Since the last time I blogged, I have had 2 bus rides, gotten onto and off one plane, crossed three borders and had an incredibly long day on a train. So unfortunately, there is not much new to report. I hopped on the bus from Pamukkale to Istanbul and somehow managed to make it through the ten hour ride. I slept some of the way, but being cramped into the window seat I can't say it was very good sleep. Don't get me wrong, the Turkish buses are quite nice, with their Turkish soap operas and bus attendent service that give you food and drinks along the way, but ten hours is a horribly long time to be on a bus.
I made my way to Istanbul and got on the bus into Sultanahmet, which would take me to the tram which would take me to the subway which would get me to the Airport for my flight five hours later. And of course, I screwed up again and got off at what I thought would be a short cut but landed me clear across the city on the opposite side of where I wanted to be. It ended up taking me over two hours to the airport, but only cost me 4.50 Lira...whereas a cab would've cost me 40, so I guess I came out on top in the end.
From there I ended up in Sarajevo...and wow! It was more of a culture shock than Turkey. I stepped off the plane with gray skies above and a bone chilling cold that could only mean that I was in Eastern Europe. The city is small and haunted with these shelled out buildings from the recent war as well as thriving with the spirit of new beginnings as they rebuild these structures a few at a time. It was incredibly moving to seeing some of these things knowing the horrors that happened here just in my lifetime. The night train that I was hoping to catch to Budapest no longer exists, so I ended up staying in the Turkish district of Sarajevo for the night. I just wandered the streets and took care of some business that needed to be attended (aka toiletry and granola replenishing as well as a good night's sleep).
I got up at 5am and went to the train station the next morning and was so happy to meet a nice couple from Seattle that were just finishing up the trip of a lifetime in Eastern Europe. They'd spent the last three weeks on a road trip with a Bosnian couple they knew (refugees now living in the states) traveling from Bosnia to Montenegro to Istanbul and back again staying in local homes and learning about the culture and how the wars in the 90s affected them. They were also getting on the 11 hour train to Budapest and I had the pleasure of staying in their cabin on the train. I learned a lot just from our conversations and it made the train ride somewhat bearable. Had I been stuck in a car with a bunch of people speaking Bosnian all day...probably about the foreigner in their car...I probably would've freaked and got off. Either way, by 7 last night I made my way to the most San Franciscan city I've found yet.
A friend of mine from Italy is here in Budapest and I was lucky enough to have my hostel and transport there taken care of on my arrival. The hostel is great and there are quite a few cool people here on the Pest side of the city. Today we spent the day wandering around and enjoying some of the sites that I know nothing about (it's officially off my radar as it's not in my book...but I kind of like it). With it's street side cafes and Union Square type plazas I feel like I am home and am happy to be sitting still for a moment. I'm going to relax and enjoy myself here for a couple of days and hopefully figure out how the next few weeks will get me back to Rome for my trip home. I can't believe how much I have managed to accomplish in such a short time, but wish I could have done more. I still have two weeks...I'll make sure to do it up right as I make my way south.
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