Well, I'll admit I am a horrendous blogger and terrible at keeping in touch with people when travelling. Timolo and I actually got back from Eastern Europe in September but have been on the go since then.
Firstly, Eastern Europe (plus Venice) was epic :) I really miss travelling, especially now in October when its getting dark at half 4 and all I want to do is sun bathe and go swimming in the sea. I think some of the best places were Belgrade, Serbia; Zabiljak, Montenegro and Split, Croatia.
Belgrade is a little bit mental, it doesn't really seem to stop and everything seems open all the time! Unfortunately Timolo became ill but we were able to stay in Marija's apartment til he got better. Its handy having friends who have husbands for Dentists in Serbia!
Zabiljak was such a contrast, we got a night bus there, kinda comfy. I wish I could just sleep anywhere would make night buses a much better option! Its a sleepy summer town just for hikers, rafters (don't know if that's right) and climbers! Great place and the accommodation is a bargain! So beautiful, mountains all around and the black lake which is really clear and everyone swims in it.
We also went rafting in the Tara? Canyon which is the deepest in Europe...possibly. It was a good experience as I never done rafting before, made my hands hurt though! The water was freezing and the instructor loved getting us splashed...I guess with that many tourist boats you have to amuse yourself.
Split was the second place in Croatia we went. Initially, we had gone to Dubrovnik and I was MASSIVELY disappointed. So touristy and busy it just spoilt the place. The increase in prices was a bit of a shock as well, you think Eastern Europe is cheap, then you go to Croatia and its twice the price of Montenegro and Serbia.
However, by this time we wanted to stay in a hostel and meet some people...go out and sample local booze essentially. I'd already had rakia in Belgrade, my god. It burns all the way down! Nicest discovery was apple beer! On the hunt for cider, I finally decided that if Dubrovnik didn't have cider (Somersby Cider, Carlsberg is not cider.) then I wasn't going to get it! We went to enough Irish bars trying to find some! So the next logical step was apple beer. Pretty damn good. Now I have cider in the UK but no apple beer!
Split is a great town with a balance of nightlife, friendlyness, things to do and a great beach on the edge of the park. We also went climbing, lovely views over the sea and a more local beach than the park had. Climbing had a range of routes and lots of cacti! Those needles get absolutely everywhere as we found :(
We decided to finish our travels by heading to Venice as Timolo hadn't been and I had been a few years ago but didn't remember much. It all came flooding back! It rained a lot. We seemed to have caught the start of the rainy season, when the UK turns dry and everywhere else rains. Its a rare season.
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