Oktoberfest

Last weekend we flew to Munich to fulfill one of the big-ticket items on our travel bucket list - Attend Oktoberfest-which did not disappoint whatsoever.  The best way to describe it is, as I said at one point during the trip [and this is a direct quote], "Oktoberfest is the definition of 'my scene'" or like one of our friends said, "imagine that your favorite team just won the Superbow, and all of you are on the same team".  That is the essence and vibe of Oktoberfest.  There is no sulking, negativity, pushing or shoving.  Zillions of people occupy the same space but camaraderie reigns.  Besides drinking liters of beer and kilos of sausages, we managed to visit most of the big tents and gardens and go on the rides. Contrary to most people's suggestions, we didn't make reservations in any of the tents because there were only four of us and you had to prepay for at least 8 in order to have a guaranteed seat.  Instead, we scouted around looking for tables with empty seats.  Overall, we were pretty lucky; we got to seat at 3 different beer gardens and one day we had 'breakfast' inside a tent.  The whole experience was phenomenal. Like all things German, Oktoberfest was incredibly well planned, efficient, and executed seamlessly.  Take a seat, order, pay up, clink, sing, repeat.  Everywhere you looked were heaps of good food and monstrous beers, people wearing the traditional dress of dirndl and lederhosen no matter their age.  Little kids and grandparents sat at the table and cheered and clinked mugs with the rest of them.   If there is a way to promote world peace, this seems like a great way to start.

The highlights include:

Beer: Probst!

Fashion: Going Native in our Drndls

Flying: I still cannot believe  I agreed to this

Bratwurst, Viking, and Beer

Team Spirit: Massive tents with tables of newly made friends

The Devil's Wheel: seeing people get ejected by centrifugal force is actually really funny.

Gran Finale: "I've had the time of my life" sung my 5000 drunk people holding sparklers.

We are soo going back next year.  Friends welcome to join!

Adventures on the Overnight Train

 Ever since we moved to Belgrade, I had really wanted to try one of the overnight trains.  In my head, the 'real' European experience needs to include some sort of train travel.  So finally, almost a year after moving here, I was able to convince 4 very brave friends to join Phil and I on the overnight train to Bar, Montenegro.  Initially, the idea was to get the 6-bed compartment and have a fun, dorm-like experience, but when Phil and I went to the station to get our tickets, they didn't  have any compartments completely empty for us to be all together; so we settled for 3 'rooms' of two beds each.  We had a rental car waiting for us to then  drive around the country to the National Parks, spend the night in Budva, drive up to Sveti Stefan and Kotor Bay and fly back from Tivat on Monday morning.  The train was supposed to leave at 8:10 PM and get to Bar at 7 in the morning, so  we met at the train station at about 7:45 and made our way to our seats.  Our rooms were side by side and the best part is that some of them were connected by an inside door that could be folded in, to create a large suite.  You could also put up the top bunks to allow people to sit on the bottom ones without hitting their head; curiously, the bottom of that bunk was made up to look like a nice picture, so that when the whole set-up was ready, it looked like a legitimate living room.

K and R's living room

Phil hanging out in the mid-section

We brought some mojito pre-made mix for the ride and some really unhealthy snacks.  Sadly, we ate 90% of the snacks while we sat at the station until 10 PM.  We kept joking that we should just get off and let those two hours sitting and waiting for departure to be the actual OT adventure.  Finally, at like 10:15, we left Belgrade.  The ride was smooth and pretty fast, not bumpy, but screechy. We went to bed at like midnight, but I didn't really sleep very much at all because of the noise and the movement. But overall, it was a really comfortable way to travel.  The beds were not bad and it felt clean enough.  The sheets and pillows had definitely been washed before and there was nothing terribly disturbing. Except for the bathroom.

We got 'waken up' twice at the border to get our passports checked and stamped, and 12 hours hours later we arrived in Podgorica, still wearing the same clothes as the night before. We picked up our car, which fit all 5 of us in the front and back and had a mini-semi-seat in what I would call tier 3 of the car.  It was the best and worst seat in the house.

We drove for about 3 hours, stopping at a really small town/village for a traditional lunch of grilled meat, french fries, salads and beers.  All six of us ate a lot for 21 Euros.  Amazing!  A quick stopover to a hanging bridge and we arrived at the Black Lake, a UNESCO site within Durmitor National Park. 

Crazy Foreigners

Driving back, we kept looking at the guidebook to find fun things to see and do, and we selected Ostrog Monastery, not a UNESCO site, but a "Montenegro Top 10",  unfortunately, three thousand other people seemed to have the same idea, so we wound up in the top of a very steep mountain, on a one way road, behind about 11 coach buses.  We got out of the car and tried to walk it, and then noticed, that in the distance, it was about 5 miles away-and all uphill.  We quickly aborted the mission and decided to instead drive down to the coast to Sveti Stefan, this glorious hotel-resort-island to watch the sunset and have some drinks.  Two hours later and we made it right on time. The sun had maybe another 20 minutes before setting.  We ran to the coast and were able to take really good pictures.  Then our friend, C. tried to get us into the resort for drinks, but unfortunately, we were turned away because of our too-casual clothes (and probably our too loud voices).  Luckily there was a cute little place nearby, where we sat down and saw the sunset before checking into our apartments.

Needless to say, we were super tired when we finally drove to Budva, where we were planning to have dinner and spend the night.  When we got to the town, we realized that no one had printed the exact address of the place and we didn't have a way of knowing where we were staying.  At least C. had looked at the map beforehand and had some recolection of where the street was located, but we still had no clue exactly where it was, so we ended up knocking on random doors and asking.  No one had heard of the place or knew where it was.  Finally, a kindred spirit allowed us to connect our ipad to his Wi-Fi to look up the phone number.  The miracle of modern technology!  C. talked to the guy, told him where we were, and he was able to give us directions on how to get there.  The whole thing took over an hour, but we finally made it and it was a really nice place with a great location.

The rest of the trip was more relaxing, we walked around the Budva old town, which was nice; same, same but different and the next day we went to Kotor Bay, back to the scene of the scooter accident (see earlier post).  Now, I still have to make it to Macedonia to complete my tour of the ex-republics and brave the overnight trains to Bucharest and/or Sofia!

Croatian Coast Weekend

For Labor Day weekend, we took the seasonal Jat flight into Dubrovnik to meet up with 2 other couple-friends for a fabulous little break on the coast.  Our flight was at 7 in the morning and we were super tired and groggy when we got to the airport.  In a real turn of rotten luck, our flight kept getting delayed in half hour increments and we didn't end up leaving till 12:30 PM. We were pissed.  I had heard really great things about Dubrovnik (DV) and was anxious to start exploring.  Not to mention, that in our typical go-go-don't-stop-fashion, we only had Friday and Saturday in DV to then take the bus up to Split and fly out of Split on Monday.  Unfortunately, the flight was at 2 PM.  Leaving us with very little time to actually see/do a lot.  I figured it was still better to take at least a glimpse, and if we loved it, we could always try to go back.

Like the grilled octopus in Greece, DV was all about mussels.  I don't really ever eat seafood in Serbia, one because we don't have a coast and two because the meat is really good.  We had a big mussels lunch for about 12 Euro (double the Montenegrin prices!) and went on our way to the main attractions.  It really is an awesomely pretty place.  I have always liked the walled city idea and architecture.  Cities like Venice, and Toledo (Spain, not Ohio), where it's just narrow alleyways going in all different directions, no cars, just people on foot and the odd bike.  The city is all built in this white marble, even the floor, which makes it really slippery, because it has been worn down with the thousands of cruise and bus tours arriving daily.
Actually, that was my only turn-off, the amount of tourists around.  As much as we have traveled since moving here, we have been really great about missing the peak seasons, so having to wait in crazy lines or not being able to take pictures because there are other 50 people looking at the same panorama is not something I have been dealing with much.  But the views WERE worth the wait, and we got some good pics going around the wall.  Then we went to a bar that advertised the "best views in town" and they really did.  This little place was right along the rocks and had a ladder down to the coast.  DV doesn't have a beach per se.  It's on the ocean, but on the really deep part, so it's more like a big pier/marina.  Our friends C and J, who are much more adventurous than us wanted to dive off one of the cliffs.  The prime spot was roped off with a sign that said "VIP Area" and there were some random dudes in there, so there was not a lot of space for us to hang out.  But Phil, K, R and I got some beers while our Hawaiian diver extraordinaire buddies dived about 10 meters into the bluest waters I have seen.   Everyone at the bar cheered them on, I actually had sweaty palms just thinking about it, but it was definitely safe, and both of them are pretty much pros.  I would be super that girl who doesn't jump far enough and hits her head on a protruding rock 1 meter below and falls lying down flat and unconscious, while probably losing her bathing suit in the process.  So no diving for me.  Additionally, I have also been suffering from a bad shoulder for about ...a year now, so no thanks.

Post dive pic

The best thing of this trip was C's crazy tripod contraption for her camera.  She bought this little 3 flexible tube mount that can be attached to anything.  Just bend the legs to the shape of the post, chair, tree, or
railing and voila! an instant group picture can be taken.  Actually, it was the same one that our friend B. had brought to Amsterdam.  Same, same but different.  Anyway, the theme of the trip was to take as many group pics as possible.  It was really funny though, when people unsuspectingly passed in front of the camera and we all went "ahhhhh" or "no!, no!, no!, STOP! Most of them just kept going and stared at us while we stood there, completely still, with cheesy smiles on our faces, staring at the camera that should not be there.

After the diving, the VIP area was completely empty, but still roped off.  C. and I were like, "were taking over this joint!" so we walked past the sign and pulled out the chairs that had been all stacked neatly on top of the table and became the new VIP-ers.  It's so weird how you can just do that.  No bar employee came down to complain or say anything, and at the same time no other patrons dared to cross it. We were like super fake celebrities.

VIP!

After the diving, we went to our house, that C had booked online, which was cool cause it was a REAL house for the 6 of us. We had a full kitchen,3 bedrooms, and 2 baths;  but like everything that sounds like a too awesome deal, it had it's downfall.  For this house it was that it was literally over 300 steep steps up a hill; going into the walled city from the house was a good 20 minute-sweating-profusely-while-panting hike.  No joke; the kind of hike that if you forgot your camera and you were already down the hill, you would rather make Dubrovnik a mere memory rather than climb that evil thing again.

Nevertheless, we climbed, and that night, we had Chef J prepare us a super yummy home cooked meal.  Earlier that day, while we had been waiting tirelessly at the airport for our flight, they had gone to the market and picked up some fish and vegetables.  We prepped some rice, salad, and other good stuff and ate in the balcony, overlooking the ocean.  Really nice stuff.

The next day, we had booked a sort of tour around three local islands.  The tour promised an hour on the first two and three hours on the last one, along with lunch and unlimited soft drinks and wine.  Well, there was a reason while that 'awesome deal' was only 30 Euros.  The wine was terrible, the soft drinks were like Rock Creek Soda (you need to be a DC person to know what that is) and the fish at lunch was terribly overcooked.  We only spent half an hour on the first two islands, and that was half an hour too long.  There was nothing to see or do on them.  Get off, look at 2-3 restaurants and some crazy hills for 'views' and wait in the shade to get back on the boat.  At least the boat was pretty nice and not too crowded.

The last island was much better though and we had time to swim and get some drinks on the shore. Even though we were there for a very short time, I have to say it might be one of the best beaches I have ever been to.  Caribbean beaches might be the most beautiful, but I like it better when the water is a little bit cold and the ocean is a bit rough.  This had the perfect amount of waves for playing around and it was the perfect temperature.  Plus, like in Belgrade, we paid some money to sit on some chairs, under an umbrella and got some drinks brought to us.  So easy, so great.

best.beach.ever

That night, after getting all primped up, we went out to dinner and then to get drinks.  I had a large plate of mussels all to my self!   We were going around trying to find a nice mojito place, like the one we loved in Sarajevo (a post I might write 3 months too late) but instead ended up to the closest thing I have seen to a frat party in this part of the world:  the bar with the bucket drinks.  Now, who deep down inside doesn't wish they were 19 and still could party like that?  But the truth is we're old now, one round of buckets later we were done.  But we found the 'grown-up' alternative to the slushee buckets: the mojito karafes.  I forgot to mention that in between dinner and drinks, Phil got a present from the group...

That guy

The mojito karafes, too sweet, but fun

I just really wanted to post a pic of our official photographer, C.

The next day, we all went our separate ways, C. and J. wanted to see more views through the funicular.  K. and R. went to a monastery, and of course, Phil and I, being super Puerto Rican, went shopping.  Not that there were a ton of good places, but enough.  We got two really cool wood pictures from a local artist and I got a necklace.  At like 2 PM, our friends dropped us off at the bus stop, where we took the never-ending torturous bus to Split.  After 5 long hours, we made it right at sunset, so at least we got to see some nice views.  Split wasn't all that great, but I had more mussels, and some grilled calamari, and just a nice, relaxing night.  According to our friends, the place to go is Hvar island, which if we'd had more time, I would have totally tried to go to.  But next year, when some friends visit, definitely.

Going bananas in Belgrade

Literally.  I have always loved bananas, and even more banana flavored things.  In DC, it mostly meant strawberry-banana yogurt or the Tropicana juice or my beloved Chunky Monkey Ben and Jerry's ice cream. This summer has brought me three new banana flavored items that have become regulars in my weekly shopping.

Notice the name in English, "Milkshake"

Chocolate-Banana Milk?  SIGN ME Up!  This will be my breakfast staple for awhile.  If there is one thing I love more than banana flavor, it is chocolate!  Maybe I will add some peanut butter to it and make a REAL milkshake.  Yum.

Too good to be true?  Nope. 100% real

I first noticed these pops at the typical ice-cream freezers all over town and then realized they sell it in "bulk" at the Maxi.  It's basically a gummy banana flavored "peel" that you literally peel off and then you are left with a banana creamsicle.

Someone PLEASE start exporting these

Belgrade Beer Fest and more giant produce

Two weekends ago it was Belgrade Beer Fest and even though a couple of friends told us not to get too excited, that it was nothing to write home about, we still made plans to check it out thinking of it as sort of a dress rehearsal for Oktoberfest.  Well, we liked it so much on Friday night that we decided to go back again on Saturday AND then again on Sunday.

The food stations, just two choices: Pljeskavica or Sausages

Beer Fest consisted of about 25 beer tents, including a Mexican themed one selling dos equis, corona and the like, 5 giant food stalls, a stage with local bands with the TV screen, all set-up in a ginormous field where people could walk around and visit the tents along the confluence of the two rivers (Usce).
The great surprise element - and what became the main source of fun and entertainment- was the unadvertised carnival inside the fest.  State Fair-like rides were all set up in one side of the field bringing together families, college kids and the occasional tourist.   Given, I'm pretty sure most of them were decommissioned in the US back in the early nineties and then re-sold to various second/third world countries before making it into Serbia..but nevertheless, we still rode in them.  Because really?  What are the odds that you pick the exact ride, exact seat, date and time when it's going to fall apart?  I figured that if it was my time to die, then there was nothing I could do about it.

Really fast but close to the ground, it seemed like the safest alternative

I nicknamed this one "the spaceship"  it seemed harmless, until it lifted up to the sky and started rotating like crazy

Me and Phil cheering to our survival

The 4-in-1 picture is courtesy of my new friend M. who is new to Belgrade and is clearly a more talented photographer than I am.  You might think I'm pretty fearless, but the truth is that I am a total scared-y cat when it comes to getting on those rides.  It took a lot of pleading from Phil and many hesitant looks and "waiting moments" to get me on that Speedy.  Phil and our Saturday group were way more enthusiastic; especially K. who happily rode with Phil on the spaceship and some other evil-looking ones.  We all put our foot down when it came to the whole circle-upside-down pirate ship.  It was really funny, though, that some of the rides had typical American propaganda like a cartoon of Uncle Sam and a bald eagle. 

The second highlight after the rides, was the BLUEBERRY beer.  Most of the people in our group thought it was too sweet, but we really liked it.  For me it was the perfect combination between a beer and a cocktail, not too bitter, not too sweet; not too filling but not too strong.  We spent most of our time in that tent, the Black Turtle, and then walking around a little bit through the other carnival -like games.  On Friday, my friend V proved to be really good at darts; she was able to get a pin in the bulls eye and two others on the circle right outside of it, which I was sure it would get her a semi-decent prize (except, really, there weren't any, except one ALF doll that we lobbied for to no avail), but the man just gave her a super pathetic mini-doll, the kind that you would get from a 25cent vending machine.  Then I guess he felt really bad for me, because I tried to play another game, throwing tennis balls to some tins and literally made a complete ass of myself, missing every tin.  He still gave me a consolation prize of another awful looking thing that I gave away immediately. 

V squared and our fabulous prizes

Last but not least, we are still enjoy some great produce with the last months of summer.  Here I am with a giant stack of green onions.

Greeeeen Giant!

Beyond Belgrade: Mokra Gora

When my friends K and R invited me to join them on a road trip to Mokra Gora, I had no idea what they were talking about.  I asked around at work and got very conflicting messages from, "It is definitely a must-see, you need at least 3 days" to "so not worth it, if you are going to drive 3 and a half hours, go to Budapest again".  Since they were going to go regardless, I decided to check it out for myself and come back with a full report.

The main attraction at Mokra Gora, besides the mountain scenery, is this train called the Šargan Eight, which used to be part of a "Romantic Road" route back in the pre-war days.  Now, they have reconstructed the most scenic parts and changed the original train cars to more touristy ones for a sightseeing ride through the mountain side.  The name Sargan Eight comes from the fact that if you went on a helicopter or on a plane over the tracks you would see a figure eight.  Also, according to Wikipedia, Mokra Gora are the words in Serbian for Wet Mountain.

Landscape as seen from a lookout point

Before getting on the train, we went to the other must-do nearby, a so called  "Ethnic Village", which is a nostalgic replica of what a Serbian village would have looked like back in the old days.  It was a cute little arrangement of wooden cottages that are now restaurants, shops, and tourist traps.  We had heard rumors that Johnny Depp had once filmed a movie in the area and that they had made a statue of him.  I asked one of the ladies that worked there, and it seems that the legend is true, but that they moved the statue to an unknown location because of "the construction."  I am not sure what construction she was referring to since 1.  There was whatsoever NO new construction anywhere around where we were and 2.  If anything is going to bring crazy American tourists to the middle of the Serbian countryside, it will certainly be a life-sized replica of Johnny Depp.  Oh, well.

As I was writing this, I did a quick online search and it is certainly true!

Courtesy of USA TODAY.  Full Article here

Me in front of one of the authentic houses

The Ethnic Village, old cars and everything

The train ride itself took about 2 hours, first you get on the train (we had to go standing room only, because they were all booked for seats) to the top of the mountain.  We were lucky to have gorgeous weather, and since it was the 4:20 train, the sun was pretty much gone and the scenery was beautiful.  I really enjoy train travel and I love having the wind in my face and hair while going really fast, so I was really hogging my window and had my head out for the entire ride.  Once we reached the top (in about 45 minutes), they gave us 10 minutes to get off, take pictures, and look around before boarding to go back down.  Then we kept stopping and re-boarding on the way down.  On the second stop, I think EVERY single person got an ice cream from those classic European freezers with the cardboard index.  Later, we stopped at a lookout point and finally at a cafe, where people get coffee, soft drinks or beer.  On the way back, I met a Spanish guy that is married to a Bosnian, who were spending the weekend there with their kids and her family.  He told me that they rented a house right by the tracks for 13 people for two days for only 60 Euro!

The long and winding road

Hanging out.  Literally.

So, the 36,000 dollar question:  Worth it?  I definitely enjoyed it and I am very glad I went.  If you already live in Serbia, and really like trains I'd say go for it, even if it's a long day trip.  If you have young kids and a big group, it could be fun to make it into a weekend of relaxation and nature bonding.  The drive is kind of a pain.  We left here at 9:15 and didn't get there till 1:45.  Good thing I had packed some snacks for the road.  Also, like most other attractions here in Serbia, there were NO clear road signs advertising the way, and the GPS proved to be not very trustworthy.  Getting to the main road was easy enough, but since it's nestled in the mountain ranges right by the Bosnian border, it was all curves and we kept getting stuck behind heavy trucks carrying everything from timber to live sheep.  There were times when were were doing 35 km/hr; which is less than 20 miles!   Kudos to R for his patience and excellent, one-lane-giant truck-passing skills.  If I had been the one driving, we probably would still be there.

Find me at Ada!

In my humble opinion the best, most awesome thing about Belgrade is its little beach island, Ada Ciganlija.  Neither a real lake or a real beach, Ada is this urban inlet in the middle of the city that was dug out and built as a small resort type strip in the banks of the Sava River.  Each summer, thousands of Serbian and European (and now American) tourists, sun bathe along the shores of Ada until they turn six degrees darker.  Having grown  up in a "real" island, Puerto Rico, I was a bit skeptical at first, but whoever is behind the urban planning in Ada is sheer genius.  First of all, unlike the beaches in PR, Ada's shores are chock-full of stuff to do.  There are regular bars, clubs, and restaurants; FLOATING bars, clubs and restaurants; bike paths, running tracks, paddle boats, canoes, real rowing boats (like crew), a water ski area, AND a bungee jump.  For the less adventurous/athletic types, you can just grab a beach chair or even a bed and just lounge around; you can rent a towel and an umbrella and order drinks or food.  And of course, in true Serbia fashion, you can buy just ONE drink and stay ALL day.  This is both good and bad.  It's nice if you are the one doing it, but it sucks when the best places are full and you want to grab a seat.  The "lake" is pretty clean, the water is clear and warm.  The only thing is that it's super rocky (pebbles rather) and kind of muddy.  But since it's fresh water, you don't get that gross salty feeling or the stinging in your eyes.  I am a big fan.

The Ada beach 

For the sun phobes like me

Hanging out in the water

Also, in the true European spirit, 99% of the men wear speedos. Unfortunately, you can't see that in the picture.  The one guy standing up, is in fact Canadian; hence his trunks.  All women wear bikinis, given most Serbian women are pretty hot and thin, but I have definitely seen a couple who should probably cover up.  I am the only person in the entire beach with a tankini.  I don't think tankinis exist here, but I will not wear a real bikini cause I don't think the Serbs are ready for my jelly.  Anyway, the plan is to hang out here as often as possible before the harsh winter weather comes back.