Balkan Highlights!
- Winetasting at Tikves winery and hitch hiking three times in Macedonia.
- Free beer at the hostel in Kosovo and a free dinner. Owner even gave us a 10% discount on our stay since we stayed two extra days.
- Meeting lots of Australians in Mostar, Bosnia and Hercegovina and extending our stay just to hang out with them more.
- Hearing how bad an owner treated workers at the hostel in Sarande, Albania and boycotting it the next time we were there.
- Having Gyros every single day for dinner in Greece. Always had them from a different place.
- Hitching a ride in the box of a truck in Greece.
- Hiking in the pouring rain and trying to climb big rocks on the trail while drenched in Durimtor National park, Montenegro.
- On the bus for six hours in Albania that was so cramped that Ashleigh could barely even fit (it took that long to cover 220 km).
- Being laughed at, for asking if we could get a youth discount in Skopje, Macedonia (Saved $80 already for being under 26. Whose laughing now!)
- People watching in the Balkans. So interesting to see how cultures differ among these close countries.
- Watching old men play dominoes, chess or backgammon under the trees in Kosovo and Albania.
- John Night swimming in the Ionian Sea in Albania (Ashleigh was a party pooper).
- Getting soaked while trying to leave the Blue Eye in Albania, but then warmed up with some Rajika, beers and playing cards for two hours.
- Having ham and cheese sandwiches and a cucumber almost everyday for lunch. We always have a food bag which is a pain to carry around.
- Following the World Cup in all the different countries. Gave us a reason to always search for hostels with a TV and make travel plans around the time of the games.
- Being shown a small town in Kosovo by a local and we got to explore how they live. We even got offered a nights stay.
- Being shocked by the prices in Dubrovnik, Croatia that we left five hours later (and didn't go on the fortress walls for $20 each).
- Playing name the country game in Mostar, Bosnia with people from the hostel and of course we both ruled.
- Watching the sunset over the sea together in Ksamil, Albania.
- Sleeping on a boat for two nights in Split, Croatia and of course a thunderstorm occurred our first night.
- John scaring me that there was a snake in the grass at Plitvice Lakes in Croatia when it was only a small lizard.
- Ashleigh getting mad every time border control would stamp a blank page in her passport and John getting mad when the stamp wasn't straight or with weak ink.
- Reaching the summit in 50 km/h winds and zero degree windchill on Mount Olympus in Greece.
- When booking tickets or receiving passports back at borders, they usually think Ashleigh's first name is Margaret.
- Ashleigh getting woken up by a dorm mate crawling on her bed trying to find the outlet for the air conditioning
- Always getting the run around in train stations, had to try six different spots in Bucharest, Romania until we found where to buy tickets.
- Learning that no one knows anything (and some admitted to it) in Romania. We relied on the internet rather than asking the company themselves.
- John getting attacked by the ice cream man because we refused to buy the $14 cones he made us when we just asked for a small scoop. He wanted his money for the cone he had to throw away.
- Corn flakes are the cereal of choice in the Balkans, served with room temperature milk. Ashleigh had one bite and had to throw it out because of the warm milk.
- Riding from Chisinau to Tiraspol and it only cost $1.12 to sit on a wooden bench for 2 hours.
- In Odessa, Ukraine, John was asked by locals three times for directions when we had just arrived in the city.
- Free beer at the hostel in Kosovo and a free dinner. Owner even gave us a 10% discount on our stay since we stayed two extra days.
- Meeting lots of Australians in Mostar, Bosnia and Hercegovina and extending our stay just to hang out with them more.
- Hearing how bad an owner treated workers at the hostel in Sarande, Albania and boycotting it the next time we were there.
- Having Gyros every single day for dinner in Greece. Always had them from a different place.
- Hitching a ride in the box of a truck in Greece.
- Hiking in the pouring rain and trying to climb big rocks on the trail while drenched in Durimtor National park, Montenegro.
- On the bus for six hours in Albania that was so cramped that Ashleigh could barely even fit (it took that long to cover 220 km).
- Being laughed at, for asking if we could get a youth discount in Skopje, Macedonia (Saved $80 already for being under 26. Whose laughing now!)
- People watching in the Balkans. So interesting to see how cultures differ among these close countries.
- Watching old men play dominoes, chess or backgammon under the trees in Kosovo and Albania.
- John Night swimming in the Ionian Sea in Albania (Ashleigh was a party pooper).
- Getting soaked while trying to leave the Blue Eye in Albania, but then warmed up with some Rajika, beers and playing cards for two hours.
- Having ham and cheese sandwiches and a cucumber almost everyday for lunch. We always have a food bag which is a pain to carry around.
- Following the World Cup in all the different countries. Gave us a reason to always search for hostels with a TV and make travel plans around the time of the games.
- Being shown a small town in Kosovo by a local and we got to explore how they live. We even got offered a nights stay.
- Being shocked by the prices in Dubrovnik, Croatia that we left five hours later (and didn't go on the fortress walls for $20 each).
- Playing name the country game in Mostar, Bosnia with people from the hostel and of course we both ruled.
- Watching the sunset over the sea together in Ksamil, Albania.
- Sleeping on a boat for two nights in Split, Croatia and of course a thunderstorm occurred our first night.
- John scaring me that there was a snake in the grass at Plitvice Lakes in Croatia when it was only a small lizard.
- Ashleigh getting mad every time border control would stamp a blank page in her passport and John getting mad when the stamp wasn't straight or with weak ink.
- Reaching the summit in 50 km/h winds and zero degree windchill on Mount Olympus in Greece.
- When booking tickets or receiving passports back at borders, they usually think Ashleigh's first name is Margaret.
- Ashleigh getting woken up by a dorm mate crawling on her bed trying to find the outlet for the air conditioning
- Always getting the run around in train stations, had to try six different spots in Bucharest, Romania until we found where to buy tickets.
- Learning that no one knows anything (and some admitted to it) in Romania. We relied on the internet rather than asking the company themselves.
- John getting attacked by the ice cream man because we refused to buy the $14 cones he made us when we just asked for a small scoop. He wanted his money for the cone he had to throw away.
- Corn flakes are the cereal of choice in the Balkans, served with room temperature milk. Ashleigh had one bite and had to throw it out because of the warm milk.
- Riding from Chisinau to Tiraspol and it only cost $1.12 to sit on a wooden bench for 2 hours.
- In Odessa, Ukraine, John was asked by locals three times for directions when we had just arrived in the city.