Kilometre Zero, Paris

In the square in front of Notre Dame (Paris) there is a plaque (said to have been put in place by André Michelin, founder of the Michelin tyre business) marking the point from which all distances in France are measured.

On our recent trip, I set out to locate this plaque (having not previously noticed it).   It took me a few minutes, even though it was quite early in the morning, before many people were around.   But, yes, it's there, even though it's not very conspicuous and can be easily overlooked.

Intriguing things

Pivo = beer

There are a couple of things that intrigue me in parts of the Balkans.

Beer prices:  It's sometimes the same price - or even a little cheaper - to buy an 0.5 litre beer  ("pivo" ) than an 0.33 beer.   Apparently this has something to do with the fact that the small bottles are not returnable but the larger bottles are.  The beer is said to be the same.  I don't get it, but I did take advantage of it.

Names of taxis: there are some interestingly-named taxi companies!  "Pink" taxis are found in many cities, but apparently this doesn't have quite same connotations as it does in some western countries.   And presumably the meaning of words sometimes changes in translation! (See image below).

Jetlag

Several days after our return, we're still getting over the jetlag.

I have a couple of theories about jetlag.   First, it seems to be worse if you're travelling against the sun (that is, from west to east).    Secondly, it's made worse if you're tired.  And in this respect, if you're tired when you board the plane, and are relying on being able to catch up on your sleep while travelling, it doesn't work.    In my experience, if I'm tired when I get on the plane, my jetlag is worse when I arrive.

Intercontinental travel without jetlag (Bosphorus Bridge, Istanbul)

For me, jetlag manifests itself in dozing off at strange - and not necessarily logical - times (well, more than dozing, I've been going "out-to-it"), and waking up earlier than usual in the morning.   For Sue, it has resulted in being hungry in the middle of the night.

At present, we seem to be on track to recovery, on the rule of thumb that, when travelling west to east,  it takes a day for every time zone that you pass through to adjust before you're completely normal.

And so ... home

Well, it was a long trip home, but basically uneventful.    I could perhaps do an Air France vs Qantas comparison.  There again, perhaps not.

We arrived on time, and are most grateful to Ang and Kev who picked us up at 7 am on a Sunday morning.   Many thanks.

We're pretty jet-lagged, so it will be interesting to see how long it takes to get over this.

The biggest problem of the whole trip arose when I attempted to turn the home computers on.  The router was totally dead.   Off to Dick Smith to buy a new one, but to date the installation program keeps telling me that it will only accept the "default" password.   Needless to say, there's no indication of what this might be, so the installation is still work in progress.  I postponed the task, and went into the office.   Guess what?  Metro's trains were in melt-down.  Does nothing change?   However, for once, I happened to be in the right place at the right time, and along came a train going in the direction I wanted to go, even if crowded.
There are a couple more postings on Istanbul to come, which are waiting for me to sort out the photos.
EDIT:  Router now configured, but it had to be done manually.  For some reason, the "wizard" wouldn't work.    I lost track of how long this took......

In Transit in Paris

Getting from Istanbul to Melbourne via Paris isn't quite logical, but it's the price we paid for having a stop-over in Paris on the way over.   And at the time we booked, it was the best fare available, and a pretty good one at that.    Subsequently I saw a nearly-as-good fare that would have offered a better route, but especially with air fares, you have to have a "no regrets" policy, and we made our decision based on what was available at the time, taking into account past trends.   So, here we are, with a 2 hour transit in Paris.

Experience has given me a vague idea of the layout of Charles de Gaulle airport (a strange place), but there are always new surprises in store.   Sometimes long distance flights seem to depart from one terminal, sometimes from another.  I don't get it.  Tonight's flight is from terminal 2E - along with 7 other long distance flights, all departing within a few minutes of each other.   The lounge is full, the catering is pretty average, yet at other times (when at this airport) we've ended up at a large lounge in a different terminal with better catering!  And Germany at the time of posting has a 4-1 lead over Greece in the Euro cup football to the general dissatisfaction of most of those around us.   At least the flight is said to be on time and the internet access is working well.
PS - There are a couple of posts on Istanbul yet to come.

Bosphorus Cruise

Topkapi Palace

Everything we've read said that a Bosphorus cruise is a "must" when in Istanbul.    The question is - which one?   The guidebook referred to a cruise that actually stopped at a couple of villages, but even if we had have been able to find its departure point, the times didn't fit in with our itinerary.    So, this morning (Thursday) we just walked along the wharf, and - no problems - there were guys everywhere offering tours (all at the standard price of 20 TL).   But how to choose one?    The obvious questions were, how long would we have to wait and how long would we get for our money?    These questions having been answered to our satisfaction, we were duly loaded into a mini-bus and transferred a short distance to the departure point.    Our concern about accepting rides from strangers was somewhat lessened by the fact that the mini-bus was full of people from all over, including several locals.   

We all arrived at the departure wharf with our kidneys and wallets intact, and boarded the vessel.   

Cruise ships in port

We then realised that there were a number of other questions that ought to have formed part of our due diligence!    Luck had shined on us, because the boat was a reasonable size and it did have shelter from the sun.  The Turkish music wasn't too loud (and was turned off at prayer times).   It also met the 2 hour duration requirement,  but it wasn't quite as fast as some of the many other boats we saw.   But I think the majority probably only got to the 2nd suspension bridge, as we did.

Dolmabahce Palace

Up-market housing

It was indeed an interesting cruise:   there was a lot to see, including a a number of cruise ships in port,  a couple of palace-type buildings on the banks, several up-market hotels, lots of shipping of a variety of sizes and quite a lot of expensive-looking  housing, particularly on the Asian side.
There was quite a breeze, but our concerns about the water being rough didn't eventuate.

On our return, we took a taxi to the Chora museum with its many frescoes and mosaics, but it will be the subject of a future post.

We leave Istanbul tomorrow, so we now have our final packing to do as well as making transfer arrangements to get us to the airport.   Our experience of Istanbul traffic leads us to the view that one of the shuttle services may be preferable to a taxi!

To Istanbul

After a satisfactory flight from Belgrade to Istanbul on a plane that was less than 20% full (I didn't know that such flights still took place!), some air traffic delays getting into Istanbul and a much higher-than-expected visa-on-arrival fee, we're now established in a modern and comfortable, if slightly squishy, room in Istanbul.
No photos yet, but my initial impression is that the Sultanahmet district depends greatly on tourists, literally from all over the place.  We went for a fascinating walk last night and had a pleasant dinner.    No problems at all about getting a beer to drink, but definitely no bacon on the breakfast buffet.

Farewell to Vrnjačka Banja

Treatment centre, using spa water

We've returned to Belgrade from Vrnjačka Banja.   We had a very satisfactory self-contained apartment at Vrnjačka Banja and really enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere, especially the evening walks along the promenade, through the park and past the large villas (some still owed privately, we think).

EDIT - We've now been told that if you walk further out into the park, there are mineral springs that you can access without using the services of a "wellness centre".

Display of plants with health-giving properties

Restaurant - yes, we had dinner here! (But they're not all like this)

Return to Vrnjačka Banja

We visited Vrnjačka Banja on our bus tour of monasteries a few years back, but it was only an overnight stay, and we didn't have an opportunity to explore this pretty spa resort in any detail.    Hence, it has been something of an ambition to return.   Well, just over 3 hours from Belgrade by bus and here we are in a modern apartment with air conditioning (most welcome on a mid-30s, humid day), comfortably watching Djokovic in the final of the French open (at least, until rain stopped play).

One of the landmarks of Vrnjačka Banja is the Most Ljubavi (Bridge of Love).  As we've observed, for example in Paris, this isn't the only such bridge around,  but I can  vouch that the collection of padlocks is impressive.

Moussaka for family lunch

Rada made a lovely moussaka and Branislav and Gordana came over with Milhailo and Pavle for lunch.  It was a warm day and after lunch we sat around and watched Sharapova win the French Open women's final.   Since we had got up early and travelled to Barajevo and back in the morning, it was nice to chill out.  Then in the evening, Milutin dropped in and helped finish off all the food.  I forgot to take a photo of him!

Барајевo

We visited the манастир Преподобног Јустина Ћелијског at Barajevo for the Saturday morning liturgy.  The area is very beautiful and peaceful.  We were made very welcome indeed, and were especially happy to catch up with Father Naum (who we had met in Australia at the St Sava festival in Canberra last January).

 

 

Konak under construction

Ada Ciganlija

Restaurants in the former wharf area

Branislav very kindly gave us a tour of some of the places of interest around Belgrade.  We saw the most impressive redevelopment of the river wharf area and the old buildings in the vicinity of the bus station that have been given what we call "heritage protection", meaning that the facades are protected.  It is planned that they will be developed as upmarket housing.  He told us that the bus and railway station sites are also ear-marked for redevelopment.  We were driven around the embassy district,with its very impressive embassies and associated residences, along with the residences of some of the rich and (in)famous locals (no photos allowed!)

Facades to be preserved

Ice cream time on Ada Ciganlija

Ada Ciganlija

But we also stopped for a really relaxing break on Ada Ciganlija island - well, it was an island, but now it's linked by causeway to the mainland.  This is a large complex in the Sava river, with extensive artificial beaches, a golf course, barbeque facilities, bike riding paths, a rugby stadium and numerous other facilities.   We had a very pleasant drink at one of the many restaurants, and Mihailo who was with us enjoyed some quality play time.

Warm Day in Belgrade

The forecast for today (Friday) was 31 deg (and the forecast for the next couple of days is even warmer), and in the sun it certainly felt like this.  However, it was a dry heat, and there was a pleasant breeze, so in the shade it was a great day.

 

 

 






 

 
We had a slow morning then took a short walk to the local market after lunch.   There were still some vendors there, and we bought some tomatoes, cherries and strawberries.  Even if the best produce had been sold earlier in the day, the quality and flavour of what we bought was still great.

Zemun

Zemun town square

Zemun is a historic town on the banks of the Danube and is now one of the 17 municipalities which constitute the city of Belgrade.   However, it's across the Sava River and for most of its history, it developed separately from Belgrade.   Now, the area of Novi Beograd joins them in a continuous urban area, and it's just a bus ride away.    However, I read on the internet that a form of friendly rivalry continues to exist between them.

Casual restaurants

We went there today (Thursday) for lunch.   There are numerous cafes and eating places in the old part of the town and along the banks of the Danube.   The day was very warm and we lingered for quite a while enjoying the ambiance at one of the restaurants on the river bank.

Danube looking towards Belgrade

Old street

Return from Sarajevo to Belgrade

We gave some thought as to how we would return from Sarajevo to Belgrade.   One option was by plane, but since the only flight I was able to locate left at 6.30 am, that was quickly vetoed.    Then there's a relatively new "direct" train service from Sarajevo to Belgrade.   I say "direct" because it doesn't involve changing trains (with a wait for the connecting train, as used to be the case).    The catch is that although a change of train is no longer involved, the route itself is circuitous.    Hence it takes over 8 hours (with 2 border crossings, as it goes through Croatia), and our experience of the toilets on trains in this part of the world led to this option also being vetoed.

 

Hence, we took the bus.    Great decision!    Yes, we had to get a taxi out to the Eastern bus station on the outskirts of town in Sarajevo, and the trip still took over 7 hours, but we were rewarded by yet another dose of amazing scenery, this time in eastern Bosnia:    river valleys, mountains, forests, lakes,  rural scenes and so on.  The rivers in this part of the world flow roughly north towards the Sava (which in turn flows into the Danube), but Belgrade lies more-or-less to the east of Sarajevo.    So the bus route climbs over the hills between each river valley (it's a bit too complicated to calculate how many, though), before crossing into Serbia where the route becomes almost flat as it traverses the very fertile flood plains with vast areas of corn and other crops.

Lunch venue

The first part of the bus trip was almost leisurely, with a number of coffee/comfort/cigarette breaks in quick succession, including lunch at the summit of a pass.    Then for some reason, there were only quite brief stops at the various bus stations, where disembarkation was not really encouraged (but possible if required in the interests of "comfort").  Moral:  always take advantage of any breaks offered, because you can never be quite certain when the next one will be!   

Typical scene (but not the main road!)

I should add that the average speed of the bus is not high:    the winding roads are a limiting factor, but so is that fact that on this route, except for the last 50 or so kilometres into Belgrade, the road is entirely single carriageway.   Not only does it pass through quite a few towns with speed restrictions, but it's shared with all sorts of other traffic, including tractors, log trucks and international semi-trailers - and there is not one passing lane!

In relation to the bus itself:   have you ever wondered why it is that people such as Trafalgar tours and the like can promote the fact that they have new buses?   Well, my theory is their hand-me-down buses end up as the regional buses around here (and possibly elsewhere).    Hence, the buses we have travelled on have been very comfortable, but, no, they're not quite in brand-new condition.

So now we're back in Belgrade.   Sue has commented that, when we were planning for this trip, she thought that she had already covered a lot of this territory.  However, even she has has been pleasantly surprised by the natural beauty of this region.

I've ended up with a few Bosnian currency notes to convert to dinars,  By careful management (and perhaps luck!) I managed to dispose of all but 20 cents of our Bosnian coins.   I don't know what rate our local foreign exchange man will give me for our few remaining notes, but hopefully he won't be put off by the fact that they're all pretty well used.    Bosnia has many good points, but crisp currency notes is not one of them.  How the ATM machines manage to handle the old notes that they invariably seem to dispense eludes me.

Mostar

We did a day trip to Mostar.   Mostar is about 2 1/4 hours by regional bus from Sarajevo, and the scenery is breath-taking: up the valley,  over a mountain pass, down the incredible river valley on the other side, and then past two lakes (well, dams for hydro projects) and into Mostar.

  And it's not just glimpses.  For a considerable portion of the journey we were gazing out of the bus  windows in awe.
 


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Mostar itself is, well, "the" bridge, and it certainly is impressive.    On either side, there are cobbled streets full of souvenir shops - actually, all quite tasteful and not as bad as it sounds.  I heard more Australian voices in half an hour wandering the streets than I have heard since we left Melbourne (Mostar is certainly on the tour group itinerary).  Yes, it's in quite a pretty valley, but a day trip was all that was needed.   Obviously, we had to have had lunch at one of the many restaurants that have a view of the bridge!   May I discreetly add that some thought went into choosing the side we had lunch on, but of course political correctness wasn't the motive (would we be like that?)  Rather, the more ready availability of a beer was taken into account (not all faiths condone the drinking of alcohol)!

Actually, our plans nearly didn't work out.    We left the hotel an hour before the scheduled departure time of the bus we were aiming for.  Normally, there is a tram service direct to the bus station, but at the moment they're reconstructing the tram tracks and there's a replacement bus service.   We just missed one replacement bus, and for some reason there was a 15 minute delay before the next (very crowded) one came along.   Then it got stuck in the traffic snarl caused by the tram works.  By the time we got to the point where we were supposed to transfer to the regular tram, we had less than 15 minutes remaining!    Hence, a quickly flagged taxi, hardly any queue at the bus station booking office, and we were on the bus with a sigh of relief and a few minutes to spare!  I might mention at this point that our experience of the regional buses so far is that they invariably leave on time - sometimes a minute or so early.

It's also worth mentioning that we have often been assisted by locals.   Two particular cases were (a) when we asked for directions in Mostar as to how to get from the bus station to the Old Bridge, not only were the girls we asked very helpful, but when they saw us again again down the road, they came up to us to confirm that we were on the right track; and (b) when we got off the replacement bus at the transfer point on the way to the Sarajevo bus station, not only did the bus driver tell us which tram to catch when we asked, but when we didn't seem to be doing the right thing (we were looking for a taxi instead of the tram), he came up to us again to make sure that we were OK. And we have always received polite responses to all our numerous enquiries for directions in the street and elsewhere.