Sep 2008

it took some time for me to accept that Lute could go no further. She had managed to get off the bus from Dubrovnic but Max had to repeat that "she would be sick" before I finally "got it" that she was not going to make it another 10hrs to Belgrade. Bloody hell I can be so one track sometimes. Anyway, there we were, late on a Friday night in a bleak, cold almost deserted bus station in Mostar, Bosnia with no information at hand. I felt quite alone as I left Lute with the boys and walked out of the waiting room to find some money and accomidation.

All turned out fine, as it nearly always does. I found the bus station manager behind a closed window and once he understood the situation he rallied to the cause. 30min later we were in a private apartment run by Dino and his mum Tania. Tania brewed Lute a pot of herbal tea to help her out and she was asleep not long after. Today we have spent wandering this war torn town and sitting in cafes whilst the boys waded through their first english grammer exercise in the books we bought for them in Dubrovnic. Lute is feeling better and we are planning to catch the bus tonight.

I am presently treating myself for some uninvited hitchhikers. Yep, somewhere in the last few weeks some headlice jumped on board. The assistant at the pharmacy in Dubronik offered me two products (hair retention and anti dandruff) until I changed from sign language and drew my best picture of a louse.

We jumped off the bus and surged past the throng of people trying to convince us to take private accomidation. A short walk towards the church saw us at the information office where I soon learn't that we would need to take private accomidation to stick to our vague budget. I went and had a chat to one of the women standing on a street corner in her long synthetic black patterned dress. I was soon wisked away by Nevzeta's husband in his 26 year old banger. The apartment was fine and I negotiated 350Kruna (50Euro) for all of us for one night (only this morning did I realise that they had vacated their bedrooms for us and slept in their living room).

If you are coming to Dubrovnic and want to stay somewhere close to the port in a clean room with a view call Nevzeta Custovic (020) 418 547. Her warmth and hospitality will remind you why you travel.

Last night we saw Dubrovnic by night. It was chilly, windy and beautiful. We are going to slow down now and hope to spend at least four days camping and exploring Mjlet Island.

yep, in the city that has always intrigued me. The name alone is inspirational.

Last night we arrived at Keleti station and I was swayed by the guy at an information booth to have a look at an apartment that his firm had an association with. Half an hour later I rejected the smelly place and we ended up back at the station. We finally found a hostel smack bang in the centre of the tourist district and when we got upstairs the room wasnt cleaned nor could they find any sheets for us. The guy at the counter was very apologetic and offered a discount. I couldnt be bothered moving again so we took it and slept ontop of some doona covers.

Today we took a tour in a big opentop redbus and got a feel for the city. I like it, perhaps even more than Prague and wow you should see the wrought iron scattered around, so ornate. I have been on a photo frenzy, snapping up one doorgrill after another.

After the bus tour we found a great vege restaurant and gorged ourselves on greens and legumes...

Our gear jettisoning has slowed but Lute did leave her watch in the shower at a camp ground in Slovakia. One hour later she realised, but it was gone like the wind. So thats the second item lost, my rough guide to Czech/Slovakia dissapeared at a hostel in Olomouc, which was damn annoying. Since then we have been using the Lonely Planet website shop which allows purchase and downloading of chapters from most of their books.

Its interesting, every time we move into a new country there is an initial sense of vulnerabilty that slowly fades with familiarity. Jumping out of the train here in BudaPest I felt it acutely, especially as my initial accomidation plans had fallen through at the last minute.

Travelling without a computer in the backwaters of Eastern Europe makes it difficult to keep a blog going and to effectively plan ahead. Of the few places I found with internet most were only open during business hours and that is not where one wants to be when the sun is shining. So we have been flyin a little blind which is sometimes frustrating when you miss convenient bus or train connections. Because time online has been so limited I have not even responded to the comments that have been made to my blog....sorry to you all. I have been reading them and will attempt to reply over the next few days as we do a bit of housekeeping and wash some very smelly clothes.

The czechs and the slovaks ARE BIG on cheese and meat and we have hit overload.

The last week has seen us hiking in the Mala Fatra Natrional Park in the western Tatra mountains and in the last few days in the eastern Tatras. I think we have all been a bit dissapointed with the Slovenski Raj Ńational Park in the East. This park appears to be a mishmash of pristine areas and logging coups and most of the hiking yesterday was on logging trails. The Mala Fatra NP on the other hand was well worth while, the highlight for us was stumbling upon fields full of fruiting alpine blueberry on the last hike from the top of the chata vratna chairlift.

We shed 5kg of gear in the Czech Republic and our packs are somewhat more mangeable. Due to poor public transport access we hired a small Skoda in Kosice and are now touring on four wheels. Its much easier to get around to the campsites and I am happy with the decision. So far, we are roughly travelling on about AU$100-day which is what I had planned.

The scars of socialism are clearly evident in the towns, with concrete apartmentblocks commonplace. The older people seem somewhat stern and watchful and poverty is hard to ignore.

tears coursed down my face for the fourth time yesterday. I could not and did not want to hold them back for somewhere deep inside me I knew they were part of the healing I needed to part with my family and blacksmith brothers and sister.

The festival closed zesterday and we are all suffering from a lack of sleep. I had anticipated that after everybody had left the campground it would get quieter but I hadnt counted on the French trumpet player whose beer fueled blasts cut the cool quiet night air way into the morning. On the positive side, it kept me awake long enough to get me out of my tent and have one last drink with the Belgian smiths. What a fine group of men they are and we all have parted on the mutual understanding that we are all going to meet again. To all of you who read this blog I thank you from my heart, for it was the generosity of your spirits that has made this one year sojourn in Europe so special. And Patrick, you know.......bedankt voor alles.

So what was the festival like.....umm, well I have forged some new friendships and strengthened some old ones. the quaility of the steelworks exhibited and created within the castle walls were astounding and I have been enormously enriched and inspired. There were too many damn people to enjoy the festival during the midday hours and I estimate thousands rocked up to see the blacksmiths in action and see the works created.

The boys and Lut are now sitting in the middle of the square in Lipnik n. Becvou as we wait for a bus to take us deeper into East Czech. The plan is to reach Roznov tonight and have a look at Czechs largest open air museum of wooden architecture. Our packs are still too damn heavy but some jettisoning has begun.

We are all feeling a little exposed and uncertain.