Solo travel from Athens to Berlin while criss-crossing across the Balkan Country's by air and coach

Map of the Balkan Country's and South Eastern Europe.

As we grow up from childhood to adulthood and throughout our lives we all have our heroes and villains over the years and decades.I dedicate this marathon European solo tour to two of my  hero's ,Late Indian Cricketer Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi(Tiger Pataudi) and American celibrity traveler chef /author Late Anthony .Bourdain.Envied  Anthony .Bourdain for his lifestyle and travelogues as a chef while stunned by his bizarre suicide at the zenith of his career.Why would a man having the World at his feet decide to physically end it all ? Made me realize at a very late age in my life that wealth,fame and money that i and most of the human race is chasing is  not the only criteria for happiness in a material World.

Europe travel by bus,aeroplane and simple marathon walks.

                               As for Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi was amazed that although losing his right eye in a car accident at the young age of 21 years  he continued with his passion for Cricket and on his way in the game became India's youngest Test Captain.I almost lost the vision of my left eye in a freak unexplainaible accident on Wednesday(9/5/2018) that almost put  a  end to my planned solo travel tour of Europe. Had to undergo  a "Left Eye Operation" by Dr Saumil.Sheth at "Envision Superspeciality eye hospital(Jogeshwari)"  and numerous medical tests under the supervision and treatment of Dr Shruti.Kothari at "Kothari Eye & Contact Lens clinic " at  Prabhadevi in Mumbai.My fitness  therapy in Mumbai  consists of daily swimming 2 Kms + at the "M.G.M.O(Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Pool)" where another regular young swimmer whom i ocassionally came across was Mr Ajay.Lalwani who is  totally blind.

What  JET LAG :- Decades of travel  living off a suitcase !

In fact when i first saw him didn't realize he was totally blind until another fellow swimmer told me the same and was amazed at his normal lifestyle inspite of being totally blind.At worst  i would lose a eye and not be totally blind at my young  age in life. Finally recovered  in the nick of time for  my scheduled tour departure from Mumbai with minor eye self medication as accompanied luggage and a lighter bank balance due to medical costs ! Once in the early 1970's  my elder  maternal cousin Mr Selwyn.D'silva  took me to the Brabourne stadium for a local match although i didn't know the "A.B.C.D" of cricket barring a few  household test cricketer's names among whom was Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi better known as the Nawab of Pataudi or "Tiger Partaudi".

AIRPORT SHOCK:- Ticket not booked

                                                                                                   Saw Mansur Ali Khan bat during  the  match while also later entertaining the spectators  by  hilariously demonstrating to the era's fastest and most handsome local First class bowler Saeed. Hatteea  the technique of batting.Hippy style long haired Saeed.Ahmed.Hatteea although the fastest Indian bowler of his era was never ever selected to play for India.That scene is as vivid as yesterday in my imagination and little did i realize that decades later as a adult  would almost lose my left  eyesight in a bizarre unexplainaible accident akin to being hit by a cricket ball bowled by Saeed.Hatteea .The biography of Late Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi as well as a normal Mumbaikar lifestyle by commoner totally blind swimmer Mr Ajay.Lalwani  gave me moral courage during my recovery  in coping with this almost unexplainable  crippling "EYE INJURY ACCIDENT".

At Mumbai airport with costliest air ticket.

Preperation for the solo travel :- On Tuesday(17/4/2018) booked my air ticket months in advance   through"www.makemytrip.com"with Egypt Air costing  Rs 40,683 only.Next booked my  hostel reservations and  also the air and coach travel tickets beginning from Athens and culminating in Berlin.A long 28 days on the road and air  before returning back home to Mumbai.Last was the "Schengen Visa" application formalities applied through  the Greek Consulate in Delhi which was done through "Farshak Travels(Prabhadevi)". Although this was my fourth visit to Europe as a tourist  on a "Schengen Visa" the application formalities were the same as usual with a intense scrutiny of financial solvency.The total fees for the "Greek Shengen Visa" and "Shengen Travel insurance" amounted to Rs 10,911 only.My travel idol Late Anthony.Bourdain sponsored by "C.N.N" channel catered to the elite luxury class traveller as well as common C.N.N  viewers while my travelogue blogs are strictly for the nomad economy class budget traveller tourist and is totally self-financed.What is life without a little travel and a little taste of travel delicacies in different city's across the Globe ?

Athens :- The drive from Athens airport to Syntagma Square by bus "X95" through flooded road on a rainy day.Unbelievable "FLOODING" of the main road as i travelled from the airport to Syntagma Square,the city centre of Athens.What a start to the "MARATHON SOLO TRAVEL TOUR" ?

Sunday (29/7/2018)Start of the Solo travel tour.Departure Mumbai :- 

Touching down at "Athens Airport".Costliest air travel.

                                                                                                             On Saturday (28/7/2018) it was a rare total dry day in Mumbai city and at 2230 hrs left my home in  Prabhadevi in a taxi  for the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal-2.I was thanking my luck for the rain God's favouring me but on entering the airport "Egypt Air" check-in terminal received one of the worst shocks of my life.Seem's one of India's premier travel portal's "www.makemytrip.com" had not booked my flight ticket from Mumbai to Athen's but had only confirmed the return air ticket from Berlin to Mumbai.I tried ringing the staff of "www.makemytrip.com" from the airport but there seemed to be some error and to my worst nightmares realized i might have to go back home rather than fly to Athens via Cairo.

Boarding bus "X95" from airport to Syntagma Square.

                                                                          The Egypt Air staff member who detected the booking error  told me that he could issue me a fresh ticket through a travel agent  as seats were availaible and after paying a extra Rs 31,000 finally got my confirmed reservation to Athens via Cairo on the same plane.Departure to Cairo was delayed by a hour and at 0400 hrs  on Sunday(29/7/2018)  was heading to Athens via Cairo. A pleasant journey although the lunch was drab due to the absence of alcohol beverages as "Egypt Air" doesn't serve alcoholic drinks on all its flights.Costliest single air ticket of my decades  of travel with no booze was another air travel experience by itself.Reached Cairo on time and came across a young sea-farer from Mumbai Mr Vinayak.Shah who was on his way to Piraeus port to join the Caribbean luxury cruise ship "Horizon" in the catering department.Got to inderstand the economics of cruise tours which is expensive luxury travel akin to 5-star hotel expenditure.

 Finally at  "Athens House" , a palatial apartment hostel .

 As a "Solo Traveller" you are never alone and  after a transit lay-off at Cairo  boarded the flight to Athens.Arrived in Athens in the afternoon ,my sixty seventh country of International travel with script of  the costliest real life "Greek tragedy" drama in terms of the cost and mental anguish experience.It was  akin to running a Marathon or swimming the Dardenelles ! After the normal immigration clearance walked out of the airport arrival lounge to the right side of the exit gate  and after a short walk came across the bus booking counter. 
   

The street outside "Athens Hostel".

                    Purchased the 6 Euro single ticket to Syntagma Square and boarded bus "X95" .The sky was cloudy and on the long 42 Kms  bus journey we came across heavy rainfall accompanied by  lightningand thunder.Wahat was this cruel real life joke on me ? Had evaded rains in Mumbai and here in distant Europe was facing the worst flooding of the day in Athens city. .The street was flooded akin to a stream although the streets were perfectly paved .Luckily  after approximately half an hour of travel  on reaching Syntagma Square the rain abruptly stopped akin to magic.Asking  directions from locals walked the long way  to Omonoia Square.Came across a few Pakistani origin shop owners on the walk from Syntagma street to Omonoia  Square. a distance of approximately 1.6 kms. The biggest problem was finding the address of "Athens House" and a Pakistani shopkeeper guided me in the right direction through "Google maps" also advising me to be careful of my belongings as theft was not uncommon in that locality.Nice cosy hostel occupying the entire fifth floor of the building and situated in a prime locality of Athens with excellent WiFi.

Omonoia  locality.My residence in Athens.

The hostel manager Mr Mikhail(Michael) allotted me  my bed in "Room N0 20" a nice cosy three bed's single room having a open-air terrace garden facing the main road.Bizarrely the vicinity of Omonoia  was a replica of Old South Bombay now Mumbai with 6 to 8 storey  buildings having  palatial galleries facing the  roads. Omonoia  is one of the oldest localities in Athens and the old buildings are proof to the history of this locale in Athens.Thanks to the excellent hostel "WiFi" that i got in touch with home and also continued typing  my travel blog.After some rest and a nice hot water bathe made my way out of the hostel down the vintage lift and onto the street below.Had read reviews about the locality being dangerous and was advised to stay safe by the Pakistani origin  shop-keepers whom i came across on my walk from Syntagma Square to the hostel who spoke fluent Hindi/Urdui .Realized the reasons for the locality being notorious as there was  a lane close to the hostel housing street dwellers beside's a  few "Street walkers" standing below the plush "Liberty hotel"  situated on the road opposite Athen's hostel building .

Buildings in Omonoia locality near "Athens Hostel".

  Young ladies plying their trade although i did't notice any hooker being picked by a customer.Everyone in this World has to earn a living least of all "Hookers" .Otherwise a very normal locality with busy street traffic, numerous  shops ,restaurants and  hostels/hotels  in the vicinity.This was Europe at its cosmopolitan best with various strata's of society  from the "Good,the Bad and the Ugly" co-existing in harmony.Was surprised at the cheap fruits available with excellent peaches and pears selling for  2 Euro's /Kg.Dinner was peaches and pears with  a ice-cream as dessert.I had not slept for over 24 hrs beside's also having a very bad cough.After a short walk in the vicinity returned back to the hostel and had a decent night's sleep.

One of the World's Most recognizable Historic sights  The "PROPYLAEA"  :-Entrance  gateway to the ruins of the Acropolis hill complex .

Monday(30/7/2018) Athens :-  Was up awake at 0230 hrs after my normal 4 hrs sleep and began my internet work in the open-air gallery garden.

"Dimotiki Agora(Public Market) of Athens.

                                                                  "Internet WiFi" of the hostel was excellent and fast akin to the "Reliance Jio  4G " network back home in Mumbai.Later after daybreak had a hot water bathe and after dressing myself walked out of the hostel for breakfast at the 24/7 open-air street cafe "Bon Appetit".After the costliest "Single air trip Bon Voyage " from Mumbai to Athens  it seemed ironic that my bonny(Hindi slang for First) breakfast of the travel tour on European soil was in a restaurant named "Bon Appetit".Observed a large flock of pigeons at the garbage collection  point situated at the entrance of a parallel bifurcating street whose footpath housed the homeless of Athens.Yes,First World Country's also have the homeless and poor.Breakfast was a large "Sausage Roll" with "Expresso coffee".After breakfast walked back into the hostel and made preparations for the day's exploration of Athens city.

"Church of Pantanassa " on Monastiraki Square..

 Walked upto Omonoia Square and asked for directions to the Acropolis with one of the numerous street hawkers in the vicinity.Was told  to walk in a straight direction along the main bifurcating road at Omonoia Square.At 0900 hrs  walking along Athinas street  got to view the local shopkeepers beginning their normal daily business by opening their shops for the day .Came across a pet store that sold exotic pet's which included parrots and iguana lizards beside's a variety of fish species.Spotted a few kittens in a cage and on inquiry was told that they cost Euro 350/each and resembled the "Bengal Breed" in colouration .

Monastiraki  Square :- Start of ascent to Acropolis hill 

Walking further down Athinas street  came across the "Dimotiki Agora(Public market)" of Athens also  called "Varvakios Agora".The butchers were just opening shop and beginning their trade. Pork and beef shops situated next to each other and came across a beef shop situated next to a pork shop whose employees were of Pakistani origin and seems the majority of the Asian origin diaspora of Athen's was  of Pakistani origin.Decided to explore the market some other day as my main agenda was to visit the "ACROPOLIS" of Athens.After a brief look at the market walked straight down the road until i reached Monastiraki Square  which also has the metro station of the same name.The Acropolis hill was clearly visible in the distance and came across the Greek orthodox "Church of Pantanassa" which i entered , my first entry into a place of religious worship in Athens.This small church was known as the Great Monastery and later Monastiraki(Little Monastery) from which this locality got its name.

"HADRIAN'S LIBRARY" 

 From the church walked a little uphill and came across  "Hadrians Library".It was a large open ground with the ruins of "Hadrian's Library" akin to a demolished building in the modern era.Entered the complex and purchased the 30 Euro  Combo ticket that allows the tourist to visit a few sites of Ancient Athens within a time frame of 5 days which  included  the Acropolis slopes and hill.

At the statue of "Godess Nike"

After purchasing the ticket entered the vast ruins and the most important exhibit was of the goddess "Nike" kept in a enclosed viewing room."Hadrians Library" was created by Roman Emperor  Hadrian in AD 132. on the north side of the Acropolis.Within the ruins of the ground came across a few kittens and a cat and Athens is one of the rare European city's in which i spotted free roaming stray cat's .From "Hadrian's Library" it was a uphill walk towards the Acropolis and came across the ruins of the "Roman Agora".Skipped visiting the "Roman Agora " deciding to visit the same the next day.It was a long uphill trek towards the Acropolis and had  a brief stop at "Aeropagus Hill" situated at a height of 115 meters between the three hills consisting of Acropolis,Pnyx and the Kolonos Agoriaos .The View of Athens city and its surroundings was excellent from this hill.After a little rest at the "Aeropagus Hill" viewing point made a grand entry into the main "Acropolis"complex which had a large serpentine queue for purchase of tickets.Purchasing the "Euro 30 Combo Ticket" helps the tourist skip the long queue as August is peak tourist season in Greece with the weather excellent and cool bright sunshine.The freak downpour of rain that greeted my arrival in Athens was a rare phenomenon at this time of the year.

One side angle view of Athens city from "Aeropagus Hill". Excellent "360 *Bird's Eye View" from the hill.

 Finally made it to the peak of Acropolis hill located at a height of  150 Meters( 490 ft) and realized my school boy dreams of actually viewing ancient Greek history that i had studied in the text books and over the decades viewed in the print and motion picture media.

Queue for entrance to "ACROPOLIS HILL COMPLEX".

The entire ground was crowded with tourists and it was a bright sunny day with cool pleasant weather and definitely not hot and humid.Viewed the Panthenon and other ruins in the Arcopolis complex.The Parthenon is dedicated to the Godess Athena and was constructed between 447BC and 432B.C during the peak of the Athenian Kingdom.Parthenon is regarded as a enduring symbol of Western civilization and Ancient Greece  as also one of the World's greatest cultural monuments.Was fascinated at the sight of the open air theatre of  " Herodes Atticus" situated on the South west slopes  which since restoration in 1950 has played host to a "Who's Who"  of International music and stage entertainment.Next walked down the south  slopes of Acropolis hill towards the ruins of the "Dionysius Ancient Theatre".This open air theatre lies at the foot of the Acropolis hill and  is dedicated to the God of play's and wine "Dionysius".Supposed to be the Worl'd first theatre and the birth of "Greek Tragedy" play's.This site has been used as a theatre since the sixth century B.C with the present ruins dating back to fourth century B.C..After finishing my tour of the Acropolis and the slopes made my exit onto the Plaka district of Athens.From the Plaka made  inquiries about the "Onassis cultural centre" as well as the "Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural centre", the shipping tycoons that defined the advent and romanticism of 20th century shipping.

"Odeon of Herodes Atticus " :- Built in 161 A.D and restored in 1950 this theater located on the South West Slope of Acropolis is now a venue for music concerts with a seating  capacity for 5000 people. Some of the World's top music and theatre artists have performed at this venue which also hosts the annual "Athens Festival".

As a seafarer whose initial  family income has its roots from the shipping industry it would be sacrilegious if i did not visit at least one of the cultural  centres besides having  grown up on the romantic fables and tragic real life Greek theater of the Aristotle.Onassis family.         

The Parthenon.

Came across the "Onassis  centre" office building that  was not open to tourists and on inquiry realized that the "Onassis Cultural Centre" was a complicated bus  journey from Athen's town centre and hence decided to visit the "Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural centre "as it provided free bus service from the town centre. As a tourist time factor was a major constraint  and at least visiting one of the  former Greek Shipping tycoon's cultural centre would fulfill my "Family Shipping Pilgrimage" wish of visiting the land that gave modern shipping its glamour and money.

GREEK TRAGEDY :-  "THEATRE OF DIONYSOS" 

Walked all the way from Plaka to Syntagma  Square and on inquiry at the tourist Office about bus timings to "Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural centre "was told that the next shuttle service was at 1500 hrs and hence was early by over two hrs .Decided to walk back to the hostel and after a quick snack at the McDonalds restaurant made the 1.6 Kms walk to "Athens House" hostel.After a brief rest at the hostel made my way back towards Syntagma square and on the way purchased a three-pin electric adapter for my laptop from a Pakistani origin mobile shop costing  4 Euro's , very exorbitant in comparison to prices in India.Now you know the that the reasons for difference in cost of living between the developed and developing World  is that  wages are high in First world Country's in comparison to developing Country's like India beside's having excellent public infrastructure and public health facilites..

View of the planted roofs of "National library of Greece",,Greek National Opera " and "Parking Buildings" from ""Lighthouse Path"  of  the "SNFCC(Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre)" in Athens :- Designed by architectural firm "Renzo Piano Building workshop" the "SNFCC" was constructed through a grant by the "Stavros Niarchos Foundation" and completed in 2016.It was delivered to the Greek State in 2017 and is modern architectural wonder of Europe and the World.It houses the "National library of Greece" and the "Greek National Opera".In  November 2016 ,the SNFCC achieved the highest award for sustainable design and construction  ,the "Platinum LEED" award given for its innovative architecture and green technology.

On reaching Syntagma square waited for the shuttle bus service on the street outside the McDonald's restaurant. 

At the entrance gate  of "SNFCC" .A marvel of design.

                                                                Boarded the mini van bus at 1515 hrs and it was a pleasant drive along the plush avenues of Athens towards "Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural centre".We reached the centre within twenty minutes and the sight that greeted my eyes was akin to viewing the building of a  21 st century Acropolis.A modern wonder of the World and not in ruins.A Canal which is 400 meters in length and 30 meters wide welcomes the visitor at the entrance gate.Water used in the Canal comes from the sea and is processed in reverse osmosis units.Treated water is used for irrigation of the landscaped terraced forest garden of Stavros national park.Unbelievable modern technology synchronizing with nature.The 70-150 Cms deep 400 mtrs long canal is also used for weekly "Sailing" and "Kayaking" lessons for children and adults.

Greek Orthodox Church.

This building complex is totally in tune with environment protection and has been awarded numerous prizes and considered one of the best architectural marvels of Europe. Visited the "Lighthouse" of the complex that gives a bird's eyes view of Athen's harbour and the city as it is the tallest building in the vicinity.There are no skyscraper buildings in Athens and the view from the "Lighthouse" was just amazing.Spotted the container ship's in anchorage as also the sail boats parked in the harbour.The terrace of the entire complex has a roof top garden akin to a mini forest.Imagine a artificial forest on the terrace of a building and "Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural centre" roof garden forest was not a artists imagination but a miracle of modern garden engineering.Later visited the vast "Greek National library " and viewed a documentary  on the construction  of this modern 21st century architectural marvel.I read about  Stavros.Niarchos being  a passionate "Horse Racing" enthusiast with his horse colours racing in England unlike his great  business rival Aristotle.Onassis who never raced horses but whose romantic and tragic personal life is the saga of a real life "Greek Opera".At 1730 hrs boarded the shuttle bus back to Syntagma Square and from there walked  towards Omonoia Square mistakenly taking a  different street and in the process discovering new locales of Athens.Came across a Greek restaurant displaying Greek cuisine and also a beautiful Greek Orthodox church.Pigeons are common all over Athens and came across a park that had a large flock of pigeons being fed by the locals and tourists.On reaching the hostel made friends  with my room-mate Thomas , a Italian on a study tour.Finally went to sleep at approximately 2200 hrs.

In "Dimotiki Agora" fish market doing my daily marketing ? As a "Marine Engineer" sailor the sea is in my veins and fish my staple diet.Most comfortable visiting fish markets all over the World and definitely the biggest market in Greece.

Tuesday(31/7/2018) Athens :-After my 4 hours sleep was awake at 0200 hrs browsing  common topics of discussion  on my computer.Next at daybreak was the hot water shower and after dressing made my way out of the hostel towards the now familiar route of Omanoia square.

"ATHENA ARCHEGETIS" :-Entrance  to Roman Agora.

On the way entered a Bangladeshi store and purchased a long Ecuador banana for breakfast.Banana's are my favourite  and back home in Mumbai one of the cheapest fruits akin to the cheap pears and peaches in Athens.Formal breakfast was a triple layer Greek cheese sandwich at a fast food shop on the main street of Omonoia station.After the sumptuous breakfast walked down the  now familiar Athinas street and into "Dimotiki Agora(Public Market) "where the meat butchers were busy at their job.Strolled around the market where the carcasses of cattle and poultry was displaid  in a grotesque manner in some shops akin to a piece of artwork.

Cat nap  among the ruins of the Roman Agora.

                                                                                                                                                  A shop having Pakistani workers told me that Hindi actor Shah.Rukh.Khan had visited the market years ago and seems films and cricket are a common topic of discussion on either sides of India and Pakistan border.Next entered the fish market situated next to the meat section and came across a wide variety of fish.Took a photograph with one of the fish vendor's and was impressed at the cleanliness of the market and the method of fish preservation in ice .From the fish market visited the fruits section situated on the opposite side of the road which was a normal ordinary market.After a brief tour of the markets walked down to the "Roman Agora(Market of Caesar and Augustus)"  which is located on the route  of the Acropolis and east of the "Ancient  Greek Agora".Began my first archaeological tour of the day among the ruins of the Roman Agora. The Monumental large entrance gate has inscriptions that tell us that Julius.Caesar and Augustus provided funds for building this market in the 1st century B.C.

"Tower of Winds" on east side  of Roman Agora.

The Roman Agora is a large open air courtyard surrounded by collonades and was the main market of the city.Just ruins in the courtyard which only a studied archaeologist could understand and decipher .Visited the only building intact which was the Octagonal shaped  "Tower of Winds"  designed to be a "Water Clock" from its inside and a "Sundial" from the outside.It has a weather vane on its top and given the nickname "Tower of winds" from the personification of the 8 winds carved on 8 sides of the building.From the "Roman Agora" next visited the "Ancient Agora" which was a short distance away from the Roman Agora situated  at the foot of Acropolis hill.On the way to the "Ancient Agora" came across two feral cats in the act of copulation,a very bizarre sight in the middle of the narrow tarmac road.As a cat fancier having two "Traditional Persian " cat's at home and also actively involved in Cat awareness and cat welfare  was surprised to see this spectacle in distant Athens.Filmed the same as akin to wild tigers or lions in Indian jungles its not daily that a tourist comes across a scene of two feral cats mating on the foothill of Acropolis hill.

Forrested terrain of Ancient(Greek) Agora complex.

.The "Ancient (Greek) Agora" is a large forested park with scattered ruins of monuments.Visited the museum which has historic disfigured statues.

Open Air Museum in "Ancient Agora" complex.

 After completion of the "Ancient Agora" walking tour made my way back and entered the "Athens Flea market " which was just like any normal market.Purchased a kilo of pears/plums costing just  1 Euro ,excellent and cheap akin to bananas in my home city of Mumbai.On reaching the hostel took some rest and conversed with room mate Mr Thomas who was studying the discipline of "Human Identity" and reading a thick version of the "Upanishad ".The third room-mate was another Caucasian from Russia who valued his privacy and didn't strike a conversation either with Thomas or myself.Thomas practiced Yoga and was one of the rare young men who didn't have a "Facebook" account.

Temple of Hephaestus  situated on the Agoraios Kolonos hill in Ancient Agora complex. Hephaestus was the patron Greek God of  Metal working, Craftsmanship and Fire.A well preserved Greek temple standing as it was originally built.From the 7th Century until 1834 this temple served as the Greek Orthodox church of  Saint George Akamates.

 You are never alone when you travel solo.Later in the afternoon decided to visit the Port of Piraeus.Today in 2018 i feel odd that i am totally disconnected from the "Shipping Industry" as a source of income  and into the profession of "Gambler /Speculator/Investor",

Alongside Statue of "Aphrodsiac"

                                                                                                       As a kid  grew up in a sea-faring house-hold and always had a ambition of joining the "Merchant Navy" and discovering the World with  Aristotle.Onassis and Stavros.Niarchos being  my idols.Remember that in the 1960's/70's  Aristotle .Onassis was  labelled as one of the World's wealthiest men which raised the "Stock Price" of sea-farers and the shipping Industry akin to the "I.T Czars" of 21st century technology era of wealth creation .Is there a single totally owned shipping Industry tycoon among the top ten wealthiest in the World in 2018 ?The answer is sadly a firm NO. After Aristotle.Onassis no other "Shipping Tycoon" has achieved the title of one of the wealthiest individuals on Planet Earth which speaks volumes of Greece and Greeks as a sea-faring nation with tales of individual captain's owning ships parked in Piraeus and awaiting a new charter voyage.Those were the day's of shipping folklore that i presume is history as the World and World economics has changed with  technology Industries in the era of the Internet and smartphones making billionaires out of first generation entrepreneurs.

At Port of Piraeus.Grew up on seafaring story's of Piraeus Port and swashbuckling entrepreneur seafarer's.That era no more exists as the "SHIPPING INDUSTRY" has evolved from the day's of Aristotle.Onassis ,Stavros.Niarchos and entrepreneur single shipowner Captains.

Walked the short distance to "Omonoia Station" and purchased a Euro 1.40 ticket to Piraeus.The station was less sophisticated in comparison to the other European Capital city's i have visited and reminded me a bit of my home city of Mumbai .

PIRAEUS TRAIN STATION.

The station was crowded with commuters and managed to get seating accommodation. Reached Piraeus within twenty minutes and  from the station it was a short walk to the boat jetty that had a few ferries anchored.Piraeus shattered my childhood image of Capitalist "Captains" waiting on the shore to recruit a crew for  new "Voyage"  or "Time" Charters.Beside's passenger's arriving at the pier the entire Piraeus docks was totally deserted and devoid of any shipping labour activity with which shipping ports are associated .Struck a conversation with a tourist from Rio de Jenerio who happened to have witnessed the World cup in Russia . Dr Williams,  a dermatologist by profession was a avid World traveller and wanted to visit Goa in India as it was a former Portuguese colony.

Piraeus Port :- A busy Ferry terminal of Europe.

As a solo traveller you are never ever alone and the conversation with Dr Williams was really educative.Totally disappointed with my chilhood image of "Piraeus Port" headed the short distance back to the station and boarded the train back to Omonoia Square.After arriving at the hostel checked my mail and was glad to receive the ticket booking voucher  from "Ryan Air" for the flight from Athens to Sofia.Took a printout of the same from the hostel desk-top computer.Later had  a snack  of "Kabab-Roti " at a Asian restaurant situated at the corner street  with foot-path seating.Cheap budget backpacker's survival meals. On all my foreign  tours  i always remember the plush food of home in Mumbai as i literally diet on tours in order to balance my budget with sight-seeing and travel.After the snack walked back to the hostel and just relaxed .At approximately 1800 hrs there was thunder  and it rained heavily  for a few minutes followed by bright  sunshine.Bizarre Athens weather identical to my home city of Mumbai.Strange but true.Lots of similarities between Athen's summer and Mumbai's winter weather.  After ages had a decent nights sleep of normal 4 hours.

At the "Temple of Olympian Zeus" also called "Olympieion" or "Columns of Olympian Zeus".

Wednesday(1-8-2018) Athens :-Woke up at 0300 hrs and as usual was on my bed with the internet duty .

Church of Panaghia Kapnikarea Greek Orthodox

 Later after my normal routines left the hostel heading towards Omonoia Square.Breakfast starters was a plum fruit with a small sausage roll.Walked all the way down Stadiou road to Syntagma Square and had breakfast at "McDonalds restaurant". The restaurant has a street cafe as do most cafe's all over Athen's. After breakfast inquired about the directions to "Plaka" and had a pleasant morning walk through the most beautiful locale of Ermou street .As it was early morning there was not much of a tourist crowd. Came across two small historic Greek Orthodox churches  the most significant being "Church of Panagia Kapnikarea "  built in 11th century and one of the oldest churches in Athens.

 Agios Nikolaos Ragavas" church in Plaka District.

From the junction of Ermou street walked towards the Plaka district and  observed a lot of Graffiti art on the walls of many of the old houses.Came across "Agios Nikolaos Ragavas"Greek Orthodox church  built in the 11th century and repaired in the 18th century.It was restored in the 1970's and was the first church in Athens to receive a "Church Bell" after the War of Independence in 1821.On October 12th 1944 this Church bell was the first to ring indicating Greek liberation from German occupation. Its a popular parish church with the locals of Plaka district.From Plaka next visited the "Temple of Olympius Zeus"  a former large Greek temple situated in the heart of the city about 700 meters from Syntagma Square  and which can be seen from the South  slopes of the Acropolis hill.

Beautiful Plaka locality of Athens.

This temple was dedicated to the God Zeus , the head of the Olympian Gods and today only sixteen columns of the temple survive of which one column lies on the ground.

Graffiti lined walls in plush Plaka locality of Athens.

From this temple walked further down the road  and came across  the Panathenaic stadium located in the district of  Pangrati.Originally since the 6th century B.C a race-course existed at this site. This stadium was excavated in 1869 and hosted the "Zappas Olympics" in 1870 and 1875 and later  the World's first modern Olympics in 1896.Entry tickets are required for entering the beautiful marble stadium but can be easily viewed from the exterior as it is not enclosed completely with a boundary wall.From the stadium walked across the road  garden into the Zappeion Garden complex. There was a army ceremonial march-past practice ceremony in progress .The Zappeion building that opened in 1888 was designed for the inaugural games of the first Modern Olympics that was held at the Panathenaic stadium a short distance away.This building was used as the main fencing hall for the inaugural 1896 games and over the decades has been the venue for historical events on its premises including Greece's amalgamation into the European community on May 1979. A very majestic and imposing building.From the Zappeion walked across to the adjoining "National Gardens" of Athens.

Zappeion Building in Athens.

From the Gardens  made my exit onto the main road  and after a brief walk entered the lawns of the  Royal Palace building completed  in 1843  and since 1934 housing  Greek Parliament .There was a large tourist crowd awaiting the ceremonial parade of the changing of  guards to be performed by the elite Evzones  that was to take place at 1100 hrs.Took a photograph with one of the two tall  Evzones standing on either side of the Parliament building entrance lawn.Minimum height qualification for a Evzone is between 1.87(6.1ft) to 2.10 meters(6.9ft) and although of medium height felt small standing alongside the statue like stillness of the Evzone guard.

Evzones regiment founded in 1868 were a elite Infantry in the Greek army having served in many wars  and would be completing 150 years of service in 2018.Today there are just about 100 Evzones   who perform ceremonial duties  and guard duties at the Presidential Mansion and "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier". After the ceremonial changing of guards by the Evzones  made my way into the "King George Luxury hotel" to inquire about the hotel tariff's which was only Euro 370 for the cheapest room . My extra Rs 31,000 flight ticket cost if spent on this luxury hotel  could have made me cherish the experience of living like a aristocrat for a day in "King George Luxury hotel". "Nick the Greek" would have agreed on my reasoning as a  'Gambler/Investor" .

At the "PANATHENAIC OLYMPIC STADIUM" in Athens.The only stadium in the World built entirely from marble.First Olympic games of the modern era were held at this stadium in 1896 and was also partly used in the 2004 Olympic games.The stadium  is the finishing point for the annual "Athens  Classic Marathon" and  is also the last venue for the handing over of the "OLYMPIC FLAME" to the host nation.My "Marathon Europe Balkan's Travel " would begin from Athens and end in Berlin testing my mental and physical limits to the zenith.

From  "King George Hotel" made my long 1.6 Kms walk back towards Omonoia Square and on nearing the Square junction noticed the advertisement of a "Sex Shop" on the first floor of a commercial building.What were the new innovations in the multi-billion dollars sex industry since the era of "Internet Pornography" and "Online Sex Shops" ?

Evzone(Presidential guard) at Greek Palace.

No harm in having a peep into the shop  for in the "Internet Era " sex products and media is available at the click of a mouse or smart-phone let alone the trouble and embarrassment of visiting a sex shop even though legal in a most Country's including Greece.Stepping into the plush "Sex Shop" that resembled a small department store did not excite  my erotic senses as it was "OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLE" ! From the sex shop made my way to the hostel and relaxed.After a brief rest decided to explore the lanes of Omonoia in search of some authentic cheap Greek food suitable for my backpacker travel budget.A local Greek stall owner had written down a restaurants name and decided to find the same but to my utter disbelief none of the locals seemed to be familiar with the restaurant.Wandering aimlessly asking directions was directed to a lane that resembled a mini-India or Pakistan ! Most of the restaurants in this narrow lane  were Pakistani restaurants with just a single Indian restaurant and honestly i felt i was in a congested  by-lane of my home city of Mumbai and not in the heart of Athen's city.

A mini India-Pakistan atmosphere in Athens.

A Pakistani would have felt of being in Karachi rather than Athens.I eat the best Asian food at home back in Mumbai and hence always eat local cheap cuisine when on overseas tours.Made my way back to Omonoia Square and to my utter disbelief spotted a Greek fast food restaurant in the heart of the busy square junction.Lunch was similar to yesterday's "Kabab-Roti" with the difference being that the meat kabbab was roasted pork and prepared in a sweetish taste served with finger-chips.After lunch walked the short distance back to the hostel that resembled a large private apartment with the entire fifth floor of "Aristotalous Building" owned by "Athens House".

Plush "School of Gastronomic" in Athens.

The building has two vintage mini-lifts with a single door that could accommodate only 2 people at a time.Travel educates and in my 67th Country's tour   came across this unique lift design which could also be scary to people accustomed to a safety double  closing gate inside the lift.The Russian guest had left and a Canadian of Afghan origin was the new guest.Surprisingly the  Afghan origin Canadian  Mr Amin spoke excellent Hindi as well as English as he was a security guard with a American company and had worked in Delhi for a few years.Spent the last evening  in Athens conversing with my fellow room-mates with ascetic Italian Yogi  Mr Thomas making me realize that  at times it takes foreigners to make us understand and appreciate our own Country.Yogi Thomas  intends visiting India and my bet is that this young man could do a Baba Ramdev in India.

"GREEK LAST WALTZ"at"Ermitaz Cafe"

 A "White European" teaching us Indians the Upanishads and Yoga. Travel educates.Left  the hostel at 2230 hrs and while walking down the familiar route towards Syntagma Square heard the sound of music emitting from a lane .Walked in the direction of the sound and came across a small Greek restaurant "Ermitaz Cafe"  having a live performance of local Greek music.A man and a woman took turns in singing romantic Greek songs to a small crowd seated on the passage outside the restaurant.I could't understand the language but the reaction of the women fans indicated that the lyrics  were romantic or tragic Greek love songs.After listening to a few songs began my walk towards Syntagma square.On arriving at the Square was surprised to see the Presidential Palace bodyguards doing their traditional march-past at 2245 hrs in the night . After watching the brief military tradition walked across the street onto the bus terminus .Purchased the 6 Euro's  bus ticket and at 2300 hrs was on bus "X 95" heading to Athens airport.Reached the airport in 45 minutes and after entering the departure terminal parked myself on a chair to spend the entire morning at the airport terminal.This was living life on the road and airports .

START OF THE BALKAN COUNTRIES TRAVEL ITINERARY :- Arrival in Sofia from Athens by " Ryan Air".My only internal flight in Europe during my 27 days travel and stays across the Continent.At times on certain routes in Europe   air travel  is cheaper than  travelling by plush coaches. Notice that i am the only "Sub-Continent Asian" among the passengers. In totally unchartered locale of the average "Sub Continent Asian Tourist".

Thursday(2/8/2018) Departure Athens arrival Sofia :-  At 0430 hrs checked in at the "Ryan Air" counter and was directed towards boarding gates "A30-43".

Landmark statue of Sveta Sofia(Statue of St Sofia) by sculptor Georgi.Chapkanov at St Nedelya Square in Sofia.This statue was erected in 2000 on the spot which formerly had a statue of Lenin.Local Bulgarians considered the statue too erotic and pagan to be referred as Saint as the statue has a owl which is the symbol of wisdom.The Crown on the statue symbolizes power while the wreath symbolizes fame.The Catholic  "Cathedral of St Joseph"  is in the background.The largest Catholic church in Bulgaria.The Cathedral was rebuilt and inaugurated on 21 May 2006  on its previous location after being totally destroyed in World War II.Pope John Paul II personally laid the foundation stone of this Cathedral during his visit to Bulgaria in 2002.

 It was a long endless walk from the departure terminal to boarding gates "A30-43" and i was in the elite company of the National Greek team of the Korean origin martial arts sport of "Tong So Do" on their way to England for a International tournament.I was hearing the name "Tong So Do" for the first time in my life. 

Chic "Hostel 44" in Sofia..

                                                                Boarding time was 0830 hrs and hence whiled my time on the internet busy with blogs and other Internet social work.After checking in through the immigration's realized that i had forgotten by sunglasses in the common airport lobby and it was too late to go back and retrieve the same.Another colossal loss to the already Rs 31,000 extra air fare as this particular sunglasses was the latest of its type in early 2005 when i had purchased it.Flight departure was prompt and within a hour at 0945 hrs was in Sofia airport,the shortest distance i have traveled by air  from one capital city to another in a different country.After the normal immigration formalities exchanged some Euro to the local currency Bulgarian Lev. 1 Euro = 1.96 Bulgarian Lev.

   

"Court of Justice" building in Sofia

As a middle class budget conscious Indian traveler my calculation was 1 Bulgarian Lev = Rs  42 approximately.   After exchanging the money walked into the airport metro station situated just minimal walking distance from the airport exit gate.Excellent clean station  and the journey to Serdika was approximately half an hour with the train gradually getting crowded.

On plush "Vitosha Boulevard".

On alighting at Serdika station the major jigsaw puzzle was finding the location of "Hostel 44". Luckily my smartphone battery had not run out of power and thanks to the stored google map address of the hostel managed to find my way to chic "Hostel 44 ". "Hostel 44 " reflected the youth culture as do almost all European hostels and akin to Mick.Jagger i also had to alter my mindset.Check-in time was 1400 hrs and after depositing my luggage in the cloak room inquired with the reception about local cuisine in the vicinity.To my disbelief there were a few restaurants within shouting distance of the hostel serving local Bulgarian cuisine.Since my arrival in Greece i was quenching my thirst by drinking tap water like a horse or canned beer instead of mineral water and the same habit's applied in Sofia where local beer is cheaper than mineral water.Lunch was beef soup/bread and salad with a queue system for purchasing meals.Since  leaving Mumbai this was my  first taste of soup instead of my staple diet of curry and it was excellent.

St Nedelya Church(Sunday Church) .The Eastern orthodox church in the centre of Sofia city that has been destroyed and rebuilt a few times since its probable construction in the 10th century.The last destruction of the church was in 1925 during a terrorist bomb attack that killed over 150 victims after which it was restored to its modern present day appearance.

 My cough and cold had disappeared and even if i had  lost a eye  would have continued my nomadic travels.After lunch checked into large "Room N0 217" which had a few other elderly guests and hence i was not the "Daddy Cool" resident in "Hostel 44".

"ANCIENT COMPLEX"  situated above the Serdika Metro Station.The remains of this Roman city of the same name was discovered recently in 2010 -2012 during excavation work for  developing the Serdika Metro station.Landmark "Banya Bashi  Mosque" can be seen in the background.

 The weather was similar to Athens except that it was cool and pleasant unlike Athens which had a high humidity and hotter than my home city of Mumbai. .After my normal bath got down to getting acquainted  to Sofia local culture.

  

PRESIDENCY BUILDING :- National Honour Guards.

  As a football fan and a  movie addict  having grown up during the "Cold War" era my most memorable characters from Bulgaria was the footballer Hristo.Stoichkov  and the fictional  ace villain "Red Grant" portrayed by actor Robert.Shaw in the James.Bond movie "From Russia with love".I was now definitely in love with Sofia weather and the  cool attitude of a beautiful and clean laid back city.Language is a problem as English language seems almost non-existent although a few people whom i approached did understand and comprehend the English language.Unlike "Athens House" which had the atmosphere of a large palatial private apartment "Room N0 217" in "Hostel 44" had eight  bunk beds which were occupied barring the bed below my bunk .   

National opera and Ballet building of Bulgaria in Sofia.

The large room had  excellently controlled air  conditioning.Hostels all over Europe have air conditioning  or heating if and when required as per local climatic conditions but no fans.Bizarre but true since i didn't notice the same after acquiring the unofficial title of "Half European" having traveled across most of Europe.Thanks to the freak  "Heat Wave" engulfing Europe that i noticed the fact that the hostel in Athens didn't have fan's but had winter heating coils although the hostel manager was complaining about the exorbitant air-conditioning electricity bills.That's the beauty of majority of  hostels in  Europe,clean and excellently maintained but without fans !I think i could make a claim in "Limca book of records" for the Indian having lived in the most number of hostels and hotels  around the Globe.Serious claim ?

LARGO :- Former Party head quarters of the Communist party of Bulgaria consists of a ensemble of 3 buildings of which i have photographed the main central building which was the "PARTY HOUSE" and is a landmark in Sofia.Built in the 1950's it is today regarded as a prime example of Socialist  Classicism architecture in Southeastern Europe.This building was once crowned by a red star on a pole during the Communist regime now replaced by the  flag of Bulgaria.

After a excellent hot water bathe decided to explore Sofia city through the "Free Walking Tours."Walked from the hostel towards the Grand mosque and was amazed on being surrounded by historical buildings.The Statue of Sophia is a very prominent landmark that towers over Sofia in Serdika locality.

Sofia Central Mineral Baths

Entered the large Central market where a shop was selling excellent bread.Tasted the best of Bulgarian bread as in Europe bread has unique flavours in different city's and akin to art is prepared with great delicacy.Next strolled around the beautiful Vitosha boulevard at whose entrance is the towering building of the "Court of Justice" guarded by two imposing black colored lions. Vitosha  boulevard is named after Vitosha mountains that surround Sophia city.This Boulevard has posh stores restaurants and bars  and was in 2007 considered the 22nd most costliest street in the World.At 1800 hrs a tourist crowd had gathered outside the meeting point and Tour guide Mr Nicola addressed the large tourist gathering as this was peak tourist season in the city.Weather was pleasant and sunny. 

Mineral Bathhouse in Sofia.

Pure natural"SPRING WATER" at 37*C.

We were split into two groups under two different guides and Mr  Nicola conducted our tour group. We were  serially lectured on   the 1) St Nedelya(Sunday Church) Bulgarian orthodox church once partly destroyed in a terrorist attack in 1925 2)Cathedral of St Joseph, the largest catholic Cathedral  in Bulgaria   as Bulgaria has a minority Catholic population. 3) The Grand Mosque which is the only functioning mosque in Bulgaria 4) The Great Synagogue.The largest synagogue in Europe but at present there are less than 5000 Jews in Sofia  due to the mass migration to Israel.All the religious edifices were  in close proximity to each other showing the harmonious cultural integration of the city during a part of  its history.We next strolled along the grand post second World war Stalinist era buildings of Sophia.Most outstanding was the former headquarters of the Bulgarian Communist party, the Lago. Visited the magnificent edifice of "Sofia Central mineral Bath-house" now since 2015  converted into the "Sofia Regional historical museum".On the grounds of the Mineral bathhouse are  numerous natural geyser taps emitting hot mineral water at approximately 37 * c and used for  curative purposes by the locals and tourists.Drank some water from the hot spring baths which could be the secret of my survival during the grueling long solo travel along the Balkan Country's culminating  in  Berlin.

Banya Bashi Mosque:- This mosque was built by the architect and Civil  engineer Mimar. Sinan during the era of the Ottomans rule over the City and its name signifies "Many Baths". The Mosque was built over natural thermal springs  and is notable by its large dome spanning 15 meters along with its tall minaret.Currently in 2018 the mosque is the only functioning Muslim mosque in Sofia , a legacy of the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria for five centuries.The Muslim community uses this mosque.

 From here walked to  the Sophia National Opera and Ballet building  situated in the midst of a beautiful garden.This building was designed in 1921 and built between 1947 and its final opening in 1953.

St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral:-  One of the largest Eastern Orthodox Cathedrals of the World it serves as the Cathedral Church of the Patriarch of Bulgaria.The Church can accommodate 10,000 people and is the second largest church in the Balkans after "St Sava Church" in Belgrade.The Church is in close proximity to "St Sofia Church" after which the city of Sofia was named.

Visited the Presidency building with the Presidential bodyguards at the entrance of the building and further away got a view of the " St George  Church(Rotunda Church)",a red brick rotunda edifice . This Church is the oldest building in Bulgaria and also in Europe situated within the excavated ruins of the ancient Roman city of Serdica.

 The Eastern Orthodox Saint Sofia  Church from which the city of Sofia derived its name is the second oldest church in  Sofia having Roman-Byzantine architecture and dating to the 6th and 7th century. Saint Sofia Church was opened to the public in 1999 after extensive repairs and is constructed at the highest point in Sofia and is  just adjacent to the St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. This church was built over several earlier churches and lies within the site of the former Necropolis of Serdica. The Church underground museum was opened in 2013 where viewers can view ancient ruins of buildings and tombs.During the Ottoman rule the Church was turned into a mosque  and after liberation from Ottoman rule was again restored  into a Church.

Last was our visit to "Saint Sophia Church" from which the city got its name and in close proximity to it is the imposing landmark Alexander Nevski Cathedral. 

Street Musician , a la Bob.Dylan cover copy.

 Our free walking tour came to a end at the Cathedral. Met two Indian tourists from Pune  among the "Free walking tour" tourists  who were on a group business convocation in the city.After the tour  lost my way back to "Hostel 44 " and thanks to my google map retraced my steps with the help of locals.Darkness set in at 2100 hrs and on arrival at "Hostel 44" strolled along the beautiful neighborhood that resembled a "City forest" with small two to three storey buildings in the midst of dense forest growth.Numerous trees within Sophia city making it one of Europe's greenest city's.A street singer was playing Bob Dylanesque type music at a corner of the road complete with mouth organ and felt sad that at times talented  musicians have to take up to street singing to earn a living.Beer compensated water and after a light dinner of beer, pizza, and ice-cream went to "Room N0 217" and made myself comfortable on my top bunk bed.A young Indian student Mr Siddharth.Chopde from Nagpur in India now studying in Denmark was on a holiday in Sofia and a co-roommate. Got some directions from him on visiting the famed Rila monastery.Had a excellent nights sleep, the best since the start of my travel sojourn definitely aftereffects of Sofia's famous "Mineral spring water".

Monastery of St Ivan of Rila established in 927 AD is the oldest and largest active religious centre in Bulgaria. :-  Traveled 120 Kms from Sofia by bus to reach "RILA MONASTERY", the largest Eastern Orthodox Monastery in Bulgaria. The "Assumption of  Virgin Mary" Church  and the "Tower of Hrelyu( 1334)  which is  the oldest building structure in the monastery complex are in the background of this photo. Notice the frescoes on the walls and arched domes of the church entrance portico.This Monastery houses around 60 monks and tourists are permitted overnight stays in a separate section of the Monastery on payment of 20 Lev/person.

 Friday(3/8/2018) Sofia:- My first good nights sleep after beginning my marathon travel tour in Athens.Was surprised to wake up at 0530 hrs rather than 0300 or 0230 hrs ! "Mineral Spring water" seemed to have rejuvenated my energy.

Bulgarian Countryside on bus journey to Rila Monastery.

After my normal toilet routines and bathe was in the small dining room for the "Free breakfast" which consisted of coffee/bread/butter/jam and cornflakes/milk.A few hostels provide "Free breakfast" as a incentive which is not actually free as nothing in life is free without reasons but the price included in the hostel rentals.Remember that most backpackers are either young students on holidays or senior employment retired travelers on a budget expenditure and hence a "FREE BREAKFAST" goes a long way in saving money in expensive city's.After breakfast walked down to Serdika station and from there to the "Court of Justice" building.Boarded "Tram N0 5" at the tram stop situated behind "Court of Justice " building and on boarding the tram purchased a 1.4 Lev ticket from the lady diver.

Rila Monastery :- A view of the Monastery with its accommodation for monks. Notice the beautiful Rila Mountain range surrounding the Monastery complex .Indescribable natural beauty.

Requested the train driver as well as a local co-passenger to inform me on arrival at the "Rila Bus terminus".After approximately half an hour of travel reached my destination and at 0930 hrs was early at the bus station with tickets sold on the bus itself and not at the bus terminus booth.

Rila Monastery :- Frescoes on the ceiling domes at entrance to the Church of  "Assumption of  Virgin Mary".

The crowd gradually increased and at 1000 hrs the bus conductor opened the bus door allowing individual passengers to enter and simultaneously issuing the ticket costing 11 Lev/passenger.I thanked myself for arriving early in the bus queue and getting a seat for as soon as the seating capacity was full the driver declined entry of new passengers and there is just only one bus per day plying between Sofia city and Rila monastery which is 120 kms away from Sofia.

"Tower Of Hrelyu(1334)" is  one of the oldest buildings in Rila Monastery .

.So tourists missing the bus would have to travel the next day or some other alternative methods of travel.The bus left the depot at 1020 hrs and it was a pleasant uphill journey into the Vitosha mountains that encircle Sofia and a symbol of this beautiful city.The  Vitosha mountains was evergreen with alpine trees while some of the farmland in the mountain valley was used for cultivation with Sunflower plants being the common vegetation.From Vitosha mountains we entered the Rila mountain ranges which has the highest peaks in Bulgaria and the Balkans.More than one third of this mountain range forms the Rila National park while the rest lies within the Rila Monastery Nature Park..At 1230 hrs reached the entrance gates of Rila Monastery which is situated in the deep valley of the Rilska river at a elevation of 1,147 Meters( 3,763 ft) . The Monastery established in 927 AD is named after its founder ,the hermit Ivan of Rila( 876 -946 AD) and is among the 9 locales in Bulgaria on the "U.N.E.S.C.O" list of World heritage sites.

Rilska River stream  near Monastery.

                                                                                          .Destroyed by a devastating fire at the beginning of the 19th century the monastery was rebuilt between 1834 to 1862 and symbolizes awareness of Slavic cultural identity following  centuries of foreign occupation. Breathtaking beauty situated in the midst of the looming Rila  mountain ranges.Strolled inside the monastery complex and visited the Bulgarian Orthodox church of  "Assumption of  Virgin Mary" .The Church has five  domes,three altars and two side chapels .The Church frescoes finished in 1846 is the work of many masters.Pope John Paul II visited Rila monastery on 25th May 2002 during his pilgrimage to Bulgaria.The Rila "Mineral spring water" cisterns were placed at various points inside the monastery complex and quenched my thirst with this pure mountain water.A narrow underground stream makes its external appearance near the monastery and its gushing sound is peaceful natural music to the ears.There was a plush tourist restaurant near the stream outside the tourist complex and tasted some fresh donuts at a stall near the restaurant.There is a museum attached to the monastery which is famous for housing Rafail's Cross.

One of the  2 Entrance gates to Rila Monastery.

 This unique Cross  is made from a complete piece of wood on which  104 miniature scenes from the Bible are engraved .This unique Cross was the painstaking patient work of  the monk Rafail during  a span of 12 years  and completed in 1802 before he lost his eyesight.Tourists are allowed to stay overnight in a certain section of the  monastery on payment of  20 Lev/person.Excellent.I would have loved living in this monastery for a few days in the isolation of the Vitosha mountains.At 0230 hrs stood in queue to board the bus as missing the bus would be disastrous for my travel plans.Remember i was 120 Kms away from Sofia city.The bus was less crowded on departure from Rila Monastery and i presume a few passengers could be staying overnight in the monastery.

Gambling shops and hotels are common sight in Sofia.

                                                                     Reached  Rila bus terminus at 1730 hrs and was lucky to immediately get the connecting "Tram N0 5" to  main town centre. On reaching "Court of Justice" terminus walked like a local along the familiar route and entered  "St Nedelya Church(Sunday Church )" where the Bulgarian Orthodox church mass was in progress.From the Church walked through the underground "Roman Ruins" and into Serdika station .Approached the tourist information centre office and inquired about the bus terminus for buses departing to Macedonia.After noting down the details made my way into "Sofia Hotel Balkan" which has a casino .A very ordinary casino having mostly slot machines and also "Black Jack" tables.

Bulgarian dinner at the local restaurant near "Hostel 44".

 The room rentals were Euro 83/person for the cheapest available room.From the hotel had a look at the "Grand Mosque" and later the "Grand Synagogue".Next made my way back to the hostel and had a late lunch at 1815 hrs at  the local Bulgarian restaurant near the hostel.The area near the hostel seems to have zero nightlife as all shops close at 2100 hrs and the street deserted .Strangely i was not the "Daddy Cool" among the hostel residents with my "Room N0 217" having two men definitely my senior, a pony tailed Italian from Milan and a Chinese from China. Otherwise a absolutely young youth hostel and happy that there is a place for the "young at heart" but not so "young in chronological age" in the youth hostels.Although packed to capacity it was  the excellent A/c and bedding along with  the "Youth factor" that  made my stay in "Hostel 44" pleasant.

"MACEDONIA SQUARE" in Skopje. :-  Monument of Alexander the Great  on his favorite horse Bucephalus was installed on the Square on 8th September 2011 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Independence from Yugoslavia.This statue dominates the Square which has a area of 18,500 Sq M and is the largest Square in Skopje.The Square crosses the Vardar river and is the site of Cultural,Political and Christmas festival celebrations.There are statues and monuments on the Square at various locations.The Independence of Macedonia from Yugoslavia was declared here by the Country's first President Kiro.Gigorov. 

Saturday(4-8-2018) Departure Sofia and arrival Skopje :- Woke up at 0530 hrs and whiled away my time on the smartphone internet.Later after toilet routines got dressed and returned my towel which was rented on a deposit of 5 Lev.

"Macedonia Square":-Crossing the "Stone Bridge"

The hotel reception gave me excellent guidance on walking to the International bus terminus without the tedious exercise of boarding the Metro train. Left the hostel at 0630 hrs and was the only person on the street walking towards Serdika station.Sofia's population confused me as the streets got deserted at 2100 hrs and even at 0630 hrs it seems people were still indoors.On reaching the Grand Mosque asked for directions to "Central Station".Walked in the opposite direction of Vitosha Boulevard on a straight path along the main road and came across the "Las Vegas" casino which had more of slot machines .Further down the road on approaching central station came across the "Ramada Hotel Princess Casino", a landmark building in the vicinity.

View of Vardar River flowing across "Macedonia Square" in Skopje.

                                                                                                                                       Seems legalized gambling is big business all over Sofia city.Passports are required to enter a gambling casino .Was relieved to have finally arrived at the main bus depot but the search  for my particular bus was a jig-saw puzzle due to language difficulties.

"Memorial House of Mother Teresa " _ Situated on Macedonia Square street in close proximity to "Macedonia Square".Mother Teresa lived in Skopje from 1910 to 1928 and this memorial house is built on the location of the former "Sacred Heart of Jesus" Roman Catholic Church where she was baptized as a child.This Memorial House was opened on 30th January 2009 by Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola.Gruevski.There is a museum inside the house which has statues of Mother Teresa and her family members. "Roman Catholocism" is a minority religion in Macedonia where "Macedonian Orthodox Church" and "Islam" are the two major religions of the Country.Next to the small  "Mother Teresa Memorial House"  can be seen the palatial  Dome of a new large Macedonian Orthodox Church under construction. 

Was finally guided to the relevant travel office where a lady checked my passport and relieved my anxiety by telling me the bus would park outside the office at 0930 hrs.Walked over to a Open air cafeteria and breakfast was a single extra large "Hot-dog" costing 1.4 Lev along with grapes and  a beer instead of water.Beer was my  health energy drink.Had to spend the surplus Bulgarian currency and hence purchased a small bottle of "Rakija", the local trademark liquor of the Balkans and Bulgaria  costing a few lev's.

On "Art bridge" across river Vardar.

 Bus was punctual at 0930 hrs and it was a ordinary bus without a internal toilet or "Wifi" unlike my travel buses during the 2017 Europe Marathon travel tour of Scandinavia and Western European Country's.A pleasant road journey on First world road infrastructure that makes the most ordinary bus seem a super-luxury vehicle. At 1130 hrs we stopped at a cafeteria on the Bulgarian/Macedonia border which had a beautiful cat and a large dog getting along very well  with each other.After a brief stop at the Cafe made our onward journey to the "Macedonia Border". Reached the border check-post at 1200 hrs and the visa formalities took approximately 45 minutes with the clocks also retarded by one hour to Macedonia time.Finally at 1345 hrs was at Skopje main bus terminus.First exchanged Euro into the local currency @1 Euro= 61 Denars or 1 Indian rupee = 0.77 Denars and next boarded a taxi costing 150 D  to "City Hostel".A difficult locale to find for a newcomer as it is situated a long distance from the city bus terminus.

Outside a betting shop near Macedonia Square in Skopje."SENATOR" Brand franchisee of Gambling shops are a common sight in Baltic Country's akin to "Ladbrokes" and "William Hill" in England."Legalized gambling betting shops" were a common sight in  Macedonia.As for me it was a education in studying the legalized betting Industry as in India i am campaigning as a ordinary citizen  to legalize "Sports Betting" which is a multi crore illegal Industry especially in the sport of "Cricket". 

 Owner Bobby welcomed me and the hostel was totally booked with backpacker tourists mostly from Spain and China.A lone Cockatiel bird in a small cage hung at the entrance of the main hostel entrance gate which had a small open air garden compound.

A part of "City Hostel".Beautiful landscape garden.

Was allotted a bed in a 4-beds  room which had three young lady backpackers from Spain.After refreshing myself asked Hostel owner Bobby for directions to Macedonia Square and the Old Bazaar.He gave me a map and pocketing the same headed into the open road for the discovery walk of Skopje.First got my bearings as getting lost while returning would mean roaming around the city in circles.There was a Macedonian Orthodox  church next to the hostel and it was a downhill walk towards the main road bifurcation where i further asked for directions.It was a long walk towards Macedonia Square and on the way entered "Ramstore" a franchisee department store for purchasing a pie and my energy drink beer.From the store it was a short walk to "Macedonia Square" which has a imposing towering statue of Alexander the Great in its centre and numerous other statues along the Square.26th July 1963 is one of the worst dates in Skopje history as a earthquake destroyed almost 75 to 80 % of the buildings in Skopje.The rebuilding project was to make Skopje the model city of the Socialist World and the plan was drawn by Japanese architect Kenzo.Tange who designed the new railway station .Skopje is a mix of Islamic and Christian culture

Skopje Old Bazaar :-  After crossing the "Stone Bridge" from Macedonia Square  its a entry into the Old Bazaar that stretches from Skopje Fortress to the Serava river situated on the eastern  bank of the Vardar river.It is one of the oldest and largest market places in the Balkans.in existence since the 12th century.The Ottoman history of this bazaar is evident by the presence of almost 30 mosques  situated in the Old Bazaar complex.

                                                                                                              Crossed "Stone Bridge" and entered the Old Bazaar which was crowded with tourists and open-air street cafe's.

"Rakija", traditional drink of the Balkans.

Came across the Mustafa Pasha mosque and Macedonian Orthodox church.From the Old Bazaar returned back to Macedonian Square and entered a restaurant boat parked on the Vardar river on which the city is located.From the ship restaurant strolled across the square and was surprised at the number of legalized Casino's with the most popular franchisee being the "Senator" casino.Later returned back to Macedonia Square and walked across the "Art Bridge" in close proximity to the "Stone Bridge" and built in 2014  that has statues of noted Macedonian artists and musicians installed on pedestals on either sides of the bridge stone  railings.There are a total of 29 statues with 14 on either sides of the stone railings and one in the centre. After a walk along this newly built bridge inquired about "Mother Teresa Memorial house" located on Macedonia Street  in close proximity to the Square .The Memorial house was a short walk from Macedonia Square .A simple building in comparison to the new Orthodox church being constructed next to the Memorial house. Catholicism is a minority religion in Macedonia in comparison to Macedonian Orthodox church and Islam. Turkish style mosque's are a common sight in Skopje.Returned back to the hostel and we all hostel guests were given a complimentary "Rakija" drink by owner Bobby.A very strong drink akin to Mumbai's local hootch and a traditional liquor of the Balkan country's.Had a decent nights normal 4 hours sleep.

Cruising towards  "VRELO CAVES"  on the "MATKA LAKE" situated in the "MATKA CANYON"  located approximately 15 kilometers  west of Central Skopje.This Canyon is a popular destination for citizens and tourists and is home to a lot of plants and animals with roughly 20% of plant life in Matka Canyon being endemic to the region.The Canyon is home to 77 species of indigenous butterflies and the most venomous snake in Europe which is the Viper..The Canyons caves houses a large population of bats.Alpine hiking is popular with some of the hiking paths bordering the steep cliffs of the canyon.Kayaking on the Treska river is popular as is fishing and hunting.

Sunday(5/8/2018) Skopje :- Was awake early as usual and busy on the internet.Later after the normal toilet routines decided to explore "Matka Canyon" and the World famous Vrelo underwater caves,one of the world's deepest underwater caves.

"N0 60" bus to "Matka Canyon" 

                                                                                          Language was  a big handicap in Skopje and somehow with the greatest difficulty managed to walk the 1,7 kms distance from "City Hostel" to the main city bus stand " Skopje Avtobuska Stanica" which is adjacent to the train station.Purchased a "Smart Card Ticket" costing 150 Denars and boarded the "N0 60" bus to "Matka Canyon". There were many other tourists and backpackers in the bus and to my disbelief the bus terminated the journey at least 3 Kms away from its destination at "Matka Canyon" since there was a  "Wild water Canoeing European Championship  (Junior and under 23 age group)" being held at the canyon and hence traffic diverted.I had retired from hill trekking and the thought of walking a  uphill and downhill road for 3 kms made me shudder.Followed the young crowd and trudged the long road towards "Matka Canyon" in  cool bright Sunny weather.On reaching the Canyon gorge all my fatigue disappeared on seeing the beauty of the gushing flow of water from the river Treska  and the looming Matka Canyon .There were numerous Kayak canoes on the banks of the artificial stream while individual competitors raced through the stream in their canoes.

 "Wild water Canoeing European Championship  (Junior and under 23 age group)" in progress at "Matka Canyon".Was at the "Right Place at the Right Time" to witness this unique kayaking competition being held on the Treska river .A special "KAYAK TRACK" has been constructed across the river akin to a running track for the sport of Kayaking.In the photo is the "FINISH POINT" of the "KAYAK TRACK".

White water rafting at its best. Normally see such scenes either in English movies or on television sports channels and this was happening in front of my own eyes.Right place at the Right time although definitely not the right time to travel to Matka by public transport.

A Competitor on the "KAYAK TRACK".

"KAYAK TRACK" on Treska River in Matka Canyon.

Wish i could use a motorcycle on this mountain road as did numerous fan's and tourists arriving in private car's or bikes.After briefly viewing the kayaking spectacle trekked further up the mountain gorge towards the main Matka lake created artificially by building a dam across the Matka Gorge. There are 10 caves scattered around Matka gorge with the most famous being Vrelo caves which is also one of the World's deepest underwater caves.Boat tours are conducted to a portion of the caves and i was hoping to get a boat ride to the cave as tour groups and bulk group individuals occupy most of the boats.On way to the "Vrelo Cave Boat Jetty" came across a few hawkers selling roasted maize and local fruits consisting of peaches and plums.Lunch was roasted maize/fruits with a bottle of water.Managed to get a seat on a tour boat and after decades of sailing the Oceans it was a memorable pleasure boat ride on the Matka lake towards Vrelo cave.The heavy burden  of my binoculars proved useful as i could do some aquatic bird-watching while the boat weaved its way through the lake.Spotted a large number of ducks, a few cormorants and a eagle.On reaching the foot of the cave it was a uphill walk to the cave which sapped my energy .Entering the cave exposed me to some beautiful stalactite and stalagmite formations.Although it was almost pitch dark inside there were a few artificial bulb lights for viewing nature's amazing artwork.After viewing the caves we were next taken by boat to the source of the underwater cave which had light bubbles emitting from the water.

"Bird's Eye View" of the Treska river and Matka Canyon from the Dam on "Matka Lake".The Matka Dam and Matka lake was built in 1937 and is the oldest artificial lake in the country.Unbelievable that such pure unpolluted natural beauty exists within 15 Kilometers from Skopje city.

a favourite for daredevil scuba divers .Returned back to the boat terminal and paid the owner 400 denars for the boat ride.Worth the money and trip. 

 Inside "VRELO CAVES" in Matka Canyon.The cave is illuminated with spotlights and has amazing  number of Stalactites and Stalagmites with a large one in the middle of the cave known as  the "Pine Cone" due to its unique shape.There are two lakes at the end of the cave and there is speculation that Vrelo cave could be the deepest underwater cave in the World since its actual depth is unknown.NOTE :- According to Speleologists assessment Vrelo's depth is 330 meters (1083Ft) which makes it the deepest underwater cave in the World surpassing "Bushman Hole" in South Africa that holds the "Guinness Book of world Records" with 282 meters (926 Ft)

                                                                                                                                       Now my biggest worry was getting back home to distant "City Hostel" from "Matka Canyon".Somehow walked the long distance back to the nearest bus stop and was lucky to get a bus heading to City bus terminus.

Visit to "VRELO CAVES" and boating on Matka Lake

                                                      The roads of Skopje are absolutely First World ,broad and level.What surprised me was the minuscule population of the City on a Sunday with negligible amount of pedestrian footfalls as also vehicular traffic.All commercial establishments including most shops were shut and parts of the city resembled a ghost town.On sighting Skopje Fortress(Kale) from the bus alighted at that stop and walked towards Macedonia Square, the town centre of Skopje. From Macedonia square it was a shorter walk to "City Hostel" than from City Bus terminus.On reaching "City Hostel" owner Bobby told me to change my room as he had to accommodate a group booking  and hence transferred myself to the bungalow flat next door to main "City Hostel" building.

"Macedonian Orthodox Friday Church" near "City Hostel".

Large palatial apartment flats converted to hostel accommodation. Met the local outdoor resident cat of the hostel which was initially vary of my presence but soon became friends with me living the ultimate semi wild outdoors cat life.Some cat's have all the luck ? Later in the evening strolled in the vicinity and was surprised to discover another betting shop "Sport Life" on the main road. "Sport Life" betting shops along with "Senator" are a large franchisee of betting shops in Macedonia.Betting on English football matches was  in progress.Seems this year the month of August was the coolest summer in Skopje in recent years.Normally has been hot with temps above 40* c ! Had a decent nights 4 hours sleep.

"South East European University" with  Skopje(Kale) Fortress in close proximity in Old Town of Skopje.The Fortress is situated at the highest point in the city overlooking the Vardar river.The Fortress was built in the 6th century and was partially destroyed in the devastating earthquake of 1963 and since then has been repaired. The "South East European University" is the largest private - public non-profit University in Macedonia with the largest number of students.

Monday(6/8/2018) Skopje.Departure Skopje for Podgorica in Montenegro :- With Macedonia being my 69th Country visited in my lifetime have met almost all nationalities of the Globe due to my shipping voyages and post shipping during hostel stay's in different city's in India and across the Globe.

View from inside Skopje(Kale) Fortress.

   My room-mate amazed me with his towering height and yes the young Swiss student did play basketball at 1.90 m in height.Travel educates.After my normal toilet routines walked out of the hostel and visited the "Greek Orthodox Church" situated next to the hostel .The daily chimes of the Church bells can be heard inside the hostel, just a few minutes walk. .Entered the church which resembled a chapel with beautiful light shades and religious murals.Language was a hurdle and on asking a parishioner got to understand the name of the church as "Friday Church".Strange but true.In the birthplace of Mother Teresa Catholicism is almost non-existent,a absolute minority religion  in comparison to the Greek Orthodox church and Islam .\

"CIFTE HAMMAM" in Old Bazaar of Skopje.This Dome shaped Hammam (Bath house) was built in mid 15th century by Bosnian General Isa Beg Ishakovic. Male and female bathing rooms are separate with a joint bathing area.Today this bath is non-operational and partly converted into a exhibition center for the "National Gallery of Macedonia".A very imposing and dominating architectural design in the Old Town. 

 I just couldn't spot a Catholic church during my walking tours across the city let alone missing my regular Sunday mass although came across Macedonian Orthodox churches and Turkish Islamic mosques.Travel educates.From the Greek Orthodox church walked to the main road and boarded the "N0 16" bus next to the "Sport Life" bookie shop.

On Skopje(Kale) Fort summit.

                                                                 Decided to just go joyriding on the local buses as yesterday  had purchased a "Bus travel Smart card"  for my marathon trek to "Matka Canyon ".Language was the problem and on inquiries realized the bus was not heading to central bus depot and on spotting landmark  Skopje (Kale) Fortress in the distance immediately alighted from the bus and realized i was bang in the midst of  Old Skopje bazaar at the unearthly morning hours of 0845 with the street almost deserted.Walked up the steps in the direction of Skopje(Kale Fortress) Fortress, the lone tourist at office hours .There was a lone guard at the main entry gate of the fortress with entrance free and while entering another lone tourist was making his exit so i was not the first early morning  visitor to Skopje Fortress. 

        

Edge of Precipice"Selfie" on Skopje Fort.

                                                                                                      The Walls of the Fortress are well preserved and took a adrenaline junkie "Selfie" along the abrupt drop of the fortress wall to the road down below.After visiting the Fortress strolled around Old Skopje bazaar and entered a local sweets shop attracted by the sandwiches displayed.For the first time tasted sandwiches filled with dry fruits along with a cold drink that tasted like fermented "Toddy", a common light alcoholic drink in coastal India.After the dry fruit sandwich breakfast strolled around Macedonia Square and later after bus  inquiries  refilled  my local bus travel "Smart Card".A visit to the "Millennium cross" situated on the top of Mt Vodno and visible from most parts of the city was not possible today as the "Cable Car" carting tourists to the top of the mountain was closed on Monday's.The Millennium cross at 66 meters (217 feet) funded by the Macedonian Orthodox church is the tallest cross in the World and built as a memorial  to signify 2000 years since the birth of Christianity in Macedonia.Boarded the red doubledecker "N0 15 " bus and just decided to go on a bus joy ride as what travels in one direction must  return back in the opposite direction and hence chances of getting totally lost in Skopje city was negligible.Simple commonsense .

At the largest mall in Skopje.

 Spotted the landmark "Skopje City Mall" in the distance and alighted the bus making my way into the mall.Skopje City Mall is the biggest mall in Skopje and consists of three  large floors housing designer stores , a cineplex theatre , bowling alley and food courts.Lunch was a "Beef Burger" at the "Hamburger food shop"situated on the second floor of the palatial mall.After lunch just strolled around the 21st century mall which was a stereotype of large malls all over the World including my home city of Mumbai.If you have seen one large mall then you have seen them all !From the mall made my return journey back to the city by boarding "N0 24" bus on the opposite side of the road. Decades  of sea-sailing commonsense and experience made me alight the bus on sighting the road bearings of landmark "Skopje Fortress".I mention this for the help of solo travelers who might get lost in a new city or scared to venture out of the safety of a hotel or hostel for fear of getting lost.To a sailor losing one's way in the high seas is definitely fatal and the same habit carries forward on terra firma once retired from sea sailing.After alighting at the city centre strolled around the vicinity and after purchasing a pint of beer at the now familiar "Ramstore" department store walked the long distance back to "City Hostel" with the beer replacing a common water bottle as a thirst drink..   

Orthodox Macedonian Church in Skopje.

                                                              A bright Sunny day with cool temperatures.Relaxed in the hostel and later at 1800 hrs decided to walk  to the city bus terminus.Bid farewell to owner Bobby, a excellent stay in a busy hostel.On arriving at the main street stepped into a street side take-away food shop and to my surprise spotted rice among the cooked food products on display.Dinner was rice/fried chicken/hamburger with a can of beer.The first time i was eating my staple diet of rice after leaving home in Mumbai and it did taste delicious although not the Basmati type variety we get back in India.After dinner walked the way towards the bus terminus, a long slow walk in pleasant cool sunny weather.On arriving at the bus centre immediately approached the "Information Counter" and got my ticket confirmed.  

Skopje Bus Terminal.Bus journey to Podgorica.

                                                                                 Had to pay a platform boarding fee of 50 Denars and was surprised to see a small casino "Admiral" inside the bus terminus waiting lounge.Entered the Casino which had only slot machines and was baffled at the gambling parlors in such a small populated Country .At 2030 hrs entered the "Bus Terminus" and on "Lane 7" boarded the bus to Podgorica.A young group of men from Portugal were travelling  with me and their body  tattoo's were amazing with one of them being a tattoo artist. The Bus departure was punctual at 2100 hrs and the view of the illuminated "Millennium cross" from the city was beautiful.Our first check-post was at 2145 hrs at  the Macedonia/Kosovo Border  where our passports were collected, checked and returned. So although not visiting Kosovo had traveled through the country and at 2400 hrs we stopped at a restaurant for refreshments and toilet.Strangely had a decent nights sleep on the bus and seems the rice meal had cured a bit of my insomnia.Another fact was that i had adjusted to living life out of a suitcase.

At "Independence Square" in Podgorica.Formerly "Republic Square" is the Central Town Square of Podgorica.The City library as well as the State art gallery are located on the Square.Between 1946 and 1992 the city was known as "Titograd" in honour of Josip Broz Tito.

Clock Tower( Sahat Kula):- One of the few Ottoman landmarks that survived World War II bombing .The Clock tower was built in 1667 by  Hadzi Pasa Osmanagic , a prominent citizen of Podgorica.It is a free standing 19 m tall stone clock.

Tuesday(7/8/2018) Podgorica :- At 0415 hrs was woken up for another border check-post at the Montenegro Border checkpost  where passports were collected and returned after being stamped.

Central Podgorica with "Volcano Gambling Casino".

         Finally at 0515 hrs was at Podgorica bus terminus and on inquiry for directions to "Hostel Maria" was advised to board a taxi .Boarded a taxi costing Euro 5 and at 0600 hrs was dropped at the gate of "Hostel Maria".Entered the compound gate and found everyone  asleep in the bungalow hostel.Relaxed in the guest lobby and on using the toilet got myself locked as the toilet key was defective.A co-hostelite lady heard my door bangs and directed me on the method of using the defective key to open the door and finally after nearly 10 minutes managed to free myself from the locked toilet.A Harry Houdini toilet  escape ? A grand and bizarre welcome to "Hostel Maria".Later at approximately 0700 hrs the hostel caretaker Mr Yanko woke up and allotted me a bed on the second floor of the bungalow style house.

After a bathe dressed up and decided  to explore the city.Language was the biggest hurdle and walking all alone along the narrow road  came across a tall burly British tourist speaking fluent English who gave me directions  to the city centre through his "Smartphone Internet".A real relief.

Osmanagic Mosque in Staro Varos of Podgorico 

On the way at the main corner turn to the city centre spotted a grocery store"Idea"  and purchased some ham/bread and a drink for breakfast. 

 Walked back to my hostel and after a sumptuous open air breakfast in the hostel coutyard walked back again towards the main town centre.Came across the "Admiral Casino" franchisee gambling shop and downtown Podgorica seemed the typical European small city with stores,boutiques and hotels.Entered "Hotel Nikic" and inquired the room rates which was Euro 60/person and further away visited  the "Hilton Hotel" whose rates were Euro 100/person.Although a global backpacker traveller  residing in  cheap dormitory  hostels its been a habit to stay in touch with prevalent luxury hotel rates as in my home city of  Mumbai i live in a plush house akin to a hotel suite.Strolled around downtown Podgorica and came across a large plush building housing "Casino Volcano"akin to a star hotel.Entered  the casino which was absolutely empty of gamblers and while returning back to the hostel inquired about the location of the International bus terminus. 

View from "Hostel Maria" terrace balcony.

 I was amazed to  know that it was a short walking distance from my hostel for which i was charged a princely sum of  5Euro  by the taxi driver on my arrival from Skopje in the morning.Should be more street  savvy in future  but this is a part of the minor pitfalls of solo travel in any part of the globe including my home city of Mumbai.I had decided to visit Shkodra in Albania through the group tours conducted by Montenegro hostel in Podgorica.On googling managed to find the address of the hostel which was in close proximity to "Hotel Nikic".Walked all the way to Montenegro hostel and on the route came across the 15th century Ottoman  mosque , one of the two mosques in Podgorica city. 

                                                         

"CYCLING TRACKS" in Podgorica.

                      Montenegro hostel had a palatial courtyard and resembled the typical youth backpacker's hostel with adventure tours and other youth activities  organized on a daily basis. The manager after inquiring with the tour company told me that the tour to Shkodra was after a few days and hence decided to do the trip alone.Walked back to the bus terminus and booked a ticket for Shkodra costing Euro 11.50, one way.This tour was really getting to be a "Road Coach(Bus) Marathon" and akin to "Jet lag" there is something kown as "Coach Lag" when travelling frequently on different  buses at different hours of the clock .The irregular  travel hours creates a unique body rhythm of sleep and thankfully the roads in Europe are as flat as a billiard board providing a smooth ride akin to being on a plane or better..After booking the bus ticket walked back to the hostel.Relaxed on the Internet and had a good nights sleep in the cool comfort of the hostel airconditioner. Excellent air-conditioning. Podgorica was the hottest city so far on my road tour of Europe.Climate change phenomenon ?

View of Shkoder City and the surrounding countryside from Rozafa Castle(Kalaja) in Albania. Rozafa Castle also known as Kalaja castle is built on a rocky hill which is 130mtrs(430ft) above sea level surrounded by the Buna and Drin rivers.The castle is named after a lady named "Rozafa" who is supposed to have been buried in the ramparts of the castle during its construction.

Wednesday(8/8/2018):- Podgorica :- Woke up at 0330 hrs and quietly did my toilet routines and later sat in the  bungalow gallery watching dawn break over the Podgorica skyline.

View of Skader lake driving to Albania from Montenegro.

                           Cool morning weather which would gradually increase to 35*C as the day progressed.Podgorica is considered the most boring European Capital city and the reasons are easy to understand as it has nothing exotic or much of historic architecture as most of the city was destroyed during World War II.The vicinity around "Hostel Maria" has beautiful small Old World tiled bungalow houses reminding me  of the villages of coastal South India.Has got a quaint quiet village charm while downtown Podgorica has modern building apartments,shopping malls and casino's.Today i had a busy day of exploration  ahead in Albania, country  N0 72 to be visited and explored. At 0730 hrs got dressed and made my way out of the hostel onto the narrow alleyway street. Purchased the normal long loaf of bread with salami and a drink(Beer) at the familiar "Idea" shopping stores  and headed to the City bus terminus.

Downtown Shkoder City.Heavy vehicle traffic.

 Sat on a bench in the bus stand and ate my breakfast of which i had got bored and was longing for some "Indian curry breakfast".Suddenly a thought crossed me to inquire if i could book the return ticket from Shkoder and to my relief i even got a discount with the ticket being  6 Euro's only.The Volkswagen mini bus was punctual with  departure time at 0900 hrs but after driving quite a distance we had to return back to the bus terminus as a elderly passenger suddenly realized that she was in the wrong bus. Bizarre travel experience in my solo travelling odyssey's.Thus after a delay of 45 minutes we finally left Podgorica bus terminus at 0945 hrs and it was a pleasant drive towards the border driving along the picturesque lake Skadar with its avian wildlife.

PJACA/ RRUGA KOLE IDROMENO pedestrian street in Shkoder. Bustling with tourists and locals in the evening.

 Lake Skadar also called Lake Scutari lies on the border of Montenegro and Albania and is the largest lake in Southern Europe.The lake is named after the city of Shkoder and is a Karst lake.On arriving at the Montenegro  border town of Ulcinj our passports were collected and after scrutinization at the Montenegro and later Albanian border post of Shkoder  was finally handed over to us .

Shkoder City Center. Shkoder is one of the most ancient city's in the Balkan's.This is the modern city centre of Shkoder.

Was finally in country N0 72, Albania.At approximately 1200 hrs  our bus arrived in Shkoder and i was dropped outside the landmark  Hotel Rozafa All the passengers were heading to Tirane with me the lone tourist alighting in Shkoder.

View of "ROZAFA CASTLE" and  hill  from the street.

                                                                                                     Noticed a "Tourist Information" office near the hotel and on entering the same asked for direction to Rozafa castle.The receptionist explained me directions also writing the same in local language as they didn't have any tourist guide maps,common in most European city's.Walked out of the "Tourist Information" office and crossed the road later entering a money exchange bureau. Changed a few Euro's into the local Albanian currency of Leks.The exchange rate was 1 Euro = 125 Leks or  Indian Rs `1= 1.5 Leks. After a few minutes managed to get a bus heading to the Fort and also got to view the city.The Fort was quite a long distance from the city centre and on alighting the bus and seeing the castle perched on the top of the hill  realized the horror of having to trek all the way to the peak of the fort from ground level.

After a steep trek entrance to "Rozafa Castle".

                                                                            I was not yet finished with retirement from "Mountain Fort treks " and this trek to the peak of Rozafa Fort would test my stamina and mental tolerance to the limits. Finally after much huffing and puffing with rest stops along the way reached the peak of the fort. Entrance fees to the Fort was 200 Leks with a road for vehicles leading  almost to the peak of the fort.So if you don't intend trekking like i did then a vehicle could save your energy. Excellent view of Shkoder countryside and city from the Fort which was in total ruins.From the Fort made my descent back to ground level and to the bus stop near a garbage dump.This locality of Shkoder was dirty in comparison to the main city centre. 
                                                                     

Ruins inside "Rozafa Castle".

 Boarded the bus and headed back to main city centre. Strolled around the beautiful city centre  especially the pedestrian street of Pjaca/Rruga Kole Idromeno which was deserted in the afternoon. This tourist showcase street of Shkoder has a Grand Mosque named  Al-Zamil Mosque ,a Orthodox church named  Cathedral of the  Nativity of Christ and a Catholic church named St Stephen's Catholic Cathedral in close proximity to each other on either sides of the street.Later in the evening visited a park near the city centre which also had a mosque in close proximity and after that  had a excellent Albanian dinner in the  plush "Taverna Uloini" restaurant with very inferior quality  Chinese rice costing 2.70 Leks. It didn't matter as i was homesick for Indian food especially simple "Indian Curry" and "Rice". Now i know the reason that migrating outside India was never ever a thought in my plans for the future during my  rat race years of corporate upward mobility and salary increments on promotions.

Akin to a day picnic its only in Europe where a tourist can travel from one Country to the other and return back within a single day as i had done.Montenegro to Albania and back to Montenegro within 12 hours..This photo was taken on the main pedestrian street of Shkoder ,Pajaca/Rruga Kole Indromeno street where a group was promoting local tourism.

 After dinner visited "St Stephen's Catholic Cathedral" with its landmark bell tower dominating the Square skyline. 

Fountain Garden in City centre.

                                                                          In 1967 during the Communist regime this Cathedral was transformed into a "Palace of Sports" and was again reopened as a  Catholic Cathedral in 1990.Pope John Paul II visited St Stephen's Cathedral in 1993. This was the first European city in which i had seen mosques outnumbering churches.At 2000 hrs waiting for my bus heard the simultaneous chimes of the church bell as well as later on the Muezzin's calls for prayers over the mosque loud-speaker.I panicked when the bus didn't arrive on time and thankfully a bus representative was at the stop and consoled me that due to traffic problems vehicle punctuality time was unpredictable in Albania. Shkoder had a teeming population of people as well as vehicles in comparison to Podgorica or Skopje and at time i felt i was in my home city of Mumbai as such was the traffic congestion.The "Rs 31,000 Makemytrip Egypt Air" ticket booking fiasco made me paranoid on bus and air ticket bookings and was hoping i was not left in a lurch in a foreign country.The bus finally arrived at 2030 hrs from Tirane packed to capacity with young revelers heading to Kotor in Montenegro, a popular beach destination.After the normal border visa checks finally reached Podgorica bus terminus at 2245 hrs and walked the short distance to "Hostel Maria", my home away from home.The ultimate day's travel between two country's on a  backpacker solo travel agenda.

"RIVER BEACH" on the Moraca River situated near Podgorica city centre.The "Ribnica" river joins the Moraca river just ahead near the "Old Bridge.

Thursday(9/8/2018) Podgorica :- Normal morning as usual and today was to be my rest day in the hostel after a continuous marathon travel through country's  and different city's.Yesterday trek to Rozafa Fortress in burning bright sunshine sapped my energy and decided to relax as many other discovery adventures lay ahead in other Country's and city's during the travel tour.Had to pace my physical and monetary energy.

Mall of Montenegro.

                                Breakfast was the local "Burek" snack at a bakery shop costing 1 Euro and was similar to meat stuffed in flour rolls akin to patties. After breakfast visited the "Mall of Montenegro" which was a massive shopping complex featuring the "Ramada hotel", a covered common market place  and the plush mall itself. As usual the cleanliness of the fish and meat sections of the covered market  was typical of First World common markets.Spotted the largest watermelons in my lifetime and returned back to the hostel with some grapes.Relaxed and later in the afternoon went for a stroll in the hot Sun and decided to have a local meal .Entered a plush hotel opposite "Hotel Nicik" and lunch was "Kababs/Salad".After lunch explored the vicinity and discovered "King's  park " which has a equestrian statue of King Nicola -I  and was established in 1910 to mark the king's coronation.

"Cevapa/Somun/Salata" lunch at plush local restaurant. 

                                                                                                         Further away from the park is the Ribnica Bridge(Old Bridge) constructed over the Ribnica river that has its confluence with the Moraca river a few meters away from the bridge.This bridge was built during the Roman era and underwent major repairs in the 18th century on the funding of  Adzi-Pasa Osmanagic,the Ottoman philanthropist of  Podgorica.Discovered  a series of steps from the garden path leading to the gorge below through which the Maraca river flows through Podgorica.Spotted a few swimmers in the river with  a part of the narrow river  gorge bank developed into a beach side swimming resort.Quickly walked the long distance back to the hostel and after changing  into my swimming costume and carrying my bath towel  walked back to the river beach locale.

A dip in the cold Moraca river canyon .Swimming is a daily fitness training affair back home in distant Mumbai but the thrill and joy of swimming in a natural flowing European river canyon  near a historic bridge had its own indescribable charm.Notice the crystal pure water as the pebbles can be seen in the photo.The Moraca river is the largest river flowing through Podgorica and  empties into Lake Skadar . The river is one of the symbols of Podgorica featured on some flags and Country symbols.

 I was the only non-white among the entire group of beach bathers and on entering the water was surprised at the ice cold chillness  in comparison to the ambient temperature of 36*c + .Another bizarre factor was the abrupt depth of the river which suddenly went below  6 feet in depth just about 5 meters from the shore. \

Beautiful Moraca river flowing through Podgorica

                                                                        Beginner swimmers should be wary about having a dip in this river as it is not meant for beginners or learners but professional or habitual swimmers.Saw a dog enjoying fetching articles thrown into the river by its owner while everyone was enjoying the ice cold water in the hot bright afternoon Sun.After satisfying my swimming strokes returned back to the hostel happy on discovering a Summer river beach resort in Europe's so called  dullest Capital Podgorica.Definitely not dull in Summer if a beach bum.Very scenic natural swimming gorge but requires caution as it is deep and not a swimming pool but a natural fast flowing river having currents.

Casino's galore in Podgorica.

                                                                            After the unplanned refreshing river swim walked the long distance back to the  hostel.Noticed the "Cycling Lanes" that were devoid of cyclists due to lack of population as the few cyclists i observed at times used the common main roads for cycling.The amount of "Betting Shops" confused me as almost all that i had  visited were empty of  betting customers , beside's, for a Country with such a small population the "Betting Shops" seemed numerous. Dinner was a little rice with meat and beer purchased from the local supermarket."Hostel Maria" felt  like a private residential old world bungalow, a typical European village house.The surrounding locale also had similar small bungalow type houses with tiled roofs and in some cases cute attics  unlike the town centre having residential apartments.Had a good nights sleep in the controlled air-condition system with entire  Europe undergoing a serious heat wave.

LATIN BRIDGE( LATINSKA CUPRIJA) :- The Bridge that  overnight  made  Sarajevo city a household name all across the Globe .On Sunday(28/6/1914)  Archduke Franz.Ferdinand  was assassinated by Gavrilo .Princip at the northern end  starting point entrance  of the bridge which is now a museum.The Museum building  can be seen in this photo.This assassination sparked World War-1 and the rest is World War-1 history. This bridge is a Ottoman era bridge built over the river Miljacka and is the oldest among the preserved bridges in Sarajevo.This historic bridge has 4 archs and rests on 3 pillars as seen in the photograph and is built of stone and gypsum. From 1919 to 1993 during the Yugoslav years this bridge was called " Principov Most" in honour of  Gavrilo.Princip  the Sarajevo assasination hero to the communists who dissolved a Empire.The name Latinska Cuprija(Latin Bridge) was restored in 1993 and became a National monument of Bosnia and Herzgovina in 2004.Situated in the Old Town centre of Sarajevo.

Friday(10/8/2018) Departure Podgorica and arrival Sarajevo :- Woke up at 0400 hrs and got busy on the internet as usual in the outdoors verandah of the bungalow hostel.

Crossing "Tara Bridge" :-Scenic bus journey to Sarajevo.

                                           Later after my normal toilet routines had some coffee prepared by a new Czech lady guest and at 0800 hrs bid "Hostel Maria" goodbye and walked towards destination ,"Podgorica Bus terminus".On reaching the main street bifurcation entered familiar  "Idea Supermarket" and purchased my breakfast of "Salami/Bread" with drink(beer).Walked the short distance to the bus terminal and confirmed my ticket with the bus platform being N0 9 and departure time 0930 hrs.Had my breakfast on the bench at the spacious outdoor platform as did few other travelers awaiting their respective buses The bus arrived late by half an hour and after checking  my trolley suitcase into the luggage locker got comfortable on a seat next to a young lady.Again i was the lone non-white tourist in the entire bus and at 1000 hrs the bus began its long journey to Sarajevo.

TARA RIVER CANYON" :-On the bus driving through the Dinaric Alps and having a "Bird's Eye View" of one of the World's deepest river Canyon's.At its deepest the Tara river  Canyon is approximately 1300 mtrs( 4300 ft) deep making it one of the deepest river Canyons in Europe and the World.This Canyon is the second longest Canyon in the World after the Grand Canyon.The Canyon is part of the 62 miles long "Tara River Rafting" route and down in the distant Tara river a few rafters can be seen rafting towards the 541 ft high monumental bridge of the Tara River. Breathtaking beauty that has to be seen and experienced.In 2005 and 2009  the European Championships in rafting were held in Bosnia and Herzgovina on the Vrbas and Tara river.This Podgorica  to Sarajevo road journey by bus was definitely my most scenic travel route during my entire travel tour that began in Athens and ended in  Berlin. .

The young lady seated next to me was a Bosnian employed in Montenegro and on her way home for a vacation.Magdalene could speak English and thanks to her got to understand the beautiful mountain scenery as our bus headed towards Sarajevo.She showed me Ostrog monastery situated high on a mountainside against a almost vertical cliff.This monastery located 50 kms from Podgorica is of the Serbian Orthodox church and dedicated to Saint Basil of Ostrog. The Monastery attracts over 1,00,000 visitors a year from all over the world and from different faiths  and is one of the most visited religious sites in the Balkans. .The bus drive through winding mountain ranges  reminded me of the treacherous Srinagar to Manali  road drive in India. 

                  

SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL:-  Landmark Catholic Church in Sarajevo Old Town district established on 5th July 1881.This Cathedral is the largest Cathedral in Bosnia and Herzgovina and seat of the Archbishop of  Vrhbosna(Sarajevo).This building is often considered the symbol of Sarajevo city and was badly damaged during the "Siege of Sarajevo(5/4/1992 to 29/2/1996)" .The Cathedral has been repaired after the war but the exodus of Croatians after the war has led to a drop in the city's Catholic population by almost half . Muslims form the majority population in Sarajevo.Pope John Paul II visited Sarajevo and "Sacred Heart Cathedral" in 1997 just after the end of the war and his statue was installed in 2014 in front of the Cathedral as seen in the photo.In 2015 Pope Francis visited "Sacred Heart Cathedral", a trip which he called the "Sign of Peace".

 Although the Dinaric Alps mountain range  did not touch the heights of the Himalaya's , the curving roads with sharp bends were equally dangerous and a slight error could mean hurling down a mountain cliff.

Banner advertising Sarajevo Food Festival in Old Town.

  At approximately 1200 hrs we passed alongside Durmitor National park and on nearing Montenegro border reached the peak of the mountain and got a bird's eye view of  Tara Canyon.The Tara Canyon is 82 Kms long with the last 36 Kms shared between Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.At its deepest the Canyon is approximately 1300mtrs( 4300 ft) deep making it one of the deepest river Canyons in Europe and the World.The Tara river flowed below and river rafting is the prime adventure sport on the river.On reaching Montenegro border our passports were collected as usual and after the normal checking formality was again checked at the Bosnia & Herzegovina check-post. At the border the rivers Piva and Tara converge to form the Drina river with rafting adventure sports at its peak in the river. During our mountainous road journey we passed numerous small tunnels and also came across adventure motorcyclists and cyclists cruising through this mountain range.

Open air bar/restaurant in Old Town

 At 1320 hrs the tedious visa formality checks at the Bosnia & Herzegovina  border were complete and all passengers were handed over their respective identification documents or passports.Magdalena alighted the bus at the outskirts of Foca city in Bosnia,our first Bosnian city after crossing the International border.Our bus stopped at the main bus terminus in Foca which also had toilet facilities. We finally departed from Foca and at 1545 hrs was in Sarajevo city.To my horror it started drizzling as soon as i alighted the bus and  this bus terminus was about 10 kms away from Old Sarajevo City, my ultimate destination.The nomad traveler inquired with locals and with great difficulty first traced a bank and changed Euro's into Bosnian Marks @ 1 Euro = 1.97 KM. Next inquired about the city bus service and discovered the same and luckily also immediately getting the bus.The bus ticket was 2 KM and it was a long pleasant journey from Sarajevo suburbs to the main town centre.Sarajevo was a  large city with multi-storey buildings bustling with activity and  heavy street traffic .The bus driver informed me on arrival at "Cathedral" bus stop.On alighting at Cathedral stop it was a long walk to the Sacred Heart Cathedral with the Old City  centre packed with tourists and revellers. Finally discovered "Hostel Franz Ferdinand" situated in a street next to the landmark cathedral   in a  building over a century old and hence not having a lift. 

A late evening  walk through bustling Sarajevo Old Town .

                                                                                                                                                         The reception was on the ground floor and after the normal formalities was shown my room on the first floor .The room was named "Lusitania" and was allotted my bed in a 5 bed large  room  decorated with wall paper photo's of the "Lusitania" and its sinking history.Not bizarre interior decor wall-paper artwork  as the hostel was named "Hostel Franz Ferdinand" after the Archduke of the  Austro-Hungarian empire whose assassination next to the "Latin Bridge" in Sarajevo situated a few minutes from the hostel sparked off World War 1.I was living a bit of World War 1 history.After a brief rest made my way into the bustling street and was in time to witness a grand march-past parade around the Old Town square.

First floor "Dining room" of "Franz Ferdinand hostel".

                                                                                                                                                        As a history buff my first visit was to the "Latin Bridge" which was the location where Archduke Franz.Ferdinand was assassinated and was surprised at the ordinariness of the locale with just a plaque briefly explaining the historical event of the day.There were numerous "Love Locks" along the bridge railings, a common sight among historic bridges in Europe.From the "Latin Bridge" just walked across the town crowded with tourists and street side cafe's.The Sarajevo film festival  was inaugurated today with a stage set for a "Free Concert" at the  food street festival.I was in the right city at the right time.After strolling around the vicinity returned back to the hostel and called it a day as some physical rest was the agenda of the day after hectic travel and kilometers of long walks.Had a good nights sleep and since the temperatures in Sarajevo were cooler there was no air-conditioning in the room and  had to cover myself with a bed-sheet.

"SARAJEVO OLD TOWN  ROCKS" :- I was in the  "Right Place,Right Time".Was in Sarajevo which had its first  "Street Food Festival" in Sarajevo Old City.The "Sarajevo Street Food Festival" was held at "Liberation Square" and "Square of  Alija Izetbegovic" situated in Sarajevo old City.

The Street festival was inaugurated on Friday(27/7/2018) and would continue until Friday(17/8/2018).The food festival was open throughout the day and night closing down with the last band performing on stage until 0130 hrs.The festival had local bosnian cuisine along with liquor and music. The Band's sang and played rock music in the local as well as English language.During the day, various entertaining programmes were held  on the two different stages  at the two different venues within walking distance of each other. This Street food festival was also the first "CASHLESS ZONE" in Bosnia and Herzgovina with payments being made only through "Bank Cards" and not the normal method of cash payments. As a tourist I was exempted from "Card Payments"  for  buying  drink's and food while shuttling between the two venues. The streets were crowded to capacity and tourists as well as locals  were merrymaking and dancing to the live bands until well past midnight.

Saturday(11/8/2018) Sarajevo :- The hostel provided free breakfast included in the hostel rental and at 0700 hrs had a lavish breakfast of boiled eggs/bread/cheese and coffee.Later visited the "Cathedral of Sacred heart of Jesus" just a few minutes distance from the hostel, the only Catholic cathedral in Sarajevo.   

Gazi Husrev-Beg Mosque

                                                                                                                                               At 1000 hrs joined the "Free Walking tour" that had gathered outside the  Cathedral and conducted by local Bosnian  guide Mr Eves who spoke fluent English.After World War -II the next biggest war and disintegration of a country was the civil war of former Yugoslavia and guide Eves spoke vociferously about his outlook on his country.Was surprised at his "Freedom of speech" in the country.Sarajevo has a majority Muslim population followed by the Orthodox Christian Church with the Catholic population being a minority.There is a spot on the ground just outside the Cathedral that is marked with red paint indicating the exact location where a bomb was dropped during the Bosnian civil war  killing local civilians.After a brief history of Bosnia and Herzgovina  he began the tour and our first stop was at the "Jewish Synagogue" that was now converted to a museum.From the Synagogue it was a short walk to the Gazi Husrev-beg mosque in close proximity to the towering "Lunar Clock", the only clock  of its  type in the World.Also visited the oldest toilet situated in close proximity to the mosque now modernized .

SARAJEVO LUNAR CLOCK TOWER(Sahat Kula) :- This clock tower is situated next to the Gazi Husrev-Beg mosque and shows the lunar time for daily prayers .According to this system the day begins at Sunset when the time is shown at 1200 hrs.When i had taken this photo the time was 1034 hrs in the morning  while the "Lunar Clock" shows  1430 hrs..This Clock tower which is 30 meters in height is believed to have been built in the 16th century and is the only functional Public  Lunar clock in the World.The Clock's present clock mechanism was brought from London in 1875 by Sarajevan merchants .

 From the mosque and Clock tower we walked  to the spot near the "Latin Bridge" where Archduke Franz.Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914 that sparked World War 1

"GRANDSKA TRZNICA MARKALE (City Market) :-  This market resembles a opera theater from the exterior and is a National monument of Bosnia and Herzgovina .This market built in 1895 in the Neo- Renaissance style was designed by August. Butsch. On entering this market was amazed at the cleanliness and arrangement of the fish and meat market sections of this market as i am accustomed to the First World markets of Europe.Akin to "Pork legs" cured and preserved as bacon for months  in restaurants in Spain and Portugal was awed at the sight of beef sausages and meat preserved in the same manner in this spotless clean meat and fish market of Sarajevo.As the majority population of Sarajevo are Muslims pork products were non existent in this large  5-star style market and the shop owner gave me a taste of various beef products including cured  mutton

. From the Latin Bridge our next stop was Hotel Europe, originally the oldest hotel in Sarajevo and destroyed during the war but finally rebuilt in the modern era.Next visited the Serbian  Orthodox church and from there to Pijaca market ,the largest market in Sarajevo .During the Bosnian war  a grenade  killed numerous civilians in this open air market  and the spot on the ground is  marked with red paint  with the names of the dead written on a plaque.This is mostly a farmers  fruit and vegetable market .

"Vjecna Vatra(Eternal Flame) " in Old City.

                                                                                                        The siege of the city of Sarajevo from 5th April 1992 to 29th February 1996 during the "Bosnian War" was the longest siege in modern warfare lasting 1425 day's , a year longer than the "Siege of Leningrad" during World War II.Looking at Sarajevo in 2018 crowded with tourists  i just couldn't believe that this same locale and city must have been a different place during the civil war.From the market place we were guided to the office of the tour company of Mr Eves and given free map's as well as explained the format of the various paid tours conducted by his travel company.There are up-teen number of private travel agents based in Sarajevo Old town  conducting guided  tours to various locales around the city with its former "War Tourism" tragic  sights  being a major draw among tourists.After the end of the "Free Walking Tour" visited  the fruit market and later the Sweets shop that sold the traditional"Baklava" sweets.As i was not purchasing a bulk amount of sweets the sales lady gave me two complimentary Baklava sweets for tasting which was excellent.From the shop visited the large plush "Grandsk Trznica Markale"  meat and fish market.
             

Pijaca  Market. Site of  1994/95 war time massacre.

                                                                                  Akin to "Pork legs" cured and preserved as bacon for months  in restaurants in Spain and Portugal was awed at the sight of beef sausages and meat preserved in the same manner in this spotless clean meat and fish market of Sarajevo.As the majority population of Sarajevo are Muslims pork products were non existent in this large market and the shop owner gave me a taste of various beef products including cured  mutton .I am very Catholic in my eating habits and purchased a slice of cured beef for lunch, something i was tasting for the first time in my life.Previously it was always pork or chicken products like ham, bacon and salami.Travel educates.Walking further from the market came across  the monument "Vjecna Vatra(Eternal Flame)"  situated in front of a building that is dedicated to the military and civilians  victims of  Sarajevo during World war-II.

A walk through "Bascarsija Old Bazaar"

                  This monument was first unveiled on April 6 1946 on the first anniversary of the liberation of Sarajevo.This building which changed ownership over the decades  is at present the home of the payment bureau.Returned back to the hostel and inquired about electrical shops in the vicinity as my electric cable  2-pin adapter purchased in Athens suddenly became non-functional making the recharging of my laptop and smartphone a major worry.The hostel receptionist gave  me directions  to a electronics shop and heaved a sigh of relief on spotting this shop just round the corner of the hostel on the main market road leading to Bascarsija old bazaar.Purchased the adaptor costing 5 KM and returned to the hostel to get my laptop charged and happy for the same.Lunch was "beef ham" with bread and beer consumed in the hostel dining hall.Unlike other city's i visited drinking of beer on the streets was forbidden in Sarajevo.

BASCARSIJA SQUARE:-  Feeding and taking photo's with the pigeons on the square is a popular tourist passtime.

After lunch had some rest and next  visited Bascarsiga Square which had a large population of rock pigeons being fed and photographed by tourists. Bascarsija was built in the 15th century when Isa-Beg Isakovic founded the city and is located on the North bank of the Mijacka river in the municipality of Stari Grad .Absolutely crowded.

Jewish Synagogue now a Jewish Museum in Bascarsija..

                                                                                                                   From Bascarsiga Square visited Gazi Husrev-beg mosque compound and on seeing tourists enter the mosque decided to do the same.For the first time in my life had stepped inside a mosque and was surprised on seeing tourists photographing the interior of the mosque and hence did the same.From the mosque visited the "Latin Bridge" and saw  a replica vintage car of the 1914 era parked outside the museum on the exact spot where the Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated with some Oriental tourists busy getting themselves photographed with the replica car akin to a film shoot.Spoke to the owner of the car Mr Edo.Kaptanovic who rented this vintage car to tourists for photo shoots and took a few photo's seated in the car.
   

Playing Chess :- CHESS BOARD on "Liberation Square".

                                                          I had studied and later as a avid reader researched World War-I but little did i dream that one day in my lifetime would be seated in the exact location where one of history's most historic assassination's took place that altered World history and politics.From the Latin bridge entered the Serbian Orthodox church and photographed the interior of the church and later visited the Sarajevo street food festival locale where a stage was set for 'live Music" to be played after dark while a "Disc Jockey" spun recorded music for the diners seated in front of the stage.Returned back to hostel with a night agenda of attending the street festival music. At 2030 hrs stepped out of the hostel and on reaching the main street was engulfed by a crowd of tourists.Seems all the tourists of other Europeann nations had come to Sarajevo Old town and all restaurants were packed to capacity.

Sitting on the driver's seat of a exact  tourist replica of the "GRAF & STIFT" touring car that Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were travelling on Sunday 28th June 1914 when they were assassinated by Gavrilo.Princep. This is also almost the exact spot where the assassination took place. A Museum depicting the story of the assassination now exists in what was formerly a restaurant in which the assassin was having a snack.After the assassination this car was sold and changed owners over the years.Who doesn't want to own a "FAMOUS" or "INFAMOUS" vehicle ? Later over the decades akin to "King Tutankhamen's Curse" it was a published hypothesis that  the various owner's of this  "Graf & Stift" vehicle built in 1910 by the Graf brothers of Vienna were cursed and doomed to monetary disasters or premature grotesque deaths.Numerous books were published on this subject of the "CURSED GRAF & STIFT CAR" and even "Franz Ferdinand" hostel had a mural of the curse on one of its walls.The vehicle is now on display at the .Heeresgeschichtliches Museum in Vienna.

 Walked towards Bascarsiga Square and on the way came across a hawker selling fried chips in a unique fashion never seen before akin to barbecue meat on sticks.                                                                                     

Packed street and open air restaurants in Old City.

Purchased a stick of chips costing 2 KM and after a short stroll around Bascarsiga Square  headed back towards the "Sarajevo Food Festival" lawn.D.J music was being played and decided to just walk along the crowded street with music blaring from every direction.Stopped outside a restaurant packed with revelers with the tables kept on the street pavements. As a Worlld Globe trotter please forgive me for name dropping  city's and Country's but the party atmosphere  in Sarajevo reminded me of Soho in London,Kuta in Bali,Ho Chi Minh(Saigon) city in Vietnam to name a few in recent memory and definitely  not including my shipping voyages tall sailor stories.After  two beers walked back to the food festival lawn and dinner was Bosnian Rice/Beef Meat curry.Excellent.

Sarajevo Old City rocks at night.View from across the Miljacka river that flows through the city.

 

There were two different "Festival food lawns" and on my way back to the hostel visited the other food festival lawn where the  band was playing live music.High quality performance in English and local language for a packed audience.At 2345 hrs finally made my way back to the hostel.End of a hectic day and night of travel and sightseeing.

Inside "SARAJEVO TUNNEL(TUNEL SPASA)" :-  This Underground tunnel was constructed between March and June 1993 during the "Siege of Sarajevo" in the midst of the Bosnian War in the cellar of the Kolar family  house.This tunnel was dug by Bosnian volunteers in 8 hour shifts and was 1.5 meters in height and approximately 1 meter in width..The city of Sarajevo was entirely cut off by Serbian Forces  and this tunnel was built by the Bosnian army to link the encircled city of Sarajevo to Bosnian held territory on the other side of the International airport that was controlled by United Nation troops.This Tunnel linked the town of Butmir (Kolar House)which was outside the Serbian siege lines to Dobrinja situated inside Sarajevo city encircled by Serbian Forces.This tunnel was the entrance on the "Butmir " side of the airport  in this private house owned by the Kolar Family.Food supplies and  arms and ammunition was transported through this tunnel by means of  the rail tracks .People also travelled through the tunnels with the most famous person  being Bosnian president Alija Izetbegović  who was transported on a wheel chair through the tunnel rails. Tourists are allowed to walk through 20 meters of the original 960 meters long tunnel as the rest is blocked .
NOTE :- THIS IS A PRIVATE MUSEUM OWNED BY THE KOLAR FAMILY.

Sunday(12/8/2018) Sarajevo :- Woke up early as usual and was busy on the Internet.Breakfast was late at 0745 hrs and soon after breakfast made my way out of the hostel to board "Tram N0 3" for visiting "Sarajevo Tunnel Museum". Thanks to the hostel lady receptionist for giving me the right travel links to reach "Sarajevo Tunnel" located in close proximity to the airport.

A Map in the "TUNNEL MUSEUM"  explaining the "Siege of Sarajevo" and the function of the "TUNNEL". The "SIEGE OF SARAJEVO" is the longest siege in Modern history surpassing the "Siege of Leningrad" during World War - II

 

The tram stop was a few meters away from the hostel on the main road behind the Cathedral.Within a few minutes on arriving at the tram stop was lucky to get "Tram N0 3" and it was a long journey across Sarajevo main city  with its tall buildings and broad clean roads to Llidza, a distant suburb of Sarajevo.

Entrance to the "KOLAR HOUSE(TUNNEL MUSEUM"

                                                                          The Vrelo Bosne spring is located in close proximity to Llidza and hence all tour companies conduct a combined tour of "Sarajevo Tunnel" and "Vrelo Springs".On alighting at Ilidza walked across to the bus terminus adjacent to the Tram Terminus and was happy to see the " N0 32 Bus" parked in the bus terminus.After a few minutes "Bus N0 32" heading to Butmir started its run and i boarded the bus with my destination being Dobrinja. The bus driver informed me on arrival at Dobrinja which was a few stops from Llidza and after alighting inquired for directions to "Sarajevo Tunnel".                                                     

Inside "KOLAR HOUSE(TUNNEL MUSEUM)"

                                          It was a long meandering walk along beautiful countryside houses and small farmland holdings with Sarajevo International airport clearly visible in the distance..Came across a man harvesting corn , and it was a exhilarating feeling being in the European farmland countryside although it involved a long walk in hot sunshine.Finally reached destination "Sarajevo Tunnel" which is a major tourist attraction of the city and hence numerous vehicles were in the parking lot.Entrance ticket was 10 KM and on entering the Bungalow housing complex of the Kolar family on whose property the tunnel entry/exit was constructed was surprised to see most of the historical photographs captions written in other languages except English.

"TUNNEL" passed below "Sarajevo Airport' .

                                                                                There was  a large number of visitors and a "Guide" is essential for explaining the basic construction design and operations of the tunnel.As a student of history i had done my homework on the Bosnian war and hence had some understanding of the siege of Sarajevo which is the longest siege in modern human warfare.There was a room screening a 18 minute video on the siege of Sarajevo and the construction and function of the tunnel.After watching the video viewed the exhibits of "Mines" kept in a section of the large house compound as well as modified generators made out of Fiat car engine's to keep the city's electricity supply functioning.Finally after viewing all the outdoor museum exhibits walked into the tunnel which was definitely much better and comfortable than the Cu Chi tunnels of the Viet Cong used  during the Vietnam war now  a tourist exhibit in  Vietnam.

Beautiful Country houses  with apple and plum orchards.

                                                                                                                    Only 20 meters of the original 960 meters long "Sarajevo Tunnel" is accessible to tourists and the tunnel had a rail link for transportation of men and material during the siege of Sarajevo.After completing the tunnel tour made my way back towards the bus stop along the beautiful Sarajevo countryside.Came across a apple and a plum tree as well as beautiful palatial bungalow houses.Thankfully a young cyclist who spoke fluent English  helped me in locating the bus stop as language is a major hurdle in the Balkan country's.Had to wait for a long time for "N0 32 Bus" and on reaching Llidza immediately hopped on to the tram after purchasing a ticket from the small shop situated at the entrance to the tram station .It was a pleasant long tram ride with two ticket inspectors boarding the tram mid-way and checking for ticket-less travel.

At ruins of Taslihan in Sarajevo old city.

                                                                                                                                                       Alighted the tram at "Latin Bridge" as the return journey route is different in comparison to the outgoing route and hence got confused but thanks to the tram driver alighted at the right stop.Was now in familiar locale and revisted the sights seen during the "Free Walking tour".Took a photograph of the ruins of the Taslihan situated next to Hotel Europe, something i had overlooked during the hastily undertaken brisk free walking tour. Taslihan was built in 1543 as the  Gazi Husrev -Beys Waaqf and had a fountain, mosque ,yard,shops and storage rooms. It was destroyed during the fires that struck Sarajevo.Next to the Taslihan is the "Gazhusrevbegov Bezistan" enclosed market built in several stages between 1537 and 1555.Next visited the "Sarajevo Street food festival" venue situated closest to my hostel with the intention of having some Bosnian curry/rice and to my surprise didn't get any "Curry/rice " but got to listen to some excellent English music cover songs sung by a young lady accompanied by a male guitarist.

Sarajevo traffic at night alongside the Miljacka river.

                              At the interval break of the live music decided to go to my temporary home and on the way purchased a pizza for lunch absolutely homesick for my "Mangalorean/Goan Fish curry/Rice" of home in Mumbai.I was literally living out of a suitcase having lived in five temporary homes(read as hostels) in the last fifteen day's !This is the definition of a "NOMAD TRAVELLER" and mind you i enjoy it although it costs a fortune beside's having to always keep myself physically fit for the same.Why do people participate in "IRONMAN" competitions ? "SOLO BACKPACKING" travel is the closest to "Ironman" competition  according to my perspective .Later in the evening attended the mass at 1800 hrs in the Cathedral which was conducted by the priest in the local language.

Last night in Sarajevo on historic "Latin Bridge"

   Approximately 70 worshipers were present in the large Cathedral and although i couldn't understand the language observed that certain rituals of the mass were different from the Indian Catholic church format.Mass got over at 1845 hrs and returned back to the hostel just situated a few buildings away from the Cathedral.Later in the night at  2030 hrs walked along the crowded tourist street to Bascarsija  and discovered a "Hookah Locale" just opposite the mosque with a few restaurants packed with "Hookah Tourists". From the Hookah locale walked down towards the river front and took some photo's on "Latin bridge" with a endless stream of vehicular traffic along the road parallel to the river.Next walked further ahead to "Krombacher Deco Bar" which was the life of the street party on Saturday night.

House-Full Hookah restaurants. 

                                                                                                          The entire street was packed but the crowd seemed less than yesterday or either the night was still young ! "Tesla Beer bar" with the sculpture of inventor Tesla and "City Lounge Bar" are situated next to "Krombacher Bar" and all do a roaring business.Finally wound up at  the now familiar "Sarajevo Street food festival" lawn where a "Live Band" was performing.Payment at this venue was only through "Credit Cards" but being a tourist managed to get a glass of draught Tuborg beer and the traditional sausages on cash payments.All meat products publicly sold in Sarajevo are "Beef Products" and not pork meat as Muslims form the majority population of the city.Met a American lady of Punjabi Indian origin and Susan.Chand was the first Indian origin tourist i had come across in Sarajevo.I mistook her to be a local .Later when the band had their interval break headed to the other venue of the "Sarajevo food festival" where i had eaten dinner yesterday.A "Live Band" was playing at this venue.The bands played a mix of English and local music.Excellent high quality and showmanship.At 2345 hrs after dinner  at this venue walked the short distance to the hostel .Did a little packing and got a few hours sleep.

View of SAVA RIVER from Belgrade Fortress (Kalemegdan).

Monday(13/8/2018) :- Departure Sarajevo:- As usual was early and after normal toilet routines packed and bid adieu to my home away from home hostel "Franz Ferdinand".

"Travel Blogging" at Sarajevo Bus terminus coffee bar.

                                   At 0545 hrs left the hostel and walked the short distance to the bus stop situated behind the Cathedral.The "Dobrinja  Line "31 ES"  bus was punctual at 0615 hrs and it was a nice long 10 kms journey along broad roads and tall modern buildings  to the main bus terminus.I was very early and luckily the coffee shop "Putnik" situated inside the bus terminus had "Free Wi-Fi" where the Wi-Fi nomad got busy on the internet.Excellent Sarajevo strong coffee served in tiny cute cups.Next purchased a hamburger, a few chocolates and two beers as food for the long bus journey to Belgrade.Bus departure was punctual from platform N0 6  at 0945 hrs and it was a pleasant drive towards Belgrade and i was comfortable as the next passenger beside's me was missing since the bus was not "house-full".

Zvornik Lake  famous for its gigantic Castfish 

  All the buses that i travelled on beginning from Sofia in Bulgaria were ordinary buses without "Wi-Fi" or "Internal Toilets" except the normal "A/C".At 1315 hrs reached the Bosnia & Herzgovania border  city of Zvornik with  picturesque Drina  river flowing parallel to  the city highway road .The Zvornik lake formed artificially in 1954 by the construction of the Hydro-Electric dam is famous for its gigantic catfishes living in the lake that at maximum could reach a length of 3 meters.Since 1998 a annual "SOMOVIJADA(CATFISH HUNT)" festivity is celebrated on the lake and the largest catfish caught weighed 87 kgs, much heavier than me .Remember seeing "CAT FISH HUNTS" on National Geographic channel back home in India and here i was in front of the lake where cat fish hunting was a annual fishing sport.Travel educates.

Crossing over the "Drina River" in Serbia.

                                                                                                                      Our  bus stopped at Zvornik city bus terminus where a few passengers alighted as well as boarded the bus.From the bus terminus it  was a short drive to the International border check-post where our travel documents were  handed to the border police.After the same was scrutinized by  the Bosnia and Herzgovina authorities it was handed  back to each individual passenger.Later a short drive away on the bridge across the Drina river  we came across the Serbia International border where  it was the same ritual formality of "Passport Visa" scrutiny which was time- consuming.Finally i had entered my seventy fourth  country Serbia which was formerly a part of Yugoslavia.At 1600 hrs we had  a stop on the highway at a plush restaurant "Pectopah" for refreshments and toilet for passengers where i observed  live trout fish bred in a tank for customers of the restaurant.This was our last rest stop and we began our final onward journey to Belgrade.Reached Belgrade bus terminus at 1745 hrs and after alighting the bus first got some Euro's changed to the local currency Dinars( RSD) at a "Western Union" money transfer bank.Next was the long torturous 2 kms uphill walk to Slavija Square , a prominent landmark of the city.

Finally in Belgrade approaching the Bus terminus.

                                                                    Facing "Slavija Square"  is the towering Slavija Hotel  situated in close proximity to the Hilton hotel and at 54 years in the hotel business is one of the oldest and well known  hotels in Belgrade.Walked into the foyer of the large spacious hotel that resembled a 3-star hotel and after the formal check-in formalities was allotted "Room N0 1016" on the 10th floor of this skyscraper hotel.The hotel had the same scary lift system of a non-existing double protection door as in "Athens House " hostel in Athens.Excellent room except that there was no fan or A/C  but "Heater's" and it was sizzling hot  in Belgrade.  Much hotter than experienced in my home city of Mumbai during May, normally the hottest month in India.Noticed the "Heating Elements" in the room which indicated that the frozen winter months were also extreme akin to the present heat wave that Europe was undergoing.In the month of January this same hotel room and entire Belgrade would be ice cold with temperatures upto - 12* C !

"SLAVIJA MUSICAL FOUNTAIN"  :- The largest musical fountain in the Balkans was opened in 2017 and is a amazing kaleidoscope of water colours and water jet heights at one of Belgrade's busiest traffic junction lanes.The fountain plays music twice a day and the fountain has built-in heaters that will allow water flow when the city freezes in winter.

This is the definition of extremes in weather. Later strolled around the vicinity , a large sprawling city having broad spacious roads with the water fountain in the center of "Slavija Square" spraying beautiful technicolor water jets.

Landmark "Hotel Slavija"

                                                                                               Previously a casino named  "Gambling Havana"  was functioning on the ground floor next to the hotel entrance but has ceased to exist since the last two years with the same being locked.Now its only evidence was the classic bold name plate advertisement along with Hotel Slavija on the hotel's building  that could be seen all over the vicinity of Slavija Square. Definitely a casino gone bankrupt as the "CASINO INDUSTRY" in the Baltic country's and entire Europe is very competitive.My personal observation was that casino's outnumbered the average gambling  population census of the city or country more so in Macedonia and Montenegro which have a minuscule population let alone a "Gambling Population". Had a good nights sleep although it was extremely hot since all the hostels that i  stayed at  had air-conditioners or the ambient night temperatures were cool.The hotel "Wi-Fi" system was of very low connectivity and hence couldn't be accessed  properly in my room.Good connectivity was only available at the main reception centre on the ground floor which had the main foyer hall guest bench filled with resident guests accessing the hotel's  internet wi-fi system.

REPUBLIC SQUARE IN BELGRADE :-  Bronze equestrian statue of Prince Mihailo pointing towards "Old Serbia".The monument is by Italian sculptor Enrico.Pazzi  with the statue being erected in 1882.The building behind the statue houses the National Museum of Belgrade".

Tuesday(14/8/2018) Belgrade :-Woke up early as usual and since "WiFi" internet connectivity was poor could just browse the Internet.Later at 0600 hrs came down to the reception foyer and blogged on my laptop as did other guests.

Landmark "HOTEL MOSKVA(1908)"

                                                                                                         This hotel must have been a premier hotel in Belgrade when first opened and gradually slipped down the grades  in quality over the decades as happens to most hotels reminding me of the "Great Eastern Hotel" in Kolkata in India that gradually decayed over the decades but now under a new owner and management.Similarly "Hotel Slavija" has a new plush sister hotel named "Slavija Garni" situated  just on the opposite street but under a different management and more plush and expensive.We economy backpackers are lucky to experience a "Hotel Slavija" stay in Belgrade and hope the hotel remains a economy  hotel although with a few limitations.Breakfast was at 0700 hrs in the palatial dining hall of the hotel on the ground floor and definitely the best buffet breakfast i had witnessed and eaten in my lifetime of travel and also employment on various ships.I felt i was at the invitation breakfast  of a Indian Maharajah, Nawab or Industrialist and not my own normal hotel breakfast as such was the layout as well as variety of dishes presented on the dining table.A breakfast i will never forget in a lifetime.

"SOLO BACKPACKING GUIDELINES" :- In "Downtown Belgrade" finding my directions ? As a "SOLO TRAVELLER" always remember prominent land marks and always carry a "Tourist Map" if availaible or find your way to prominent locales through the city direction markers. Its very easy to lose your way in a large city if  visiting for the first time.I was on my way from Hotel Slavija in "Slavija Square" to "Republic Square" for joining the "FREE WALKING TOUR" group whose meeting point was at "Republic Square".If a "SOLO TOURIST" always try to avail the services of the "FREE WALKING TOURS" available in almost all tourist city's in Europe. .

 After breakfast made inquiries of the tourist brochures normally kept in all hotels  and was given the brochure of the "Free Walking Tour".Decided to do the same and it was a long walk from "Hotel Slavija" to the "National Monument" which was the meeting point for the start of the tour.

Skadarlija :- Statue of  Duro.Jaksic

                  On the way entered  "Hotel Hilton" situated across  "Slavija Square" and was surprised that it was the newest 5 star hotel in Belgrade having been opened on 8th March 2018 ! The price for a night's stay was 89 Euro's and realized the value of location of the 56 year old "Hotel Slavija".Next walking the long downhill distance arrived at Terazije Square and discovered  "Hotel Moskva " a 4-star hotel that opened in 1908 and which at  110 years is the oldest plush hotel in Belgrade.Entered the hotel which had a newspaper clipping at the reception desk  of Late Indian origin author Mr V.S.Naipaul.He must have stayed in this hotel during his lifetime.Surprisingly rentals for a single room was  reasonably priced at 89 Euro's on par with the few months old "Hotel Hilton" at Slavija Square. Was early at "National Monument" and spotted a young man with a placard and inquired if he was the person conducting the day's "Free Guided Walking Tour".I was the lone"Bonny  tourist(Hindi Slang for First)" and was hoping not the only one or just  two or more other tourists  as it would be  non-profitable for the trouble taken by the guide since they survive on 'TIPS MONEY" given by the tourists.More the crowd means more generous tips beside's a few might really be on a "Free Walking Tour" refusing to donate tips.

Bajrakali Mosque,Only Mosque in Belgrade.

                                                                                                           Finally by 1000 hrs the  tourist crowd gradually increased and among the Caucausian tourists was joined by a tourist from Sri Lanka.As mentioned the walking tour began from the "National Monument" which has the equestrian statue of Prince Mihailo installed in 1882 .This was the first public equestrian  monument of a Serbian ruler in Belgrade  and was in honour of Prince Mihailo freeing Serbia from Turkish rule. Behind the statue is the "National Museum" which was recently opened having been closed for 15 years undergoing renovation.From the "National monument we visited "Skadarlija Square" which is called the Bohemian locale of Belgrade.There is a saying among tourists that if you haven't visited "SKADARLIJA(Bohemian Quarter) then you haven't visited Belgrade".It is a vintage street located in Stari Grad(Old Town) which was  on the "Free Walking Tour" route  and hence our stop where we were explained various aspects of the locality.This entire locality was referred to as "Gypsy Quarter" until 1872 when it was named Skadarlija which remains to this date.Since the National Theatre is in close proximity many poor  actors,poets and writers lived in the taverns on Skadarlija street.

House at 10 Cara Dušana Street(Tiled Roof) :- Oldest building in Belgrade  built from 1724 to 1727.

 Some of the Bohemian artists like painter and poet  Duro.Jaksic left a lasting impression on the cobblestones of Skadarlija and his statue is erected outside his restored house .

View of Danube & Sava rivers from Kalemegdan Fortress

 Next we passed along Belgrade's "Strahinjica Bana(Nickname :- Silicon Valley)"street  so named because of its patronage by  wealthy football managers  and local gangsters during the 1990's era of the city when the country was undergoing a civil war revolution.There are street lined cafe's along Belgrade's "Silicon Valley" where at night  expensive car's are parked and  ladies with silicone enhanced boob's flaunt their styles. This is a  locale to flash your notoriety wealth importance in Belgrade society.Saw a Graffiti of a football manager  on a wall which speaks a lot about the high esteem in which the sport is held in Belgrade.Walking along the neighborhood of Dorcol came across "Bajrakali Mosque" built in 1575 during the Ottoman rule of the city  and now  the only mosque in Belgrade city out of the 273 mosques that existed  during the Ottoman Empire's  rule over Serbia.Next we came across Belgrade zoo which is famous for its white tiger's and white lions beside's housing the oldest captive  alligator in the World.

Partial view of "Kalemegdan(Belgrade Fortress)":- Located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers the fortress stands on a 125.5 meters ridge .The view from the Fortress is one of the most beautiful sights in Belgrade.The statue of "Pobednik(Victor)" erected in 1928 to commemorate Serbia's victory over Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires is the most popular visited tourist attraction in the fortress as also the city's most recognizable landmark.The bronze statue is of a standing  male figure with a falcon on the left hand and a sword in the right hand.Belgrade has undergone more sieges than any other city in history

Next to the zoo grounds is "Kalemegdan(Belgrade Fortress)" from where there is a beautiful view of the Danube and Sava rivers merging as well as the river tourist boats parked along the coast.Atop the Fort is the naked statue of Serbia's most famous National icon.

At "Church of St Sava" one of the largest Orthodox Churches in the World.This building is also one of the largest church buildings in the World. and is dedicated to St Sava, the founder of the Serbian Orthodox church.The Church was built in 1935  on the Vracar plateau on the location where St Sava's remains were burnt in 1595 and its construction is still in progress to the present day.The "National Library of Serbia"  building lies within the complex of St Sava Church.

Next after exiting the Fort came across the oldest building  in Belgrade.Passed alongside the oldest building called  "House at 10 Cara Dusana Street" built from 1724 to 1727  during the Austrian occupation of Northern Serbia.

Interior view of St Sava Church .

                                                                                                            This building lies just outside the Belgrade fortress complex. and further away the "Cathedral Church". Near the "Cathedral Church"  is a indoor stadium built by the first Serbian woman architect  and was the venue that hosted the first basketball game in Belgrade.After U.S.A the Serbian basketball players are ranked high in the sport .This was the last stop of our "Free Walking tour" which ended at 1215 hrs and after tipping guide Ivan made my way towards destination "Hotel Slavija".A very long walk and absolutely dehydrated due to the intense heat wave.After some rest in the afternoon  visited "Saint Sava Temple" located in close proximity to Hotel Slavija..Visited the "National Library" situated in close vicinity to the Temple which also has a fountain  a park  and finally walked back the short distance to the hotel.

"SKADARLIJA(Bohemian Quarter)" at night packed with tourists.There is a queue and "Waiting List" for most of the restaurants lined along  the cobblestone street.This street is a "Car-free" zone and during the day cyclists ride along the bumpy cobblestones. Restaurants in Skadarlija are proud of the Worldwide celebrities and gourmets who have dined in their restaurants.over the years.Famous "Tri šešira(Three Hats)" , the restaurant i visited but didn't dine in due to lack of proper seating as i was "SINGLE"  and all the diner's were either in groups, couples or families has been in existence since 1864 .This restaurant has welcomed numerous famous guests such as guitarist Jimi.Hendrix, politicians George.H.W.Bush, Josip.Broz.Tito, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, Sandro.Pertini and chess player Anatoly.Karpov to date.The one and only Alfred.Hitchcock also had his last dinner in a  Skadarlija restaurant.

   Near the hotel purchased a "24 Hr Travel Ticket" from a vendor's shop that can be used for commuting all over the city within the time frame of 24 hrs after first validating the ticket on its first use in a public transport vehicle.

ABOVE PHOTO :- Self "SOLO TRAVELER in one of the World's Landmark restaurants. ""Tri šešira(Three Hats)" restaurant in"SKADARLIJA(Bohemian Quater)" of Belgrade.This restaurant existing since 1864  has welcomed numerous famous guests such as guitarist Jimi.Hendrix,politicians George.H.W.Bush,Josip.Broz.Tito, King Juan Carlos I of Spain,Sandro.Pertini and chess player Anatoly.Karpov to date and last of all Solo traveller who didn't dine at the restaurant..,

Musicians playing to diners  in restaurants in  Skadarlija

                                                                          After relaxing in my hotel room later in the night purchased a miniature "Rakija" liquor bottle and after a traditional peg decided to explore the nightlife of Belgrade.Boarded a bus at 2030 hrs with my "24 Hrs Travel Card" and alighted at "Republic Square". From there inquired directions to "Skadarlija Square" and was surprised to see all the restaurants packed with tourists.A trio of singers moved from table to table singing songs to the dining customers.After waiting for some time got entry into "Triseseira(Three Hats) " restaurant but again found it crowded inside and decided to call it a day and have dinner elsewhere as most tourists were in groups or families with me the odd-ball lone tourist.Walked towards "National Monument " square and came across a Chinese take-away restaurant named  "WO.K Republic" and dinner was finally "Peking Pork/Rice".Excellent and after dinner boarded the bus back to Hotel Slavija and had  my normal few hours sleep.

"MUJA", the oldest captive  alligator in the World at Belgrade zoo."Muja" arrived at the zoo from Germany in 1936   with another alligator ,his mate.He has survived World War II in which the zoo was almost totally destroyed as also the N.A.T.O Bombings of Yugoslavia in 1999. In 2012 he underwent a successful surgery to amputate a part of his leg which had become gangrene. and since then is in the pique of health.He is fed 5-6 Kg of  bone meat once a week. When i first viewed "Muja" he resembled a "Madame Tussaud" replica specimen as he seemed lifeless without any movement.

Wednesday(15/8/2018)  Belgrade and departure to Dubrovnik :- Woke up early as usual and was on the Internet sending greetings on India's Independence day.

Entrance to Belgrade Zoo.

                                                                      Here in Belgrade let alone Hotel Slavija i was the only Indian and realized that many Indian origin employees or citizen's could at times feel homesick when living or travelling through foreign country's.Breakfast was "Five Star Breakfast" with just too many food items to choose from let alone to eat the same.After breakfast checked out of the hotel keeping my luggage in the hotel cloak room.Boarded the bus to "Republic Square" and as usual found another "Free Walking Guide" near the statue waiting for tourists as it was nearing 1000 hrs.Inquired with him for direction to Belgrade zoo and he explained me the same.Boarded a bus towards the Cathedral just a few stops away and from there a uphill walk to the entrance of the Zoo.

 

Rare White Lions of Belgrade Zoo.

                                                 Entrance ticket to the zoo was 500 RSD and although small and confined to a hill the zoo had a good collection of different animal and bird species.Among mammals spotted the Arctic wolf which resembled a overgrown albino German shepherd dog Other rare animal species were the Barbary sheep,Northern racoons,Himalayan Tahr,American bison,White lions,Jaguars,Cheetahs and white tigers.Bird species consisted of a excellent collection of raptors and birds of prey like the American condor and Golden eagle to name a few.Among apes there were Orangutans and chimpanzees besides small monkeys from the Amazon forests.The major attraction of Belgrade zoo is "MUJA", the World's oldest documented living American alligator.In fact having viisited the best zoo's around the globe my sole purpose of visiting the Belgrade zoo was to see "Muja" as not all zoo's can boast of maintaining the oldest of a animal species. 

Novi Beograd( New  Belgrade ) :- Unique Socialist era pre-fabricated residential complex buildings design akin to steps. Novi Beograd is a post war planned municipality built on the West Bank of the Sava river after crossing the bridge across the river.Belgrade is undergoing a huge construction boom with the "Belgrade Waterfront" building construction  being the biggest construction project in Europe.

 On first seeing "Muja" i thought i was viewing a taxidermy specimen of a small alligator as he seemed motionless in his small enclosure.

Lunch on "CRNA maca(Black Cat)" Floating restaurant 

                                                                                                                                                   After observing him for some time noticed some movement and realized that "Muja" was no fake but a genuine living alligator.After exhausting myself viewing "Muja" trekked the various zoo enclosures which was exhausting as the zoo is built on a small hill.Belgrade zoo is also a "Petting Zoo" and children and tourists are allowed to pet domestic goats and other domestic herbivores.This was the first zoo that i came across which also had a "Pet Section" within the zoo that sold aviary bred birds and decorative fish aquariums.The most bizarre exhibit of the zoo was a large pitch black "Pit Bull Terrier" dog in a small enclosure which i initially mistook to be a black panther and wonder the reason for this dog being exhibited in a cage.

'Sava River Quay" in Neo Beograd.Water sports & Boats.

                                                                            The name plate was in Serbian language and hence could not comprehend the reason for exhibiting a "Fighting  Dog" species in a caged enclosure.After exiting the zoo boarded "Tram N0 2" heading towards the Belgrade river front but had to change over to "Tram N0 11" as its destination was not the Sava river front in New Belgrade but the fortress side of the Sava river.It was a long 45 minutes ride on Tram N0 11and i thought i was on a wild goose chase but decided at worst to get down at the last stop and catch the return tram back to my starting point.My favourite method of  joy rides combined with sightseeing during solo tours across the Globe.Simple common sense and not rocket science intelligence.Finally at the last stop inquired with a young lady in the tram about my bearings , the only last passenger beside's me in the tram.       

Serbian Orthodox St Mark's church.

                                                                                                Thankfully she spoke English language and told me that this locale was called New Belgrade (Novi Beograd) and the area "Bloc 45".She also gave me directions to the river front which was a short distance from the tram terminus.Walked over to the riverfront and was in familiar habitat of expensive yacht's,common boats and barge restaurants along the Sava river front.

Walked into the barge restaurant having a cat as its mascot and the longest port gangway i have encountered after exiting the Shipping Industry in 2006.Lunch at the "CRNA maca(Black Cat)" houseboat restaurant was "Turkey Medalimo with figs", a Serbian dish..It brought back fond memories of sea sailing although my job as a "Marine engineer" was not travelling and dining in luxury but seeing to the fact along with my fellow co-engineers that the engines kept functioning and the ship always "Engine sea-fit".A tough life that made me what i am today as a "Solo Traveller",for good as well as for the bad.There are 2 sides to every coin and so also in every profession least of all the "Mercantile Marine Industry". 

"House of the National Assembly" of Serbia. situated on 13 Nikola Pasic Square.

                                                                                    After a sumptuos lunch made my way to the tram station and boarded tram "N0 7" to the city center.In just two day's i was behaving like a local barring the language barrier that happens in all the country's i visit except England and hence my preference for London although one of the World's costliest city's. 

        

STARI DVOR(Old Palace) .City Assembly of Belgrade.

After passing "Belgrade Center" realized the tram took a different turn from the City center and hence accidentally landed outside  "St Mark's Orthodox church", the second largest church in Belgrade after St Sava Church.Entered St Mark's church and was now also familiar with the internal church design's of various branches of Christianity.From St Mark's Church walked back to the nearest bus stop and came across "Serbia Parliament" and in the same vicinity on the opposite side of the road was "Stari Dvor", the City assembly of Belgrade(Belgrade Municipal building).Tourists are allowed to tour the Old Palace.In close proximity beside's a sprawling garden was the residence of the President of Serbia. Finally boarded a bus and alighted at the National Museum of Serbia.Ticket entry to the museum was 300 RSD and was inquisitive to see a museum that was under reconstruction for the past 15 years having recently opened on 28th June 2018. 

National Museum of Serbia.

                                                                            I was definitely the "Bonny(Hindi Slang for FIRST) Indian Tourist" to the National museum of Serbia.This museum was established in 1844 and moved into its present location in 1950 with its grand opening  held on 23 May 1952.Previously the famous tavern "Dardanelles" existed on the location of the National Museum which was the rendezvous of the elite and artistic society of Belgrade.Excellent three storey building having  central A/c with most of the exhibits being on Serbian history, culture and art.Thankfully most of the exhibits also had nameplates in the  English language and hence will be a attraction to International tourists beside's common Serbians.Like it or not the fact is that the English language is the World's "LINK LANGUAGE" and i have managed all my travel's through 74 country's to date by simply speaking English language.

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"National Museum" with Picasso's "Head of a woman"

                                                                            In the art section most exhibits were of Serbian painters  and  a few exhibits of some of the house-hold European painters. Took a "Selfie" with "Head of a Woman"  painting by  my favorite painter "Pablo Picasso" whose giant  painting "Guernica" at the "Museo Reina Sofia"  in Madrid blew my mind away.Of all the paintings i have viewed "Guernica" feels like i had just seen it yesterday ! After the museum visit boarded the tram and headed back to the hotel.While checking out of "Room N0 1016"  had forgotten my jacket in the room and on arrival at the hotel informed the receptionist of the same.She rang the house-keeper and to my relief the jacket was traced and handed over to me.While seating in the hotel lobby busy on my laptop noticed a young Sikh man along with a companion enter the hotel and converse with the receptionist for quite some time.The first Indian  i had come across in Sofia and on inquiry learnt that he was a young businessman from Punjab and absolutely new to the city.He asked me for some guidance which i did provide. 

Master's degree on  Gambling Industry of the Balkan's ?

                                                                                                            Left the hostel at 2015 hrs and boarded a bus at "Slavija Square" alighting at National Monument bus stop.Strangely on my first day arrival i had walked all the way from the bus terminal to Hotel Slavija with my luggage akin to a Marathon run but now at the interlinking roads of National monument  got cofused in direction to the bus depot.After inquiries along the way finally reached my destination and worse was getting the correct boarding platform of the bus as few people conversed in English.Finally after getting the ticket confirmed purchased a platform boarding ticket and waited for the bus at platform N0 14/15. At 2145 hrs the bus with Dubrovnik destination placard didn't arrive and i got nervous and began asking the platform staff about my bus arrival after which i was told to board the bus currently parked on platform N0 14.The bus had some other destination on its placard and  realized that after reaching the said final destination the bus would continue further to Dubrovnik.As i mentioned in "SOLO TRAVEL" its the journey that's the actual adventure rather than the destination.It's akin to being a explorer in a total new environment and culture.Bus departure was punctual at 2200 hrs and it was a comfortable journey as i had two seats to myself.

Approaching DUBROVNIK by coach.The Bus Terminus is next to "Dubrovnik Port" During Summer Dubrovnik is one of the World's busiest Cruise ship docking ports In 2016 a total of 529 cruise ships called at Dubrovnik port discharging 799,916 passengers . The year 2017 was another record year for tourism and seeing the crowds in August 2018 as well as the number and size of the cruise ships as seen in this photo it seems 2018 would better the previous year tourist arrivals.Except in  Istanbul which has a large seaport never in my life did i see such large and this many cruise ships parked in a small port akin to a car park.During winter the temps are a comfortable 10*C with  no snowfall  and hence when the tourist crowds are reduced during winter its the film crews that throng Dubrovnik city.

Thursday(16/8/2018) Arrival Dubrovnik :- A sleepless bus journey as  there were two border visa checks between 0230 and 0300 hrs and later a rest stop at 0630 hrs at Gasko.

Cable Car ride from Dubrovnik Old Town to Srd Hill.

 From Gasko we were just three passengers in the entire large Volvo bus until reaching the bus station of Trebinye where finally i was the lone passenger and the bus had a halt of over 30 minutes at this station.The destination name of Dubrovnik was inserted by the bus driver on the bus route direction indicator placard.Finally we departed from Trebinye with a few passengers and so it didn't feel like i had hired the entire bus akin to the super wealthy chartering planes,Bizarre.At 0915 hrs we reached Dubrovnik border check-post situated at the descent of the narrow mountain highway road of Syrd hill that had numerous mudslides ahead.It was a long wait of approximately two hours at the border check-post and i mistook the delay to be due to a landslide on the road ahead finally realizing it was actually the passport checks.

DUBROVNIK OLD WALLED CITY as seen by the bus while descending the hill  and approaching the coast of Dubrovnik city.If you travel by bus to Dubrovnik then there is no need to take the "Cable-Car" for a "Bird's Eye View" of the city. The American HBO television serial "Game of Thrones" fictional city "King's Landing"  was filmed in the Old Town as also a part of the Bollywood film "Fan" starring one of the World's wealthiest film stars Shah Rukh Khan of Mumbai. George Bernard Shaw had said ,quote, "Those who seek Paradise on Earth should go to Dubrovnik".

  Spotted the "Cable Car" travelling overhead to the peak of Syrd hill.This cable car built in 1969 gives  tourists  a 4 minute ride from Dubrovnik Old Town to Srd hill offering a panoramic view of the city and its surroundings.Reached Dubrovnik Bus terminus situated next to the Ferry terminal at 1100 hrs and realized getting to my hostel destination would be the next big hurdle.Changed Euro's into the local currency Kuna at the exchange rate of 1 Euro = 7.4 Kuna or 1 Kuna = Rs 11 only.

Dubrovnik Town centre outside Dubrovnik old town Fort.

 Next inquired about my hostel directions at a restaurant and was told to board the local bus after purchasing the 12 Kuna bus ticket from the newspaper vendor.Boarded the N01 bus packed with tourists and randomly alighted the bus after a few minutes.From there it was a torturous walk up the hill side through stairs finally reaching my destination "Youth Hostel Dubrovnik". A large busy youth hostel housed in a large building with a open air garden.Dubrovnik reminded me of Shimla hill  station in India with all roads being inclined either upwards or downwards being a city of hills and same applied to distant European city Dubrovnik,although a coastal city and nicknamed  the Pearl of the Adriatic .

A walk along the Stradun or Placa (Street) of  Old Town Dubrovnik.The Fortified walls enclose the Old Town and this limestone pedestrian street has a length of approximately 300 meters across the Old Town and packed with tourists during the peak summer months.

 It was very hot and a hostel resident from Germany told me it was Europe's worst heat wave with temperatures in Germany soaring to 40*C +.Finally was allotted "Room N0 11" on the first floor of the hostel having 4 bunk beds.

"Great Onfrio Fountain" at entrance of Old Town

                                                                                                                      After a warm refreshing bathe decided to explore the vicinity and walked the long straight walk towards the Old Town.What was amazing was the atrocious expensive cost of living in comparison to the other Balkan city's i had visited including Athens and Sofia. A beer can in a common supermarket  i entered  cost 20+ Kuna and the cheapest hot dog snack was 20 Kuna. I would have to learn the art of survival as well as entertainment on my modest tour budget in historic and Pearl of the  Adriatic city,  Dubrovnik.Croatia's top soccer stars might be residing in Dubrovnik.Wonder what was the address of Croatia World cup star Luka.Modric ?

Bylanes inside historic Old Town city.

                                                                                                 The day tours conducted by travel agents were atrociously expensive in comparison to European cost of living let alone developing Country's.Came across a beautiful stray cat sitting on the Old city entrance gate walls like a Cat Queen and unwittingly it became a source of tourist photography.Entered the fortified walls of the Old Town from the main road through "Pile Gate(Vrata od Pila)" situated on the Western side of the walled city and the common entrance for the horde's of tourist crowd. Finally the view of the post card  picture perfect Old Town citadel was unbelievable and packed with tourists.The first sight that greets the tourist beside's the large crowd is the "Great Onfrio fountain" built in 1438 with a huge central dome and sixteen water taps below the dome.The fountain is the endpoint of the aqueduct built from the source of a river almost 12 kms away. and was also the first aqueduct in present day Croatia.Visited the numerous shops bordering  the Stradun .The alleyway's between a few buildings was the locale of plush street restaurants.   

Street Cafe's inside  Dubrovnik Old Town  

                                                                              At the other end of the Stradun on the east side of  the Old Town is the Dubrovnik bell-tower and near it "Onfrio's small fountain" decorated with playful dolphins.After my brief view of Dubrovnik Old Town made my exit from fortified Old town through Pile Gate and had some natural spring water from the beautiful water fountain statue of "Lord Pan and the Nymph".In one of the World's costliest city's it was bizarre that pure fresh mineral water was free of cost .Tourists fill water bottles from this free flowing fountain and this is one great consolation that reduces the cost of living in this exorbitantly costly city .Walked back the long distance to my hostel.Relaxed in the hostel which defined youth travel in the Western World and which is slowly gaining momentum in India although i have yet to come across a hostel like "Youth Hostel Dubrovnik" anywhere in India.This hostel  is  affiliated to "Hosteling International Franchisee " that has branches all over the Globe.I am one of the few rare percentage of the Indian population that travels "SOLO" while most prefer "Group Tours" or love staying in  hotels.

Drinking fountain Statue of "Lord Pan" & "Nymph"  at entrance to Old Town 

                                    Residential hostels like "Youth Hostel Dubrovnik" teaches the youth self-sufficiency and "Travel Management" beside's the opportunity to mingle and interact with different cultures and nationalities from various parts of Planet Earth..All hostels in Europe have "MIXED ACCOMMODATION" where men and women share the same room and yet "RAPES" or "SEXUAL MOLESTATION" cases never arise or are the rarest of rare if ever it occurs.Later in the night strolled around the vicinity which is plush and expensive as is entire Dubrovnik.Visited the plush "Sex Shop" which was smaller than the one i visited in Athens and with less products of "Sex Toys" for both the sexes.Entered a plush restaurant, the "Roxy Club" which had  grand interior design and music aesthetics.While returning back noticed the lonely terrier dog sleeping on the steps leading to the hostel and although it has a collar seems lonely and abandoned.My room was occupied by three young ladies akin to a night in Skopje with me the lone male.This is the definition of "Mixed Hostel boarding" which is unthinkable in my home Country of India.My observations during my "Solo" travel career that began  in 2005 is that travel among young Caucasian women is a part of their lifestyle . Another unbiased observation was the high rate of smoking among Caucasian women in comparison to men.Travel educates.

WALLS OF DUBROVNIK OLD TOWN:- Start of my 2 Kms walk along the walls that encircle Dubrovnik Old Town,Dubrovnik  was formerly known as the "Republic of Ragusa"  from 1358 to 1808 and was a prosperous maritime Republic until annexed by Napoleon's army.Today's intact city walls mainly constructed between the 12th  and 17th centuries run a uninterrupted course of  1,940 meters  encircling most of the Old city and is the most complete fortified intact wall in entire Europe.This wall protected the citizens of Ragusa for five centuries and have never ever been breached by a enemy.

Friday(17/8/2018) Dubrovnik :- A decent nights sleep of four hours and awake at 0300 hrs as usual ,busy on the internet phone  on my bed.

View of Dubrovnik city from  Fortified walls of Old City.

 In the morning breakfast was at 0800 hrs and very common and ordinary in comparison to other hostels during my travel odyssey with the breakfast of "Hotel Slavija" in Belgrade being absolutely 7-star let alone 5- star .After breakfast walked the long distance to Dubrovnik Old Town and decided to do the walk along the fortified walls of the old city.Entrance ticket was 150 Kuna and at 0900 hrs began my long walk along the circumference of the Old City wall meeting a cat at the start of the long marathon circumferential walk of 2 Kms and taking a "Bonny Selfie" good-luck photo with this anonymous stray cat..Cat's seem to be attracted towards me for no reason as i am a animal lover and wild life conservationist.

Not a walk along the "Great wall of China" but the "Fortified walls of Dubrovnik" with a amazing view of the Adriatic sea .Its a tough strenuous uneven walk that goes steeply  uphill at a certain section  as seen in this photo .I was one of the first few early visitors to enter the fortified wall complex and hence didn't have to jostle for space as the crowds grew larger with every increasing hour past 0800 hrs."Kayaking" is a very popular sport in Dubrovnik and the same is visible in the sea below the fort walls.

The Sun was still low and the weather cool with the crowds gradually getting larger along the narrow wall corridor.

View of Old Town rooftops from the Fortified City wall

                                                                            The view of the Old city  from the wall was beautiful with all houses being uniform in design having tiled roofs.In the bay below water sports was in full progress with Kayaking being the premier water sport as also boat rides from the Old Town wharf.As i walked along the wall got a different view of different parts of the old Town and the Adriatic sea coast.It was getting hotter as the clock ticked towards noon and after walking to the highest part of the fortified wall at approximately 1115 hrs made my exit from the fortified walls and out of Dubrovnik Old Town.Returned back to the hostel with the three ladies having vacated the room and awaiting new guests .
           

MINCETI TOWER built in 1463 is the highest  point  on the Fortified walls of Dubrovnik offering one of the best views of the city..

A very busy hostel and a landmark in the city with a public signpost on the main street indicating the direction to "Youth Hostel Dubrovnik".It had  been a long time since i didn't have a sea swim although a daily swim of 2 Kms +  in the "M.G.M.O"  swimming pool of my home city of Mumbai along with hobby  cycling  is my regular food for healthy living .

A dip in the Adriatic sea in Dubrovnic.

  Eureka,i was in prime swimming locale and decided to swim on one of the beaches in Dubrovnik.Had noticed a lot of swimmers and sunbather's on the beach below while doing the long 1.5 Kms walk from my hostel along  the ridge of the  sea coast to the Old City .On scrutinization with my binoculars realized it was a private hotel sea swimming beach owned by  the plush  5-Star "Rixos Libertos" which also had a large indoor swimming pool .After a few  walks across the  same route  the familiarity of the beach sight made me realize  that there should definitely be a free beach for the common public in that vicinity.The receptionist had told me that a public beach was in near proximity to the hostel and hence packed my swim kit and headed to Dubrovnik beach.To my astonishment realized the downhill walk from my hostel to the public beach was shorter than the long tedious 1,5 Kms walk to Dubrovnik Old town  but in the opposite direction.The private beach i had seen from above was owned by "Rixos Libertos" hotel akin to owning a small island hilltop of Dubrovnik city.Adjacent  to  this private beach was the public "Free Beach" which was packed with swimmers and sunbathers.I was the only Sub-Continent Asian on the small beach beside's a few Orientals.The rest were all Caucausians swimmers and bathers trying to get a Sun Tan .

The "ADRIATIC SEA" is the bluest point on Earth when seen from space and there are many private beaches along the Dubrovnik coastline.This is a "FREE BEACH" for the common public facing the private sea beach of the plush 5-Star "Rixos Libertos" hotel.Its a pebble beach with crystal clear water.

 The beach was absolutely clean with not a shred of plastic or waste seen  alongside the shores as plastic usage is common in all Baltic Country's and Europe.

Discovered the cheapest grocery store in Dubrovnik.

  Disposing plastic and other waste without harming nature  is the secret of proper environment control.After a swim in the Adriatic sea had a look from the exterior of the plush "Rixos Libertos" hotel which had the only casino in Dubrovnik city named the "Merit Casino".The minimum cost of a night's stay in this hotel was 395 Euro's which was not surprising given that Dubrovnik is one of the costliest city's in the World.Walked  the short uphill path  from the sea-shore to the hostel entering "Karlovacko" grocer store and discovering the cheapest beer and hot-dogs in Dubrovnik.Regret having discovered this small supermarket bonanza very late during my stay in the city.Most important my health drink "BEER" was dirt cheap in this grocery in comparison to other shops in the city besides it was close to my hostel.One of the cardinal rules as a solo backpacker is to discover the cheapest grocery and restaurants in the vicinity or city.Purchased a beer and a  hotdog and made my way to the hostel.In Europe and in fact all over the Globe raw food products are cheap in comparison to eating in restaurants and most hostels provide a free kitchen service to its guests.

Dubrovnik Old Port :-  A stray cat resembling a  miniature "Black panther" prowling across Dubrovnik Old Port at twilight hours.Right Place at Right Time.

On the stairway walk up the ridge  to my hostel came across the owner of the cottage house built on the incline of the ridge whose young son was bottle feeding a kitten and inquired about the terrier dog that slept on the stairs outside the cottages. 

Last night in Dubrovnik Old Town at twilight.

                                                                             Was happy to note that the shabby looking  terrier was not a stray but owned by the neighboring cottage.A young group of three German men were the new room-mates and yes i was definitely living off a suitcase.Later in the night walked the long distance to Dubrovnik Old Town and got a feel of the twilight zone within the confines of this beautiful historic walled town.As usual there were tourists and was surprised at the number of  churches within the small confine of this walled town which was once a historic trading port.Nearly 90 % of Croatia's population are Catholic Christians.Advertisement of a Classical concert inside the church premises was put on the street as is the case of many churches across Europe.The small port was busy with tourists seeking boat rides and was surprised to see a few cats along the wharf although this was not a fishing port.The rats of Old Town Dubrovnik Port are definitely kept under control by these cats.Came across a "Candy Shop(Sweets)" that was a advertising education in attracting attention  with candy's kept in wine casks with  infamous Pirate "Blackbeard"having captured this consignment of "Candy Casks".It was a pleasant tiring walk back
to the hostel.

Dubrovnik Cathedral of the Assumption of Virgin Mary :-  Built in the 17th century replacing the older cathedral that was destroyed in the  earthquake of 1667.All European churches have beautiful  interiors with religious paintings and one painting of the Assumption of Virgin Mary is attributed to the artist Titian.In the 20th century this Cathedral was partly damaged by the 1979 Montenegro earthquake and was repaired.In 1991 during the siege of Dubrovnik a mortar shell damaged the cathedral which was later repaired.86 % of the Croatian population are "Catholics" and Dubrovnik Cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Dubrovnik. .

Saturday(18/8/2018) Departure Dubrovnik :-  In the morning after breakfast got busy with the routine task of "Living out of a suitcase" and after packing my luggage just relaxed in the room.

Last morning in Dubrovnik Old Port.

   The young German tourists left earlier having rented a car to drive around the Balkans.At 1000 hrs i checked out of the room leaving the luggage in the lobby along with others baggage. Walked the long road to Dubrovnik Old town and today explored the historic precincts within the walled boundary of the Old Town.Was astounded at the  number of churches within such a small circumference of the Old Town walled City.Entered the Church of St Ignatius of Loyala ( Jesuits Church) which  is the work of the famed Jesuit architect and painter Ignazio Pozzo, who worked on the church from 1699 to 1703.

The church was completed in 1725 and opened in 1729. St Ignatius Church is adjacent to  the famous Jesuit school Collegium Ragusinum and its Bell tower is the oldest in Dubrovnik. .This complex is considered to be the finest Baroque set of buildings in Dubrovnik, and  according to many also  in entire  Dalmatia. Theatre directors at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival often use this venue as an open-air stage.Next visited Dubrovnik Cathedral besides the museums and other churches.There was a museum of Pharmacy, something i saw for the first time in my visits to city's although i didn't enter the museum as pharmacy is not my subject nor passion.
     

Luza Square located on the eastern side of Stradun  in Dubrovnik Old Town.The opening night of  "Dubrovnik Summer Festival" takes place on Luza Square.

 Later just inquisitively exploring every shop and historical edifice entered a historical building that had a placard advertising the "Dubrovnik Film Festival" and saw the photographs of some household names of the Hollywood Film Industry and on close scrutiny was surprised to see the familiar face of  Indian film actor Shah Rukh Khan.

Dubrovnik Clock tower :- Located next to Sponza Palace on Luza Square in Old town this 31 meter bell tower built in 1444 is one of the symbols of the former free city of Ragusa as Dubrovnik was known. The Clock tower was rebuit in 1929 as it had lost its stability in the 1667 Earthquake that destroyed most of Dubrovnik's buildings.The brass face of the clock shows the phases of the moon.Two human figures strike the bell every hour.

 The photographs were of famous entertainment personalities who had either acted or directed in film shoots  in Dubrovnik and Shah Rukh Khan had his film "Fan" partly filmed in Dubrovnik .

Franciscan Church with its Bell Tower.

 I am 99% sure he could walk the Old city of Dubrovnik totally unrecognized which would hurt his ego but  otherwise give him a little privacy as a free common  man to stroll around a common street without being mobbed by "FANS". As for me the common Indian back home in native India  felt like a "Celebrity" for being the only Sub Continent  Asian along with  a few Orientals  representing  the Asian  tourist population of Dubrovnik.Most of the tourists were Caucasians and that too from the string of cruise ships that docked into Dubrovnik harbor every day.Took a "Selfie" photo with the photograph of Shah Rukh Khan for he could have been pleased or surprised  to have seen a anonymous co- Indian in distant Dubrovnik.Life is funny and the famous Hindi quote "Kuutch Bhi Ho Saktha Hain(Anything can happen)" is very true in life and daily living.Least did i expect to see actor Shah Rukh Khan in a photo kept among the "Who's Who" of Hollywood in distant Dubrovnik as unlike a few Indian actors  he has never acted in any  Hollywood film.From Old Town walked the marathon distance back to the hostel and relaxed in the hostel outdoor garden lounge.

Church of St Blaise built in 1715 :- The feast of St Blaise(Festa Svetog Vlaha),the patron saint of Dubrovnik and formerly the protector of Independent  Republic of Ragusa is held every annually on February 3. The procession takes place through Stradun beginning at Luza Square.In 2009 the Feast of St Blaise in Dubrovnik was included in U.N.E.S.C.O List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Later in the evening purchased a few beers along with hot dogs  from "Karlovacko", the cheapest  grocery in close proximity to the hostel and spent my last evening just lazying and conserving my energy for the Marathon solo travel.

     

Boarding my sixth bus of the "SOLO"travel to Ljubljana.

                                                                               At 2000 hrs left the hostel and after purchasing a 12 Kuna bus ticket walked the short distance to the bus stop and boarded the "1A" bus to Dubronik bus station.On arrival at the bus station searched for the inquiry counter with language being the major hurdle.Finally did get the platform number of my bus and at 2200 hrs the bus was punctual in departure.Thanks to being a partial insomniac as also a frequent odd hours traveller that i have now managed to get a decent few hours sleep on a bus journey.Some say its the definition of "Living out of a suitcase".

DRAGON BRIDGE in Ljubljana :- This reinforced concrete  bridge was  built in 1901 over the Ljubljanica river  when Ljubljana was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire .In 1983-84 this bridge was renovated with lightweight concrete and its centennial  was celebrated in 2001.This bridge is regarded as the most beautiful bridge produced by the Vienna Secession and is the first asphalt bridge in Slovenia. It is also one of Europe's earliest reinforced concrete bridge.The Chief attraction of this bridge are the four Dragon statues installed on pedestals at the four corners of this bridge.Legend has it that Jason was the founder of Ljubljana and he and his Argonauts slayed a dragon .In addition to the  four giant Dragon statues this bridge is also decorated with the statues of 16 smaller dragons.

Sunday (19/8/2018) Arrival Ljubljana  :- The bus passed through the city of Split, the second largest city in Croatia and stopped near the harbour bus stand where passengers embarked and disembarked.Got a view of a string of medium size ferries parked alongside Split harbour. After a brief stop at Split  the bus proceeded and we stopped at a restaurant for refreshments and toilet.Hence my few hours sleep was effected.

Few Graffiti buildings  in Ljubljana Old town

                                                                                 Finally at 0715 hrs we arrived at Zagreb Bus terminus where to my astonishment i was told was the last stop and had to catch the 0930 hrs connecting link bus to final destination Ljubljana.Decades of travel experience came to my rescue and i quickly went to the bus terminus information office situated in the same building which resembled a airport terminal.Was told to board the bus on platform "N0 306" and heaved a sigh of relief as the "Mumbai Egypt Air/Makemytrip.Com" fiasco had rattled my confidence in travel bookings.The bus was punctual on departure at 0930 hrs and got a beautiful feel of First World highway's .My worst nightmare  was at the "Croatia/Slovenia Border Check-post" where we got stuck in a traffic queue for visa checks at the Slovenia border for approximately two hours.

Ljubljana Cathedral(St Nicholas Cathedral) is situated at Cyril and Methodius Square  near Ljubljana Central Market and Town hall.This Cathedral was consecrated in 1707.Catholics form 74 % of the population in Slovenia.Religion played a important role in the development of the Slovenian Nation

 The Visa Security officer took my fingerprint's twice and i was wondering if i was hallucinating about films and playing in a"Double role" a la Shah Rukh Khan style.

View of interior of St Nicholas Cathedral.

   Finally my visa was stamped and after all passengers were examined we boarded the bus and headed to Ljubljana. Reached Ljubaljana bus terminus at approximately 1400 hrs and on alighting asked a local lady for directions to being guided in the right direction. Ljubljana Train  and  bus terminus are located next to each other near Liberation Front Square which has a equestrian statue of the  Slovenian Major  General Rudolf.Maister. Walking further down the road  confirmed my bearings with a local gentleman who gave me directions with his "G.P.S" system .Confidently walked the long distance to "C-Punkt Hostel" always rechecking my direction with locals and in fact once  also misguided and retracing  my direction.Crossed the Ljubljanica river canal bridge  finally being in close proximity to my destination.

BUTCHER'S BRIDGE :- On Butcher's Bridge which is Ljubljana's "Love Bridge" with lover's having symbolically padlocked their love and dropping the keys into the Ljubaljanica river that flow's below.The "Butcher's bridge"built in 2010 connects the Ljubljana Central market Colonnade with the Petkovskovo Nabrezje embankment..The Original idea for this bridge was decided in the 1930's by Ljubljan's prominent architect  Joze .Plecnik  but due to World War-II the idea was abandoned.There are grotesque  statues of "Adam and Eve", "Satyr" and Prometheus"on the bridge sculpted by Slovenian sculptor Jakov.Brdar.As a "BACHELOR" i was still searching for my padlock companion to throw the key away !

Enquired at a department store and was relieved to know that i was heading in the right direction and walking alone met  two young backpacker women also heading to the same hostel.

Only Cycles allowed  in Ljubljana Old Town.

 I was now definitely not lost and lady luck had been kind to me."C-Punkt Hostel" is situated within the confines of "UNIVERSA V LJUBALJANI  Zdravestena fakulteta"(Slovenian language),a large University that specializes in medical  education  having a Basketball court,Tennis Court and a Olympic size football cum athletics ground. Got the feeling i was enrolling into a World class boarding college hostel at my young age. Legendary miler Late Dr Roger.Bannister would have been pleased with this 5-star educational campus for it had the facilities for sports development as well as top class education.On arrival at the entrance gate of the hostel came across a long line of backpackers in a queue awaiting admission akin to joining college  on first day.The receptionist confirmed my booking and after the normal formalities allotted me "Room No 12" situated on the basement floor.On entering "Room N0 12" was surprised to see 12  double bunk bed's with full occupancy and at my  young age "Daddy Cool" was back in "Boarding College ".

"C-PUNKT Hostel" situated in a plush college campus.

 Excellent hostel although a bit far from the City bus terminus.Later after a bathe took a guided map and some advice from the receptionist and strolled around Ljubljana Old City.Came across the "Dragon Bridge" , "Butcher's Bridge" and the main tourist locale of Cyril and Methodius Square  in the vicinity of  Ljubljana Central market and town hall. Entered "St Nicholas Church" a landmark church in the city with its green dome and twin towers.I was exhausted from marathon sightseeing walks  and the overnight bus journey and hence decided to call it a day and on walking back to the hostel stopped at a Bangladeshi origin fast-food shop for some rice food as sausages and pizza's were making me homesick as far as food was concerned.Dinner was "Bangladeshi style chicken Biryani(5.5 Euro)" that was satisfactory.After dinner was back  in the hostel and relaxed on the computer and Internet.

"BLED ISLAND"  situated  on Lake Bled with the pilgrimage Church of "Assumption of Mary" along with  its 52 Meter( 171 ft) tower  being one of the most beautiful and photographed landmarks of Europe. 

Monday(20/8/2018) Ljubljana :- Woke up at 0430 hrs ,surprisingly longer sleep than my normal average of 4 hrs in 24 hrs.

Wild Ducks on Lake Bled.

                                                                             Whiled away my time on the smartphone internet which was erratic due to overload.After my normal routines got dressed and at 0615 hrs walked out of the hostel heading towards the Main bus terminus.It was a long morning walk and n the way confirmed my direction with locals most of whom were on a walk with their dog's.Finally on reaching the bus terminus inquired about tickets to "Lake Bled" and was in the nick of time to purchase return tickets to "Lake Bled" costing 12.5 Euro with the bus departure scheduled at 0700 hrs from platform N0 7.Hastily purchased two sausage rolls for breakfast and entered the bus

A View of "BLED CASTLE(Blejski Grad)" in the distance perched 130 meters on a steep cliff above the lake ."Bled Castle is first mentioned in written accounts in  1011 and hence the oldest castle in Slovenia .This castle was devasted by two earthquakes and a peasant uprising over the centuries and recently renovated and restored in the 1950's.The Gothic St Martin's Church on a elevated cliff  with its tall steeple and situated below "Bled Castle" is the parish church of Bled. This church was constructed by some of the greatest names in Slovenian architecture and art.The image of this  Bled castle against the backdrop of Lake Bled  and tiny Bled Island with its towering Church has made this locale in Slovenia a International recognizable site over the centuries much before the invention of photography..

 Departure was punctual at 0700 hrs  and it was a beautiful morning drive through the countryside of Slovenia. 

Its not everyday that a tourist swims in LAKE BLED.

                                                                                                                                             Lake Bled is 55 Kms from Ljubljana  and after  approximately 1 hr 15 minutes of road travel  we reached "Lake Bled" main bus stop.Have read numerous articles on Lake Bled and its indescribable beauty and  finally being in the locale was mesmerizing.Too beautiful to describe in words and its no surprise that the locale is recognized instantly by people who have never visited the spot due to picture postcards and tourist brochures.The entire circumference of the lake is 6 Kms and having just completed the marathon walk along the walls of  historic old Town  of Dubrovnik decided to preserve my energy and just have a swim in the lake.

LAKE BLED INTERNATIONAL  ROWING VENUE :- The Slovenian Olympic rowing team practices on lake Bled .The length of lake Bled is that of a standard rowing course and its breadth can accommodate 6 rowing lanes.Owing to its natural beauty it is considered the most beautiful rowing course in the World, the Slovenian Wimbledon of rowing.Four World rowing championships have been held on Lake Bled with the last being in 2011.

  It was a long walk along the lakeside towards the "Lake Bled Rowing Club" locale where public swimming was allowed and on reaching the locale immediately changed and dived into the surprisingly warm water.

Hooked or Natural death ? Dead fish on bank of lake Bled.

                                                                             This same lake occasionally freezes in winter and instead of swimming you could walk on this lake.Saw a lady swimming around the lake and also read reviews of tourists visiting the tiny island by swimming from ashore.I would have definitely swum to the island if i had a accomplice or in a group.Water was deep near the shore and a large dead fish was lying on the shore producing a slight stink and wonder if the fish died a natural death otherwise no angler would let such a prized catch rot to waste.After lazying in the cool water  which was higher in temp than my local "M.G.M.O(Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Olympic) in winter swam a few strokes and later  got dressed .Had a look at  "Bled Rowing Club" row boats kept safely inside a large indoor storage hangar,   

"Lake Bled :- Former Benevolent Yugoslavia dictator Josef.Broz.Tito  had a lakeside residence on Lake Bled and  tourists can now visit and also stay in this holiday home of one of the World's most well known names of the Communist era of World politics. As for me just lucky to belong to 1% of the World's  population that visit unbelievable beautiful locales as travel is expensive , time consuming  as well as strenuous if travelling on a backpackers budget. To date have visited some of the World's most historic and beautiful locales and Lake Bled in Slovenia  ranks top among my World wide travel explorations.

Rowers picked up a boat along with oars from the hangar and after the normal routine training returned the sleek lightweigh row boats back to the hangar.

Ljubaljana International Train terminus.

                                                             Viewed the list of honours of members of the club who had won gold medals during various different Olympics.Made my way back to the bus stop and on the way came across a shop that rented row boats for visiting Bled Island at a rental of 15 Kuna per boat.If i was perfect in rowing would have rented the boat or still better would have swum to the island if my valuables were in safe custody.Came across St Martin's church  with "Bled Fort"  high above it on the cliff.Absolutely scenic  akin to a computer generated artificial photo.I  did't want to visit the island nor trek up to the beautiful perched fort of Lake Bled as akin to a marathon distance athlete i had to pace my travel and monetary  energy which began at  Athens Panathenaic Olympic stadium and would terminate in Berlin.  

Preseren Square in Ljubljana Old Town.This is the central square of the city and a part of the Old Town's pedestrian zone.A bronze statue of the Sloven National poet France .Preseren with a muse  was installed on the square in 1905.The Ljubljana Carnival,concerts, sports and political gatherings take place on this square.

 The bus frequency was after a hour or half an hour and having just missed a bus was relaxing in a cafe on intent of having lunch when the bus arrived and i had to sprint to board the same.Reached Ljubljana Bus terminus at 1200 hrs and booked tickets in advance for visit to "Postojna Caves" and also visited the train station situated next to the bus terminal which was opened in 1849 and rebuilt in 1980 .                                                                                                                                                                 

Monastery and Franciscan church of the Annunciation.

Author James.Joyce had spent a night at Ljubljana train station on October 1904 on his way to Trieste  after he  alighted the train at Ljubljana mistaking it for Trieste.The station bizarrely reminded me of Byculla railway station back home in distant Mumbai in India except that it had the cleanliness of a First world city and definitely less populated.A small monument in memory of author James.Joyce was  created by sculptor Jacov .Brdar and  erected in the station in 2003.From the Train Station/Bus Terminus  it was a long walk back to the hostel.On the way purchased a cheese/bacon/sandwich,tuna tin fish and a beer from the grocery store which was  a short walk from the University hostel premises.This hostel was actually the University college  dormitory for its students which was later converted into "C-Plunkt " hostel which caters mostly to the youth backpacker with me being the La Mick.Jagger among my fellow young room-mates, both male and female. 

           

Robba Fountain at Town Square.

  After lunch decided to do the "Ljubljana Free walking Tour" scheduled for 1500 hrs and the hostel receptionist gave me direction to the meeting point "Preseren Square"  situated near the "Three bridges" of Ljubljana Old Town.It was again a long walk from the hostel to the heart of Old Town centre  of Preseren square.On reaching the square there was already a large crowd of tourists gathered for the start of the "Ljubljana Free Walking tour".As the crowd was large we were divided into two groups and our lady guide Anastasia began the tour by introducing us a little history of Slovenia . Preseren square is named after the prominent Slovenian poet France.Preseren and has a monument of him in the square.The  massive earthquake of 1895  had destroyed most of the buildings in Ljubljana Old town and later redefined the new construction of the town., The pink  coloured  Franciscan church along with its monastery towers over the square while the Central Pharmacy building (Mayer Palace)  housing the pharmacy is another prominent landmark around the square..Encircling the square is also the oldest department store building  of Ljubljana now refurnished as the "Galleria Emporium" selling designer label luxury items.                                                                                                                            

View of Castle hill and Ljubljana Castle.

 She explained us the various buildings designed and built by Joze.Plecnik, the most prominent architect and builder whose name is synonymous with all the buildings in Old Town Lubljana. No vehicular traffic is allowed into the Old Town and hence cycles and only a few important essential vehicles are allowed entry permit into this strictly pedestrian zone.We were explained the importance and relevance of the bridges with the "Triple Bridge" consisting of 3 bridges across the Ljubaljanica river situated directly opposite Preseren Square.This bridge was designed in 1929 by the architect Joze.Plecnik.There are other bridges  constructed over the "Ljubljanica  River" that flows across the Old Town with the most prominent bridges being "Dragon's Bridge" and "Butchers Bridge". 

                         

Philharmonic Hall of "Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra"

On visiing the Ljubljana Cathedral we were told the importance of the Cathedral door.Visited the main market square  and later the Town Hall which is open to tourists.The "Robba Fountain" erected in front of the Town Hall is one of the most notable symbols.Next saw the building housing the National library of Ljubljana built by  prominent architect Joze.Plecnik being one of his most prominent designs and in fact all the monumental landmark buildings in Old Town  had the stamp of Joze.Plecnik. Saw the filming of a "Korean Film" near the market square reminding me of the Hollywood film shooting i had witnessed at Prague castle during a previous travel odyssey across Europe.During our walk we were given a free complimentary sip of Slovenian wine at a wine shop.

     

Congress Square in Ljubljana Old Town.

                                                                    The entire walking tour lasted the normal two hours and terminated at "Congress Square" which houses the University,Philharmonic hall and Parliament buildings of Ljubljana. This Square was built in 1821 over the site of the ruins of a medieval Capuchin monks monastery and  was used for ceremonial purposes during the "Congress of Ljubljana" held in 1821. Hence got its name as "Congress Square".This Square has a highly symbolic role in modern Slovenia history.After the tour walked back to the hostel and on the way entered  the "Erotic Sex  Shop" which was similar to the Dubrovnik sex shop and realized  its boredom once you have satisfied your curiosity.                                                                                                                               

National and University library of Slovenia building.

                                                                 I personally feel that the day's of the legalized "Sex Shop's"in Europe or other places of the World are numbered and doomed to extinction as the  "Internet Sex Industry " and "Online sex gadgets Industry " make a dent in the once booming "Sex Shop"industry.Remember visiting Europe by ship in the 1980's before the invention of the Internet and as a middle class Indian with a Socialist upbringing was floored by the sexual permissiveness of the West.Today in 2018 the West might be copying a few sex episodes from Hindi sex video's with the "Kamasutra" finally becoming International on the Internet. Hasn't the automobile replaced horse carriages ? All the sex shop's i visited were devoid of customers and the few customers like me could be just visiting for curiosity and not for  purchase or peep shows. Purchased my dinner sandwiches/tin fish from the grocery and was back in the hostel for some well needed rest.

Inside the two million year old Postojna Cave which  is a 24.12 Km long Karst cave system near Postojna in South west Slovenia.The caves were created by the Pika river. Approximately 5 Kms of the cave is utilized for tourists visits and our group of "English Language tourists" were driven by a underground mini train deep inside the cave akin to travelling from one tube station to the other. On alighting the train our guide took us on a walk inside the cave system explaining various sections of the massive cave system. Notice the Stalagmites and stalactites inside this section of the cave.Over 1500 tourists visit this cave daily and is one of the most visited tourist sites in Ljubljana. Postojna cave has a constant cool temperature of 8*-10*C and tourists are advised to wear warm clothing.

WORLD'S FIRST RAILWAY IN A UNDERGROUND CAVE WAS OPENED IN POSTOJNA IN 1872.
2018 IS THE 200 ANNIVERSARY SINCE THE DISCOVERY OF POSTOJNA CAVES BY LUKA.CEC ON 14 APRIL 1818.

Tuesday(21/8/2018) Ljubljana(Tour of Postojna Caves and Predjama Castle) and later  departure to Berlin :- Woke up after my few hours sleep and whiled away my time on the Internet.               

Start of the 3.2 Km Postojna caves train journey

                                                                    Later after my normal toilet routines packed my mini trolley bag and after depositing my luggage at the reception walked out of the hostel at 0630 hrs.A very pleasant early morning walk towards the bus terminus with the road deserted barring a few locals taking their dogs for a walk.On reaching the bus terminus checked in at the palatial "McDonalds Restaurant" situated inside the main bus cum train terminal building.Breakfast was a simple "Egg/Bacon/burger" with coffee costing 2.5 Euro.I am mentioning prices for the minimum survival fitness standards of the average budget  backacker in a "First World Country". "McDonalds Restaurants" are the cheapest in any "First World Country" and nutritious for the price .

View of the 3.2 Km Train journey through Postojna caves

                                                             After breakfast relaxed in the restaurant and   at 0815 h boarded the bus to  Postojnska Jama.It was a long beautiful early morning drive through Slovenian countryside with the final drive being a uphill climb negotiating steep bends on the mountain roads.At 0930 hrs we arrived at Postojnska Jama centre which is  the entrance for tourists  to the World famous "Postojna Caves" with  our public  bus being  the first arrival of  the day with most tourists arriving in private tour buses or cars. 

View of Stalagmite "BRILLIANT"

                                                                                                               Immediately rushed to the ticket counter and booked a combination ticket for sightseeing "Postjona Cave and Predjama Castle " costing 38.5 Euro.Readers familiar with my travelogues will notice that i am a miser on accomodation and food expenditure during my "Solo Travels" but a billionaire spendthrift  on "Extreme adventure sports" and "World class sightseeing ",both, in my home country India as well as foreign locales. History and geography is my study passion and hence hungry for seeing new places or new adventures.The first tour  to Postojna caves started at 1000 hrs  and we were divided into  different groups according to language preference.Each group  had a guide in the respective language .As soon as we entered the cave there was  a abrupt drop in ambient temp to + 10 *C which was akin to being in a fridge cooler.We then boarded the mini train that took us  along  3.2 Km of the total  24 Kms underground passage and in approximately ten minutes  we finally came to a halt at the "Great Cavern".

At entrance of  "POSTOJNA CAVES"

                                     After alighting the train at the  the "Great Cavern"our guide  explained us the cave structure  and its brief history.We then had a long walk along the caves decorated with Stalactites and Stalagmites in various shapes and sizes with some resembling candle wax or the fat of pieces of bacon.Bizarre natural formations of the Stalactites and Stalagmites.After crossing the "Russian bridge" built in 1916  by Russian prisoners of  World War-I we entered the 500 meters long "Beautiful Caves" which had ribbon shaped Stalactites and Stalagmites.From "Beautiful Caves" we walked further south through the "Winter Hall" past the five meter  tall  bright white stalagmite called "Brilliant (Diamond )"and the Baroque pillar next to it which have become symbols of the cave.

 We were next shown the "Olms" kept in darkened fish tanks which are one of the World's most unique living creatures found only in Karst caves and mainly in Postojna caves. 

PREDJAMA CASTLE :-  Predjama castle seen in the background  is the World's largest "CAVE CASTLE" listed in the "Guinness book of World records".This castle is perched on a 125 meter high cliff for over 800 years and was destroyed and rebuilt a few times.The present castle was built in the Renaissance style in 1570 and after World War II was nationalized by the Yugoslav Communist authorities who turned it into a museum .Ranks among the 10 most fascinating castles in the World. Inside the Cave castle is a network of secret cave tunnels.
POPULAR CULTURE :-  "Armour of God" movie featuring Jackie.Chan was filmed in this castle with Jackie.Chan almost dying due to  a serious injury during the shooting which enhanced the superstition that this castle is "HAUNTED". In 2008 the Sci-Fi Channel "Ghost Hunters International" investigated the castle for paranormal activity .Numerous other films have been shot in this miracle of nature castle.

 Olms can live without food for up-to 12 years and have a lifespan of almost 100 years. Our walk finally came to a end in the "Concert Hall" which is the largest space in the cave complex and can accomodate 10,000 people for musical performances. 

 Erazem.Lueger,  legend of Predjama Castle

This was the last stop of our underground Postojna cave walking tour and from here we boarded the train back to the entrance with the entire tour lasting one and a half hour.After some inquiry boarded the "Shuttle Bus" from Postojna Caves to Predjama castle with the journey being approximately twenty minutes.On alighting the bus my first view of the castle seemed like a "Fantasy Set" as it looked unreal akin to a mirage balanced on a cliff at the entrance of a mountain cave.Its the largest cave castle in the World..We were given audio phones and hence got a excellent tour of the castle.Noticed the wildlife hunting trophy's as this was a hunting lodge.After exiting the castle complex strolled around the vicinity and visited a private restaurants "National History museum" that had a entire collection of European habitat wildlife.Later  boarded the shuttle bus back to Postojna cave bus terminus. Had a expensive  lunch at the restaurant  in the cave complex and at 1615 hrs boarded the bus to Ljubljana and walked back to the hostel.Just relaxed on the internet in the hostel dining lobby also meeting some new fellow hostelites.At 2030 hrs finally bid goodbye to "C-Plunkt" hostel having lived inside the complex of a University hostel for the first time in my life.

INSIDE PREDJAMA CASTLE WITH ITS INTERNAL CAVE NETWORK  :-  The cave under Predjama castle spans four floors and is the second longest Slovenian cave. Tourists visit only a small section of the cave network.Prejama Castle is a renaissance castle  first mentioned in the year 1274 with the German name Luegg.Over the centuries many Royal families stayed in the castle but the castle is most remembered and famous as the seat of the knight ERAZEM. LUEGER(LUEGGER),Lord of the castle in the 15th century and a robber baron.According to legend Erazem came into conflict with the Habsburgs on a murder charge and had to flee to his family castle of Predjama to evade the wrath of Holy Roman  Emperor Frederick III.The Emperor commissioned governor of Trieste Gaspar.Ravbar to either capture or kill Erazem.Although besieged by Gaspar's forces Erazem avoided capture and starvation by means of communicating and transporting food through this castle's secret cave tunnel. A vertical natural shaft which Erazem ordered to be enlarged leads out of the castle to the exit located on top of the cliff  about 25 meters from the cliff's edge.This tunnel allowed Erazem to get his food supply as well as continue his plunders  He avoided capture for over a year and was finally killed in his own castle while using the toilet.He was betrayed by one of his men and a cannon shot blasted through the castle toilet killing Erazem.

 It was the long walk to the bus terminus on the way stepping into a open-air restaurant playing recorded music.

Slovenian Countryside.

                                                                                                                                      On arrival at bus terminus first inquired about my bus schedule set at 2305 hrs from platform N0 30.Next had dinner at a local open-air restaurant situated on the road opposite the bus terminus.Dinner was local traditional Cecippe dish which is the Indian equivalent of Kabab's with bread served as a hamburger.After dinner went to the bus platform and met a co-passenger from Mexico ,a animator by profession touring Europe.Got to understand a bit of Mexico from him and travel educates and as a "Solo Traveler" you are never ever alone.The massive plush "Flixibus Double Decker" was punctual at time on the platform and after ages boarded the upper deck of the bus on the long journey to Berlin.

CHECKPOINT CHARLIE  :- Tourist Rudolph.A.Furtado at "CHECKPOINT CHARLIE" with actor American military policemen. "CHECKPOINT CHARLIE" was the name given by the allied soldiers to the most popular "Berlin wall" crossing between the years 1947-1991 better known as the "Cold War" years in the Capitalist Western block of Nations. The "Berlin Wall" was constructed in 1961 and "Checkpoint Charlie" lies in Friedrichstradt neighbourhood of Berlin. As it is most visible   " Checkpoint Charlie"  has been featured in numerous movies and novel's  with me remembering the picturization of the wall through the video of  singer Elton.John's classic 1985 song "Nikita".
IN MODERN  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  FOLKLORE DURING THE COLD WAR ERA BERLIN WAS KNOWN AS THE CAPITAL CITY OF SPIES AND THE REASONS ARE OBVIOUS.

Wednesday(22/8/2018) Berlin :- As the bus had a inbuilt toilet as also "WiFi" it was a excellent pleasant journey towards Berlin.

Passing "Dresden Hauptbahnhof"en-route Berlin.

                                                                              Got my few winks of insomniac sleep and lucky that my next passenger seat was empty . At daylight was engrossed on the "WiFi". At 0900 hrs we reached Prague bus station where the bus got full to capacity with my next seat co-passenger being a young Czech philosophy student fluent in English language.He got busy working on his laptop while i was on my smartphone internet.At 1130 hrs we reached Dresden and got the first glimpse of one of Germany's large city's with its elegant Hauptbahnhof first opened in 1898.Dresden station was almost totally destroyed during the allied bombing of 1945.Finally after driving through the famous tunnel autobahn's of Germany reached our first Berlin stop at "Berlin Sudkreuz" a distant suburb of Berlin.

BRANDENBURG GATE:-  At the Brandenburg gate viewed from the Pariser Platz.The Brandenburg Gate is a neoclassical monument  built on the orders of Prussian King Frederick.William II. Construction of the monument was completed in 1791 and after World War II in 1945 it was the Brandenburg Gate that was the only structure left intact while all the buildings in the vicinity of Pariser Platz was  reduced to rubble .The statue on the top of the gate is known as the "Quadriga" which depicts the Goddess of Victory driving a chariot pulled by four horses.  The Nazi Dictator Adolf.Hitler's underground bunker  was  in close proximity to Brandenburg gate and hence its no surprise that the entire vicinity was razed to the ground.Throughout its existence the Brandenburg Gate was a site of major historical events and is today seen as a monument of the turbulent history of Europe and Germany as well as European unity and peace.

Presumed this was the last stop and was about to alight the bus when my Czech co-traveller told me that the next stop would be the end of the journey.

"White Crosses Memorial" to victims of BERLIN WALL.

                                                                           After a short halt at "Berlin Sudkreuz" our bus headed towards our final destination where my last long distance bus journey of the Athens to Berlin solo travel  terminated.The biggest obstacle was finding my way to "Heart of Gold" hostel and luckily quite a few German's speak English language and were extremely helpful.Approached a security personnel at the bus stand who gave me directions to the nearest  "U2" train station.After a short walk to the station purchasing the ticket from a automated machine was the next big  obstacle and  a young Korean lady tourist helped me operate the ticket machine.Boarded the train to "Potsdam Plaza" which was a long journey of many train stations  and i shuddered at the taxi fare from my bus terminus to "Heart of Gold" hostel in distant Johannisstr in the heart of Berlin City. 

Reichstag Building :-  The original Reichstag building was opened in 1894 and housed the "DIET(Parliament)" until  1933 when it was destroyed in a fire.After World War II the building was abandoned due to the partition of East and West Germany with two different Parliaments.After German reunification  on 3 October 1990  this building underwent a reconstruction by architect Norman.Foster .After completion of the reconstruction  in 1999 the  building  once again became the Parliament of a unified Germany , the "Bundestag".The Reichstag has a huge glass dome .Visit to the Reichstag dome is allowed for visitors on prior registration and is the second most visited attraction in Germany.

Berlin is a very large spread out city.On arrival at Potsdam Plaza  after inquiries boarded  the connecting U-Bahn  "S1" train to my final destination "Oranienburger  Tor " underground station.Thanks to my tour preparation homework back home in Mumbai that i could trace my journey in a total foreign country travelling by "Public Transport" and not a cab  or chauffeured vehicle.

Friedrichstrasse  train station.Central Berlin.

 The ultimate backpacker traveller. While on the train met a young Pakistani origin German engineer  employed in "Mercedes " company and got to understand the tough life of average German's in Germany .He was a first generation immigrant born and educated in Germany akin to most of us Indian diaspora spread out across the Globe.Finally arrived at "Oranienburger  Tor " underground station which was a  simple small  two railway tracks station and on exiting the station into bright Berlin sunshine began asking for directions to "Heart of Gold" hostel which was just 300 meters from the station. Finally landed at "Heart of Gold Hostel" and after the normal formalities was allotted "Room N0 110" on the first floor of the large palatial hostel having state of the art German security technology .

In Berlin drink the "Berliner" beer ? In "Heart of Gold"

 Had to pay a deposit of 10 Euro  for my locker and  5 Euro for the Security smart card.After a quick bath and later some tourist inquiry with the receptionist stepped out of the hostel into the streets of Berlin..Came across the Friedrichstadt -Palast  theatre which is the largest show palace in Europe having diverse programmes ranging from children's show's, guest performances and gala shows.You had to be literate in German language to see any of the shows in this largest of European theaters. Saw the posters of various shows exhibited outside the theatre. Berlin is a typical First World European city with  roads crowded with vehicles and systematic observance of street traffic disciplines .

Friedrichstadt -Palast  theatre building.

                                    Situated  just a few 50 meters away from the grand Friedrichstadt -Palast  theatre is the "Bombay Indisches Restaurant" and on seeing the Asian staff approached them for a conversation in Hindi language. Bizarrely got to know that politician Shri Rahul.Gandhi was touring Berlin and would  visit this restaurant in the evening on a invitation from the owner with a few political and press  tourists of Indian origin already seated inside this plush restaurant.From there walked straight towards "Checkpoint Charlie" and for 3 Euro's got myself photographed with the American military policemen  actors with myself portraying a Russian security personnel wearing a Russian hat, a la Nikita !.Privileged to experience the Communist era life during my ship port stays in the "Eastern Communist  Bloc" of Europe  and now the Non-Communist era in some of these former Communist  country's. Had the famous trademark "German sausage" snack popularly called "Currywurst"at "Checkpoint Charlie" vicinity.From "Checkpoint Charlie" visited the "Brandenburg Gate' and from there the short walk to the Reichstag. Stood in the long queue for booking a reservation for visiting the dome of the Reichstag on Friday,the day of my departure to Mumbai.

Berlin at night as seen from the bridge across the river Spree at Friedrichstrasse.The tallest structure seen in the distance is the Fernsehturm(Telivision Tower)  located in Alexanderplatz.This tower was constructed between 1965-69 by the German Democratic Republic( GDR )Government as a symbol of Communist power and of Berlin.With a total height of  368 meters it is the tallest structure in Germany and the second  tallest structure in the European Union.This tower has a observation deck for tourists along with a restaurant and bar and is one of the most prominent symbols of Berlin.Boat cruise rides along the Spree river is offered to tourists.
BERLIN IS NOTORIOUS FOR ITS NIGHTCLUBS AND NIGHTLIFE WHICH IS CONSIDERED THE BEST IN EUROPE.

 Next was lunch at a oriental restaurant which was "Fishfillet with spaghetti".While returning back to hostel missed my way and had to walk a extra Km to finally find my way towards the hostel.On the way inquired at "BombayIndisches Restaurant" if  Shri Rahul.Gandhi had arrived to which the staff replied that he was a bit late.In India Congress President Shri Rahul .Gandhi would have a massive crowd anticipating his  arrival as well as surrounded by security  while here in Berlin it seemed like i could personally approach him which explains the anonymity that celebrity politicians and film stars enjoy in most locales of Europe barring London. Now you know the reasons for "That European holiday" by the "Who's Who" of Indian celebrity. Finally at 2100 hrs was back in my hostel with three lady  Korean tourists being my co-room mates in the 6 beds hostel  room.A decent nights sleep after a hectic night of bus travel and later a marathon sightseeing walk of Berlin Central city.

MUSEUM ISLAND :-  Northern half of an island on the Spree river that has a complex of Internationally significant museums of Berlin.In 1999 the Museum complex was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.Notice the tourist cruise boats on the river Spree.

Thursday(23/8/2018) Berlin :- Woke up early as usual and after the normal routines dressed and walked to Friedrichstrabe Station and boarded the train to Zoogarten. The zoo opens at 0900 hrs and hence at 0800 hrs i was early and strolled around the area.I literally spent my youth years exploring the Bombay zoo and if time permits make it a point to visit a zoo in every new City during my travels. T he Belin Zoo has  the distinction of having the World's largest collection of animal and bird species and although short on time couldn't avoid visiting this unique zoo.The Berlin Zoo is conveniently located next to the train station and public transport in Berlin is one of the world's best transport systems.  

Ruins of Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

The plush Waldorf Astoria hotel is next to the station  and as usual stepped into the hotel and inquired the cheapest room rates which averaged 220/230 Euro's per day without breakfast. In close proximity to the Waldorf hotel  is  the  World War II ruins of  the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial church , a Protestant church built in the 1890's and badly damaged during World War II bombing in 1943.This Church has not been rebuilt to serve as a memory of World War II while a modern Bellfry was added to the Church complex in 1963. A landmark edifice of West Berlin and nicknamed " "der hohle Zahn"  by Berliners which means the "Hollow Tooth". I will never ever forget the sight of this unique war damaged church in my life.At 0845 hrs made my way towards the entrance and to my horror saw the sad plight of homelessness and alcoholism in a First World Country.  

In BERLIN ZOO at the Mandrill" monkey enclosure. Opened in 1844 the zoo has a area of 35 hectares and located in Berlin's Tiergarten locality. A Aquarium is also situated within the zoo complex.The Zoo was totally destroyed during World War II  with only 91 of the 3,715 animals surviving the war and some animals later eaten by the victorious "Red Army" that captured Berlin. The Present zoo rebuilt on the same site is the most visited zoo in Europe and also  the zoo having the largest number of animal species in the World. .

Three burly policemen brought a  a half naked old Caucasian lady with just a shirt top and placed her at the corner of the footpath near a tree.  

Gharials in the Aquarium.

                                                                                     During my travels in India and across the Globe I have seen the Worst poverty and homelessness in  developing countries but this particular incidence shocked my senses realizing that poverty and extreme vices exists in all types of society with tragic outcomes in most cases. The woman just lay sleeping on the footpath totally naked below the waist with locals just passing along bothered in their own daily  routines .Purchased a combined "Zoo/Aquarium " entry ticket costing 21 Euro's and was one of the first visitors to the zoo having the largest number of animal species in the World.Busy in viewing as well as photographing various species suddenly realized that i had lost my "Zoo/Aquarium Ticket' and so later had to pay a extra 6 Euro for entering the "Aquarium".
       

Swine. with 4 tushes.

                                                                                                                Berlin zoo requires a complete day or two days for sightseeing and studying each animal species. Sadly most of the name plates and description of animal species is only in local German language barring larger common seen species of birds or animals. I myself a veteran of zoo visits across the Globe couldn't identify a few animal and bird species as the description name-plates were in German language.Beginners or tourists not familiar with wild-life species would find it difficult to identify certain zoo animals and birds if they are illiterate in German language .Visited the "Panda Garden" where the two panda's "Meng Meng" and "Jiao Quing"  were sleeping akin to statues reminding me of alligator "Muja" in the Belgrade zoo, absolutely no movement.
                                                                                           

"Bombay Indisches Restaurant"

   These two Giant Panda couple  were recent arrivals to the Berlin zoo having arrived from China in June 2017 as a  loan  gift for 15 years  .The maintenance expenditure of hosting the panda pair costs Berlin zoo 1 million dollars/annum  to be paid for fifteen years to Beijing beside's the exorbitant cost of the specialized food for the giant Panda's.

Most of this money earned by the Chinese Government from this pair of Panda's will be spent on Panda research and breeding programs in China, the natural habitat of the Giant Panda.Was at the "Right Place  at the Right Time" to witness the "Seal Show"  where the zookeepers demonstrated the   feeding and acrobats of the seals to visitors.The language was in German and hence just got a view of the normal acrobats of the seals, a common exhibit in most zoo's across the world. Last visit was to the Aquarium building situated inside the zoo premises.The Aquarium was excellent having three separate floors in a large building  with the ground floor displaying fish species, the first floor ,reptiles and amphibians and  the second floor various insect species. Hence the Berlin zoo is listed as the number one zoo in the World having the most collection of different animal species.At 1200 hrs left the zoo and boarded the train back to Friedrichstrabe Station.Was intent on joining the "Free walking" tour from the hostel but missed the group and hence as necessity is the mother of invention explored various parts of Berlin on my own study of the city through map's and google search engines. In the afternoon decided to visit "Museum Island" and first had lunch at "Bombay Indisches restaurant" where the steward Mr Abishek.Kharel told me that today politician Shri Rahul. Gandhi would be attending a political convention of  overseas Indians  at the  Maritim hotel which i decided to attend.

Postfurhramt ( formerly Kaiserliche Postfurhamt) was the General Post office of Germany with the brick building completed in 1881 and at that time was one of the largest buildings in Berlin The building suffered severe structural damage during World war II.After repairing the building postal services was discontinued in 1995. This building is a architectural heritage monument.

 After a heavy exotic Indian non-vegetarian lunch walked towards Tucholskystrafze coming across the majestic building of the " POSTFUHRAMT (Berlin Post Office)" which is a national heritage building with postal services discontinued since 1995 .

Jewish New  Synagogue with Gold plated Dome in Berlin.

                                                                                                                                                      A little further ahead was the "Jewish Synagogue" originally built between 1859 and 1866 and almost completely destroyed during World War II. The Present rebuilt New Synagogue with its Golden dome is a majestic sight in the vicinity.Jewish services are now again held in the synagogue although most of this building now houses offices and a museum.Next came across Monbijou park and a little further crossing the river bridge landed on "Museum Island". The buildings on this particular part of Berlin were palatial edifices with most imposing being the Berlin Cathedral.The Protestant Berlin Cathedral is Berlin's largest church with the present building having been completed in 1905.This church was first built in 1465 as a Parish church and till 1539 was a Roman Catholic Church. 

BERLIN PROTESTANT CATHEDRAL on Museum Island,the largest church in Berlin.

The Church was damaged during World War II and remained closed during the era of communist G.D.R .The Cathedral was repaired and reopened in 1993 after the unification of Germany. 

ALTES MUSEUM(German for Old Museum)on Museum Island in Berlin.This museum building was built between 1823 and 1830 and was badly damaged at the end of World war II.This building was the first to undergo reconstruction after the end of World War II between 1951 to 1966. Since modern restoration in 2010-11 the  museum houses  the "Antikensammlung(Antiques)" collection of the museums of Berlin.

  Next to the Berlin Cathedral is the Altes Museum(Old Museum) another monumental edifice. After savoring the immense beauty of "Museum Island' walked towards ""Brandenburg Bridge" with the intention of seeing the location of the "Fuehrer Bunker".The famous and infamous attract my attention and hence purchased Adolf.Hitler's autobiography "Mein Kempf " decades ago in Mumbai  as also his deputy Rudolf.Hess's biography. I always read the books i purchase and never keep them as a collector's items  as do some book collectors.It was a long walk from Museum Island to Brandenburg Gate .       

Fuehrer Adolf.Hitler's Bunker lies below this vicinity.

                                                                                      The hostel receptionist had given me a rough directional guide of various sights and on reaching the vicinity of Brandenburg gate inquired with two policemen about the "Fuerher Bunker".They gave me the right directions and finally on stumbling across a signpost near a building complex car park realized i was at the spot which once housed the headquarters of the "Third Reich".A little ahead of the signpost is the massive "Holocaust Remembrance graves" to Jews who were victims of the Nazi persecution. Visited the "Jewish Holocaust Memorial" where the security check was akin to airport checks .The Holocaust memorial consists of 19,000 Square-Meter site covered with 2,711 concrete slabs arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field.The underground "Place of Information" which i had visited has the names of almost three million Jewish holocaust victims and also screens documentaries on some of the holocaust victims.Later went back to the "Fuehrer Bunker" signpost which had a large shop selling antiques and Soviet memorabilia. Entered the shop to confirm if this locale  actually housed the "Third Reich bunker" to which the owner of the shop replied in the affirmative stating that the bunker was actually below his palatial antiques shop and stretched for almost a kilometer into the housing complex..

Jewish Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.

.He was a former Soviet citizen and his shop had a collection of Soviet memorabilia and after years  i was seeing posters of Lenin and Stalin being sold in  a antique shop. Later walked towards "Maritim Hotel" and to my surprise the receptionist told me that it was being held at its other branch in Tiergarten locality. Was returning back to the hostel when i came across Mr Devinder .Singh whom i happened to see at Bombay restaurant  while having lunch and inquired with him of Rahul.Gandhi's itinerary in Berlin. He told me that he had personally met Mr Rahul.Gandhi in his hotel and the convention was being held at "Maritim Hotel" in Tiergarten. He obliged by giving me a lift to the hotel and during the drive got to know that Mr Devinder. Singh was a hotel owner in Berlin and a long time resident citizen of Germany. On reaching the hotel for the first time felt i was in India as the crowd was mostly Indians.   

Politician Rahul.Gandhi political convention at Maritim Hotel  in Berlin.

   

Vegetarian dinner after the Congress party convention.

                                                                                      The political convention started at around 1920 hrs with the arrival of Shri  Rahul.Gandhi and his political entourage led by Mr Sam.Pitroda considered the Indian who revolutionized the Country's telecommunications system during the Prime Ministership of Shri Rajiv.Gandhi. It was a typical political canvassing convention sponsored mostly by the Punjabi lobby of "N.R.I's" with the former Maharani of Patiala being one of the chief speakers.Mumbai politician Shri Murli.Deora was seated next to Rahul.Gandhi and was the only politician i could identify besides Mr Sam.Pitroda. .A houseful crowd and i felt i was attending the "A.G.M" of a company in Mumbai. After the convention there was a rush for the free vegetarian dinner and at 2115 hrs made my way back to the hostel. Met a group of young Indian students studying in Berlin who had attended the political convention and we all boarded the "N0 200 " bus with me alighting at Friedrichstrabe. It was a lonely walk back to the hostel but now i was almost a local Berliner barring my handicap of learning local languages. Got my average few hours sleep in the hostel.

Early morning inside the "REICHSTAG" glass dome on the last day of my travel across the Balkans that began in Athens and culminated in Berlin .The Reichstag Dome is a glass dome constructed on top of the rebuilt Reichstag building.It was designed by architect Norman .Foster to symbolize the reunification of Germany.This glass dome gives a 360* view of the surrounding area of Berlin as you walk along the circumference of the dome.A mirrored cone in the center of the dome directs sunlight into the building so visitors can view the working of the "Main Hall(Debating Chamber)".

Friday(24/8/2018) Departure Berlin and arrival Cairo :- Today was the last day of my marathon solo cross country tour across Europe that began on Sunday(29/8/2018) in Athens.

Last "On the road blogging" at "Heart of Gold" hostel.

                                                                                                   After packing my suitcase had a coffee at the hostel recreation hall and also used the hostel Internet. Next got dressed and walked all the way to the "Reichstag" for the 0800 hrs appointment of visiting the glass dome of the Reichstag. Wonderful view of Berlin from the dome and after a quick viewing walked back hastily to my hostel and at 0900 hrs checked out of "Heart of Gold" hostel . Walked along with my luggage to Friedrichstrabe station  and after purchasing a 3.40 Euro ticket boarded the "RB 14" train from "Platform N0 1" to Schoenfeld airport.On the route the train passed along Alexanderplatz station and got a close look at the Fernsehturm(T.V.Tower) of Berlin

Queue for First batch to enter REICHSTAG DOME.

.                                A ticket inspector boarded the train and checked tickets of every passenger and seems no one was travelling ticket-less. in my compartment, a plush railway carriage. In approximately 40 minutes was at the airport station which was the last stop. Walked to the airport departure terminal. Check-in in Berlin is two and a half hours before departure time and hence had a long wait in the airport lobby updating my blogs on my laptop as the airport Internet WIFI was weak and ineffective. At 1300 hrs the "Check-In Counter" opened and to my horror was again asked to step aside as there was some discrepancy in the ticket. Lightning rarely strikes the same person twice ! The "Egypt Airways" official in charge of ticketing told me that my ticket to Cairo was normal but the connecting flight to Mumbai was not confirmed and hence it took at least half an hour of suspense before my "Cairo to Mumbai" ticket was confirmed and i was issued a "Boarding Pass".

"Ticket Inspector" on the train to Schoenfeld airport.

"Mirrored Cone" inside Dome.

  

                Thank providence for unofficially graduating me in the profession of "Horse Betting" as i could withstand these abrupt shock bolts thrown at me.Departure of flight  "MS732 "was late by half an hour and a boring teetotal journey to Cairo finally touching down at 2015 hrs. Since  the connecting fight was the next day on Wednesday(25/8/2018) at 1620 hrs was allotted a hotel room along with other passengers from different flights at the plush 5-Star "Hilton Cairo Heliopolis". 

Musicians in the 5- Star  "Hilton Cairo Heliopolis".

  We were four Indians heading to Mumbai in the same flight , a Couple Mr Nambiar and his wife and a Business administration student Mr Ajinkya on his way from Amsterdam to Mumbai. Majority of the other Co- transit passengers were either Black African Americans or Africans on other different destinations. Was allotted "Room N0 1139"  situated in a small  one  storey building next to the plush swimming pool of the hotel estate. Beautiful palatial hotel estate with various restaurants and a plush "Hookah Bar " next to the swimming pool playing "Live music". There was also a group of musicians playing live music near the foyer of the restaurant.We were given dinner boxes at the "Marilyn " restaurant of the hotel which had a menu  named on  the films of actress Marilyn.Monroe.The dinner box   consisted of rice/roasted meat and a apple. Finally at 0030 hrs went to sleep in the plush 5-star air conditioned room, my most luxurious accommodation of the Solo marathon tour.

A Day of transit relaxation in Cairo at the luxurious  5- Star "Hilton Cairo Heliopolis" health club.Had a "Spa Treatment" and here getting a Jacuzzi after 27 days of non-stop travel exploration and adventure across Europe.

Saturday(25/8/2018)  Exploring " Hilton Cairo Heliopolis" hotel  and flight to Mumbai :- Woke up after a few hours sleep and went to the "My kind of place"  hotel restaurant for breakfast at 0715 hrs.  

Inside "Room No 1139" in "Hilton Cairo Heliopolis"

                                                                  The  buffet "Breakfast Menu "which was spread across a part of the palatial restaurant  was fit for a Pharaoh and made "Slavija Hotel" breakfast in Belgrade seem normal barring the pork products served in Slavija. Travel educates. Too spoilt for choice as to what to chose to eat and had a normal small size breakfast consisting  of egg omelette/local Egyptian bread/juice and tea. After breakfast met Mr Nambiar and confirmed the departure  time from the hotel to the airport as he and his wife would be  touring the Pyramids on a half day tour. After breakfast decided to hire swimming trunks and swim in the beautiful landscaped pool. Inquired at the hotel health club if they had spare swimming trunks to which the answer  from the receptionist Ms Omime managing the Spa was negative.

Beautiful view of the hotel poolside from "Room No 1139" in "Hilton Cairo Heliopolis".Cost of "Room No 1139" was U.S $ 200/Night.Excellent 5-star hotel which is a mini- town within Cairo city having all the amenities .Only drawback is that this hotel akin to most hotels located near airports is not walking distance  from main Cairo city and the Nile river  .

 They did have "Spa Shorts" and as they say difficult diverse  situations are responsible for great ideas or innovations.

"Breakfast setting" at "My kind of  place" restaurant.

The hotel employee Mr Adel  assisting Ms Omime told me to try the "SPA" and hence thanks to the absence of 'Swimming Shorts" decided to try the "Health Club Spa" which was free for guests .Had the time of my life in realizing the benefits of a daily "Spa health treatment" as Spa employee  Mr Adel guided me through the sequence of the complete "Spa Treatment". Was first taken to the changing room and undressed into my "Spa boxer shorts". Next had a shower akin to entering a swimming pool. After the shower entered the "Hot Chamber" where i lay down on a couch while the room heated up to a set temperature. It was akin to sailing in the Red sea during peak summer on the way to the Suez Canal. After the heating room treatment had a shower and next entered the "Steam Chamber" which reminded me of a burst steam pipe in a ships  engine room. After a few minutes inside the enclosed sauna again had a shower and finally entered the Jacuzzi.

Peafowls with chicks on  the hotel estate.

  Finally after the complete "Health Spa" treatment definitely felt improvement in my limbs after 27 days of marathon exploratory sight-seeing  walks and travel through  various modes of different transport across 10 different Country's. Now i know the secret of the "Youthful Looks" of ageing film stars,celebrities and billionaires. My opinion is if you are not into exercises, yoga for various different reasons  or a confirmed couch potato with loads of money then please use your money in "SPA TREATMENTS". Better than visiting the doctor for treatments that is easily curable by physical exercises or "Spa Treatments". The  large screen Samsung room t.v was non-functional and got the same attended to by the hotel technical staff. A simple problem with the television cable being defective and same replaced.   


  

"MARILYN RESTAURANT" in "Hilton Cairo Heliopolis"

 My day's tour was discovering the "Hilton Cairo Heliopolis "as unashamedly should admit that although i have visited 76 Country's to date and hundred's of different city's this was the first time i stayed in a recognized Franchisee  "5-Star Hotel". Have visited and eaten or drunk in numerous 5-star hotels but never ever stayed in any as my "Backpacker Travel Budget " refrains me from the same. I would rather spend my "5-Star hotel budget" on extreme adventure sports like  "Jumping from a plane (Read as Tandem para-diving)" or scuba diving .This is my personal style of travel and living while on the solo road trip. The cost of my room was 200 U.S $/day without meals which was a excellent extravaganza provided by "Egypt Air". 

In "Al Dabke" restaurant.Local Cairo Cuisine.

                                                                                                                                                  This hotel had changed ownership two times  having first  been owned by the Sheraton group of hotels and also had a small casino on its mezzanine floor. Saw peahens along with their chicks roaming on a section of the hotel grounds, a vast spacious hotel complex. Returned back to my room and to my horror the door was not opening with the magnetic card key and quickly went to the health spa and requested Adel and the reception to help me open the door. Adel came over and tried the same but couldn't open the door and told me to go to the reception. Immediately literally ran to the reception who hilariously just re-magnetized the code and gave the same card key back to me.Made me feel ridiculous. Yes it did work and  managed to open my 200 U.S $/Day room . 
   

My "Room No 1139" building facing swimming pool. 

   I am stressing on this incident to make a point that excessive reliance on automation gadgets can at times lead to serious inconvenience. Lunch was at 1300 hrs in "Marilyn Restaurant" and was buffet style extravaganza although i couldn't find any "Curry" for the rice. Dessert was outrageous with a variety of local Egyptian sweets and normal pastries. Mr and Mrs  Nambiar returned back from their pyramids tour in time for lunch and at 1400 hrs we all , including Ajinkya who spent his entire hotel stay relaxing in his room  boarded the bus to the airport. Boarding time was 1540 hrs and whiled away my time updating my travelogue. The security check at Cairo airport was slightly less stringent than that i faced at Kigali airport in Rwanda but definitely a hindrance to passengers. Flight was "House-full" and delayed by a hour finally taking off at 1800 hrs.Normal sober plane travel and watched Marilyn.Monroe's "The Seven Year Itch" towards the fag end of the travel missing the end as we landed in Mumbai at 0300 hrs local time. 

All packed up and ready to leave  "Hilton Cairo Heliopolis" by bus to  Cairo airport to board the plane to Mumbai.A memorable transit  stay at this excellent 5-Star hotel complex that was a city within a city.

 After normal formalities of a few consumable  "Duty Free " purchases collected my trolley bag and booked a prepaid local taxi at the airport costing Rs 590 .The Vagabond solo traveler was finally home in Mumbai.Had  successfully completed a solo travel involving marathon daily sightseeing walks in every city and transport on 8 Cross country buses and 5 planes across 11 different Country's in 28 days.Could there be a future extreme sport on "SOLO TRAVELS" akin to "IRONMAN" or a " Safari car rally" ? Finally at home and leisurely assessing the monetary damages during my solo travel realized that "Hotel Slavija" in Belgrade  had charged me double the money of my hotel stay by misusing my "Credit Card".This is a common ploy with some hotels so beware of your credit cards during your hotel bookings .As for the excess Rs 31,000 air fare from "Mumbai to Cairo" it seems to be a long drawn litigation process of recovering this money.Otherwise barring the financial thefts it was a solo travel of a lifetime with only good memories that  tested my physical and emotional limits to the maximum.


AIR TRAVEL TICKETING CASE STUDY  :- LENGTHY FORMAL LITIGATION PROCEDURE FOR RECEIVING COMPENSATION REFUND OF Rs 31,000 TOWARDS PAYMENT OF SINGLE AIR FARE "MUMBAI-ATHENS AIR TICKET".

"Rs 31,000 Mumbai-Athens Air payment  Receipt"  

"THE CASE STUDY FOR FUTURE BUDGET  SOLO TRAVELERS OF MY Rs 31,000 EXCESS FARE CHARGES  AND THE CONCLUSION  OF THIS LANDMARK TRAVEL CASE " :- On arrival in Mumbai immediately contacted the local branch office of "www.makemytrip.com" at Mahim in Mumbai.They absolved themselves of any responsibility stating that they were not responsible for "Online ticket bookings" of "www.makemytrip.com" and told me to directly correspond with "www.makemytrip.com" through online correspondence. 

Refund payment receipt by "Egypt Air".

               Thus began a  long correspondence and telephonic discussion with "www.makemytrip.com" officials based in Delhi that lasted for months.I was told to produce the proof  receipt of the Rs 31,000 paid to the Egypt Air officials at the airport and got the same from the Egypt Air Mumbai office based of the 5th floor of Marine Chambers building  at Marine Lines in Mumbai.The Receipt was issued by "A.K.International Travels" ,one of the travel agencies affiliated to "Egypt Air" in Mumbai  and having their office on the ground floor of  the same building. .After E- Mailing the receipt to "www.makemytrip.com" it was again a long correspondence and telephonic discussion with "www.makemytrip.com" investigating officials .After months of anxiety  was satisfied when they finally told me that the error was made by Egypt Air and that Egypt Air would pay me the refund at their Mumbai office. Next was another one and a half months delay by "Egypt Air" officials at the Mumbai office  to refund my money with the officials giving various excuses for delaying my payment.Finally on Monday(28/1/2019) after 6 1/2 months i personally  went to "Egypt Air Office" at "Marine Chambers" and  met Mrs Shabana of the airlines "Claims Department"  who was handling my case. She told me that she had scrutinized the history of my case and it was a error of the booking department of "Egypt Air"  that resulted in this colossal monetary and mental anguish to me as a traveller on their airlines. 

Part Compensation cheque received after 6 1/2 months !

                                                                                             She also stated that in her 13 years service in the "Claims Department" of Egypt Air mine was the first such odd case of a ticketing booking error by the airlines.Fictional detective Sherlock.Holmes would be stumped for a reply !  They finally agreed to pay me only the "Return Fare Ticket cost " as booked according to www.makemytrip.com which amounted to Rs 21,780 and not the entire Rs 31,000 paid by me for the "One way single  Mumbai-Athens air ticket." . Realized that something is better than nothing and as a practical speculator decided to cut my losses and collect whatever compensation they were offering. Hence returned back home without any further "Courtroom debates"with a check of Rs 21,780  thus suffering a personal cash loss of Rs 9220  and  the unbelievable mental anguish and heart-attack type shock on that lonely night of  Saturday(28/7/2018) when told at the "Egypt Air Check-in-Counter" that  my flight ticket was not booked. Who will compensate for my mental anguish which has no minimum or maximum monetary compensation ? "www.makemytrip.com" is India's largest on-line travel portal while "Egypt Air " is one of the World's oldest airlines and hope my strange travel horror  case of a "Ticket booking error" is the rarest of rare cases and doesn't happen to other fellow solo  budget travellers.

NOTE :- ALL OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE MY OWN PERSONAL THOUGHTS AND EXPRESSIONS.RESEARCH FOR WRITING MY TRAVELOGUE WAS THROUGH MY OWN EXPERIENCES AND "INTERNET GOOGLE" FOR HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL FACTS.