I’m sure I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I am a huge Art History nerd. It was my favorite class in high school and my major in college. I’ve taken several classes on Classical Greek art and architecture so I’d seen photos of Delphi and it’s many treasures. But seeing it in person still surpassed all my expectations. The Sanctuary of Apollo The Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi was the center of ancient Greek religious life for hundreds of years….
Getting There Ksamil (our last stop in Albania) is only about four miles from the Greek border. However, that didn’t mean getting to Greece was simple or easy. We ended up taking a taxi back to Sarande and, from there, catching a ferry to Corfu. In Corfu we needed to transfer to another ferry to take us to the Greek mainland. We landed in Igoumenitsa which was eerily deserted and seemed to be nothing but a port and a bus…
After the physically and intellectually demanding start to our time in Albania, our last two stops were all about relaxing. From Tirana we hopped on a bus to Berat. I think I’ve mentioned a few times now that public transportation got a lot more…interesting once we left the EU. As we traveled south through the Balkans we said goodbye to bullet trains, online schedules and ticket machines and hello to rickety buses and hand written tickets. Tirana, despite being the…
From Shkoder we hopped on a bus to Albania’s capital, Tirana. Albania is a rural country and Tirana, in addition to being the capital, is by-far its largest city. Though visibly less modern than many European capitals, it still felt like a major urban center with wide boulevards, glass office towers and large civic buildings. There isn’t a ton of sightseeing to do in Tirana but it was a great stop to learn more about Albania’s fascinating and tumultuous history….
Getting (near) to Theth After a few low-key days in Shkoder it was time to set out on the adventure that had brought us there in the first place. At the crack of dawn we left our hostel and climbed into the van to Theth with several other would-be hikers. The ride was long and winding, though our driver had no problem tearing around hairpin turns on the edge of cliffs. We made one brief stop at a roadside cafe…
Greetings loyal readers! I know it has been a long time since my last blog post. Things have been a little hectic the last few months. Between applying for jobs, going to interviews and then ultimately deciding to move to Pittsburgh for Dan’s dream job, life has been busy and unpredictable. All of this craziness has left me physically, mentally and emotionally drained. Unfortunately, my blogging motivation has seriously suffered as a result. However, it’s still very important to me…
From Dubrovnik it was another long and winding bus ride to Montenegro. Our first stop was Kotor, a beautiful walled, medieval city located on sparkling Kotor Bay. Kotor is similar to Dubrovnik in many ways. The beautiful stone architecture hearkens back to the same era. There are narrow streets and alleys that make it impossible not to get lost. The old city walls limit the pathways in and out of the city to only a handful. Kotor is also the…
When we arrived in Europe after four months of crazy transportation adventures in Southeast Asia, the open borders of the EU felt like a dream. Buses and trains took us from country to country without ever having to worry about passport checks or making transfers at the border. However, reaching the Balkans marked the end of seamless travel and a return to more… arduous modes of transport. To get from Mostar to Dubrovnik we had to cross the Bosnia-Croatia border. …
From Sarajevo we took a train south to the Herzegovina region to visit the beautiful little town of Mostar. We were initially a little concerned about how this train ride would go. There is no online ticketing (nor ticket machines) for Bosnian trains. We bought the tickets at the station from a person who hand wrote them for us. It was a pleasant surprise to then board a very modern and clean train. We were even more surprised by the…
After Ljubljana we said goodbye to our friends Sam and Spencer. We were on our own again and free to go anywhere we wanted. Sarajevo wasn’t really on my radar but Dan had recently finished a book about the lead up to World War I. He was eager to see the site of Franz Ferdinand’s assassination. When we started researching how to get to Bosnia we got our first hint that tensions in the Balkans haven’t totally cooled. Despite having…