Oh the joys of travelling. Today we are on our way to Belgrade, Serbia. We arrived at the stations this morning at 8:15 to catch a 9:05 train to Belgrade, as indicated both in our train schedule book and on the web. We were informed upon our arrival, however, that there is no 9:05 am train, only a 1:05 pm train. Ugh. So after 4 hours in the local McCafe, we are about 2 hours into our 8 hour train ride into Serbia.
Personally, I am quite interested in learning more about Serbia, as well as Bulgaria, the two countries we will be passing through on our way down to Instanbul, Turkey, especially since we haven't met anyone yet in our travels who has been there. Unfortunately, I think due to the war between the Serbs, Bosnians and Croats in the 90s, these countries havent been seen as the most desireable places to visit, at least by Westerners. This is likely much more true for Bosnia and Serbia; Croatia, which I visited a couple of years ago, was being hailed as the 'new Greece' due to its an amazing coastline along the Adriatic sea. Anyways will be able to provide more detail on what it's like once we get there.
We have most recently come from Budapest, where we spent 4 days. I visited the city in 2009 but had a fairly vague memory of it. What I do remember was the loudest snorer that I have ever heard staying in our dorm room and this rather annoying backpacker who had decided to set up camp at the hostel for a couple of weeks and become the resident Budapest know-it-all. Christi, if you're reading this, I'm sure you'll remember the one? :)
Anyways, this is all to say that I didnt have the fondest memories of Budapest but am so glad I went back to re-explore it! Geoff and I stayed at this absolutely lovely, eclectic, artsy hostel in the Buda side of town. The owner had obviously spent much careful time decorating and putting together the rooms and common area to make it feel so warm and comfortable, with knick knacks, antiques, art and fish tanks all over the walls and in between the windows. The first night we arrived they prepared a traditional goulash soup with wine and bread for all of the guests. We ended up having a lovely conversation with a Moldvan and Australian couple, the Moldvans studying in Switzerland, the Australians living and working in Berlin. Of all the sometimes hard things about backpacking - ahem, showing up for a non-existent train and waiting 4 hours - when you are enjoying delicious wine and interesting conversation in a foreign country, there is absolutely nothing better about travelling. Even better than the excitement of seeing new places and things everyday, are the people you meet and the stories and experiences shared.
We spent the rest of the four days exploring the Pest castle, visiting the Ethnographic Museum, shopping in a giant indoor market and finally taking a dip in one of the thermal baths. The weather was cool, 0 to 5 degrees, but those 5 degrees, in comparison to -5, made all the difference and allowed us to spend more time outside. So far we have been very fortunate and have not had rain for 3 weeks - knock on wood - so no complaints there! Hard to believe as a Vancouverite for February!
Anyways, hope all is well in Van!
Jess
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