many nice people, and their adorable old school Mama's. Poor Ivan who had plans and needed to head out was basically shuffling his mom out the door.. It was funny.

We dropped our bags after saying goodbye to Ivan and his mom, and headed to the center. Everything was abuzz, a very different scene from Split and Sarajevo.. I felt like the whole city was out I the downtown.. The Advent celebration was in full swing and the Christmas market was up, but many things were closing up for the night. So we stopped and had a drink outside under the heaters and relaxed for a bit before we called it a night... By 11 pm despite sitting all day, we were tired from the journey and wanted to get in the cloud bed.

We only had really a full 36 hours to be in the city, so I had a quick run through the streets early in the morning (which was nice after being in the smog/fog in Sarajevo) and saw some pretty baroque styl buildings. Zagreb is a beautiful city, with lots of trees, parks, and old style buildings. I wish we had more time to spend exploring... From what we could tell there was LOTS to do and see, we hardly scratched the surface at all... We enjoyed the Chirstmas Market and walking around, seeing all the holiday decorations and the cool buildings.

Zagreb had a totally different feel than Split.. Very Western European, fitted with the usual like H&M and all those other stores you can find in every capital. Split was more laid back, with a village feel.. Despite being the capital and the biggest city in Croatia, the center of town has it's old parts that are preserved and it doesn't have the same rush-rush feeling as say, London or Brussels. The Croatian way of life is enjoy life first, work second, from what I can tell... Based on observation and what Ivan's mom has told us. And apparently only 4 million people. They've got the right idea. 

We spent the day roaming the streets and exploring the town. There were a million museums, such as the Museum of Broken Relationships, or the Museum of Naive Arts, or the Arts and Crafts Museum, what we could have visited, but we decided to make use of our time by doing what the local do, having coffee and walking around the streets. At the Christmas market there was an ice skating rink, a miniature pony ride, lots of food and drinks, and bands performing holiday songs (in Croatian of course) on a stage.. I felt like every family in Zagreb was out and about, it was a nice holiday feeling..

We tried lots of different mulled wines and drinks to help us stay warm (my coat was a wise choice) and then went and had a nice final dinner in Croatia at a place in the older part of town called Agave. Nope, not a Mexican restaurant. Paul had Dalmatian stuffed beef and I had baked octopus with vegetables.... Traditional Croatian dishes.. It was yum. The waiter was fantastic, too.. Unlike back home where you basically are asked 20 questions by your waiter and are in and out in 20 minutes, we were there for over an hour and he actually apologized for interrupting and asking if we wanted anything else.. It's nice having time to enjoy the meal and not feel like we have to hurry hurry or try and be upsold on everything. Paul and I have both worked in a restaurant, and we understand in America it's part of the job and you're basically living on tips... I like it better over here, and we tend to tip more (relatively to their currency and culture) even though the restaurant workers made a decent wage (more than 3.00$/hr or whatever waiters make now). Eating is an event here, where you enjoy each aspect... Not get a blooming onion or other fat laden appetizer, woof it down and get a huge platter of whatever that could feed a family of 4, and then have the idea of dessert thrown at you all the while having your glass refilled unlimited times... That sounds more like a sick version of torture than a meal out.. Yuck! 

It was a nice ending to our encore of Croatia..We made our way back to the apartment, walking off whatever we just ate (I still don't miss my car) and made one last pass through the Christmas market. 

We arrived back to the apartment to a Pyrex dish full of different kinds of phyllo dough pie, apple cinnamon and another one I couldn't put my finger on..and a note that read "From, Mom". I about died and had a take a picture.. It was the coolest and nicest thing. It's like we have moms all over the world watching out for us.. And the treats were delicious.. What a wonderful lady.

We got all our stuff ready and packed, wrote some postcards, and relaxed until it was bedtime. It was nice to have a couple more days here.. I really loved the place.. Great food, great people, and so much to see and do. Must. Come. Back. And enjoy the mountains and the islands when it's warm... Yes.

Mostar Part II...and Sarajevo

I It is hard to take everything in when you're in Mostar. There is an underlying feeling of sadness, even though the world is still turning and progress is being made. I'm sure the people there once had these feelings, but from what I can tell, and the permanent smile plastered on our host, Teo's, face, they are moving on and getting on with life, and have done for years now. As an outsider, it's hard to not notice the bombed and derelict buildings over the new ones. It's hard to turn a blind eye to the bullet holes that cover nearly every building.. It's so foreign to us and definitely not something I can just walk past nonchalantly..

I have since learned the reason why so many of the buildings still stand.. and it's not to give the residents an in-your-face reminder of what war and hatred can do. Maybe some of them stand for this reason, but, for the most part corruption that still remains post-war have made rebuiling or destroying of these buildings a painstakingly slow process. The government rebuilds or destroys buildings, one at a time, city by city, as money is given to do so... So for people who do not have the funds to fix up their home or place of business on their own (which, with a 20%+ unemployment rate and not much of a middle class, leaves a majority of people) are left with these buildings next to their home, leave the bullet wounds to remain on the outside, or find elsewhere to live... For right now, that's just the way it is. I have read from different sources while researching BiH that lots of people here have the mindset that, "yes, the war is over.. but we still have to face corruption and lots of red tape". These two things hold back a place like Mostar, but that's not to say people (like us) don't come to see what it's like.. 

To be honest, though, Paul and I really had no idea the extent of the devastation that still remains here.. We just came to see the bridge and the surrounding beauty of the city. It's hard not to take pictures of something that is so far removed from everyday American psyche, a war at home. I am sure I would not have been so affected had I taken the military path, but as the 'hippy" that I have been labeled by friends and family (not that I take offense to it.. especially as a backpacking yoga teacher, I mean, come on...haha) my peace loving and often idealistic view of the world was shocked by what we saw..

And...enter our experience in the "Ljublianska Banka" tower, aka the "glass building", aka the "Sniper Tower". Our last full day in Mostar, we decided in order to get a good view of the whole city and see the inside of a creepy building, we would take the hike up the concrete steps to the "sniper's nest" and take a look around. The feeling we got when we entered was overwhelming...it was dark, cold, and sad. The graffiti-covered walls coupled with the broken glass on the floor gave me a feeling like this was not a place to hang out for too long.

We started making our way to the staircase (with no handrails or walls on the outside of the building, mind you) and began to walk up the steps.. About 3 flights of stairs up, I looked to my left and there was an older lady doing laundry in her kitchen, literally feet from me. I started thinking to myself, "that lady may have lived here during the war...", and I mean, we could have had a conversation from the stairs to her window.. It made me realize how close these people were to death and violence.. I started to feel dizzy and sick to my stomach. I don't know what floor we made it to in the end, maybe even the second to the top. Paul and I both had this weird dizziness and feeling that we shouldn't be in there, because of what it represents and what happened there.. We took a few pictures and made our way down. The feeling lasted for a couple hours, and we both just ddn't feel right and felt generally sad. 

Trash and debris that still remain (some from bums, and also insulation, broken glass, etc)

I noticed there were like 100s of plastic forks, so I was assuming it came from a break room? There was also loads of black film that came from back-up reels of old computers and data systems. I have since read you can find old bank statements and information from customers in the 90s, as well as bullet casings and stuff from the snipers. We didn't bother to look for any of it.....

The building is now a canvas for graffitos and a home for the homeless at night.. I don't know when the people of Mostar will be able to rid their skyline of this building, but as far as I can tell, they want to forget about it as no clean-up efforts have been made. I don't blame them.

Some photos taken from whatever floor we were on.. A nice view, nonetheless.

See those snow-capped mountains in the background? That's what we drove through on our way to Sarajevo. I slept through most of the trip (but now my cold is gone, and so is Paul's, hallelujah!) but managed to see the winding roads through tiny villages with snow. The bus ride was fine, and I never felt like we were going to die, so that's a plus!

We got to Sarajevo yesterday and were welcomed, first, by a blanket of thick smog. I have never seen anything like it.. We have air-quality alerts in Atlanta, but that's usually when it's hot and sticky... It's December and cold outside.. I guess that doesn't matter when you have a densely populated capital that has lax rules on emission regulation from vehicles and industry! Wow.. as we were driving in, I thought it was fog... Then as we got closer I could smell it and it encapsulated the city as far as I could see when we came down the hill and into the valley. Not good on the lungs..

It's a shame, because Sarajevo, with its Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman architecture, is a really pretty place. And there are mountains with Alpine-style homes circling the city. Half the time we've been here I haven't been able to see the mountains, though. It was a struggle to walk from our apartment into the main part of the city. My eyes and lungs burned from the smog, which at some points smelled like burning plastic, so you know that's healthy. 

The bridge where Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated... how sweet!

Sarajevo is another place, like Mostar, where the fact that it was ravaged by war is still very evident. Most of the buildings have been rebuilt or demolished, but some still remain. Most of the homes have patched up the bulletholes that once pierced them, but you can still see where buildings were riddled by guns or shelling. Sarajevo was a place that was under seige for nearly 3 years, but thankfully, it has revived itself and for the most part, is renewed.

We visited the Bosnia-Herzegovnia Historic museum today, which is a must see. For an outsider, this place informs and explains the events leading up to the war, what life during the war was like for the people here, and what happened to the horrible politicians who funded and promoted the war... I was glad to see that most of them have either died or are inprisoned. There were also lots of photographs showing buildings around the town and how they have rebuilt since the aftermath of the seige. 

We saw what people ate during the war, like "canned beef" and other rations from NATO, UNICEF books that teachers used in basements and in stairwells to educate kids during the war (yes, they had way worse teaching conditions than I could ever imagine....wow.), articles from newspapers that still ran despite the newspaper company being shelled and destroyed. The resilience and determination of these people is so inspiring.. They lived through a time when they had to fear crossing the road, going to the market, or even burying the dead without being shot at by a sniper or shelled by enemy forces. They even built a tunnel underground and out of the city when their resources were getting low to bring in goods and communicate with the outside world. They were surrounded in their own city for almost 3 years, bombed and attacked daily, and still managed to have a somewhat "regular" life for most of it. I can never complain again. This trip has been so humbling so far, and really it's because we have met so many amazing, kind, and brave people who have been through so much and still go out of their way to make sure you are taken care of..

For example...We are staying in an apartment by the "Old Town".. We arrived to the bus station and I contacted our host to let her know we had arrived. We waited maybe, 3 minutes, and she comes up to me and calls me by name, and perfusely apologized that we had to wait. She then took us outside and showed us to a taxi, where she apologized for "not speaking English well", put us in the car and away we went with her to her home. She then paid for the taxi, and explained she was sorry because she had to leave to go back to work. This kind lady left work to come meet us at the bus station and take us to her home, to then go back to work. And she apologized to us! The hospitality we have felt since being in the Balkans has been incredible... the people here are genuine, kind, and want to make you feel at home. She brought us apples that were grown in her backyard, just as Teo brought us a big basket of Kiwis that were grown in his backyard. For some reason the Western world has this view of Eastern Europe, and I can wholeheartedly say that this view is far from the truth. If you want a good dose of culture and hospitality and not break the bank, this side of the Adriatic is a nice place to visit..

The Bosnian coffee here is amazing, too.. It's like Turkish Coffee.. we enjoyed some today.

They even give you a piece of Turkish Delight! mmm

Tomorrow, back to Croatia to explore Zagreb (the capital city) for a couple days before we head to Budapest!!! I finally got a coat (I thought I was going to freeze solid today with 3 layers on) and Paul finally got a beard trimmer! He has informed me, that he will keep the beard the whole trip. I say it's fine as long as it's somewhat maintained........ It's getting out of control. Until next time1

MC

Mostar, Herzegovnia

I'll start this post from the bus ride from Split, which, due to me reaching the peak of this troublesome headcold, left me feeling like I may never make it to Mostar. We arrived to the bus station in a tizzy because we were running a little behind and were on foot, so were walking very fast with all our bags. At one point I almost ate it on the sidewalk because my boot hit part of uneven pavement. I must have looked funny tripping in what felt like slow motion and then catching myself before I went completely horizontal.. That could have been ugly, especially with the huge bag I was carrying on my back. We made it to the bus on time, and the driver notified us we had to change buses at some point on the journey... I could not understand the name of the city due to his thick Croatian accent, so I figured whenever I saw him open up the luggage hold at one of the stops, we would check if we needed to get off or not.

The journey from Split to whatever-the-name-of-the-city-where-we-had-to-change was all on the coastal road, which snakes alongside the Adriatic Sea, Back and forth, back and forth the bus rocked as we made our way down the road. In good tradition with our bus journeys so far, the wind was really blowing.. At one point we had to stop for road construction and I thought the bus was going to be blown off the cliff and into the sea. I just wanted to get to wherever we had to go... The driver was going really fast and whipping it around the curves. It was a very beautfiul drive, with the mountains and the clear blue sea below, but I think had I not felt so bad I would have enjoyed it more/not thought we were going to die. I'm sure Paul's recollection of this drive and our driver is different from mine; to be honest when I am sick I am a big baby about things sometimes.... And that day I just wanted to be in bed with some tea and movies, not on a big bus driving down a winding road, being tossed from side to side in my seat. 

When we approached the Bosnia and Herzegovnia border,(BiH as it is referred to, which makes it easier so I'll use that from here on out) I was so glad because the roads from this point on were straight, in a valley, and nearing our change point. I had my first real passport checkpoint where I was questioned where we were going and where our next destination is...The first time I have been asked that question thus far! Shortly after going through the checkpoint, we made our way to a random gravel parking lot in the city I could not understand or remember the name of, and our driver announced that this is where we change for Mostar. The next bus would arrive 30 minutes later.. We used this time to visit a cafe and use their facilities, since there were none on the bus and we had been on the bus for over 3 hours (ahh my bladder!). The next bus came, we boarded, and continued on our way to Mostar.

It's hard to describe what I saw and how I felt as we neared the city... I think this is what I envisioned when I thought of Eastern Europe.. I saw people working in fields, using oxen to plow and their hands in the dirt.. I saw an elderly lady with a scarf on her head, beige tights, a long dress and black shoes walking on the side of the road with a cow.. And then the trash... Wow. I wish I could create a volunteer organization purely to pick up trash around this place. How lucky we are to have services in place and initiatives to clean up areas, pick up trash, and beautify our cities in America.. The landscape here is so pretty, with towering rocky green mountains and clear blue rivers, it is tarnished by the amount of trash that is piled up or blown into trees. I saw so many plastic bags and pieces of industrial plastic wrap stuck in tree branches, blowing in the wind. It really saddened my heart and made me feel a bit ashamed... why, I don't know, maybe because I judged it a bit? My "If you see a piece of trash, pick it up" song I taught to my kindergarteners a couple years ago would be beneficial to the youth of BiH...It has been nearly 20 years since the Bosnian war ravaged this part of the world, but the aftermath is still evident.. which became more and more clear as we made our way to Mostar. After being in Western Europe and tourist paradise for the past few months, I guess this is a good preparation for what we will see in places like India and other countries where their is a great disparity between the wealthy and poor. 

As we neared Mostar, the amount of bullethole ridden buildings increased. Mostar endured 9 long months of conflict and the people here saw some of the ugliest parts of the war. It is very complicated how everything went down.. I know it was civil war between the Serbs, Bosnian-Croats, and the Bosniaks. The Bosniaks are the muslim population that mostly live on the East side of the river, while the Christian population mostly live on the west. When Yugoslavia was united, these people lived in (somewhat) harmony, until when it dissimated and they no longer did..Xenophobia ran rampant.. The Serbs didn't like the Bosniaks, and the Croats helped the Bosniaks and then turned against them, and basically things didn't end well... Genocide, concentration camps in other parts of Bosnia, mass killings, and general terrible acts of war engulfed BiH and Mostar, with its large Muslim population, saw some of the worst of it. 

The people of Mostar leave the buildings as they are, bombed out and covered in bullet holes, as a reminder of what has been. They even build new buildings adjacent to the derelict ones, I find this as a symbol of the past and now... Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm not.

The main reason we came to Mostar was to learn about the history, and see the sights, such as the Old Town and the famous bridge, Stari Most (which translates to, Old Bridge). Mostar has been under the rule of many different empires, the Ottoman making the biggest mark. There is a huge influence of Turkish culture here, hence the large Muslim population. The bridge was buit in honor of Sultan Sleiman back in the Ottoman times, and later served as a symbol of discrimination (separating the Muslims from the Christians). During the war back in 1993, opposition forces blew up all the bridges across the river, isolating the Eastern side from the rest of the city. Stari Most was the last bridge to go... We watched a video of its destruction (captured by a local with a camcorder during the war) in a photo exhibition yeserday and it was heartbreaking to see this bridge crumble into the water. Violence is so scary, no one here even understands why the war happened. It really makes you feel sad and sick. 

In 2004 as a symbol of growth and peace, the bridge was rebuilt and parts that had crumbed into the river were brought up and used for the reconstruction. The bridge was made just as it was before, and a peace rally (which included Prince Charles and other random important people) took place for its grand re-opening. It really is a pretty bridge, and is now a symbol of unification. When we were walking arund the old town yesterday, hearing the church bells from the cathedral and the calling for prayer from the mosques, it became very evident how diverse this population is....I hope peace remains for these people.. They are so friendly and just want to live their lives.. I can understand why they left the buildings up.. An in-your-face reminder of what happens when ignorance, violence, and hate prevail.

Today we will make our way up the "Glass Bank" (which no longer has glass in it...) building, which used to be a bank building pre-war. During the war, it served as a sniper tower... Teo, whose apartment we are staying in, said it is the best view of the city, apart from walking up one of the surrounding hills (which I have read have landmines still buried.. don't know how true that is, but I'm not taking my chances). It is ironic that a landmark still standing, which was used as a sniper tower, has the best view of the Old Town and the rest of Mostar. Phew, this is a lot to take in. Pictures to come.. my photo stream is acting up again!

MC