church Archives - Wandering North

Nicaragua

Two Days in Colourful Granada

Leaving Estelí for Granada

I left Estelí, Nicaragua early on Friday morning. I left the way I came, in a private care instead of on the bus. Friday was a working day for me, and I couldn’t afford to spend half of it in transit, so I hired a driver. The trip took about 2.5 hours. Not a bargain, price-wise, but worth it

Arriving in Granada, I was immediately charmed. This was the colourful city I’d seen in pictures, and it was the city in which I had planned to spend my entire week, before the lure of cigars and tobacco farms took me to Estelí. We arrived in Granada at about 8:00 AM. I would leave two days later. Two days was enough time in Granada.

*main square as seen from my hostel window*

The Poshest of Hostels

I was staying at the Selina Hostel (since changed its name to Socialtel Granada); it was an absolute delight. It’s one of those fancy hostels that feels more like a hotel than than it does just a regular hostel (a poshtel). It is pricier, but you can’t argue with the quality. I had booked a private room, and it was gorgeous. The common areas were full of people hanging out, drinking smoothies and beer, planning day trips to volcanoes, and chit chatting in aesthetically appealing surroundings. As a side note, I did plan to do a day trip to a volcano but it just wasn’t happening while I was there due to volcano activity so I just hung out in the town.

I spent Friday morning sitting on the patio in front of the hostel having a cigar and working on my laptop. With work done, I went out to explore for the weekend.

Wandering Granada

Grenada is one of those places that doesn’t really have tourist attractions per se, it’s really that the city itself is the attraction. It is a gorgeous Spanish colonial town with the oldest architecture dating back nearly 500 years. The buildings are brightly painted, and the streets are cobblestoned. In the centre is a leafy square presided over by a tall bright yellow church.

I know, it’s a lot of photos, but its is just so pretty

It has an active street life, with markets, people playing dominoes, food and drink vendors, add a selection of horses and donkeys.

The central market was an explosion of colours, smells, and fruity goodness.

It is an ideal place for wandering with no destination.

The only downside to Grenada was that it was blisteringly hot and humid. It was hot in Estelí but in a comfortable sort of way. It was so hot when I was in Granada in February that at certain points I felt like I couldn’t see. No matter, the city had an ample assortment of charming cafes and breezy courtyards that I could sit in to take respite from the heat and drink a refreshing beverage or a coffee.

And that’s basically what I did in Granada: I wandered around, I looked at buildings, I took pictures, and I had and I had tasty (non-alcoholic) beverages.

*smoothies, coffee, and a virgin passion fruit colada*

One of the great things about being Granada was that there was a variety of food. It reminded me a lot of Antigua, Guatemala in the sense that it really does cater to tourists and so it has charming cafes with good assortments of vegetarian food. I was in heaven I was able to have vegetarian dishes and nice salads without getting sick. The downside of this was Granada is not particularly cheap. You’re going to pay almost Canadian prices for the pleasures of those lovely cafes. But I was fine with it.

Smoking Cigars in Granada

Of course I smoked cigars. There was one small cigar factory in Granada: Dona Elba. It’s tiny, as their main factory is in Estelí, but there were people in there rolling cigars and cigars were for sale. I made a point of going there and tried a couple of their locally rolled cigars, each of which was only OK. I sat in a rocking chair in their shop area and smoked this very unfortunately named cigar when I was joined by the tired wife of a cigar curious tourist who sat down to talk to me. It was one of those conversations that started normal but then took a turn when this woman, who was from America, began telling me about her COVID conspiracy theories and how Muslims are ruining Europe. Awkward. I obviously don’t agree with her theories and there’s just no point in debating some people. At that point I miss being in Estelí where almost no one spoke English.

*A nice little factory with unremarkable (and one unfortunately named) cigars*

One other note on cigars, don’t buy any here unless it is from a proper cigars store (and even then be careful); Granada was full of egregious fake cigars – not just fake Cubans, but fake non-Cubans, like Padron, Fuente. Nasty looking things, some with beetle holes.

In the evenings I sat outside enjoying the less hot air and smoking cigars, well the people from the nearby hostels marauded about in search of drinks.

It was all perfectly pleasant and was an excellent end to my time in Nicaragua.

Heading Home

I flew home via Mexico City where I had a ten-hour overnight layover. Normally, when flying through Mexico City I’ll go into the city, but I had no desire to go in the middle of the night sleep couple hours and come back to the airport, so I booked a ‘room’ at a little pod hostel just outside of the airport. (izZzleep.) Literally outside the door of the airport and up a flight of stairs. It was my first time staying in one of these little space age pods and I loved it. Great use of my time and money.

Nicaragua was a success I felt fulfilled and rejuvenated.

My next trip would keep me in the Americas: a short jaunt to southern California.

Algiers-Nice-Athens 2024 Greece

Athenian Odyssey – Day 1 of 3

I wasn’t that excited about going to Greece. I don’t know why. Everything I had heard about it was good but something about it just kept me away. But on my Athens, Nice, Monaco trip, it just seemed such an easy opportunity to hop over to Athens for a few days. Athens was the place in Greece that I most wanted to visit. The islands look beautiful but boring to me and I have no interest in spending time on a boat. Athens had a sort of appeal in that it looks kind of dirty and a little rough around the edges. That, mixed with all the antiquities, left me a bit intrigued.

I flew in from Nice via Paris, landing in the afternoon the airport in Athens. The train was a bit annoying. I was happy that there was a train into the city, but I had to wait over an hour for it to arrive. In hindsight I probably should have just taken a taxi, but train I did. I took it to Monastiraki station (it takes about 45 minutes) and walked to my hostel: the City Circus Hostel, located in the Psyrri neighbourhood, which is very close to Monastiraki. City Circus Hostel was a funky place in a heritage building. I liked the area immediately; it was mostly pedestrian streets lined with eateries and bars, with the occasional falling down building wallpapered in graffiti. Everyone was smoking. OK, this might not be too bad.

The hostel was great. I had decided to splurge on this little self-contained apartment on the roof with a private patio. It was a great bargain and gave me lots of privacy. I think I could have spent a month there looking out over the city. I even had my own view of the Parthenon.

But there was no time to rest, so I went out and walked around into the night. I had a cigar and a meal at a cute little cafe near my hostel and then just wandered around to get the lay of the land. The squares were full of people, mostly young, hanging around drinking, eating, yelling. It felt lively and not at all threatening. I visited a couple of churches, which stayed open late into the night and seemed to have an endless stream of religious attendees.

I don’t know what one is supposed to do in the evening in Athens, but I think I could have been happy just hopping from cafe to restaurant to bar all evening. Every place looked very appealing and had these and had wonderful patios that were cigar friendly and an excellent assortment of vegetarian food.

I wrapped up the evening on the patio of a bar called the Verve Music Café, which had a very appealing décor that would describe as ‘Rat Pack dive’ and played excellent jazz music.

I was excited for the next day when I would get up early and visit the Acropolis and Parthenon.

Those are my first impressions. Athens seemed pretty cool, easy going, cheap, tasty, an intriguing. It was certainly an easy place to visit. No special visas required for my passport, they use the Euro, many people spoke English, and no one seemed put out that I didn’t speak Greek. (I mean, there’s literally a saying “It’s Greek to me,” which suggests that it’s not easiest language to learn to speak.) And as I walked around that evening it really was dawning on me that I was in this very ancient city a place that invented or made significant contributions to, nearly everything? It looks like a perfectly normal city; you’re just walking around, looking for a place to get a coffee and the-BAM-you are face to face with a 2000-year-old ruins. And on the building around the corner is graffiti telling tourists to fuck off, and next to that is a church full of people praying at 9:00 PM, and people are selling bread circles and getting pickpocketed and getting drunk and aesthetically pleasing restaurant patios are brimming with diners being serenaded with live music while stray cats look for food to run off with… Athens made a good first impression.

I was only in Athens for three days, but I feel like I saw a lot – I certainly took a lot of pictures – and so I shall divide my Athens posts into thirds, one for each day. Read on for day two here.

Algiers-Nice-Athens 2024 Monaco

A Loser in Monaco

On my third day in Nice, I set out to accomplish the reason that I traveled there in the first place, which was to visit Monaco. Monaco, the second smallest sovereign state in the world (after Vatican City). A dot on the map in the French Riviera famous for yachts, gambling, and royalty. I don’t necessarily have a desire to visit every country in the world, but I just could not leave this European micro-state unvisited by me.

Getting from Nice to Monaco

Monaco makes a perfect day trip from Nice. Clearly, the best way to reach it would be by a car; preferably convertible, hugging the curving highways as you travel east; sunglasses on, a cigarette in your mouth, and the object of your affection by your side. But I don’t know how to drive…so I was going to take the train. When I mentioned this to the staff at my hotel, they assured me that I was making the wrong decision. While normally when given the option between train and bus, train is the better choice, in this case it is not. The train travels inland between Nice and Monaco, while the bus travels the iconic highway along the French Riviera. The people at the hotel assured me that if I did not take the bus I would be missing out on some extraordinary views. Who was I question them?

I left early in the morning from my hotel and took the tram to Port Lympia station. The distance was walkable, but I wanted to get an early start. From the station, just around the corner of a church, was the bus stop for #607 that headed to Monaco. I think it’s a good idea to get there early so that you can queue up, because you really want to get a seat on the right-hand side of the bus so that you can see the views.

tram in Nice

Leaving Nice & the bus to Monaco

Most people taking the bus seemed to be locals going to work. As such, the bus was a pretty relaxing journey. Quiet and comfortable. It even had little USB phone chargers. The whole thing took about an hour.

The views were spectacular. I wished that I could have popped out at every city along the way to have a bit of a wander. The road did indeed hug the curves along the mountains looking down at the sea and charming towns and villages. It was impossible to get good photos, but I tried to snap a few through the window.

view of the Riviera

Arrival in Monaco

Upon arriving in Monaco there are numerous stops where one can disembark. You can go right to Monte Carlo if that’s your scene, but I had a few other things to see first so I got off at the Place d’Armes. This allowed me to visit the palace, cathedral, and aquarium before walking to Monte Carlo. As soon as I got off the bus I took a moment to acknowledge that I was in a new country. There was a farmers market happening and I bought an exquisite pear. Seriously, I’m still thinking about how delicious this pear was.

Arrival in Monaco & The Perfect Pear

On the Steps of the Palace

I then walked up the hill to the palace. Monaco is a monarchy. It also has a Prime Minister, but it is more famous for its monarchy. At the top of the hill along with some excellent views of the harbor and various yachts, was the palace. Normally you can visit it, but on the day that I arrived it was closed.

I went to the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate where Princess Grace was buried. As a lover of old movies, I was always fascinated by this beautiful actress who went from being an Alfred Hitchcock films to marrying a Prince and moving to Europe. I paid my respects to moved on.

*walking around near the palace and cathedral*

The Oceanographic Museum

It was a beautiful walk to The Oceanographic Museum. An aquarium? Really? I’m not normally one to visit such a place, but I had heard that the aquarium in Monaco was indeed worth visiting. The museum was inaugurated in 1911 and is housed in a beautiful Bella pock building that clings to a Cliff over the Mediterranean. For a glimpse inside alone, it’s worth buying a ticket. The facility was headed Jacques Cousteau for nearly 30 years. This isn’t the sort of problematic aquarium where orcas are going to leap out of the water for your amusement. This is more of a scientific type of aquarium and the animals on display are primarily things like fish and eels. I thoroughly enjoyed walking through and seeing the beautiful displays of fish as well as the museum portion of the building which contained fascinating relics from naval and Arctic expeditions. It was also pleasant to get out of the sun for about an hour.

The Casino de Monte-Carlo

From the aquarium, I walked towards Monte Carlo. Now I felt like I was really seeing Monaco. The streets were beautiful and everyone looked wealthy. Beautiful cars and expensive looking shops. It was a short walk. My destination: the Casino de Monte-Carlo.

Arriving to the area in front of the casino there were art displays of Princess Grace and Prince Ranier III as well as depictions of Hollywood stars like Frank Sinatra (with whom Grace starred in ‘High Society’).

My first order of business is walking to the local cigar store to check out the selection. Prices were not too bad so I bought a handful of Cuban cigars and made my way over to the Café de Paris on the square in front of the Casino de Monte-Carlo.

*the Cafe de Paris patio and view of the Casino; my newly purchased cigars.*

The casino closes from noon to 2:00 every afternoon. I had arrived in that blackout, so I decided to have a drink (or two) on the patio of the Café de Paris. It is the perfect spot. It is a large patio with everyone facing towards the square looking at the beautiful buildings and the casino, watching the people coming and going. It is definitely a place with a lot of tourists, but also locals and wealthy visitors. There was a fleet of luxury cars parked out front and on the day that I visited there was also a gaggle of paparazzi pointing their cameras at the casino, but I don’t know for who or what. I know it wasn’t for me.

I had an excellent time sitting on the patio. I had a cigar and two negronis and felt pretty good by myself. The servers were very friendly. All the while I was steeling my nerves to go into the casino and try my hand at roulette.

I am not a gambler. I don’t like casinos, and I think gambling is silly unless you just really enjoy the rush of doing it. I do not enjoy that rush. I would much rather just have my money in my pocket and spend it on something that I like; however, I wasn’t coming all the way to Monte Carlo and not trying a game in the casino. I had decided that I would play roulette because slots are lame and I don’t know how to play any card games.

I did some studying before I went to Monte Carlo, to figure out if there was any strategy to roulette (apart from “always bet on black”) or what the etiquette about it was. I think this was a good idea, because before doing this research I somehow thought that I got to spin the roulette wheel. Apparently, that is a faux pas.

One can enter the lobby of the casino and have a look around the lobby for free. But if you want to enter the gaming salons, you need two things: one is your passport. Seriously, do not go to Monaco without your passport. As well, you need to pay an entry fee. You pay €20 to enter the casino, but if you enter after 2:00pm, €10 of that you can use for drinks or games in the casino. I thought it was quite reasonable.

The interior of the casino is gorgeous. The gaming tables make it seem very ‘James Bond’. The room that has the slot machines in it feels a bit tacky, but the main room is excellent. I felt like a huge fraud walking inside. I don’t gamble, I’m not rich, and I didn’t know what I was doing.

I walked over to the bar and used my €10 voucher towards an espresso martini. I sat down on one of the sofas and watched the action. Unfortunately smoking is not allowed inside, or I would have lit a cigar immediately. It has the kind of atmosphere that begs to be smoked in.

I tried to look cool and watch people playing games. Photos are not allowed inside but I did sneak one just for the sake of my own memory.

I finished my drink and I walked up to one of the roulette tables. There was a couple at it playing roulette; middle-aged European; they clearly knew what they were doing. I had exchanged €120 into chips. A friend had given me €60 to play on the table, and I decided to match their €60 with €60 of my own. This was the most that I have ever spent on gambling and probably ever will.

I didn’t really have a strategy, but I wanted the moment to last for as long as possible so I made small, simple bets in the hopes that I would win something.

The European couple realized that I didn’t know what I was doing and gave me some advice. They were quite kind. I would have thought that people gambling in Monte Carlo would have been snobby, but these people were not. I didn’t exactly feel comfortable, but I didn’t feel unwelcome

Each time the wheel was spun (sounding to me more like ‘The Price in Right’ than ‘Casino Royle’) I had a little flicker of hope that maybe I would double my money and walk out a winner. One time I did win something, and decided to let it ride. Then I lost. Indeed, on every hand other than that one, I lost my money. It didn’t take long before my 120 euros was gone.

I had a good time, but I was a little disappointed that I didn’t walk out winning something. Or at least breaking even. I know that the reason that casinos are so rich is because people generally lose, but I couldn’t help but think that maybe I would be different. Maybe I would have a magical Monte Carlo gambling experience. But, nope.

Leaving Monaco

I walked out of the casino feeling like a loser. I was a loser. I looked around at the square and the fancy cars and the fancy cafe and I was just done with it. The sun seemed too hot, the sky too bright, and I just wanted to get out of there. I walked to the bus stop and waited for the next bus back to Nice. I couldn’t get back fast enough; maybe it was the three cocktails I’d had or the heat, or the fact that I had not eaten since I had the pear, but I started to feel a little bit sick and I just wanted to be back in Nice.

Reflections & Moving on

Monaco was an excellent day trip. It was easy and fun and different. I’m even glad that I gambled even, though it was clearly a huge waste of money, but I think that’s the last time for me. I was much happier smoking my cigars and walking around then I was spinning away my money. But I’ll try anything once.

I had a final night in Nice; dinner in a cigar. The next morning, I had a morning flight to Athens, via Paris.

Europe Ireland

New Year’s Eve in Dublin

I awoke in Dublin in my hostel bunk. I had had a perfectly lovely evening the night before but this was my one and only full day in the city. It was December 31st, and I would be leaving early the next morning. There was no time to waste.

I walked into the city and retraced some of my steps from the night before, to see the areas in daylight. The weather was not cooperating. It was windy and gray and cold. The grey and cold I was expecting and actually fine with, but the wind made things unpleasant. Fortunately, by the afternoon the sun would come out again for a bit.

I felt immediately at home in Dublin; notwithstanding the excessive alcohol consumption I had observed the night prior, it has a seriousness about it. A studious, literary kind of aura that I’m very comfortable with. It’s entirely possible that I am projecting onto the city that which I already expected from a lifetime of reading novels and poetry by Irish authors, but nevertheless, that’s how it felt and I liked it.

Walking around Dublin there were plaques and statues to great Irish writers and thinkers. I sought out Oscar Wilde’s house and the statue of him. I won’t post a photo of the statue as it is ubiquitous online and I’m not a big fan, but it was very cool to see his house.

I had planned, of course, to go to Trinity College to see the library, however, it was closed for cleaning or renovation, so I had to take it off the list. Right there is a good reason to return to Dublin. But I was able to wander the city. I visited parks and shops and numerous cafes whenever I needed a break from my walking in the cold. Everyone I chatted with was friendly.

I visited Saint Patrick’s cathedral, which was a ticketed church, but well worth it as it is beautiful inside and there is a lot to look at. I enjoyed the decoration and design of the inside of the church, as well as the mummified remains of a cat and rat that were pulled out of the pipe organ in the 1950s.

I wandered aimlessly through the city at some point taking in statues and green spaces and bits of street art.

I visited the pub the Brazen Head, which bills itself as Dublin’s oldest pub, having been open since 1198. It wasn’t the best pub that I’d been to, but since I was right there, how could I skip such superlative drinking experience?

I walked to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, which was excellent. Precisely the sort of modern and occasionally weird art that I enjoy.

I visited two cigar stores downtown. There was a James J Fox, which is related to the James J Fox tobacconist shops in London, which I frequent when I am there. As well as ‘The Decadent Cigar Emporium’. In both cases, I bought a couple of cigars and chatted with the proprietors about the smoking laws in Dublin.

I had read prior to coming to Dublin that smoking had been banned indoors everywhere, but sometimes when you make inquiries you can find that there are certain secret places to smoke. Sadly, both shops confirmed for me that smoking is indeed banned inside and that includes a prohibition on any cigar lounges. The people at James J Fox were able to give me intel on one pub, however, where smoking would be allowed because it is technically outdoors. The James Toner pub. I made a mental note of that for later.

I wandered the alleys and poked around in bookshops and vintage clothing stores, just enjoying whatever i found in my path.

I was having a perfectly lovely day – especially after the sun came out; however, things took a turn when the sun went down. It was December the 31st. What that meant was that once the evening came, everyone’s evening plans went into full New Year’s Eve mode. I didn’t have any New Year’s Eve plans being there alone in the city. I should say, I don’t like New Year’s regardless of where I am. I think it’s a stupid holiday. I don’t like excessive drinking, I don’t like staying up late, and I don’t like big raucous parties, so it’s just not for me. So spending New Years in a foreign city means that I’m a bit of an outsider. I would have been perfectly content to go for a nice dinner and have a drink somewhere but most of the restaurants had put in place expensive tickets for parties or multi course dinners with a prefix menu. And I wasn’t about to go and spend £100 to have a dinner or attend a party that I didn’t want. I also would have been happy to sit outside somewhere and just watch the world go by but, being that it was December in Ireland, it was cold and had started to rain again. I tried to elbow my way into a few pubs just to have a drink, but those places had already become so packed there was a waiting list outside.

Remembering the suggestion of the tobacconists at James J Fox, I walked to the James Toner pub. And this was my salvation. The James Toner pub is a proper pub, but they have a back entrance and there’s a sort of massive mostly enclosed patio area where smoking is allowed. You basically feel like you are indoors except that there is a small part of the ceiling that is replaced with the sky. It still had leather booths and tables and TVs and a full bar. The heaters were blaring and it was comfortable. I sat there and had three cigars and multiple Jameson and ginger ale drinks (a drink that I had only discovered once I went to Dublin and found to be quite tasty). People weren’t particularly social outside of their individual groups. It was New Year’s after all, and people were out with their friends to have a good time; they weren’t really interested in chatting with the weird foreign girl dressed in black smoking cigars in the corner. But that’s okay. I found a spot where I was comfortable, and I was happy to sit there quietly and just watch the crowd.

Once it got to be about 9:00pm, it was time to move on. The place was getting too busy and too loud, and I couldn’t sit there any longer. At this point I just reconciled myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to go to a big party so I may as well just go back to my dorm. I felt a sense of shame going back to the hostel actually. Here I was in a foreign country; was I really not going to stay up until midnight to ring in the new year? No, no I was not. I had a shower and got into my bunk and as soon as I did that I knew that I had made the right decision. I was cozy and comfortable I watched a movie and fell asleep. I got to enjoy a bit of New Year’s revelry but was able to avoid the last few hours of drunken idiots and staying up late just for the sake of staying up.

The next morning, I woke up early. I think everyone in the hostel was asleep. Even the lobby was littered with the bodies of passed-out revellers. I arranged a taxi and headed back to the airport and back to Vancouver. It was a little less than 48 hours that I was in Dublin and, clearly, I need to return to see more of Ireland, but I was completely satisfied with the short visit that I had. Although I’m not sure that I would be eager to go and visit somewhere for New Year’s Eve again, it was a great way to start off 2024.

Europe Iceland

Reykjavik in December

I knew I would go to Iceland eventually, but it was not a place I was excited to go. People seemed so enthusiastic about it, and I never understood why. It is a mostly outdoorsy place, and I am a mostly indoorsy person. It does look beautiful, but I thought, “What, I’m going to go to Iceland to look at a green, treeless expanse? And then what?” But the eventuality came about in December as I decided to go away for four days over Christmas and Iceland was the best option.

Practicalities

A few practicalities: Reykjavik is a surprisingly short flight from Vancouver; about 7 hours direct. Vancouver is so far away from most other countries than anything less than 9 hours seems short. There were no visa requirements places on my Canadian passport. Iceland is an easy place to visit. Credit cards are accepted widely so you don’t really need cash (which is a bit of a shame as their currency – Icelandic króna – is beautiful. While the national language is Icelandic, most people (at least in Reykjavik) speak English as well. The buses are easy to navigate and there is a good tourist infrastructure.

Iceland may be easy to visit, but it is not cheap. While there are some cheaper options farther away from the centre of Reykjavik, I wanted to be central and paid about $150 CDN/night for a prison style bunkbed at the Kex Hostel. (The Kex Hostel is nice and cozy, but it is expensive, and the rooms are basic. I.e. no curtains on the bunks and no clever amenities). Food was also super expensive. Like a drip coffee at a café was about $7 CDN and a terrible pre-made sandwich from a supermarket was about $20 CDN. It’s doable, but I was definitely glad that I brought protein bars with me.

I can’t say that I went to Iceland for Christmas and not mention the weather. Of course it was cold, but not prohibitively cold in Reykjavik when I was there. No colder than -10C. I didn’t need special clothes; I just wore my usual Vancouver winter clothes but with an extra layer. I did arrive without a toque however – like a fool, I brought only a jaunty beret and that was a mistake. I bought a woolly toque on my first day to keep my head from freezing. Oh, and I brought a bunch of those chemical hand warmer things, which was a good thing.

Exploring Reykjavik

I arrived in Reykjavik at 6am after a red-eye flight from Vancouver. On the way, my seat mate nudged me awake to see the northern lights. Subtly green, but they were there. It would, unfortunately, be the only time I saw them on my trip to Iceland, as it was cloudy the whole time.

I went straight to my hostel and dropped off my bag and went off to explore. It was dark. It was dark most of the time I was there because, well, it was at the time of the year when the days are shortest. The sun rose at about 11:20am and set again at 3:30pm; barely peeking above the horizon. This meant that most of my sightseeing was in the dark, which is definitely a different experience. I live in Vancouver, and I wake up at 4am, so going out before the sun is up is a familiar experience, but not for sightseeing, and I had never experienced such few hours of daylight each day. It was weird. It was unsettling. I loved it. It made everything feel special. It was, in fact, one of many of the things that I loved about Iceland.

Good morning, Reykjavik!

I walked the dark streets. There were patches of crunchy snow, which made everything feel brighter. It was December 22^nd, so the buildings were decorated with tasteful strings of Christmas lights. The first thing I noticed (apart from the darkness and cold) was that the buildings are a distinctive style: two-story, colourful buildings with pointy roofs and corrugated metal exterior walls painted bright colours. A pleasing aesthetic like that in Greenland and Newfoundland.

I stopped at the locally popular Braud & Co., which was just opened, and bought a fresh-from-the-oven cinnamon roll; part sweet treat and part handwarmer.

*my favourite of Reykjavik’s street art murals*

more street art

I took in several intriguing street murals and found my way to the intersection of Reykjavik’s two most famous sights: The Hallgrimskirkja and Rainbow Street. The Hallgrimskirkja is a Lutheran church built in 1937 in a striking style design to resemble Iceland’s mountains and glaciers. If you’ve ever googled Reykjavik, you’ve seen it. It is impressive. At night it is imposing and illuminated. By day light it is stark and pristine. There’s nothing exciting about the interior, but the view from the lookout, which I returned to do at daylight, is spectacular.

Rainbow Street (really Skólavörðustígur) is a main commercial and Instagram-famous street that starts, or ends, at the square in front of the Hallgrimskirkja. I walked down the street and popped into the Café Babalú for a coffee and to warm up.

*me on Rainbow Street after the sun was up*

While I loved the magic of Iceland in the winter, the downside is that I needed to patronize frequently cafes for warmth and rest. In the summer, you might take a break from your walking by sitting outdoors on a bench for free, but in the winter, you want to be inside and inside costs money. Those expensive café visits really add up. Nevertheless, Café Babalú was charming and oh so cozy; filled with cute and nostalgic bric-a-brac.

I walked and wandered until the contemporary art museum opened: the Reykjavík Art Museum Hafnarhús. Admission was about $25CDN and worth every penny. It was an excellent and not overly large modern art museum in a curious building that looks like an origami-folded newspaper.

When I exited the museum, the sun had risen and Reykjavik was revealed. I had to retrace my steps to see all the same buildings and murals by day. The real highlight was that I could see the ocean. Reykjavik is right on the coast and many of the streets appear to disappear right into icy blue water. In the distance…an island? A chunk of ice? A glacier? It looked different to anything I had seen.

I walked to the Reykjavík Art Museum Kjarvalsstaðir, which was included with my ticket to the first one. Another good museum, and the walk was stunning.

I continued my walk to the Asmundur Sveinsson Sculpture Museum, also included with my ticket I bought to the first museum. Here’s the thing, I actually did not like any of the sculptures inside this museum (with apologies to Ásmundur Sveinsson), but one of the ones outside were interesting, set against the snow, but the real draw was the building itself, which is just very cool. It was designed by Sveinsson and was his home and studio prior.

By the time I walked back to central back to central Reykjavik, it was dark again and I was feeling pleased. Reykjavik is small and I had seen much of what I wanted to see, but fortunately I had more time to explore, because there was more terrific stuff ahead.

Smoking Cigars in Reykjavik

On that first night, I found a place to smoke a cigar before I bunked down in my hostel.

Smoking in Reykjavik is banned everywhere indoors. I chatted with the proprietor of a cigar store there and they confirmed this. Not even a secret cigar lounge, but smoking is allowed on patios – Hooray! But it was winter and very cold, and most patios were not open. It seems that not a lot of people smoke, so they didn’t have the whole heated patio, cozy blanket set up. Fortunately, I found a café / bookstore / live music venue on Laugavegur street: Hús máls og menningar. It is a cool place inside, but outside, they have a small wooden patio, slightly sheltered and with a heater. I hunkered down there and had a Quai D’Orsay with a negroni. When my cigar smoking hand started to freeze, I switched hands. Totally worth it.

me with a cigar, braving the cold

My first day in Reykjavik was a success, I thought as I snuggled under heavy blankets in my hostel bunkbed. But the best was yet to come. The next day I would leave the comforts of Reykjavik for a day trip into the countryside.

Balkans Trip 2023 Europe Montenegro

In Defence of Podgorica

Podgorica is often referred to as ‘Europe’s most boring capital city.’ It is either dismissed or reviled. (For the latter stance, I recommend this blog post, which is too harsh, but it is a fun read.) So why did I voluntarily spend two days there? I shall explain and also justify why Podgorica is actually ok.

A bit about Podgorica and why I was there

Podgorica was at the end of my Balkans trip. I had started in Ljubljana, gone to Lake Bled, Zagreb, Sarajevo, Mostar, and then Podgorica, from where I would fly home to Vancouver. My plan, when I booked the trip, was to use my time in Podgorica as a base from which to visit coastal and medieval Kotor. But then I arrived in Podgorica and the thought of getting on another bus and traveling in a long day trip AND the thought of visiting somewhere else precious and picturesque just did not appeal. All the places I had been were so busy with tourists and many of them were so precious, that I just found if off putting. I just wanted to do something more normal and unexciting. Podgorica fill the bill.

The thing about Podgorica is that it was decimated in World War Two. Here and there you can see slivers of history. There are a few blocks of old cobblestones and the barest of ruins of a castle, a clock tower, and a stone footbridge. Other than that, everything is after the war and it’s not great. There are even far better cities for Soviet modernist architecture. There are no impressive museums, no ornate churches, no notable street art scene, no wonderful parks. Everything it has is fine.

I arrived in Podgorica by bus from Sarajevo. A stunning journey, scenery-wise. I was deposited at the bus station and walked to my hotel: the Hotel Marienplatz. Perhaps not surprisingly at this point, there are no charming or cool accommodations in Podgorica; at least not that I could find. I picked my hotel because it was central, not too expensive, and looked conformable. After ten days of dorms bed, I was ready for a little comfort. The Marienplatz was on a pedestrian street lined with restaurants and bars and, at night, is absolutely throbbing with music. Fine. I can sleep through anything.

I dropped of my stuff at the hotel and hit the streets. I spent a day and a half (two nights) in Podgorica. Here is what I did…

The streets around my hotel

Laziness Along the River

There is a river that runs through the centre of the city. It is fairly shallow and not that wide and has high, steep edges. Various bridges run across and there is a park on either side. From the bridges you can see people swimming and kayaking in the river. If you were so inclined, you could join them. I was not so inclined, so I wandered around the ruins of the castle and took a picture of some small murals at the foot of a bridge and had a drink at the cutest little tiki bar in the park by the river.

This tiki bar is so cute; just a little tiki shack in the park with a handful of seats – a couple of them are swings. I sat and had a drink and chatted with the bartender and a young guy celebrating his early 20s birthday. We talked about our lives and about how Montenegro has a reputation for laziness – a stereotype the Montenegrins seem to have embraced. During the time I was there, the annual ‘Laziest Man’ completion was ongoing; an event in which men compete to see who can lie down the longest. The bartender spoke about how he had always been a bartender and the young man, who was going to school in Germany, said he aspired to move to Brazil because they seem to not work that hard. Fascinating.

Near the river is a hotel, the Hotel Podgorica notable for its modernist design by architect Svetlana Kana Radević. I went and had a cigar on the very excellent patio overlooking the river.

High Five

I walked to Blok Five, which is a group of high-rise apartment buildings, now at least party abandoned. They were designed and built in the 1970s/80s with the goal of creating a perfect community that emphasized community involvement and communal living. The buildings are worth a visit if you like that kind of architecture or if you like creepy feeling abandoned places, or graffiti. I like all three.

Under the Bridge

I visited a lot of cafes, the best of which was the Itaka Library Bar, which is just under a bridge, by the river. On one side f the structure is a small bookstore (all in languages other than English) and on the other side is a café/bar with some indoor seating, but the real pleasure, was sitting outside, under the bridge and next to a small riverside patch of green. I went there twice and loved it. Great spot to smoke cigars.

Cigars in Podgorica

There are a few cigars stores in Podgorica. None were cheap, but all had good selections. There were no dedicated cigar lounges, but smoking was allowed on every patio. I smoked a ton of cigars during my time in there.

Art

There is an art gallery/museum. Local artists and a few historic relics. Really it is shocking that for a capital city – that this tiny museum is the best they came up with – but it was interesting, and it was free, so I am not complaining. As mentioned previously, there are some murals/street art in Podgorica, but nothing amazing or worth specifically seeking out.

A Glimpse of the Past

There is a small (pocket-sized) historical neighbourhood that someone survived the war and there are a few streets with cobblestones and cute houses with grapes growing. On the edge of the neighbourhood is a clock tower that is the oldest surviving thing in Podgorica and it is…honestly, it is not that interesting, but if you are there, you may as well seek it out.

Two Churches

I walked to the (Catholic) Church of the Holy Heart of Jesus, which is interesting in that it is such a severe concrete, brutalist structure. The walk there is not at all pleasant, as it is just along stretches of highway, but if you are into weird, brutalist structures, as I am, it is worth the walk.

I walked to the beautiful Orthodox Temple of Christ’s Resurrection, which was stunning inside and out – and the walk there was lovely, just across the river and past the tiki bar. I bought a trinket at the church shop and chatted with the woman working there. She seemed genuinely thankful and surprised that I was visiting Podgorica.

Podgorica after Dark

In the evenings I stayed on and around the pedestrian street where my hotel was. During the day the streets was quiet and pleasant but at night….wow. It was like an actual party. Every single bar and restaurant was packed. There was live music and karaoke and DJs playing impossibly loud music. The women were so dressed up. Tiny sequined dressed, skin-tight body suits, stiletto heels, cleavage, fully made-up faces and gorgeous. Men were there too. I asked at the hotel if there was something special going on, but they said, no; on the weekends, locals just like to dress up and go out. After a lot of searching, I found a place on a patio and had a cigar and watched the parade.

Is Podgorica worth visiting?

I did all of this in a day and a half. I walked a lot, exploring to seek out other things of note, but there was not much else worth mentioning. The nice thing was that I got to sight-see at a leisurely pace. Normally I am moving around at such a fast pace; this was a relaxing change.

Podgorica was warm and sunny. It was quiet. There was birdsong and coffee, time for luxuriating on patios, and just being present. There was no reason to rush anywhere to see things because there was not that much to see. What there was to see was interesting and attractive enough. I had a great time. Would I recommend visiting Podgorica? No. Not at all (unless you are on a quest to visit every capital city in Europe), but if you are there, or if you have the opportunity for a long layover, there is enough to see to make it worthwhile. It might be ‘the most boring capital city in Europe’ but still has redeeming qualities and was a nice way to end my Balkans trip.

Balkans Trip 2023 Bosnia and Herzegovina Europe

At the crossroads in Sarajevo

I flew to Sarajevo from Zagreb. Sarajevo wasn’t supposed to be the highlight of my Balkans trip that year, but it ended up being just that.

*Sebilj in Sarajevo (Ottoman wooden fountain)*

Arrival in Sarajevo

Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country that has been many things. I will not even attempt to describe the history of the geography of this part of the world and the many conflicts that led to it being what it is today, but in a nutshell, when Yugoslavia broke up in 1992, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was divided up into a series of states including the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. When that Republic had a referendum to decide whether it should further subdivide, the Bosnian War broke out. A localized conflict between Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats which became an international armed conflict complete with war crimes and genocide. It was probably inevitable. A perfect storm of conflict that dealt with history, culture, geography, and religion. It is probably still the thing that most people think of when they think of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I arrived very late at night in Sarajevo and was picked up at the airport by a guy and a gal who run a tour company in the city (Meet Bosnia Tours). My hostel had arranged for them to pick me up because there wasn’t proper transportation at that late hour. I later looked them up and saw that the guy had given Bill Clinton a walking tour of Sarajevo, complete with pictures on the website. I decided that I would do their free walking tour the next morning.

I was staying at the Franz Ferdinand Hostel. It was cheap and centrally located and really felt more like an apartment than a hostel. I had a private room with a small bathroom and a shared kitchen in a hallway where there was a timeline of the events of World War One marked on the floor. My room was near the Battle of the Marne.

Morning walk

The next morning, after a good night’s sleep, and thankfully not dreaming about over half a million dead European soldiers, I went out into the city. Sarajevo is so intriguing. Divided by the Miljacka River, it is also divided between East and West. Sarajevo was the administrative seat of both the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and it displays its divided past proudly. One side of the city feels a bit like Turkey, with mosques and narrow streets cafes selling Turkish coffee and baklava with carpets and shisha. The other side has churches, ornate buildings, cafes selling Viennese style coffee and cakes, and more western European style streets. It quite literally feels like the best of both worlds.

scenes in a divided Sarajevo

The first order of business, of course, was coffee. Bosnia has its own coffee, Bosnian coffee, which is very similar to Turkish coffee (for the reasons just described), but the preparation is a little bit different.

I had a coffee (delicious) and wandered around the square, visited a church, and started to explore the streets. I walked along the river, which is very picturesque with numerous bridges old and new. I crossed to the other side. And meandered around residential streets. Rough looking but well cared for buildings, flowers, a bit of street art. There were some curious statues of circus performers strung across the river. I stopped to browse booksellers setting up along the river before making my way to the appointed spot for my free walking tour.

A tour through history

I haven’t done one of these free walking tours in a long time. I think they are excellent opportunities to learn a little bit about a city and the history and pay only whatever you think is appropriate for a tip, but often the schedules don’t suit me, or I’d rather just explore on my own. But the history of Sarajevo is so complicated, and the current state of things is still contentious, and I really hoped to learn something from the tour, so I joined. I’m glad I did. I got all the information that I could have wanted, including about how there are still tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Some people would prefer the country to fracture further into newer smaller countries, and ethnic and religious differences are still a source of strife. The only downside of the tour was that it was enormous. There were about 30 people, and while I made a point of always being up at the front of the group, it was a bit too large and could have been a little bit faster paced with a smaller group; but it was free, friendly, and informative.

Armed with my new knowledge, I really appreciated the city even more. I notice the bullet holes that cover so many of the buildings. Some have been completely repaired, others simply plastered over so you can so you can still see where they landed, and some have been left as reminders of the not-so-distant past. There are places, like in front of the cathedral, where bullet holes and mortar shell damage is marked by red paint as a reminder of those who died on that spot. It is one of those places where the war is so recent that when you walk around you realize that everyone that nearly everyone you see either lived through or fought in the war or has parents who did. So the scars, like the bullet holes, were still fresh.

*bullet holes and markers of death at the base of the Sacred Heart Cathedral*

There are, as I understand it, several very good museums in the city about the war and the genocide and those experiences. Unfortunately, because I was only there for a short time, just two days (and one spent visiting Mostar) made the choice to skip the museums. If I were going back, they would be top of my list.

In terms of historical sites, I think my favourite spot was seeing the place where Gavrilo Princip stood when he assassinated Archduke French Ferdinand on 28 June 1914. In case you don’t already know, I like history. I even have a degree in it (which doesn’t mean that I know a lot it just means that at one point I studied it a bit) and the First World War is my favourite war. I know it’s weird to have a favourite war, but for a variety of reasons that I’m not going to go into in this post, I’m fascinated by World War One. To see the spot where 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip the Archduke Franz Ferdinand (and his wife), was amazing. This is the act that set into motion the First World War the end of the empires of Europe, and really the start of the modern 20th century. As a cynical friend said to me “if it hadn’t that act, it would be something else that started the war.” That’s true, but it wasn’t something else; it was this, and the spot itself is fascinating.

There’s a small marker which is very politically neutral. This might seem surprising given that it is a marker of an assassin and murderer, but as the tour guide explained to us Gavrilo Princip’s legacy in the country is divided. Some people view him as a hero and others as a terrorist or anarchist. So the marker does not refer to the moral quality of his act, it simply notes that this is where it happened.

*the assassination happened at the foot of this bridge (the Latin Bridge), at the corner of the pink building*

More walking and sights

I spent most of my time in Sarajevo doing what I always do walking around taking insights looking at interesting buildings and historical spots, drinking coffee and smoking when I can. The coffee in Sarajevo was great the food, for vegetarian it wasn’t so great, and at this point I was entirely sick of burek, the ubiquitous Balkan greasy cheese pies.

I had a cigar and coffee and the excellent Cafe Divan, hidden away in a pretty courtyard, thick with smoke.

I visited the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, and wandered the streets.

Abandoned bobsled hike

One thing I was excited to do in Sarajevo was to explore the bobsled track on Trebević Mountain. In 1984 Sarajevo hosted the Olympics, and as part of that, they built a bobsled track on the mountain. Due to years of neglect, and probably the war, the bobsled track has fallen into ruin. Just across the river you can walk and follow the signs to the cable car and for a small fee it will whisk you up the mountain. (The cable car, originally built in the 1950s, was completely destroyed during the war, but was rebuilt in 2017-2018.) The ride is 9 minutes long, whisking you 500 meters up, and when you finish you are 1164 meters high on Mount Trebević, with excellent views of the city.

*near the stairs leading to the gondola*

From the gondola, you can go hiking on the mountain or follow the signs to the bobsled track, which is what I did. Almost immediately I ran into another girl (Canadian and traveling solo), and we decided to walk along and then hike back up the track together. I was thankful for the company.

The bobsled track is excellent, particularly if you love abandoned places and graffiti, which I do. It winds through the mountain and is completely covered in graffiti. In places it is intact, in other places it is broken. Effectively, you walk to the bottom of it and you have to hike back up to the top which seems a bit punishing in the heat, but it’s not too long and it is certainly a good exercise. Apart from a couple other people we passed, we were entirely alone on the track, which gave it a bit of a delightfully eerie feel.

Zlatna Ribica

Following way descent from the mountain, and parting ways with my short-term companion, I made my way to one of the best bars I’ve ever been to. Zlatna Ribica. (Goldfish.) In the centre of Sarajevo but, it’s not something that you would likely stumble across if you were just walking around as it is a bit tucked away. It is a delightful tiny bar, warm with browns and golds cluttered with objects and antiques. It feels like the sort of place that you might go to have your fortune told by a mysterious old woman. There was soft jazz music playing and a cool goth girl serving drinks when she wasn’t knitting and smoking cigarettes. I asked for the menu, and she brought me a deck of cards. Each card had written on it in sharpie a drink. There were two people in there smoking cigarettes which was amazing to me, because, while smoking on patios in Sarajevo was certainly allowed, I hadn’t seen anyone smoking inside. I asked the girl if it would be possible for me to smoke a cigar inside and she simply shrugged and said in deadpan heavily accented English “Why would it not be ok?” And that’s when it became my favourite bar. I had previously wondered where to smoke cigars in Sarajevo? I had found my spot. I sat in there and smoked a cigar and had a drink and listened to the music and was the happiest I had been all day. And it was a good day to start with.

Wrapping up Sarajevo

I had three nights and two days in Sarajevo, which probably would have been enough time to really do it justice, except that on my second day I wanted to visit Mostar, and did, so everything that I’m describing in this post is what I did on day one. The following morning, I went almost immediately to Mostar, and I got back in the afternoon and spent my final evening in Sarajevo wandering the streets, eating local food (I found some vegetarian dumpling dish), smoking shisha, and trying to cure a recently onset cold with local apricot and honey brandies. This was before taking a bus to Montenegro.

I just loved Sarajevo. Just a wonderful combination of cultures in a historically fascinating place. I could definitely go back.

Balkans Trip 2023 Croatia Europe

Two Days in Zagreb

I arrived in Zagreb on the train from Ljubljana. My first time in Croatia. Croatia was never very high on my list of places to visit, but it fit perfectly into my Slovenia to Montenegro itinerary. I know Croatia has a beautiful coastline and maybe someday I will visit it, but on this trip, Zagreb would be my only stop. The landlocked capital. I know a lot of elaborate and colorful Croatian swear words and I knew they liked to smoke (a lot) so I felt prepared.

I checked in to my hostel, a popular spot called, inexplicably, the Swanky Mint Hostel and familiarized myself with my top bunk in the all-girls dorm room. My roommates were a group of girls traveling to celebrate their recent graduation – from high school. Nice girls. As I get older it is weird to be, often by far, the oldest person in the hostel, but despite that everyone is still friendly. Ultimately, we’re all just travelers of a certain style and that seems to transcend the widening age gaps.

Swanky Mint Hostel, complete with a nice patio bar

My hostel was in a very central spot. Perfect for walking. I set off to stop number one: a nearby excellent cigar store, where I replenished my stock, which was already dwindling a bit after Slovenia.

The thing that stuck out to me about Zagreb, culturally, is that everyone seemed to be at all times occupying vast sidewalk cafes, lingering over coffees, brandy, and cigarettes. (Seriously, do people not have jobs?) Smoking was not technically allowed indoors, but that did not seem to be an issue for many places I went, that had ashtrays on the tables inside and out.

My next stop, after an espresso, was to visit the thing I most wanted to see in Zagreb: The Museum of Broken Relationships. A small museum, it contains items donated by people from around the world and each item is accompanied by a story of a relationship that ended. The objects are simple: a toy, a note, a box of pasta, a record, an article of clothing. The stories are mostly sad. Some of the relationships are long ones and some are brief. Some ended in tragedy and others just faded away. Aside from a few lighthearted ones, they are sad and affecting. I don’t think I have ever been in a museum that was so quiet. No one spoke. Everyone just read and observed in silence. I think that museums of war and historical tragedy can sometimes feel difficult to relate to, but everyone can relate to having their heart broken. It was really affecting. (I just bought my ticket at the door, but I think it is advisable to book in advance because it is very small, and it fills up quickly.)

I spent most of the rest of that first day just wandering around, taking in the streets. Unfortunately, there was a lot of construction going on and many churches (including Saint Mark’s) and some of the museums were closed, but the city was lovely to wander.

The city is on two levels, upper and lower, connected by a funicular. I do love a funicular.

Bright yellow, ornate buildings and parks full of flowers. Inviting cafes, public statues. One of the nicest sights was the Stone Gate (Kamenita Vrata), the last remaining gate to what was once the medieval, walled upper city. In the 1700s it was engulfed in a fire, but a painting of the Virgin Mary somehow survived and it has become an important and beautiful shrine, with candles and worshippers. There was a charming altar and candles for worship in an archway.

In a main square, a brass band played rousing, patriotic sounding songs.

That evening I had dinner and a cigar on Tkalčićeva Street, a main pedestrian street lies with restaurants. It was very busy and felt quite touristy but was a good spot to watch people parade up and down.

The next morning, I went to the Dolac outdoor market, where people sold flowers, fruits and vegetables, and honey. I bought an apple and some kind of bread items filled with cheese and vegetables. At this point in my trip, after only a few days I was already getting a bit tired of the mostly-bread diet that seems to be on offer for vegetarians.

I burned off my breakfast with a long walk to the Mirogoj Cemetery. A pleasant walk to a pleasant cemetery. Neither are things I would say are must-do/see, but I enjoyed myself.

I caught a bus back to the city for more aimless wandering before catching the tram to the Museum of Contemporary Art, which was excellent and free.

I went back to the cigar store and found a place to have an underwhelming dinner and an excellent cigar.

I walked thought some of the long tunnels that connected different parts of the city. It is not obvious where they are, but you can find them on maps. It was fun, if a bit eerie, to walk in without any idea where I would pop out on the other end.

That evening, I wandered to a less central neighbourhood. Away from the tourists. I don’t know what it was, but it was a cool area with funky bars and cafes, bookstores, and whatnot. I found a super cute bar and sat on cushions on the sidewalk and had a negroni before headings back to my hostel to swap travel stories.

Late that night I was off to Sarajevo.

I enjoyed my time in Zagreb. I bet there is a lot more cool stuff there to see and do that I could not discover in my short time. I actually think it might be a good city to live in. It had a good mix of beauty and grit (and loose smoking laws). Sadly I did not find use for my Croatian profanities. I’ll have to return to Croatia.

Onward to Sarajevo, which would be my favourite stop on this trip.

Balkans Trip 2023 Europe Slovenia

Lake Bled Day Trip

There was no question as to whether or not I would visit Lake Bled on my trip to Ljubljana. I had seen pictures of it in books years ago and of course with Instagram, seeing pictures of it are ubiquitous if you search for anything related to Slovenia and travel. It is a picturesque, small lake surrounded by trees and mountains. In the centre of that lake is a small island. On that small island is a small church. It sounds and looks like something out of a fairy tale. It makes a perfect day trip from Ljubljana.

Getting There

You can go by train or car, but I decided to go by bus. As much as I like trains, the bus was just more efficient and cheaper. There are multiple buses per day, however in the busy season it can get quite booked up, so I think it’s a good idea to book ahead of time. I went to the bus station in Ljubljana the day before my trip to Lake Bled. The bus station is directly in front of the train station. It’s a tiny building, easy to miss except for the fact that there are numerous buses parked outside. Inside, you can buy tickets with cards or cash and the schedule is well posted. It’s best to buy a round-trip journey and then when you are finished your exploration of Lake Bled you can just hop on another bus heading back to Ljubljana. They leave about every hour or so.

The journey is beautiful. I wasn’t able to get many good photos outside of the windows, but it was lovely to see the scenery going by. It became increasingly green and there were cows, villages, and mountains.

Once you get to the bus station in Lake Bled (another small unremarkable building) you really can’t go wrong; you just follow the hill down and eventually you will see the lake I don’t know how one could get lost.

And that’s what I did. I walked to the lake and turned right and walked around the lake in the direction of the castle island. It was just a lovely walk.

The Lake

On the way there are different spots where you can access boats to go to the island. You can get you can self-hire boats from one stop that I found for, I think, it was €20 and you can row yourself to the island and back, but I continued walking until I found someone who would row me across in one of the traditional boats called a pletna, used in Lake Bled for hundreds of years. I kept walking and came to the part of the lake where there was a boatman with pletna that went across at appointed times. I paid for a ticket. It wasn’t cheap, I believe it was €20 (cash only). While I waited for the next crossing, I went over to a cafe.

The Cake

Aside from the beautiful church on the little island in the middle of the beautiful lake, Lake Bled is famous for a particular dessert: a cream cake called kremna rezina or kremšnita. It doesn’t seem like something that I would ever order in my real life but it is a famous cake from a famous town in the middle of a charming country and I had time to kill of course I was going to have it. The cake has been designated by the Slovenian government as a protected dessert 0whatever that means) and there is a festival dedicated to it. So I ordered this cream cake. It was the size of my fist. It was good, but not really my cup of tea; I was happy to have tried it though. (I did not eat the whole thing.) I went back to the boatman, and we went across to the island.

Getting to the Island

Crossing Lake Bled to go to Bled Island was my favourite part about my visit. It was just so beautiful and I could really appreciate the water and the views. It really did seem magical. On the way, I chatted with a friendly couple from Belgium who were traveling around Europe with their dog. And with the boatman who was a fit and handsome maybe 65 year old. He stood on the end of the boat, rowing it with two oars as we crossed the lake.

The island itself is… fine. All there is on the island is a café, a souvenir shop, a small museum and a small church. The cafe in the souvenir shop I skipped, but I did buy a ticket for the small church. If you are reading this and you are planning on going, let me save you €8 now: the church is not worth visiting. If someone told me that, I probably would have gone anyway because I like to see things for myself, but if you’re short on cash, skip it. There is nothing remarkable about the church.

the church on Bled Island

The price of the church entrance also gives you admission to the small museum, which is above the cafe in souvenir shop. The museum is just a couple of rooms of paintings and maps and a few artifacts from Lake Bled. It is of moderate interest, but I would have been happy to have skipped it. The island is nice enough, but I only needed a short time there. The real treat is being on the shore and looking at the island.

Bled the Town and Returning to Ljubljana

I stopped and had a tasty lunch of apples, cheese, and honey on bread and coffee, after which I walked around the town a bit and caught some nice views of the streets and the mountains in the distance.

Bled town views

I caught the bus back to Ljubljana. It is a perfect day trip. I was back in Ljubljana early enough that it was still light outside and I could enjoy the late afternoon and evening back in the capital. The next day I would take the train to Zagreb and my Slovenian adventures were over.

(Just as a postscript, I do wish that I had had one extra day in Ljubljana because I would have done a day trip to the Postojna Cave, which looks like another great day trip option. I guess I’ll just have to return.)

Brazil South America

Museums and Murals in São Paulo

I woke up on my second day in São Paulo with a plan. (The first day’s post is here.) The thing that I most wanted to see in São Paulo was Batman Alley (Beco de Batman) and I wanted to get there early. I was staying in the centre, so I got on the subway at Luz station, and I took the train to Santuario Nossa Senhora de Fatima station. From there, it was a fairly short walk to the area I wanted to see. I used maps.me to navigate my way. Once one I was just a block or two away from Batman Alley there were some signs that pointed me in the right direction. It was early and there was almost no one else around.

Batman Alley is a long street (or now really a collection of streets) in one area that is famous for being covered in murals. Apparently in the ‘80s there was a mural painted of Batman which is how the street got its name. Now it covered in murals, like a winding outdoor art gallery and the area seems to be spreading. Murals of all different styles are painted and then painted over. It’s constantly changing. You could go and come back a few months later and the whole landscape of murals will be completely different. There are still paintings of Batman, however.

It was delightful, and going first thing in the morning was the best because there was really no one else around. By the time I left, there were some vendors setting up to sell jewelry and whatnot and a few other tourists had appeared, taking elaborately posed pictures in front of the murals, so I was glad that I went when I did. I love street art, so this was fantastic for me.

From there I meandered over to Coffee Lab, which is known for being one of the best coffee shops in São Paulo. I didn’t have much to compare it to having only been in São Paulo for less than 24 hours, but it did have excellent coffee and a nice atmosphere.

I hopped back on the nearest subway station and went to the Museum of São Paulo. An art museum. An excellent art museum. It wasn’t even really on my list of things that I had to do, but I’m so glad that I decided to go. The museum is in an interesting building, and it has a collection of regular exhibits and special exhibitions. The thing that was amazing about it was that one floor which seemed to be their permanent collection, was that the art wasn’t displayed on the walls. Art was displayed with each painting free standing above a heavy cement base and the paintings just sort of floating in midair. The thing that made it more interesting was that the title of the painting and the artist’s name and any description of the painting were on the back of the canvas; so you would walk around looking at these paintings unsure of who or what they were until you walked around to the backside of it. This is maybe the most creative and interesting way of looking at art, because you are not influenced by knowing what you’re looking at. You are looking at a painting and you have to judge it on its merits and how you really feel about it without being influenced by the fact that you know that it’s a Picasso or Modigliani. I also like that they displayed the art without segregating it into era or type of painting (so there might be a very modern South American painting hung right next to a classical European painting).

It was fascinating. They also had an excellent exhibit of Gauguin’s Tahitian work, which I enjoyed.

The museum is on Paulista Ave, which is supposed to be a very important major street in São Paulo, so I walked down it until I reached the next subway station, which was quite a ways, I was not impressed with the street; it was big and it had a lot of buildings but I thought most of them were quite unattractive and there wasn’t really much on the street that interested me, but I’m still glad that I saw it.

At the next subway station I again got on a train and hopped over to Ibirapuera Park, in the middle of which is the Sao Paulo Museum of Modern Art. The museum is really in the middle of the park and it was quite a walk to find it, but it was pleasant walking through the park, which has a body of water in the middle and everyone was out riding bikes and running, playing ball and having picnics. It was a nice atmosphere.

The museum was fine. I enjoyed the art, but it was relatively small given the effort it took to get there.

On the way out I found myself utterly lost trying to get out of the park I was trying to go back the way I came but I got turned around and every time I tried to exit the park, I found myself faced by a fence. I eventually found a gate out and then realized I was nowhere near a subway station. I got on a bus only to discover that they only take exact change and I only had paper money, which they would not accept and there was no way to pay by a card, so, frustratingly, I had to get off the bus and walk quite a distance to the next subway station. That was a bit annoying.

But I did make my way to the subway eventually and went back to the centre and visited the Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady Assumption and Saint Paul; a large cathedral from the 1950s which was which is pleasant to visit. (And even had its own cathedral traffic lights on the surrounding streets.)

Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady Assumption and Saint Paul

From there I walked around the central area. It was Sunday and the streets were filled with people. There was a market going on with vendors selling mostly clothes, trinkets, toys, and electronics. It was very lively. People were flying kites and selling food. It all felt a little bit rough around the edges but was lively and it was nice for a wander.

At this point it was late in the afternoon and I had to start thinking about getting back to the hotel because I had a flight heading out of Brazil, but I still made one more visit to the Mercado Municipal Paulistano, where I had been the day before for lunch. I had a quick meal and then went back to my hotel to pack up and take the train to the airport.

Mercado Municipal Paulistano

I really liked São Paulo. I wasn’t supposed to be there; I was supposed to be in Paraguay (you can read about that debacle here), and I don’t know if I would have had a better time in Paraguay, but São Paulo was good. I liked it better than Rio, and it was entirely different from Salvador. It made a nice end my trip to Brazil, despite all the hassles of getting there in the first place. Brazil was a place that I had never really been excited to see but now that I’ve been, I’m glad that I’ve gone, and I would go back to see more of the country. A country that big and diverse deserves more than one visit.

Tag: church