Budapest

On Thursday, I spent a very hot day traveling 8 hours on a train from Sarajevo to Budapest.  Unfortunately the train's air conditioning in the car that I was in, and only in that car, was not working.  Arriving in Hungary's capital sweating and stinking, I managed to find my hostel during the failing light.  Almost immediately I met 2 Frenchman, a Brit, a few Spaniards and a fellow American (the first I have seen or met since Venice) who I would spend the next to nights exploring the nightlife in Budapest (which is very good).  The following day I explored the city making a notable stop at the "Terror House".  This complex was taken over and used as the headquarters for the Nazi's in Hungary.  Subsequently, with the fall of the Third Reich in 1945, the building was converted into the headquarters of the Soviet intelligence, interrogation and torture in its satellite communist state.  The building now houses a museum dedicated to telling the horrors inflicted on the Hungarian people under the two subsequent occupations.  The following photo was taken of the monument that stands outside this unassuming building on one of the main streets in Budapest.

On Saturday, I spent most of the day (and the night) taking photographs from the two hills that overlook the city of Budapest.  On top of one sits the citadel fortress and the other the Royal Castle that seated the Hungarian half of the throne in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (shown below).

And some pictures of the city during sunset and twilight respectively.

One of the main sites in the city is the Chain Bridge which connects the city of Buda and city of Pest across the Danube River.  During World War II, the bridge was destroyed and was also badly damaged during the 1956 Revolution against the Soviets making it a symbol of the city's suffering under occupation.

Today, I traveled from Budapest to Vienna.  Thankfully it was much shorter (3 hours) and also had working air conditioning   I will do a post on that tomorrow before I leave.

Belgrade

Yesterday, I spent most of the day riding in a train from Sarajevo to Belgrade. By the end of the eight hour journey I had traveled through 3 countries and added 7 stamps to my passport.  The train was very nice as I shared a compartment with a couple from Australia/New Zealand and a local man from Bosnia who back at the turn of the millennium represented all of Bosnia in worldwide karate competitions (very cool guy).  I arrived in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, in the evening and with exception of not being able to find my hostel had an enjoyable night highlighted by a visit to the Cathedral of St. Sava.  Unlike Mostar or Sarajevo, the major religious presence in the city is dominated by the Eastern Orthodox church.  St. Sava is the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the world.

Pictured below is the inside of another of the Eastern Orthodox churches.

Today was spent exploring the city itself.  Belgrade is very large and very modern city that reminds me a little bit of Vienna.  For example, a picture of Republic Square in the heart of the old city.

One of the other major sites in Belgrade is the Kalemegdan fortress complex that sits on the intersection of the Sava and Danube rivers overlooking the rest of the city and surrounding areas.  The whole complex is an enormous series of walls, ramparts, ditches and fortifications.

Sarajevo

This morning I took the local train from Mostar to Sarajevo which is said to be one of the most scenic rides in all of Europe and it lived up to its expectations.  The trip weaved along mountian cliffs that fell hundreds of feet down into amazingly blue lakes.  The rest of the day was spent exploring the city of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Throughout the past century, Sarajevo has been the center of ethnic, cultural and political tensions.  In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated my Gavrilo Princip, about a block from the hostel I am currently staying at, thus sending the globe spiraling into the First World War.

During the Yugoslav Civil War in the 1990's Sarajevo was held under siege by Serbian forces from April 1992 to February 1996, making it the longest siege since the 1700's.  Some remnants of the war can still be seen but it has recovered much more quickly than Mostar.  The city was historically heavily influenced by a strong Muslim and Ottoman presence.  The old Ottoman Quarter, where my hostel is located, is one of the few areas of the city that did not lose its historic presence during the Soviet era or the civil war.  

The modern center of the city, which was largely destroyed during the war is not much to view.  The surrounding hills on the other hand, still retain some of the city's former beauty.

Tomorrow, I will be heading out of the city and traveling by train all day to Belgrade, Serbia.

Mostar

Today was spent mostly on a 8 hour bus ride traveling from Kotor, Montenegro to Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.  It was a pretty ride along the coastline and through the mountains.  The old section of the city is very scenic but the majority of the rest of the city is still recovering from the war.  Many buildings are still bombed out almost 16 years after the end of the fighting.

Mostar is a very unique city due to its tumultuous history in the last 20 years.    During the Yugoslav Wars from 1991 to 1995, Mostar served as one of the central areas of intense fighting between three different armies.  One side of the city was held by the Bosnian Army, the other side by the Croatian Army and the hills surrounding the city based the Serbian Army.  During the course of the war, the historic centerpiece of Mostar, the Stari Most bridge, was destroyed.  Following the conflict, the bridge was rebuilt of over the course of 7 years and now stands exactly as it was built in the 1600's.

 
And a closer view...

No rest for the weary though, tomorrow morning I will be catching a train to Sarajevo to explore the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Another post to come then.

Kotor

After a 6 hour bus ride (due to traffic on very narrow winding roads), I arrived in the small town of Kotor, Montenegro. The small port is located directly on the Bay of Kotor, the deepest fjord in the Mediterranean.

The ride, although long, was filled with stunning views as the bus weaved along the bay with cliffs plummeting into the water.  Sitting above the city is an old fortress built into the side of a cliff.  Although quite a ways above the city, the views were definitely worth the hike.

So that brings us back to my current location in my trip.  I will be leaving Kotor tomorrow afternoon by bus to Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina via Dubrovnik.  If all goes well I will arrive in the city late in the evening.

Dubrovnik

After a 6 hour train ride from Remini to Bari, followed by an overnight voyage on a ferry across the Adriatic Sea, I arrived at the Croatian coastal city of Dubrovnik.  The coastline of Croatia is rugged with mountains falling directly into the sea.  Dubrovnik is situated at the base of these many peaks.  The old part of town, entirely surrounded by walls and fortifications, was built directly on the water.

Most of the first day was spent enjoying the old city and walking the walls surrounding it.  It was interesting to learn that the outer walls of the bastions were over 12 meters thick yet the inner walls were only 12 cm.  This was designed in case the commander of the fortifications ever tried to mutiny, the ramparts could be brought down easily from the inside.

As evening fell, I took the cable car up to the top of the mountain that overlooked the city.  The sunset was beautiful over the coastline.

I then waited for darkness to fall in order to take some shots of the old city lit up at night.

The next day I spent relaxing on the beach.  The beaches in Croatia are typically not sandy but rather a mixture of fine small rocks.  Regardless, the water was beautiful and very warm.  The next morning I proceeded to make my way to the bus station in order to catch a bus to Kotor, Montenegro.

San Marino

After spending the weekend in Venice, I made a stop in the small country of San Marino via Remini, Italy.  Covering a mere 24 square miles and with a population of just over 31,000, San Marino is one of the smallest countries in the world.  It is equivalent to the size of Monaco and is about 43 times smaller than Rhode Island.  One of the unique aspects of this country (other than its incredibly small size) is that it is situated on a mountaintop plateau with a string of fortifications built into the cliffs for defense.

When I first arrived at San Marino, I knew it was my kind of place because almost every shop sold either guns or grappa.  That on top of the amazing views from the cliff top towers made San Marino well worth the day trip visit.

Following my adventure into the peaks of this small mountain nation, I embarked on a 24-hour journey down the coast of Italy and eventually across the Adriatic Sea to Croatia.

Venice

Due to the lack of Wifi since leaving Venice, I have not been able to post anything new in quite some time.  I am currently in Kotor, Montenegro and will add a number of posts on where I have been since then starting where I left off with Venice.  I arrived in Venice on Friday, July 15 and stayed over for 3 nights and 4 days.  The city is unlike any other place I have been since there are no cars (only boats) to get around.

And the canals are so cool that I had to include another picture.

My stay in Venice also coincided with the festival of Redentore.  This holiday dates back to the end of the plague in 1576.  The Doge, the political authority in Venice, ordered the construction of a large church on the island of Giudecca to give thanks for the end of the Black Death.  Once completed, the Doge walked across a bridge of boats to the church every year.  Today the festival is celebrated by amazing fireworks show over the city that lasts over an hour.  Towards the end of the night (and the beginning of the morning), tradition has it that everyone travels to the island of Lido to sit on the beach and watch the sun rise.

During the festival I met up with the Harvard Study Abroad program in Venice which included about 50 students.  They had a party on a rooftop on Giudecca with an excellent view of the fireworks.  The firework show was one of the most stunning and amazing things I have ever witnessed.  After this we went to a number of different parties before making our way to Lido for the sunrise.  The remaining two days were spent visiting the rest of the sites around Venice before catching a train out to Remini, Italy.

Milan

Over the past two days, July 13 and 14, I have traveled around the Italian city of Milan. The first day was rather overcast and rained during the morning hours but the second day was sunny and beautiful. The first stop in the city was Duomo Square which houses the largest of the many cathedrals in Milan.

Tourists are also allowed to climb to the roof and navigate their way through the spires to get a great view of the rest of the city.

After spending a number of hours around the square, I explored numerous other areas of the city including the Scala Opera House, the Brera Art Museum and the Galleria pictured below.

As sunset neared, I returned to the Duomo Square to capture some night shots. The sunset was very pretty over the Duomo but unfortunately the pictures did not give it justice. However the nights shots more than made up for it.

The next day was spent traveling the west side of Milan that I did not get a chance to see the previous day. That included San Lorenzo's Basilica, the Sforzesco Castle and the Navigli Canals as shown below.

Tomorrow I have an early train (6:55am ugghhh) to Venice. The Festival of Redentore takes place on Saturday and Sunday so there will be another post (with lots of pictures) following that.

Zurich

After a whirlwind tour starting at 8:00 am in Hartford, Connecticut that included a stop in 5 major cities in 3 countries, I found myself some 36 hours later in a hostel in Milan, Italy.  The highlight of this 36-hour adventure, was spending a day exploring Zurich, Switzerland.  Built right on Lake Zurich, the city has amazing views.

The old part of the city was rather small and surrounded by modern banking and shopping centers but was very unique. This historic section of the city was very cool and included a number of churches built right on the Limmat River.

Eight hours later I left the Zurich on a 3 1/2 hour train ride through the alps to Milan.  I slept most of the time but what I remember from being awake, there were a lot of mountains, a couple of plummeting drops off the sides of the tracks and a number of cool villages nested into the mountain valleys.

Today was spend exploring Milan and the Duomo/downtown area. It was very enjoyable but I will have save the details and pictures for the next post.

Trip Details

On Monday, July 11, I will begin a backpacking trip covering many parts of Central and Eastern Europe.  In the course of a month, I will travel to sixteen major cities in ten countries.  I will cover about 2,500 miles by bus, boat and train through the Alps,across the Adriatic Sea and up through the Balkans into Central Europe.  My trip will also include a notable stop in Venice during the festival of Redentore (think the Fourth of July, multiply it by ten and put it in Venice).

Barring getting lost or spending all of my money on beer, my travels will take me on the following path:

Zurich, Switzerland
Milan, Italy
Venice, Italy
San Marino, San Marino
Bari, Italy
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Kotor, Montenegro
Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Belgrade, Serbia
Novi Sad, Serbia
Budapest, Hungary
Vienna, Austria
Prague, Czech Republic
Berlin, Germany
Munich, Germany

Below is a map of my intended travels over the course of the next month:



View My Trip in a larger map