When the mind wonders off – part III

In Mostar it is still possible to see some wounds of the recent past, but they are patching them up and even the old bridge has been reconstructed. The town itself, with its old center, town walls, towers and other remarkable sights, is a true jewel where east meets west.

Over Montenegro and to the Albanian border, where the true adventure began. It started somewhat before the border, for we had to have talk to many the locals while we were approaching the crossing, for there were no signs and the people were not sure, which path to take, to get to the boarder crossing check point. After turning round many a time, we finally found the crossing near the village of Vladimir.

Believe it or not, we crossed without any problems and were soon on the main road to Tirana. It was a regular road, which leads straight to the center of the capital. The only thing that surprised us with this two lane highway was that it had no asphalt and there were many holes in it, so while we made our way down this busy road, we observer other cars bouncing around in various rhythms. The road was a very special automotive dance floor where cars were jumping up and down with one or the other side sticking up and we simply had to laugh about this – one of the most amusing – roads, leading to the center of the capital city.

Tirana didn’t leave an impression on us, but Albania itself did have a lot of beauty to offer. We made many photos on the way to Elbasan – with many breath taking views on the way.

Over Macedonia we went on to Greece. Driving along the empty roads was a pleasure, so passing the national park Ohrid and around lake Prespan the temperatures were high enough for us to camp more and more. Sometimes at organized camps, other times under the cloudless skies. In Greece we stopped at Meteora, known for monasteries in steep rocky mountain faces. Some of them have been inhabited since 14th century and we even met a monk in the monastery of St. Nick, who admitted he was bored and enjoyed chatting with us.
 
Leaving Europe we entered Turkey, laying on both continents. Istanbul, the only city in the world that lies on two continents, fascinated us. The people were friendly and warm and the architecture was astounding, with numerous mosques, Turkish baths, bazaars, Byzantine water reservoirs, and much more. We spent a bit more time there, but if we’d stay in every place for as long as we thought necessary to take in all the beauty, we wouldn’t have returned home by now.

Galatasaray is a magic word that connected us to many locals – what can I say, football is an universal language.

The Syrian border had a bad rocky road leading up to it, where an official looked at us like a cow does at an oncoming train, but just said: "Welcome to Syria". I was the only one without an entry visa, so I went ahead to clear that. Slovenian citizens can get it at the border crossing itself, but the officials tried to convince me otherwise. After talking for a while they told me “$32” and I started wondering who was right. I secured enough of the local currency from the bank across the street, but when I’ve returned they finally told me what the real problem was, with the words: "Baksheesh, baksheesh." I paid them the price of the visa and tried to hold on to my principals, knowing I was right, but they didn’t give in either.

The only bank note I had with me was for €10, so I’ve parted with it, but the surprise boarder guard didn’t know what a Euro was, so he went to his boss, showed him the bank note in secrecy and came back with my passport and visa and gave me a satisfying pat on the back. All of them wished me: „Welcome, welcome.“ But all I’ve cared about was getting my passport back.

Next time, we really – at last – get to the African continent.