Train to Bar (Day 12)

We got into Belgrade a little later than we were supposed to at around 5:30 am. The train to Bar was not leaving until 10:10, so we had a little time to kill. We were not allowed to buy our tickets yet, so we walked with all of our luggage to find something to eat. We ended up trying to go to the same burek place as before, but it was closed. Instead of waiting, we walked to the 24 hour market to get a few snacks and foods for the next day (The next day was Easter and we were not sure if anything would be open in Bar. We wanted to make sure we had something to eat!). For some reason, the 24-hour store was also closed and would not open until 7:30. We knew that we were going to have to sit somewhere for an extended period of time, so we just sat outside of the market waiting for it to open. It was kinda funny because there was a huge line forming outside the market. I think everyone was waiting so they could get meat for their Easter feasts. The store finally opened, and we made our purchases. Then, we headed back to the bakery to find out they did not have any meat burek that day. Luckily there was another bakery right next door who had some. It was very good!

The train ride back to Bar was uneventful, but kinda of cramped. There were six people in the compartment and everyone had luggage. Layne and I had to end up putting some of our luggage in our foot space. Anyways, we made it to Bar around 10 pm, and Nikola picked us up.

For the past week, I have been catching up on sleep, eating all the foods that I will miss in Bar, and packing up my apartment. We also got to meet Vladimir Grbic, who is a famous Serbian male volleyball player. He has since retired, but was the named the best player in 2000. Here is a picture of our entire club with Vladimir:

I am leaving tomorrow to go to Zagreb to visit Marina for almost two weeks before heading to a try-out at an undisclosed location. I will be back in the states on May 14! Hope you enjoyed reading about my vacation!

Sofia, Bulgaria (Day 11)

Train travel is not fun! It is okay if you are only taking one train or so, but after many, many days of trains, it gets old very fast! And it does not help when the trains are late, and you miss your connections! While crossing the Turkey/Bulgaria border, we had to get off the train to get our passports stamped (usually they come on the train, but not at this border!). This took forever! Either way, this in combination with the slow-moving train, we were like five hours late getting into Sofia and missed the train to Belgrade by 20 minutes. The next train did not leave for another five hours, so Layne and I decided to see some of Sofia while we had time.

When we were leaving the train, there was another American who was trying to get to Belgrade. We told him our plans and invited him to join us. We knew that there was a famous church that we wanted to see and a great pizza place (as told by Ian- our couchsurfer friend). He gladly accepted since the alternative was sitting in the train station for five hours. After checking our luggage into the storage room and buying our tickets for Belgrade, we began the walk to the church. Along the way, we learned that Paul was a geology professor at the University of Georgia. He had been visiting one of their partner schools in Istanbul and was making his way to Vienna for a little side trip before going home to the states. He was a super nice guy and easy to talk with. 

We had some idea of how to get to the church, but after a while, we decided to grab a taxi. I am glad we did because it was a lot farther away than we thought. When we made it to the church, we paid the entrance fee and waited for our turn to go into the church. Once inside, we met the tour guide who was this old man whose name was White White (It translated in English to this, and I thought it was weird). Although we did not pay for a guided tour, he let us listen in. This was not too difficult because the church was only comprised of two small rooms. Unfortunately there were no cameras allowed inside the church because it could damage the very old paintings inside the church. The paintings were very impressive and dated back to the 13th century.

 Outside of Boyana Church

Our tour guide was so cute and would hold our hand and point out all the different paintings. We later learned that he was 78 and had taught himself English. All three of us were very impressed because his English was very good. On our way out of the church, we ran into our English friends with whom we had shared a sleeping compartment from Istanbul. It was funny running into them there!

With the one and only Mr. White White!

After seeing the church, we took another taxi to the pizza parlor. It was soooo good! Since it was the last Friday of Lent, I went with an eggplant, zucchini, and tomato pizza (I really wanted the pepperoni one because I have been missing pepperoni, but passed on it.). Although the pizzas looked huge, but all three of us were able to finish them! We then walked back along the pedestrian street to the train station.

Sofia, Bulgaria

We got back to the train station and boarded the train. Layne and I got a compartment by ourselves and settled in for the train ride. We learned that we would get into Belgrade at 4 am! After a few hours, the border patrol came through and we were able to sleep for the rest of the journey.

Istanbul, Turkey (Day 10)

Our last day in Istanbul! Luckily those two girls were not there, and our entire room was able to sleep in this morning. Unfortunately, the water was not working in the hostel for some reason. This meant we could not use the bathroom (which is very hard when you first wake up!) and could not brush our teeth. We heading down for breakfast hoping that by the time we finished, the water would be turned back on. Breakfast was the same as the previous day, and while we were eating, the water was turned back on. We headed back upstairs to go to the bathroom and pack up our suitcases. Our train left later that night, but we had to check out of the hostel before leaving for the day. They had a special place for everyone in the same position to leave their suitcases which was more convenient than renting a locker at the train station. With our luggage secure, we headed out for our final day's adventure.

Unlike the previous two days, it was actually sunny today! We started by retaking some pictures in the better light.

 Probably my favorite photo of the trip!

Then we walked over to the Topkapi Palace. This palace is huge and a little overwhelming. There were two parts of the palace; the museum section and the harem section. Of course, each part had a separate entrance fee! We decided to see the museum first and then if we wanted to, we would see the harem. Inside the palace, there were little rooms that housed things like jewels, armor, and shields. Each room had a long line to get into. The couple of rooms we went in, Layne and I were not really impressed. We walked around the palace a little more and saw all the pretty tulips that were growing in the garden. The best part of the palace was all the intricate and colorful tiles. After walking around, we decided not to visit the harem. 

 Entrance to the Topkapi Palace

 Layne and I with all the tulips in the background

After all the walking around the palace, we were hungry and decided to finally get a doner sandwich. These were everywhere in both Budapest and Istanbul, and both Layne and I had been wanting one! It was difficult to choose which stand to go to, but we found one that had a seating area that overlooked both of the mosques. We both ordered the chicken doner sandwich, and it was really good. Inside the sandwiches, there was chicken, different vegetables, and french fries. The only thing I wished was that it could have been bigger!

The before

 The after

Next on our list was to go back to the Grand Bazaar.  Both of us still needed a few gifts, and I wanted to find that purse I had passed up on the first day. I was not very confident about finding it because there were so many stands, and I did not remember where the stand was located. We did not have much time in the Grand Bazaar because we needed to get to the Spice Bazaar before it closed. We were like girls on a mission. Anyways, we both found all our gifts, and I found the purse! I was super excited!!!

The Spice Bazaar was the on the way towards our hostel, but along crowded streets with more stores. Once we arrived, it was very similar to the Grand Bazaar just on a much smaller scale. And of course, there were lots of spices! It was fun to walk around and smell all the spices and teas. They all smelled so good! 

 Spices

After the Spice Bazaar, we walked back across the river to the Istanbul Modern Art Museum. This was not in our original itinerary, but since it was free on Thursdays, we decided to go. It was fun to walk around the museum and see the different works of art. I probably would not have gone if it had not been free, but since it was, I'm glad we went. Upon leaving the museum, we had some time to kill before going to dinner and decided to stop in at a hookah bar. I had never smoked hookah, so it was a new experience for me. We decided to share an apple flavored pipe. Surprisingly, I could not really taste the tobacco and the apple flavor came through. I really did not smoke that much because although I am embarassed to say it, I was getting light headed. In addition to the hookah, I also ordered a cinnamon apple tea which tasted really good. Don't think I'll be smoking hookah any time in near future!

 Like a natural! Just kidding, I look ridiculous!

 Layne and I at the hookah bar

After the hookah bar, it was time to grab dinner. I went with this thing called a kumpir, which is a potato that you can fill with whatever toppings you want. I filled mine with cheese, this spicy risotto, carrots, black olives, and butter. It was an unusual combination of toppings, but it tasted pretty good. We needed to hustle after dinner to go back to the hostel, pay for our beds, and catch the train.

We made it to the train station with an hour before it departed and bought our bed. Unfortunately we learned that the train was not going directly to Belgrade. We had to stop in Sofia and then catch another train to Belgrade. We also learned that there were no private sleeping compartments, just compartments with six beds. Hoping that we would be alone in our six person compartment, we waited while the train filled up. After a while, this English couple with all their luggage (at least five bags!) joined our compartment. Although it was a little cramped, at least they spoke English and were very nice. We all settled in for the long train ride ahead.

Istanbul, Turkey (Day 9)

It was our second day in Istanbul, and I was woken up way too early by the other girls in our room. Although I did not have a clock by my bed, I am pretty sure they got up at like 6 am to start getting ready. They went in and out of the bathroom (the door usually got stuck and therefore caused a lot of noise.). They also were going through their bags and basically making a lot of noise. At one point they even opened the window allowing all the noise from the street to come into our room. Finally, I could not try to sleep anymore and decided to get up. (Thankfully those girls were checking out that day!) Layne was also awake so we headed down for breakfast not sure what to expect. It was nothing compared to the breakfast in Budapest, but it worked. Each person was given a plate with a piece of fruit, black olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese spread, cookies, and bread (not typical breakfast foods if you ask me). There was also tea and coffee that we could make. While at breakfast we started talking to some of the guests and learned about this little bath house on the Asia side of Istanbul. We wanted to go to a Turkish bath really bad, but did not want to pay the steep prices. Until we learned about the price of this bath, we had decided to pass on it. Thankfully, the guests shared their experiences, and we decided we needed to go the bath and could actually afford it!

We headed back upstairs to get dressed and ready for our day. Our plan was to see the Asia side today and then cross back to the Europe side to visit a small area called Ortakoy. With the help of the front desk, we knew which ferries to take to get back and forth from the Asia side. In order to get across the Bosphorous. we had to buy a ticket for the ferry. From my previous posts, you know my track record with ticket machines, and this one was no different. I did not have any coins so I stuck my 20 Lira bill into the machine and it proceeded to eat it. It would not go down, but kept trying. Eventually one of the men came and had to open the machine to retrieve my money. We used one of Layne's smaller bills and got our tickets for the ferry. 

On the ferry getting ready to go to Asia!

Back on land, we searched for the famous fish market we had heard a lot about. We did not know where it was, so thinking logically, we walked along the sea. However, it was not there. After asking a few people, one lady who spoke English perfectly directed us to the fish market. There were so many fish at the stands and ones that I had never seen before!

There are none in this picture, but there was this one fish that was huge and flat with little spikes on it. After walking around for a while, we decided to eat lunch. I was going to eat a popular fish sandwich, but decided to go with something else. Someone told us that while we were on the Asia side, we had to try this pizza-like thing called a lamuchan. It looked really good, so I got one of those and Layne got this bread called pide that can be filled with different things. My meal came with something called Ayran which I also wanted to try while in Turkey. It is a basically yogurt but in a liquid form. I thought I would like it because I like the yogurt here (Layne does not), but it really was not good. I think it was because it was warm instead of cold. Either way, the lamuchan and the pide were good! Afterward, we stopped that this great bakery that had so many desserts. It was difficult, but we both decided on four different little cookies. They were all really good!

 Lunch!

After dessert, we decided it was time to go to the Turkish bath. In order to get where it was located, we were told we had to take these little vans that go back and forth to other little towns along the sea: 

There were so many of them that were traveling to different cities, but we finally found the one to our destination and climbed in. We only had to wait a few more minutes for the bus to fill up before we left. After about a 15 minute car ride, we got out and started walking to the Turkish bath. It was a lot farther than I think both of us thought it would be. Either way, we finally arrived, and I don't think anything could have prepared us for what happened next!

When we first walked into the bath, we were greeted by a Turkish lady who told us the price and what we would get for that price. We were then led into a small changing room and given towels. Layne and I stripped off all our clothes (we were told by the people at the hostel that you did not need to bring anything to these baths) and snapped a quick, but not very good picture:

When we were ready, the lady led us into another room where the actual bathing took place. There were about 5 other customers in the room. She took us to this little outcove that had 3 faucets and sink-like things in them. In her broken English, she told us to sit down and take our towels off. As we looked around, all the women were either wearing bathing suit bottoms or underwear and Layne and I were completely naked. We showed the lady, and she told us to go back and put something on. (Thanks a lot workers in the hostel!) Once dressed (actually with just our thongs on), we went back into the bath and sat down. The lady did not give us any other directions, so we looked around to see what everyone else was doing. One lady was getting a massage, and the others were sitting at their station pouring hot water on themselves. We followed suit. After a little while of this, we decided to go into the sauna room. While in the sauna room, one of the workers (who is only wearing underwear and is topless) comes to get me. She points to this large marble slab in the middle of the room for me to lie down on. I lie down, and she begins scrubbing with this loofah-like thing. She scrubs everywhere and then taps me to turn over. After loofahing my front, she proceeds to scrub both of my sides and my arms. She then tells me to wash off. As I am walking back to my station, I notice how much dead skin is on my body and it is disgusting!

After washing all the dead skin off, I lie back on the marble slab to get my massage. She starts with my back and basically massages my whole body (please remember that I am topless during all of this). The massage actually felt pretty good despite some of the awkward moments. At the end, she pours water over my head and leaves. Layne finishes about the same time I do, and we start talking about what happened to us while washing off. The Turkish bath experience was completely different than the bath experience in Hungary. Although it was a little different, when in Turkey, do as the Turkish do! I would definitely recommend anyone who goes to Istanbul to try out the Turkish baths!

 Layne and I completely gross, but relaxed after the bath

After the bath, we crossed back to the Europe side on a different ferry that left us off closer to the first bridge that connected Europe and Asia. Unfortunately, people are not allowed to walk across the bridge anymore, so we were just able to look at it. We headed to this place called Ortakoy that was recommended by a friend to visit. It was very small, and did not take too much time to visit.

The Ortakoy Mosque

After seeing all of Ortakoy, we walked half-way back to the hostel and then grabbed the tram for the rest (it was a super long walk). Back at the hostel, we talked more about our Turkish bath experience and then got ready for dinner. The front desk recommended a kebap house not far from the hostel, so we decided to try it out. Like the restaurant last night, it was very popular and filled with locals, so we took this a good sign. Before we ordered they brought us out some flat bread with two different spreads that was really good. I couldn't decide what to get, so I took the advice of the waiter and picked his favorite. I'm glad I did because it was delicious. Layne went with a chicken kebap.

 My mixed meat kebap with sour cream, rice and tomatoes

 Layne and I enjoying the free tea after dinner

Always after a large meal, I need to eat something sweet, so we headed back out to the popular pedestrian street where the restaurant was located in search of sweets. We ran across this big shop that sold lokum, which is a popular gummy candy.

All of the different flavors of lokum

After sampling several different desserts, I decided I needed to try this candy stick thing with nuts, and Layne went with four smaller desserts. There was no place to sit and eat at this candy store, so we took our purchases and went back to the hostel. Once at the hostel, we sat in the living room and ate our desserts. Let me say that mine was disgusting! But, the man at the front desk thought they were delicious, so we gave him the rest of ours that we could not finish. Layne's selections were much better! Then we headed up to the room, showered, and went to sleep. We needed to rest up for our final day in Istanbul!

Istanbul, Turkey (Day 8)

Well, we arrived in Istanbul a few hours later than expected. We were on a train for like 27 hours straight! When we walked out of the train station, we saw a lady on the ground with an ambulance and lots of people around her. We were not sure what was going on, but after three days in Istanbul, I am convinced I know what happened. Istanbul has some crazy drivers and some crazy pedestrians. They cross when and where they want to cross, and the drivers speed around like no one's business. Anyways, by the end of our time in Istanbul, I learned to get behind a local to get across traffic faster (If anything were to happen, they would get hit first since they were closer to the car than me. Luckily this did not happen!)

Just like when we arrived in Budapest, the first thing we did was get money out of an ATM and then find our hostel. Their directions were not as good as the hostel in Budapest, but we knew to look for this big tower because it was located right below it. Thankfully, we saw the tower right away and headed over the bridge to our hostel. After climbing up many steep stairs, we arrived at our hostel to learn that our rooms were ready. We were able to change clothes and look at the map to plan out our day's activities. Layne had planned Istanbul, and we were to see both of the large mosques, the cistern, and the grand bazaar the first day. Although the lady at the front desk of the hostel was not convinced we could fit this all into one day, we had confidence and set out.

We basically had to retrace our steps to the train station and then walk a little farther to get to the main attractions in Istanbul. The first thing we came across was the Hagia Sofia, but the line was out of control. While we were walking around there, a lot of men tried to convince us to get a guided tour that would allow us to skip the line and of course cost extra. We politely said, "No thank-you," and moved on. One man was particularly persistent (we would see him 4 separate times that day!) and informed us that if we waited a few hours that the line would die down. We took his advice and walked the short distance to the Blue Mosque. Unfortunately it was during prayer time, so we were not allowed in and had to come back later. It was interesting to hear the call to prayer loud and clear while standing in the courtyard of the mosque. We did manage to grab a picture from the outside:

At this point, we were both a little bummed because we had struck out twice in a row and decided to try our turn at the Cistern. Finally, we got in somewhere! The Cistern was pretty cool, but it was very difficult to capture a picture of what it really looked like. There were massive fish in the water and lots of coins because you are supposed to throw the coin over your shoulder and make a wish. We walked around the Cistern and tried to get a good picture.

 This was the best we could get, and it doesn't really do it justice.

 You were supposed to stick your finger in this hole and make a wish!

After the Cistern, we ran into our 'friend' again and mentioned that we weren't sure if we could go into the Blue Mosque without a head scarf. He said that they had some, so we left him and headed back to the Blue Mosque. This time we were able to get in, and it turns out that you did not need to wear a head covering at all. But, you did need to remove your shoes and carry them in a plastic bag while you toured the Mosque. (Unlike the Hagia Sofia which is only a museum now, the Blue Mosque is still an active mosque.) We spent time in the Blue Mosque and finally realized why it was called the Blue Mosque. The outside is entirely gray without a sign of blue, but there are many pretty blue tiles inside. Again it is hard to see from the pictures, but it was very ornate.

 Even though we did not need to, we both used our hoodies as makeshift head coverings.

With our shoes back on, we decided to see if the line at the Hagia Sofia had died down, and luckily it had! While we were waiting in the short line, we grabbed a quick snack from one of the street vendors. Once inside, we really got to see the size of the Hagia Sofia: it was huge! Like the Blue Mosque, it was very ornate and pretty. Here is a picture a nice couple snapped of us:

People said you could spend hours in the Hagia Sofia, but we only spent 45 minutes or so. Everything began to look similar, and we saw everything within the mosque. Our next mission was to find point zero located right outside the Hagia Sofia. Although it was so close, we had a hard time finding it because we did not know what it looked like. And if you guessed that our 'friend' somehow found us again and pointed it out to us, you would be right! So, we had to get a picture of him at point zero!

With point zero checked off, we decided to tackle the Grand Bazaar. However, we had to make a pit stop at our 'friend's' carpet store. We told him we would see it, but that we were not going to buy anything. He gave us a lesson between the different carpets and offered us tea. We declined and headed towards the bazaar. On the way we saw a dondurma (their special ice cream) stand, and Layne wanted some. Of course I never turn down ice cream, so we both got one. The guy put on an entertaining show, and the dondurma was pretty tasty. 

When we finally reached the Grand Bazaar, it was overwhelming! There were so many stands that seemed to sell the same things. And everyone wanted you to stop and look at their products. Sometimes we would stop and ask how much an item was. Almost always we got the response, "Not much!" This made us laugh. I think my dad would like the Grand Bazaar because it all about haggling the vendors down to their lowest price. We learned that if you walked away, they would often call you back and give you the price you asked. Layne and I were both looking for gifts for others, and some were very difficult to shop for! With most of our gift shopping done and the bazaar closing, we tried to find our way out (much harder than expected!). In the bazaar, I saw this purse I liked, but did not buy it. At one of the stores on the outskirts of the bazaar, we saw some similar purses in different colors. We stopped in to take a look, and they asked if we wanted some apple tea. We were told that we had to try the tea at some point, so we said, "Sure." The tea was really good, but they did not have a purse I liked, so we ended up leaving empty-handed.

On the walk back, this Hungarian lady was selling hand-made items on the street. When we stopped to look, there was this man standing there that was helping her bargain a price. After I bought an item (cannot reveal what just yet), this man invited us to his carpet store. Layne wanted to go because she said that everyone told her that we needed to be entertained by a carpet salesman while we were here. We walked the short distance to his store. As we sat down, another man brought us another apple tea. Although we made it very clear that we did not have money or the need for a carpet, this man tried relentlessly to get us to buy a carpet. Throughout our stay there, it became apparent that he had become fond of Layne and did not like me. It was actually pretty funny how he shushed me whenever I tried to talk and only wanted to talk to Layne. Before we finally escaped, Layne took a picture with her boyfriend.

We decided to drop our purchases off at the hostel before grabbing a bite to eat for dinner. A lady on the train had recommended this street with many restaurants, so we attempted to find it for dinner. We even asked the people at the hostel for directions and headed out. There are lots of little streets in the area where we stayed and somehow we got lost. We could not find this street and finally gave up and just decided to walk down a street that looked popular. It turns out we think we stumbled upon the street without knowing it! Anyways, we chose a popular restuarant with lots of people for dinner. We decided to order two things and split them to be able to try more of the local cuisine. Here was dinner on the first night:

Spicy meat, Turkish meatballs, french fries, rice and veggies.

 With a full stomach, we both realized how tired we were and headed back to the hostel for a hot shower and warm bed. It was a tiring first day, but also lots of fun!

Train to Istanbul (Day 7)

Our train left at 7:50 am and before we left, we grabbed burek at a bakery right by Ian's apartment that he recommended. There are actually two types of burek, and in Belgrade, the burek is more of a pie instead of the tube-looking thing in my previous pictures. You can still get it with meat, cheese, potatoes, and even cheese and ham inside. Both Layne and I decided that they burek in Bar was much better, but this one was still good and provided our only real meal of the day. 

There is not too much to write about this day because we were literally sleeping all day and night. We had to get off the train in the middle of the night though to buy an entry visa for Turkey and it took forever. There was only one man working for the entire train. Eventually we got our visa and our passport stamped and were on the road again. We went back to sleep and when we woke up, we were only about an hour outside Istanbul!

Belgrade, Serbia (Day 6)

Well, we were back in Serbia for a day! This time we planned to hang out with our teammate Maja who lived in Belgrade for many years and was staying with some of her friends during the time we were there. Before I go any further in this post, I must get it over with and tell everyone where we spent the night in Belgrade. I only told my brother and his wife before we left for the trip because I did not think the others would be too happy. There is a website called CouchSurfing. Basically, it is a database of people who are either looking for a couch to sleep on or those that have available couches in their homes. Layne is a member and has been wanting to try it out. I was a little skeptical for the many reasons you are currently thinking, but decided to go along with it since there were two of us and it was a way to save money. Before we left, we searched open couches in Belgrade on the day we were going to be there and found two American guys that were living in Belgrade at the time. Both replied and were excited about us staying, and we ended up at this guy named Ian's apartment. He was from Seattle, but had been living in Belgrade for almost a year. He had a spare room with two beds and a couch in the living room. It was a pretty nice set-up for us.

So, once we got to Belgrade, we went to his apartment to drop our bags off. He was tired from going out the previous night, so he let us in and went back to sleep. Since it was early, Maja had not replied either and we also decided that a nap was a good idea! We ended up sleeping until noon. Maja still had not responded, so we went with Ian to this place called Ada Ciganlija. It was basically an island surrounded by an artificial lake and the Sava River. It was a really nice day, so we walked around the island and then sat down for a while talking about places we have been, Istanbul, and languages. Maja finally text us and told us that she wanted us to meet her sister before her sister headed back to their hometown. Layne and I both thought this was a big deal because it did not seem like something Maja would do, so we all hopped on the bus to meet Maja. Ian went back to his apartment because he actually had to wait for some other couch surfers from Finland, and we met Maja and her sister at a corner nearby.

Maja's sister had just run in a marathon that day, so Maja spent the whole walk to the bus station bragging about her sister. It was very sweet. We sat and had sodas at the bus station until it was time for her sister to catch the bus. Her sister was nice, but did not speak English at all so we did not communicate very much. However, we captured a picture before she left.

With Maja and her sister

Once her sister was gone, the three of us headed to meet some of Maja's friends. One of the friends plays for a volleyball team in Serbia that was playing in the Serbian championship game that night (She was hurt and could not play). Layne and I thought it would be fun to see the game, so we all ended up going to watch the game. Unfortunately her friend's team lost and therefore lost the championship (It was a best of 5 series like in Montenegro and the other team was already up 2-0). After the match, we all headed to this place called Pinokio. It is a popular palacinke place in Belgrade. (I had an experience with palacinke recently that kind of turned me off to the things. The guy who was making the palacinke thought he was being super nice by adding lots of Eurocream to my pancake, but as all of you know, I really do not like chocolate. Anyways, this thing was overloaded with chocolate and left me feeling sick. Since then, the thought of palacinke has made my stomach hurt.) I decided to put this feeling aside and try one again since everyone was talking about how special these were. Unlike the simple palacinke we get in Bar, this place had many options. I decided on Eurocream, Plazma (cookie crumbs), and bananas. Someone had told me that this was a good combination and I couldn't read anything else on the menu, so I went with it. It was actually kind of tasty, but was so big. I think I only ate like half of it.

 All of us at Pinokio

 The monstrous palacinke

When we finished our palacinke, Maja told us that we needed to catch the bus back to where we were staying because she was afraid we might miss the last bus of the night. It was a quick 10 minute bus ride back to where Ian lived on the other side of the river. Before going back to his apartment we went to a 24-hour grocery to stock up on food for our long train ride the next day. We needed to buy food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Back at his apartment we met the other couch surfer from Finland who had just arrived from Sofia. She was really nice, and we all talked for a little before Layne and I went to sleep. We had to get up early in the morning to catch our train. I had a really good couch surfing experience and would probably do it again if I was traveling with a friend. Definitely no reason to be nervous! And it was a great way to meet other travelers and make new friends.

 This is a picture of one of the buildings that the USA bombed. It is located right down the street from the US Embassy. I asked why they haven't tore it down and fixed it, and I was told it was because they wanted to keep it as a reminder.