14-16.08.09 Time to get back

....or how we changed our plans again and decided to head for Poland...

The least attractive part of travelling is that you have to get back sooner or later. Too bad. I would really love to keep on hitchhiking till the end of August or September, but there were few things that are calling me to Poland (or from Poland, or to get back to Poland, anyway - something was caaaaaaling!) And MIchał insisted on coming back.

We planned to leave from Zabljak by bus and then keep on hitchhiking to Vysehrad Unfortunately, it turned out that there were no more tickets for the bus at 11am, although the bus wasn't full at all. Well, I didn't really regret it and was happy we would hitchhike now. But then it started to rain and no one wanted to drop us, although we kept on changing our standing points and they weren't bad at all. After few hours we decided to get back to the bus station and took the 2 pm bus. With a heavy heart, we had to resign from visiting Vysehrad... After 1,5 hour there was a first break in the journey and no one told us that we have to change the bus now. Other passangers knew it, but we and a group of Polish students - not. Luckily, I noticed that our luggage was being carried to another bus, so I knew what's going on.

Then we arrived to Uzice and spent there 4 hours. It was quite dark already and we decided not to explore the city so much. What was the most attractive there, was the river going through the city centre. In the distance you could see old skyscrapers, poorely lit. But we spent most of our time on the train station. Michał came up with the idea that it's better not stay overnight in the city, but just get on a night train and go through Serbia for a really small amount of money. The train was late, of course, and there was no information about the delay and we landed up in a compartment with 4 other hitchhikers. A Serbian couple and a Lithuanian girl with Czech guy also decided to go buy train instead of hitchhike in the rain. The Serbs were going back home to Novy Sad, the other couple was heading for the mountains. And we were all coming back from Montenegro.

Finally, we arrived to Subotica, early in the morning, and from now on we planned to hitchhike Unfortunately, we couldn't find any signs with direction to other cities, we asked several people about the the way, but finally we landed up on the wrong road.. Actually, we covered a distance of few kilometers and we still hoped that there would be a sign soon with a name of a Hungarian city. But nothing like that happened. None of the cars wanted to give us a lift and then it turned out that it was a wrong direction. So we got back to the station... And to my dissapointed, we covered the whole way back by trains... All in all, there were 10 of them. And we were lucky enough that we didn't have to wait for the next connection, although we did not know about the next train. Just a lucky freestyle:) We also spent 1 night sleeping in a tent near Hungarian-Slovak boarder, in a town called Szob. Then we hitchhiked to Sturovo and when the next car stopped for us, we were dropped only to the train station. The dirver didn't like the idea of us hitchhiking, so he just stopped by the station and told us to go by train. We were too tired to get back on the road, so we just got in the train to Bratislava, then the next one to Zilina, then Bielsko Biala, Katowice, Poznań.... It was actually quite a quick journey and not so interesting as hitchhiking. Anyway. New adventures will surely come soon:)

09-13.08.2008 The mountains

or about the most beautiful part of Montenegro..

We reached the highest peak of the country yesterday (12.08.09) !! Bobotov Kuk, 2531 meters above the sea level. It wasn't easy, but not that difficult either. Sometimes the paths changed into rows of stones and rocks and we had to use all our limbs, but we've made it! The view was just amazing, weather fine, few tourists and an optimal dose of adrenalin - there's nothing more we need...
And today we've gone on a next peak, called Curovac, which measures 1625 meters only. A wonderful view on the blue Tara river spread from the top of the peak and the route was really nice and easy. First we had to go along an asphalt road, then through the wood and then up the rocky hill. This time we've met much more climbers, but still it was not a large number, quite bearable. And this also proves the advantage of mountains above the sea...



So, now a short time travel...
From Ulcinj we went to Albania for one day, to a city called Shkadar. And I have to admit that the area reminds me of India a lot. If there were more cows, more rubbish, slight smell of urine, more baggers and more temples, then it would be real India:) but now seriously: there are some very neglected places in the city, at every stop you can come across old damaged buildings, stands wit everything and nothing, some baggers sit on the streets here and there and chaotic heaps of rubbish lay almost everywhere. But there are pleasant places, too. A colourful alley with shops and cafés matching the European standards, beautiful mosques and the ruins of fortress from the 13th century situated on a hill, from which a breathtaking view on the city, river and mountains spreads.
Leaving Albania behind, we went towards the mountains. While we were waiting for a car in heavy rain, somewhere in Mojkovac, a man from a nearby house invited us for a beer and long stories about the mountains. He and his friend claimed it was not a good idea to climb the highest peak (Sasha - our new friend, worked once in a tourist office and said that the route to Bobotov Kuk was very difficult and demanding, he even compared it with alpinism and was convinced it must be dangerous), but that didn't discourage us. When we finally reached Żabljak, we were offered a room, as expensive (or rather cheap) as camps by the seaside. So we decided to stay a few days in a flat of a very nice family, at the end of the town. The first evening there was indeed international. Staying in Montenegro not only did we eat Italian chickpea bought in Albania and prepared on a Serbian cooker, but we also talked in English with French speaking Canadians who lived in Moscow...





And tomorrow we're already leaving the small town, which is full of tourists, but it's enough to leave it just a bit behind and go in the mountains to delight the peaceful atmosphere. So - we're leaving. And it seems we're going slowly back home, to Poland. But first we want to stop over in Visegrad, and then... well, the end... All in all it is like I wanted and we're hitch-hiking again. Well, not the whole route, but at least most of it:) So, surely we'll meet many interesting and helpful people again, getting a small insight into their lives....

Still Ulcjni 09.08.2008

or how we're resting and thinking about the next destinations...



We've been to Ulcinj since 2 days now. I need to admit that outside the centre the city is not so tiring and noisy. From time to time the Muslim prayers leave the white walls of mosques and spread around the city, poor Albanian families cross the street, beggars ask for money, wonderful smell comes from bakeries and a fruit stalls are attacked by flies and other insects:)We still haven't visited the beach and it seems we won't visit it soon. We'd rather go to the coast near the place we live, in the suburbs. I don't think I want to visit the beach in the centre, it's totally unfriendly.



The prices are bit lower than in other cities on the coast, a lot of Poles come here and everywhere near the main road you can meet people advertising their rooms and apartments. Very often they just hold a small board with "Sobe/Dhoma/ Rooms/Zimmer" written on it or they put a board with the word „Apartaments” e.g. near their motorcycle.. And we landed up in a room of a really nice family. The owner knows only few words in English, but we understand each other very well. I was even a translator for our French friends, living next doors who don't know a word in Serbian. (Well, to be honest, I don't speak Serbian at all - it's just a mix of few Serbian words and Russian:). Yesterday the woman (the owner) treated us with fresh figs from her garden and cooked corn, she showed us an hedgehog hiding behind a flowerpot and wanted to give us some tomatoes from her garden . But we had been to a shop before and bought already some vegetables. Then she kept on talking about her sons, Polish friends and were asking about our further journey. So, the evening passed quite pleasantly and maybe today we'll also have a chance to find out more details about Montenegrin life.

(Oh, when more thing. I've just recalled a story that the Ambassador or Consul - cos' I don't really know who he was - the one who took us to Hercegnovi. So, he said that many years ago few Afroamericans came to Ulcinj and till now their descendants live in the city. But sometimes they get White kinds, sometimes not. . So now, when a girl is dating somebody, the family often warn a man that if his child has a different coulour of skin than their parents, it doesn't mean that the mother was unfaithful....)

Today we want to visit the Old Town, but now we're still looking for another places worth visiting. Because our plans have changed again. Michał doesn't want to hitch-hike anymore, especially to Albania. He claims it's too dangerous. So we need to find a compromise. . Tomorrow we 're going to Shkadar by bus and then coming back to Ulcinj. The we're starting our journey back home, stopping by in the Montenegrin mountains, Bosnia, maybe Hungary or Romania. And Michał also doesn't want to hitch-hike back home, so I'm afraid we'll have to travel the half of the way on a train. And the other half - hitch-hiking. We still don't know if we manage to realize our plan and climb to the highest peak in the country. Michał claims we're not prepared enough to do it, I claim we'll be fine :) For the moment we're just resting in Ulcinj, enjoying our time, variety of fruits, possibility to use the kitchen (it's been ages since we last had such luxury) and we're discovering new eccentricity of the Albanian-Montenegrin area...

Peacful Cetinje and Montenegrin/Albanian Ulcinj 07-08.08.2009

…or how we finally get some rest and plan the further journey.

We spend in Boreti one more day. This time we’re hitchhiking to the first real Montenegrin city. The old capital of the country. Cetinje. And that’s where we find the hidden charm of Montenegro. Peace, silence, signs of history, almost no tourists, normal, not overrated prices… Yes, that’s what we needed. The old embassies in neglected, abandoned houses, churches (also Orthodox ones), calm cafes.
We’re enjoying the local food, because it’s finally here (I don’t know why, but on the coast the country denies to serve anything but omnipresent pizzas, kebabas, pasta, etc.). And when we’re coming back, we meet the same driver, who took us to Cetinje. This time he’s with his friend. But on the way (the road is narrow, leads through the mountains and there’s a lot of phone numbers to emergency road services written on the rocks) we stuck in a huge traffic jam. The driver calls police and finds out that we’ll have to stay in the jam for more than 30 minutes, because there was an accident, so he turns back and goes to the town to spend the time in a café. And we’re going with him. His friend (only she speaks English, the driver speaks only Serbian and Italian and is not eager to talk although I do understand most of what he says) tells us that there’s plenty of accidents of the road, because Montenegrins usually disrespect the traffic regulations. She also says that Montenegrins don’t like to work and compares them to the lazy Spaniards. One we get to a café, the driver offers us coffee and beers all the time, he drinks 4 alcohol drinks, gives money to his friends’ kids, everyone calls him the “King of Budva”, because he’s a parking chef in Budva, comes from Cetinje and everyone knows him here. And finally after 1,5 hour we get back to the car. And we reach Boreti safely.



Thus the day passes quite lazily and pleasantly. In the evening we meet two crazy hitchhikers – Milena and Adam. They’ve been on the way through Europe since 3 weeks now and also plan to go to Albania. Soon we all go to the beach, which is the most beautiful in this time of the day. Because it’s empty and mysterious, although the water is quite cold. But we do swim anyway.
And the next day we leave our camping and 3 cars give us a lift to Ulcinj. It’s supposed to be as an Albanian town. That’s what our last driver said – a student from Kotor, who works as a supplier, drives around the country almost every day and often takes hitchhikers with him. Most of them are from Poland and from the Eastern Europe. He’s surprised that we don’t need visas to get to Montenegro. Here everyone needs one to an almost every country. The exception is Greece, Turkey and the countries that once built Yugoslavia. But from January these restrictions should be over.
But for now I’m disappointed again. Contrary to all the promises there are many tourists in Ulcinj, it’s also dirty and not really interesting. Although we still haven’t visited the old town. On the way to a camping, which was supposed to be 6 km away, we and a French couple are offered a room for a price of a camping. Which is 5 euro. That’s how we stay on a peaceful outskirts of Ulcinj, in a village, far away from tourists.
And now we’re planning our journey to Albania, because we still don’t know much about this country. Oh, and almost everyone who we meet goes to Albania, especially hitchhikers. The Poles are almost storming this country. Usually - the young ones.
And now I want to say hallo to our travel companions – Dorota, Ania, Mariusz and Marcin, who got lost somewhere on the way And to Milena and Adama, who are probably in Albania now And for Alicja and Piotr, who help hitchhikers a lot and treat them with things they haven’t seen for a long time

Bye bye BiH, hello Montenegro! 01-06.08.2009

Or how long-awaited Montenegro disappointed me and how I came to like Bosnia and Hercegovina...

We hitchhiked to Mostar from Sarajevo with a very friendly driver. He kept on joking a lot, said that Bosnians have usually no sense of humour, rather a black humour. Then he invited us to a cup of coffee, talked about his job (he’s an “ecological policeman”, there’s no job like that in Poland, but surely there’s in Germany) and various nuances from every day life in his country.
And Mostar is attractive, of course. Unfortunately, it’s already attacked by tourists. The old town – especially the bridge from 16th century, damaged during the previous war, and then rebuilt according to the ancient techniques – it attracts crowds of travelers, especially coaches heading to Medjugorie. We spent only 1 day in the city, admiring the omnipresent contrasts. Outside the old town the charms of the city disappear and a new landscape appears: neglected streets, buildings damaged during the war, beauty interlaced with ugliness. Mostar and other cities in the country remind me of the Indian chaos. But we run away quickly from the place and headed to Montenegro, expecting to see even more unusual things...
Unfortunately, Montenegro is like Croatia ten years ago… Oh, and talking about Croatia: we stayed there for one night in an extremely expensive city of Dubrovnik. I went there about 10 years ago and already then the prices were just crazy. Now the city is under the siege of tourists from around the world. Well, maybe it is beautiful, the white walls look quite good, and the harbour by night is quite amazing, but the mass tourism is definitely not for me. So again we run away after 1 day. Oh, and we met an Italian couple, who was also looking for an accommodation. Finally, we stayed all together in an apartment for 4 people, because there was no camping in the city.




And it turned out that leaving the city is not easy at all. Looking for a good place to stand, we walked up the road about 3 kilometers. Finally, a man with a son took us to the nearest town and left us near a shop. Then, we went few kilometers with a Croatian, a road-worker. The next driver gave us a lift to a place near an airport and then a car of diplomatic corps stopped for us. Thus we reached Montenegro with a Slovakian, who works in embassy in Podgorica.
Finally, we arrived to Hercegnovi, or to be precise – to Igalo, because that’s where a camping is. And here we were quite shocked. Crowds of tourists. Camping – a poor image of Poland from 1970s with huge tents, camp kitchens etc. Outside the camping – commercialism at every step, a lot of Montenegrians, few foreigners. But all in all – it was just too much. And camping was quite shoddy, in fact we had to share it with… chickens  We met there also four nice Poles (Ania, Dorota, Mariusz, Marcin), who then went with us to the next camping in Lepetane. But before it happened, we managed to visit the old town of Hercegnovi, full of narrow streets and old churches. We went to Kemenari, and then to the camping in Lepetane by ferry (which was free for pedestrians). This time the conditions were much better. Instead of a shower without light and hot water we had a coeducational bathroom with two showers without curtains or doors. But it doesn’t really matter.




What matters is that there was water. Hot water And under these circumstances we experienced the first rain and first storm in the Balkans. Even our drivers claimed they’re surprised that it rains.




We also visited Kotor – a students’ town, where a carnival is celebrated in summer and winter. The old town is charming indeed, but the crowds of tourists really discourage. (yes, I know, I said that already). We went to few cafes, walked past nice narrow streets, went to the places where there are no tourists, but a bunch of cats and nice nooks and crannies appear…
And soon we hitchhiked to the next town, Boreti. With a friendly driver (well, who was not friendly? the fact that they stop makes them already friendly…), who claimed that a family business is the best business. He used to be a sailor, he came to Poland, where a lot of girls asked him to help them get out of the country. And it was over 20 years ago. He also complained that foreigners and people from the previous Yugoslavia make a huge mess in Montenegro, that Budva – a city close to our camping – is world-famous (Madonna and Rolling Stones had a concert there, this year Tina Turner is supposed to come) but it’s very crowded. There are no parking loots, beaches are overcrowded, and there are just too many people during the high season. Soon, when we went on an evening walk to Budva, we experienced that as well. I couldn’t even take a photo, because everywhere huge groups of people appeared (I think it’s the best to go to a beach in the evening and explore a city in the morning… ). I couldn’t appreciate the beauty of the narrow streets and the old town neither, because it was impossible to walk and look around and see anything… We went quickly through the streets with tacky stalls, funfairs, circus and other commercial “money-exploiters’ and soon we arrived to our peaceful camping…



Oh, and we also hitchhiked to a town called Sveti Stefan. Admired in all the tourists guides because of the island, which hosts a castle. But it was closed. Well, maybe it is charming, but not as attractive as I though it might be. Then we cooled down in the sea and decided to go through Montenegro as quickly as possible and visit Albania and then Bosnia again. But before it happened we also hitchhiked to a town called Perast. It boasts the staggering number of 600 dwellers and is quite interesting. It spreads along one main street, near the harbour. Perast attracts may tourists, though these are not wild crowds anymore. We crossed the calm streets of the town, admired the landscape with the sea and wonderful mountains and then we hitchhiked to the next place…

from Banja Luka to Sarajevo

We`re really lucky. And we`re in Sarajevo now:)
But first things first.
So, Banja Luka doesn`t offer many tourist attractions, but it`s a nice city anyway. It boasts the ruins of the castle (now there`s a restaurant and playground), huge market place, damaged mosque, colorful orthodox church and a dirty river. Oh, and some parks, many cafes ans other places where the time slows down. It was quite interesting to watch how people spend their free time, we met e.g. a group of drum players who went through the city, dancing and playing nice music and attracting a huge audience.
After 2 days we hitchhiked to Sarajevo, which wasn`t as easy as we thought it might be. We were waiting quite long for a car, because there was no proper place to stand on the road. Finally, we were lucky enough and a mercedes driver took as straight to Sarajevo. More than 200 km. He was really nice to us - talked about his family, his club in Banja Luka, villages that we went through, the nobel prize winner from Travnik and how complicated his country is. He had to take part in the war, now he believes that media show Serbs as bad people, although it is not truth. He called mosques the factories of pencils, invited us to a cup of coffe and gave us a very detailed map of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although his English wasn`t good at all, we understood each other quite well. Well, mainly because our languages are quite similar.

We found a very nice camping in Sarajevo, 10 minutes away from the centre, on a hill, where all the streets and houses look almost the same.
And I really fell in love with the old town of Sarajevo - with its narrow streets, stands with carpets, cooper tools, clothes, souvenirs, peacfeull cafes and restaurant, mosques and fountains with drinkable water. It`s a city of temples, of various religions, it differs much from Banja Luka, mainly because it`a a muslim part of the country. But outside the old town it`s not so charming anymore. Old buildings with signs of bullets from the war, few damaged cars, poor districts... But I like it anyway. And I will miss it.

Tomorrow we`re heading to Mostar and then to Montengero. I hope we won`t wait long for a car to take us...

Bosnia!!

5 days, 35 cars, about 1500 km... Yeah!! I've hitchhiked to Bosnia!!! To Banja Luka.
And I must say I love hitchhiking:)Because of its ups and downs:) I've met many nice and helpful people, experienced many happy and difficult situations, never planned anything, everything was quite spontaneous and all in all it was just great!
I will describe all the details of our trip when I get back home, once I have enough time to do that, because there's so much to say:) Now I just wanna spread my joy and say that I've reached my destination:) Although it's not the end yet. Now it's time to visit Bosnia (Sarajevo, Mostar, some villages) and then I'm going to Montenegro. And I just want to say thank you!! To all the people who helped us on the way, who saved us in hopeless situations, who smiled to us, gave us hope, and talked about various things.

And one more thing. Once we've arrived to Bosnia, I feel I'm losing soemthing:) The way ist the aim, not the final destination. But soon we'll be on the way to Montenegro:)
Oh, and one more thing. Bosnia rules!!!We've never waited here for a car longer than 3 minutes:)
Ok, my time is up.
I'll describe more next time. Now I'm discovering Banja Luka, with its poor and splendorous sites, with friendly people and hot temperature.

Before the journey

And so it's happening! It's the first time when we (Michał and me) haven't changed our plan for the journey. The idea appeared in February, then it underwent further development and improvement, had its ups and downs but survived till holiday. It was only enriched in more countries. But to the point.
Michał's initial plan was: Montenegro!
I said: why not!
So we started to read about this beautiful country and prepared to the journey.
Then another idea appeared. We wanted to see Bosnia & Hercegovina, maybe also Croatia, Serbia and Albania. Finally our plan looks like that: we're setting off tonight. By train. To Michał's cottage house. We're going to relish the fresh fruit from the garden and relax before the intensive journey, surely full of surprises.
On Wednesday we're going - aha! I haven't mentioned the most important part, how we're getting there - so we're hitch-hiking in the direction of Bosnia & Hercegovina. (now a small remark: reactions to our hitch-hiking idea varied from: "cool! you must be brave" to: "no one's hitch-hiking nowadays anymore", "be careful”, "it must be dangerous" , "can't you go by train?”. We can. But everyone can go by train. Hitch-hiking is not for everyone. And we want to check how our far hitch-hiking journey will work out. Because till now I've only hitch-hiked over short distances. And yes, we'll be careful). And will see what happens. We'll see where we'll stop overnight (camping? private accommodation? in a wood?) we'll see where we get etc. In B&H we want to visit Mostar and some other cities and villages. Then we're going to Montenegro. And we plan to stay there quite a long time and visit many places. And after that we're going to Albania to see Shkoder. Maybe we'll manage to go to Tirana, as well, but I'm not sure if we have enough time for that. Because we're going to travel for about 5 weeks only.
And what's awaiting us? A 40-degree-heat, snow in the mountains, charming nooks and crannies of B&H, Albania and Montenegro that still haven't suffered from mass tourism, a lot of surprises and (I hope) nice meetings. And if we manage, we'll also go to Croatia and Serbia. Oh, and something more- we really want to experience the local colours of the countries, taste local specialities, spend a lot of time in cafe - or whatever they have there - and just relish the foreign culture.

Of course I'm going to keep my blog up to date and inform about our progress - if I find a net café. So it's time to get to work! It's time to do the worst part of each journey: packing...

And then - bye bye Poznań, bye bye Poland, welcome to the world of adventures!