A Good Friend

This is purely dedicated to a good friend of mine. Some say we're more than friends, but I'm not one for gossip. We've known eachother for a couple of years now. You could say we have an open relationship, a very open relationship. My friend is desired by many others and is not one to say no. I don't get jealous. For other reasons, our relationship has gone from rock solid to non-existant at times. Shit, I once even considered starting a business together, thats how serious it got. But there was a year where we never saw each other. You could say we have an on and off relationship. When it's on though, baby its on. We hang out at least 2 or 3 times a week and when I'm on the move from city to city it can be a daily thing. How do I not get bored? Thats a good question. I mean, sometimes it feels like I can't get away. Everywhere I go I see my friend. It can be too much and sometimes makes me feel trapped. There are moments when I force myself to stay away just to change it up, but I always go back. My friend really takes good care of me. Without our friendship I could easily be dead. Sure it costs me. 3 euros here, sometimes 4 euros, but it's worth it. Similar relationships can be much more expensive. I think thats one of the main reasons we get along so well. Also, it's nice when I'm on the move to have some familiarity. Sure, from place to place it can be a little bit different, but the core of our relationship stays the same no matter where I go. Thats why, and I'm not ashamed to say it, I am in love with Kebabs. That delicious savory meat wrapped in a tortilla or bun with yogurt and spicy sauce, tomatos, onions, and lettuce never fails to satisfy, no matter which city I am in. During our one-year break I even tried to find a substitute, but I realized I was only thinking of my favorite Kebab: There's always a place for you in my stomach.

Sarajevo

Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia with a total population closing in on 600,000. During the war, that number was cut in half and since 95 has slowly been climbing up. Sarajevo feels small. It has a big population but does not feel too occupied or busy. There is an old town and a new town (see any pattern in these cities?). One of the things I like most about this city is walking down a crowded street you'll see plenty of people stopping eachother as they pass by to say hello. It feels like everyone knows eachother. It's a fun people watching city. It is not too big. You can walk from one of the surrounding hills to the other in about 30/40 minutes. The hills are lined with houses. Not giant apartment complexes or anything of the sort, just regular houses. It makes Sarajevo feel like a quaint town but thats not the case. The nightlife here is loud and crowded. The live music is fantastic. Bars are crowded and overflowing with people who are easily approachable and friendly.

There is no cause to be concerned about safety here. I know people may be hesitant to come here, but really there is nothing to worry about. It's safe, friendly, and people aren't going around throwing hand grenades at you.

Worth noting is that Sarajevo has four main religions: Islam, Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Judaism. The city is often described as the meeting point between the Eastern and Western worlds. I see a lot of mosques, but also a fair share of christian churches (I have seen no synagogues but supposedly they're here). If you look at that top picture you can notice the church steeples and mosques all over. Unlike Mostar, there is no religious tension to be found here. There is very little crime at all in the city. Sarajevans will boast about how peacefully they live together. When the war is brought up they will point their fingers at the Serbians who forced ethic discrimination upon the city. Sarajevo is surrounded by hills which allowed the Serbs to basically control the entire city and bomb any spot at any given moment.
The Serbian line surrounding the city

They never took over the city due to the Sarajevans defense, but they did make the people live in constant fear. At any given moment the Serbs could bomb basically any part of the city. Snipers lined the hills and were told to shoot at anybody they please especially people walking on what is now known as "Sniper Alley" (keep in mind, I was hearing the Sarajevans point of view).

Unlike Mostar, Sarajevo does not show as many battle scars. From what I have heard there was more destruction here but there has been a bigger effort to rebuild. Bullet holes can still be seen but I have only seen one bombed out building. Sarajevans have filled in mortar hits with red filling and they're called the "Sarajevo Rose". These are the only signs I have noticed.

I went on a tour of the "Tunnel" which is a tunnel that was dug under the aiport to bring supplies into the city and let civilians out. The drive through the city was more interesting than the actual tunnel site. Our guide would point out things like sniper alley and the open market where the Serbs killed 80 civilians doing their daily shopping. Hearing his stories and experiences was far more interesting than the 25 meters of the tunnel we walked through.


The tunnel museum. Not very well marked. Looks like every other house on this road.

Something to note also is the Eastern Europeans sense of direction or lack thereof. Sites and streets are not marked well. I have talked to two different people who tried to find this tunnel museum on their own and were searching for two hours. They would ask locals who lived no more than 2 minutes away and they would be sent in the wrong direction. This bit of information is not just word of mouth: many guide books say the same thing. They actually recommend not asking locals for directions as they will just screw things up even more.

As I am writing this I have been in Sarajevo for about 11 days. I find it hard to leave. I had a great group of people with me earlier in the trip, most of whom extended their stay by 3 or 4 days. They all left and I'm currently the only person in my hostel yet I still find myself resisting departure. Its a fun city, the coffee and food is delicious, and its also very cheap. The hostel I am staying in feels like home (literally, I know most of the family) and I find it hard not to have fun when going out. I really feel lucky to have come here. If you told me I would be in Bosnia before I left I would have called you crazy. Now I'll call you crazy if you have the chance to and don't make it out here.

Bonus:
On the second picture in this post you can see a graveyard. I walked through it and noticed that there was not one grave that didnt end in the year '95.



This is the Latina Bridge. It's famous for being the spot where Franz Ferdinand was shot which resulted in the start of WWI. This is interesting. Franz wasn't supposed to even go over this bridge but he wanted to see a friend in the hospital. He changed the route of his "horsecade" and wound up going over. The man that intended to shoot him was at the right place at the right time. His friend, when he realized what his assassin friend was going to do, pushed him to mess him aim up. The result ended up in the death of Franz with an off-balance miracle shot.


I mentioned I was with a good group of poeple. These are two of them. On the left is Stewart, a bloke from England. On the right is the lady we all called Mom. She cooked for us and shared lots of her traveling wisdom. She has been traveling for 4 years and puts any other traveler I have met to shame. Shes been through Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan (recently). She is from Iran and gave me a whole new perspective on life there.


This guy is Dave. Hes from Canada and represents the power Sarajevo has over the people that visit. For about 5 straight days he planned on leaving but never actually made it. Sarajevo conveniently has trains and buses departing at very early hours making it difficult to get out. Dave fell victim to these awkward hours and the attraction to Sarajevo. One day he got out. I am still impressed.

Mostar

Mostar is a city in Bosnia located close to the Croatian border. I had no intention of stopping in this city, but timing issues forced me too layover there on my way to Sarajevo. In what has become a common theme in my recent travels I knew nothing of the city I was traveling too.

What I was told, due to constant reminders from my parents, was that Bosnia was dangerous. As I was told, "people still handle disputes with hand grenades!". Rightttt, as if people just casually walk around with hand grenades while picking up bread from the grocery store or as they pick their kid up from work. I wasn't convinced (I know it was out of love mom and dad). The US state report said to avoid abandoned buildings and open fields due to leftover mines. So while my dreams of frolicking in open Bosnian fields and exploring abandoned buildings were crushed by the state report, I had to settle for checking out the city of Mostar instead. I wasnt really concerned about these issues because I had talked with many travelers who said mines are a non-issue.

Mostar has an old city and new city. The old city is lined with stones. The stores all look old and authentic. The bridge connecting over the river in the old town is called the, wait for it.....old bridge! How creative. Of the 7 bridges connecting the east to west side of Mostar, this one is the most famous. During the summer people make the leap off the top. It gets the tourists going. During the war from 92-95 it was destroyed and then rebuilt.

Destruction of the Bridge:



To me, the most striking part of the city was the leftover war damage. There are a lot of bombed out buildings that have not been touched since the war. Theres plenty of buildings riddled with bullet holes. One famous building, called the Bank, was left completely untouched. It was used as a sniper post. I went inside and on the ground you can find old shells from the fighting. It was incredibly eerie. There was one floor that has all of the former bank documents and books that once filled up the offices completely trashed and untouched. There has been nothing done to clean this place up.

At the roof of the Bank. Take note of the expressions

Another aspect of Mostar worth mentioning is the segregation that continues on to this day. The east side is where the Islamic Bosnians are and the west is for the Croat Christians. There is one road down the middle of the city, which used to be the frontline during the war, that divides the two areas. Schools are segregated and as the brother of the hostel owner mentioned discrimination definately goes on to this day. I never would have noticed this social aspect unless I was told about it.

I'll touch upon the safety in Bosnia in my next post, but in short there is nothing to worry about in this country. People are very friendly.

After 2 nights in Mostar I moved on to Sarajevo...



Bonus:
The call to prayer in Old Town Sarajevo. Really pretty



The untouched offices in the Bank














Shell from the Bank


















Outside the Bank

Hvar

To reach the island of Hvar we had to take a bus up to Split and then a ferry over. I knew nothing of Hvar except that sometime during the previous year I made a note to myself to check it out. The island is very undeveloped. There is the main city of Hvar which is the most built up. The rest of the island is pretty desolate. The main city is very picturesque. It’s built around a harbor populated with very expensive boats brought in mostly by people vacationing there. I came to realize that Hvar is a huge summer destination that attracts both the old and wealthy as well as the young and festive. Supposedly Hvar is a huge huge party spot. I would see no such craziness as I was catching the beginning of the low season. Thus the beaches were lined with empty beach bars that were once bustling with young partygoers trying to get their drank on. Now these bars would be occupied by 3 Americans who instead of partaking in the $140 Vodka RedBull Explosion Bucket would spend a full day reading, sleeping, and swimming. It was one of the most relaxing days I’ve had in what was one of the least relaxing spots just three weeks earlier.

The next day we rented a boat. No insurance or credit card was required. The boat guy got paid and let us drive it out. The three of us had no experience with boats but we were also with 3 other guys who had some boating knowledge.

The Dudes: Canadian fella, two bostonites, and yours truly (Off camera: Katie and Sarah)

We let them take it out of the harbor but we all got our turns driving it. Right off the coast of Hvar are the Palenki islands which are a string of uninhabited islands with beaches, natural harbors, and restaurants opened specifically for people boating. We went around to various spots and had beaches to ourselves. At the end of the day we found a cool spot to do some cliff diving and afterward drove back.

El Capitan

The next day we took off to Split for one night as we got ready to go our separate ways. I was en route to Mostar in Bosnia and the girls were headed to PlitVice (a national park with sweet lakes, so I hear). We had an interesting night in Split, which is a large port town, involving a hostel that was more like a cult and a nightclub that was dirtier than the town slut spending a week at the Pink Palace in Corfu. The next day we had our goodbyes (the girls had to fight hard to hold back tears) and I was headed to Bosnia…

Kotor

On a whim one night out we were offered a few seats in the back of our friends Eric and April's car to take a day trip from Dubrovnik down to a town called Kotor in Montenegro. I knew nothing of Kotor and Montenegro, so I thought it would be interesting. We jumped on the opportunity and were all very pleasantly surprised.

Kotor is a small town built around a bay with towering 10,000 foot surrounding mountains. Above the center of town is a castle. It lies 3600 feet about and has a path leading to the top. The hike offers stunning views of the bay and mountains.

Kotor is a city that has been untouched in terms of tourism. An example of this can be seen in this castle climb. There are many points in which your safety is not guaranteed. Big cliffs, large broken breaks in the walls climbing up to the top. But the biggest example can be seen in the castle at the very top. After your hour long climb the reward are nice (even if broken up) castle ruins. It is nothing grand or huge, but very pleasant. To get into the ruins you must cross this bridge that felt like it could break at any point. At the top of the castle one side is steep sheer cliff with a drop of at least 1500 feet. If I fell it would be auto-death. There is no protection against it, no guard rail, not even a rope. Just a sign that says “High Danger Area” when entering the castle. You don’t even know what its talking about until you check out this spot where one wrong step would be the end of you. Something like this would not fly in a highly touristic area.

Kotor is a city thats a total noob in terms of tourism but I don’t think it will stay that way. With eastern European countries becoming more and more attractive to tourists the name Montenegro will become more and more popular. Expect to hear the city of Kotor in that conversation as it will be dubbed as the new Como.


Kotor is a city that I would strongly recommend to anyone. It is beautiful, fun, and relatively unknown. There are very few tourists which adds to the charm of the city. At the restaurant we ate the server thought we didnt have enough money to order more food and told us we could pay him tomorrow. That doesn't happen much. Kotor is quiet, sleepy and offers plenty of hiking, boating, and beautiful scenery. Plus the food is good and not overly priced. So strike while the irons hot and make it out there if you can before the tourists start swarming, you won’t be disappointed.

Dubrovnik

As promised here's the next update:

Heeding to the advice of multiple people who have been to Croatia, I made sure before I left for Europe that I would go and check out Dubrovnik. I finally made it and I can say that those people that gushed about how gorgeous and amazing the city were correct, but Dubrovnik doesn’t come without faults.

First and foremost, Dubrovnik is a city built for the summer. Seeing it in the off-season would prevent you from taking advantage of everything it has to offer. The city itself is quite pretty (most notably the Old Town) but the many boating activities, island adventures, and enjoyment of the Adriatic can only be done with warm weather. Fortunately the early days of October were kind to us and gave us hot weather.

By us I mean the two friends I made on the ferry ride from Bari to Dubrovnik. They are two

beautiful young women who just came from Greece. Their names are Sarah and Katie and will be reoccurring characters in the next couple of posts. Sarah lives in Denver and Katie is from San Francisco and both are traveling for 3 months. They have another month and a half to go. The following week we spent together was filled with made up stories of magical monsters, intelligent criticisms of each-others faces, and and smelly trees. We had lots of fun. Anyway, they ended up staying in the same hostel as me. Now back to the city in discussion.

My first impressions of the city brought up feelings of Venice. The buildings were all very close together making small shaded alleyways. The old town was littered with cafes and restaurants that were overpriced. The biggest difference I would say is that the city was not nearly as crowded as Venice and that was appreciated. But it was most definitely overpriced and really did a toll on my wallet. I was definitely expecting Dubrovnik to be pricey but I was not prepared for the what I got. A margharita pizza (normally priced 5 euros) was at a minimum 10. All other prices follow this model.

Later in the day I payed the 50 kuna (5 kuna per dollar) to take the hour long walk around the castle walls of the old town. This provided us with many pretty views of the red tiled roofs, churches, and islands that makes up the area around Old Town. Nothing too exciting but nonetheless essential to get a view of the beauty seen in Dubrovnik (that I hope my pictures express).

The following day we went to the Island Lokrum which is a short 10 minute boat ride from Old Town. We heard it was interesting enough to check out. We ended up having an amazing day there. Theres some minor hiking involved which brought us to cool coves and rocky shores. Roaming around the island are lots of peacocks. I didnt see any other wildlife on the island. I dont quite understand this, but I guess they thrive there. We ended up swimming in a small pond filled up by the ocean called the "Dead Sea". Afterwards we climbed down to a rocky shore where we chilled for a while and were blessed with the presence of this old lady who was absolutely gorgeous. She looked like a goddess. I wasnt even attracted to her, I was mostly amazed with her beauty. She was totally naked by the way.

Sunsets were nice and so was this cliff side bar. Dubrovnik is absolutely worth checking out, but make sure you do it during warm weather, otherwise you wont be as entertained and you'll be paying a lot and not getting as much out of it. Getting in the ocean is essential to enjoying this waterfront city.

The next day we took off for the island of Hvar...

Rome

I had been to Rome once as a kid and thus never felt a need to check it out when I was in Milan. Well as I going to Dubrovnik and had to pass through Bari to do so I thought I would go to Rome to see a newly discovered relative and check out the city 12 years later.
Rome gives off the same big city vibe that Milan does. The biggest difference between the two is the more casual attitude in Rome. People walk around in sandals and flip flops and are not dressed to impress anytime they go in public. It is more to my liking.

Lots of Roman ruins. Any random street or block will have some old roman building. You get used to this. I'm not going to bore you with descriptions of the big sites. Theyre all stunning. Most notable for me was the Pantheon. Inside its visually awesome. Also St. Peters for its sheer size.
This was the first time I would be traveling alone and it went great. I was lucky enough to stay at Hostel Ivanhoe (stoked on its 12 euro bed). I picked it randomly based solely on price. It was the cheapest one. It also happened to have free cocktails every night (there are very very very few hostels that do this). It brought everyone out into the common area and I was able to meet many people. Because of this I was never alone. One day I went out with a couple of Aussies and the next a couple of Romanians.

Salvatore, hostel manager and party starter

Hanging out with the Romanians was very interesting. While my daily complaints would be something along the lines of "ughhh my ipods not charged" theirs are "I wish we had highways." Makes you think

My Romanian friends at the Roman Forum

It was a good overall experience and I could see myself headed back to Rome to lay low and save $$$ working at a hostel.

After 5 nights I night trained to Bari to catch the ferry en route to Dubrovnik...

Updates Soon

Been slacking with putting updates up but I'll be hitting you with back to back to back to back updates soon. Rome, Dubrovnik, Kotor, and Hvar are all coming soon. One a day (after the first one gets up) for four days straight coming soon!

Venice/Casarsa/Milan

After the events of Oktoberfest a much needed rest was required. Christian, Scotty, Eli, Nate, and I all trained it over to Venice to get some solid sleeping in my relatives apartment on the island of Lido. We all slept real real well. Thanks again Lorenzo. After a couple of days there Nate, Scotty, and Eli all trained back up to a border town in Austria called Innsbruck. Christian and I continued on in Italy.

Christian knew a friend named Max who lived in a small town called Casarsa. When people say they want to avoid the big cities and crowds and go to a lesser know city, this is exactly the kind of place they are talking about. The city was small with plenty of vinyards and very little going on. Max's parents are the owner of Il Punto hotel in Casarsa and gave us a room for the night. Very nice.

At night we piled into Max's car (head scraping the roof), which led us to a small freeway and out of nowhere a sharp left turn into a dirt road. We came upon this small barn looking building with a bar in front being occupied by old Italian men who looked like they had been frequenting this place for 30 years. Exiting the car we got a strong whiff of a cow farm (anyone that driven down the 5 to LA knows what I'm talking about). It wasnt pleasant. We walked in and were seated. No menu. We were given a couple of 2nd plate options. I wasnt 100% sure of what the lady was saying, so I followed Max's croatian buddy's lead. What came out the next two hours was one of the finest meals I've had. Red wine to start (and last for the duration of the meal). Then came fresh bread and a tray full of cold cuts of salami and multiple types of prosciutto. After this pasta bolognese which blew my mind. Then came the whole roasted chicken. Done! In between these meals the old guys from the bar were coming in and pulling us out to takes shots of some sort of digestivo (I wanna say grappa, but it didnt taste like absolute shit so I hestitate to call it such). It was one of the most delicious and authentic meals I've ever had.

The next day we had a final lunch with Max and his sister (with her 9 month old newborn) and his mother. I was reminded of the one of the best aspects of Italian culture which is to just sit around and talk. We sat around this very intimate table and had a lunch consisting of pasta and some salami for about two hours. There was no rush. Just sitting around and talking with genuine interest. In America people are always moving onto the next thing and trying to do it quickly. It just our culture and the way we function. It is what makes us one of the most productive countries with some of the best workers in the world. But it does come with a trade off and I am reminded of that when I come here.

After Casarsa Christian and I trained to our old stomping grounds. Upon walking out I noticed the (finally) finished the train station. Soon after I felt a solid pit in my stomach come on due to the realization that the people that made Milan so special and so fun would not be there with me. They werent a phone call or metro ride away (I did have Christian with me which made it better). Later in the day I found myself walking around a very populated bar scene called Navigli. Felt right back home and that I hadn't missed a beat. It was nice being back.

Christian left to return home not long after our arrival which left me alone with Rome in my sights

COMMENT! COMMENT! COMMENT!

Oktoberfest 2009

My first stop on this trip to Europe was in Munich for the 2009 Oktoberfest. I have been before, but this would be a little different as I was there on opening weekend. With me on opening day was Scott Murphy and Eli Kutler:

Scott and Eli, buddies from high school

We woke up at 5 AM on saturday the 19th in order to line up in front of the Hofbrau tent.


Scott getting ready, notice the calf warmers

We got there at 6 AM hoping to grab a table when the doors open up at 9. People were already lined up before us, but luckily there weren't too many and we managed to grab a pretty good table right in front of the live band. It is tradition that no one drinks anything until the mayor taps the first keg at noon so that gave us three hours to think about nothing but that first beer. Then finally it came.

The beer starts flowing and then the smiles start coming out. Next thing you know you're talking with all the polish, german, and irish people around you. What feels like two hours is actually just 15 minutes. The live band pumps out of the same songs every hour or so which never fails to get the crowd going and the "Prost!" (cheers) every 10 minutes keeps people focused on the task at hand: drinking beer. You are in your little spot and get to know the people around you so well that it amazes me to think this is happening in every inch of the tent (max capacity 7,000).

The next couple of days we were joined by Christian Labella and Nate Leitner. Needless to say by the end of it all we were nursing some pretty terrible hangovers, but it was well worth it.

One thing about this festival I want to point out is just how friendly everyone is. The video below is a short compilation I made of all the people I had never met (and many of whom I never did):

This is just the people I caught on tape (of which I have about 15 minutes total). It pretty cool. While it's easy to dismiss this as a result of stupefied drunk people think of this: How many parties have you been too where everyone is drinking and yet the majority of people are keeping to themselves and their friends? I'm sure you've been there before. That is not the case at Oktoberfest and is what I think makes the place so special. Nothing has been quite like it in my life and I think anyone you talk to that has been would say the same. Best party in the world, happiest place on earth, the smile factory, ect ect. These are all names that come out about Oktoberfest and for good reason: they're all true.

Bonus Pictures and Videos

Funny story about this thing. It spins in the middle of the tent. It was meant, I assume, for simple decoration, but as one would expect with drunken behavior it takes a whole new purpose. The area directly below this is known as the "Pig Pen". Anyone below it will randomly have their underwear checked. By that I mean someone will reach down your pants and feel for undies. If you are wearing some the people around will all give you the biggest wedgie you can possibly imagine until they rip off. When that happens, the remnants of what you were wearing get thrown up on the spinning dude playing the harp. Dont drink in the Pig Pen. Also, hanging off the top part of the harp is a bra.


I posted earlier a video of random people being happy. I cut out a lot of the people we were with doing the same thing. So I made a video of it and when it was done I realized the majority of the video was dominated by Eli, in fact Eli is almost the entire video smiling and giving thumbs up. Enjoy

I mentioned that the band would play a lot of songs to get people going. This one worked real well. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

Finally, a fitting picture to end this post:

Please please comment, criticize, share your stories, anything. Would love to hear from you all