The Wild Wild East.

Every once in a while, adventure sets itself up on your doorstep. Lately in my life at least, it seems to be the car. In Dubrovnik, having a car is the best way to explore the surrounding area. If you were to imagine Croatia as the shape of an arm. An arm bent at a 110 degree angle. If you were to picture this arm, you could imagine Dubrovnik to be the pinky finger. Located way at the southern end it is at the end of the arm, which seems like a relatively unexciting place, aside from the fact that it puts it geographically out there, close to montenegro, bosnia and the serb republic of bosnia. Serb republic of Bosnia? Isn't that an oxymoron? Well I didn't know this, but just over the backside of the Dalmatian coastline lines the serbian part of Bosnia, a portion that unless you have been through the muslim part, doesn't seem all that unusual, until you realize you can't read the cyrillic road signs.

Which brings me to our adventure. Jon's friend Coop has arrived into town. After being the leader of a busabout tour group last year that had one of the guests get seriously injured he had left Croatia last summer and hadn't returned since the accident. Thankfully one year later, the woman who fell, Coop, and the people who helped with the rescue all had a reunion dinner in celebration of her full recovery. Afterwards Coop was definitely up for some adventure and we managed to rent a car.

With the coastline as our oyster, we decided to leave it behind and head for the bosnian foothills in search of spit roasted lamb. What we would find was a whole new adventure altogether. Initially our goal was to head to Trebinje, a small city located about thirty minutes from the Croatian border. But as we drove into town, we realized that we couldn't read the roadsigns which were all written in cyrillic. As we drove through Trebinje, we had to ask for directions a few times and then still managed to get lost on the highway out of town. The restaurants everyone has recommended were nowhere to be see so following our nose for the scent of adventure, we drove on. Past Mosko and then on through to Bilecko Lake. As we realized we were severely lost, we decided to continue on to the next town. Having seen the lake and realizing the day was only about to get hotter, consoled ourself to a swim after lunch, but also the fact that we would need to acquire Coop a set of cheap bosnian swim trunks along the way. Then we entered "Bilecka".







To call Bilecka "a hole" would be offensive to a hole. Ok I lie. But Bilecka did feel like it was the movie set for "Borat". As we rolled through town, we got nothing but strange looks from the locals as they must have been thinking "Man, these guys are LOST!". Ironically despite all the cyrillic signage, Jon managed to spot a men and womens clothing shop. We pulld over and checked it out. After a few minutes of browsing and the guided attention of a very helpful shop keeper, we persuaded Coop to buy a pair of black, white and pink swimming shorts. Three sizes too big, ugly as sin and only 5 Konvertible Marks (KM's).






After the fantastic swim trunks transaction, Jon mentioned to the shop keeper we were in need of food. A very confusing five minutes, three phone calls and a conversation lost in translation, a car pulls up out front of the shop and the guy inside says" get in, I'll take you to a restaurant!". Jon was brave enough to jump in while we followed in the rental car. To our jaded north american/european perspectives we were surprised how accommodating the restaurant owner was! He had literally driven out to get us and led us to his restaurant called "Stari Dom" where we managed to have a fantastic meal in typical balkan style... a large plate of meat and potatoes!




Stuffed to the brim and ready for a swim, we jumped back in the car and headed back towards the lake. On the way we got distracted by an abandoned bosnian airfield and a devastated museum for an old necropolis. The necropolis building had been the victim of a large shell that pierced the room... leaving the inside completely burned out. Very spooky especially when you account for all the random villagers wandering about and the musty smell of goat feces from local livestock. At one point this museum must have been a fantastic and beautiful place with an amazing view of the lake. Now all that was left was a burned out concrete shell.








After the necropolis we once again got distracted by a random road that led up a hillside and took us to an ancient abandoned fort. The history, ownership and status of the fort was a mystery to us. All we knew was that in Bosnia, you make your own rules as you go. So we decided to explore the ruin which made for a fantastic photo shoot.








Anyways after a long day of driving, exploring and eating delicious grilled meat, we wandered back into Trebinje for a quick $1.40 ice cream sundae, then drove the incredibly long dark road back to Dubrovnik. Without an electrical light in sight, the winding rocky roads of Bosnia are not for the faint of heart. Driving the high beams on is the only way to really see anything further than 100 meters. We hit up the Crotian border guards in Gorni Brgat and then we were back on croatian soil. Thankfully there were only a few cars but it seems lately the Crocops are out to search every single car entering the country... so lineups can be upwards of 3 hours. Thankfully for us, it was seamless and we were back in our own beds 30 minutes later!

All in all, I have a new appreciation for Bosnia. I am keen to show Miles some of the culture and food in the upcoming weeks and hope that he will join it just as much as I have.

Meat... with a side order of meat.

So my weekends usually consist of working. I get the evening shift on a saturday and the morning shift on a sunday, so I work back to back in a hope to get it all over and done with so I can get on with my week. So last sunday after work, Ben and Sarah decided to rent a car and go explore the coast, choosing me as their trusty local guide.

We jumped into our rented Opel "Corsa" and got onto the highway headed south towards the airport. If there's one thing that I know Ben and Sarah are good for, it's the fact that they are both totall open minded and up for whatever adventures may come our way. Seeing as I was driving, it was my duty to carefully maneuver our rental car through the narrow highways backroads and mountain passes so we could explore the southern coast a little further.

We drove down towards the Montenegro border, without a real destination in mind. In the past I had been to a small tiny restaurant up in the dubrovnik hillside that specialized in locally grown and harvested food. The menu at this place was simple, but the food was the freshest and most delicious you could find. The only problem I had was that I couldn't remember how to get up to it. There is a selection of local roads that lead into the mountains, each one leading to a different village. I just couldn't remember which village had this restaurant.

So with a bit of luck, we managed to find ourselves lost. Not completely, but certainly unsure of which road to take. We picked one and just followed the switchbacks up, up and up. The view from the top was stunning as we got a great shot of the Konavle Valley, with it's many farms and the airport below us.




We found a road, that seemed to go off into the middle of nowhere, but we did manage to find a sign that pointed further along that said "Konoba Konavle". "Konoba" means small restaurant in Croatian. Anyways we drove down this road, seemingly heading out further and further from the coast. At one point the sign indicated for us to follow a single lane road further into the rocky hillside. Winding through the countryside the road seemed to turn into an ancient that wound it's way further south. Later I would find out that this road is actually an ancient roman road that leads all the way to Istanbul.

Finally we arrived at a small restaurant looking building, perched alongside this ancient road. Modern, clean looking, it was almost out of place next to the rugged and rocky hills. Greeted by an old man who spoke very good English, we sat down and ordered two portions of "Cold platter" to share amongst the three of us. Turns out this was not the restaurant I had been to previously but was actually an even more reasonably priced one slightly further out of the way.

We ate an amazing platter of home made prosciutto, with home made bread, onions, pickles, preserves and four kinds of locally made cheeses. It was a little slice of heaven, but as we were eating, the man came back and asked if we wanted anything from the grill. Mistake number one. Of course we wanted grilled meat! Same deal, two portions for three people. How big could two portions really be?


After finishing our cold platter, we realized we were actually totally satisfied... we really didn't need to order anything more. Then it came. The biggest platter of meat, fried potatoes, grilled veg and a side serving of onions and ajvar (a homemade croatian pepper sauce) you had seen this side of Neum.


P.S. those fries are actually larger than you think.

At this point we realized our eyes were bigger than out appetite. It was time to go big or go home... and we weren't about to head home. Over the next hour and a half, we put in a solid effort at demolishing our animal based platter. Ten pieces of cevapi, two veal skewers, one massive piece of pork, two amazingly cooked rumpsteaks, two chicken breasts, grilled eggplants, peppers and zucchini, surrounded by a mountain of fried potatoes. Not to mention the massive fresh tomato salad and refilled basket of home made grilled bread.



We put in a solid effort, but alas we were all on the verge of exploding and looking like this guy. Ironically by the time all was said and done, we were full, watered and trying to deal with our meat coma. When the bill arrived we were surprised to see it was only $70. Three people, amazing local cuisine and copious amounts of it, it was really a steal of a deal. Nothing like locally grown produce and meats to quench an adventurous appetite.





We decided to check out the walking paths along the old roman road, which led to some abandoned bunkers from the 90's conflict. We watched the sun go down and decided to go do some more exploring in the rental car while we still had the chance.

As we made our way back down the switchback roads in the darkness of night, we decided to take a detour, further into the middle of nowhere and continued on for 9kms until we hit the little town of Predvorije. Now we had no idea what to expect, aside form the fact we knew we were VERY far off the beaten dubrovnik tourist path. As we drove into the town, we realized that there was something going on as the town was full of traffic. Turns out we walked right into a court soccer tournament that was going on between neighbouring villages. We hopped out and decided to grab a seat and check out the action. Needless to say, practically the whole courtyard stopped at stared at us. They must have thought "Two aussies and a canadian in Predvorije? Are they lost?". We grabbed a seat, grabbed a beverage and watched the teams from the villages of "Slano" and "Zupa" battle it out for a spot in the finals. It was quite the match as the action seems much quicker thanks to a smaller than average court. We chatted with some locals as I practiced my croatian as they tried their english on me. I talked to "Pero" a small boy who lived in Predvorije. It was great hanging with locals and seeing an event like a court soccer tournament. Everyone was out and about, and what I'm sure is normally a fairly quiet town had turned into an exciting place to see!





As we made our way back to Dubrovnik to return the car, high on the endorphins released by our high meat consumption and the fact we had really experienced a local perspective of the real dalmatian lifestyle. All in all, an amazing way to end my work weekend!

Props go out to Benji and Sarah for renting the car.

Inspiration

So over the last few weeks, I have finally started to wrap my head around the fact that everything I hoped would happen is coming true.

A few months ago I had a very hard time visualizing the fact that I would once again be in Dubrovnik. The smell of the sewer as you enter the city through the Pile gate, the feeling of smooth marble street stones under your feet as you explore the city, the taste of a nice hot "white coffee" from many of the local cafes. When I finally did manage to enter the old city, it had literally felt like I had never left.

One of the dilemma that I faced when I left was what I was leaving behind. Amazing friends, relationships and a city that really does have a special energy of it's own. It was very easy to share my enthusiasm with friends and family, but the open invite to come join wasn't always received as eagerly as I thought. The majority of people I know are relatively settled in their lifestyles. The opportunity to leave everything behind and travel isn't something that is possible with many of their lifestyles. It's also hard to convey the feeling of experiencing another culture with fellow travelers, smelling the fresh air of a new destination or rolling with the punches that come when something doesn't quite go according to plan. Explaining this type of thing to people is difficult, especially when it comes to the topic of having faith in the world and the fact that in the end, everything will turn out alright.

In the end, I had to give it all up and book a ticket to Frankfurt and leave it behind.

There's a motto I've heard that rings very true to form when you look back on your actions of the past. "When you do what you love, the rest will come." I can't say that that saying could ring any truer than on this trip. Once I arrived in Dubrovnik, everything else has been like one magic carpet ride. With the advent of smart phones and wireless internet, I can stay in contact with my friends and family at the touch of a button, with no cost associated. Friends I had met years ago had randomly planned to also be in Europe during the same time and have come to visit, leaving the feeling that nothing really has changed in the three years I was away. It also seems taking photos of exotic places and posting them on blogs is a great way to inspire people to come and visit and experience the culture for themselves! The month of August looks absolutely insane with a solid train of friends, family and couch surfers coming to visit Dubrovnik. When you document what you're doing, it doesn't seem to take much else to inspire people to come out and join in on the fun!

So the moral of the story is to "Lead by Example". When you follow your heart, it will always lead you in the right direction and inspire others to join in on the good times.

Few and far between

I know that my blog updates have been few and far between... which happens notoriously with blogs under my care

On the bright side this also means I have been out and about exploring the amazing sights and sounds of Dubrovnik. Lately I have been showing fellow travelers the sights and sounds of Lokrum Island. I have a spiel that I've memorized and most of you would laugh when you hear me... I sound a bit like a tour guide.

Anyways other than exploring local islands, I have also been hanging out with amazing travelers. It's strange how travelers seem to come in waves. Extra ironic as I have just finished reading Susan Casey's latest book also called "The Wave"(A great read if you get the chance). So I've noticed travelers come in waves. First it was the Canadians and Aussies. Then it was Americans specifically from New York and Los Angeles along with the English. Since then it has changes to Scandinavians with plenty of Swedes and Norwegians. And a little shout out to Dave Patterson. Yes Dave, the girls are as pretty as you think they are. I know you will enjoy Stockholm.

Other than noticing travelers in droves, I have also had a ridiculous amount of people coming to visit me. First a group of three people recommended by my friend Ben, then two random but amazing american friends sent by my friend Booboo in Zagreb. Then two more girls who I actually knew from working in the marina in Sidney. So with a massive group of random travelers I embarked on yet another exploration to blow the minds of the visitors and we decided to head out to the Belvedere hotel once again. This time I packed my full photo kit, and between braving the heat of the evening and the broken glass and structural hazards of the building, managed to snap some pretty cool pictures. I know, I know... you must be getting sick of seeing nuked buildings. But what can I say... they make fantastic backdrops!

After the two hour sweat fest of taking photos and exploring the bombed out building, we wandered down to the lower levels where we found a fantastic swimming hole where we washed the sweat, dove into the sea and enjoyed the beautiful view of the Dubrovnik Old City.











I also managed to snap this picture the following day of my friend Maja as we escaped the heat and sat out the rocks outide the city walls. When I saw the full moon making it's appearance earlier that day, I knew I had to grab my camera and make the most of it. One 3 second exposure combined with a quick shot with my LED flashlight and a little black/white effect in iphoto... and this final product.




Anyways we're expecting rain and thunder showers tomorrow in Dubrovnik so I've got to go and batten the hatches... at least I can play make believe... and pretend I'm in Vancouver...

Euro Trip Part 1

So it may have taken the better part of a month but I have finally gotten my act together and managed to finish editing the footage of my trip up to this point.

After leaving Vancouver on May 10th, I departed for Frankfurt with a cheap ticket in hand. With no major plans I decided to visit Katja in Karlsruhe (she was awesome enough to pick me up from the airport and speed me back to Karlsruhe doing 190 km/h on the autobahn) and experience Kat's version of Germany after all the talk of wanting to go back to Europe. Some great beer experiences, sightseeing the german countryside on electric bikes, meeting awesome roomies and cycling around the city I departed for Dubrovnik Croatia to meet up with Jon and Sanja.

A month in Croatia and I managed to document most of it. Adriatic life. Sunshine and warm water. Thunderstorms. Idyllic islands and lots of swimming. I was fortunate enough to get to share these awesome memories with some ace people. Here is a little snapshot of my trip so far.

Benji Came Back (And Happy Canada Day!)

Howdy y'all.

So it's been a while since I've posted a blog. To be honest, I don't really have a good excuse for not writing. I have had time to write a blog, but it seems that life has been exciting and full of adventures that I have neglected to document them for vicarious internet readers. I mean one post in almost a month is pretty weak.

Anyways here's the quick update on my life.

The last time I talked to you was after the trip out to Kupari for a little photo hunt. Since then I have discovered an even larger and spookier abandoned hotel closed to Dubrovnik called the "Hotel Belvedere". Fifteen stories of photographic orgasm. It's a totally abandoned resort hotel from the 80's that became the frontline of the conflict in Dubrovnik during the 90's. As it was part of the frontline it was promptly abandoned during the war, then looted for all it's contents just as quickly when the conflict was over. Anything not bolted to the ground was removed... and even things like handrails which were secured were mysterious pillaged form the once majestic hotel. Including the railings from the spiraled staircase, which makes for a much more interesting photo, although slightly more dangerous to capture.



We trekked through the building exploring the old abandoned disco, the restaurant and beautiful terrace with an amazing view of the old city of Dubrovnik.



Anyways exploring old abandoned hotels aside, it's strange how life happens to come together at the strangest of times. I was really lucky to be hanging out at work one day... checking some guests in at the time, when my good friend Ben happened to walk into the hostel. Now this wouldn't be such a big deal deal except for the fact that Ben is actually from Melbourne Australia.

I first me Ben in 2007 when I was working at Fresh* Travelers Bar. He was the random backpacking kid that walked in with his super laid back and open minded attitude. His zest for life was infectious and our friendship instantly gelled. Ben was a university student who got a taste of the travel bug and managed to escape the everyday of Melbourne and backpacked europe for eight months solo... having insane adventures along the way. Throughout my trip in Europe, I managed to meet up with Ben on five separate occasions. Needless to say there are many adventures that were shared. Getting to show Ben the city of Antwerp Belgium during the winter, sneaking onto the city walls of Dubrovnik at 3 am to celebrate my one year anniversary abroad, watching him leap from a fourteen meter cliff into the adriatic sea... were all highlights of our times together.

Now it wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary except for the fact that neither of us really expected each other to be in Europe at the same time. Ben casually walked into the hostel... and asked for a room like it was no big deal.

The last ten days flew by in a heartbeat. During those times we went to Lokrum island a few times, cooked meals, went out for drinks, went bananas at a "Hladno Pivo" (means cold beer in croatian) concert and danced until 4 am followed by a brisk morning swim. The great this is that Ben also managed to hook up with a friend of mine. Nothing makes me happier than seeing two amazing people you know get together... and in the process become even more awesome. It was just like four years ago in Dubrovnik.. like no time had passed at all.Ten days went by, Ben moved his plane ticket back a few days to hang out longer, but his time finally came to jump on a flight up to Stockholm and start some other european adventures. It's so strange how much time can pass, how much distance there is in between and how long you can go without talking to somebody but when you do finally get to see eachother, it's nothing but utterly true and real friendship. It really finally hit me right between the eyes... it was events like this that made me realize why I love the world of travel.




On another note, while Ben was here I did manage to get out and enjoy the Dubrovnik "Petit Festival du Theatre" a grassroots international theater festival. We were fortunate enough to get to experience some amazing musical song and dance from germany. They were true performers in every way. I also managed to watch a woman sing latin music which was a great way to spend the evening while enjoying the cafe like seating of the festival. I did manage to snap a neat shot or two as well.






So there are many amazing stories to be told but I will have to save something for next time. I have been working on a video for a month and a half now and am expecting to upload it tonight... so expect another post sooner than later!

The Grand Hotel

You must be wondering whether I am still alive and kicking in the great country of Croatia. The answer is "Yes". Tourist season is in full swing therefor I have been swamped with work, leading tours to Lokrum Island and swimming as much as I can in the fine adriatic sea.

So far the season has been busy. The hostel has been experiencing near full capacity every night and it's just the beginning of June. From what I hear July and August will be 100% full straight through until September. Should make for an interesting summer.

As humans we love to piss and moan about the weather. And this blog post is no exception. From what I hear Vancouver has been having a bit of a rough start to the spring with mostly rainy days since I had left. I have been periodically checking out the "Kat Kam" over english bay and I can't say I am jealous of the weather.

And ready for the bitching... In Dubrovnik it has been 30 degrees all week. Mostly sun with a bit of cloud, but as of two days ago the humidity ramped up to 92% today... so it's a little warm walking up the 125 steps to the hostel each afternoon. Thankfully there has been a steady breeze to prevent me from drowning in my own sweat.

Anyways last week I managed to rent a car with Jon to go get supplies for the hostel and pick up some things for my apartment. Croatian drivers put canadian drivers to shame with their car handling skills. Instead of feet, croatians seems to drive in "inches" leaving very little to no room for other drivers on their narrow roads. Not to mention they drive FAST. Which works well for me, as I can shrug the speed but I have good car handling abilities. We pushed our way east to Kupari to pick up supplies when Jon mentioned we should take a look at the abandoned "Grand Hotel" complex.

We parked the car and took a short walk along a pathway. The beach was beautiful and sun was shining. One thing I should mention is the fact that Dubrovnik was involved in the conflict in the 90's but most of the damaged in all areas of the city has been repaired. If you were to visit Dubrovnik, you'd be hard pressed to find anything that had any remnants of war.

As we walked down the path, I was stunned to see the hidden part of the war in Dubrovnik. There was the old hotel complex that was once used as a place for soldiers and their families to vacation along the adriatic coast... it was completely destroyed, riddled with holes form artillery shells, everything flammable on the building had burned. Even the hand rails, once used for steadying the step of the pedestrians was riddled with shrapnel.Once a nice building, rendered to a now useless structure. And it was not the only one, the other three hotels in the complex were all as equally damaged. It felt like I was walking through a ghost town. You could almost hear the kids playing on the beach and the families sitting at the cafe eating ice cream and drinking coffee. A very eerie feeling.




The last part of the exploration brought us to the "Grand Hotel". Designated the fancier hotel, it still had a feeling of elegance that was hard to match in the other hotels. Then again not much of it too was left after the war.









It was quite a surprise to get to see a new side of Dubrovnik I have never been exposed to, yet was a bit dumbfounded that this had been in our backyard the whole time yet I had never taken the time to see it. One thing I notice about Dubrovnik, if you are willing to shed an ear and listen or explore a little and get lost... you will always learn or see something new each day. It's a city full of secrets.