OzBus 14

The drive fore today isn’t far from the norm. Next stop for the tour is Erzincan and has a lot to live up to after the idyllic Goreme. As we head off into the country the sun is waving us goodbye. Soon we see the landscape that we’ve all been accustom to since entering Turkey. After a while we hit the rain and the bus starts to quieten down.

The town of Erzincan doesn’t scream tourism; quiet, grey and almost lifeless. The hotel doesn’t make much of an impact either, but the short stop means we don’t try too hard to adapt. After dumping our things, we head out to try and find somewhere to eat dinner. Many minutes touring around the city we stumble across a fast food restaurant (local of course). Another kebab on the cards as we analyse the surroundings. Coming to the conclusion that there isn’t much happening in the town and the lack of alcohol means we head back to the hotel for a chill out session.

When we get back, Lana has the idea of watching a movie together. After the movie we all call it a night and head to bed. The next town on our list is a border town – one we’ve renamed Doggybiscuit.

6am and there is a minibus outside the hotel ready to take us on our ballooning trip. We drive to the head office of the ballooning company and get registered. After a complimentary cup of tea, we drive to our launch site somewhere within a field out of the town. The balloons were already being filled with hot air, so we managed to get some photos of the whole process. Our pilot is called Sehran and he’s been flying for over 7 years. The views of Goreme are breathtaking and the one hour flight meant we managed to take a lot of pictures. Lots. We head back to the hostel after having some complimentary sparkling wine to have some breakfast and a little rest.

We decide to take scooters around the town in order to see some sites and maybe find some hidden treasures. Only a few of us wanted to take the risk, so the small group head over to the scooter hire place. Once there, the gentleman helping us hire the scooters informs us of his experience and that he recommends we (those who’ve never been on a scooter) should take the safe option and go with the ATV’s. After much deliberation we decide to go with the quads. Just so happens that they turn out to be more fun! Many pictures and tired limbs are the result of two hours of riding around the hilly landscape. Time, again, for a little rest and some lunch.

Dinner was organised the night before by our leader; B-B-Q with soup for starters and all for 10 TLR. Just so happens they have a decent pool table. Some beers, some bubbly and some pool. After we finish the others decide to call it a night, but I feel like having a few more drinks. I buy a bottle of vodka and let the rest head back to the hotel. After a wander around I try to find a good place to see the sunset. I missed it (somehow) so I head back to the hotel before we set off to our next destination.

7am is our set off time, stupid AM.  Ahead lies an 8 hour journey heading east into the heart of Turkey.  The drive is beautiful and scenic, however it takes a lot longer than the estimated time given in the morning.  There is a stop half way to see a huge lake called Lake Tüz.  Again, sticking to the scenic sights of prior.Our 8 hour drive soon turns into a 10 hour drive, from sunrise to sunset.  We eventually turn up into the small town of Göreme; a town flanked by gradient, colourful rock formations and the occasional cave.  Our hostel, The Flintstone’s Cave, Motel, Pension (Cave and Pension are words used instead of hostel), is an amazing place set in stone.  Stone walls, wooden ceilings and an amazingly charming bathroom.  All this with a backdrop of rocky cliffs and a twilight night seems a million miles away from the urban predecessors and a world away from a fortnight ago.Dinner at, you guessed it, a local restaurant with a few beers. The hostel has pool, so we set about testing the waters before heading to bed.  The morning will be a unique start to the Monday; hot air ballooning.

The last day in the capital is a late one seeing as the night before ended in the early hours of the morning.  The others head to the Grand Bazaar (Spice market) in search of some scarfs and head covers.  I on the other hand opt to stay in bed and have a much needed lie in.  By the time I do finally get up (around 1pm) the only person that’s close to my state is Liam.  He and I decide to get some brunch somewhere in order to start our day, followed with those wonderful random and spontaneous wanders.After heading into town, we find a place to have a quick bite and move on to our wandering.  We decide to walk away from the main city centre and move towards the other end of town.  The first highlight of this exploration is what can only be described as the local neighbourhood.  It’s the weekend, so the whole place is bustling; children running around and playing, people in the streets talking from opposite sides, shops are busy, the smell of food and damp in the air.  We then stumble across the fish market by the river bank.  Again, the sounds, smells and sights are breathtaking and humbly cultural.  After so much walking, we decide to have some rest.After a small stint on the computer, the boys and I head out to see the only part of town we haven’t seen yet across the bridge.  No planning involved as we’d done so well previously, but that was a mistake that we pay for in the end.  After an hour of walking we realise that the whole journey would have taken less than a third of that.  Nonetheless, we find a restaurant under the bridge and have a quick dinner.  Tiredness kicks in and we retreat to the hostel in order to have some shut eye.  Tomorrow we head further east deep into Turkey and with that brings the start of our movement away from the modern, urban world.

Task for the day: get Iranian visa.  This involves going to the embassy and waiting it out till we get all the paperwork sorted.  Lana is also in need of a visa, so we decide to meet up in the early morning to have some breakfast and head to the embassy.  French toast for breakfast and off we go!

The heavens have opened up in the morning and continue to cover the city with a grey, wet blanket.  Once at the embassy, we fill out a form, queue for a bit, pay some money into the bank and are then told to come back in 2 hours while everything from their side is sorted.  An excuse for coffee and a good long one to one.  After a nice chat, we head back to the embassy to collect our passports.  The whole process takes a lot less time then I expected and with that, we head back to the hostel and see what the rest of the group are up to.

We find Liam and decide to have a small bite to eat at the hostel.  Liam needs a new camera, so he and I head out into town to try and find a shop that sells.  Little did we know that there are a lot of shops focused on cameras.  Lots.  We shop around and I manage to teach Liam in the art of haggling.  Eventually he find the right one and we then head to explore the city.  First thing we see are ferries, so we decide to hop on one and see where it takes us.

We end up across the river and wander around for a bit.  Within our walking, we find a local food market and a street market.  Walking around brings us the sense that we are in a culturally diverse country.  We head back to the ferry dock in the attempt to try and get back to the hostel.  The walk rejuvinates our travelling ideas and we decide to meet up with the group.  Dinner is not too far, but way more expensive then we all expected.  Tonight is a night we all decide will be dedicated to the art of getting plastered.

We head back to the same place Liam and I went to the night before, as we knew we would be looked after and possibly get some free things.  As predicted, we get a couple of shisha pipes for free as well as a short of god-knows-what.  We then mingle across back to the hostel where the drinking continues.  This trend is followed will the next morning, when we all decide to go to bed.  6am is not a bad time to hit the hay.  Lie in for the morning is inevitable.

Today will be a nine hour drive to Turkey.  Breakfast is painfully scarce and doesn’t fill me with confidence, seeing as I would have to survive till we get to the border.  As we set off we are told that the border crossing will be a long process and that we should be prepared to have a good run around in order to get through.  With that in mind, we all try to get some rest as we leave the beautiful Plovdiv.

Upon getting to the border, we have to get off the bus and give our passports over before the bus can cross.  I guess they wanted to make sure we weren’t stowing  anyone in our bus.  Once getting to the Turkey side, we again have to detach from the bus and run back and forth in order to pay for our visas.  After about 40 mintues, we eventually set off in search of Istanbul.  The state of the road starts to show us the we are in the process of leaving Europe.

4pm and we finally roll into Istanbul, greeted by the sun and an amazing view of the harbour.  Orient hostel is located in the centre of the old district and, despite having very charming hosts, makes me have some reservations of our accommodation.  After a complimentary apple tea, we are shown to our rooms.  A four bed dorm that can only be described as “cosy” will be our home for the next 3 nights.  After settling down and locking our bags to the sewage pipe in our room, we set off in search of some culture.

Istanbul is littered with cafes/restaurants and shisha bars.  There are hosts standing outside EVERY cafe and restaurant proactively welcoming you into their place.  Very unnerving for those not wanting to be pestered or just trying to make a simple decision on where to go.  There are also a lot of mosques.  Lots.  We don’t have much time before meeting back at the hostel, where we will be dining for the night.

Traditional food is on the menu, along with a complimentary shisha pipe and some fruity shots.  10% discount on everything means we end up staying till 11pm, way after the start of our dinner at 7pm.  Not seeing this as enough, Liam and I decide to head into town for a few more drinks.  Due to the lack of time post arrival, we don’t know much about the city and what it has to offer.  Within the vicinity we managed to walk around, there seems to be nothing.  Ironically, the place we end up is opposite our hostel.  We settle down and start to chat to the staff, who are all friendly and sharing, the general theme with everyone in the city.  We drink into the night but my night is shadowed with the task of tomorrow as I will be attempting to get my visa for Iran.

The morning after the night before and the hotel greets the group with a cordoned off breakfast room. The breakfast isn’t much to talk about, but the night before is, so we just have a good chat in our personal breakfast room. The theme for today is walking tours; one tour in the morning around Sofia, the second being in a city two hours drive away called Plovdiv. After making the daily sandwich (which the filling hasn’t changed just as our bus hasn’t) we meet up with the tour guide for the morning.

Bob, as he liked to be called, was a lovely elderly man, extremely friendly and had a strong passion for travel, tourism and his country. We start our tour in town after a short metro ride and continued to walk around with Bob leading the way. He was very particular with his information and had a wealth of knowledge of both the history and the architecture. The sun is beating down on us and the city and it manages to show us more of the city than what we had seen the night before. After two hours, it’s back to the hotel and back on the bus!

Only two hours for the next destination; Plovdiv. The hostel in Plovdiv was located right in the centre of the old town and has a very clean and crisp appearance. Our tour guide for the city, Mini (named after the fact that he is so small, his words), was just as encyclopedic as Bob and adorably slow too. He tends to ramble on and is easily distracted, meaning the tangents are plenty. After his tour, ending in the main shopping street, I take a wander on my own of the city. I come across a lovely park, more historical buildings and statues and a hell of a lot of hills! Steeped in history and historical relics, the city shows me that Bulgaria has a great charm and charisma if you know where to look!

Dinner is, as usual, local and cheap. After dinner some of us want to find the football on a tv, so we go in search of a pub/bar. The one we find is called Happy Bar and it definately gives you something to be happy about (or at least laugh about). The waitresses in the bar are armed with red mini skirts and grand hair, while the red theme is encompassed throughout the bar itself. Best of all, the price; one beer works out to be £1. Good news to the traveller’s ear. We have a few drinks there before closing and head back for some much needed rest as tomorrow we head to the only country that lies on two continents – Turkey.

Tiredness lingers as we head off in the morning.  War-torn Belgrade was overpowering with it’s monuments, it’s history and it’s aftermath.  However, moving forward and delving deeper into the country you find that the rest of Serbia is an scenic, idyllic landscape of which great writers and movies often depict.  The sun leads the way into Bulgaria and rejuvenates my tired mind.

Eventually we arrive at the hotel we are staying for the night; 3* Moskva Hotel, with a panoramic view of the city, is not the best accommodation we’ve had on the trip and does a very good job of making the group feel like travellers or, to better put it in their eyes, outsiders.  We relax, absorb our current and brief surroundings and find a place for money.  The group split as some would like to recharge while others, including myself, would like to see the city and go out for dinner.  Ann’s step-brother, Thomas, lives in Sofia and has been for two years.  He seemed the perfect guide for a night tour of the city.  A small group of us head out into the centre in search of some food.

My drinking reputation has now spread from Prague and Thomas insists on taking us for a meal and some drink.  I kindly refuse the offer, but after dinner the first drink hits the table and the generosity overwhelms me.  After some nice food and a good talk, one turned into five very quickly and before I knew it we were drinking and laughing.  After being kicked out of the restaurant (last ones in at closing time), we head back slowly towards the hotel.  Thomas manages to find a bar (one of his favourites uncannily) that is serving last drinks.  We go in for one (more) drink and, after a lengthy argument over the overcharging of the bill, we hop into a taxi and go for some needed rest.  Tomorrow will be spent in two cities, both of which will have walking tours; one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  Early start (as usual) as we will be exploring two sides of Bulgaria.

Little sleep makes for a very quiet and tired bus.  At the border there is a short stop for passport checks and money exchange.  The scenery is flat and lifeless, with a mono-tonal brown wafting the surroundings.  A couple of hours later we arrive in Belgrade.

A tiny in-road leads to our tiny hostel, The Belgrade Eye. I have been upgraded to a room with a double bed as the group finally gave in to my snoring antics.  After settling down and putting my bag away, we all head into town in search of some sights.  We notice on the map a Fort of some kind, so with only one night in Belgrade to take advantage, we head off in search.  All of the group struggle as the tiresome and constant movement over the last week starts to take its toll.  We manage to find the fort, located on the top of a hill overlooking the city.  With the stars out and the city lit up, we all take a moment to rest and admire.  After looking at the central shopping district for food, we decide to head back to the hostel for some cheap and local food.

The restaurant we find is a small place, seating no more than 30 people. As we go in as a group of 12, there was some reorganising of the restaurant to accommodate. The waiter was a saint, despite his English not being 100%. He made the effort to explain what was on the menu and was patient enough to wait for some of the indecisive among us. After a filling meal of local stew, we all stumble into the hostel and take a much needed rest.  Andrea feels there is something in the room that he is staying with the boys, so I kindly agree to let him stay with me (as long as he could stand the snoring).  Early start tomorrow as we look onward to Bulgaria.

Our first priority of the day is shopping.  We head into town and straight to the local market, only to find that the market is closed on Sunday’s.  We head along the river towards the Parliment building and find the shopping district.  I manage to stock up on some much needed clothes while the rest mingle in the streets and shops.  We then head to a cafe by the river next to Parliment for a long awaited hot chocolate.

We head to Parliment for a look around and, to our dismay, it’s sold out of tickets for viewing.  Disheartened but not discouraged, we move to Hero’s Park on the other side of the city to meet up with the rest of the girls.  Hero’s Park is littered with statues and buildings, old and new.  With a blue sky backdrop and a sunny breeze blowing through we decide to have our packed lunches by the pond in the park and wait for the rest to come by.  A quick chat and some pictures taken, we all head back to the hostel as there are some essential (and overdue) laundry to do!

Dinner tonight will be made with the girls at the hostel kitchen.  On the menu is pasta and Martini!  As they did the cooking, I decided to get another bottle of Martini for us.  They decide to get one for themselves, so I buy one on my own.  After a few card games and a bottle of Martini, we head down back to the hostel bar we were in the night before.

Upon arrival, we meet a bunch of British lads here for a birthday weekend.  We all have a drink together and make acquaintances till someone in the bar starts to play some music on his guitar.  His friend, a vocalist in their band, starts to sing along and before we know it they’re taking requests.  Another guy armed with a bongo drum joins the party and before I know it I’ve taken the drum and had a go.  I move on to the guitar and play my rendition of “Wonderwall”, which goes down well with the small crown in the bar.  We have another late night but a completely improvised one, only cut short by the prospect of an early start in the morning.  Tomorrow – Serbia!

We manage to get a late start on day 7 as the journey isn’t meant to be as long as previous travels (essential recovery time for me).  Budapest has a lot to compete with after such a great time in Vienna, but I remain positive as we arrive.

Grey and cold are the only words I could use for the welcome into Hungary.  Despite this, the sights are just as breathtaking as the rest of our trip so far.  A quick stop at our hostel and we head off to see the city! Not too long though until it begins to rain, “dampening” our experience a tad.   We still manage to see a lot of the major sites in the city; the main bridge across the Donau, the castle on the hill, the church on the hill, Parliment building and the countless Burger King’s dotted strategically across the city.  A good insight to what is available and a better way to plan for tomorrow.  After the wet and rain, it’s back to the hostel for some down time before dinner.

A small restaurant called Blue Rose was the choice made for dinner, satisfying the OzBus criteria of “CHEAP” and “LOCAL”.  It just so happens that it’s also a very nice place.  After dinner and a good chat, it’s back to the hostel and a bar located beneath where there will be live music.  Today I decide to have a detox session from alcohol, but the group decide against my healthy option and have a few anyway.  It’s blues night with the bands all very lively with their solos.  Really fun music, charming bar (open 24 hours) and the chance to have a little dance means it’s one of the best hostel bars so far.  We run into the early hours of the morning and, literally, dance ourselves to bed.  Tomorrow will be a day of exploration, weather permitting.

A long day is in store, but I didn’t know it would be longer than I had planned.  The girls and I start off in the morning with ice skating in the city centre for a couple of hours.  Lots of fun with photos, falling and free hugs from promo “cows” from Ben & Jerry’s giving out free hugs.

After the time with the girls, I head off on my own to meet up with the guys, who had found a tower that looks over the Donau river and has a revolving restaurant.  Donauturm was 160 ft high with spectacular views of the city.  WIth a backdrop of the sunset it makes for a very peaceful and reflective time.  Plus, the odd joke here or there with the boys is always a good thing.

We have a local dinner in an Italian place near the centre, something light as we are all starting to feel the grueling schedule.  Heading back to the hostel, we meet up with everyone else in the bar, the first time we are all together since the morning. James and I have the idea of going out for some more live music, but something a little heavier than the jazz we had the night before.  Luckily for me, James had asked ahead of time and found a place not too far.  No one else feels the idea, so after a few more drinks and the two of us head out on the town!

Escape is a rock/metal bar with a small stage in the basement.  There is a battle of the bands going on, but because of our pre departure drinks we happen to miss nearly all of it.  We still manage to catch a glimpse of a band, which made our impressions of the bar go rocketing!  At the bar, we meet loads of new people, two of which I spoke to nearly all night; Nina and Ines.  4am finish and we decide to head back to get some rest, especially seeing as I have an early start in the morning.  Next stop – Budapest!

Yet another early start, but the prospect of two days in our next destination makes the journey more bearable.  6/7 hours drive and we arrive in Austria.  Vienna will be our home for the next two days and the hostel seems to be a fitting place to spend such time.  After putting down all the bags, the group head out into the town.

Vienna is a beautiful city with towering buildings and a sense of grandness with almost every element of the city; grand cathedral, immense landmark buildings and a comprehensive transport system.  Even though it was mid afternoon, we managed to cover a lot of the city before dark, giving us a good idea of what to do the next day.

On to dinner, and we find a local pub with local food (well, schnitzel).  Cheap and cheerful, what more could we ask for?  We had also met a guy at the Hostel called James, a Liverpudlian who was up for a laugh.  After a few drinks at the hostel bar a small group of us head out to a jazz bar for some live music and a bit of a dance.   A fun time and a good reason to explore the night life of Vienna.  We all stumble home for some rest as tomorrow will be the start of our tourism.

Second day in Prague starts with an extra hour in bed than the normal 7am (made redundant due to the late night before).  The girls and I plan on going for a free walking tour while the guys plan for a nice lie in.  After breakfast the tour guide meets us in our hostel and takes us into town.  James, a really happy chap from Ireland (with numerous countries to his life, meaning his accent was a strange mix) was going to be our guide for the next few hours.  Charming none the less.

We talk all the way into town on the tram till we gather with a larger group of people and head towards the old town.  Very cold conditions make for a difficult tour, but with a wealth of interesting information and a very charismatic leader, it’s bearable and very satisfying.  At the end of the extensive tour around the city we give James some tip for his services and head back to the clock tower in the old town for a better view of Prague.The cold eventually breaks us down and we decide to head back to the hostel for some down time.  The ladies go and get ready for dinner and the rest of us stay to either play some pool or update our facebook/blog pages. The reception had given us some recommendations for cheap food and we manage to find a little restaurant within walking distance of hostel.  A long chat and a very cheap meal (about 4GBP) sees us to the end of our night.  At last, some time to write in my travel diary!  Back to the road in the (early) morning.  Next stop – Vienna!

8am and after a hefty breakfast of bread, ham and eggs we climb back on the bus and head to Prague – our first destination on the trip where we spend more than one night in.  Another 7 hour ride is only dispersed by the mandatory 2 hour service stop, a long session of playing cards and an amusing passport check by some roadside police.  Before we knew it, we arrive in the Czech Republic and the beautiful city of Prague.

Our hostel is, simply put, the best accommodation we’ve had so far on the journey.  Not too good for the future accommodation as the benchmark is now set at such a high standard.  After a quick wash we head out into town in search of culture!  The group split and we head towards the river in search of Charles Bridge.  After getting the tram and finding our way to the centre, we get within throwing distance of the bridge before deciding that we should go to the old town and find somewhere to have a drink.  We meet up with the rest of the group eventually and head towards the nearest pub to watch the Champion’s League game (we have an italian on board who supports Milan).  After a few more drinks and a disappointing loss for our italian friend, we move on and try to find a place to eat.

We scour the streets looking for “traditional” food and in the end we find a small restaurant with a basement dining room.  Good food, nice atmosphere and more beers (obviously).  Being pancake day, we have pancakes for dessert.  Once done, we head out to find more drink.

We move towards the Charles Bridge, which lit up in the night time glow is a idyllic site to any would-be traveler.  Upon crossing the bridge, we find a bar that is open with yet another underground room.  We stay and drink till the early hours of the morn, at which point decide to head back to the hostel and call it a night.  The morning will bring another day in Prague and a free day for us to explore this fine city.