Warn The Town, The Beast Is Loose

Speeding through the rest of my trip as, with no pictures because a) wifi is still terrible and b) I am so far behind and soon it'll be 2020 and I want to do one of those emo sentimental yearly roundups, and I am super anal about blog order so gotta catch up!! So.... We then headed to Vienna, making a couple of pitstops on the way, including at an amazing ice cream place where they have cows on site that they milk and turn into icecream there and then so it’s super fresh.  Having said that, I ended up with a vegan icecream because I am limiting my dairy – but it was bloody delicious! We also went to Georg’s grandparents place in Durnstein, a very quaint old town where King Richard 1 was help captive.  His grandparents were super friendly and gave us lots of fruit they had growing in their garden. Anja was an incredible host and took me on a 2 day tour around Vienna – it’s a pretty city but very big so I was graeful to have a local! She also introduced me to lots of

** My internet is terrible so I'll upload photos to this post another time. A bloody long overnight bus ride (I'll do anything to save some cash!) took me from Sarajevo to Ljubljana, a place I immediately fell in love with.  After the rough around the edges Balkans, Ljubljana was clean, tidy, had fresh air, no traffic, water fountains, free and clean public toilets, was very green, lots of public spaces, loads of recycling facilities including composting, heaps of bike transport, lovely architecture, I loved it!! I didn't really do much as it was super hot and the hostel I was staying at was a bit far out of town, so I would leave in the morning and just walk around the city for ages, stopping every now and then for an ice cream and a Byrek.  As usual I did the free city tour which was OK, wandered up to the castle, walked along the river, and generally just soaked in the atmosphere. I headed to Bled a few days later which I was SO EXCITED about.  I have wanted to go

Right, Sarajevo.  It's all a distant memory now! I got a train from Virpazar to Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, where I then had an hour or so to kill before getting a 7 hour bus to Sarajevo.  The journey was beautiful - we drove alongside a stunning gorge that rivalled anything I had seen in New Zealand, though the ride was slightly terrifying because the driver was on his phone the entire time, there was only a small barrier on the side of the road then a huge plunge into the river, and we went through hundreds of tunnels that had no reinforcements inside. But we made it! From Sarajevo bus station I took a tram into the city centre then went and found my hostel, dumped my stuff and headed out for a wander. I don't know what was wrong with me but I was feeling really dazey and tired, and at one point as I was crossing a car park a whole bunch of men were shouting and creating a commotion. I ignored them as it's a loud city and assumed they were all talking to ea

Ah man there is so much to write and it's a little overwhelming.  I'll try keep it short and sweet and only write about the things that stick out in my mind, starting with me freaking out about leaving Berat. As much as I was ready to leave, I was equally comfortable, and the thought of travelling again was freaking me out, which is weird. I think it was mainly because busses in Albania aren't the easiest to work out, and I had foolishly booked my accommodation in Bar already (and booked it for the wrong date, so had already called them up to move it), and so knew I had to make it to Bar by that evening. I don't know why I do this - everywhere I had been, even in the height of season, still had beds free, so I could have done it all on the fly, but the sensible side of me always makes sure I have a bed booked for the night. Anyways after talking to Miri at the hostel, he had said that I would need to get a bus from the hostel to Berat bus terminal, then get a bus fr