I’m just over two weeks into this trip and have spent the last few days in Belgrade, Serbia. Like Sofia, it doesn’t have that much to do. But, also like Sofia, the fun is largely dictated by the company. And this group is a fun one.
Good Times In Bulgaria
This update is short and is only to show you a few of the things going on here. Sofia is an interesting mix of towering Soviet architecture with columns of marble on the main drag. Just one block behind this facade are crumbling concrete tenements. Few of the pictures are interesting, except of the ones from the Rila monestary, which I won’t even bother to show here. But I will show the people that have been making this the trip of a lifetime for me.
Beautiful Croatia
Croatia occupies the eastern shore of the Adriatic sea just across the water from Italy. For thousands of years it has been the premiere destination for relaxation surrounded by beautiful scenary. The Roman emperor Diocletian built his palace there almost two millenia ago and the rest of Europe has flocked to its beaches for centuries. Torn apart by war in the 90’s, the country has restabilized and is just beginning to experience a rebirth of its tourism industry. The only problem with Croatia is that I won’t be anywhere fucking near the place.
СофиÑ, БългариÑ
Since things are now going so much better in Bulgaria, I’ll start off this generally-positive topic with a rant. Fucking cyrillic! When I arrived in Sofia I had only English-written directions to the hostel. When I walked out of the bus station and into the city looking for Vitosha boulevard I was greeted by several signs which read with some sort of Russky scribble-scrabble. How the hell am I supposed to follow my directions if I can’t even read the street signs?
Bulgaria, At Last
What an ordeal this trip to Bulgaria turned out to be. I thought I was being clever by purchasing a nighttime bus ride to Sofia as I hoped that nine-hour transit would allow me to arrive here refreshed and ready to hit the city. Every bit of the process was unnecessarily complicated from the bus station to my first hostel.
An Experience to Remember
W&T left this morning to catch their flight and are now in the air on their way back to the states. I’m killing a day by doing absolutely nothing as I plan on travelling to Bulgaria tonight. We had one last adventure yesterday, whose outcome necessitated its own blog topic.
Sights and Sounds of Istanbul
I just uploaded a couple of pictures from our trip. From a hotel terrace the three of us captured the following images. First, the group of us with the Blue Mosque as our backdrop. Next, a shot of the Hagia Sofia just south of the Blue Mosque. Then a movie I recorded during the dusk call-to-prayer which, if you jack up the volume on your speakers, you will hear. And lastly, me relaxing like the locals.
Turkish Traffic
Will and Tiffany are out doing some last-day shopping now so I wanted to take a few minutes and record some observations I’ve made about Turkey. At the forefront of my mind is the traffic situation. It’s not so much bad, as utterly batfuck crazy. Let me explain.
Allahu Akbar!
Our time in Istanbul is drawing to a close. The copious amounts of Turkish beer were broken by occasional tokes on the nargile (hookah) in a wonderful week in this lovely city. Will and Tiffany have been most excellent travel partners as they are both adventurous, curious, and in good shape. Believe me when I say that this last quality is essential for my break-neck walking tours.
Merhaba, Baby
The secret to Turkey ıs negotıatıon. For several days now we have collectıvely bargaıned down the prıce of everythıng from rugs to beer wıth much success. The turks are equal to the task and prove to be fun-lovıng and jovıal people under the most intense monetary disagreements. I am thınkıng that I need to apply some of my negotıatıng skılls to the ladıes.