"Traveling through Europe so far.... is like peeing standing up; no matter where you go it is easy and convenient but it could end up costing you a lot if your not careful." -Tom
In late October I took a trip covering 6 countries, 2,682 land miles, and two cross continent flights in less than two weeks. I moved almost entirely by night to maximize daylight and minimize costs. I admit two weeks is barely enough time for even one small country, but it was an experiment, a test, an adventure, and time was limited. It was not a complete failure and will not soon be forgotten. Along the way I kept a journal; when I had time. This blog is to share some of the "best" (I know its sad that these are the "best") entry's and to inform any one (Mom, Dad can pretend) who cares. Also lay the ground work for more travels to come and above all I enjoyed making it.
Preface…..
I have been mainly taking classes in Bodo Nordland Norway, and traveling around northern Norway in my spare time. The classes are largely based on experiential education and learning. I won’t bore you with the details of it but instead present a quote and leave the rest to your imagination.
"Since everything that enters Man's intellectual consciousness is mediated by his senses, his first reason is a sensory one. Our first teachers of philosophy are our feet, our hands, and our eyes. Replacing them with books does not teach us to reason; it is learning to trust the reason of others, to learn plenty and know nothing."
-S.G. Hartman, Larares kunskap
-Norwegian Teacher
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| Universitet i Nordland |
Scandinavia Home Sweet Home….
Today is October 20, 2011 I have been in Europe (Norway) for about two months now. Two days ago I set out on a trip on my own. I have solo traveled before but not much as I usually travel with other people. So we will see how it goes. Yesterday I was in Oslo and did a lot of walking and saw most of the sights (the free ones) within a six hour time frame. This morning I arrived in Stockholm where I thought my flight was from but of course Ryan Air says one place and is actually a good distance from it. So unfortunately my time in Stockholm was a bit limited. It turned out ok as I am feeling a bit sick and I am ready for a warmer climate. Also I plan to visit Stockholm again for a week in November.
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| Oslo Opera House |
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| Sunset on an old war fortress |
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| Oslo City Hall |
Tales from the Former Yugoslavia Kingdom….
Background: Yugoslavia comes from the Slavic words "jug" (south) and "slaveni" (Slavs). The countries of Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, and the federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina make up former Yugoslavia. The first Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Versailles State at the time) was formed in 1918 after World War 1. In 1945 modeled after the Soviet Union the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia established six republics, an autonomous province, and an autonomous district that was part of Serbia. Ethnic tension and economic crisis lead to the 1990’s Yugoslav Wars and eventually the breakup the republic. On June 25 1991, Croatia and Slovenia declared independence, on September 8 1991, following a referendum the Republic of Macedonia declared independence, on April 6 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s independence were recognized by the U.S. and most European countries, on April 28 1992, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed (consisted of today Serbia and Montenegro). In June 2006 Serbia and Montenegro official declared independence. To many this is referred to as the final end of what was the former Yugoslavia. The most recent split is Kosovo with an ongoing war they finally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.
Croatia….
Background: Since the end of their war for independence Croatia has developed a high standard of human development and income equality, Croatia ranks high amongst Central European nations in terms of education, health, quality of life and economy. Because of Croatia’s location the land has a mix of four different cultures. A crossroad between the eastern and western worlds since the division of Western Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire combined with Mitteleuropa (Central Europe) and Mediterranean culture.
After leaving Sweden I flew to Zadar, Croatia. The bus station was packed full of young Croatians taking cover from the rain that had began just in time for my arrival. So instead of trying to find a hostel for the night I bought the latest departing ticket to the furthest possible bus stop still in Croatia to maximize sleeping time (Dubrovnik 8 hours). It was supposed to leave at 10:45 but didn’t leave till after midnight. This actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. When we arrived in Dubrovnik it was early enough to beat the hoards of tourists pouring off the cruise ships but late enough for the sun to be up. In Zadar I met another solo traveler from Japan. He was an exchange student from Sweden just in Croatia for the weekend with all of his travels pre booked. We stuck together for a while. After Dubrovnik we split ways as he was headed back towards Zadar to catch his flight. I was headed towards Greece. By noon the town was completely over run by tourists so I decided to test my luck and continue on. On the bus to Montenegro I met two more young travelers with a cool story of how they met and there future travel plans. They looked like brothers. Both of them were half Singaporean and one was half Canadian the other half british. They met in required enlistment and mandatory two years service in the Singapore army even though neither of them had lived in Singapore. So naturally they were outcasts and became friends. They completed their two year service and decided to travel the world before entering the work force in Hong Kong. They were starting with Eastern Europe, then headed to Africa, South America, and finally ending with a road trip through the US. After talking with them besides the large feeling of jealousy that not only they were doing this but that they had found someone equally as passionate and able to commit to do it with, I also began to feel the 4 days, 3 nights, no real sleep, no real food start to affect me. I had a massive headache and the miracle red pill (Ibuprofen) couldn’t stop it. The bumpy road and growing cold I had acquired in Norway didn’t help either. I thought maybe my body had met its match.
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| Dubrovnik |
Background: Dubrovnik is a sea port and city founded in the 7th century on a rocky island named Laus, which provided shelter for Dalmatian refugees from the nearby city of Epidaurus. Following Croatia's independence in 1991 there were many disputes over which country the mainly Croatian city of Dubrovnik was entitled to. On October 1, 1991 Dubrovnik was attacked by Serbia-Montenegro or the Yugoslav People's Army the bloody fight lasted for seven months.
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| Marks left from the war |
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| More bullet holes |
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| The Adriatic Sea |
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| Over looking Old Town |
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| Slowly gathering tourists around Onuphrius Fountain |
Montenegro a Love Story……
Background: Montenegro “black Mountain” is considered a middle-income country according to the World Bank. Montenegro is a member of the UN and a candidate for the European Union and NATO. From 1941-1943 Montenegro was occupied by Italy it gained independence from Yugoslavia but was still joined with Serbia. After the departure of the Italians Montenegro was still under direct control of German troops spurring a terrible guerrilla war until December 1944 when the troops withdrew. In June 2006 Montenegro and Serbia split known by many as the final end of the former Yugoslavia.
I made up my mind to find somewhere real to sleep no matter what. Montenegro reminds me of Malaysia, in which case finding a place to sleep would be easy. I would step off the bus greeted by numerous touts select the first one offering anywhere from 10-15 Euros expect to get a crap hole room, roll out my T-rest and airplane blankets and fall fast asleep. Here is what really happened…..I stepped off the bus feeling worse than ever sombered over to my bag trying to hide my backpacking persona buying time to get oriented before the touts attacked. Instead no one said a word to me everyone mumbled to each other some jibber jabber nonsense and kept to them selves. Feeling confused I walked around aimlessly looking for the people I usually avoid at all costs looking for an easy escape. After a few minutes of pointless wandering I ask an important looking man where an information desk is; he points "that way". I ask the info desk
“excuse me” …”where can I find accommodation?”
He shrugs “I don’t know”
“Is there someone who does know?”
He shrugs “I don’t know”
“Ok where can I exchange money?”
He shrugs “I don’t Know”
“Great thanks for the information.”
Feeling frustrated I walk to the street, right around the corner is a travel agency. I meet a nice lady who speaks great English. She calls someone “jibber jabber”- hangs up. “15 Euros” –me “OK” –“OK” “jibber jabber” “she is coming to get you” I’m expecting fully some grungy excuse of a room and totally ok with it. I talk to the lady who is older than I but still attractive in a maybe I’m not thinking straight kind of way; we talk for a bit mainly me just asking questions about what Budva has to offer and her replying “nothing” and asking me questions about where I am from and why I’m not with the rest of the tourists in the summer. She also said I ask too many questions maybe she was trying to flirt or maybe I do ask too many questions. Either way I didn’t care I just wanted to lay down somewhere anywhere…Oh and did I ever find a place to lie down. The new lady opened the door to a double bed fully furnished apartment complete with a flat screen TV, balcony, kitchen, fridge, couch, and best of all a deluxe bathroom with a square toilet. I immediately pay the fifteen Euro. After spending two months in the most expensive country in the world I felt rich in this country and went in search of real food I was ready to blow some money on a fancy dinner. I tried and failed. I started off with a large carton of chocolate milk (1 E), then chocolate covered strawberry marshmallows (.40 E). I then went to a local butcher shop for a giant handmade Montenegrin Hamburger (1, 75 E). (Easily the best burger I have ever had) I topped off the dinner with a freshly picked apple. I was so pleased with the meal I set it all up on my fancy table, in my fancy room, and took way too many pictures to document it as any good romantic meal deserves. After dinner I stripped of my smelly clothes; my feet were the worst as I literally had worn my shoes for four days and three nights straight. I took a large relief on the square toilet and took a shower…ah luxury. These experiences combined with the magnificent scenery and landscape makeup the story of why I completely and hopelessly fell in love with Montenegro.
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| The romantic meal |
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| The town with the mountains in the back |
A Rough Ending….
As with all relationships the love started off strong and passionate went through some ups and downs and eventually came to an end. I woke up this morning to a loud mechanical humming that had been going all night but the comfort of the warm bed had successfully blocked the noise from my senses. I woke up feeling revived and alert. Lounged around a bit and then headed to the bus station and spent every cent I had left in my pocket for a 12 hour night bus to Skopje, Macedonia. That’s when the relationship went down hill. After thoroughly exhausting my financial funds it began to pour rain. I had brought my rain jacket to protect my upper body but my thick Carhartt pants and all of my belongings were at the mercy of a cheap broken umbrella that I had found under a bench waiting for a bus in Zadar. Needless to say I spent two hours lugging my 9.8 Kilo Bag (I weighed it several times to make sure it would pass as a cabin bag on my Ryan Air flights). Through endless aisles of Montenegro malls, pretending to be interested in the classy local goods such as the wide variety of Ohio State Beanies! I finally folded and went to an internet café to wait out the storm. About an hour later the sun came out and I headed straight for the beach. (where I am now). The beauty is incomparable to anywhere. Steep mountains covered in trees changing colors for the winter with skinny roads carved into the side leading down to the beach covered in white rocks and a few locals here and there getting some late fall swimming or fishing. The sheer beauty of the place must be the reason why Budva (~pop. 10,000) is a city largely reliant on tourism. In the “peak” season herds of package holiday goers fill the streets and bring with them superstar singers like Madonna and Rolling Stones. The influence of tourism is obvious. Half of the buildings in the “off” season are boarded up hotels and fancy restaurants. Is this bad or good? The reason why this place is so popular is the same reason why the Prom Queen is popular. She’s pretty. These people rely on tourism just like other areas may rely on timber production, coal mining, fishing, or oil. It’s not a bad thing at all as long as it’s in moderation and done right. Unlike Dubrovnik where tourist are carted in by the thousands on large cruise ships stopping only to eat a big scoop of ice cream and take a million pictures with their five thousand dollar camera. A large majority (if not all) of their money goes straight into the hands of the big shot tourist companies or cruise ship companies. The local community is taken advantage of and gains nothing. The companies package everything to maximize their personal profits. Luckily I came to Montenegro during the “off” season.
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| The Rain Storm |
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| Sadly there were no Michigan State hats dad. |
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| Getting some much needed sun rays |
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| Fishing...Notice the 3 fishing poles |
Reasons why smelling the worst on the bus/train is a good thing!
#1 You fit in with the locals and typical bus travelers.
#2 No one wants to sit in the same area as you allowing room to spread out. (Essential if taking multiple night rides)
#3 You can’t smell how bad everyone else smells, because your stench overpowers.
Macedonia My First Encounter with Gypsies…
Background: Macedonia is a small landlocked country bordering Greece, Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Albania. Macedonia is also a member of the UN and since 2005 a candidate for the European Union. Macedonia is famous for its ongoing name dispute with Greek Macedonia. Macedonia has undergone considerable economic reform developing an open economy since its independence. The official and most widely spoken language is Macedonian, which belongs to the Eastern branch of the South Slavic language group.
I am now in Skopje Macedonia. The city is….well…a city. When I arrived at the bus station the sun wasn’t up yet and I was still very tired but I was awake and the only good sleeping benches were already occupied. Unfortunately I came to find out that all the public transport to Greece had been halted until further notice. The only options were to walk across the border or to find a private transportation across. Seeing as how the place where I wanted to go was a great distance from the boarder and I would have to pay a great deal of money to get a Taxi if I successfully got across the boarder. So walking was out of the question for me. Eventually I asked around and I found a “private” entrepreneur taking advantage of the situation willing to give me a ride the next day in his small bus with ten seats and a capacity of 15 people. But for now I was trapped in Skopje, a large city with dreary Yugoslav-era architecture. The city had an apparent problem with decent engineers, earthquakes, or both. The city is separated by a “river” with the old part of town on one side and the new part on the other. The old part of town seemed to be holding together more than the new part. The two sides were connected in the middle by a pedestrian bridge. After spending a day wandering the maze of museums, old bazaars, and old war fortresses I decided to head back to the hostel. While crossing the pedestrian bridge back to the new town I noticed a pack of kids ranging from 5 to 25 years old gathered on one side of the bridge. I remembered two of the small one from earlier as they had followed me through the streets gesturing for money. I usually never give money to beggars especially children because it only escalates the problem and the children are not begging for themselves someone is making them beg and takes from them what little money they make. The small ones recognized me and began following me again. Pushing their arms away and repeating "no!" I kept on walking. Suddenly I felt an arm wrap over my shoulder. One of the older ones had come up behind me and was pretending to also beg. I knew immediately what he was doing and spun around violently shoving him off. I threatened him in English even though I knew he had no idea what I was saying. I assumed my threat had worked as they retreated to their group. Feeling confident I had acted fast enough to spoil their plan I took about five steps in the opposite direction and felt all my pockets just in case. Sure enough my wallet was gone. As soon as I felt the empty pocket I spun around in a hopeless attempt at spotting them disappear into the crowd. A man walking behind me saw my expressions and realized what had happened. He said something in Macedonian…..gypsies!…He wanted to help but we both knew it was useless. Luckily I hadn’t been to the ATM in a while and had no more than 5 euros in a mixture of foreign currency, but the money was not on my mind at all I could handle the loss but my debit card, ID, student card, and other various cards were in there. I usually never keep anything but small amounts of cash in my pockets in case of situations like this but my “it’s only Europe” mentality had gotten the best of me. Panicking now I rushed back to the spot where they had been and spotted one of the small ones who hadn’t had time to flee yet. I was furious at this point and could hardly think straight. I started yelling at the kid pointlessly. He then pointed towards the railing of the bridge. Looking over I saw my black wallet lying there! with everything in it! besides the money of course. I was so relieved I practically forgot about the kid. He looked scared and was making frantic gestures signaling he had no part in the robbing it was the older ones. I knew in my heart that he was right. This kid was born into this life he didn’t have a choice but to do what the older ones say and eventually he would be the older one doing only what he knows and the cycle would continue. Feeling helpless I gestured for him to leave gave him a pat on the back and headed back to the hostel. I was lucky they had not used violence and 5 Euros was a small price to pay to be humbled.
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| Skopje |
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| The infamous bridge |
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| Old town at night |
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| International Jazz Festival in Skopje |
Tom’s Travel Hints to Avoid Scams
- Always know exactly where you’re going and that where ever your going is extremely important. (Even if you’re completely lost)
- Never ask for directions.
- Learn how to say “I only speak insert language here.” In at least 3 languages to avoid any unwanted help or conversation.
- Become friends with all the local taxi drivers but never tell them where you’re going or for how long. They’re good for directions and easy to avoid as they won’t leave they’re cars.
- When ordering food or buying tickets do so immediately after a local and get the exact same thing that way you wont have to pay a “special tourist fee” or a “you don’t speak our language tax.”
- When exchanging money always do the math ahead of time that way when they offer you 50% less than expected you can decide if you really need the money or not.
- Never take a shower or change clothes. (This way you appear as broke as you really are).
- Before leaving home make sure you can grow a (good) beard. Beards automatically subtract zeros from your bank account. (I failed this tip)
- Only accept help from those weaker and slower than you.
- Only take pictures if absolutely necessary.
- Finally remember that decades of dumb tourists have made you a prime target for scams and easy money so always pretend to be someone your not. (You’re a tourist.)
The Monotonous Finale…..
Background: The cradle of Western Civilization. The birthplace of democracy, The Olympics, Western Philosophy, Mathematics, University, etc…Part of the EU since 1981 and part of the euro zone since 2001. Greece is considered a highly developed country with a high income economy and high standards of living. In recent history Greece has been making headlines for economy problems. In early 2010, it was revealed that successive Greek governments had been found to have consistently and deliberately misreported the country's official economic statistics to keep within union guidelines. This had enabled Greek governments to spend beyond their means, while hiding the actual deficit from the EU overseers. In May 2010, the Greek government deficit was again revised and estimated to be 13.6% which was one of the highest. Public debt was forecast, according to some estimates, to hit 120% during 2010, one of the highest rates in the world. Now in 2011 Greece has repeatedly been on world news radar for their collapsing economy and rising internal tension. They require a massive bailout to postpone bankruptcy dragging down the euro zone and world economy with them. It is a bit ironic that the birth place of western philosophy and civilization is collapsing and struggling.
My last stop in the long awaited Greece was utterly disappointing. Upon my arrival I narrowly avoided being scammed by a sweet old priest with white hair. I had been crammed next to him on the bus from Skopje and talked to him in broken English for a while. He was intent on helping me in Greece. He was dressed nice and seemed to be an honest man praying every time the bus started or at any other opportunity. (This should have been my first clue). I knew that if I let him help me he would want some kind of gratuity but I figured I could use the help of a local who could show me around and speak the language. Also if worse comes to worse I could easily outrun or beat him up.(Rule #9) So I reluctantly accepted his help and asked him if he would show me were the bus station was. He was a man of his word and brought me all the way to the bus stop where he said I could take the bus to the station showing me sights (usually covered in spray paint) along the way. I asked him where I get tickets and he assured me you pay on the bus, so I thanked him gave him a small tip and he ushered me onto the bus. On the bus there is no room to sit so I decide to stand. A man comes up to me I assume to sell me tickets. “How much?” I ask. He speaks very little English and repeats passport, passport. “I’m not giving you my passport!” A bystander translates for us he wants my passport because I don’t have a ticket I ask again angrily “how much is a ticket I will pay now”. The bystander talks to the man “he says he needs your passport.” Suddenly I begin to realize what’s going on, a pre purchased ticket is required and I don’t have one so he wants my passport using threats of jail forcing me to pay a bribe to him or the police to get it back. The sweet old priest would later get his cut of the bribe of course. I kill time pretending to not understand and repeat "I don’t have a passport!". Suddenly the doors in the back of the bus open, "No problem I leave now" I lunge past the man and leap into the down town traffic.
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| Thessaloniki |
Other than that nothing really exciting happened as I Had been hoping for. No big strikes, no protests, no political upheaval, no violence. In fact everyone seemed to be too preoccupied with day drinking and partying to even realize or care that their economy was crashing and going bankrupt. The only noticeable affects were large amounts of graffiti and trash. The garbage men were some of the most missed civil workers as their absence lead to mounds of trash blocking streets and smells that overpowered my own. Thessaloniki is a huge city so graffiti and trash was not actually that surprising. In fact I thought the large piles of trash served as great visual statement depicting the wastefulness of humans. Trash clean up had only stopped for a few weeks and already there were mounds of trash blocking up the sidewalks and streets. You would think this would wake people up, alarm them, just because magical garbage men come and take your waste away it does not mean that it just disappears into thin air. I wonder if it would be possible to get American garbage men/women to go on strike?
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| Trash |
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| The morning I left. |
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| Back in Bodo view from my window |
Background Information from....
Lonely Planet Europe on a Shoestring
Wikipedia
