Eastern Europe Day 7 Sun 20/03/11: Montenegro: Kotor

The alarm clock woke me up at near 6am.  Yun Yun and Jia Qi were getting ready to catch a bus to Zagreb. I tried to sleep back but woke up again at 7am. It was a relaxing day because the bus to Kotor is at 1030am. Had a full breakfast at 8am and walked down to bus station with Hideaki at 930am. 

The bus departed on time and we arrived at Kotor at 1230noon. The view of Kotor Bay is very attractive especially at Perast where the St George Monastery and Gospa od Skrpjela (Our Lady of the Rock)can be seen from afar. Very photogenic like a postcard. The fjord in Kotor is the deepest in southern Europe region.

On arrival at Montenegro bus station, we walked to the old town of Kotor, an ancient walled city. The view of the twisted alleys is lovely as we entered from Southern Gate. Our hostel is located right in the centre near the Maritime Museum. After checked in, we set out to climb the long staircase that lead to St John Fortress at the top of the hill. I was almost out of breath by the time I reached the op but the view is well worth the effort. And having a friend to climb the hill with is fun. Hideaki is a 42km marathon runner back in Japan and he scaled Everest Mountain before...so naturally climbing this hill is a piece of cake for him! 

After the fortress, we wandered around the old town and got a bit lost. There are many twisting alleys, few ancient churches and aristocratic mansions. Important landmarks are St Tryphon Cathedral and Maritime Museum. I could have gone to Perast or Cetinje but by the time I googled about what to visit next (I am not well prepared for this trip), it is already 3pm. Besides, it is out of season , I might not be able to find a boat to cross over to the Our Lady of The Rock chapel. The bus journey to Cetinje is about half hour and need to climb 461 steps to reach the Mount Lovcen (Black Mountain)and Mousoleum of Njegos hence need to go the next day.

For dinner, me and Hideaki were wondering around for a good restaurant for squids. I love squids. He ordered seafood rice and mine was grilled squids. I had to order suppliments of french fries because it is not full enough. Met a Australian lady and Egyptian man in the same restaurant and they bought us rakija drink (local Macedonian spirit) which I must say tasted good, sweeter and less fiery than the one I had in Sarajevo.

After dinner, we went back to hostel in time to escape heavy rain. Very cold night...

Uphill to St John Fortress

View of Kotor Bay

Eastern Europe Day 6 Sat 19/03/11: Croatia: Dubrovnik

I reserved two days for Dubrovnik because my initial plan was to go to Mljet or the Elafiti (Luka, Sipan, Lopud, Kolocep) islands. But I was advised to not go during off season because there would be nothing much thing to do or see. During off season, one has to contact the Mljet National Park beforehand to prevent disappointment.

With lots of time to spare, I took my time to eat breakfast in the youth hostel and walked to the old town. The stari grad is a medieval walled city with fantastic view of the Adriatic sea and the Lokrum island with a backdrop of Srd mountain. Dubrovnik is an expensive city. Even one scoop of ice cream is 3kuna more expensive than ice cream in the middle of Zagreb. It is a tourist magnet and even when is off season, there were fair amount of tourists around on the street especially today because of new bishop was appointed and the ceremony took place in Dubrovnik Cathedral.


I visited the Lovrijenac fort first before entering the grad for the 2km city wall walk. Altogether, the cost is 70kuna. During summer, there will be Shakespeare play like Hamlet take place in Lovrijenac Fort. The highlight of the visit is the walk on top of the amazing city wall that overlook the the buildings within the grad and the Adriatic sea. After the walk, I visited the Franciscan Monastery of the Friars Minor and the oldest functioning pharmacy in Europe. There is also a small museum inside the monastery that exhibit old equipments used in the pharmacy and some ceremonial liturgy used in the monastery. The Stari Grad of Dubrovnik bore scars from the war. The monastery itself suffered great damage at certain areas. The old frescoes paintings were affected due to the bombing and some of the pillars were damaged too.


After the museum, I had a scoop of the ice cream in one of the shop near the Onofrio Fountain. Met Jane Gordet, a very friendly American lady on tour. We happened to buy the same caramel flavour from the same shop and we had a fun chat about Dubrovnik.


Then, I just wondered aimlessly around the Cathedral which was swarmed by people due to the ongoing ceremony. Decided to skip visiting Rector's Palace. St Blaise Church is lovely and the St Ignatius church on top of two flights of staircase is also worth a short visit.


To reach the top of Srd Mountain, I took a cable car up. It is a costly ride. One way cost about 50kuna and both ways for 80kuna. The bird eye view from the top is quite worthwhile. But there is nothing much to do once reach the top. I should not have gone up so early...should have waited till near sunset for better view. A stray cat followed me around while I made my way down. Thinking back, the cat might be trying to direct me to the correct way...Being directionally challenged, I took the wrong way. I ended up walking along road that leads to Bosanka, did a sharp turn and reached Ploce. From there, I took a shortcut towards Buza. I was exhausted. I walked about near 8km at least at that point and my legs were hurting.


Back in Grad, I waited a while for the sun to set in before walking back to the hostel. On the way back, I stumbled across a Croatian cemetery. It is much smaller compared to Mirogoj but peaceful and beautiful nonetheless.


In the hostel, Hideaki cooked some sausages and had some to spare. I ate it with bread and cooked some soup. My new roommates, Yun Yun and Jia Qi are law master students from China who are now studying in Paris. They returned at near 9pm and we chatted before sleep. They were impressed with my broken Mandarin...he he.

                                            View of Dubrovnik Grad from Lovrijenac Fort

View from top of Mount Srd

Eastern Europe Day 5 Fri 18/3/11: Sarajevo to Dubrovnik

Woke up early to explore Yellow Fortress (Zuta Tabija). After eating the sweet Sarajevo tart for breakfast, I walked along Kovaci road. It was slight drizzling at that time. Along Kovaci is a cemetery where victims of war were buried. The years of death were mainly 1992-1995. The view from Zuta Tabija is of the Sarajevo city. Met Tokiko at the Sibilj Fountain and we walked around Bascarsija together. It was raining slightly heavier and cold so we took refuge in a small lovely Turkish cafe where Tokiko had her Turkish coffee while I ate my Sarajevo sweets. The sweets are too hard for my weak teeth...I actually broke my tooth filling.


I only left with 0.45 Bosnia marka and the lady at the hostel reception kindly donated me another 60 cents to buy one bottle of mineral water. Tokiko and me boarded Tram 1 to go to the bus station (it stopped at the railway station). The bus to Dubrovnik departed on time.


The view of Bosnia countryside is very scenic. Rolling green hills with emerald river and myriads of bridges offer very photogenic view.

Once arrived in Dubrovnik, Tokiko and me walked towards the ferry port to enquire about ferry schedule to Mljet. To my disappointment, the ferry kiosk to Mljet is closed! It was another 15minutes walk to the Youth Hostel which is located uphill. Poor Tokiko...her bag is much heavier than mine. Worst, by the time we reach the hostel, the reception was closed. During winter, it is only open for certain hours of the day. So we walked to the fort with our rucksack.

In the stari grad, we explored the Cathedral, Sponza Palace and the pier (boats to Locrum). We bought some food to cook in the hostel and took a bus to the hostel. Back in the hostel, met Hideaki, a friend that Tokiko got acquainted in Zagreb. He never fail to make me laugh. A happy go lucky fellow, he is traveling around Europe for 5 months. Ironically, he has climbed Mount Kinabalu and Everest but not Mount Fuji. Later, we travelled together to Kotor and met again in Skopje. The night was fun because it is only three of us in the hostel. With the background of famous Japanese songs, some I recognized from watching Japanese dramas, we chatted the night away. It is like a small Japanese tea party :)

Eastern Europe Day 4: Thu 17/3/11: Bosnia: Sarajevo

Crap! It was 835am..I overslept. I was overly ambitious. I slept at 3am and planned to wake up at 6am to climb Marjan Hill. Scrambled to my feet and got ready in a gusto.  Ran like a headless chicken to the bus station. I had to pay extra 40kuna to secure a bus ticket to Sarajevo. The bus is empty except me and another Bosnia young man who just returned from Europe tour and reached Split via ferry from Ancona.

The bus journey was very long...lasted 7 hours. I struggled to stay awake because the view is breathtakingly beautiful. Croatia is reknown for its coastline. Sapphire blue sea dotted with rugged rocky mountains looks amazing in every photo shoot. The stretch between Mostar and Sarajevo is also memorable. On arrival to Sarajevo bus station, I walked to the railway station to get a free pickup to my hostel in Baseskije. Sarajevo is beyond my imagination and expectation. It is a remarkable city, with heritage from Ottoman-Turk and Austrian-Hungarian mixed with scars from the recent Balkan war. It is tragically beautiful. I walked along river Miljacka admiring the bridges and the buildings. On Mula Mustafa street, one can see a mixture of Catholic church, Jewish and Orthodox church and mosques. Unfortunately, the beautiful City Hall is under renovation. There are evidence of bullet holes in some of the buildings. Along Ferdahija are the posh and modern buildings that were built postwar.

After sunset, I searched Bascarsija for local food. Ate in Dzenita Restaurant and had sarajevski sahan (stuffed vegetables with meat), loza rakija( local fire spirit) and baklava. All in a very affordable price. Bascarsija is a fun place to explore at night. Lots of lovely cafe and shops selling trinkets and stuff. It is sad that I do not have enough time for sarajevo. I really wanted to visit the Tunnel Museum. The tunnel which is also nicknamed Tunnel of Life is the passage below the airport where people headed for safety during the war to escape the snipers.

Back in hostel, I met Tokiko. She is a nurse back in Japan. This amazing woman actually climb the hill in Medugorje in heavy rain. She has travelled around Africa alone. We chatted a bit before retiring early.

Sebilj in Bascarsija

Sarajevski Sahan 

Bosnia countryside

Eastern Europe Day 3: Wed 16/03/11: Croatia: Split and Hvar

Up early to explore the Split stari grad. The weather was horrible. It started raining and it was cloudy. Crossed Narodni Trg to enter the grad from Iron Gate. Reached Diocletian's Palace within a minute. It is indeed a majestic structure located in the middle of the grad. There is an old church besides the Roman ruins and a vestibule underground where vendors sell handicrafts and paintings. Since it is raining, there was nothing much I could do. I could not go hiking at Makarska nor Marjan Hill.


I was reluctant to stay indoor hence decided to board a ferry to Hvar, which was a big mistake. The rain became heavier and the wind became more ferocious. By the time I reached Hvar, it was like a mini storm. To make things worse, I went to the toilet about the time of disembarkation and I missed the one and only bus to Stari Grad and Hvar town. I did not realize that bus from ferry to town is only 3 times a day and correlate with ferry arrival and departure. The taxi from the port to town cost euro20 about 3 times my ferry ticket. I tried to ask for a lift from the locals that dropped by the port to buy ferry ticket but all refused to help. Even the ticketing officers were not helpful. Stranded at the port for about an hour and there was no sign of rain becoming lighter or stopping. So, I decided to walk to Stari Grad...with my umbrella. It was very difficult to walk against the wind...and all the time I was thinking about the tsunami victims in Japan and how horrible they must have felt. Was praying to God all the time to reduce the rainfall but God gave me better. About 10 minutes of walk, a Croatian man drove by and stopped me and gave me lift to town without me asking. Bless him. He dropped me off at Stari Grad. Off season, there is nothing much to do there really. It is a quaint and peaceful little village. Charming in a way. I explored the waterfront and walked around the town. Discovered a small church and Dminikaski Samorstan, a monastery that functions as museum now (closed). There is a bus from Stari Grad (old town) to Hvar town at 2pm so while waiting for the bus, I bought some food in supermarket to eat. 


The journey from Stari Grad to Hvar town was along the coastline hence was rewarded with scenic view. Thank God, the rain has stopped. From far, one can see the imposing structure of Hvar fortress. It is a very attractive resort town. Off season, it is peaceful and relaxing but during summer, it can get very crowded. The public toilet was locked hence I walked to hotel at the waterfront to use its toilet. The massive square at the centre is called Trg Svetog Stjepana and Cathedral of St Stjepan is one of the important landmark there (closed). Since museums and cathedral are closed, the only thing left to do is to climb the hill to reach Spaniolar, a citadel built on site of a medieval castle to defend the town against the Turks. From the top of the hills is a bird eye view of Hvar town, Adriatic sea and nearby islands. 


Descended the hill in time to catch the bus back to ferry port. Left my umbrella at the bus stop :(
While waiting for the ferry, I noticed how clean is the water at the ferry port. Not polluted at all and not a single rubbish seen compared to Locrum port in Dubrovnik. I was impressed. Made me wonder was it because it was off season...


It was nightfall by the time I reached Split. Bought bus ticket to Sarajevo and changed some pound to BAM (Bosnia currency). Had pita bread with squid for dinner. I love squid! Explored the stari grad again and the night view of Roman ruins at night is even more attractive than daytime.
Slept late again...

Diocletian's Palace, Split

Hvar fortress from far

Eastern Europe Day 2: Tue 15/03/11: Croatia: Plitvice National Park

Set out at 6am to explore medieval Gradec in upper town (Gornji Grad). It was an uphill walk along Radiceva road. I turned into Opaticka and passed by the Stone Gate before reaching the iconic St Mark Church with tiled roof displaying Croatia coat of arms and emblem. From there, it was a short walk to Jesuit Church of St Catharine at Katarinin Trg. Behind the church is a Strossmayer square which is a perfect place to get sunrise view of Zagreb city. There is a very short funnicular that one can take from Ilica all the way up to the Katarinin Trg. Rushing for time, I walked down the verdant staircase to reach Mesnicka and boarded a tram to the bus station.

The bus to Plitvice departed on time. My experience with Croatian buses were good...no delay at all. The countryside view is beautiful. Arrived at Plitvize Jezeru on time. Besides me, there were 3 more Japanese in the bus that alighted at Plitivice. The bus stopped outside station 2 and continued its journey towards Split. The first building one would see is a post office on the left and a bridge on the right. It is a short walk (about 5 minutes) to reach the P2 station booth. Passed by few hotels on the way. It was off season hence no buses nor ferries. So, the admission was free! In summer, the admission fee is 70 kuna inclusive of bus and ferry rides between P1 to P4. P1 is at the lower lake and P2-P4 stations are for the upper lakes. Even the public toilet was closed...I had to go to the toilet in the hotel. One of the hotel staff advised me to just go around P2 and walk to P1 because the upper lake is too massive to explore on foot. I am glad that I did not follow his advise. With rucksack on my back, I walked toward the ferry stop at Gradinsko Jezero. There is a small waterfall at the turquoise lake. Then I followed the bus road and walked towards P3 station. The view along the way is breathtaking. And the view that appears near P3 is even heart stopping. I felt like I found paradise on earth. There is no words to explain how exhilarated I was when I found the series of waterfall that cascading from Galovac Jezeru. A truly amazing view. The water is crystal clear and of various shades of green and blue. No one is allowed to swim here and the reason for the colour is minerals formation at the bed of the lake. It is a heaven for geologist and naturalist. There is wooden path along Galovac Jezeru and along the waterfalls like Galovacki Buk and Veliki Prstavac. The hike towards P3 from P2 and return took about 2 hours. I had time to walk to P1 and take bus from there but I was worried that I might not be able to find the bus stop at P1 and miss the bus to Split. I was tired too. So I took my time and walked to the bus stop. Ate my packed lunch while waiting for the bus to Split. Two Japanese girls joined me.

Arrived in Split at night. The bus station is located next to the train station and near the ferry port. The Grad is only 5 minute walk away. The Premi guesthouse that I booked online is just outside the grad. The lady who owns the guesthouse is very kind and warm. She even lent me her laptop to use...which was really useful because I managed to book hostels for Greece. I had the room all by myself which is great. The landlady recommended a local restaurant named Fife and luckily, I managed to find it despite it was quite dark and it is located at the corner. Had a sumptuous dinner of traditional Croatian food of dumpling and beef with gravy. Very filling indeed. Slept late...

Plitvice National Park

Eastern Europe Day 1: Mon 14/03/11 Croatia: Zagreb

This 14 days backpacking trip had been quite stressful...the planning was not easy either.
For Croatia, I was still able to plan my bus journeys since there is good bus website which gives information about buses going to Bosnia as well but there is constant worry whether the schedule online is the updated version. For Macedonia, it was really challenging because the bus website is in Macedonian language and I had to get a Bulgarian nurse to translate it for me. The best part was I had to ask her to call Skopje to confirm the timing...which was a wise thing to do because the schedule displayed online was not the updated version (off season buses are less frequent obviously). And another bombshell dropped was the fact that the Greek railways stopped their train service between Skopje and Thessaloniki in mid Feb and I only found out about it few days before I flew to Zagreb. I was tearing my my hair off thinking of a solution to get to Thessaloniki from Skopje. The bus from Skopje to Thessaloniki only runs on Mon, Wed, Fri 6am. Unfortunately, my journey was planned in a way that I would be in Macedonia on tuesday and had to catch a flight to Mykonos on wednesday morning...I was extremely distressed but things worked their ways out with God's divine help. Another problem I faced during off season travel in Eastern Europe is the lack of public toilet. All public toilets are closed. Even some museums do not have toilet for tourists which I think really unfair. Facilities for tourists in Eastern Europe really need to improve in order to compete with western Europe countries.

I had very little sleep few days prior to the  travel day. In fact, I only slept for half an hour before catching the flight to Zagreb. The flight was slightly delayed but uneventful. On arrival to Zagreb airport, I was a bit shocked. It is unbelievably small and basic. There is only one room in the toilet before passing the custom checkpoint...and though it was during office hour, the tourist information counter was not manned (in fact, it was locked) and the money changer does not sell BAM notes in which I was surprised because Bosnia is a neighbouring country. I could not get information about the tram network nor buy a 24 hour Zagreb card. There are shops inside the airport that sells Zagreb card but only 72hours card are available...

Getting a bus from the airport to the central bus station (autobusni kolodvor) is easy though. The stop is just outside the exit point of the airport and bus fare is 30 kuna. However, once I reached the bus station, it was quite a headache. Fortunately, able to find direction from Croatian who speaks simple english. Found my way to the ticket counter and purchased bus ticket to Plitvice. It was extremely confusing..the counters are numbered but no signage present to inform customer which counter is designated to which destination...I was directed to 3 different counters before reaching the correct counter.

The worse was yet to come. Once outside the bus station, I was completely lost. I could not find the hostel that is near the bus station and decided to go the city centre. Standing at the tram stop, I was there for good ten minutes trying to figure out which tram goes where and which direction to go for...A tram map from tourist info centre in the airport would be extremely helpful. I gave up trying to figure out the tram network and asked a young Croatian girl about which tram to board to the Trg Josipa Jelacica. Most young generations in Croatia can speak decent or simple English. I boarded tram 6 happily just to find that driver did not have day tram pass! I had to get down and cross the road to nearest tissak to buy the tram pass (25 kuna, day pass only valid till 3 am next day, need to validate with ticket machine inside the tram). It is important to note that tourists should buy bus ticket or tram tickets from tissak because it is cheaper.

It was 2pm by the time I reach the famous square. Dolac market was still open but I did not have time to explore it. Fortunately, Fuhlir hostel was very easy to find. Checked in and dropped my rucksack in the room. With tram map from the hostel, I could navigate around the city with no problem. I am not really a city person so the first place I headed for was Medvenica mountain. Hopped into tram 14 till its last stop and changed to tram 15 till its last stop. Then, I was stuck. I assumed that there would be a funnicular to go up to the top. That was a foolish assumption. Off season, the funnicular was closed and the station is actually located about few miles away. At the tram stop, I met a Croatian lady who directed me to go through a tunnel. So, I walked on the off beaten track towards the tunnel (sign posted as tunnelum). There were few old folks chatting outside the tunnel and that gave me courage. The tunnel is very creepy, reminded me a lot of the tunnel in Kakashi, a Japanese horror movie. After the tunnel, it is few kilometre hike through the woods but with good trails. After about near half hour, I saw the funnicular station. Met a group of Croatian men who told me that it would be another 2 hours (return) to reach the top of the mountain where Medvedgrad (fortress) is. At that point, I had to give up going to the top because I am worried I might miss the last tram that descend to the city. Well, the hike up the mountain was refreshing so it was a good experience after all.

Back in Ban Jelacic Square, I walked towards Kaptol Square to board bus 106 to Mirogoj cemetery. It is reputed to be one of the most beautiful cemetry in Europe. Since visiting Necropolis in Glasgow, I was fascinated with western cemeteries so I knew I had to visit Mirogoj. Unlike Necropolis, Mirogoj is modern with very well designed layout. There are beautiful sculptures and a big cross in the centre dedicated to fallen soldiers in war. It is interesting to observe the Croatian culture in relation to death. Very peaceful place to contemplate about life and death...

Returned to Kaptol square to explore the Zagreb Cathedral. One of the spire is under repair. Then, I took tram 12 to Maksimir Park. I should have alighted at Bukovacka stop but I had to walk a bit because I got off at earlier stop. It is a very old public park and was inaugurated in 1794. Massive and lovely, it is at its best during sunset. I actually prefer this park than Hyde park in London. It was dark by the time I reached Ban Jelacic Square. I was very tired due to sleep deprivation. Explored part of Ilica and bought multiple berry flavour ice cream in Vincek ice cream shop. Yummy! Shopped for food and drinking water before heading back to hostel.

Ban Jelacica Square

Mirogoj cemetery

Maksimir Park at sunset