It kind of seems silly really, having a "spring break". It's like taking a mini vacation from the semester-long vacation. An escape from an escape. A break from, you know, my whole two days of class for a week. I really need some time to relax, let me tell you. Between the five-day weekends of travel and fun across central Europe, long lazy days lounging in my neighborhood bagel shop, or taking advantage of the long-anticipated arrival of Spring strolling through my favorite park overlooking the city... Get me out of here. I'm about to break from the stress!
I thought about one simple thing when considering where to spend spring break; sun. Preferably lots of it. Real sun, not the pathetic little glowing spot half hidden behind grey clouds that I recently have been accepting as "sun" in Prague. I want blue skies, warm weather, and how about some beach and water too! Okay then, it's settled.
I'm going to Croatia.
A group of five of us really outdid ourselves and booked a charming villa in the center of old town Dubrovnik for four nights. We spent hours searching the web for the perfect place, arguing over size, kitchen space, location, proximity to the local bars, walking distance to the water, number of showers, wi-fi accessibility, color, texture, comfort.... you name it. What we did not, however, even consider at the time of booking, was how to get there.
If you look at a map of Europe, everything looks relatively close. We knew we could take a train to Zagreb (capital of Croatia) and from there a bus to Dubrovnik. Sounds simple enough. Despite the fact that I should know better, I nodded in agreement to the plan. What we weren't very clear about was how long this trip was going to take. I mean, Croatia isn't that big! And we aren't that far! Are we?
Thirty-six hours later we arrive at the doorstep of our villa. Absolutely exhausted, hungry, and in desperate need of showers. Our over night train to Zagreb was an anticipation-induced sleepless night fueled by cheap wine and pretzels. I think I nodded off for about thirty minutes before realizing we were about to miss our stop and end up in Bosnia (this is ironic, as you will read). Okay, so we made it to Zagreb. Next order of business; catch a bus to Dubrovnik. As we walked several kilometers loaded down with our massive backpacks to the main bus station, I started to reconsider the amount of crap I deemed necessary for a few days on the coast. Upon arrival to the station we were informed that the next bus to Dubrovnik would be in nine hours, yet another overnight transport. Fail. We were missing an entire night in our villa. Fail. We now have an entire day in a city we know nothing about. Fail.
Yet to be honest, Zagreb wasn't so bad. We wandered the capital in a zombie-like stupor, laughing at the insanity of the situation and hazily accepting that this was all just a part of the adventure. We ate lunch, wandered around, ate some more, caught a movie, stumbled across a great outdoor market, and eventually found ourselves boarding our bus with renewed excitement.
After more than 24 hours of practically no sleep, getting on a cramped and crowded bus for another eleven hours was not looking promising for getting caught up. I was fortunate enough to get the very back seat with an extra space to stretch out. Nice. I took a "tylenol pm" and was out. I woke up at one point practically curled up in some poor guys lap. The bus had filled to capacity throughout the night and I was using four seats, one of them occupied, for my own selfish slumber. In my defense, I was practically unconscious. The guy was nice enough, he even offered me his jacket to use as a pillow on his lap and encouraged me to go back to sleep. But I had to pee. At the next stop I jumped off and raced to the bathroom, only to return and find my bed, I mean, seat, occupied by a new stranger. The bus was really full now, and my actual single seat designated for me by my ticket that I bought with my krowns, was now taken by some big dude staring at me, daring me to say something.
So I did.
"Sorry, that's my seat".
"No it's not."
Pause. "Um, yeah it is. Please?"
"Not anymore. Sorry."
I was fighting the tylenol, disoriented and now a little upset. "Please can I sit there? All my stuff is there. I just got off to pee."
"I don't care. I was born here."
Uh-oh. Throwing in the native card. Fortunately my friends jumped to my defense as the bus rattled to a start and continued on. I held on as the bus swerved, listening in disbelief as the guy basically told my friends to let it go, he was not moving. And I had nowhere to sit. Fantastic.
The argument continued on.
"Come on man."
"No."
"She just left for a second!"
"No."
"That's messed up."
"This is rude."
"I don't care."
"Give me her stuff."
The man continued on; "I have not slept in more than 24 hours."
Neither have I! I turned around, searching for a new seat, fighting off frustrated tears, I was not going to make a scene. We were defeated, the argument died.
"Hey girl." I ignored him, asshole. "Girl! Look girl, I'm just kidding!"
What? I faced him again. He was laughing. I was confused. He got up and motioned me to the seat. After introducing himself to my friends and I, he found a new seat at the front of the bus.
"Welcome to Croatia guys!"
Gee thanks. What the hell just happened? I sat down. Everyone stared at me just as perplexed as I was. Several times the man, still laughing, turned around to shout an apology. Um, okay then. I made myself comfortable with my pillow friend and passed out until morning. Maybe that was all a dream?
Morning came, we arrived. Finally. Our taxi's dropped us off at the entrance to the old town and we made our way to the villa. We met our renter, Paula, at the door and she helped us in and showed us around. The villa, our villa, was better than we could have ever hoped for. As we have all agreed, it was one-hundred percent worth the journey. Paula led us up the winding staircase through all five floors. Each bedroom was pretty and more than comfortable, the living/dining room had big open windows overlooking the city, and the kitchen, get this, had an oven, toaster, microwave, and stove. My little hot plate in Prague seemed so far away. But all of this was nothing compared to the single deciding factor that had us all agree over the place; the terrace.
From the kitchen a tiny door opened outside to narrow stairs leading up to the terrace. THE terrace. The place that was to become the heart and soul of our time in Dubrovnik, an area of the fondest memories and purest joy, a place that seemed to have magnetic control over us all, leading us there constantly at any hour day or night, the terrace was a near magical place where life suddenly makes sense and your thoughts run clear. The Terrace. There is no exaggeration here, this place was unreal. The Terrace consists of a table and five chairs arranged on top of smooth tile and surrounded by a combination of flowers and plants. From The Terrace you can see all of Old Town Dubrovnik, every rooftop and church, from the land behind you to the Adriatic Sea stretched out in front of you. It was perfect. Enough room for all five of us, with space to breath and stretch and absorb the sun. Yes, there was plenty of sun.
The "Old Town" is a cluster of bronze-roofed stone buildings circled by a massive stone wall. It was a fortress, perched mostly on a cliff overlooking the sea. At one point the wall breaks in the water, creating a protected harbor. It's absolutely beautiful. The sun was shining, the water sparkled, and the light reflecting off the bright rooftops made it impossible to feel the exhaustion. It looked almost fake, like a picture from back in time or something. It is small enough that from the entrance to the fortress you can clearly see the entire wall and what it encompasses. A little village, perfect and pristine. Just as it has always looked in it's entire existence.
From the entrance the Old Town slopes down towards the sea, creating long narrow alley's of stairs between the buildings. The buildings are all about five stories high, with plants hanging out the windows and laundry stretched across the passage to dry. The entire Old Town is stone, there is no clear piece of land. Because of this the streets overflow with potted plants and flowers. Even trees stand in big pots, ready to be re-arranged into a new design. I'm guessing thats the only change the town sees, a new floral arrangement in the streets.
Placa Stadum is the central street in Old Town, a big wide-open square that stretches the length of the town. The main bell tower stands at one end, a white and gold cathedral at the other. In between are little shops and cafes, a few restaurants and an ice cream stand. It's the most spacious part of town, occupied mostly by tourists and pigeons. We enjoyed coffee here the first morning, but mainly took advantage of the complete kitchen to cook for ourselves. Each morning we enjoyed a big breakfast on The Terrace, watching the city wake up and listening to sporadic ringing bells. There are three or four church's in the Old Town, as well as the big bell tower. After thorough analyzing and observation I have come to the conclusion that Dubrovnik is on it's own time zone. The bells ring, it's 4:12... hmmm. Again later, it's 7:53. Once again, 11:20. I realized most of the ringing is for mass, but what explains the bells from the giant clock tower going off at 1:38? And the church bells at 2am? Even the sound of the city is beautiful, especially from The Terrace.
During the days we roamed the alleys and chased pigeons. We soaked up some serious vitamin D and dipped our toes in the Adriatic waters. We made sangria. We enjoyed cold drinks from a bar cut into the cliff and tasted fresh seafood in the harbor. But mostly, we stayed on The Terrace. We played cards on The Terrace, went through a dozen bottles of wine on The Terrace, listened to music on The Terrace and simply sat in silence on The Terrace. The view never got old, the company never got old, The Terrace never got old. Dubrovnik provided to perfect relaxing break from break.After our incredible few days in Dubrovnik the group separated. One to Andorra, one to Switzerland and two to Italy. Me, I went to Montenegro. The bus from Dubrovnik to Budva was, up until that time, the most amazing bus ride I've ever taken. It sticks to the coast the entire time, passing picturesque seaside towns and squeezing close to steep rock walls. It circles the entire Bay of Kotor, surrounded by alp-like Montenegrin mountains. I had no idea what to expect from Montenegro, but I was not disappointed!
After arriving in Budva and checking into my little hostel, I called my connection in Montenegro and set up a time/place to meet. My friend Alex from home has family in Montenegro, conveniently near Budva. His cousin, Aleksander, met me on the beach for drinks and an overview of what to do. Alex made it very clear that I stay away from his cousin, he doesn't want any Irish in his family, but I see where the concern came from. The men in Montenegro are something else!
I was adopted by a couple of Aussies traveling from Germany to Greece. Budva is nice, but probably much more lively during the summer/tourist season. There wasn't much to do besides walk around Old Town and eat at the seaside restaurants. One day we decided to take a bus back to Kotor and hike the giant fortress wall there. It's similar to that wall in China, except it basically just stretches straight up one of the huge mountains. We made it though, struggled the entire way up the never ending stairs until reaching the top step high above the town. The Montenegrin flag waves from the top and you can see the entire bay and surrounding mountains from the top if the world! The Aussies became good friends of mine, we made dinner in their apartment each night and drank wine over great conversation. That's the best part about travel. Meeting genuine people.
Eventually I had enough of Budva and needed somewhere new to go. I still had a few days of break before I had to begin the trek back home. I didn't want to go anymore south, that would just extend the train/bus time even more. So, as a last minute decision while I examined the departures at the bus station, I chose Bosnia. Sarajevo to be exact.
As I said before, the bus from Dubrovnik to Budva was the best bus ride up until that time. The bus ride from Budva to Sarajevo stole that title. I fell asleep at first and woke up looking straight down to a bright teal river kilometers below me. We were in a canyon on a road cut out of the cliff. The road disappears into dark tunnels and back out to a new amazing view every few minutes. It was wild. We crossed the canyon on a skinny little bridge that made me feel nauseous for a moment. It was a single narrow lane, looked about three inches thick under us, perched up between two rocky mountain sides, over the raging river below. Wow.
Shortly after crossing the Bosnia and Herzegovina border the landscape became more countryside. Tiny farmhouses dotted the terrain all throughout the fields and hillsides. I managed to get a bit of reading in on the bus to catch up with the situation in Bosnia. I knew the recent war there was complicated and brutal, but it was hard to imagine while looking out my window. The landscape almost looked like a scene out of the Sound of Music with the countryside and distant mountains, however realistically eight years ago it would sound more like;
"The hills are alive with the sound of... heavy artillery?"
As I entered the city the whole siege I had read about became much more clear. The city is nestled down in a sort of basin between hills. It was easy to see how Sarajevo was surrounded by troops in these hills, providing a constant shower of sniper attack for four years. You can see the damage on the buildings that didn't fall to the ground. Bullet holes and damage from shrapnel cover every inch of them!
It was pouring rain when I finally made it to my hostel. Not exactly prime conditions for exploring a new city. I ended up taking refuge inside with the rest of the hostels occupants. I took the opportunity to read more about the siege and war, and to make new friends. I met the owner of the hostel, Asim, and got talking about hostels in general and what makes/breaks them. He wanted ideas for improvement of his hostel, and for a new hostel he hopes to open. The conversation turned to him offering me a summer job at the hostel, something I have been trying to do anyways. I wasn't sure about Sarajevo though, it was still so foreign to me! The next day my new friend decided that I needed to go on a tour of the city, this way maybe he could convince me to stay this summer. He arranged for me to go on the 25 euro tour for free, and asked me to meet him once it was finished.
The tour was amazing! I was picked up in an ancient jeep and driven around the city to start. I saw where the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand took place, starting World War I. I also got a great view of the city from the river, and learned about all the buildings that had been reconstructed after the siege. My guide drove me out near the airport to see the famous Sarajevo tunnel. When the city was under siege the UN occupied the airport as a supposedly neutral zone. The airport blocked the only passage from the city to the free zone, and it was not allowed for people to cross it. Someone came up with the idea of digging a tunnel under the airport so supplies and weapons could be brought into the surrounded city. The idea worked, and for four years the tunnel acted as the lifeline for the entire city. You had to apply for access through the tunnel, and I learned later that Asim had used the tunnel four times during the siege because his uncle was involved in it's management. I thought the whole concept was really incredible, the tunnel started in a tiny house in the middle of a little neighborhood, and no one ever found out!
After the tour I met Asim and he took me to his favorite restaurant. This guy is really trying to convince me, and it's working. We had great food, great wine, and more conversation. It's funny how those three things seem to go hand in hand. Later he took me to a hooka bar, then again to eat, and then out to a local club. All his treat, what a guy. I realized after awhile how truly important it is to Asim to show off his city and prove how wonderful it is. It really is like nowhere I have ever been before. The first morning I walked outside I had to laugh to myself for a second, I heard the "call to prayer" and bells from a nearby cathedral at the same time. In five minutes I passed two Mosques, a Church and a Synagogue. Although it isn't actually the case, at that time it seemed like a place where everyone could coexist in peace.
Asim and I hiked up to the top of one of the hills overlooking the city. The river runs through it, lined with buildings of all different kinds of influence. One thing I noticed was the cemeteries. There are so many of them. Naturally there are three different styles of cemeteries in Sarajevo, each are clearly distinct from each other. The Muslim ones stick out the most, the tombstones are beautiful white stone with the unique characters scrawled across the top. Long and thin, they line up neat and perfect. Everywhere you turn there are cemeteries, I imagine it's hard for the locals to ever forget what the city has witnessed with such a constant reminder.I do love Sarajevo. It's the best random decision I have ever made traveling. I would love to go back again and have more time to know the city better. Another entire day of travel eventually got me home to Prague where I have been recovering in peace. My little vacation from vacation could not have gone any better. Besides the crazy man on the bus in Croatia.
