Saturday, October 20, 2007
Watch this space...
As you can see, I have managed to summon the genie of the pictures. Watch this space for more of Sarajevo, Belgrade and Rome, after Wednesday...
On the road to Banja Luka...
Anyone for lamb? Or there's lamb; or maybe lamb?? A nice place for lunch on the road between Mostar and Banja Luka, if ever you're passing...
Magnificent Mostar
THAT bridge... apparently if you pay someone enough Euros, they'll jump off it...
The Pictures are back...
The Church at Medjugorje which marks the place where a group of children saw a vision of the Virgin Mary about 25 years ago. Now a place of Catholic pigrimage and tacky souvenirs...
Conquering Belgrade
Well, everyone else has, so thought we might as well...
Arrived here on Tuesday evening to a magnificent hotel (the Hyatt) where swimming, sauna and steam bath have rather preoccupied my time! Gavin and Tony joined others here on the project ( I will not even pretend to understand what it is) and we went out to eat on Wednesday evening to an Italian restaurant, after which we were tempted (not much arm-twisting required of us) into a local rakija bar (where the fiendish local brew is consumed). I am afraid I went for the less fiery Baileys instead...
Apart from swimming, sauna and steaming, I did venture into the centre of Belgrade a couple of times to see the Fortress in Old Belgrade and Princess Ljubica's house. Oh, and some boring designer shops...
Today (Saturday) Gavin took me to see the 'real' sights...the remains of the Police HQ and Ministry of Defence, which were bombed by NATO a few years ago. Precision bombing at its most strategic (apart from the accidentally bombed Chinese Embassy...). Amazing to see the buckled storeys of buildings, on either side of which stand other buildings, completely untouched.
We can recommend the Russian Tsar cafe/restaurant in the centre of town; the menu contains about 100 choices of pastry/cake/pancake/ice-cream...not to mention some very comfortable seating upstairs in leather Chesterfields, whilst admiring the many portraits of former Russian Tsars and the current one...
I've given up on pictures, but as ever, you can see everything you ever needed to see on Tony's blog...
The final round for me tomorrow as we head for Rome and I homewards (Weds) as Gavin continues on to the Ukraine...
It has been a wonderful trip; I would love to have uploaded more pics, but next time I'll get organised with phone camera...
I may continue the blog in the US, just in case anyone has followed it thus far.
Au revoir...
Arrived here on Tuesday evening to a magnificent hotel (the Hyatt) where swimming, sauna and steam bath have rather preoccupied my time! Gavin and Tony joined others here on the project ( I will not even pretend to understand what it is) and we went out to eat on Wednesday evening to an Italian restaurant, after which we were tempted (not much arm-twisting required of us) into a local rakija bar (where the fiendish local brew is consumed). I am afraid I went for the less fiery Baileys instead...
Apart from swimming, sauna and steaming, I did venture into the centre of Belgrade a couple of times to see the Fortress in Old Belgrade and Princess Ljubica's house. Oh, and some boring designer shops...
Today (Saturday) Gavin took me to see the 'real' sights...the remains of the Police HQ and Ministry of Defence, which were bombed by NATO a few years ago. Precision bombing at its most strategic (apart from the accidentally bombed Chinese Embassy...). Amazing to see the buckled storeys of buildings, on either side of which stand other buildings, completely untouched.
We can recommend the Russian Tsar cafe/restaurant in the centre of town; the menu contains about 100 choices of pastry/cake/pancake/ice-cream...not to mention some very comfortable seating upstairs in leather Chesterfields, whilst admiring the many portraits of former Russian Tsars and the current one...
I've given up on pictures, but as ever, you can see everything you ever needed to see on Tony's blog...
The final round for me tomorrow as we head for Rome and I homewards (Weds) as Gavin continues on to the Ukraine...
It has been a wonderful trip; I would love to have uploaded more pics, but next time I'll get organised with phone camera...
I may continue the blog in the US, just in case anyone has followed it thus far.
Au revoir...
Monday, October 15, 2007
The sun has returned...
It's Monday morning and Gavin has gone off to meetings. The sun has returned after 5 days of hibernation behind dismal clouds and drizzle. We are staying at the Holiday Inn, which is where Michael Palin stayed on his recent travels in the region. A tall, bright yellow building, so easy to find your way back from town after a few plum brandies...
Still having trouble loading pictures and now Gavin's computer has decided to rewrite everything by jumbling up what you just wrote... even G gave off a few exasperated noises yesterday whilst trying to write up reports.
The drive to Sarajevo was nothing short of breathtaking, following a spectacularly scenic route through towering mountains and bright autumnal hues all around. The occasional village was a mixture of new, often Swiss chalet-style houses, mixed in with abandoned piles of sheer devastation and, in between, older houses carrying the wounds of war, with bullet holes defiantly left on display. And all too often the black granite and white marble of flower-clad cemeteries at the edge of a village here, on a mountainside there...
Sarajevo is where the Archduke Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in 1914, hastening the outbreak of the Great War. I took a walk on Saturday with Tony and Anna to see the famous landmark, but the memorial is no longer there. We also saw the imposing building the assassinated couple had just left moments before their death. It is still beautiful, in spite of being in a state of complete disrepair.
The town is a weird mix of ages and architectural styles; from modern (the canary building and a strange green and yellow construction) through typical 18th/19th century Viennese style, back to old Turkish-bazaar style buildings, where the main tourist area is, abounding in jewellery shops and fake designer-wear. Somewhere in the midst of it all, an imposing Mosque stands, where believers were celebrating the end of Ramadan at the weekend. And here, too, the mix of modern stores sit cheek-by-jowl with the architectural casualties of the recent war.
On to Belgrade with Tony tomorrow, so we bid farewell to Rumyana and Anna, the Bulgarian babes. Au revoir...
Still having trouble loading pictures and now Gavin's computer has decided to rewrite everything by jumbling up what you just wrote... even G gave off a few exasperated noises yesterday whilst trying to write up reports.
The drive to Sarajevo was nothing short of breathtaking, following a spectacularly scenic route through towering mountains and bright autumnal hues all around. The occasional village was a mixture of new, often Swiss chalet-style houses, mixed in with abandoned piles of sheer devastation and, in between, older houses carrying the wounds of war, with bullet holes defiantly left on display. And all too often the black granite and white marble of flower-clad cemeteries at the edge of a village here, on a mountainside there...
Sarajevo is where the Archduke Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in 1914, hastening the outbreak of the Great War. I took a walk on Saturday with Tony and Anna to see the famous landmark, but the memorial is no longer there. We also saw the imposing building the assassinated couple had just left moments before their death. It is still beautiful, in spite of being in a state of complete disrepair.
The town is a weird mix of ages and architectural styles; from modern (the canary building and a strange green and yellow construction) through typical 18th/19th century Viennese style, back to old Turkish-bazaar style buildings, where the main tourist area is, abounding in jewellery shops and fake designer-wear. Somewhere in the midst of it all, an imposing Mosque stands, where believers were celebrating the end of Ramadan at the weekend. And here, too, the mix of modern stores sit cheek-by-jowl with the architectural casualties of the recent war.
On to Belgrade with Tony tomorrow, so we bid farewell to Rumyana and Anna, the Bulgarian babes. Au revoir...
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Sarajevo or bust...
This is where I get confused. We left Podgorica for Dubrovnik on Tuesday, Dubrovnik for Mostar on Wednesday (via a couple of other places where I visited another monastery and a place of Catholic pilgrimage called Medjugorje whilst G and the team were in meetings). Then from Mostar to Banja Luka on Thursday, before setting off for Sarajevo on Friday! At least we are here for a few days before heading off again...
I will hopefully get some shots of Sarajevo today and post them later, when blogsite has decided to upload pics...
I will hopefully get some shots of Sarajevo today and post them later, when blogsite has decided to upload pics...
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Pictures at last...
Boats at BudvaClose up at Ostrog
Old Town, Budva
View from Hotel towards Podgorica.Where are we??
Well you can tell I'm new to this. Tried to be clever and upload pictures and witty comments in Dubrovnik, but the Serbo-Croatian text on the blogsite got the better of me. Still trying to upload pics, but blogspot doesn't want to play today. Just keep looking at Tony's blog for the interesting stuff...
Travelled to Mostar yesterday via somewhere and somewhere else. The famous bridge is apparently a feat of engineering. Noone was jumping from it yesterday and although Tony offered, we thought it wasn't worth the 10 euros asking price (the cost of replacing his suit outweighed that option).
The visible signs of the Bosnian war are all around, with many buildings riddled with bullet holes still. However, things are looking up and tourism is certainly doing well, by all accounts.
We left most of the team behind in Podgorica, but others have joined and so the 'family' grows. Rumyana at least is still with us and likes shopping more than Gavin does...
Travelled to Mostar yesterday via somewhere and somewhere else. The famous bridge is apparently a feat of engineering. Noone was jumping from it yesterday and although Tony offered, we thought it wasn't worth the 10 euros asking price (the cost of replacing his suit outweighed that option).
The visible signs of the Bosnian war are all around, with many buildings riddled with bullet holes still. However, things are looking up and tourism is certainly doing well, by all accounts.
We left most of the team behind in Podgorica, but others have joined and so the 'family' grows. Rumyana at least is still with us and likes shopping more than Gavin does...
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Dubrovnik for the day
Well here we are in Dubrovnik; only for a day, alas. Leave tomorrow for Mostar in Bosnia. A shame we had so little time here, but it was good to see around the old town and we had a lovely meal just outside the old city walls, overloking a harbour on the Adriatic. Well, someone has to do it...
Monday, October 8, 2007
Sunshine in Montenegro, but it's raining through my ceiling at home.
Just coming to the end of my first week of travels with Gavin on his 'Balkans Tour'. Nice to meet his 'team-mates' at last, although Tony Lamb (who has got me blogging) is an old Adlington family favourite (not so old, he keeps reminding us...). They seem to be a very close-knit bunch and it's been fun putting faces to names.
Montenegro has been lovely; highly recommended for sushine in October and beautiful places to see from historical monastery Ostrog high up in the mountains to the beautiful beaches of the Adriatic. Spoilt by eating out every evening and have done a lot of knitting whilst Gavin is busy working, as well as a bit of trotting around the capital city of Podgorica seeing the (not very many) sights. Had a day trip to Budva on the Adriatic with Rumyana last week. Lovely.
Apparently at home we have water coming through the kitchen ceiling. Why do these things happen when I am away? Last time it was no water at all. On the whole I think I prefer that. Thank goodness for Nicky the cleaner who discovered it, Naomi the daughter who got out of bed on her day off to deal with it and good old sis Pat who is my chief Logistics Officer when I am away and found the plumber. Not to mention esure, who will hopefully pay for it.
Off to Dubrovnik tomorrow by car...
Montenegro has been lovely; highly recommended for sushine in October and beautiful places to see from historical monastery Ostrog high up in the mountains to the beautiful beaches of the Adriatic. Spoilt by eating out every evening and have done a lot of knitting whilst Gavin is busy working, as well as a bit of trotting around the capital city of Podgorica seeing the (not very many) sights. Had a day trip to Budva on the Adriatic with Rumyana last week. Lovely.
Apparently at home we have water coming through the kitchen ceiling. Why do these things happen when I am away? Last time it was no water at all. On the whole I think I prefer that. Thank goodness for Nicky the cleaner who discovered it, Naomi the daughter who got out of bed on her day off to deal with it and good old sis Pat who is my chief Logistics Officer when I am away and found the plumber. Not to mention esure, who will hopefully pay for it.
Off to Dubrovnik tomorrow by car...
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