Arriving in Austria.

In Zagreb we booked tickets to Austria, and even got an official to show us to our compartment, on the right train this time! When we reached the compartment I extended my hand to thank him for being the only decent official we had met so far, and when he extended his callous fat paw towards me, it was upturned, waiting for a tip. We gave him what we had which was only 2c as we had spent all our Yugoslavian money. He complained muttered and turned and stormed off. I was really disappointed, I thought I had nearly found a decent official.
We had good seats, slept a bit, and got off in Austria, at a station 3 hours from Innsbruck to wait for a connecting train, so we would arrive when everything would be open. There was a marked difference in train service, now we were clearly in a Germanic country, efficient, cleaner and some how colder.

My favorite European train ride

We have been wearing our Russian hats all the time and getting some strange reactions.The hats are not as common here as in Belgrade (Serbia), or Zagreb(Croatia). We realized that the hats are typical of the Croatian or Serbian regions and that's why the Slovenians are giving us strange looks.
We went to the Ljubljana train station to catch the train to Austria and were told the wrong platform. Not knowing this we boarded the train which was bursting with people, all with a million bags and parcels. We managed to squeeze into seats. But here a ticket doesn't automatically allow you to sit, you have to pay extra. So we were squeezed onto our seats, between scruffy rough men and fat farmer's wife type women, when the conductor came and checked our tickets. He spoke no English, and was telling us gruffly to get up off the seats, we argued back, which he obviously couldn't understand, and eventually, with the whole village bearing down on us, we moved into the corridor. I was so pissed off, I went up to the conductor, blew him a sarcastic kiss right in his face, gave him a big smile and then let rip at the top of my voice, with added hand gestures, explaining he should be more polite. At the height of my performance we pulled into a station, and we realized, in slow motion, that we were going in the wrong direction, and that is what he was trying to tell us, not to move seats. Poor man, I think I really scared him. So battling to manoeuvre our backpacks we disembarked, once again in Zagreb.

Yugoslavian drunk

Her is a conversation we had with the girl who was in the food hall in Ljubljana, and seemed to be drunk and down and out:
Me: Where did you learn English?
Girl: School, why do you ask?
Me; Because few Yugoslavs do.
Girl: Yes I'm at school, we are on holiday. I'm drunk today.
Me: Oh.
Girl: Yes, yesterday I smoke and jump off bridge onto train track, hurt my leg. Now I must go to the doctor because I walk slow (she had hurt her leg). These people are my only friends, they are really good people (the tramps). They drink too much etc, etc. (she said etc, etc, not me)
Me: What are you studying?
Girl: Psychology.
Me: How long have you got to go?
Girl: Three years etc, etc.

Ljubljana

You really know you are in a foreign country when there are signs in four languages and English isn't one of them. While waiting for the train in Zagreb we got talking to some Russian ladies decked out in fur coats and hats. They seemed to really be patriotic, and it seems the more I travel the people are the same no matter what form of government they live under.

We took the train to Ljubljana in Slovenia, the capital, and near the Austrian boarder. We had three hours there before our train left for Austria, so we didn't bother leaving our luggage at the station as it was too expensive. Instead we walked around with our full backpacks on.Each city has a different atmosphere. This one in definitely more European, there are more delicatessens, and a ski centre, with brightly clad people walking about with skis. The snow on the streets was mid-calf! As usual we made for the old part of town, with it's narrow cobbled streets, a square and a river. It is one of the nicest city rivers we have seen, as it is narrow with a lot of bridges crossing over made of heavy stone, and some with arches. It reminds me of Venice. We found a self service lunch. These places are amazing people from all walks of life come here. There are ladies in fur and winos. We sat near to some tramp looking people - a young girl, young man and an elderly couple. There were some really sad looking characters there - this was far from the Belgrade opera. These people were what I will remember of Ljubljana.

More Zagreb before leaving for Ljubljana

We took a tram (didn't pay) just to pass the time and see a bit more of the city. 15 minutes in each direction. Then we went to the Comedia Theatre, and saw Tsar Frau Comes to Zagreb - a musical comedy in Serb-Croatian. It is the story of the opening of the first theatre in Zagreb. Very colorful, with minimal sets but gorgeous costumes. Good music and good singing - although of course we didn't understand a word. It cost us $8! The n we went to a little cafe across the street, it was empty, apart from the owner, so we flirted with him and made jokes. Paz made her own tea, and I directed him how to make mine. Delicious espresso with milk. I really love Zagreb, it is quaint, and full of character and like Belgrade has the feel of Paris in it's hay day, with a lot of artists around. Then back to the hostel, bed - after being awake 40 hours! -

It is very strange not having any contact with home and having to wait until Innsbruck before we get post.

Photo by Jhnwkfrd

First look at zagreb

We arrived in Zagreb at 12 noon. The city, being a little smaller than Belgrade, makes a lot of difference. Zagreb is in the Croatian Republic of Yugoslavia. The station is surrounded by parks and we found the youth hostel easily. It cost $11 which is cheaper than Belgrade, but still more than we would like to have paid, although Austria will probably be more expensive. We met a Japanese girl there who came with us into town to the tourist info to get maps. We also arranged to meet her in the evening to see a play. Then we set out to see the city on foot. First a Cathedral - one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. From a distance you can see the twin Baroque steeples rising above the city sky line. The Cathedral is like a Disney palace. Outside is another tall steeple with a gold figure of Mary on top, and at the bottom gold angels. The gold really glows in the snow. Inside the stained glass windows are more like a kaleidoscope than pictures. All around the edges of the cathedral are alters set up by various patrons/artists. The whole area is very Catholic and there is a Nunnery attached to the Cathedral.

We walked up very steep wooden steps to the top of a hill in the centre of town and constitutes the old part of the city. Then we walked down cobbled streets looking at all the little shops. One of the cobbled streets leads under an arch and underneath is an alter to some saint. It is very dark except for the candlelight. We found a fruit market which was closing up but we wandered down between the stalls and found a hat stall. We both bought rabbit fur Russian style hats for $25 to add to our hat collection. This was a bargain, and the sales man was happy as we paid in Dollars. We were squealing with glee at our purchase. They have flaps on the sides which can be tied up or come down to cover your ears. Our heads will be warm for winter. It is a big splurge but it will last me a long time.

Photo by Gothphil

Belgrade train station in the middle of the night.

We were loaded up like camels as usual, and standing right next to the train, on the platform, as we looked for the compartment number we had booked. When the train just started moving away from up. Here we were in Belgrade station, the temperature dropping, and surrounded by very suspicious looking characters, and the next train was at 3am. The waiting lounge was square, with wooden benches, but there was no chance of us getting inside. It was lined with people on the benches and the floor, spread out for the night, with sack like blankets, and bundles bags all around them. There were screaming babies, and children walking around shivering from the cold with hardly enough clothes on. The waiting room was also full of smoke, as nearly everyone over the age of 10 was either smoking or drinking from a vodka bottle. So we stayed outside on the platform. Through the smokey glass window of the waiting room I saw what appeared to be a women with underpants over her trousers, dancing and performing to her sleeping audience, as she waved a bottle of whiskey in her hand. When she turned around I saw it was a young girl or boy of about 8 years old. I suppose they were Gypsies. There were creepy men who eyed us as we went from platform to ticket office - which was warmer - and back. Eventually they kicked everyone out of the ticket area, and everyone spilled onto the platform. We went to a bench on the platform which was further away from them but still in the light, so it seemed safer. The temperature reached -5 Centigrade. At 2am we got all hopeful that there was only an hour to go, then they announced it would be delayed for 3 hours, and leave only at 6am. I went into the ticket office, it was ridicules that the room was empty which everyone froze outside. We were battling to stay awake. SO we spread out one sleeping bag, sat on it and covered ourselves with the other, and had some cheese and bread. Eventually y the train arrived at 4am after being sent to the wrong platform a few times. And we settled into a compartment with 5 men, and found it was the most pleasant of our trips, we weren't harassed at all.

Seeing Belgrade

We were constantly looking for cheap warm clothes to buy, and a hat to add to my collection. We walked to Republic Square, there we saw lots of statues of Tito and the Moscow Hotel. The city has some beautiful parks, and as it was snowing and the trees were bare, it looked like a picture in black and white. We walked around a Serbian fortress,Kalemegdan, and from it's wall we could see the meeting of the Sava and Danube rivers. The water was frozen, and the snow kept falling.

We walked from the park to an older part of Belgrade. I really like the Yugoslavian architecture, it is all very old and dark against the snow, like the buildings you see in Red Square. There are lots of open spaces and the trolley cars keep rolling by. If the people were in period costume and the neon signs gone, it could be the turn of the century. We came across the home of Princess Ljubica (Violet). She was a Serbian Princess. We walked through the home which is fully furnished , and has family portraits on the walls - all in Turkish dress. It is fascinating how many cultures have influenced the area.

Next we went to the Museum of Revolution. "The nations and Nationalities of Yugoslavia". It cost us a whopping 5cents to get in and we were the only ones there. Most of the museum was photographs, showing the history of worker's unions, followed by the WWII period and then Tito. The building is where the Union of Unaligned Nations used to meet ie. the 3rd world socialist countries. It was very cold inside and a bit repetitive.

We next happened upon the Parliament building . Another beautiful building with a large area in front of it, and a huge staircase going up to it, with statues of a man battling with a horse on either side. Very effective.

We walked up and down a boulevard of cobbled stones, line with interesting shops and a square at either end. We settled for lunch in an eating hall, which was large and bare. We had a delicious spaghetti. Then latter we went to the opera for $6!!! and saw Rigoletto by Verdi. So cheap and so unusual an activity to be doing in Belgrade. It was well performed, and the stage was quite bare as they rotate performances. We saw a list of up coming events and they have lots of ballet, opera and theatre every night in several venues. Extremely cultural city.

Thoroughly satisfied we went to the station to catch our 23:20 train to Zagreb.

Photo by Boggy

Belgrade

We were shocked when we first saw the hostel as it looked more like a hotel. From the outside we could see through the window a bell boy and people in hotel uniforms and carpets! So we entered and discovered it is both a hostel and a hotel. The hostel price was $20! Our daily budget is $15. But it was too late to find anywhere else and we were too cold., so we stayed, and complained bitterly to each other.

The room was wonderful. We had a 6 bunk, carpeted, heated room, with bathroom on suit, fresh sheets, heavy blankets, and we were the only ones in the room. We both showered twice. Next morning we went down for breakfast and were treated to ham, eggs, toast and tea. We decided that we wanted to keep moving. So we checked out and went down to the station where we put our bags in lockers and proceeded to rush around the whole city trying to stuff everything in Belgrade into one day. We wanted to catch an evening train so we could sleep on the train and save on a night's hostel.

Photo from Wikivisual

Arriving in Belgrade

We got on the morning train to Belgrade and had a pretty uneventful 8 hour journey, stuffed in a compartment with a lot of stinky women and children. At one point they got a boy to pee into a plastic cup, to save him the trip to the loo. He nearly made the cup overflow as we waited holding our breath.
We arrived in Belgrade to the normal big city mess. Two booths with nothing separating them, one was info and the other something else. Info was closed and in the other a lady sat, we asked her to just pass us a map from the info booth and she wouldn't. Then a hamburger stand tried to rip us off, charging $6 instead of $1. The station itself is very beautiful and when we arrived it was snowing, and the old fashioned trolley cars made the whole scene look like a Christmas card. We eventually got to the Hotel Mladost in a suburb 15 minutes away by trolley. ( We discovered that here, like in Athens it is possible to ride on the trolley and just carry an unclicked ticket and look like a dumb tourist).

Another act of good will.

We saw a Turkish Inn - we had also seen one in Acco, Israel - two tiers of arches in a square courtyard. After that we experienced another good deed. A few days before we had been approached by a man in the same area who had invited us to tea in his shop, and we had been very blunt with him and moved on. We really get followed and harassed every hour by keen young men. But now we bumped into the man again, just as I was saying to Paz that some of the offers must be innocent. Anyway we had decided that we should accept some of the offers for tea or coffee. In daylight, not dark alleys. Anyway so we encountered this man again and allowed ourselves to be ushered into a jewellery shop, 3 paces square. We sat on the window sill and enjoyed lemon tea. It was all pleasant and safe, the place was overflowing with men and we managed to banter in pigeon English about our respective countries. They were Muslim Albanians.

We left then and walked back "home". I said to Paz:"I believe in God". Just when you think all humanity is fucked up, he goes and gives you a couple of examples to the contrary. Pure good will. I firmly believe that you have to keep an eye out for these moments or you can miss them.

Paz is more cautious than me but when need be she can tell people off better than me. So when we get harassed I just stand back and let her sock it to them. We are having a lot of laughs, we are in glee most of the time. When Paz laughs she pees, and I constantly have her peeing!

Tomorrow Belgrade.

Photo by Pijlmans

My best experience in Skopje

We went into a very small dark restaurant that was full of people. It reminded me of an old Elizabethan house in England, because of all the dark old wood. We squeezed up stairs, and found a table, then the waiter came and we began asking prices. We thought the prices were too high, so we excused ourselves and got up to leave. Then the waiter said "OK - No money!" "Sit,sit." We didn't really know where to put ourselves but we kept sitting, and he turned up with two full plates of meat potatoes and veg! As he put the plates down we were insisting, it was a mistake as we couldn't pay. But without a smile, and as if our protesting was just an irritation, he slapped the food down on the table, "eat, eat" and went away. Later tea arrived, and we continued trying to explain we had no money, as we were sure he had just not understood the English. We kept waiting for the catch. We left with our stomachs, purses and hearts full. He simply waved us away, as if he was too busy to stop and be thanked. It was such a wonderful experience of good hearted kind behavior, it rekindled my belief in mankind, and the memory of that good deed will be with me forever as an example of how I too should behave.
Photo by Alexanyan

Yugoslavia 101

ON Monday morning we were treated to eggs for breakfast, and then set out first to the bank, who would not accept a $100 bill as it had been ripped and stuck back together. Then we found a very efficient Tourist Info lady who we sat down and questioned more about the political situation. She had lived in Italy, studied in Germany and England, and she too told us about the 6 republics of Yugoslavia and 2 provinces. SO you get 8 people running the country with no permanent president. She reiterated that the Serbs hate the Croats, and she gave us a short potted history. (Excuse me if this is incorrect it is just what we were told).

Yugoslavia was divided between Germany, Turkey and others and Macedonia was conquered by several different people. At one point a Serbia Tsar and another king. Then the war followed by Tito. I asked if he was good or bad, she said that the two good thins he had done were to keep Yugoslavia from becoming part of the Russian Eastern Block, and for preventing a civil war after WWII, as there were lots of vengeful feelings against the Yugoslavs who had collaborated with Hitler. So she said Tito had an iron fist, but it was necessary. There were 22 million in the country and only 2 million Communists, so under Tito the minority ruled.When he died the nations regional identities surfaced and she said, every one if free to do everything, but it is just as bad as when they could do nothing,as there is no control. The markets are flooded with products that are not in demand, and there are no restrictions as to what can be produced or sold. In some places salaries simply are not payed. Last month the pensioners did not get their pensions. There are also a large number of foreigners in Yugoslavia, including Gypsies, who she thinks come from India. Most Yugoslavs are adamant about not joining the Russian Block and are very patriotic. In this area there are Orthodox Christians and Muslims, and the Eastern influence can be felt. In the North the people have a milder temperament like the Germans, the Northerners also have more Catholics.

So having sat through Yugoslavian political History 101, we crossed over the river to the Turkish Old City in search of lunch.

The movies in Macedonia

We found and ate a greasy pie like thing, that reminded me of the cheesy pies in Greece. We then walked into the shopping centre complex, and wandered around. It was dirty, plain and half empty. We found a cinema and decided to spoil ourselves as movies are only $2.50 (30 Dinar). We rushed in to see the film "Memphis Bell" and were told it would be delayed for an hour. Only now did we discover that our watches were an hour fast, and that the time must have changed when we crossed the boarder. We nearly peed ourselves with laughter at the thought that we had been rushing down to breakfast every morning at 7am. The poor waiter, who had probably just got there himself, must have thought we were really hungry.
The cinema was ice cold, but a nice change. After that we went home to a nice cup of shower water tea, and then to bed.

St. Klimen Ohridski, Cathedral, Skopje

I was feeling pretty home sick and looking forward to getting some letters when we reach Innsbruck. I hope everyone is O.K. It was a Sunday and we got up for breakfast, then went back to bed until 12 noon. Then we faffed around cleaning boots, doing some washing by hand, writing letters etc. At about 3pm we felt guilty for not going out and decided we better face the cold and make the most of what was left of the day. We walked and walked and walked.Saw beautiful trees covered with snow, and saw where the people actually live, in tenement buildings, flats and the residential areas. We walked on the modern side of the river, looking for lunch. Eventually we came to a circular church with domes. Being a Sunday, there was a service going on and we went in. An orthodox Yugoslavian church, with a congregation of maybe 3. No pews, wonderful colored murals, places to light candles and stands with pictures of Jesus which were meant to be kissed. The cantor/ priest stood behind a screen then appeared and did the thing with the swinging incense, as he walked around. The religion is very similar to the Catholic, but the cross themselves in the opposite direction and work on a different calender, which is two weeks ahead of the Catholics. The circular space was dominated by the biggest chandelier I have ever seen in my life, I mean huge. Hanging low down and weighing 4 tone. We also saw a squadron of munchkin like tubby round women wearing blue dust/house coats and black scarves on their heads and tied under their chins. They slopped around in their slippers with no reverence to G-d or Guinea pig. One munchkin scurried to the alter screen where an over sized panel opens up surreptitiously and she whispered to the Wizard of Oz behind it, that he can now come out to start the ceremony. We continued our hunt for what would now be dinner, not lunch.

Photo by MikeL-911

Eating in Skopje

There is a big fort like structure and we figured out it must be Kale Fortress. We crossed the river and ambled through the modern-type streets. There is definately a different flavor to the two sides of the river. We bought a loaf of bread for 70c (US), then sought out lunch. We found Tito square where our book tells us the cheapest lunches are to be found in self service restaurants. We sat in one restaurant and the waiter proceeded to tell us that vertually everything on the menu was not on the menu. So we found a self service place. It reminded me of the Salvation Army. A large dark hall of brown tables, with crumpled old bearded men bent over their goulash and chunks of bread. We got our goulash. The potatoes in it were suspiciously shaped like yesterdays chips. It contained meat, potatoes, a few peas and the rest was a bit vague. But it cost only $2 so we eat it! Onwards to the market. We really love the markets. We bought some milk, went back to the hostel and made tea from hot shower water. Then spent the rest of the eveningin bed or eating left over liver pate from breakfast, with the bread we had bought.

Photo by Mikel-911

Skopje, Yugoslavia

Saturday morning we got up and went to the extremely cafeteria looking restaurant in our hostel for breakfast. I swear, the old guys there having breakfast were drinking vodka instead of tea! Then back up to bed until 11am. Our window has iced over, so we can't even see out of it. We each had a great hot shower. I think I have some lice creatures living in my hair. Then we went out hoping to find a monument or two. We were surprised at how much was open on a Saturday, and again we crossed over the river and went to the Bazaar. We got lost and found ourselves in front of a locked mosque, and then a contemporary art museum on a hill. The place was empty except for some guy that worked there, he let us in for free and walked around with us, as he told us he thought there would soon be war in Yugoslavia. He gave us quite an insight into the way the everyday citizen felt about the conditions they live under. He blamed politics for the half empty museum. They had a great collection of contemporary American graphic art, but the rest was mostly bare walls, at least not my taste. We also got a good panoramic view of the city from the museum. Then we trudged down the hill through snow and icy wind towards the river.
Photo by Pijlmans

Impressions of Yugoslavia

These are the impressions we got of Yugoslavia from the few people who could and would talk to us about anything slightly political:

The country was under Russian/communist rule up until WWII, then during the German infiltration of Yugoslavia a new leader emerged, Tito, who led the country into "independence" and a new form of socialism. Ten years ago Tito died and the government since then has been socialist, but the feeling is that in the next elections (96) the country will be fully democratic and is trying desperately to join the EEC. There post boxes are yellow like in Greece, and I have heard that the English red ones are now also painted yellow. There are mixed feelings about whether Tito was good or bad, but there are still streets named after him and statues to the soldiers of the liberation army. There are many different nationalities here. The Bulgarians have apparently been coming in in droves taking all the Jobs. There is incredible unemployment. Yugoslavia has several sections within it: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia&Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia. They all feel extremely loyal to their regions, and there are now meetings going on to form a looser federal government, with less centralized power. The Serbs and Croats hate each other. There are of course Russians here, and many other languages are spoken. The standard language that people presume we speak is German, as in Thessaloniki they would always start with "Spreken die Deutch?"

The Old Bazaar, Skopje

We entered the old bazaar a collection of cobbled streets with small wooden shops, and minarets rising above. A lot of furriers with strings of carcases hanging outside. A lot of people wear fur hats here. Somehow it doesn't seem politically incorrect, as they really use them for warmth not fashion, although perhaps it shows there lack of knowledge of opinions in the rest of the world on the subject. We went into a small wooden restaurant and had a pickle, tomato and cheese salad with a sausage and roll on the side. All for $6. We ended it off with a small thick Turkish coffee, and then continued exploring the bazaar. The fruit and fish market we came to was just closing and people were lighting fires in large barrels, while people gathered around to keep warm. There are stands that sell hamburgers in a pita bread for $1, so I don't think a traveller can starve in Skopje. We went into a few of the fur shops for fun to try on the Russian hats they were $35 for sheepskin, $45 for rabbit and $100 for fox fur.

We headed back to the hostel and decided to do a lot of hibernating over the weekend as our room and beds were very warm and comfortable. The toilets are just a hole in the floor that you have to squat over. The Serbo-Croatian language is so different from anything we have encountered before, although similar to Greek and Russian. Between us we have a travellers understanding of French, German, Dutch, Spanish and English of course, but in Yugoslavia it is all down to sign language.

Skopje

It was now about lunch time and we decided to go in search of food. It worries me how much of our time is spent looking for food, and doing mundane orientation type acts. Our travel info is not always correct, like our hostel which was called cramped and is not, and maps from the station which there were not. We headed out following directions to the "Turkish" side of town. There is an old city and a new city and the river Vardar runs through Skopje separating the two. We crossed the river on one of the many bridges and came to an area where most of the streets are cobbled, and covered in that dreadful black ice. We peeked into several clothes shops and looked at coat prices which were between $50 -$200.
We were pleasantly surprised by the number of shops and modern facilities in a very logically planned city. The ease with which we found our hostel for example left us asking each other, where is the catch.