Dubrovnik, Bar, Belgrade to Sofia

So I am trying to catch you up on what we have been doing, as I have been really bad about writing. This post covers the last week or so in June and the beginning of July. More to come soon, I promise!

We spent a few days in late June in Dubrovnik, which was very beautiful and relaxing but quite touristy as expected. Still, it is worth seeing- the entire town was built within these huge white stone walls, maybe 40 feet high. It is really incredible and my descriptions can't do it justice. But I recommend going in September when the water is still warm but not as many cruise boats are docking in for the day. Also, one thing must be said about Dubrovnik.... suprisingly the food is was really mediocre. And that's being kind. There really wasn't much to eat within the old town other than overpriced pizza. And when you walk through the town, there is a person standing outside every restaurant, trying to sell you there delicious menu. Other than that, I have no bones to pick with Dubrovnik. We staid in a pretty hilarious place, called "Rooms Ivo" that we found on the Internet. Loren had had some trouble communicating with Ivo over the phone and I couldn't really understand why until Ivo showed up at the airport. No joke, this guy was the real life version of Borat. He picked us up from the bus station in his van that he referred to as his 'giant airplane'... and it just got better and better from there. Apparently, Ivo isn't allowed to cross the border in his van because he has no papers for it and had gotten into a crash at the airport, broken his back windows, and replaced them with some plastic. "Nema Problema!" (or "No Problem!"), he said...he would get it fixed. When we got back to his house, we met his daughter (a classic sullen teenager watching TV in the kitchen) and his son (who tried to sneak into our room a few times and mess with our stuff). We also met his dog, who we learned had been lost the day before. Ivo told us he had gone to the local radio station, gotten on air and announced "Somebody took my dog. Please return her". I looked down at the dog and tried to play with it but Ivo's son told me, "She is in shock." "Why?," I asked. "How would you feel if someone took you for a day?", he asked me, with a completely straight face. " I just nodded and tried to suppress a laugh. Needless to say, we had some pretty funny moments from there on out.

After a few days wandering through the town, laying on the beach, and taking a boat ride to a cool rocky island, we decided to head for Bulgaria. That entailed taking a bus to Bar, Montenegro (on crazy, windy, mountain cliff roads) for 4-5 hours. Then a night train from Bar to Belgrade, Serbia, where we spent the day. And finally, a train from Belgrade to Sofia, Bulgaria the following night. I am sure we smelled pretty bad when we got to Sofia. But we met some interesting characters along the way. On the train to Belgrade, we were sleeping in a 3 person cabin with the most amazing guy, named Labud. Labud is a young 20- something year old Serbian lawyer who is very idealistic, socially involved, and extremely intelligent and knowledgeable about, basically, everything. We stayed up for a long time talking to him on the train about world politics and history and , more specifically, what had happened in the 1990's when the U.S. bombed Serbia, which he lived through. It was really amazing to hear about something that, firstly, I knew very little about because I was 7 when it happened, and secondly, an event that had been so shaped for me by the Western media. It is really important to hear the other sides and realize that most of the people killed by those bombs were innocent people on their way to work, school, living their daily lives. He said that the only way people survived was by going through their daily lives, sticking to their routine. He was so open and kind to us, though, and recognizes that harboring bad feelings towards Americans, especially of our generation, is pointless, as we were not at all involved and what has passed has passed.
Labud is an incredibly inspiring guy and has done so much in his life so far. He started the young lawyers association in Serbia in order to unite a new generation of young people and create an organization that would help teach Serbians there rights, which he says is a problem he sees in society- most people do not know them. He splits his time working for a number of international human rights organizations in Serbia, and knows tons of people working in all the embassies in Belgrade. We got there on July 4, and he had to go to a party at the American embassy where, he said, the Americans SERVED THE PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER OF SERBIA MCDONALDS. classy. Apparently, they politely declined the big macs. After a day walking around Belgrade, Labud met us for some tea and then we were off... it was sad to leave but I am sure we will see each other again, whether in New York, Belgrade, or somewhere in between.

So then we were off to Sofia. We hopped on the train, got into our 6 person sleeper cabin, and inside we found these 2 American guys we had met that morning at the train station buying tickets, who are now affectionately known as the 4th of July jews. It was weird- being so far away from home, on the way to Bulgaria, and meeting guys who I could have known at Ransom, Beth Am, or Columbia. When they realized that we, too, were Jewish, they gave us high fives. It was friendship from there on out. Anyhow, Scott and Jared (their real names) had 3 bottles of wine and 1 bottle of beer between them, and incredibly smelly feet. They had been on trains for 3 nights in a row, and weren't going to stop until they got to Istanbul. They spent every day in a different city and every night on a different train.
We stayed up with them and tried to keep up but there talent in wine guzzling far succeeded ours. Loren and I split a large beer while they consumed their stash. But they shared their goldfish and chocolate balls, which the lady at the drugstore in Serbia had told them was 'authentically serbian food'. We talked about Palestine and Israel, birthright, going to law school, and weird social scene at GWU where one of them went to school. It is such a small world.

Sending My Most From Mostar!

I realized that starting my blogs with 'Dear all' is not very blogger-esque. Bloggers just jump into what they are saying, they don't write letters home. So I am going to try it this way.
Perhaps that intro destroyed the tone I was trying to set. I guess a job at Gawker is not in the cards for me.
We got into Mostar this afternoon after spending three and a half days in Sarajevo. Mostar is a bit different from Sarajevo- actually, it's quite different. The town is famous for its old bridge, a stunning white stone bridge above its beautiful, clear blue river. It was built in 1566 and, for centuries, people came from around the world to see it. In the early 1990s, after the Serbs left this area, infighting began between the Croats and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) in the town and the bridge was destroyed. After the war, pieces of the bridge were pulled from the water and from 1999 to 2005 people worked to rebuild the bridge using the same methodology that had been used in the 16th century. There was no 'modern' machinery involved.
Anyhow, the point of all of this history is this: in contrast to Sarajevo, in Mostar there is still a lot of the tension left from the war. Today, Bosnian Croats live on one side of the bridge and Bosnian Muslims on the other. For a tourist, the tension is not obvious but if you talk to locals it is clear that both groups really stick to their side of the bridge and few really cross over. It is quite safe and stable here, though. The man we were talking to today said that the only place tensions really build is at football games!
There are a ton of tourist here who wander back and forth on the bridge and are warmly welcomed on both sides. Just sad that at this point the locals cannot say the same. But the war is still very recent, as, I am sure, are horrible memories of what happened. I am sure tensions will subside as the younger generations begin to mix and intermarry as they did before the war, when (according to a German ex- Nato soldier we talked to today) almost 30 % of people in the country were in a mixed marriage.

Alright, I am off, with promises to continue adding pictures!

A Great, Big Catch Up!

The restaurant at Kunst Haus Wien

St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna

A Hunterwasser designed apartmet building, Vienna

Hoffburg Palace, Vienna

Loren challenging a statue to a duel in Vienna

Dear all (specifically Annie-pants),
I must send my sincerest apologies for being really bad about updating zou all as to my whereabouts. Time just seems to fly and it is actually pretty hard to find an hour in the day to sit down at an Internet cafe, catch up on all of my emails, and write. Anyhow, we are in Sarajevo today- got in early this morning after taking a 10 hour night train from Zagreb. We lucked out because the train was not a sleeper train (don't ask me why) but it was not very full so Loren and I spread out sleeping bags out after a lovely dinner of bread, cheese, and bananas and fell (sort of) to sleep for most of the trip. It was fine except for when passport officers and the conductor would just swing the door open to check our papers. They definitely DO NOT knock. A little scary.
Well, after arriving in Sarajevo we took a taxi (not New York prices!) to our guesthouse, the nicest, cutest place we have stayed so far. We have been staying in mostly budget hotels and some hostels but this place is not expensive, run by the most wonderful family with a very cute Dalmatian. When we got in at 6, the woman who runs the guesthouse was outside to greet us, brought us downstairs where we sat on comfy couches as she prepared a breakfast of fresh fruit, 2 kinds of yogurt, lots of fresh bread, tea, and eggs. And fresh OJ, not the watered down kind that we have been having for the past week. It was AWESOME to say the least.
So to catch you up on where I´ve been since I last wrote: we went to Vienna for 3 days, an amazing and very "green" city with tons of parks. It is a huge city, something like 124 square miles, making Manhattan look quite minute. Vienna also has this amazing system where people can rent bikes all over the city from these bike racks where they are locked and then return the bikes to their final destinations. It makes so much sense! The bikes each have big baskets so people can do all of their grocery shopping and then get close to home and drop off the bike at the nearest stand. There are also specific sidewalks next to the walkers sidewalks that are meant just for bikes. The whole system is pretty incredible and encourages a huge amount of people to live in a more eco- friendly way. Quite inspiring. Mayor Bloomberg could learn a thing or two.
In Vienna we also did some amazing cathedral and museum visiting. I won´t bore you with all of the gory details but my favorite place was a museum called Kunst Haus Wien, a building designed by and holding the art of Hunterwasser, a self described eco- artist whose work is really colorful, bright, kind of psychedelic. The building is the exact opposite of "modern"- all different shapes and colors on the inside and out. The floor is even is curved and bumpy. As I remember, Hunterwasser said, "the straight line is God-less" and its prettz obvious he felt that way when you see his work.
After Vienna, we took the train to Graz, a small but good sized city almost 3 hours South of Vienna. It was a beautiful city, ranked as having the highest quality of life out of any city in the world. It is clear why: you have all of the convenience of being in a city without the stress, traffic, and crazy hustle and bustle. It was almost calming. Also, lots of beautiful Austro-Hungarian architecture, including a beautiful old fort in the mountains and some really new modern architecture, like an underwater restaurant in the middle of their river shaped like a mussel. No joke, and its blue. Graz, it must be mentioned, is also the hometown of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who some locals seemed to like, some not so much.
Then, we were off to the Julian Alps in Slovenia where we visited three towns and staid in one called Bohinj, right on this beautiful lake. We did lots of swimming and biking (which I must say I am getting to be quite the expert at). After 3 relaxing days, we were itching to keep moving and took the train to Zagreb, Croatia, where we spent the night. Zagreb was how I had always pictured "Eastern Europe"- kind of depressed. Many of the old Austro- Hungarian buildings had an entire layer of paint peeled off of them. There was graffiti on every single building and lots of apartment blocs from the late 80s/ early 90s scattered throughout town. Additionally, there were very few people in town. It felt very empty but there were lots of cafes and vendors open, waiting for business. it made me very sad. There were some beautiful parts of course, some really pretty parks and old buildings. It is important, I think, to see a place like that before going to Dubrovnik and assuming that all of Croatia is a bustling, busy tourist town.
Now in Sarajevo. It is hard to believe there was such a terrible war here about 10 years ago, as the city has such a wonderful feel to it. At the same time, there are many reminders and remnants of the war that I have seen in just one day- hollow buildings, signs that have marks that bullets went through, and, of course, the faces of all of the people here. All I can think is: how did that person survive such violence? How old were they? Did people our age have any way of going to school? Not questions I would ever ask people, as I feel that, for the most part, people move on from crisis by letting go and trying to forget a lot of it. For me, looking a the elderly is always hardest, thinking about how much they lost, both in terms of material possessions, an occupation, and, most importantly, friends and family.
I have been really encouraged to read a lot of this history. It is hard to get my head around all of it but being here opens my eyes to how little I know!

Anyhow, off to enjoy the night in Sarajevo- warm and still sunny.

Lots of love and promises to write soon (and add pictures),
Katherine

A quick catch up

Can you spot Loren?

Slavonice, an hour train ride from Telc

CR countryside

Town Square in Telc

On the train

At a lake about 8 km from Telc

nice lake

making music

Telc train tracks

On the train from Telc to Slavonice

Out of our window in Telc

Bike riding in Telc!

Countryside

Beautiful land around Telc

Dear all,
Sorry I have not written in a while and haven´t yet added pictures. It is really hard to sit down and find the time to do it but I promise I will in the next few days.
The last week or so has been awesome. After Prague, we were off to Telc (pronounced Telch), a small town in the South of the Czech Republic. It has a beautiful town square that has been preserved from the 1400s. It was really relaxing and quiet, not much of a night life and a weird break from New York. All of a sudden, i had all of this time and didn´t really remember how to just hang out and relax. It took a few days but soon I was pretty comfortble doing nothing but sleeping, bike riding, swimming, and eating. Yes, I got back on a bike. With Loren as my patient teacher, I got over my fear of riding that I have had since I was 7 and saw my sister get bit in the ankle by a crazy dog. I was soon cruising through the countryside of the CR... I had forgotten how much faster you can get places on a bike. Definitely going to keep that up.
Anyhow, we are getting kicked out of the internet cafe but I will write about Austria and add pictures the next time I log on.

Lots of love,
Katherine

Praha!

Rowing on the Vlatava River

Lots of meat at fast food stands

Night in Prague

After a long bus ride to Telc

CR countryside

At Prague Castle

View of the city from Prague Castle

Vlatava River

Outside the Kafka Museum

St. Nicholas Church

Synogogue near our apartment

Hey all, we have been in Prague for almost 2 days now. I am in love with this city. I am already eying some real estate on the river for my future home- obviously- a nice yellow or blue house on the water will do just fine. Every building you see here is gorgeous, old, and colorful. The
squares (especially the old town square) are just exquisite. There is nothing more to say about that.
Today, Loren and I went to the Kafka museum which was basically all about how tortured Kafka was and was a pretty torturous experience itself, with depressing weird music and crows calling out of the speakers like they were going to eat you. Every town has a dark side, I guess. Kafka definitely is the dark side of prague. Then we went to this crazy church- St. Nicholas Church and felt the presence of G-d because it was the craziest, biggest church I have been in since yesterday when we were at the gigantic Cathedral at Prague Castle. Then, we went to the Vlatava river (the main river) and rented a paddle boat for an hour. I paddled for most of the time and lolo took pictures and complained a little because it was so sunny. I tried to row him into the shade. He is picky. We just had ice creams and now are in an Internet cafe.
I have been taking lots of pictures and will add some when I remember to get all of my stuff together. Tomorrow, we are off to telc, a small town in the south. We are staying in a beautiful old, blue hotel right on the cutest town square i have ever seen!

Lots of love to all,
KK