Andorra

This little country, tucked away up in the mountains, between France and Spain has always been on my list of places to visit ever since I learnt about it in primary school. It had always fascinated me that such a small country could exist between two major powerhouses. Whilst the drive there added a few extra K's to the clock, the twisting roads and alpine sceanery made for an enjoyable journey. Arriving in its capital, Andorra la Vella, we quickly learnt why this place still thrives today. Boasting an annual thoroughfare of over 10 million tourists per year, this 468 square kilometer nation is a tax free shopping Disneyland. From Gucci bracelets to Billabong board shorts your bound to find something to your liking that won't have you bleeding euros. Luckily for us we're on a budget, so our luggage limit and euros were safe. But for those of you who are not so shopping inclined Andorra also vaunts some of Europes best ski fields and hiking routes. Unfortunately for us the nature of our 'summer vacation' prevented us from partaking in some of the winter sports and our short time frame from the latter. But as we have been finding ourselves saying of late, 'next time...'

- Ryan -

The South of France

After the long drive over from Croatia we were excited to be back in France and explore Provence, starting with the town we chose to camp in, Aix-en-Provence, famous as a small bohemian, university city. We were very lucky to discover that we had arrived on market day, turning the city in to a hive of activity with stalls selling clothing, shoes, antiques, homewards, jewellry and endless amounts of food. Wanting to take advantage of the overwhelming range of local produce we decided to pack a picnic for our drive through hills to Avignon (taking the scenic route), we quickly selected a goats cheese filled with honey, basil cheese and lavender salami. We then heading towards the lavender musem and took the 'long' road, i.e. Typed the wrong address into our GPS. After the museum we saw a place called the wine and truffle museum in the small town of Menerbes and while the museum was extremely disappointing the town itself was beautiful and well worth stopping in for a wander and to take a few photos. We also managed a little drive through a town I vaguely remembered as a beautiful market town from my first visit to France called L'isle sur la Sorge, unfortunately this time it wasn't market day this time but still a gorgeous town.

For our next night we decided to stay in the city of Avignon, in a camp ground on the island that looks back over the palace of the popes and the old city walls. After wandering through town and enjoying a quick meal we heading back to our camp and dangled our legs over the river while Ryan got a few excellent nighttime photos. The next morning we headed out to the remaining section of the 50km long Nîmes aqueduct - the Pont de Gard - another vague memory from my first trip to France. While not nearly as big as what I remembered it was still an amazing sight, showing the ingenious methods used by the Romans in the 1st century AD to transport water from the Uzès spring.

After missing out on getting into a Michelin starred resturant in the north of France we again attempted to get into another during our stay in the south. However, unfortunately due to our laid back approach to travel planning - no knowing what we want to do tomorrow - we were again not able to get a table. We left France with a resolve to book another in Spain to ensure we could fit in at least one, more on this later!

- Louise -

Zagreb and surroundings

Originally we never planned to go to Zagreb, as most of our research on attractions and things to do came up short. But after finding ourselves with a little extra time to kill before heading back into the Schengen Zone, we said 'why not?' and headed north. Choosing the back route, we headed up though the parklands beside the Bosnian boarder, and decided to camp a couple of nights in the Plitvice Lake National Park. Whilst we never actually made it to the lake, we had a great couple of days there relaxing in the countryside and trying the local cuisine, mostly spit roast lamb and pig.

Having read an interesting article in a magazine a few months back about abandoned Yugoslavian statues, I thought it might be interesting to go see a couple since we were in the area. Initially this proved to be a little difficult as most of them had very vague address that even our trusty GPS couldn't find. But eventually I found a couple that were only a short detour off our path to Zagreb. So deciding to make a day of it we packed a lunch and set out exploring so history. Originally these statues were commissioned by Josip Broz Tito, at famous WWII sites, conveying powerful imagery of the strength of the Socialist Republic. However now days they've been left in disrepair, as they're just another reminder of the terrible past. Nevertheless with over 30 statues, spread over the entire former Yugoslavia country side they made a great little side trip and interesting photo shoot.

Like I said before Zagreb wasn't high on our list for places to visit, so we decided to splurge a little and stayed at a place that included a spa and sauna. Whilst it was a little out of town our stay at Hotel Fenix was really relaxing and made for a nice treat, before our long drive back to the west. As we arrived late in the afternoon, we decided to skip the site seeing and make a day of it the next day. Driving into town was easy enough, although finding reasonable parking was a different issue as most of the streets were under roadworks. With the car safely stored we then preceeded to wander the streets to see what enticements Zagreb had to offer. Whilst the buildings and parks were lovely, they just seemed to be a blend of everything else we have seen over the past few months. The main market was also the same, with fruit, veg and meat sellers all trying to hawk off their local produce. But the thing that really caught out eye, was a small little museum just off the main drag called the Museum of Broken Relationships. Originally starting in Zagreb, this museum has since traveled the world collecting weird and wonderful items from relationships long since ended. From weird and kooky to melancholy and heartbreaking this seemingly small museum has an extensive collection of broken relationship memorabilia all with their own story.

- Ryan -

BiH

Bosnia & Herzegovina, a country with 3 presidents, 57 member of the legitrative branch, numerous sub and state ministers and 14 years since some of the worst mass genocides since WWII. Lonely planet warnings about not walking off the 'beaten track' and very little information what to expect beyond the city Mostar. Given its history and small amount of knowledge we had of this country, we where extremely curious what to expect when we arrived . . . .

First up we stopped in Sarajevo, the beautiful, booming capital of Bosnia with strong memories of been surrounding by Serbia troops, having only the true spirit of the Bosnian helping them survive. Whilst the city has sinced moved on and almost completely rebuilt from the devastation, there a still small reminders, bullet holes here, exploded shells there, of a time that should never be forgotten. Straight away we made a b-line to the history museum, where we brushed up our history of the war and learnt about the justice that is been extracted by ICTY, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. We then moved onto a photography exhibit showcasing some amazingly moving images in relation to the massacre in Srebrenica. With a better understanding of the history of the war, we then sort out the famous tunnel built under the airport during the 92-95 siege. The hand dug tunnel was build in 4 months with no surveying or GPS technology and without it Sarajevo surly would have been capitulated. It was sad to see what these people had to experience during that terrible period, but at the same time it was amazingly interesting to learn about how through the human spirit these people persevered through such devastating circumstances.

But Sarajevo isn't just all about war and horror, once you move past all that, the city itself is a maze of multicultural and religious architecture. During its long history the city has had numerous rulers all who have made their own stamp on the city. Early Romans, Goths, Christian, Ottomans, the Austria Hungarian rule and of course Yugoslavia, each period of history can be seen by just taking a short stroll along the Miljacka river. It truly is an amazing feeling to walk through the old section of the city and pass a group of men walking into a mosque for daily pray, whilst at the same time just round the corner church bells are ringing from the towns cathedral.

Next stop took us to the ancient town of Mostar. Again this was a town rich in history and forced to suffer some terrible scarifies during the recent war. Whilst Sarajevo has seemed to recover structurally, this is not the case with Mostar. As we made our way down to the old town it almost seemed that every second house you passed was completed gutted out or had major damaged from shelling and gun fire. The crowing jewel that is Mostar's major highlight is Stari Most or Old Bridge. Originally built in 1566, the single arch stone bridge was apparently the greatest architecturally achievement of the ottoman rule. Sadly the bridge was destroyed during the 1990's conflict, but in 1999 construction began to reconstruct the bridge to the exact same specifications of its predecessor. After 5 years of painstaking construction the 'new' old bridge was finally completed symbolizing a celebration of the city's reunification.

Still very interested in learning more about war, we decided to take a backstreets tour of Mostar, appropriately called Death of Yugoslavia tour. Picked up by our guide Miran, we were initially greeted and told that his only disappointment about the tour is that his car is not Yugoslavian, and to his credit he was correct (about the tour that is...). During the tour we were taking to 3 sites, the first being on old aircraft hanger and bunker. Now in complete disarray this 1km hanger, secretly housed numerous fighter planes during the Yugoslavian regime. Next we were take to the roof of a 9 story use-to-be bank, I say that because now it is nothing more than a building shell containing broken glass and graffiti. From the top of the building we were treated to amazing views over the whole city, where Miran explained in detail the history of the war and where the city/country stands today. Being a history teacher and living though the events he was able to be extremely informative telling the story with the finest of detail. When asked why most of the building have just been left this way, he informed us that most of the buildings are still owned and if the government demolish the, the owner then has the right to claim for compensation. The final stop on our tour was the Partisan Cemetery. Once a very significant landmark in Mostar, today it's well... how can I put this... A shit hole (as accurately described by Miran)! Designed by Bogdan Bogdanović as a tribute to the Yugoslavian Partisans who had fallen in battle, this grand park area was a common picnic spot for the local Mostaries. Going there now without knowing the true story and seeing photos of its previous glory would be a very confusing experience, so I'm glad we were able to experience I through the tour.

Arriving in Bosnia, we were not expecting anything special from the food, as we had heard a few reviews of it been just meat and carbs. While there was A LOT of meat a carbs, we quickly learnt that an excellent meal was all about picking the right thing off the menu and finding a good restaurant. In Sarajevo we asked the friendly receptionist at our hotel to recommend a good local resturant, we were a little unsure at first given her suggestion was a steak house but thought it was worth a try. Lucky for us the receptionist also made us a reservation, something we weren't used to in Eastern Europe, as it was Ramadan and all the restaurants were completely full. The meal started with the usual clotted cheese and bread, and followed by grilled capsicums and a 'happy' Bosnian, a kefta stuffed with cheese and smoked ham - delicious! Due to the heavy Turkish influence the deserts in Sarajevo were sickly sweet and pastry, which we only had a mouthful or two before deciding we had had enough. We also indulged in a local delicacy much like a stewed apple with cream, which I was happy to only try once. And of course we did fit in a meal or two of the standard meat and carbs, but we weren't complaining as the meat was cooked perfectly and there was a great variety.

In Mostar we realised selecting a local resturant would be a little difficult as many were tourist based, westernised versions of local food. However, one day for lunch we stumbled upon a wonderful place which was perfect for a long leisurely lunch. We started off by enjoying a homemade lemonade, followed by meat kefta and a range of vegetables (pickled cabbage, peppers, vine leaf) stuffed with minced meat and spices. The latter dish was perhaps our best in Bosnia and maybe one of the best of the trip! We then enjoyed a traditional Bosnian coffee (just like a Turkish coffee) with a little square of Turkish delight.

Our time in BiH was packed full of good food, interesting places and informative history lessons. Whilst it was only a short stay, we managed to fill our heads to bursting point with facts about the Yugoslavian war. But out of everything we saw and did I think the most surprising aspect of the whole country was the friendliness of its people. From every shop, resturant, hotel and street corner there was always a big toothy smile or friendly 'dobar dan' awaiting you.

- Louise & Ryan -

Serbia

While we were a little unsure of what to expect, we decided on a stop in Belgrade between Romania and Bosnia, because we were just in the neighborhood. Arriving latish in the evening, we went about searching a resturant recommended in the lonely planet called '?' Walking the open streets was quite peaceful and the meal of smoked pork chops and Ćevapčici (grilled skinless sausages) was a great introduction to the Serbian capital.

As we only had one full day in Serbia, we were up bright and early, keen to see Belgrade. First up I wanted to get a traditional Serbian breakfast and coffee before starting the site seeing. After a quick bit of research we settled on a quite little place near our hotel which served the typical breakfast of smoked meat and cream cheese and a baked egg sandwich. This of course was a great start to a big day.

We spent the remainder of the day exploring the Belgrade Fort, which was quite interesting. The fort housed the military museum which had an exceptionally large collection of artifacts on the war history of Serbia itself from ancient times till more recent. However, there was only one small display on the recent war between Serbia and Bosnia which was mainly focused on the United Nations and how unbalanced the sides were. As this was a great chance to understand the Serbian side we were a little disappointed at the lack of information. We then walked through the main shopping street and the surrounding funky bohemian areas, enjoying a little frozen yogurt along the way.

Now Ryan assures me that he didn't know that there was the biggest beer festival in Eastern Europe on at the time we were there and I'm still not convinced that he didn't plan this. But nevertheless I was happy to go along and see what it was all about.

After the short walk along the river we arrived at the festival and were met with a massive horse shoes of temporary bars. Each one had its own branded type of beer products, with the remaining serving a range like the Premium tent and the little English pub. After selection out a couple of drinks - Ryan a local beer and a blueberry flavored beer for myself we headed off to see the food van. The selection was relatively small - mostly BBQ on bread - we picked a BBQed ham steak and local sausage pita bread. After a tour via the beer tents for refills we jumped on a couple of rides in side show ally and enjoyed the amazing view of the festival from the top.

We were both pretty tired after our long day, but definitely found that Belgrade has a lot to offer!

- Louise -

Roaming Romania

When thinking of Romania first thing that comes to mind is track suit wearing coaches screaming abuse at small yet ridiculously muscular women whilst they somersault over the gymnasium floor.... and vampires. Now whilst we didn't go to a gymnasium to spot the first, we did make it to Transylvania to search for some pale faced, night dwellers with wicked overbites. Whilst again we sadly failed at finding any vampires we did manage to learn a lot about the true Dracula story and even have some unexpected Romanian experiences.

Our first stop took us to the small little town of Sighisoara, where coincidentally the Dracula story begins. Now for you Blade,Twilight & The Count fans out there I know this might be a little hard to hear but vampires don't actually exist! I know its a little hard to hear but don't blame me, blame Hollywood. The real story, which in fact is a little more gruesome, is about a man called Vlad III Dracula, who had an almost border line obsession with impaling people.

Born in Sighisoara, Vlad III was the middle son to the then prince of Wallachia, Vlad II Dracul. Dracul was the title giving to Vald III father when he entered the sacred order of the knights called 'Order of the Dragon', who's sole purpose was to up hold Christianity and defend against the Turks. During that time Wallachia was in the middle of the firing lines between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Ottomans. Trying to stay neutral to both parties, Vlad II was eventually forced to pay tribute to the Ottoman sultan due to their seemingly unstoppable power. Eventually however, the Turks were defeated, but due to Vlads II alliance the Hungarians forced him out of his seat and to flee Wallachina. A year later, with the help of the Turks, Vlad II won back his throne with the condition of sending his 2 youngest sons to the Sultan as hostages. For a while everything was peaceful, however eventually the Hungarians decided to launch the Varna Crusade in an effort to drive the Turks out of Europe. The leader of the crusade enquired the help of Vlad II reminding him of his oath with the 'Order of the Dragon'. Fearful for his 2 hostaged sons, Vlad II set his eldest son in his place. The Hungarians did not succeed in their campaign and bitter with Vlad II's lack of participation the Hungarian ruler had him and his eldest brutally assassinated.

During all this Vlad III and his younger brother were being educated in both Turkish literature and warfare. Upon hearing about his fathers death, the Turk's released the then 17 Vlad III, supporting him as their candidate for the Wallachian throne. His initial seize of the throne only lasted 2 months, with the Hungarians taking back the seat, at which time the young Vlad III went into exile. Unhappy with the new Wallachian ruler, who also eventually sided with the Turks, the Hungarians sort out Vlad III for a possible treaty. With his knowledge of the Ottoman Empire the Hungarians used Vlad III as an advisor and in 1456 they invaded the Turkish ruled lands and Vlad III once again reclaimed his seat in Wallachia. For the next 6 years Vlad III held his throne, fixing the destroyed Wallachia and making a name for himself through his numerous acts of impalement. It is said that his first order of impalement was a group of boyars and their families who were believed to be involved in the assassination of his father and brother. He believed many of the leading nobles were the cause of all the strife in the area and overthrowing the previous leaders, so many if not all were impaled and replaced with middle class and pleasent who would be loyal to their new prince. No one was spared from Dracula's attentions, from 20000 Turkish prisoners to local Transylvanian's both men, women and child, if you did not obey you were likely to be impaled. But impalement wasnt the only method of choice for Vlad the Impaler, he was also known to have nails in heads, cutting off of limbs, blinding, strangulation, burning, cutting off of noses and ears, mutilation of sexual organs (especially in the case of women), scalping, skinning, exposure to the elements or to wild animals, and burning alive. Obviously this drove fear into the heart of Vlad's enemies and countrymen, but he also achieved his goal into returning order to Wallachia. It is said that Vlad was so confident with his laws that he put a golden cup in the center square of his castle and that for his entire reign it was never touched.

Whilst he experienced much success at fending off the Turk's, in 1462 he was eventually over run and was forced to flee. Appealing to the King of Hungary for help, he was immediately arrested for the crimes he had committed. It's a little unsure as to how long Vlad was imprisoned however he was eventually released on the conditions of renouncing Orthodox for Catholicism and wedding a member of the royal family. In 1476, Vlad Dracula along with the Prince of Transylvania returned to Wallachia in force and once again took back the area. However soon after winnings back his throne, the prince and most of Vlad's host left leaving him very vulnerable to another Turkish attack. With less then 4000 men Vlad led his troops out to face the massive host only to be defeated and killed. His head was apparently removed from his body and sent to the Sultan to be displayed on a stake in proof that he was finally dead.

Now I know some of you are probably thinking 'but what about that eerie gothic castle that's always in the vampire movies?' 'Dracula's Castle' or Bran Castle as its actually called, was just the setting to the famous Bram Stroker's novel 'Dracula'. Historically the castle has little connection to the 'real' Dracula, with records showing that he may of stayed there a couple of time in passing. Now days the castle and its grounds is set up as a museum showcasing the history behind the actual castle and explaining the difference between Dracula the man and the myth.

One unexpected surprise that we managed to experience during our time in Romania, was to go see some bears. Just north of Bran, near the little town of Zarnesti, is host to over 60 bears who have all been rescued from various parts of the country. Established in 2005, the 27 hectare sanctuary contains numerous fresh water pools, hibernation dens and hundreds of tress with lush natural vegetation for the bears to live a semi normal life. Sadly as most of the bears have been raised in cages with human contact, they will never leave the sanctuary due to their lack of natural survival skill. However with the excellent facilities at the Libearty Bear Sancutary they can at least live out the rest of their days in a peaceful safe environment.

As most of you already know my interest in all things medieval has taken us to some pretty interesting castles and museums. However after talking to some friends of ours I realised that I have been missing out on one crucial thing... medieval dress ups! Most of the places we have visited have had all the garb on display although the 'do not touch' sign has always been that invisable barrier keeping me away from my ultimate goal. But this was all to change in Romania. Whilst walking around Bran, Louise's noticed an advertisement displaying a medieval festival not to far away. So the next day, we cruised on down to the old medieval town of Fagaras to find hoards of locals preparing themselves for an awesome weekend of entertainment. Whilst the castle, which the festival encompassed, was a little run down the festival itself contained numerous actives, demonstrations, shops, exciting food and best of all MEDIEVAL DRESS UPS!!!!!!! I was literally so happy I almost wet my chain mail. Even though our Romanian was a little rusty I managed to communicate with one of the 'knights' who helped me don on my armor before posing for some pretty snazzy shots. With my mission accomplished my new medieval friend even added in a special supprise by teaching me some archery. Whilst I may not be good enough yet to fire arrows from horse back, I'm pretty good at maiming bales of hay.

Of course a post about a country would not be complete without a little blurb about food. With no real expectation we entered Romania with an open mind and an empty stomach, and to our delight we were never left unsatisfied. Much like the rest of the Baltic region your plate is always full of meat and carbs, but in Romania instead of potatoes, polenta seems to be the main substitute. Like everywhere else traditional food is first on our list when it comes to ordering and during our time we managed to scoff down numerous plates of sarmalute cu mamaliguta (boiled meat rolled in cabbage) , Romanian goulash, Māmāligā (polenta topped with sour cream and cheese) and assortments of grilled meats with pickles. Not only did it all taste great, but the plates even seemed to smile back at us.

- Ryan -

Budapest with a Bang!

Most of the time we try to do more of the cultural and historical sights when visiting new cities, however every now and then you just need to try something a little bit different, and going to a shooting range is exactly that!!! When this came up in my researching of 'things to do in Budapest' I instantly found the web page and started looking at my choices. Much like perusing the menu of a fine restaurant, choosing what I wanted to cradle took some time. The a la carte was of course very extensive with its pistol starters, rifling mains and semi auto desserts, however the set menus were also rather appetizing. In the end I decided upon the Greatest Hits package, which included a Ruger Mk III, James Bond's Walther PPK, Tony Soprano's Browning HP, a GLOCK 17, a Colt 1911A1, a Ceska Zbrojovka Grand, the snub nosed Taurus 85, a Taurus 86 .357 magnum, Dirty Harry's Smith and Wesson 629, the always popular Uzi and AK47 and finally a Remington 870 shot gun. And as if they weren't all enough I also decided to tack on an additional 3 rounds with the SVD Dragunov sniper rifle, because hey you're only in Budapest once right?

Tucked away just north of the city, in the industrial area, the shooting range is set underground in a sort of bunker. Whilst the area is only small, they still managed to squeeze in 6 other gun enthusiasts, all excited to fire their favourite weapons. Starting with the smaller pistols and working up to the bigger canons we each wreaked our havok on the paper targets at the end of the range. Whilst my aiming could do with a little improvement, I did manage to hit the target every time and even got a few bulls eyes. The only negative aspect of the whole experience was that it was all over in a flash. However once the instructors emptied out all the chamber and packed away the ammunition we had free range of all the guns to do our favorite movie poses.

- Ryan -

Hungry kids in Hungary

When we arrived in Budapest, after driving up from Bosnia, we were wandering the streets dreaming of food desperately looking for an ATM as we were out of cash. This then turned into a bit of a situation as the ATM's seemed to allude us at every corner forcing us to be very hungry in Hungary. After finally finding some money we headed straight to dinner at a traditional restaurant, where we ordered beef stew and traditional goulash followed by a shot of house palinka. Having had an excellent traditional Hungarian goulash at our friends Frankie's house in Perth we enjoyed our meal,even though it didn't quite compare!

One thing that surprised us about Budapest was how much it reminded us of Melbourne, which was a great cure for our slight case of home sickness. We really enjoyed exploring the trendy, retro shops in the Jewish quarter and checking out the numerous restaurants and cafe's. We even managed to find a place called my little Melbourne opened by an Australian guy, which even had Bunderberg ginger beer! We also found saw a restaurant with a Ham hock baked into a pie with mustard gravy, Ryan was quick to head back there to indulge in yet another ham hock after Germany.

Our main reason for heading up to Hungary at this point of our trip was to catch up with our hungarian friend Frankie and his girlfriend Elizabeth on their visit back to Hungary from Perth. We were excited to see some friends from home and what would be a better way to see Budapest then with our very own local guide. Frankie, being the enthuastic tour guide that he is, took us on a walking tour through the city before taking us to a bar to try some different palinkas, quince, apricot and plum. We then went across the city to check out a few of the famous 'ruined bars' which were basically nightclubs in old ruined buildings. The next morning before Frankie and Elizabeth were off to see their parents before heading home, they took us to Cafe New York for brunch - a decadently decorated hotel/restaurant with excellent food. After our Hungarian breakfast sausages and French toast it was sadly time to say goodbye - thanks again Frankie and Elizabeth for making time to see us!

While in the capital of Hungary we were keen to explore the countries military history after learning so much about the war in the other countries, so our first stop was the Terror museum. This museum was particularly well done, with great interactive displays covering Hungary's involvement in each war and the oppression under forgein rule. We also spent a day wandering through the streets, particularly enjoying the trendy Jewish quarter an Ethernet central market, which sold almost everything you could imagine and had little cafe's at the top where you can watch locals do their shopping. We also made time for a trip to a local bath as we had read this was a must do, however, the place we wanted to go to was closed for renovations, so we went to a slightly more touristy one, which was absolutely packed with people enjoying louging in the spring water in the sun. Sadly, our visa for Europe meant that we needed to move on from Budapest, but we would love to go back one day.

We decided to visit some of the countryside in Hungary starting in Eger where they make the famous Bulls Blood wine and all the cellars there are carved into the rocky hills forming a horseshoe of wineries where you can taste the local wines for free. We then went on to Miskolc to visit a spa that was built in a cave, while it was extremely packed we splurged (4€ each) to have tickets to the sauna area - an excellent investment. Next we drove up to a town called Boldogkovaralja, near Frankie's hometown, as he highly recommended a number of things in the area. One of which was a palinka place called Bestillo, made by two Hungarians who had spent a lot of time in New Zealand, unfortunately they weren't there when we visited but the friendly lady there who spoke no English ensured we tasted a good range of their selection. Another excellent recommendation was the restarant 'my mother says' which was possibly one of our best meals of the trip - so far! We had crispy pigs ears to begin, beef checks and Zemplén lamb for mains, finishing off with an exceptional chocolate tart with salted caramel topping for dessert. I still can't decide if the pigs ears or the tart were the best part!

After exploring Hungary we were ready to continue our search for vampires in Romania.

- Louise -

Exploring Montenegro

After reading about Montenegro in Lonely Planet's 'Best of 2013' and realizing how close it was to Dubrovnik we thought it was best to go down and check it out. So after seeing mum and dad off at the airport and some pretty horrendous queuing at the border we made it into Montenegro. Almost instantly we could notice the change between the two countries, but most notability was the price of fuel as it dropped significantly, which was a nice surprise. With mum and dad having been down here only a few days prior we got a few good tips on the highlights, so first on our agenda was to stop in at the small medieval town of Kotor. Much like a smaller version of Dubrovnik, this old port town was still well preserved and swarming with tourists straight off the boat. Walking around for some time admiring the beauty of the ancient city, we soon grew hungry for some local delicacies. So after asking some locals about the top spot to grab a bite to eat we were soon pointed into the direction of a little seafood restaurant just by one of the city gates. Consulting the menu, along side our trusty guidebooks recommendations we quickly decided upon a thick fish stew to start, followed by squid ink risotto and prosciutto/cheese stuffed squid for mains. Needless to say as long as you are a seafood lover these were amazing.

Being stuffed to the gills and with the temperature way too hot to do anything active we opted to skip the 1350 step climb up the city walls and jump back into the car and make tracks for Budva. Whist mum and dads reviews of the costal city weren't raving we thought we would check it out anyway. The drive was pleasant, cruising along the cliff tops with views of the bay of Kotor below, but once we rounded the final corner we hit the non awe inspiring view that is Budva. Imagine an endless horizon of 80's style designed skyscrapers stretching along the entire coast line, with hoards of leathered European tourists battling amounts the hectic traffic in the streets and the only thing that out numbers them all is the amount of umbrellas that line the beachfront which I can only assume are there to mask the fact that it is not actually a beach at all but rather a stone quarry waterfront. So not really 'feeling it' we decided to keep on truckin', down towards the Albanian border as we had heard good recommendation for food down there. After another 2 hours of driving, we reach the other end of the country, although again weren't really inspired to stay for too long. The beauty of not having any plans when travelling means you are free to do as you please and explore the unknown, however this can also be a problem as our days worth of driving had brought us to the end of the country, with no desire to stay and no accommodation options available anyway. So again with no real plan in mind we picked a spot on the map, a large looking lake inland, and followed the GPS hoping to find a camp site along the way. As we started the climb up into the mountains, the realization of finding a camping ground quickly faded as civilization dwindled and the road conditions turned from 'all right' to 'I hope that pot hole isn't landmine related'. Instantly forgoing the idea to just camp road side, as we had passed numerous wild bear and wolf signs, we continued on towards the lake. For most of the trip the GPS has been a god send directing us straight in/out of some of the most difficult and confusing city streets, however every now and then it has its own little brain fart and takes in the strangest direction. Just before reaching the lake we passed through a small community which looked like it might have somewhere for us to crash. So with hope of ending the drive early we consulted our trusty GPS and searched for accommodation near by, to which our surprise resulted in a potential campsite just off the main road. Now this campsite was easy enough to find, however upon arrival we were greeted to an empty paddock with no sign of potential camping. A little disheartening but still staying positive we drove around a bit for one final search. Unfortunately most of the town was residential and farms so we punched the lake back into the GPS and took off following the quickest route. Now this is where things started to go a little wrong... As we continued driving, we noticed the road ahead getting smaller and smaller with each turn of the wheel. Whilst the GPS assured us that there was a road ahead and this was the correct way, things just did not seem right. All of a sudden the road seemed to change from bitumen to gravel, which was ok at first, as its not our car and the road seemed pretty well worn. However as we kept trudging along, wondering when the gravel would end, it actually turned out that the 'previously used' section of the road ended and we found ourselves driving down a wheel rutted track with grass growing in the middle almost higher than the bonet. On the plus side the undercarriage of the car got a good clean...

The bonus about going the 'scenic route' is you get to see some things that you wouldn't normally see, travelling the more 'beaten path'. Being in part of the former Yugoslavia I was excited to see some of the Spomemik's which are scattered around the country side. These monuments were commissioned in the 60/70's by the then president Josip Broz Tito to commemorate WWII battle sights and concentration camps. So, when we happened to drive past the state below, needless to say I was pretty excited. Later on however I discovered this wasn't one of the major sites (more on this later) it was still a pretty cool thing to see along the way.

Just as the sun was beginning to set and we had dodged our last pot hole for the drive we finally arrived into Virpazar. Whilst the town itself was quite small and surprisingly touristy we struggled a little to again find suitable accomodation. Feeling pretty tired from the drive and not in the mood to haggle with most of the very pushy hotel owners, we luckily enough came across a nice lady from a tourism office who found us something.

The next morning we woke up well rested, decided to pack up again and start exploring the local area. The town itself was quite nice, set just back from lake Skadar and offered numerous water related activities. Whilst some of these were tempting we didn't really have the time as we had to get moving since we had another few hours driving ahead of us to reach our final destination in Montenegro. As I mentioned earlier the beaches weren't exactly tempting, so we thought we would give the mountains a go and try our hand at some river rapids. After a very pleasent and windy drive through the mountains of Montenegro we reached the Tara River, our rafting adventure point and new home for the next night. Scoring a great deal with one of the local tour groups, which included rafting, meals and a roof, we settled in for our first night taking in some of the beautiful scenary and preparing ourselves for tomorrow's rapids.

The next day started with a late start, as we waited for the busses to arrive in from Kotor and Budva. After a hearty local breakfast of sausages, fried pastries and sour cream cheese, we geared up and headed down to the river. Scouting out for some other English speaking tourists to enjoy the rapids with, we found a couple of Aussie blokes who were travelling around together and a couple from the Netherland who had rode their bikes all the way to the eastern block. After a quick meet and greet we jumped into our inflatable rollercoaster and took off down river. Now whilst the sun was beating down by this stage, crisping up the tops of our heads, the water below was icy cold, which made for an interesting ride. As the rapid season was coming to an end, the 'extremeness' of the ride was pretty moderate, with only a few small rapid sections. However, the 2 hour cruise down the Tara River was really pleasent as we got great views of the 1300m deep canyon. Once back on dry land we showered up and got changed, whilst our tradition lunch of grilled meats and fish sizzled away in the kitchen. After lunch we said our goodbyes before setting off over the border for another country and another adventure.

- Ryan -