Month 4 - The Balkans (Also late post, sorry)
Dober dan! ("Good day" in Serbo-Croatian)
I am so bad at keeping up with this blog. But also to be fair, I could not find Wi-Fi anywhere for the past two weeks while I was in Egypt. Now I'm back in Turkey visiting a friend and having some down time.
Before diving into my time in the Balkans, I want to briefly talk about my leaving Morocco. I have no idea how I managed to write my last post without even mentioning how emotional leaving the country was. I went right into heading back to Italy and to the Balkans. I think I overlooked mentioning it because I had written in such a rush knowing I was already so behind on my "monthly" posts.
Morocco:
Leaving Morocco was bittersweet. It was my first time being back since I had studied abroad there four years ago. Though I didn't expect to stay as long as three months there, I'm sooo happy that I did. My heart is so full. I got to see Morocco during a different season. I got to see many of my friends from school and hangout with them like time hadn't passed. I also got visit and stay with them in their new "post grad" lives, I got to visit many of their families and stay with them as well. I got to work at a sustainable development organization, share Morocco and all its' beauty with my mom when she came to visit. I got to take Arabic classes, become good friends with my teacher, and be welcomed into her home and meet her family. I got to go to a Moroccan wedding when a good friend got married and celebrated with many friends from school. I got to work on an archaeology project and learn more about Morocco's history and make new archaeological discoveries. I got to experience Ramadan and be welcomed into the homes of friends and even many people I had just met. I got to visit a friend from home who is doing Peace Corps in Morocco, and I got to see him at his site in his community, which was really cool. I got the opportunity to return to the Sahara and watch the sunrise over the dunes. I got to spend days at the beach on the coast of the Atlantic and on the Mediterranean and dance nights away with friends, old and new. I feel so fortunate to not only have had the opportunity to return and have reunions and moments like these, but mostly to have made friendships like these, old and new, who make sharing moments like these together complete magic.
My last night in Morocco I stayed in a hostel in Tangier before I had my flight out early in the morning. I spent my evening eating my last chwarma on the rooftop terrace overlooking the straight of Gibraltar and Spain, chatting with other travelers from my hostel (from Colombia, Paraguay, Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland) and watching the sunset while listening to the call to prayer. Then when night fell we watched the lunar eclipse. It was a perfect last night.
The following morning while I was on my way to the airport I really felt like I was leaving home. Part of me felt so torn to have to leave, but at the same time I knew I would be back soon.
Italy:
The time I spent in Macedonia was much needed. I was so happy to stay put for a bit (I think my limit of traveling moving around a lot is two to three weeks max), and have time and space to relax. I also really enjoyed my time working with the French couple. Beyond sharing recipes and cooking with and for each other, we shared a lot of great conversations full of many thoughts and ideas. I learned a lot from them over our dinners drinking local 2 dollar wines in the garden.
My time in the Balkans despite its intense lessons of the fall of Yugoslavia, heavy personal stories, and eerie alley ways full of bullet holes throughout the cities, I loved the region so much. It was a whole new experience for me. Aside from the culture and history, not knowing any of the language was a huge adjustment for me. It has always been a personal goal of mine to work towards becoming fluent in Italian, Spanish, French, Mandarin, and Arabic, some of the worlds most spoken languages. This is really helpful for me when I travel especially when I travel alone, because then most of the time I'm able to not only converse, get around well, and make local friends, but am also able to understand if people are talking about me. This is something that I'm always super aware of, I think especially as a female solo traveler because you never know if people are following you, watching you, talking about you, taking picture of videos of you (yes this happens). I hadn't experienced such kindness like that before (Side note: I also experienced little to none racism in the region, which is a first. I think it is because the Balkans are so unexplored and there are few Asians in the region. Expats and tourists. I think I could count on my hand the number of Asians I saw, and could also count on my hand the number of racial comments I heard. This has never happened before wherever I travel. Usually I'll get several in one day, most everywhere I go from Western Europe to South America to North Africa. And as much as I wish it weren't true, the color of your skin and appearance does affect your travels. People treat you differently, which in my case, does kind of put a damper on enjoying being where I am in the moment. I hate when people shout "Ni hao" at me, or make squinty eyes to make fun of my eyes, or when people spit on me... that it kind of ruins my day. It's really hard to not let it get to you, and it's something that I'm personally working on. Trying to not let these comments or behaviors get to me. This is probably another factor to why I enjoyed the Balkans so much. In addition to their kindness, hardly anyone was racist to me. It just made traveling there alone so much easier and more peaceful, being left alone instead of getting shouted at or being spat on.) Aside from it's more recent history of its' Yugoslavia days, its history of Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian influence over centuries has left such a rich culture remaining even today. Though I didn't learn much or understand much Serbo-Croatian, and I'd never had much exposure to Slavic languages before, I learned to really love the language. I think it began when I went out one night in Sarajevo and there was live music everywhere, everyone singing along. Hearing it made me feel such nostalgia. On top of everything the people, language, diverse food, and history that the region has to offer, their landscape is incredible. If you ever get the opportunity to travel to this region, I highly recommend it!!!
After my 2.5 weeks in Macedonia, I headed for Istanbul. I took a 14 hour overnight bus from Skopje to Istanbul. I was impressed with the Turkish bus company. They had movies, and they served snacks and beverages. It was like being on a plane! I also met a couple Macedonian people who sat by me and were super friendly. Some had a Turkish background, and were super helpful and great resources once we arrived in Turkey since they spoke Turkish. Before arriving in Turkey though, we had to cross the Greece border which was interesting because seeing as most of the bus was full of Macedonians (then there were four Turkish people and myself, lol) and that Greece doesn't consider them as a state, all the Macedonians had to have a separate piece of paper in order to cross the border (because their passports are disregarded because of the name conflict between the two countries).
I arrived in Turkey at the beginning of September and stayed for a few days before I took a trip to Egypt. Originally I was going to visit Egypt after Jordan, but from my research it seemed more expensive and difficult to get there from Jordan, and to return back to Italy after. So I decided to book roundtrip tickets in and out of Turkey to Egypt. I was also going to update this blog while in Egypt, but the itinerary was crazy packed, leaving us with hardly any free time. Even if we had the time, I could not find Wi-Fi anywhere during my stay there. Now I'm back in Turkey visiting my friend who I studied abroad in Italy with 8 years ago. It's amazing getting to be here and see her again and we've been having a great time.
I'll write more about Egypt and my September/month 5 travels later. Hopefully this next time it wont be so delayed.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading through this lengthy post and also thanks for following along in general despite my inconsistency and tardiness. I hope you enjoyed it and if you didn't read through it all, I hope you at least enjoyed the photos!
I am so bad at keeping up with this blog. But also to be fair, I could not find Wi-Fi anywhere for the past two weeks while I was in Egypt. Now I'm back in Turkey visiting a friend and having some down time.
Before diving into my time in the Balkans, I want to briefly talk about my leaving Morocco. I have no idea how I managed to write my last post without even mentioning how emotional leaving the country was. I went right into heading back to Italy and to the Balkans. I think I overlooked mentioning it because I had written in such a rush knowing I was already so behind on my "monthly" posts.
Morocco:
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| Sunrise in the Sahara |
My last night in Morocco I stayed in a hostel in Tangier before I had my flight out early in the morning. I spent my evening eating my last chwarma on the rooftop terrace overlooking the straight of Gibraltar and Spain, chatting with other travelers from my hostel (from Colombia, Paraguay, Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland) and watching the sunset while listening to the call to prayer. Then when night fell we watched the lunar eclipse. It was a perfect last night.
The following morning while I was on my way to the airport I really felt like I was leaving home. Part of me felt so torn to have to leave, but at the same time I knew I would be back soon.
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August- Italy and the Balkans
Italy:
As I mentioned before, I spent the first few days visiting my host family in Italy before I headed east. I returned to Northern Italy to my host family and one of the first things we did was, pizza party! It was so special because this is what we always do in the summer at one of the family friends homes. In the summer we all get together and make like fifteen different kinds of pizza in their outside oven and we just eat, drink, and laugh the night away in warm summer nights in good company. This is summer bliss. I was so happy to be back on one of the weekends that they did this get together.
After, we headed east to explore Trento, a beautiful medieval town at the foot of the Italian alps. We ate a lot of local Trentino food and explored the regions' castles and beautiful nature. This was a new experience for most of us since Trento is a part of Italy myself and most of my host family had never seen much of. I discovered that I really fell in love with this region, its people, and mountains. The landscape reminded me so much of home and brought me some sort of comfort. I really feel like my soul can breathe when I am in the mountains and am surrounded by so much greenery. Grazie mille per le bellissime vacanze famiglia!
Now to the Balkans... How do I even begin here... To preface this, I think I've sort of been avoiding writing this post because I knew I would have a lot to say about it since a significant part of my time in the Balkans was emotional, heavy, and was a big learning experience. Also, to friends/readers who know more about what's going on and might be able to provide more insight to my understandings/interpretations, please comment or message me and let me know. If any information I've written is incorrect, tell me. Thanks!
Slovenia:
I left my host family in Trento, Italy, which was already pretty east. I took a 7 hour bus to arrive in Koper. My time in Slovenia was brief. Arriving in Slovenia was the first time in a long time (It's been probably several years) where I didn't speak at least some basics of the local language. This was an entirely new sensation for me because most places I go I have at least a basic grasp of what's going on. Thankfully in the region of Slovenia that I was traveling through, a lot of people spoke Italian (due to its proximity and a lot of Italian tourists). I Couch Surfed (a great way to meet locals and find the best spots) and had an amazing host who showed me all these cool new recipes when we cooked together. While my host was out at work, I spent my one full day there just walking along most of the Slovenian coast which was scenic and beautiful but I also kept running into a lot of nude people which was fine but was kind of unexpected lol.
Croatia:
The next day I headed off to Croatia. I was meant to get a morning bus to Zagreb at 9am, but there was some weird mix up and confusion. Even though I was more than half an hour early for my bus, when the bus finally did arrive (late), the driver told me there wasn't anymore space and acted like he was doing me a favor by taking me and letting me sit on the ground. It was bizarre because I booked a specific seat on the bus. I took the offer anyways, whatever. I was told I would only have to sit on the floor until the next stop, which should have been only about half an hour after the Slovenian/Croatian border. It ended up taking over two hours. I've never seen such a terrible border wait considering we had to move like three kilometers. After 8 hours on what should have been a 5-6 hour bus ride, I finally made it to Zagreb where I was meeting up with my old college roommate. We hadn't seen each other since graduation over two years ago, so it was a pretty amazing reunion.
Erica and I spent the next five days exploring Northern Croatia. We did free walking tours and learned about the fall of Yugoslavia, went to a national park (Plitvice), ate a lootttt, and one day we rented bikes and biked along the Istrian coast stopping along the way and finding some really beautiful places to swim. That was probably one of the best days ever. Being reunited and getting to explore Croatia together was such a special and incredible time. It was soo good to get to see you, Erica!!!!! I miss this chica already.
Bosnia and Herzegovina:
After six days in Croatia we parted ways. She headed north back to Vienna and I went south to Sarajevo. I took an 8 hour bus that ended up being almost 10 because my bus got hit by a car and after that it shut down so we had to pull over and wait for the next bus heading to Sarajevo to give us all a ride. I was lucky to have met this wonderful Croatian woman on the bus who I ended up sitting next to.
Starting in Croatia people spoke less English and less Italian. So no language I knew was useful here. This woman, however, was a Croatian who moved to Italy but returns to visit home in the summer. I was so happy to find someone I could converse with! We ended up talking a lot and she even invited me to stay with her at her home in Sarajevo so I could experience a true local stay (I unfortunately didn't end up staying with her because canceling my original plans didn't work out). But had it not been for her, I would have had no idea what was happening on the bus. Like when we got hit, when we took breaks and I had no idea how long they would be and if I had time to get out to get food or go to the bathroom, or when we suddenly stopped for an hour and I had no idea what was wrong with the bus and that we were waiting another. This woman was such a savior! Se stai leggendo questo, grazie mille cara!!!
I spent about a week in Bosnia and I wish I could have stayed longer to explore other parts of the country. During my time there I only visited Sarajevo and Mostar, two of the country's more touristy cities. My time in Bosnia was completely moving and magical. I happened to be in Sarajevo during the film festival which is apparently the fourth largest in the world. The city was crowded and full of life. While I'm sure it's probably no where near this busy during other times of the year, there was still something moving for me to see the city so alive considering its history that I learned so much about while there.
From what I recall in school we briefly talked about the Fall of Yugoslavia but never I had learned about the genocide that took place. It's crazy, actually being there realizing that everyone older than 23 years old has survived a war and genocide. Granted, each individual had different experiences because of their different situations. I mean, I know these things happen and it's also one thing to learn about it in class, but it's completely surreal meeting all these people in person who are the same age as myself, who experienced these terrors simply because they were born in a different place than I.
Sarajevo itself had a unique experience of the war. While other regions had multiple kinds of attacks, sieges, and genocides, Sarajevo underwent the longest siege of a capital in modern warfare (nearly four years).
On my first full day I walked around and explored the city. I did the free walking tour which was interesting. We saw where the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated and thus where WWI began. We wandered the streets of the old city center where literally there is a line down the middle with "Sarajevo Meeting of Cultures" written across it, with one side being Ottoman and the other entirely Austro-Hungarian. Whoever said the East meets the West in Istanbul must have bypassed visiting Sarajevo because this city was it. Stand on the line and look East, you'll find mosques, kebabs, and Ottoman architecture. Look to the West and you'll find cathedrals, Austro-Hungarian architecture and food.
Through wandering around the city on my own I met several locals who were some of the kindest people I've ever met. I've literally never been anywhere but Morocco and Bosnia where people stop everything that they are doing just to help you, or hangout with you. I met locals who were just interested to meet me and hangout, they showed me the great spots for the best food and coffee, they showed me an amazing time on a night out (we bar and club hopped, saw so much live music on the streets, and stayed out until 4 or 5 in the morning), they helped me get around a lot. None of this because was I asked for it, but literally they would be in the middle of lunch, or in the middle of sipping their coffee, or work break and stop to talk to me, hangout, or just help me get around and with whatever I needed.
Many people I met shared some of their stories and experiences. You can really feel that people here are wanting to talk about it and educate others on the history and what has happened here. They hope that through education, we can prevent history from repeating itself. A new friend that I made there also recommended visiting the War Childhood museum. I went to check it out, I cried during most of my visit there. The museum is new, it opened about a year ago. They are hoping to expand it to include exhibits from Children experiencing war from all around the world. I was so moved. I highly recommend this museum if you ever make it to Sarajevo.
Later I also did the free war walking tour. My tour guide was about 28 years old I think and he shared a lot of his personal experiences. He shared moments from his childhood, how they had to learn in basements of their apartments because it wasn't safe to go to school. He talked about how it wasn't safe to play outside. He talked about the food that aid gave them, was like canned dogs meat but worse. He said a chocolate bar at that time was about 40 euros, so kids never had candy. Sometimes it was big things, but it was also a lot of the small things like the fact that these children never got to have a candy bar, that made me really sad. This is also highlighted in the War Childhood museum, where there are displays of objects these children held most dear to them. A lot of them would be things like a candy wrapper, because they wanted to hold on to the smell of it, knowing they probably would never get candy again.
Our guide walked us through what is famously known as "Sniper Alley" which is the main road from the center to the airport where the escape tunnel was. This was where a lot of shooting was happening. Just walk around any part of the city, you'll see evidence of shrapnel and the "Sarajevo Roses", areas filled in painted red in areas where people were killed. He showed us the Mother Child Memorial of all the children's lives that were lost during the war. Walking around seeing the scars of the terror this city has seen was a really sobering experience.
That said, it was really amazing to me to be able to make so many friends so easily, and to go out and see all these people dancing together and singing songs in Serbo-Croatian together. I don't know what I expected, but I for some reason hadn't expected a people that's seen so much terror, to be so alive and unified. Maybe this is just my touristic surface level impression, but I really got this feeling that Sarajevo people had a strong bond no matter their ethnic background because they all experienced the siege together.
After Sarajevo I left for Mostar. I had an early morning train (which is an incredibly scenic route, if you ever go please take the train over the bus. It's so worth it). My Airbnb host told me that if I couldn't find a taxi at the taxi stop that early, cross the street and go to the gas station and a worker there would help me. I crossed the street and three men are sitting outside having a coffee and cigarette, they shout, "good morning!!! Welcome to Bosnia! Are you coming or are you going?" Then they offered me a coffee and I politely declined explaining I was worried I would miss my train since I couldn't find a taxi. They offered to call different taxi companies and after several calls and no answer, one of them just stands up and goes, " You know what, I take you. Let's go" and puts out his cigarette and leaves his unfinished coffee, and that is how I caught my train on time. This is yet another example of the kindness I experienced here.
In Mostar I also Couch Surfed. My host was super cool, friendly, and kind. She cooked for us, and took us to some cool spots, showing us a lot of graffiti around the city. One of my favorite spots was Sniper Tower. This used to be a bank during Yugoslavia days, but during the war because of it's vantage points it was used as a sniper tower. Now it's a building in ruins, full of graffiti. We climbed to the top of it, ate some pastries and cake and had some wine while watching the sunset. That was a really cool and special experience for me.
Like the rest of Bosnia, Mostar experienced its own share of terrors during the war. Mostar had its own siege and saw a lot of bloody attacks. Today it is still one of the most divided cities in Bosnia. There are two schools, two bus stations, two everything, one on each side of the famous old bridge. This is so that the Croats (Catholics) and Bosniaks (Muslims) don't mix. The education system in my opinion is the biggest problem. It is organized in such a way that children are taught biased stories of what happened in the war. It's crazy to me how the narrative of a genocide can still be so politicized. To me, it's a genocide, people died, tell it like it happened. Thankfully it seems a lot of locals are putting time and effort into museums like the war childhood museum, and the genocide museums to be able to provide more unbiased information.
While I loved my time in Bosnia and I would go back in a heartbeat, it's future seems unclear and uncertain. I learned that Bosnia and Herzegovina has one of the world's most complicated political structures. Because of the three major different ethnic groups, Serbs (Orthodox), Croats (Catholics), and Bosniaks (Muslims), there is a Three-Member Presidency. This is to ensure that each ethnic group is represented. The issue with this though is that perpetuates this divided mindset. Each president has their right to veto, and basically nothing ends up getting done because all three of them never agree on the same thing. The people I spoke with expressed wanting to join the EU, but they have a long way to go politically and economically before that. So much of their money goes towards paying for three times the number of political/governmental roles that are necessary. Bosnia is already a pretty poor country. This is the problem, it's difficult for them to get out of this divided culture and mindset.
I think despite the kind of eerie feeling walking down some of the streets can give you and its up in the air questions about moving forward as an independent country, Bosnia was one of my favorite places that I visited in the Balkans. I think it was because it was such a learning experience for me, but also mostly because of the people I met and the friends that I made there. Even though I am traveling a lot and getting to see a lot, if I don't meet people from there, or have a kind of experience that made me feel a kind of attachment to the place, or a need to return, it just means I saw something. Getting to see something is different than getting to experience. I can take a cool picture in front of a famous monument, but if I didn't have an experience that makes me want to come back then that's that. I was lucky to meet such great people during my time in Bosnia and I can't wait to go back again one day. Thank you to all the people I met along the way and the friends I made there who showed me such a great time. You know who you are!
Montenegro:
After Bosnia and Herzegovina I headed to Montenegro on an 8 hour bus. I wasn't sure exactly what was there. I just knew it was a scenic and more touristy small Balkan country. I eventually had to make it to Macedonia to visit a family friend and help at their hostel/guest house. So I thought, after all this moving around and on the go kind of travel, I'd go to a small coastal town in Montenegro and enjoy the beach and relax.
I was wrong. I mean, it was a nice small beach town. But I forgot that because it was August, literally every person in Europe was there. It was almost impossible to find a spot on the beach unless you went in the morning. So I ended up connecting with other female travelers from the travel network group I'm in, and went on a short hike to the top of the fort in Kotor. It was a super beautiful hike and view, well worth it despite the heat. I spent only a couple days there but enjoyed doing the hostel thing for a few nights, meeting a lot of travelers from my hostel, connecting with people from the females traveler group, and going out and such.
Macedonia:
I finally made it to Macedonia after another long bus ride and several border stops through Albania and Kosovo and into Macedonia (I hardly slept on that overnight bus. One border patrol guy bonked me on the head to wake me up. It was greaaaat). In Macedonia I mostly spent the whole two and a half weeks in Skopje, the capital, helping at the hostel./guest house. There, I worked with a couple from France who was also helping out. Business was slow so it gave us a lot of time to explore. It was also really nice to have my own space and so much down time after being constantly on the move from Slovenia until Macedonia. I was staying put for a bit, I had time and a place to do laundry, the place had a beautiful large garden with all the kinds of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. So the French couple and I spent a lot of our free time exploring the city, and cooking different recipes, teaching and learning from each other. I had so much fun, it was a really cool experience and now I've learned to make apple pie, and some pastas and salads and quiche the way the French do! When it was my turn to make something I tried so hard looking for Chinese products in stores. I searched in what felt like every grocery store in the city and all I could find was Top Ramen... So I gave up on the search for Asian food products and just made them different Italian pastas that I knew how to make.
The pace of life slowed down a lot for me in Macedonia. It was really nice to have time to relax, and explore places if and when I wanted. I didn't feel obligated to make myself get up and go somewhere if I was tired, like I would have before when I was traveling through the Balkans. Aside from exploring Skopje, I made a couple day trips/weekend trips to visit Stobi (an ancient Roman archaeological site that I heard about from a friend and former colleague who had previously worked on it), Ohrid (a charming and small town on a lake in Southwest Macedonia. It has 365 churches one for each day of the year and it's also known as the "Pearl of the Balkans" or is regarded similarly to the Jerusalem of the Balkans), I did a couple small hikes nearby, and a day trip to Prezren in Kosovo.
Photos of Skopje, Macedonia's capital
Views from some hikes I did, Matka Canyon and Mount Vodno
Photos from my day trip in Kosovo
Slovenia:
I left my host family in Trento, Italy, which was already pretty east. I took a 7 hour bus to arrive in Koper. My time in Slovenia was brief. Arriving in Slovenia was the first time in a long time (It's been probably several years) where I didn't speak at least some basics of the local language. This was an entirely new sensation for me because most places I go I have at least a basic grasp of what's going on. Thankfully in the region of Slovenia that I was traveling through, a lot of people spoke Italian (due to its proximity and a lot of Italian tourists). I Couch Surfed (a great way to meet locals and find the best spots) and had an amazing host who showed me all these cool new recipes when we cooked together. While my host was out at work, I spent my one full day there just walking along most of the Slovenian coast which was scenic and beautiful but I also kept running into a lot of nude people which was fine but was kind of unexpected lol.
Croatia:
The next day I headed off to Croatia. I was meant to get a morning bus to Zagreb at 9am, but there was some weird mix up and confusion. Even though I was more than half an hour early for my bus, when the bus finally did arrive (late), the driver told me there wasn't anymore space and acted like he was doing me a favor by taking me and letting me sit on the ground. It was bizarre because I booked a specific seat on the bus. I took the offer anyways, whatever. I was told I would only have to sit on the floor until the next stop, which should have been only about half an hour after the Slovenian/Croatian border. It ended up taking over two hours. I've never seen such a terrible border wait considering we had to move like three kilometers. After 8 hours on what should have been a 5-6 hour bus ride, I finally made it to Zagreb where I was meeting up with my old college roommate. We hadn't seen each other since graduation over two years ago, so it was a pretty amazing reunion.
Erica and I spent the next five days exploring Northern Croatia. We did free walking tours and learned about the fall of Yugoslavia, went to a national park (Plitvice), ate a lootttt, and one day we rented bikes and biked along the Istrian coast stopping along the way and finding some really beautiful places to swim. That was probably one of the best days ever. Being reunited and getting to explore Croatia together was such a special and incredible time. It was soo good to get to see you, Erica!!!!! I miss this chica already.
Bosnia and Herzegovina:
After six days in Croatia we parted ways. She headed north back to Vienna and I went south to Sarajevo. I took an 8 hour bus that ended up being almost 10 because my bus got hit by a car and after that it shut down so we had to pull over and wait for the next bus heading to Sarajevo to give us all a ride. I was lucky to have met this wonderful Croatian woman on the bus who I ended up sitting next to.
Starting in Croatia people spoke less English and less Italian. So no language I knew was useful here. This woman, however, was a Croatian who moved to Italy but returns to visit home in the summer. I was so happy to find someone I could converse with! We ended up talking a lot and she even invited me to stay with her at her home in Sarajevo so I could experience a true local stay (I unfortunately didn't end up staying with her because canceling my original plans didn't work out). But had it not been for her, I would have had no idea what was happening on the bus. Like when we got hit, when we took breaks and I had no idea how long they would be and if I had time to get out to get food or go to the bathroom, or when we suddenly stopped for an hour and I had no idea what was wrong with the bus and that we were waiting another. This woman was such a savior! Se stai leggendo questo, grazie mille cara!!!
I spent about a week in Bosnia and I wish I could have stayed longer to explore other parts of the country. During my time there I only visited Sarajevo and Mostar, two of the country's more touristy cities. My time in Bosnia was completely moving and magical. I happened to be in Sarajevo during the film festival which is apparently the fourth largest in the world. The city was crowded and full of life. While I'm sure it's probably no where near this busy during other times of the year, there was still something moving for me to see the city so alive considering its history that I learned so much about while there.
From what I recall in school we briefly talked about the Fall of Yugoslavia but never I had learned about the genocide that took place. It's crazy, actually being there realizing that everyone older than 23 years old has survived a war and genocide. Granted, each individual had different experiences because of their different situations. I mean, I know these things happen and it's also one thing to learn about it in class, but it's completely surreal meeting all these people in person who are the same age as myself, who experienced these terrors simply because they were born in a different place than I.
Sarajevo itself had a unique experience of the war. While other regions had multiple kinds of attacks, sieges, and genocides, Sarajevo underwent the longest siege of a capital in modern warfare (nearly four years).
On my first full day I walked around and explored the city. I did the free walking tour which was interesting. We saw where the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated and thus where WWI began. We wandered the streets of the old city center where literally there is a line down the middle with "Sarajevo Meeting of Cultures" written across it, with one side being Ottoman and the other entirely Austro-Hungarian. Whoever said the East meets the West in Istanbul must have bypassed visiting Sarajevo because this city was it. Stand on the line and look East, you'll find mosques, kebabs, and Ottoman architecture. Look to the West and you'll find cathedrals, Austro-Hungarian architecture and food.
Through wandering around the city on my own I met several locals who were some of the kindest people I've ever met. I've literally never been anywhere but Morocco and Bosnia where people stop everything that they are doing just to help you, or hangout with you. I met locals who were just interested to meet me and hangout, they showed me the great spots for the best food and coffee, they showed me an amazing time on a night out (we bar and club hopped, saw so much live music on the streets, and stayed out until 4 or 5 in the morning), they helped me get around a lot. None of this because was I asked for it, but literally they would be in the middle of lunch, or in the middle of sipping their coffee, or work break and stop to talk to me, hangout, or just help me get around and with whatever I needed.
Many people I met shared some of their stories and experiences. You can really feel that people here are wanting to talk about it and educate others on the history and what has happened here. They hope that through education, we can prevent history from repeating itself. A new friend that I made there also recommended visiting the War Childhood museum. I went to check it out, I cried during most of my visit there. The museum is new, it opened about a year ago. They are hoping to expand it to include exhibits from Children experiencing war from all around the world. I was so moved. I highly recommend this museum if you ever make it to Sarajevo.
Later I also did the free war walking tour. My tour guide was about 28 years old I think and he shared a lot of his personal experiences. He shared moments from his childhood, how they had to learn in basements of their apartments because it wasn't safe to go to school. He talked about how it wasn't safe to play outside. He talked about the food that aid gave them, was like canned dogs meat but worse. He said a chocolate bar at that time was about 40 euros, so kids never had candy. Sometimes it was big things, but it was also a lot of the small things like the fact that these children never got to have a candy bar, that made me really sad. This is also highlighted in the War Childhood museum, where there are displays of objects these children held most dear to them. A lot of them would be things like a candy wrapper, because they wanted to hold on to the smell of it, knowing they probably would never get candy again.
Our guide walked us through what is famously known as "Sniper Alley" which is the main road from the center to the airport where the escape tunnel was. This was where a lot of shooting was happening. Just walk around any part of the city, you'll see evidence of shrapnel and the "Sarajevo Roses", areas filled in painted red in areas where people were killed. He showed us the Mother Child Memorial of all the children's lives that were lost during the war. Walking around seeing the scars of the terror this city has seen was a really sobering experience.
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| Mother Child Memorial made from melted bomb and shell cases with imprints of children's feet. The monument is supposed to represent a mother leaning trying to protect her child. |
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| Evidence of shrapnel on buildings throughout Sniper Alley |
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| A "Sarajevo Rose". To commemorate those whose lives were lost in these locations scattered around the city. |
That said, it was really amazing to me to be able to make so many friends so easily, and to go out and see all these people dancing together and singing songs in Serbo-Croatian together. I don't know what I expected, but I for some reason hadn't expected a people that's seen so much terror, to be so alive and unified. Maybe this is just my touristic surface level impression, but I really got this feeling that Sarajevo people had a strong bond no matter their ethnic background because they all experienced the siege together.
After Sarajevo I left for Mostar. I had an early morning train (which is an incredibly scenic route, if you ever go please take the train over the bus. It's so worth it). My Airbnb host told me that if I couldn't find a taxi at the taxi stop that early, cross the street and go to the gas station and a worker there would help me. I crossed the street and three men are sitting outside having a coffee and cigarette, they shout, "good morning!!! Welcome to Bosnia! Are you coming or are you going?" Then they offered me a coffee and I politely declined explaining I was worried I would miss my train since I couldn't find a taxi. They offered to call different taxi companies and after several calls and no answer, one of them just stands up and goes, " You know what, I take you. Let's go" and puts out his cigarette and leaves his unfinished coffee, and that is how I caught my train on time. This is yet another example of the kindness I experienced here.
In Mostar I also Couch Surfed. My host was super cool, friendly, and kind. She cooked for us, and took us to some cool spots, showing us a lot of graffiti around the city. One of my favorite spots was Sniper Tower. This used to be a bank during Yugoslavia days, but during the war because of it's vantage points it was used as a sniper tower. Now it's a building in ruins, full of graffiti. We climbed to the top of it, ate some pastries and cake and had some wine while watching the sunset. That was a really cool and special experience for me.
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| Atop Sniper Tower with new friends |
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| Some Sniper Tower Graffiti |
Like the rest of Bosnia, Mostar experienced its own share of terrors during the war. Mostar had its own siege and saw a lot of bloody attacks. Today it is still one of the most divided cities in Bosnia. There are two schools, two bus stations, two everything, one on each side of the famous old bridge. This is so that the Croats (Catholics) and Bosniaks (Muslims) don't mix. The education system in my opinion is the biggest problem. It is organized in such a way that children are taught biased stories of what happened in the war. It's crazy to me how the narrative of a genocide can still be so politicized. To me, it's a genocide, people died, tell it like it happened. Thankfully it seems a lot of locals are putting time and effort into museums like the war childhood museum, and the genocide museums to be able to provide more unbiased information.
While I loved my time in Bosnia and I would go back in a heartbeat, it's future seems unclear and uncertain. I learned that Bosnia and Herzegovina has one of the world's most complicated political structures. Because of the three major different ethnic groups, Serbs (Orthodox), Croats (Catholics), and Bosniaks (Muslims), there is a Three-Member Presidency. This is to ensure that each ethnic group is represented. The issue with this though is that perpetuates this divided mindset. Each president has their right to veto, and basically nothing ends up getting done because all three of them never agree on the same thing. The people I spoke with expressed wanting to join the EU, but they have a long way to go politically and economically before that. So much of their money goes towards paying for three times the number of political/governmental roles that are necessary. Bosnia is already a pretty poor country. This is the problem, it's difficult for them to get out of this divided culture and mindset.
I think despite the kind of eerie feeling walking down some of the streets can give you and its up in the air questions about moving forward as an independent country, Bosnia was one of my favorite places that I visited in the Balkans. I think it was because it was such a learning experience for me, but also mostly because of the people I met and the friends that I made there. Even though I am traveling a lot and getting to see a lot, if I don't meet people from there, or have a kind of experience that made me feel a kind of attachment to the place, or a need to return, it just means I saw something. Getting to see something is different than getting to experience. I can take a cool picture in front of a famous monument, but if I didn't have an experience that makes me want to come back then that's that. I was lucky to meet such great people during my time in Bosnia and I can't wait to go back again one day. Thank you to all the people I met along the way and the friends I made there who showed me such a great time. You know who you are!
Montenegro:
After Bosnia and Herzegovina I headed to Montenegro on an 8 hour bus. I wasn't sure exactly what was there. I just knew it was a scenic and more touristy small Balkan country. I eventually had to make it to Macedonia to visit a family friend and help at their hostel/guest house. So I thought, after all this moving around and on the go kind of travel, I'd go to a small coastal town in Montenegro and enjoy the beach and relax.
I was wrong. I mean, it was a nice small beach town. But I forgot that because it was August, literally every person in Europe was there. It was almost impossible to find a spot on the beach unless you went in the morning. So I ended up connecting with other female travelers from the travel network group I'm in, and went on a short hike to the top of the fort in Kotor. It was a super beautiful hike and view, well worth it despite the heat. I spent only a couple days there but enjoyed doing the hostel thing for a few nights, meeting a lot of travelers from my hostel, connecting with people from the females traveler group, and going out and such.
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| The view from the fort of Kotor |
Macedonia:
I finally made it to Macedonia after another long bus ride and several border stops through Albania and Kosovo and into Macedonia (I hardly slept on that overnight bus. One border patrol guy bonked me on the head to wake me up. It was greaaaat). In Macedonia I mostly spent the whole two and a half weeks in Skopje, the capital, helping at the hostel./guest house. There, I worked with a couple from France who was also helping out. Business was slow so it gave us a lot of time to explore. It was also really nice to have my own space and so much down time after being constantly on the move from Slovenia until Macedonia. I was staying put for a bit, I had time and a place to do laundry, the place had a beautiful large garden with all the kinds of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. So the French couple and I spent a lot of our free time exploring the city, and cooking different recipes, teaching and learning from each other. I had so much fun, it was a really cool experience and now I've learned to make apple pie, and some pastas and salads and quiche the way the French do! When it was my turn to make something I tried so hard looking for Chinese products in stores. I searched in what felt like every grocery store in the city and all I could find was Top Ramen... So I gave up on the search for Asian food products and just made them different Italian pastas that I knew how to make.
The pace of life slowed down a lot for me in Macedonia. It was really nice to have time to relax, and explore places if and when I wanted. I didn't feel obligated to make myself get up and go somewhere if I was tired, like I would have before when I was traveling through the Balkans. Aside from exploring Skopje, I made a couple day trips/weekend trips to visit Stobi (an ancient Roman archaeological site that I heard about from a friend and former colleague who had previously worked on it), Ohrid (a charming and small town on a lake in Southwest Macedonia. It has 365 churches one for each day of the year and it's also known as the "Pearl of the Balkans" or is regarded similarly to the Jerusalem of the Balkans), I did a couple small hikes nearby, and a day trip to Prezren in Kosovo.
I went on the Kosovo day trip with a Macedonian tour group. I was the only non Macedonian in the group which was interesting but fun. People were really excited to meet me and to practice their English. After discovering my nationality, people (Macedonians in my tour group) were still kind to me, but expressed extreme anger towards the US. I totally get it, but it was interesting to see their perspectives. How they feel they are being affected by US decisions and the EU. Macedonia is currently up for discussion in joining the EU. However, first they must change their name because of the conflict with Greece who has a region called Macedonia. I got a lot of mixed feelings from different people I met. Half expressed anger and that they simply wanted to be left alone. They felt that multiple countries and people have been denying them of an identity over the centuries, and as a result they just want to be left alone and remain what is now called Macedonia, even if that means not being able to join the EU. The other half seems interested to join the EU for more than just economic purposes, even if it requires changing their name (and by extension a part of their identity). Macedonia is scheduled to have a referendum on changing their name at the end of this month. We'll see how it goes.
Photos of Skopje, Macedonia's capital
Views from some hikes I did, Matka Canyon and Mount Vodno
Photos from my weekend trip to Ohrid. The town with 365 churches.
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| Me at the Roman Amphitheater at the site of Stobi |
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| A festival with lots of traditional dancing celebrating all the different ethnic groups in Macedonia |
Kosovo:
I still don't really understand Kosovo, if most countries regard it as independent yet or not. My phone is on an international phone plan and I received a text message from my provider welcoming me to Serbia... At the same time I received a text from an outside provider that welcomed me to Kosovo. I didn't meet any locals to be able to learn their thoughts on it, but from what I saw, the Kosovan people are proud of their Albanian background. I saw the Albanian flag more than I saw the Kosovan flag. Not sure what to make of that but that's that...
On my day trip in Kosovo I saw some scenic mountains, went for a nice walk, visited a town (who's name I forgot) that is apparently the only Serbian town in Kosovo, visited a Cathedral and some ruins, and then to Prezren which was basically a larger cute historical town.
Photos from my day trip in Kosovo
The time I spent in Macedonia was much needed. I was so happy to stay put for a bit (I think my limit of traveling moving around a lot is two to three weeks max), and have time and space to relax. I also really enjoyed my time working with the French couple. Beyond sharing recipes and cooking with and for each other, we shared a lot of great conversations full of many thoughts and ideas. I learned a lot from them over our dinners drinking local 2 dollar wines in the garden.
My time in the Balkans despite its intense lessons of the fall of Yugoslavia, heavy personal stories, and eerie alley ways full of bullet holes throughout the cities, I loved the region so much. It was a whole new experience for me. Aside from the culture and history, not knowing any of the language was a huge adjustment for me. It has always been a personal goal of mine to work towards becoming fluent in Italian, Spanish, French, Mandarin, and Arabic, some of the worlds most spoken languages. This is really helpful for me when I travel especially when I travel alone, because then most of the time I'm able to not only converse, get around well, and make local friends, but am also able to understand if people are talking about me. This is something that I'm always super aware of, I think especially as a female solo traveler because you never know if people are following you, watching you, talking about you, taking picture of videos of you (yes this happens). I hadn't experienced such kindness like that before (Side note: I also experienced little to none racism in the region, which is a first. I think it is because the Balkans are so unexplored and there are few Asians in the region. Expats and tourists. I think I could count on my hand the number of Asians I saw, and could also count on my hand the number of racial comments I heard. This has never happened before wherever I travel. Usually I'll get several in one day, most everywhere I go from Western Europe to South America to North Africa. And as much as I wish it weren't true, the color of your skin and appearance does affect your travels. People treat you differently, which in my case, does kind of put a damper on enjoying being where I am in the moment. I hate when people shout "Ni hao" at me, or make squinty eyes to make fun of my eyes, or when people spit on me... that it kind of ruins my day. It's really hard to not let it get to you, and it's something that I'm personally working on. Trying to not let these comments or behaviors get to me. This is probably another factor to why I enjoyed the Balkans so much. In addition to their kindness, hardly anyone was racist to me. It just made traveling there alone so much easier and more peaceful, being left alone instead of getting shouted at or being spat on.) Aside from it's more recent history of its' Yugoslavia days, its history of Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian influence over centuries has left such a rich culture remaining even today. Though I didn't learn much or understand much Serbo-Croatian, and I'd never had much exposure to Slavic languages before, I learned to really love the language. I think it began when I went out one night in Sarajevo and there was live music everywhere, everyone singing along. Hearing it made me feel such nostalgia. On top of everything the people, language, diverse food, and history that the region has to offer, their landscape is incredible. If you ever get the opportunity to travel to this region, I highly recommend it!!!
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| Slovenia: Coastal views on my walk along the reserve |
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| Slovenia: More views of the coast |
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| Croatia: One of the spots we stopped to swim in along the Istrian coast |
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| Croatia: Countryside, views from the bus |
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| Croatia: Plitvice National Park |
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| Bosnia & Herzegovina: On the bus to Sarajevo from Zagreb |
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Bosnia & Herzegovina in the Herzegovina region: A Dervish house
(one of the only structures in the region that is still in its original condition/was not affected by the war) along cliffs and the Buna River, Europe's largest Karst spring river. |
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Bosnia & Herzegovina: Inside the Buna River cave
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| Bosnia & Herzegovina: A day spent swimming at Kravice Waterfalls park |
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| Bosnia & Herzegovina: The river in Mostar which divides the city |
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| Montenegro: Hike finds, goats |
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| Montenegro: Sunsets over Budva on my overnight bus to Macedonia |
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| Macedonia: Walking along the edge of Lake Ohrid |
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| Macedonia: Lake Ohrid views |
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| Macedonia: Hiking in Matka Canyon |
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| Macedonia: Matka Canyon |
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| Kosovo: Cantarion flowers used for tea |
After my 2.5 weeks in Macedonia, I headed for Istanbul. I took a 14 hour overnight bus from Skopje to Istanbul. I was impressed with the Turkish bus company. They had movies, and they served snacks and beverages. It was like being on a plane! I also met a couple Macedonian people who sat by me and were super friendly. Some had a Turkish background, and were super helpful and great resources once we arrived in Turkey since they spoke Turkish. Before arriving in Turkey though, we had to cross the Greece border which was interesting because seeing as most of the bus was full of Macedonians (then there were four Turkish people and myself, lol) and that Greece doesn't consider them as a state, all the Macedonians had to have a separate piece of paper in order to cross the border (because their passports are disregarded because of the name conflict between the two countries).
I arrived in Turkey at the beginning of September and stayed for a few days before I took a trip to Egypt. Originally I was going to visit Egypt after Jordan, but from my research it seemed more expensive and difficult to get there from Jordan, and to return back to Italy after. So I decided to book roundtrip tickets in and out of Turkey to Egypt. I was also going to update this blog while in Egypt, but the itinerary was crazy packed, leaving us with hardly any free time. Even if we had the time, I could not find Wi-Fi anywhere during my stay there. Now I'm back in Turkey visiting my friend who I studied abroad in Italy with 8 years ago. It's amazing getting to be here and see her again and we've been having a great time.
I'll write more about Egypt and my September/month 5 travels later. Hopefully this next time it wont be so delayed.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading through this lengthy post and also thanks for following along in general despite my inconsistency and tardiness. I hope you enjoyed it and if you didn't read through it all, I hope you at least enjoyed the photos!
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