Day 13 (ish)-from a balcony in Sarajevo

 Good morning (the morning after) from sunny Sarajevo, where, after a much improved night's sleep (than the previous one), I am sitting writing this post from my apartment balcony.

So here we go! Let's chug on about the train! After misreading the departures board for the arrivals board, I very nearly had a 3rd night in Serbia, had I not seen some youngish folks who gave off "Interrailer" vibes head to the platform with their huge rucksacks. Safe to say, it was indicative of me needing to move....

So I got on, saw an old man in my cabin- immediately thought- "he's a snorer", and a young Indian couple, who had bagsied top bunks. Wanting to not be so close to my pre-determined snorer, I went for the middle bunk, donned my eye mask and ear plugs, and was hitting the sack at 8pm, prepped for an awakening by border control at 3 in the morning.

I was starting to get off to sleep quite quickly before the snorer did, until- the horror! I awake from my doze to find that I've accidentally kicked the "boyfriend", who was leaving with his "girlfriend" to brush teeth etc...They came back from the bathroom with a verdict of it being "interesting" (in polite terms) . I tried to head back off, but never felt that I did, so I had a "gone" midnight snack which thankfully did make me nod off, as I woke up in Montenegro. The conductor opened the door saying a word that sounded like "documentation", with another guy saying something that translated as "cold beer". I assumed this guy was border control- and when I overheard him say " ... euro" to the cabin next door, I thought I was going to have to pay my way into the country. I'd seen lots of things about the Serbian border control on YouTube videos about the journey, thus making me apprehensive. But, the Serbian and Montenegrin guards stamped my passport fuss-free, then made their way. 

After lots of experience of feeling like I was going to oversleep, I stayed awake for the next 2 hours, seeing the magnificent scenery and sunrise that Montenegro had to offer. To quote Cheryl- the sleep deprivation was "worth it" (words I'd later regret).

I arrived in Podgorica, hoping to find a shower, but my quest was in vain, so a private changing room it was then- still in vain. I nipped to the restaurant, after deeming the squat loo at Podgorica train station to be highly unsuitable, bought a water, and brushed my teeth in their bathroom sink- glamorous, I know. 

After living life like a king, I set out to see the sights of Podgorica. Now, when the bus station has no adverts for the city's sights, and my taxi driver questioning me why I haven't gone to the coast instead, you know you're in for a good time! 

I did find a nice park in Podgorica, which had a nice church next to it, and was also right next to where the Montenegrin football team experiences so many of their (successes, of course). I was quite enjoying myself- questioning why the city gets so much flak. Well, after realising that the museums were closed on a Monday, I was so enthused that I went to an actual shopping centre to entertain myself. That didn't last long, though, and I didn't see too much to enthuse me from therein, so went back to where it began, had some pizza and boarded my bus to Sarajevo. 

I was expecting a coach, but oh no- we got a minibus that had clearly been subjected to the (ahem, excellent) Montenegrin and Bosnian road conditions over the years. When you look at the map from Podgorica to Sarajevo you see a lot of green, and inclines (yikes!). As our driver started, he lit one up (in spite of the pretty clear "no smoking" sign on the bus), and started playing the music you'd hear in the film Borat. It all felt a bit comical. Amusing to the bus driver were some of our reactions going around slippy bends, where one wrong move will make yourself acquainted with the local morgue. The scenery is a reason why Montenegro and Bosnia are up and coming tourist hot spots, because they are stunning (unlike most of Podgorica :)).

Anyways, I've caught up on sleep, and have had a chilled morning, so will make my way to see Sarajevo.

Tom :)

(Yes, I know I'm still a day behind. Day 14 post should be up tomorrow).


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 7- Bratislava Train Station

 Hi all, I begin this piece from Bratislava Central Station, awaiting my delayed train to Budapest, city number 4 of the trip. Travelling- it all has its ups and downs but I've got to say, having started my "30 countries before 30" ambition (albeit probably prematurely) at the beginning of the year, the phrase "quality over quantity" really rings true on th is trip I've been doing. 18 nights, (excluding two stopovers if we're being pedantic), in 9 countries, all of which I have never visited before. It all sounds a bit like a condensed version of Race Across The World- and to be honest, the stress of getting from one place to another within a set amount of time does feel comparable with what I'm experiencing now- even with pre-booked accommodation and flights! Because in hindsight, I haven't really given myself much time to rest, because it's go, go go! The need to make the most of seeing countries I've never visited versus trying to not ...
Read more

Day 8- Budapest

Image
 Hi all- I think it's safe to say that it's been a tale of two halves today. We'll go in chronological order, so that we will finish on where I am at now. When I arrived in Budapest last night, I was struck by the excitement of being somewhere I've wanted to go to for years, and that in itself, was enough to pique my interest come this morning. Waking up and realising that I was a 5 minute walk away from the city's main food hall led me to have some lovely "kifli"- a croissant-like pastry with a poppy seed filling. Whilst devouring my kifli, I took some Rescue Remedy to try and prevent the nerves and anxiety from previous days from being so prevalent- something I'd neglected to do beforehand. I proceeded to the wondrous St. Stephen's Basilica, where I took the lift up to the terrace (instead of ascending 340-odd steps according to Google!) For those that know me, I have a big fear of heights-be it being on a plane or up a big building. It simultane...
Read more

Trip Reflections

 Hello from chez moi, where I have intentions to do sod all, after arriving home on Saturday. Since starting these entries, I knew that I wanted to do some sort of reflection of how things have been from my perspective. Like every trip, some things go to plans, whilst other things do not, and I think coming into the trip, my mental health was in such a good place (in comparison to previous years), that I had finished therapy (which I had been in for for the past seven years). I had- perhaps overconfidently, thought that the issues that used to affect my anxiety and mood levels could all be dealt with a toolbox of techniques. So, when I began to experience that panic (probably on Day 2 of the trip), and couldn't get my usual strategies to work, the panic exaggerated itself even more. I did experience similar in Latvia on my 2nd night of the solo trip I did at the beginning of the year. The symptoms I experienced then were comparatively more heightened, but that was the first time I ...
Read more