Entries about history

After arriving in Kotor and settling into our apartment with stunning views overlooking the bay, we went to explore the Old City, taking a look inside the Cat Museum, the churches, and admiring the stunning coastal views of the nearby mountains.

The following day we took a morning stroll up to the St. John Fort, which gave us some absolutely stunning views of the bay, and after a photoshoot with some epic pictures and guzzling our drinks, we then headed for the bus station to catch a bus to Perast, just up the coast.

From Perast, small boats can be hired for €5 that take you over to the little island in the middle of the bay. The island has a church and a gift shop, as well as stunning views of the fjord all around. On our return back to the mainland, the captain even let us sit on the front of the boat, giving us front row seats as we encircled the island.

Whilst the weather was beautiful, the heat and mild humidity contributed to some of the sweatiest experiences of my life, and after waiting for a while for the first bus to take us back to Kotor, we found that it was very very busy. Standing all the way back to Kotor I was literally dripping with sweat, standing over some of the other passengers, as I held on trying not to fall over around the bends of the fjord.

Heading back to our apartment for dinner, we ate as we watched today's cruise ship leave before the sun set over the beautiful mountain view, all the time from the window of our apartment. Our last activity in the area was the head back down into the city to enjoy it lit up at night.

The following day we made our way down back into the Old City for our transfer to the wonderland of Albania.

Kotor was unbelievably beautiful, with stunning views that can only be matched by places such as Norway. However with this being the Balkans, the weather was completely different and meant that views from the tops of the mountains were entirely possible. Unlike Dubrovnik, the area was not so busy, and despite the tourists we were fully able to enjoy its splendour. It is one of my favourite places and I despite its small size, I would highly recommend it.

After a busy few days through Bosnia it was quite a relief to be spending two whole days in Dubrovnik giving us chance to get settled, have a lie in, and do a bit of washing, and luckily for us we were staying the Old City itself, meaning we were super close to all the attractions, and were able to pop back during the day to recover from the heat - and despite being crazily busier on the main street, the side streets were quiet enough for us not to be disturbed, and achieve a good old rest.

On the first day we explored the Old City, walking along the Stradun, and around the Harbour, before having our beach afternoon taking a dip in the sea overlooking the Old City. Unfortunately so hot was the weather that after just a little bit of time I was absolutely exhausted and needed to go back for an afternoon nap.

Dubrovnik Beach

Old City from Mt. Srđ

After recovering we ventured down to the aquarium before eating and then going up Mt. Srđ for sunset, to witness the great views of the city in both day and night.

Coming back down and taking a walk around the city lit up at night, we headed back to the apartment for the night, and the following morning we took a walk around the city walls.

After an ice cream to cool off, we went for a walk around the Lovrijenac fortress before coming back to the harbour to take a boat tour around Lokrum island.

After an evening enjoying the sunset with a few drinks on the rocks outside the city walls, our short busy-yet-restful stop was over and the next morning we were headed just down the coast to Kotor in Montenegro for more stunning views.

Dubrovnik was very pretty however it was a bit tainted by the huge masses of tourists that meant the views were not as enjoyable as they could be. This was as near as I had come to a holiday resort in a long time and hopefully it will be the last for a while too.....

Arriving in mid morning after travelling through the stunningly beautiful Bosnian countryside, Johan and I spent just a few hours in Herzegovina's largest city, where we made our way down towards the icon of the city - the Stari Most, or Old Bridge.

As we travelled south from the bus station in the 40˚C heat with backpacks in tow, we first reached the beautiful Kujundžiluk, or Old Bazaar, where, between the tourists, we first gained our view of the Old Bridge, that had famously been rebuilt just ten years previously after destruction during the Bosnian War in 1993.

Carrying on a little bit further and we crossed over the bridge itself with picture postcard views of the valley of the local area. We then hit the other side of the bridge and walked down to the riverbank below the bridge for a rest with beautiful views and a photo session.

Cooling off we then walked back towards the bus station via the Crooked Bridge and rest of the Old Bazaar, and then carried on our Balkan Tour towards Dubrovnik.

Being held up at the first border over a pack of leaflets, the thought of travelling back into Bosnia and then Croatia again as we crossed through Neum didn't exactly fill me with pleasure but luckily after stopping off for a photo of the whole of the Bosnian coastline we made it through relatively quickly and found ourselves in the tourist hotspot of Dubrovnik.

Mostar was incredibly beautiful and despite being small is definitely worth the trip, especially as it is doable as a day trip from both Dubrovnik and Split.

Starting off with the practicalities by buying our onward travel tickets, the following morning we headed down Sniper Alley towards the Historical Museum of Bosnia & Herzegovina, where we began our day viewing images of the Bosnian War, and the aftermath and in particular Srebrenica, of which the twentieth anniversary had occurred just a few days before. With the historical mode firmly on, we headed past the parliament building with one of the many Blood Roses outside, symbolising the blood shed caused by the shelling during the siege of the city in the mid-90s.

Before long we had already reached another historical site, the Latin Bridge, a beautiful bridge over the river, and on which the northern end is the site of the shooting of Archduke Franz Ferdinand - the trigger point for the start of WWI.

Plaque marking the shooting in 1914

The gun that triggered WWI

After taking a look inside the small museum dedicated to the Austro-Hungarian rule of Bosnia, including the actual gun used in the assassination, we headed back out and over to the City Hall, where the Archduke and his wife were photographed just moments before their untimely death, before making our way to the old city.

The old city has a very distinct Ottoman feel, with the Turkish markets and food, cosy shops and towering minarets. And yet, just down the street is the westernised High Street with a completely different feel, with the cathedrals on side streets. We then headed for a view of the city and valley by walking up to the Yellow Bastion for a cool down drink.

Looking down over the city with its different cultures all intertwined, as well as the surrounding mountains that were used to shell down over the city and the hundreds of Muslim graves on every remaining green patches not already built on gave a fascinatingly beautiful yet deeply upsetting image of the city that will live with me forever.

The fact that just twenty years ago, and therefore in my own lifetime, this city was under siege by former residents in a truly intolerant circumstance is truly upsetting. However being able to view how this city has recovered and now, which to me at least seemed to have resolved itself to live side by side in harmony gives me hope for a better future for the world as a whole.

Heading back down the hill we made our way to join the Siege Tour that I had booked for us. This would give us an even more informed image of how the city was during the Bosnian War, being able to visit the Siege Tunnel used in the war to provide relief to the residents without the fear of being shot as they crossed the runway to the rest of the free Bosnian territory.

Reconstructed Minefield

Inside the Siege Tunnel

After viewing this area, we then headed up to the mountains to see just how easy it was for the residents to be shot by snipers from the mountains in Snipers Alley, before making our way to walk on the, now abandoned, bobsleigh track from the 1984 Olympics.

As we got back in the bus to take us down to the city, it was noticeable just how hilly parts of the city are. It was now rush hour and trying to meander the small hilly city roads with passing traffic was particularly difficult. Although things were made easier by help from a local - to whom the Australian on the bus exclaimed "Hvala - from everyone!"

As we arrived back in the city from a very informative and enjoyable tour, we made our way to the city to grab a bite to eat - luckily taking this just as the thunderstorm occurred, meaning we didn't end up caught in it, and then headed back towards our hotel via the Olympic arenas and a crazy Bosnian throwing herself on traffic and subsequently being arrested by the local cops.

Despite only having a day in the city, Sarajevo was crammed full of exciting things for us to see and I would highly recommend it as a place to visit, along with Bosnia as a whole.

Onwards to Mostar!

After flying over the snowy Alps, we eventually arrived in a chilly Rome, where we boarded our prebooked bus to the city. After stopping off for a Pizza, we eventually arrived at our apartment for the next 3 days, where we dropped our stuff and walked just 5 minutes down the road to the Colosseum.

Despite it now being cold and dark on a January evening, there were still many people outside, and we of course took many group shots behind the illuminated building. Having left our selfie stick at home it was actually handy that there were Bangladeshis selling them. After walking around the building, it was already quite late, and so I made my way back to the apartment to get some sleep for the next day, which would prove to be our busiest of the trip.

The first full day was the day we had tickets to explore the Vatican. However these were for the afternoon, and so we first got up and walked around the other attractions of the city on the way there. Walking past the President's palace, we made our way to the Trevi Fountain. Just as the Colosseum had been the night before, this was covered in Scaffolding, which unfortunately meant the fountain wasn't very easy to see, and neither was there any water. However there was a temporary bridge over the fountain that gave us all views of the sculptures from close up.

After this we continued walking, and as Jenna exclaimed "Oh wow..." we had reached the Pantheon - the oldest Roman building still in use. However she then finished her statement with "...they sell crêpes", having missed the famous attraction by being overwhelmed by the shop next door. Nevertheless, we took a look inside before walking on the Piazza Navona, and eventually making it to the Ponte Umberto I bridge, where views over the river Tiber of the Vatican can be seen.

After touring around central Rome, we then headed to the Vatican itself where impressive views of St. Peter's Square awaited us. By now it was already lunch time and so we made a swift move round the corner to the Vatican Museums, where we walked past the 2 hour or so queue and went straight in thanks to our Pre Booked tickets. The museum was mostly just artefacts and paintings, however there were some nice views of the Vatican Gardens and the highlight of the museum, the Sistine Chapel.

The museums were absolutely full of tourists, and unfortunately the layout of the museum means that everyone is pushing through to see the Sistine Chapel - meaning that even if you wanted to look at the artefacts on the way there you couldn't. However to see the Creation of Adam painting by Michaelangelo is a real must when in Rome, and so it was worth it - even if it is surprisingly small.

After reuniting as a group we then headed back to St. Peter's Square, where we attempted to enter the Basilica itself. The queue was around 80 minutes long, but moved pretty quickly and again was worth waiting for to gain entry inside. Whilst the other guys joined mass, I went back outside to witness the changing of the Swiss Guard. After this we headed back towards our apartment for the rest of the evening, where like true Brits, we annoyed our neighbour who came down at the first point possible to shout in Italian about her frustration of our noisiness. Meanwhile we hid in the bedroom...

On the final full day of the trip we made our way back down the the Colosseum, where again we had walked past all the stupid tourists who hadn't pre booked tickets, feeling superior. We then latched on the the end of a tour to get some information about the building, before making our way around the huge complex and getting views of the Roman ruins on the other side of the square. After this, we headed off down the main street through the oldest area of the city, before popping back off at our apartment.

The final area for us to visit was the northern part of the city, where the Spanish steps are located, getting an ice cream on the way. The area around the Spanish steps was evidently the shopping district of the city, and the steps themselves were full of tourists, and again prime location for selfie stick selling by militant Bangladeshis.

Taking a walk around the steps themselves, and finding like most other places, much of the sites were covered in Scaffolding, Saman decided this would be the perfect place for her to bust out a tune. This then developed into a sales pitch with her singing "Umbrella" by Rihanna, just as the clouds opened and the Bangladeshis replaced selfie sticks with Umbrellas for sale. Walking back down the bottom of the steps, Saman burst into song again, despite no one else being willing to join her, as I read a sign stating that shouting and singing on the steps was in fact illegal. After this, we headed to the final spot on our itinerary, the Piazza del Popolo, where there was lots of street entertainment. After sitting for a coffee and grabbing some quick food, we then made our way back to the apartment where we finished off our leftover booze, and again annoyed our neighbour - hiding again in the cupboard in the bedroom.

The trip was very nice, and even though Rome was cold and covered in scaffolding, it is still a very interesting city with a lot of history, and it was nice to actually visit somewhere with others. Unlike most other places I had visited, being there felt much different to how I had expected - not better, not worse just different, and this has somewhat changed my perception of the city in a way I cannot explain how nor why. Despite the trip being a bit of a shock to the system by including a lot of faffing, and therefore being a lot busier than it would have been, had I done it alone, I'm glad we went.