Kukës

 Its kind of funny that on this trip I will have entered Montenegro twice and Albania three times from or on my way to other places I’m going, yet I am going to have to largely skip the traveling I was planning to do in these two countries. 

My dear grandma passed away on Friday at the grand age of 100. I miss her already and am heading home 10 days earlier than planned so I can be with my family leading up to, and of course for, her funeral. Bypassing the sure beauty of the Albanian and Montenegrin coasts just guarantees I will have to return to this part of the world before too long. 

So for now, I’ll just post one more photo of Albania, which I took in the town of Kukës when I briefly crossed the border from Kosovo for a coffee one afternoon last week.

Till next time….

Tirana

 Still trying to wrap my head around Albania’s capitol city and all I learned about the country’s history during a walking tour here today. As with every other stop I’ve made on this trip, it has been SO educational, overflowing with history and context that is new to me. A really inspiring type of travel. 

Tirana is not picturesque, but it is very interesting. Concrete bunkers from the years of brutal communism are now museums or makeshift toilets. Immensely tall, half-finished buildings dot the skyline, and the sound of construction has been fairly constant. Strange, eclectic and colorful architecture abounds. 

In this picture you can see a mosque and its minarets, a clocktower behind it, one of those buildings under construction behind that, and one of those aforementioned colorful buildings to the right. What you can’t see is that, from where I was standing, there was an enormous Ferris wheel to my right and, to my left, a statue of the Albanian national hero Skanderbeg (who successfully fought the 15th century Ottoman Empire invasion of this area for two decades…until he died and the Turks settled in for a comfy 500 years or so). Just LOTS going on in Tirana. 

Ohrid

 This Macedonian city on the edge of the lake by the same name is probably choked with tourists in the summer (for good reason). I am so grateful to see it in the chilly, quiet days of early winter. 

Skopje

 Made it to Macedonia!

I had a hard time getting a clear picture of the capitol city of Skopje when I would ask people about it on the way here, and I kinda understand why they didn’t know what to say. Everyone kept talking about how it has lots of statues, and even with all that buildup, I was struck by that as well. This photo starts to give you an idea of the overwrought grandeur—a statue in front of a monument in front of another monument. It was kind of awesome. It was a cold Sunday afternoon when I toured town, so most things were closed and the streets were relatively deserted, and I’d be very curious to return on a summer Saturday. But for now, I loved the old stone Ottoman bridge across the river Vadar and the old bazaar. Skopje, you’re okay in my book. 

Prizren

Homeless Mahogany

On a day trip to gorgeous Rugova Canyon with an amazing guide/hostel host and a couple of fellow travelers/guests, we had lunch at a cozy mountainside restaurant where (in one of my favorite-ever translation mishaps—and I am a connoisseur!) this dish was listed on the English menu as “Homeless Mahogany.” “Homeless” turned out to be a typo of “homemade” (referring to the food) and “mahogany,” a confusing way of saying “wood serving platter.”

It was charming, the food was delicious, and the company wonderful. So here you go:

Kosovo

 This is another totally overwhelming one. I learned so much today about the Kosovo-Serbia conflict, Kosovar culture, the relationship between Kosovo and Albania, and so much more. My brain will soon explode! So I will just leave you with this photo of a destroyed mosque in Drenica region, the heart of the fight for independence for Kosovo. 

In transit

 I’ve spent the past couple days on the move in local minibuses, which was a fun/tiring return to a type of travel I haven’t done since well before COVID. Day One, the trip was from Sarajevo (so sad to say goodbye to it!) to Podgorica, Montenegro, where I didn’t do anything except get some sleep (but I’ll be back) before getting on another set of buses to Pristina, Kosovo. That trip cut through Albania, and the sun came out for the first time in a few days. Pretty magical. 

Snow in the highlands of Bosnia

It sure is pretty, but I’m also glad to be heading in a southerly direction from here. 

Srebrenica

 Sad, incredibly educational day visiting the epicenter of the July 1995 Bosnian genocide. More than 8,000 Muslim Bosnians were murdered and their remains moved around to so many secondary and tertiary mass graves (in an attempt by the perpetrators to hide the slaughter) that nearly 2,000 victims still have not been found and identified. Each year, more markers are added to this graveyard, and the families’ grief continues. 

Jajce

 Today, a trip to points west of Sarajevo, including the town of Jajce, with its overload of archaeological treasures (not pictured here) and lovely setting. I’ve learned (among sooooo many other things, too complicated to mention here) that the name Bosnia derived from the word for water, and that Bosnians are incredibly proud of their water—the stuff that flows through the countryside as well as the tap. 

Mostar

 A day exploring Bosnian/Herzegovinian towns south of Sarajevo. Beautiful through the rain. 

Comfort chess in the park

 I’m told these men are all Bosniak veterans of the 1992-1995 war that devastated Sarajevo. Now they meet each afternoon around this large chessboard in a park and silently watch as matches unfold. 

There’s so much to say about Sarajevo I don’t know what to say

 

Welcome to Sarajevo

 

Goat’s Rock viewpoint

 What a beautiful way to say goodbye to Serbia. On the other side of the lake is Bosnia, which is where I’m bound for next…

Zaovine

 Part of Serbia’s Tara National Park!

Drina River House

 

Away from the bustle of Belgrade…

 …into the Serbian countryside for a few days.

Sremski Karlovci

 I doubt the name of this town translates from the Serbian into an English phrase such as “sweetly pleasant place,” but it should!

An atmospheric day on the Danube

 …seen from the fortress in the Serbian city of Novi Sad…

Still loving Belgrade

 I love it so much when my uncertain expectations of a place are blasted away by its vibrancy and beauties. 

Belgrade

 This is an entirely new part of the world for me and My first day in Serbia was a great one. I am staying in a little apartment a couple of miles outside the city center so I did some experimenting with the Belgrade’s chaotic-seeming transportation system, and that went amazingly smoothly. (I had no idea whether I was going to be getting on a sleek electric bus, a rickety communist-era trolley, or an African-style minibus until the vehicle pulled up to the bus stop sporting the number Google Maps told me I should be looking for. So fun.) Apparently most visitors are smart enough not to visit in November, so I got a private guided tour of the city center and learned more about the history of this region in 2.5 hours than I’d learned my entire life up till now. Totally fascinating. Not sad at all to be staying here the next four nights. Just lovely so far.

It’s laundry day…

 …in the El Raval neighborhood of Barcelona. 

(If your neighborhood is in the U.S.…please go vote!!!)

Montserrat

A lovely little jaunt outside the city on a beautiful day. The gondola ride from the river valley up to this monastery perched in the mountaintops was especially fun.

…was Barcino

Istanbul was Constantinople and Barcelona was Barcino. Learned this on a walking tour of the city. And no, I don’t know any of the people in this photo. Is that creepy? I thought it was cute. 

Barcelona

The last and only time I’ve been here was twenty-five (gulp) years ago! A friend from Antarctica living here this year is the perfect time to make a return visit, and the view from the balcony of her apartment is something to behold. (Of course Sagrada Familia STILL isn’t finished…note the crane over it in this shot!)

Andorra

On the road again!

Started this jaunt (a six week adventure—buckle up!) with a quick stop in the tiny principality of Andorra, tucked in the Pyrenees between Spain and France. I’m told skiing and shopping are the main things to do here, neither of which were on my itinerary, but I sure enjoyed my multi-hour swim/soak at Caldea (the largest thermal pool complex in the world, I read somewhere, but it wasn’t THAT big and I’m not sure I trust that superlative). My guided walking tour of town was cancelled due to no others registering. Off season; oh, well! 

I walked around on my own and was most impressed at how the drivers stop SO RELIABLY for pedestrians crossing the street that the pedestrians don’t even bother to look before crossing. A couple of times I just turned my head to see something on the other side of the street and approaching drivers slowed down. It was one of my major take-aways, really.

Not sure I would urge you to visit here, but I also wouldn’t tell you not to!

So long, Scandinavia

 Our last activity on our last day on Svalbard, which was our last Scandinavian destination, was a tour of Mine 3. This layer of coal (its origin: an ancient forest blanketing this area, compressed with time and pressure into its carbon basics) is the reason Svalbard was first settled by humans in the early 1900’s. Such an interesting way to wrap up our (too-short) time in this singular, beautiful place.

Tonight we fly back to Oslo, and tomorrow, on to the States. I have no idea when and where my next travel/contract adventure will be, but whenever it happens I’ll see you here!

Bjørndalen

 An AMAZING day hike, one to remember!

Walruses on the shore…

 …walruses in the surf!

“You picked the windiest day of the whole summer for this trip, but we will try, I don’t know…” said our boat pilot when picking us up this morning. 

After capturing some photos and watching a few of these big boys roll themselves off the shore into the waves to root around for a mussel snack, I definitely barfed from bobbing around in the water. The trip home against a headwind wasn’t pretty either. 

Totally worth it. 

Billefjord to Nordenskiöld glacier

 Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow!

We also toured the mostly abandoned, former Russian mining town in Pyramidan. This place is wild!

Made it to Longyearbyen!

 The last stop on this epic Scandinavian adventure is the Arctic islands wonderland of Svalbard. Today we were just in town. We’re excited to get out into nature on some activities but for now it was nice to get a sense of Longyearbyen, the world’s northernmost settlement that has an airport with scheduled public flights. We’re slightly further north here (78 degrees and change) than McMurdo is south, which boggles me a little.

A perfect Faroes goodbye

 And hopes I can return again someday. 

The Lake above the sea

 

Kalsoy Island

 Also, James Bond died here?

Wind and rain and beauty

 

It’s all so epic I don’t know which photos to post.

 I mean, a nasty wind and rain set in by late afternoon, but still!