Day #251 - Shkoder, Albania & Bar, Montenegro

Interesting park in Shkoder, Albania

Mosque - Shkoder, Albania

Mountainous area of Montenegro

A look off my hotel balcony

A look off my hotel balcony

Saturday, November 20th

AHHH---HAAAAA! I made it. Coming to you live from the friendly confines of Milan, Italy. It's 10:15pm here on Sunday, November 21st. Whewwww! About 5pm yesterday, when I was stranded in the country of Albania, this was only a dream. Explanations to follow!

I arrived into Bar, Montenegro on Saturday morning about 10am. I was in a sleeper car with 2 other dudes. I was on the bottom bunk of 3. A little clautrophobic - as I could barely lift up my head without knocking myself out on the bunk above me. It was fine - slept for a few hours. They woke us up at 4am when we crossed the Serbia/Montenegro border. I handed over my passport to some official-looking person in a sleepy haze. Then, they woke us up again about 45 minutes later. We had to hand over the passport a second time. Must have been the last stop in Serbia and the first stop in Montenegro.

I have a new theory ----- "When you're ever in trouble - head for the water". Examples: If you're lost in the woods or a city -- find a stream, river, lake, or ocean -- this will generally lead you somewhere you can identify. If you're stressed out and need a break -- go for a boat ride, sit out by the pool, or just take a walk around the lake -- you'll feel at peace pretty quickly. Along those lines, if you're through with getting hassled in war-torn ex-Yugoslavia -- head to the ocean. Generally speaking, places on the water cost more, tourist like these places more, it's more hospitable. There's no surprise that the main tourist destinations in all of ex-Yugoslavia are Croatia and Montenegro -- they're on the water. Next time you're in trouble - you know what to do. It may be as simple as taking a shower to make you feel better - just get it done.

Before I could leave peacefully for my Italian getaway, I needed to get aggressive 1 last time. With aggressive I mean -- visiting arguably one of the most questionable countries in Europe - Albania. No worries - I'm 60ft in the open ocean during the daytime.

I had talked with folks and read on the internet that a small town near Bar, Montenegro to visit is Shkoder, Albania. I lined up a bus to take me the 1-1/2 hour journey (30 minutes at the border) - departing at 12:30pm. The city was pretty neat. It had some interesting mosques and scenery. I had a great lunch. I had it all worked out that I would take the last bus departing at 4pm for my return. I checked this with 4 different sources: (1) I saw it on the internet, (2) I asked the lady at my hotel in Bar and she called to confirm, (3) I asked the bus station in Bar when I left what time the return was, (4) and when I arrived in Shkoder - I asked them if 4pm was the departure. They confirmed and told me they would be at this spot at 4pm. Even with all this backup - I still got to the pickup point at 3:30pm just to be sure. Waited - waited, waited somemore. A couple minutes before 4 - I'm starting to get nervous. I go over to a police officer. I communicate in single words. Note - Albania and Kosovo speak Albanian. Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia all speak Serbian. The 2 languages are very diffferent and people do not generally speak both. The officer informs me that the bus left at 3:45pm from here. I said: "No, I've been here since 3:30pm". He said: "Sorry, that's what they told me". Solid!!!

Not so good. I'm now stranded in Albania. What to I do? This place was OK to visit for a couple hours in the afternoon, but I do not intend to stay the night. I now have "people" around me. "I'll bring you to the border". The officer says that I can get to the border and then take a bus across. I ask him: "I was just at the border, I did not see any buses - what are you referring to?" He didn't respond. No way was I going to go with someone and have them dump me off at the border. What was I going to do then? It was starting to get colder - in the 40's. I was not dressed to sleep in the woods at the Albania/Montenegro border.

I flash the officer some cash. I say: "I'll pay whatever it takes for someone to get me to my hotel in Montenegro". Luckily, the officer was legit. He could see my desperation. He told me to follow him. We walk across the street and the officer talks with a taxi driver. He tells me that this guy can take me for 25 euro - roughly $33. Sold - I would have paid 5 times that amount to get me out of this situation. Luckily, this area is very poor and a little money goes a long way.

I got into this taxi and the guy took me all the way back to my hotel. Over a 3 hour round trip for him - for just over $30. Wow - that would have costs hundreds of dollars in the states. I had read on the internet that taxis can cross the border - but sometimes it can cause some trouble. I had no other option. Things went smoothly.

On my return into Bar, I had a great dinner alongside the ocean. My hotel room was spectacular - and cheap. Nobody else was in the hotel. I had this full suite which overlooked the ocean - see pictures. In the summertime, this would have been paradise.

No internet - so early to bed. Tomorrow - I fly away to another land.

Day #250 - Belgrade, Serbia

Great part of Belgrade, Serbia

One of the nicest buildings in town

Farmland spread throughout the country

Awesome sunrise from my traincar

Friday, November 19th

This morning I arrived into Belgrade, Serbia about 10:30am. It was a 12 hour train trip (as Serbia is one hour behind Bucharest). Not such great sleep on this train ride. All night people were walking around the train. There is no question my gear would have been stolen if not kept closely to me. At one point in the night, an old, bum-looking guy was being pushed into our car. I'm assuming he must have tried to take something and the people were pushing him away. Who knows - but it doesn't help to sooth the nerves for sleeping very soundly.

I did get to see an unbelievable sunrise out my train car this morning. I was laying down, with my headphones on, just watching the sun come up slowly over the farmlands of out-country Serbia. It was the best part of my day.

My goal on arrival was to get a train to Bar, Montenegro. However, I found out that the train I thought was going to depart at 1pm was only active during peak season. Next departure - 10pm. Well - I guess I'm going to spend the day in Belgrade.

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia (1.6 million people). It's the 4th largest city in southeastern Europe - behind Istanbul, Athens and Bucharest. That's about the same order I'd put them as far as my list goes for most-liked.

I walked around the city for a few hours. Some of the highlights included: Kalemegdan, the National Theatre, the Botanical Garden, and the city square. I was impressed with the number of parks spread throughout the city. The buildings and architectue were hit and miss - pending the area. I've read that some of the buildings were put up quickly in the past - resulting in poor lasting materials. You could also see some buildings with mass devastation - perhaps the results of the 1999 NATO bombings. This area has been in conflict for years. Serbia, Kosovo, and Alabania - have all been fighting for border rites. I've been referring to 'recommended travel' websites throughout my trip. Northern Kosovo and Northern Albania are termed: "No travel zones - unless absolutely necessary".

It's currently 6pm, I'm sitting at this outside cafe at the train station. My nerves are easing up a bit - a couple frosties have helped this. It just seems like I have to constantly watch my back. There's endless people approaching me --- from handouts, to salesmanship, to even little kids coming over and trying to hit my computer. I really just want people to leave me alone. I look up - and many folks are staring at me. I don't think it helps that I am the one and only tourist (perhaps in the entire city). I stick out - big time. Travelling in numbers can sometimes work in your advantage. During the summer - I can get lost in the shuffle - not now.

It's all good. The city turned out better than I had expected. I learned a lesson today. Just get out into the city - things will improve. I've recently been so turned off by areas around the train stations - I don't even venture out. That's not so good. Today, I was able to find an English-speaking information person - this helped me immensely.

Tonight, I take a 10pm overnight train to Bar, Montenegro. I'm excited to see this area along the coast. I'll spend Saturday in Bar (with maybe a day trip thrown into the mix), and then I'll fly to Milan on Sunday (21st). My sister comes into town on the 22nd - fired up.

Good night from Belgrade!

Day #249 - Chernivtsi, Ukraine to Bucharest, Romania

Thursday, November 18th



Up at 6am. I then took a taxi back to the bus station for a 7:10am departure - returning to Suceava, Romania. Poor performance in Ukraine - but, it is what it is. Tired, massive language barrier, and unspectacular sites in my nearest vacinity -- led me to my decision to call it an early night. I'm sure the town had some nice places if I would have ventured out more. Next time.



My bus arrived into Suceava near 11am. We were delayed on the border for 1-1/2 hours. Complete bag check of everyone's gear. The former Soviet states and territories have easily the most difficult border crossings in all of Europe. For the most part, you may not even know you have crossed a border in western Europe.



In Suceava, I took the city bus to the central train station. My goal was to get to Belgrade, Serbia. I had this worked out from a previous agent in Bucharest but I couldn't get the same schedule. After a 30-minute communication session (which could have been taped and submitted to world's funniest videos) - I had my itinerary.



I boarded a 1:13pm train back to Bucharest - arriving at 8:30pm. I have no idea why I had to make this trip - as it is out of the way. But, it was the best option avialable to me. On arrival into Bucharest, I had to transfer to a 9:05pm train to Belgrade. I hurried to a McDonalds as I have not checked email in 2 days. Their service was down. (Apologize about the delays).



I'm writing this blog in my notebook at 11pm on Thursday, Nov. 18th - on a train bound for Belgrade, Serbia. I'm somewhere in Romania - no idea where. I'm set to arrive in Belgrade around 8:30am. I then have 1 more train to get to the ocean (Bar, Montenegro).



Why am I traveling in such obscure locations? I had a goal set that I wanted to see all of Europe. I wanted to see the 'high points', but wanted to get a feel for everything. This includes war-torn areas such as Serbia, and former Soviet states such as Ukraine.



It's been an adventure -- but I can almost smell the wine from Italy right now. Until next time, good night from 'the road less travelled'.

Day #248 - Suceava, Romania

Humor, Romania (Moldova) - painted monastery

Detailed pictures

Relatively small buildings

Painted monasteries

Wednesday, November 17th

Last night I took the 11pm train out of Brasov, Romania - destination Suceava, Romania (on the northern border). It's really not that far - but travel is very slow in eastern Europe.

I actually got quite a bit of sleep on the train. No sleeper cars - but they had 3 seats together that I could put up the armrest and lay completely horizontal from head to toe. There were only 10 people or so on the whole train. I had a car to myself. I used my daybag with all my important stuff as a pillow. I tied a plastic bag from my duffel to my daybag. It would not have been easy to steal my gear without waking me.

I arrived into Suceava at 7:30am. I knew I wanted to take a bus across the border to Ukraine later in the day. Therefore, I found a city bus to transfer me to the central bus station to check times. Getting around was immensely difficult as few people spoke any English at all. The information I received was based on charades and single words only.

I found out the Ukraine bus left at 1pm. Kudos to my cousin Jonathon - as he laid out this route for me -- with safety and sites taken into consideration. (Note - anybody doing this journey - bus is the way to go over the border. Train takes much longer). I was left with about 5 hours to see some sites.

The northwest section of Romania is called Moldova - not to be confused with the actual country of Moldova, which is between Romania and the Ukraine. This is a very remote area. Pretty scenic - filled with forests and hills.

There is a number of small towns with monasteries that date back to the 15 & 16th centuries. Most of the monasteries are painted inside and out, top to bottom - with elaborate biblical scenes. These were said to have educated the illiterate faithful in the ways of Orthodox Christianity.

I went to the town of Humor and visited this monastery. Other towns with similar architecture include: Varonet, Sucevita, and Moldovita. I took a bus their and caught a "taxi" on the return. 'A little shaddy' -- that's the description of transportation in these parts.

The monastery was interesting. Very small. The paintings were detailed and well thought-out. It's amazing how these have withstood the test of time (some 500 years).

Back into Suceava, I took the 1pm bus to Chernivtsi, Ukraine. It was about a 3 hour journey (includes a 30 minute stop at the border). I had intentions a few days back to get to Kiev (capital of Ukraine) - but the travel times were just too lengthy to meet this goal. My cousin had mentioned the town of Chernivtsi - so I decided to stay here for a night.

On arrival, it was brutally difficult to get around. I did not have a hotel booked (bad move), but I had one written down that had spots open last night. I found a taxi to take me to the hotel. Rooms available - nice. I walked around the town a little - but just wasn't feeling it. Exhaustion was setting in.

About 7pm (no internet available) - I shut it down for the night. Lame - but it just wasn't meant to be. 11 hours later - I woke up with a chambermaid knocing at my door. (That was my wakeup call).

Strange day in Eastern Europe.

Day #247 - Dracula's Castle - Bran, Romania

Entrance into Bran Castle (Dracula's Castle)

View from outdoor balcony

Story of Dracula

Path to the castle

View to the castle from ground level

Tuesday, November 16th

Hard-core day today. We finally flew out of Tel Aviv at 5:30am. We arrived into Bucharest around 8am. I really didn't sleep at all the entire night - but dosed off many times.

Too much to do - with little time to execute. I fell behind a few days due to my 2 trips back to STL, this means that I have some ground to make up. Instead of sleeping, I took a 9:47am train to Brasov, Romania. It went painfully slow. We were scheduled to arrive at 12:50pm - but only got in at 2pm.

I then rolled the dice and went with a driver that had approached me at the train terminal. I wanted to get to Dracula's Castle - and really didn't feel like planning the bus, bus, taxi combination to make it happen. This guy gave me a price of 20 euro - he would drive me there and back, and wait while I was inside. Probably shouldn't have went, but I felt OK about it after working out the terms. Turned out well.

Dracula's Castle. Why not! Author Bram Stoker gave this image life. This place looks the part. The castle is set on a hill in a wooded area. You walk up this rock path to get there. Throw in some darkness, but a full moon out, do this walk by yourself --- it would be pretty spooky without knowing anything else about the legend.

Count Dracula was supposedly taken from Prince Vlad Dracula of Walachia (1431-1476), who allegedly lived in Bran Castle in the wild region of Transylvania. He was known for his cruelty, including his habit of having his perceived enemies impaled alive on enormous stakes.

I walked around all the rooms of the castle. The coolest part was this 'secret staircase' that went up to an outdoor balcony area. You can actually book the castle as a hotel for the night - for a large sum of money however.

Quick tour - back to Brasova. I'm currently in this cafe catching up. I have a train at 11pm for Suceava, Romania that will arrive at 7am. I'm doing back to back alnighters - one in a plane terminal and one on a train. I'm actually planning to sleep as much as possible on this train. It doesn't have sleeper cars however - seats only. These parts are known for pickpocketers - I'm gonna tie my bag to my arm somehow during the night.

Good Night from Translyvania.

Day #246 - Jerusalem, Israel

Dome of the Rock and Western Wall - conflicting images

Original pillars of the Old City

Room where Last Supper was held

Station #12 - Jesus dies on the cross

Station #13 - Jesus is taken down from the cross

Via Dolorosa - Signs posted to represent the stations of the cross

Western Wall - look from in the tunnel - see differences in construction

Monday, November 15th

I'm coming to you live from the floor of the Tel Aviv Airport in Israel at 3:30am local time on Tuesday, November 16th. Nice! I had a 12:45am flight to Bucharest, Romania. Got here about 3 hours early because my transfer just worked out that way from Jersualem. We boarded the plane 15 minutes late. Then, we sat there for 1-1/2 hours -- temperatures nearing 90 degrees. They continued to tell us that the weather was forcing delays. I'm guessing it's fog by the looks outside the window right now. Eventually, they let us off the plane. They gave us a free voucher for food at a restaurant here in the airport. I wasn't hungry - so I grabbed a soda. Now, I'm sitting on the floor because there are no seats by an electrical outlet and my computer is running on fumes.

We have a big case of the "bread and milk" syndrome going currently. Just like when it snows and people panic and run to the store to buy things so they don't DIE when the big blizzard comes -- These people were almost knocking each other on the floor to get after the food at that restaurant. If they did not eat in the next hour, for sure they would have started to die off. I used to not understand how folks could get trounced over and actually killed in huge crowd scenarios. I clearly understand now. I've seen too often what happens when people panic. It's like they lose their minds. It starts to snowball - then you have real problems.

I'm not tired anymore - so I thought I'd write a little while.

Another fantastic day in Jerusalem to wrap up my stay in Israel. I started the morning off by meeting up with a group to tour the underground tunnels of the Temple Mount. Wow! It was just an hour tour - but I really understand things much better concerning what transpired in this location since the beginning of time. Yes - beginning of time ----- some say this is where it all started and where it will all end.

We got to see the different layers of the First and Second Temples. The debris was not cleared off after the destructions, it was just built over. The current city is several meters above where the original streets of Jerusalem were found. There were a couple window tunnels drilled down so you could see the floor of the original city. The visual Western Wall is just a portion of the actual wall. It extends much further - all the way into the Muslim Quarter. We learned that the Western Wall was adapted as the new Holy Site due to its phyical location - being the closest to the center of the former Temple. Not the east, north, or south -- but the west was the closest point.

Once we completed the tunnel walk, my trip to Israel went from being great and very interesting, to being very special. Up to this point, I've primarily learned a ton about the Jewish faith and their beliefs (and that's great). However, I'm not Jewish. When we surfaced onto street level, I got to see what I really came here to see.

The primary difference in the Jewish faith and Christianity is that Christians believe in both the Old and New Testament; whereas, Judaism teaches the Old Testament only. The main difference -- Jesus -- and who he was. When we surfaced, we were standing on the Via Dolorosa. I knew this was the street where the stations of the cross were acted out. I asked the tour guide exactly where we were on the map. Her response: "Look up there, you see that Roman Numberal II - we're standing at the second station of the cross". Excellent!

The streets were jam-packed with people. I ended up following along with a tour group as they walked through all the stations. They had a priest that would read a passage at each location and then people would sing the "Tremble" song on the way to the next station. Stations 1-9 are out on the streets. Stations 10-14 are in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The two take home sites for me where: (1) Station #12 - Jesus dies on the cross --- we went through this line and knelt under a table - reaching our hand in a hole to touch the actual rock of Calvary (which the church has been built over). This is the place where the cross stood. (2) Station #13 - Jesus is taken down from the cross. There was a platform where Jesus' body was supposedly laid out after being taken down from the cross. People were kneeling and praying at it. See picture. Amazing stuff.

I then walked over to St. Mark's church. This is often referred to as the spot where the Last Supper took place. I walked into the basement room. Surreal. See picture. (Some believe that the Last Supper took place on Mt. Zion. There's also a room depicting the site in this location as well).

I then ate lunch and met up with a tour group at 2:30pm to get an overview of the entire Old City. Great! By this time, I had been to most spots in the city, this tour drove home some points I was unclear about. A few memorable things: (1) The Armenians were given their own Quarter out of respect. Christianity was not very popular until 300AD. At this point, the Armenians were the first to support the Christians - and even sent a representative to Jersualem on their behalf. (2) Each morning, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (perhaps the holiest place in the Christian faith), is opened by a Muslim. (3) A Christian architect designed the Dome of the Rock (one of the most sacred places in the Muslim faith). (4) There was a ceremony going on at the Western Wall. Young soldiers were being awarded their ranks. Boys are required to serve 3 years out of high school and girls are required to serve 2 years out of high school in Israel. There can be special circumstances to get out of this - but it is mandatory for everyone else to join in the military.

Grabbed my bag from the hotel. Ate some dinner overlooking the Old City. Took a sheroot back to the Tel Aviv airport - arriving around 9:30pm. I'm still here currently.

Here's to a great, great country - filled with tons of history that I'd recommend everyone visit at one point in their life. ALL GOOD.

Day #245 - The Dead Sea & Masada, Israel

Western Wall - Old City Jerusalem

Dome of the Rock

A view out toward the Dead Sea and Jordan from the peak of Masada

Looking down on the side-cliff fortress of Masada

Relaxing in the Dead Sea

Sunday, November 14th

Coming to you live from the outside deck of the Dalton Restaurant in the Mimila Shopping Plaza in Jerusalem, Israel. Great view of the city from the deck. Back to what I know, I'm eating a tomato/cucumber/onion salad and some sort of Asian pasta dish. It's all good - and the atmosphere is really nice. I decided to write the blog this evening from here. My hotel has internet - but it's not very powerful. This is the reason I was unable to post pictures last night.

Today was unique - and awesome. I started early. I left my hotel, within the confines of the Old City, and walked down to the Western Wall (Wailing Wall). This is one of the most sacred places in the Jewish faith. It's a 187-ft exposed section of ancient wall situated on the western flank of the Temple Mount. I found many people standing at the wall doing morning prayers. This place felt a little like Our Lady of Lourdes - the respectful, thoughtful atmosphere that was portrayed. I then stood in a queu to go visit the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock. There are only certain times of the day this can be done. After looking at old pictures of what this area once looked like, it was amazing to be standing right where all this history took place.

I then walked out of the Old City (it's truly a maze of streets and alleyways - I'm starting to figure it out a little). I walked over to the Mamila Hotel where I would depart for my full day tour to the Dead Sea and Masada at 9am.

We headed out of Jerusalem into the desert. Within about 10 minutes, we passed through a gate that brought us into the West Bank (Palestinian territory). As mentioned a couple days ago, I believe this area is more stable than the Gaza Strip. We weren't even stopped by the guards - we passed right through.

Our first stop was Masada. This is a fortress that was build by King Herod during the Year 0. King Herod was the person who killed all the babies of Bethlehem because he heard the Messiah was born and that he would threaten his power. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph had fled to Egypt during this time (I believe). Masada is famous for two reasons - it was the fortress that King Herod could use if he needed refuge and it was also the place where 967 Jewish men, women, and children defied their Roman attackers for a number of years around 73 A.D. Really interesting story. It's even a movie - 'Masada'. (I want to watch this when I return to the states). The Romans had built a ramp leading up to the mountain. When the Jewish people realized they could not defend themselves any further, they committed mass suicide. Only a couple women and children (who had hid out) were saved. It's a national tradition to make the ascent on foot as least once to pay homage to one of the most tragic and heroic incidents in Jewish history.

We next ate lunch at a small working Israel community (Kibbutz) near the Dead Sea. I learned a little about these communities from Debbie yesterday. She lived and worked on a couple in the past. It's a community that shares things and works together - kind of like a family. Many today are focused on growing agricultural products. Great lunch spot. I talked with a couple ladies from Charlotte, NC. They were touring Israel for about the same number of days as me. They were very impressed as well.

Next, we headed to the lowest point on the face of the earth - the Dead Sea (1,305 ft below sea level). Death Valley in California is America's lowest - at 282 feet below sea level. We had about 1-1/2 hours to swim in the water. First, the Dead Sea is actually a lake. It has 10 times the concentration of salt than any normal ocean. Because of this, you float like a cork in the water. See my picture attached. You can lay on your back, with your hands behind your head, and read the paper -- exactly as if you were on a raft. It's incredible. It's like having a wetsuit on. You can swim unbelievably fast. It was amusing to see all these people in the water. Many of which were elderly women who may or may not have ever been in the water before. Because of the buoyancy, it was difficult to actually sit up once you were laying on your back or stomach. People were wallering around -- it was great fun just to watch this scene.

We headed back into Jerusalem, back into the Holy Land. I went to pick up my bag I had stored at my hotel. They told me yesterday that there were no rooms available for tonight. I got lucky - a single room opened. I am now staying at the same place again today. Excellent.

It's now 10:15pm - I'm finished with dinner and about ready to call it a day. Tomorrow morning I get to do something extremely unique. Debbie's husband, Amos, has connections with the Old City and they have gotten me on a tour of the architectural tunnels that go below the Temple Mount. This should be amazing. I then do a walking tour of the entire Old City before I'll make my way to the airport late tomorrow evening.

Good night from the Holy Land.