After working on a number of different farms, waking up at 4:30 to milk cows, making hay in 95F heat, and living entirely on other people's schedules, we thought it would be a good idea to get some rest and relaxation. Since we were already in Austria, we decided on a break to explore a few countries in the nearby Balkans-namely Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, and Croatia. Until the late 90s all of these, with the exception of Albania were part of Yugoslavia and have only recently been freed to demonstrate their own cultures in front of the rest of the world.
Our Balkan adventure started out with a solid 10-hour overnight bus from Graz, Austria to Sarajevo, Bosnia. Having experience with overnight trains and buses in other countries and on other continents, we didn't think too long before purchasing the tickets. However, this bus ride made us start to realize that we are getting too old for long distance buses. The bus was at full capacity when we boarded and one of us (Leah) slept much better than the other (Chris). And unfortunately we weren't able to snag seats next to each other for the first 8 hours of the journey, so we couldn't fall asleep on each other. There were three border crossings involved too (all in the middle of the night) so waking up to bright lights and border patrol did not improve the situation. First was Austria into Slovenia, then Slovenia into Croatia, and finally Croatia into Bosnia. When morning came we were slowly meandering through the sleepy Bosnian countryside alongside quietly flowing rivers towards Sarajevo.
It was about half past 10 in the morning when we finally got to our Airbnb on the west bank of the Miljacka River "The Sarajevo River." We didn't realize it when booking our place, but the apartment complex was located right next to a beautiful mosque and adjacent cemetery with a lovely old cherry tree hovering over us all. Every morning we were awakened with the beautiful song of the call to prayer coming from the minaret towering above us.
Later while walking the streets of the west bank, we noticed even more cemeteries scattered about in parks, school grounds, sporting areas, wherever there was space to bury a loved one during wartime. There were also still many crumbling parts of cement housing complexes and even a few lingering bullet holes all which was lasting evidence of the unbelievable struggles that the non-Serbian population endured for four long years during the early 90s.
Sarajevo was our favorite city that we visited in the Balkans and probably in the top 5 of our entire trip thus far. It is a genuine crossroads, a meeting of cultures, a place with colliding religions, and a full-on merging of eastern and western societies with both Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman influences. It's a rare city where you can find a synagogue, a mosque, a Catholic church and an Orthodox church in the same vicinity. There are also hookah bars, Turkish/Bosnian coffee lounges, ancient ruins, old market places (now mostly selling tourist trinkets) and narrow winding streets, as well as modern malls and places to order a vanilla latte to go if you really wanted to. The weather was less than great but that didn't change the way we felt about the city.
We of course enjoyed the classic Bosnian coffee scene where you can partake in a favorite local experience of chatting over a very small amount of coffee. This tradition goes back many many years and continued on through the war as a way to stay connected with friends and loved ones. We also tried some amazing foods like dozens of flavors of baklava, dolmas, cevapi (chuh-VAH-pee) grilled sausages in a huge pita, flaky and filled burek, punjene (stuffed peppers) and the best creamy meatballs in a bread bowl of Leah's life.
Sarajevo is definitely a special place with a heavy history. It was shocking to see the number of cemeteries existing in silence throughout the city, especially the larger ones up on the hillsides where a majority of the deceased died between 1992-1996. Being up close and personal to where the four-year siege took place, visiting the saddening Genocide Museum, walking past the older generation of passersby who survived it, and seeing the lasting destruction, without a doubt made us appreciate the life we were given-one that doesn't have a haunting past of having to risk your life to see family or get food rations. After spending just a few days in the city, we felt a welcoming warmth radiating through the city.
It was hard to say goodbye to Sarajevo but we were ready for a rafting adventure along the popular Tara River on the border of Bosnia and Montenegro. Although we were not rafting during the 'experienced rafters only' season (May-June), things were still flowing fast enough for us to have a good ride. Actually the speed was perfect, with plenty of good opportunities to enjoy the beautiful color of the water and scenery along the banks of the river. Sadly we couldn't bring our cameras along so we don't have too many photos to show but it was a memorable experience for us. We left Bosnia with great memories of a lovely city and turquoise blue waters of the river.
After rafting we headed towards Montenegro and another kind of turquoise water belonging to the Adriatic Sea. It was our first time swimming in the Adriatic and it was refreshingly cool in relation to the warm air. We stayed in Budva, a small resort city along the Budva Riviera, which we later learned is quite popular with not only Montenegrins but more specifically Russians and other Eastern Europeans. We also realized that while Adriatic water is cooling and freeing to be in, the pebbly beaches are less desirable (especially when littered with cigarette butts). Either way, we enjoyed a long weekend of making our own meals and walking the different beaches for swimming, relaxing, and reading.
After we got our beach time in, we got on the bus again this time towards Shkodër, Albania. This country surprised us the most out of the four we visited in the Balkans. The culture felt more like Greece but the landscape was missing the iconic white-washed houses. Shkodër was the launching pad for our five-day hike in Valbona National Park within the Accursed Mountain chain. We read that Valbona is a hotspot for biodiversity and we definitely saw some amazing insects, birds, and plant life on the trail.
We were excited to experience the shepherding life when we made arrangements to stay in the mountains at different guest houses offering meals and basic rooms to rest our heads. Before we got to hiking, we took a three-hour ferry to the trailhead in the village of Valbona. Here we stayed in a little river hotel that had its own small fish hatchery for guest meals. We took a very cold (shock to the system) dip in the river before enjoying a nice dinner at their onsite restaurant and tried roasted goat and the Albanian version of the French Raclette made with a melty fresh goat cheese.
The remaining days on the trail were full of steep inclines and downhill sections, amazing deep valley and high mountain views, cool caves (similar to a frigid walk-in cooler), beautiful wildflowers, and witnessing the every day life of shepherd families and their harsh mountain living. We spent our nights at small family-run guest houses and homesteads with alpine dairy cows, sheep, small orchards, and big gardens. The second place we stayed was especially interesting with a family living self-sufficiently, with all members taking part in various duties such as shepherding, milking and taking care of a small herd of dairy cows, preparing the meals, and tending the garden. There we were served a delicious meal featuring spinach pie with a corn meal crust (kinda like Spanakopita), potato soup with a lamb broth, fresh goat cheese, home-cured olives, garden tomatoes and cucumbers, and a honey drizzle cake. It was nice to experience a meal on a long-standing farm in the mountains almost entirely alone (with the exception of one German couple, naturally.)
One especially unique experience we had was when we stopped at the home of an old couple living high in the mountains without a neighbor in sight. We were short on water and had no choice but to call out to them since there were no nearby rivers. We read that Albanians are the poorest of all Europeans but also the most hospitable and will go out of their way to help you or feed guests in their homes. This couldn't have been more true of this lovely old couple in their humble stone home. Not only did they fill our water bottles, but they also waved us in (they spoke no English). Inside we were offered cigarettes (which to their surprise we politely declined), Turkish style coffee, multiple shots of Rakia for Chris and a purple juice for Leah, and each a tall glass of fresh milk (served with as much sugar as we wanted spooned out from a huge bag). Although we basically just communicated with awkward smiles and hand motions, we found out that they had a daughter who lived in London and another in Italy. We also pointed out on a map where Portland, OR and Wisconsin were, which the older man remarked at the sheer size of the USA. We probably showed them a few hundred photos of our dog too. We forgot to ask for a photo with them, but we left with full bottles of water, a treat that sorta tasted like ice cream, and two new Albanian friends.
Overall the hike was quite impressive and we'd highly recommend it to others interested in a Balkans hiking trip, although it seems like a place that would have been even more unspoiled 15 years ago as it is definitely on the radar of many Western Europeans at the moment.
Our last short, fun adventure was relaxing in Croatia. We split up (no pun intended) for a short week where Leah met her sister for her birthday and Chris went north to see Split. We both had a relaxing time and a nice break from being together for months on end. Split and Dubrovnik were beautiful cities on the Adriatic coast that are overrun with tourists in the summertime. Games of Thrones tourism to see Kings Landing and other plot locations from the show has brought even more visitors to an already popular area. The sleepy villages outside of Dubrovnik definitely made for better relaxation. It sure was a much needed break from early morning milking time and hot days of making cheese, cleaning the barn, etc.
Next up, we'll fill you in on our time in England. A place we loved and wished we could have spent more time! More to come soon.
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