The Honeymooners

Another last minute addition to our trip. We flew from Split, Croatia to Prague because: 1) we found an unbelievably cheap fare of about $25 each on SkyEurope Airlines, 2) it got us closer to our next stop Germany for the World Cup, and 3) does anyone really need an excuse to spend a couple days in one of the world’s most heralded cities? [read on]

We spent about a week in Croatia - a few days in the beautiful city of Dubrovnik, another few days on the hip and relaxing island of Hvar, and a day walking around Split. Croatia proved to be just as beautiful, romantic and serene as it is supposed to be…if you’re looking for a relaxing European vacation destination we highly reccomend Croatia.

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Another one of our unexpected surprises on this trip, we didn’t decide to visit Sarajevo and Mostar until an American friend convinced us while we were in Turkey.  Lucky for us he did as both cities were full of natural and architectual beauty as well as riveting reminders of a brutal war just a few years ago. [read on]

We left Istanbul on an overnight bus and arrived at 9am in Sofia, Bulgaria. Before boarding our next overnight bus to Sarajevo that afternoon, we did a foot tour of Sofia as it was the first time for both of us to Bulgaria.
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After an incredible 2 months in the Middle East with its intoxicating rocky and desert landscapes and beautiful neutral hues, we traveled by bus into Turkey and upon crossing the border into Turkey returned back into the world of color and greenery and into a country whose culture provides a unique combination of the East and West.

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There are over 2 million people who live in Aleppo, Syria (just south of the border with Turkey) but you would never think this unless someone told you. Aleppo was our last stop in Syria and we were rewarded with an incredible ancient yet still bustling souq and a special evening of traditional Syrian hospitality.

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We arrived in Homs from Hama a few hours before the Syria v Iran soccer game to try to find a way to buy tickets as we had been told it was a very important match and tickets were probably sold out. We were a bit shocked when our taxi arrived a few blocks from the stadium and several guys approached us with handfulls of tickets asking for $2 per ticket. Our taxi driver assured us the tickets were not fake so we each bought one and proceeded to follow the throngs of people dressed in the local team colors and waving flags as they walked to the stadium.

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As we prepared to leave Palmyra we met 3 other Americans with a similar itinerary so together we hired a driver and mini-bus to take us from Palmyra to Krak des Chevaliers, one of the most famous Crusader castles in the world, and then to Hama to stay a couple nights there.  More importantly, we were all on a mission to attend Asia Champions League soccer match between the local Homs teamand Saba from Iran (but you’ll have to read the next blog entry for that)….

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We visited the ancient city of Palmyra, which used to be a commercial center in Syria hundreds of years ago, a place where travelers and traders who were crossing the desert would stop to rest their weary feet and trade and sell their goods. For us, it was truly an oasis in the middle of the desert with the best milkshakes in Middle East and home to one of the craziest characters we’ve met on our trip thus far.

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