The Train to Moscow

On Sunday morning, despite not having a Belarus transit visa, we set off for a suburban train station to catch the 10:38 train to Moscow. We had butterflies in our stomachs, not knowing what lied ahead. As we left the hotel, the doorman said he hoped he would see us again soon. We replied in unison, "Not too soon, we hope".

At the station we went to buy two first class tickets. There were none available. The train was full! What about second class? The same thing. The train was full. We couldn't believe it. How can a whole train on a 24 hour journey be full? After a few moments of standing there looking forlorn, the ticket agent suggested that we could try buying a ticket from the conductor on the train.We went to the platform and waited. There were a lot of other people waiting as well. Finally, just after 10, three dirty second class sleeper cars showed up. This was not what we had expected. We approached the conductor who asked in Russian for our tickets. When we gestured we wanted to buy some, he gave us a signal that clearly indicated the train was full. As we stood there trying to decide what to do, a young Polish couple came by and asked if they could help. They spoke to the conductor and reported that the train was full, but maybe someone won't show up. We should wait. We started to chat and I asked him about transit visas. He said it shouldn't be a problem. He didn't need one with his Polish EU Passport. We had both Canadian and British EU Passports.

For the next half hour, we stood near the stern gold toothed conductor. A few moments before the scheduled departure, he showed me a small piece of paper with the number 300 followed by an 's'. I took this to mean each ticket would be 300 zlotys, about 10 pc more than the cost of a second class ticket at the counter. I nodded in agreement. I counted our money and we were short by the amount we had left the housekeeper as a tip! But I suddenly remembered I had a similar amount in my 'fake wallet'. If we got on, we'd have enough cash to pay to pay the fare. As for the visa, we’d worry about it later. We had euros and dollars. With a minute to go, the conductor signaled for us to get on the train.

We settled onto a small compartment with two beds. The conductor came by and while gesturing to the beds, tried to explain something in Russian that I didn't fully understand. But it seemed like another person would be joining us at Terrespol, the last stop in Poland. We didn't care since we were happy to be on the train and not likely to have trouble at the border.
After the train left the station, I went into the next car to visit the couple who had helped us at the station. They were delighted we had made it with just enough cash. They were drinking beer with another couple, who it turned out, were Russians now living in Toronto. I told them about my difficulty understanding the conductor and they offered to help if I needed translation assistance.

I asked them about visas for Belarus. The girl said there shouldn’t be a problem. Her boyfriend was traveling on a Canadian passport and he didn't have one. If there was a problem, I may have to give the border guards money. "That’s how things work around here, I’m afraid to say."
I returned to our compartment to give Sally the news. We laughed at the absurdity of being pleased with ourselves even though we would be on a dingy train for 24 hours with no dining car and no zlotys. Then our conductor appeared and I gave him the agreed upon amount.
He shook his head. "Nyet", he said. "Dollars, no zlotys." I didn't bother to ask if he would take Visa or Mastercard! I knew we had a problem.

I went to see the girl living in Toronto who agreed his request was ridiculous and offered to help me out. She and the conductor got into a long discussion which I didn’t understand until I heard the subject of passports and transit visas came up. After a few more minutes, she turned to me and said, "I'm so sorry but you’re going to have to leave the train. Even if you pay him what he wants, he can't guarantee he can get you into Belarus without a visa. Things have changed. It’s better to get off at the next stop than be turned away at the border five hours from now."
I went back to Sally who was curled up with her new Harry Potter book and gave her the news. Then the conductor came by and gestured that the train was stopping and we must get off right away. But he wanted 20 dollars for all his troubles!The next thing I knew, the train had stopped at a platform and he was carrying Sally’s bag to the exit. As he hurried us off, I stuffed some zlotys into his hand and he passed Sally's bag onto the platform. As the train pulled away, the Russian girl and her boyfriend were standing over him. "I’m so sorry" she said. I wished them good luck.So there we were at a deserted train station one and a half hours from Warsaw. I checked inside and there would be a train in an hour. I now realized I would have to give up on my idea of traveling from Istanbul to Moscow by train. Despite the cost, we would fly in the morning. Assuming all the planes were not fully booked! Before the train arrived, I went into an internet cafй at the station. I found the Belarus website for UK, and Brits did indeed need a transit visa. Moreover, the fees had just gone up in June. It now cost 79 pounds for processing within 48 hours. Even if we could have bought our way out of the situation, it would likely have cost a few hundred dollars each. All Sally could say was that she hopes Canada beats Belarus in their next hockey game.The train ride back to Warsaw was uneventful. We returned to our hotel and I set out to purchase two plane tickets on the internet. I came across a Danish website with a better price on Aerosvit, a Ukrainian airline. By traveling through Kiev we could save about $400, and we wouldn't need a transit visa!

It was the afternoon of the Open Championship, so we set off for a sports bar in the nearby Marriot Hotel, where we managed to catch the last 9 holes seated near a very excited Irish couple whose cousin was married to Padraig Harrington. We missed the 4 hole play-off since Polish television didn't carry it. But we read a text account over the internet. Poor Sergio.

The next morning, after another breakfast of smoked salmon, caviar and champagne, we set off for the airport. This time we would not be back. Around 4 o’clock, we arrived at a small Moscow airport. We went to the information desk where we showed the lady our cruise coupon with the address of the port. "Take the 851 bus outside" she said. "It will take you there." I thought she had to be kidding, but as we left the terminal, there was an 851 bus, so we got on. An hour later, we were let off at a Metro station in what seemed like the middle of the city. All we had was a picture of the ship, and the address in English. I showed it to a few people, including some taxi drivers, reflecting on the absurdity of the situation. "Do you know where we can find this ship?"Eventually, someone came along and offered to help in English. With a smile, he said we were actually quite close. We didn’t need to take the Metro, or a taxi. We could walk to the ship, and he gave us directions. So there we were, walking along a busy Moscow street, pulling our luggage, looking for a 5 storey cruise ship!Eventually we found it, next to a Stalinesque Port Building, and are now aboard. We look forward to 11 relaxing days of cruising up the Volga to St. Petersburg. Now someone else can make all the arrangements. Pass me the vodka.

Revitalized Warsaw

Before arriving in Warsaw, we could only think of one thing: grey. That was our image of the city. It turned out that we were very wrong.

Stepping out of what was once a clean, modern 1970’s train station, we were met by two amazing sights; the gigantic and imposing Museum of Culture, built by Stalin, and the Palonia Palace Hotel, just a short distance away. But to get there we had to climb through sand and construction debris since the tram tracks were being replaced along what appeared to be the major road in the city.

The hotel, with its beautiful renovated skylit lobby, was a very welcoming site. Once again, my name got us a good room since it was pronounced almost the same way as the Hotel General Manager, Peter Goehle. After cleaning up, we left the hotel to explore. But we were soon back since it started to rain. Sally found her rarely used rain jacket. I found a small umbrella hidden at the bottom of the luggage, and we were off. After ten minutes we couldn’t go any further, since an amazing thunder and lightning storm was happening. I started to imagine a conversation at the Richmond Country Club. “Did you hear about the Gellers? They were struck by lightening in Warsaw.” “What in the world were they doing in Warsaw?”When the storm subsided we tried to find the celebrated ‘Old Town’. But it was getting darker and wetter, so we decided to return to the area around our hotel. We found a pedestrian street lined with rain soaked restaurants, and went into the most Polish looking place, the Kaiser Restaurant. Since there were no pictures on the menu, we asked if there was one in English. It arrived, but we still didn’t know what most of the items were, so we asked for recommendations. We had one of the best meals of our trip.

The next morning we enjoyed the best breakfast of our trip. It's not often that we have champagne, vodka and caviar for breakfast.

After eating enough for a week, I went onto the internet to explore the options for getting to Moscow. The plane fares that I found were ridiculously expensive (you could get a return ticket across Canada for less than the cost of the two hour flight) but there was a train routing that avoided Belarus, through Lithuania and Latvia. (I had always wanted to go to these places!) We then set off for the train station and a Travel Agency to enquire about Visas, plane and train tickets. On our way we came across a bookstore with a Harry Potter poster in the window. It was July 21st, the day of the release of the latest and final installment. Sally went inside to see, if by any chance, they had an English version. “We only have an English version” said a very charming girl. “It won’t be translated into Polish for a long time.”

We had much less success at the offices of LOT, the Polish airline and train station. At LOT we were told a return ticket would be the equivalent of $780, but a one way ticket was about $670. For the two hour flight.

At the train station, the news was worse. The route that I had found through Lithuania and Latvia was not a viable option. “It will take 30 hours to Riga” said a very knowledgeable young man. “Furthermore, there’s no train connection to Moscow.”
I asked him about the alternatives. There were three direct trains to Moscow, including a morning train that left from a suburban station at 10:35, arriving at 9:20. Perfect we thought, but what about a transit visa. “I think you will need one” he said. “I see people being turned back all the time.” We went upstairs and found a very harried travel agent. She spoke a bit of English. “You don’t want to fly to Moscow” she said. “Very expensive. Come back on Monday.”

During our entire trip, we had never been in a predicament quite like this. We had been fortunate to find a cruise that fit our dates, and managed to reserve one of the few remaining cabins. We had arranged a last minute visa to Russia in about an hour. I really wanted to travel all the way from Istanbul to Moscow by train but we didn’t have a visa for Belarus, and weren’t absolutely sure if we could get there without one. At the same time, I was reluctant to pay almost $1500 for a two hour flight. Furthermore, the transfer from the airport to the cruise ship could be another $100.

In the end, we decided we would take the morning train, thinking the worst that could happen would be getting turned back at the border. At least it would be daylight, and we would still have time to return to Warsaw from where we would take the plane the next morning. Armed with this decision, we set out to see the sights of Warsaw. We found a surprisingly beautiful city. It wasn’t grey at all. The buildings were impressive; there was a lot of renovation and new construction taking place; there were impressive gardens and the Old Town, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site was remarkable for its ‘historic’ painted buildings that had been rebuilt following the war. There were good facilities for tourists, including a public transit bus that visited many of the major sites, and we had a terrific afternoon. That evening, we had dinner in the Old Town square, listening to a jazz concert. We then came across a large tent where hundreds of people were gathered to watch a filmed version of an opera. It was all free. Around 10:30, anticipating a big day on Sunday, we returned to our hotel and settled into our very luxurious surroundings. As we ate the chocolates on our pillows, we couldn't help but wonder where we would be sleeping the next night!

Krakow: Jewish Style

We had not initially planned on coming to Poland. However, just before leaving Vancouver, I had a very enjoyable breakfast with Tom Staniskis with whom I have worked on numerous projects over the years. He urged me to consider a visit to Poland, and this was echoed by other travelers we met along the way. They all recommended Warsaw and Krakow, a historic city that wasn’t bombed during the war. I was also interested in visiting Poland as a result of a recent front page story in the International Herald Tribune describing an interesting new phenomenon in Poland; the resurgence of Jewish Culture amongst Poland’s younger generations of non-Jews. Krakow was particularly singled out for its new restaurants featuring traditional Jewish style foods and music.

Another reason for coming to Poland was the Russian visa situation. Despite the assurances from the Russian Embassy official in Prague, both my travel agent and the cruise booking agency were insistent that I needed a visa to get into Russia. Moreover, we might need a ‘transit visa’ to travel by train through Belarus.

Upon arriving in Krakow Thursday morning, we checked into a hotel with the odd name of Qubus. It was a new hotel, selected by Sally, with a rooftop swimming pool and spa facility that was a delight to use after a night on the train. We then set off to find a place for breakfast. While most were closed, we stumbled upon the Hotel Ester where we enjoyed a very nice Jewish-style buffet breakfast with different kinds of smoked fish and herring. Well I enjoyed the herring. Sally preferred the fresh fruit.

Then we were off to the Russian Embassy. It was closed. You would think we would have learned by now. We now know it is only open Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings everywhere in Europe!

We spent the rest of the day touring around with the hop-on hop-off bus. Krakow is a very beautiful historic city. Unfortunately, we have been spoilt with beautiful cities during the past few weeks. Indeed, as we reflect on our travels, we are reminded of the old movie, “If it’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium”.
DURING THE PAST MONTH, WE HAVE BEEN TO 11 COUNTRIES:
Turkey, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and now Poland.

In the afternoon, Sally set off to visit some surprisingly elegant shopping centres, while I returned to the old Jewish quarter. I found ads for Klezmer concerts, Jewish bookstores, Noah’s Ark Restaurant, Yoshe’s Fashions, a car blazoned with Hebrew advertising for Restaurant Ethnicza, and Travel Agencies offering ‘Schindler’s List’ Trips. That evening, we had dinner at the Ariel Restaurant, seated next to a German tour group. We all had the Jewish specialties and listened to Yiddish melodies played by a small combo. It was almost surreal since none of the people in the restaurant, or working in the Jewish businesses were Jewish. The next morning we set off for the Russian Embassy. Outside we met a very helpful fellow, who was picking up Visas for his truck drivers. He asked if we had our AIDS certificate. “What?” I asked. “A medical certificate confirming we don’t have AIDS” he replied. “Is this required by everyone?” Sally asked. He responded that all Poles were required to produce this, and it can take some time to get one. “Oh my God”, we thought.

After waiting quite a while, we were finally admitted into the Embassy. We were instructed to fill out more application forms, and went to see an official behind the counter. I showed him our papers, including our Czech application forms. In no uncertain terms he told us we had to have a Visa. When I told him that we needed to be in Moscow by Monday to board a cruise, he said we could have our visas that day, but “it will cost you”. He then directed us to a bank where we would pay.

Outside we met our new friend. He had been waiting in case we needed help. He too was off to the bank and we set off together. I needed quite a large sum of money and wasn’t sure if I could withdraw it all from the ATM at one time. “I wonder if they’ll take a credit card”, I asked my friend and he went off to ask the teller in Polish. “Yes they will” he said. I handed the teller my HSBC Mastercard. “No” she said. “Just Visa.” Of course I thought. Only a Visa card for a Visa!

Half an hour later, we had our passports back with shiny Russian Visas. As I was leaving, I asked about the Belarus ‘Transit Visa’. The Russian official said he didn’t know if it was required or not. So we set off to find the Belarus consulate. There wasn’t one in Krakow. There was one in Warsaw, but it would be closed on the weekend. And we were hoping to take the train on Sunday morning. We found a Travel Agent who was very helpful and tried to phone Warsaw for us. She couldn’t get through to the Embassy since its phone number was no longer in service. From their website, it appeared that Americans and Canadians required a Visa. I forgot to ask about Brits.

We returned to our hotel where we had a very nice lunch and discussed our dilemma. Not knowing what to do, we decided to find a hotel and go to Warsaw. We went onto the internet and picked the most highly rated hotel in the city, The Palonia Palace, built in 1913. A number of reviewers said it had the best breakfast they had ever enjoyed in Europe! We then took a cab to the train station, bought two tickets, and were told to run for the train since it was about to leave the station. Two hours and forty five minutes later, we were in Warsaw.

As we reflect on Krakow, we have very mixed emotions. On one hand it is a beautiful old city. On the other, it a city full of sadness. It was very difficult to visit the Jewish museums and wander around the streets that had once been home to a large and vibrant community. At the same time, it was fascinating to see the new activity. We couldn’t help but wonder what the Jews who had been assembled in a square just outside our hotel, and sent off to nearby Auschwitz, would have thought about this resurgence of ‘Jewish life’ in their city.

You're Going to Love Prague

“You’re going to love Prague”. That’s what everybody told us when we mentioned that the capital of the Czech Republic was part of our itinerary. What they didn’t tell us was to prepare for 40 degree temperatures. While I thought I was booking a hotel a bit removed from the heart of the tourist area, it turned out we were close to everything. We stayed at the Eurostar Thalia, which was rated as a five star hotel on Wotif and other hotel listings. I mention this to raise the subject of hotel ratings, and the inconsistencies between countries. In some places, the number of stars is a highly guarded badge of honour. It is displayed on the outside of the property; on the stationary; and sometimes even on the carpet, as was the case with the Gellert. Most hotel booking websites distinguish between the star rating awarded by a third party, and a ‘self-rating’ which applies to some properties. However, we have yet to figure out how the ratings are established in each country.

All of this is to say that although the Thalia was a nice hotel, it was not a five star hotel by Canadian standards Unfortunately, the air conditioning had a hard time keeping up with the unusually hot weather, and there was no swimming pool when we really needed one. But the room and bathroom were beautifully appointed and the breakfast was excellent. Perhaps too excellent!

While we were sure we would lose weight on this trip, given a regime of daily walking and exercise, we have discovered that this is almost impossible when staying in hotels that include a buffet breakfast in the price of the room. The Thalia offered all the things I love…eight different types of salamis, sausages and smoked meats; a similar number of cheeses; an array of smoked fish, eggs, fresh fruits, cereals and so on. There was a large table devoted to breads, pastries and desserts just in case we hadn’t had enough to eat. Fortunately, the windowless restaurant, with its luminescent red walls felt a bit like the downstairs washrooms at John Evan’s Opus Hotel. Otherwise, we might have lingered even longer.

Our first stop Monday morning was the Russian Embassy. We were prepared to stay in Prague for up to a week if necessary to get the visa and avoid what we were told could be an exorbitant ‘quick processing’ fee. When we arrived at the embassy there was a line up since people were only being let through the gate one at a time. After an hour, we finally got into the Embassy. We filled out the visa application forms as best we could, given that they were in Russian and Czech, and finally got to see an official seated behind a large sheet of glass.

“Do you speak English?” we nervously asked. Yes he did. We gave him our carefully guarded Russian cruise ship papers that had been faxed to us in Ljubljana, along with our application forms, passports and photographs, and waited nervously. I will never forget his response.

“You don’t need a visa. This is good enough”. It seemed too good to be true. “Are you sure?” I asked, not really wanting another answer. “Yes he said. You don’t need a visa since you are part of a group cruise tour. Just have the operator notify the authorities of your port of entry.” We were overjoyed, since this meant we could stay in Prague as long or short a time as we wanted. Moreover, we didn’t have to pay any fees. But somehow this information didn’t seem right since it contradicted everything we had been told by our travel agent and the cruise booking company in New York. Not knowing what to do, we set off to see the city, and celebrate our good news.

Prague truly is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Fortunately, it was not bombed during World War II, and each building is interesting and oftentimes majestic. We were constantly stumbling across magnificent parks or urban squares lined with bars, cafés and restaurants. Chuck Brook and Margot Paris are coming here in August and I don’t think there will be enough memory cards in the city to meet their photographic needs.

Its beauty is further enhanced by a river winding through the centre. This time it is not the Danube, but it’s the same colour: brown. But it doesn’t matter. At night, reflections from the illuminated buildings are magical, and dozens of photographers line the banks with their tripods trying to get that award winning shot. Because of our self imposed weight restrictions, I didn’t have a tripod, so I used Sally’s head. Unfortunately, she rarely kept still enough to get any decent night photos! Although Prague is quite a large city, it has a surprisingly compact downtown, and an excellent subway, tram and bus network. We rarely waited more than a few minutes at a transit stop. Interestingly, Prague also prices its transit based on time, rather than distance traveled, although an all day pass was available for only $4.

The city offers a lot a variety in theatre and concerts and numerous different tours. I was surprised to learn that one of the most popular tours is of the Jewish Quarter. While Jews figured prominently in the life of the city, and ‘The Jewish Quarter’ is identified on maps and street signage, there are very few Jews living here today.

However, every week, thousands visit its synagogues, museums and cemetery, where graves have been placed one above the other over the past 500 years. Through a sad irony, Prague has one of the world’s best collection of Jewish artifacts since Hitler decided to collect vast quantities of religious objects, silverware, jewelry, and artwork, with the intention of setting up a museum of the ‘lost race’. Prague has a very good choice of restaurants, although most tend to feature goulash, smoked pork, and goose on their menus. There’s also a lot of cabbage. The first night, we selected what appeared to be a very old and elegant restaurant with a nice menu. Unfortunately, we missed the sign mentioning the gypsy music. Sure enough, we had no sooner ordered when the musicians came out to play. While I don’t mind this sort of thing, Sally is uncomfortable having a violinist standing over her while she tries to enjoy her avocado and prawns. As a result, she spent the evening carefully watching the violin player as he moved about the room, dreading the thought that he might come over to our table. Fortunately, by the time he did arrive, we were ready to leave. As is our practice, we took a river tour through the city. Along the banks, amidst the grand old buildings, I came across one newer building that looked like it was falling over. That is because it was designed by Frank Gehry (who designed amongst other things the Guggenheim in Bilbao). Although very whimsical and contemporary in design, it seems to fit into the traditional five storey streetscape quite well.

While we walked around a relatively small area, we never got tired of the city. Because of the temperature (we were told one day was the hottest day on record) we occasionally headed to the air conditioned shopping centres. Sally again discovered Marks and Spencers, and bought me a summer suit, since we are soon heading off on a River Cruise, and she thought I might need something other than pants with zip off legs.

Wednesday night, after three hot but interesting days, we took a tram from outside our hotel directly to the train station. At half past eight, we boarded the 8:55 overnight train for Krakow, the next stop on our journey from Istanbul to Moscow. As Sally was getting settled, I went off to check out the dining car. There wasn’t one. So with 15 minutes to spare, I ran back into the station to buy something for our evening meal. It took longer than it should have, and I have never ran so hard as I did to make sure that I got back onto the train before it left the station. As we settled into our little compartment with smoked goose legs and some still unidentified sandwiches, we discovered we were about three times as old as the rest of the passengers in the car. So at 10 o’clock, as they all partied in the corridor and each others bedrooms, we popped some sleeping pills and went to bed. We slept soundly until about 3 am, when the Polish border patrol knocked on our door. The joys of international overnight train travel in Europe!

Bratislava, Slovakia

I can distinctly remember sitting in our family room on Deering Island last December looking at a map of Europe and deciding we should visit Slovakia, if only to discover how different it is from Slovenia. Well now we know.

We have just spent two days in Bratislava, and once again, we were very pleasantly surprised. This is a city where I thought I might have to carry a fake wallet in the event I was held up at night. But it wasn’t necessary. Bratislava turned out to be a very cultured, lively, and safe city.

From the train station we took a tram to the downtown Tourist Centre. It was very well organized with extensive brochures in almost a dozen languages. We arrived without a hotel reservation assuming we would have no trouble finding a place to stay. We were right. We were presented with an extensive choice of accommodation, ranging from very luxurious hotels to pensions and hostels and private accommodation.

Our preference was a hotel, but we were encouraged by the lady behind the counter to consider a private apartment. It seems many of the local residents leave town in July and August and rent out their places for some extra income. Since we had had such good luck in Ljubljana, we agreed and were soon whisked away in a taxi to an apartment in what seemed to be a very nice part of the old town. Ten minutes later, we were sitting alone, holding the keys to a very large apartment with far more space than we needed. We carefully wrote down the address and marked our location on a map to ensure we didn’t get lost after a night on the town. We then set off to explore. It was Friday night.

Like Slovenia, Slovakia does not consider itself part of Eastern Europe. It thinks of itself as being in Central Europe, at the heart of everything. For those of you who like me can’t figure out which country was once part of which, Slovakia used to be Czechoslovakia until the country split in 1993 (without a referendum, I might add) .Today, compared to Slovenia, Slovakia seems to be struggling economically, but there are signs that things are improving. There is an impressive number of construction cranes in the downtown; the bars and restaurants seemed very busy, albeit on Friday night; and the cost of many things is approaching a par with Hungary and Slovenia.

The old town is full of very grand and impressive buildings and public spaces. While many buildings need exterior repair and renovation, I was particularly taken by the amount of public art, the number of cultural institutions, and what felt like an overall creative ambience.

I was surprised to find a Jewish Museum that celebrates the contribution of the Jews to the life of the city before the Second World War. There were numerous palaces, churches, and a castle overlooking the city. At the National Museum, which forms part of the castle complex, we saw three excellent traveling exhibitions on French tapestries, Giotto frescoes, and the engravings of Albrecht Durer.

Like Budapest, the city is bisected by the Danube. It is not the Blue Danube. It’s almost the same colour as the Fraser River outside our house. We took a short cruise traveling under some very impressive new bridges. We were told that one was constructed in two halves that were swung into place, connecting in the middle. (Of course they met perfectly; the engineers from this part of the world are very capable!) At the top of one new bridge sits a revolving restaurant that no doubt helped fund its construction.

This was just one example that capitalism is alive and well in Bratislava. There are many other examples, such as the number of large billboards around town on the sides of multi story apartment buildings. Can you imagine that being permitted in capitalist Vancouver? I also saw some interesting new apartments, including this multi-coloured block that reminded me a bit of Albania.

While we enjoyed wandering around the city and meeting some charming local people, we do have one complaint. The food. Traditional Slovakian food is not something we will yearn for. I will not be recommending this city to David and Barbara Gillanders who select their travel destinations, in large part, based on the quality of the local restaurants. Most Bratislava restaurants seem to cater to those who like stewed beef combined with chicken livers, onions, garlic and peppers, on a bed of sour cream. (Ok, to be fair, there are other choices, but there sure are a lot of goulashes made from different animals in very heavy sauces.)

After two days it was again time to move on. We spent Sunday morning sitting in our large apartment, backing up photos on DVD’s while watching BBC World. Suddenly, the announcer said Vancouver has just been voted the most livable city in the world, beating out Melbourne, GenevaZurich. “We can’t let them get away with this” he said. “Let’s take a look.” What followed was a 10 minute trip around town with CBC’s Margaret Gallagher and Jamie Mah. Then they went off on the train to Whistler and whale watching on Vancouver Island. and Our city and province looked pretty good, and got the thumbs up from the BBC!

At the train station, before setting off for Prague, we had two remaining tasks. When we purchased our train tickets from Budapest to Bratislava, we were told it was cheaper to buy return tickets than one way tickets! So we wanted to give away the return portions to someone who might use them. I also had some unused Bratislava transit tickets. I mention this since they were unusual in that Bratislava tickets are priced on the time traveled, not the distance. I had never encountered this before, and didn’t want to see the time go to waste.

At 12:25 a train destined for Berlin arrived at Platform 1. Learning from our past mistakes, we used up our remaining korunas to stock up on hearty sandwiches in case we got hungry before Prague. Of course, this time there was an elegant dining car on the train. The trip was pleasant, although unbelievably hot, since this part of Europe is going through an unprecedented heat wave. Hopefully it will over before our next trip from Prague to Krakow. In the meanwhile, we are looking forward to at least days in Prague, and maybe longer if there are complications with the Russian Visas.

As for Bratislava, we will be back. Despite the food, this city is definitely worth a return visit. We also think Slovakia would be an easy country in which to rent a car and explore the surrounding countryside with its numerous UNESCO sites, spas, castles, palaces and even a model town. Check it out, before it becomes as expensive as Slovenia.

Budapest: Name Dropping at the Hotel Gellert

“Mr. Geller, with a name like yours, we really ought to upgrade you” said the very charming man at the Hotel Gellert's reception when we checked in. As a result, when we entered the room we discovered a draped vestibule that was almost as large as our entire hotel room in Athens! With its high ceilings, extensive woodwork, chandeliers, and view over the Danube, we were thrilled to be there. (The concierge later gave us a copy of the Hotel's newsletter. It's called "The Geller".

The Hotel was for many years Hungary’s finest. Built in the early 20^th century, it was designed in a style best described as a cross between Art Nouveau and Baroque. It included a very elaborate thermal bath and swimming pool complex. It was like swimming in a palace! Unfortunately, one of the indoor pools was closed for renovation. However, the outside pool more than made up for any disappointment since it was equipped with a wave machine, installed in 1922. Each morning, at 5 past the hour, a dozen plump Hungarian women in flowered swim hats joined Sally and me in bobbing up in down in pretty ferocious waves. It was exhilarating.

We spent our first night in one of the many lively restaurant districts around the city. We decided we had to try a typical Hungarian restaurant. The food was as hearty and heavy as it was 35 years ago when Hungarian restaurants were the only place John Hull and I could afford to eat when we were tired of Chinese food. It reminded me of the famous question. “What is the difference between Hungarian food and Chinese food?” In a Chinese restaurant you can eat for 3 hours, and an hour later you’re hungry. In a Hungarian restaurant you can eat for an hour, and three days later you’re still not hungry!

The next morning, our first task was to visit the Russian Embassy since we arrived too late to go on Wednesday. Sure enough, the Budapest staff kept the same hours as those in Ljubljana. But we were able to reach someone in the Visa department by phone who suggested that we wait until we get to Prague, assuring us it will be simpler than trying to start the process in a different city. Let’s hope he’s right.

We spent the rest of the time touring around the city by foot, boat and public transit. We were looking forward to using the subway, since a portion of the system was the first to be built in Europe. We had also seen Kontrol, a most unsettling Hungarian film about Budapest subway attendants who play very treacherous games with the trains. While we never met up with any of the characters from the movie, the original ‘Yellow Line’ with its tiled and paneled stations just below the road surface, was very enjoyable to use.

While most people tend to dwell on the magnificence of Vienna and Prague, Budapest is also a very impressive city. Bisected by the Danube, it consists of what were once three cities: Buda, Old Buda, and Pest. We stayed in Buda, near Gellert Hill atop which is the statue of Saint Gellert, an Italian who came to Hungary in the 11^th century to introduce Christianity to the region. Maybe we're not related after all.

The city has many grand streets and buildings, designed in the Baroque style. The Parliament buildings are more outstanding than those in London, as are many of the religious structures. We were particularly impressed by the old Synagogue, which astonishingly was not damaged during the Second World War. With its very high frescoed ceilings, chandeliers and extensive millwork, it seemed more like a magnificent cathedral than any synagogue I had seen before. My dad, who passed away three years ago today, would have enjoyed seeing this place. But hopefully, they will be enjoyed by my aunt and uncle in Toronto, who these days don't get to their synagogue as often as they would like.Behind it is a memorial garden with a sculptural tree incorporating the names of many of the hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Beside it is a museum.

As we traveled around, we thought of our many friends and acquaintances who came to CanadaHungary. from Have any of them been back, or were they so happy to get away they have no interest in returning? We also wondered how different life is today, compared to the years under Communist rule. Being in Budapest now, it is hard to imagine that it wasn’t always a free, democratic place. There are so many shops and restaurants, and signs of capitalism. It is a place that celebrates art and culture, with hundreds of magnificent examples of art and sculpture, and dozens of museums and galleries around the city.

While we didn’t meet a lot of local people, I enjoyed the staff and servers we met, who unlike their Canadian equivalents, were by no means subservient, and never seemed compelled to tell you what you wanted to hear. I also enjoyed watching the women, especially the older women who had a certain style that one doesn’t see in older Canadian women. Many reminded me of Zsa Zsa Gabor, that most Hungarian of film actresses.

While we could easily have spent a lot more time in the city, after two days it was again time to move on. We had had enough salami, paprika and local beverages to last us for a while. We were eager to get to Prague, but wanted to stop off in Bratislava, and possibly Brno, since we suspect they will be quite different from the more popular tourist destinations we have been visiting. So we exchanged our remaining Hungarian Forints for Slovakian Korunas, (I really haven’t a clue if we got the right exchange!) and set off from another train station for more adventures.

Ljubljana, Slovenia

We first decided to come to Ljubljana in 1977. We were living in Toronto and one summer weekend, we attended a ‘Caravan Festival’ organized to encourage residents to visit different ethnic neighbourhoods around the city. You could visit Greece, Italy or Portugal; experience its culture and have your ‘passport’ stamped. It was very popular and attracted large crowds. We decided to visit a neighbourhood called Ljubljana since we were told it wasn’t very crowded, and wanted to find out if there really was such a place. As we recall, everyone was very friendly, and encouraged us to visit their city and the rest of Slovenia. Thirty years later, we are here and so pleased we came.

Slovenia may be included in our Eastern Europe guidebook, but it feels much more like a Western European country. It’s less Germanic than neighbouring Austria; more reserved than Italy; and very different than Croatia. For one thing, it is an Alpine country, with very little coastline. It also seems like a much wealthier place, with the Euro as its currency.

As soon as we crossed the border, the landscape seemed to change. So did the look of the buildings. Most had planted flower boxes and the properties were neat and well maintained. We arrived in Ljubljana to find a very attractive bus and train station, with proper lockers, free toilets, and excellent tourist and train information centres. Not knowing what to expect, we had not booked any accommodation. So we set off for the old town to get our bearings, find a place to stay, and tickets for an evening cruise along the river.

This city of about 300,000 is surprisingly beautiful, with an obvious ‘creative edge’. Many of the buildings are very elaborate, having been designed in the Baroque style. There is a great deal of art both on and around the buildings, and very interesting bridge designs. One still has a wooden hoist that was used to ‘dip’ the baker into the river if he shortchanged his customers. The city celebrates its architecture with museums and special displays. There’s even a bronze model of the old city located in one of the squares. There are activated crosswalks (something we haven’t seen for a long time); and bicycle paths along most streets. It’s interesting to see how they have been designed. In some situations, there is a marked lane along the road. But in most others, a portion of the sidewalk has been converted into a one way bike lane with paint and markers. It seems to work very well and might be a good idea for Vancouver, since it is easier to paint (or widen if necessary) a sidewalk than a road.

It is a clean city, with men in white shirts and bow ties going around picking up litter, to highlight the focus on cleanliness. However, like so many European cities, many of the buildings and public walls are covered in graffiti. It’s tragic, and I really think something significant needs to be done to stop this from continuing.

At the downtown tourist centre we purchased cruise tickets and were offered an apartment in the old town at a price much lower than what we expected to pay. While we were a bit apprehensive about its quality, we shouldn’t have been. It was in a modern building with a standard of finishes higher than Bayshore! There was a large sliding door to a balcony that also functioned as a casement window. (We should use these better quality European windows and doors in our buildings.) It had a large screen TV with numerous English language channels. (Sometimes it is nice to get caught up with what is happening, although this time I unfortunately caught George Bush’s rambling speech to a Cleveland audience.) It also had air conditioning, wireless internet, and a washing machine for Sally.

One of our tasks in Ljubljana was to start the process of obtaining our Russian visas, since we have now booked a cruise up the Volga and received the necessary ‘invitation’. We went to what we thought was the Russian Embassy and were going through security when we discovered we were in the Parliament Buildings! We were directed to the embassy just down the street, but were turned away. We subsequently learned the embassy only opened on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. We could come back the next day, but we had planned to either play golf at a resort in the Slovenian Alps, or head off to Budapest.

Most of our time in Ljubljana was spent wandering around the city, enjoying the local wines and food, including burak, a fast food stuffed pastry eaten like a slice of pizza. A major summer festival was happening, and one night we saw a London musical production based on the film ‘Dirty Dancing’. It was very entertaining as we all sang and clapped and Sally thought this would be a good film for a Vogue Theatre ‘sing-along’ production. (Another fundraising opportunity for Margot Paris or Laura Swift?)

The next day, we decided not to go golfing since for only the fourth time since New Year’s Day, it started to rain. (We understand it has rained almost incessantly in Vancouver since we left!) So, at 7:40 in the morning, we boarded a train for Budapest, where we can hopefully start the Russian Visa process. I am also interested to see the city since from pictures it seems most impressive and I am often asked if I am from Hungary since Geller is a Hungarian name.. This time we have a hotel. We are booked into the Hotel Gellert, next to the famous Gellert Baths, and Gellert Hill.

The cost of the ticket for the 8 hour train trip is less than last night’s theatre ticket, since Budapest is ‘on special’! Now we can sit back and relax and hope that we will have enough time to get off for refreshments at one of the stations, since I have just discovered there is no dining car on the 29 euro Budapest Special.

Croatia is a '10' and we're coming back!

Not just to the old town of Dubrovnik, which on a warm summer evening is about as good as it gets; but also to the island of Hvar and Split.

We arrived in Croatia with few preconceptions other than the understanding that this was a country that had seen more than its fair share of war. We didn't know any Croatian people, and for some reason hadn't seen many images of the country. So we were very pleasantly surprised with what we found. This is a surprisingly beautiful and in places, very sophisticated country.

We booked a hotel in Dubrovnik through the Internet. This time we relied on 'tripadvisor.com', which provides guest reviews and ratings of different properties around the world. We booked The Neptune Hotel, since it had the highest guest rating of all the hotels in our price bracket. It turned out to be an excellent choice. The hotel was located on the Lapad waterfront, about 15 minutes from the old city, with a swimming pool style ladder leading directly from the swimming pools into the ocean. While the waves made it a bit challenging to climb up and down at times, it was a feature I had never seen before.

Dubrovnik is a 'must see', especially for anyone with an interest in architecture and development. It is a very special place, thanks in part to UNESCO which provided significant funds to repair the damage from Croatia’s most recent war. You can tell which buildings have been recently reconstructed by the colour of the clay roof tiles. The city is paved in white marble, and is most beautiful both by day and night.

Dubrovnik is over 1300 years old, with an amazing history. For centuries it rivaled Venice as a major maritime centre, but lost much of its power in 1667 when it was severely damaged by an earthquake. In 1806, it was conquered by Napoleon, and went through many occupations until attacked by Yugoslavia in 1991.

One of the best ways to see the city is to walk along the top of the medieval city walls with an electronic guide. You can then wander along the pedestrian oriented main street, and the maze of narrow medieval streets, many of which are lined with restaurant and café tables. In addition to seeing numerous churches and monasteries, I took a tour of ‘the Jewish quarter’ which included a visit to the second oldest synagogue in Europe, dating back to the 16^th century.

After two nights in Dubrovnik, we got on the coastal ferry for a 6 hour trip to the island of Hvar, just one of hundreds of islands on the Dalmatian Coast. We decided to come here based on its write-up in our Lonely Planet guidebook, which described it as the ‘island of choice for a swanky international crowd’. We were also attracted by the description of its Gothic palaces, lavender fields, and seaside promenade. Conde Nast magazine also voted it one of the 10 most beautiful islands in the world.

The medieval Hvar town, like Budva, Kotor and Dubrovnik, is a primarily pedestrian zone with white marble pavements lined with harmonious buildings. Although they were designed in various styles, and built over hundreds of years, they seem to complement one another through the use of common materials and colours. There's a lot to be said for architectural controls, whether formally prescribed or adopted as tradition over time.

We stayed at Pharos, an older resort property that needs serious work. But it was set in an olive grove overlooking the town and ocean. It was one of a dozen properties controlled by the Suncanihvar Hotels group which we were told is spending $300 million around the island. Other than our hotel, I would recommend any of their properties, especially the Adriana, which is the only Croatian member of 'the leading small hotels of the world'.

A highlight of our stay in Hvar was a concert in the courtyard of the Franciscan Church featuring a Czech cellist, accompanied by an accordion player. While at times the accordion sounded like....well, an accordion, the cellist was superb, and exhilarating to both watch and listen to.

We also took a day trip across the island which in some areas was covered with a lattice of rock walls. I have never seen anything quite like them. I assumed they were constructed to minimize erosion; however there might well be another explanation. Unfortunately, no one I spoke with seemed to know.

On Saturday morning, we got on a fast catamaran for Split, the largest Croatian city on the Adriatic Coast. The boat docked in the centre of the city, which has been improved with a beautiful polished concrete waterfront promenade. Normally, I think polished concrete is a poor exterior material choice, but here it really worked, and complemented the white marble of the old town. Split is a city of contrasts. On one hand, some of the newer areas are quite ugly, with very mundane buildings made all the more distasteful by the extensive graffiti. On the other hand, the centre of town is dominated by Diocletian’s Palace, which was built by the Romans in the third and fourth centuries. A surprising amount of the early Roman construction remains, and serves as the focus for a medieval town which is unlike anything we have seen on our travels. Fortunately, we had arranged for a private tour by a historian who helped bring it alive.

On Sunday, we set off for Trogir, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. We were attracted by its description as a ‘mini Venice’. While it is not Venice, it is a most attractive place with a mix of Romanesque and Renaissance architectural styles in a waterfront setting.

That evening, we boarded an overnight ferry for Rijeka, a northerly port in Croatia, from where we planned to take a train to Ljubljana. While the boat was not as attractive as the Greek ship we took from Rhodes to Marmaris, it was a good trip, and we were set for the next stage of our travels.

Our stops in Croatia turned out to be an unexpected delight, and we can wholeheartedly recommend Dubrovnik, Hvar, and portions of Split. We’ll be back to see them again, and all the islands that we missed. I also want to see what Suncanihvar managed to accomplish with its $300 million.

Montenegro: The World's Newest Country

Our Canada Day was spent trying to get from Albania to Montenegro. It turned out to be easier than expected, thanks to some good luck along the way. When we arrived in Tirana, we were surprised to discover that there was no bus station; we just stopped at the side of a dusty gravel road near the centre of town. After calling out Montenegro a few times, someone said I should go to Shkodra a northern Albanian town, and pointed out two elderly people dressed in black. “Follow them” he said. “They go to Shkodra”.

So we did as we were told. A couple of blocks away we saw a very fancy Mercedes bus. “Get on” the driver said. “It leaves for Shkodra in two minutes”. But I had to pee, and there was no WC in sight. So I did what the Albanians did.

There are no bus tickets on Albanian buses. You just give some money to a driver’s helper who collects the fares and removes the luggage. He’s the fellow with just a couple of teeth. You know when he’s approaching because he usually hasn't had a bath or shower for at least a week.

Two hours later, the bus stopped at the side of the road and we realized we must be in Shkodra. Sally heard another passenger say thank you when he got his knapsack from the luggage compartment. “Do you speak English?” she asked. And he mumbled something to the affirmative. When he got out his copy of Lonely Planet, we knew we were in luck. He was Dave, and he too was trying to get to Montenegro. More importantly, his guide book was more up to date than ours. I asked if he knew if the coastal border crossing was open, and he said he believed it was. We agreed to set off together.

The choice was a minibus to Montenegro, or a taxi to the border from where we would get another taxi. I didn’t like the idea of walking across the Albanian/Montenegrin border and looking for another cab, so we decided to find the minibus stop. We found it, only to be told the bus wouldn’t arrive for another hour and a half. However, we were offered a taxi to a Montenegrin town. I was not sure what to do when an Australian voice piped up. “It’s ok. Go with him. I just came across for the day with my cousin who’s Montenegrin. The price for the three of you will be the same as the bus.” So I looked at Dave, and he sort of nodded (up and down, since he was British), and we got into a taxi, and set off. I’m still not sure exactly what happened at the border. Our driver took some cash from his wallet and our passports. Heseemed to know everyone in authority, shaking their hands and patting uniformed officers on the back. It was like watching Jim Moodie maneuvering through City Hall. About 10 minutes later, he returned to the car, gave us back our passports, and we drove through. We were very relieved.

The taxi took us to Ulcinj a border seaside town. We wandered into a bus station and learned there would be a bus to Budva, our desired destination, in less than an hour. We were delighted. We bought some tickets with our remaining euros, and at 4 pm we were on our way.

We had no idea that Montenegro, which only recently gained its independence from Serbia, would be so beautiful and majestic. Ironically, if it hadn't been so hot when we arrived in Skopje almost a week earlier, we would have missed it, since our initial plan had been to take an overnight bus from Skopje to Dubrovnik. Instead we got to experience two days in Albania and two fascinating old towns on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast: Budva and Kotor. Before this trip, I had not even heard of either of them. But each is of international caliber, with marvelous old walled cities attracting tourists and very impressive yachts from around the world.

Budva is part of Montenegro’s holiday coast. It offers beautiful beaches, a charming walled town, elegant restaurants, a big harbour: an amusement park area, and a lively bar and night life scene with gorgeous servers in skimpy black and gold bikinis and shimmering oiled skin. (At least we think it was oiled. We were too timid to find out.

The Stari Grad, or old town, is very picturesque, and in extremely good condition. That's because most of it was completely rebuilt following two 1979 earthquakes. (It’s amazing how much of the world has been damaged by earthquakes, and yet most of us don’t know or remember much about them.) We had a seafood dinner in a restaurant on the harbour that was very good. The prices were about three times what the two year old guidebook said they would be, but it was well worth it. I was interested to know where the other diners came from. I was told they were from Russia, Serbia, Macedonia, Scandinavia and Albania. Surprisingly, there were no Brits, even though I thought this was a popular destination for the English. Similarly, there were no Americans or Canadians, presumably since the latter were celebrating Canada Day!

After an early morning walk about town, we set of at noon for Kotor, about an hour's bus ride north. This is another UNESCO designated old walled town built over the past 6 centuries, which fortunately was not damaged by an earthquake. It sits at the end of a fjord, where large yachts from around the world are moored.

There was not much accommodation available within the old town. But fortunately, a local travel agency found us an apartment, with lots of space and a nice terrace. After cleaning up, we set off into the maze of narrow streets of the impressive old town. Although parts were full of tourists, others felt very authentic, and looked as they might have hundreds of years ago. Outside the walls were some nice beaches and restaurants. We thought that it would be a good place to stay for a few days, but we can’t.

We have now a revised itinerary that will hopefully see us in Dubrovnik for a few days, followed by a boat trip up the coast. We will then get a train to Lubliana, and then another train to Budapest. We hope to take a hydrofoil to Bratislava, and then a train to Brne Czechoslovakia. Then a train to Prague. From Prague our plans are uncertain. One option is to fly to Moscow. Another is to take a train to Krakow and then fly from Warsaw to Moscow. All being well, we'll get on a river cruise to St. Petersburg, and then fly to Amsterdam in time for dinner with Chuck Brook and Margot Paris, before setting off for South America.

At least, that's today's planned itinerary. And if the next 9 to 10 weeks are as good as the past week, we’ll be delighted.

Colourful Albania

As soon as we crossed the border from Macedonia to Albania we made a number of startling discoveries.

The Alphabet. I could read Albanian! Unlike Macedonia, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet, Albania uses the Roman alphabet. “Oh look”, I said to Sally. “There’s a farmacia”. It was quite comforting since in Macedonia I couldn’t read a thing, and initially had trouble distinguishing the men’s WC from the women’s without going inside.

The bunkers They were everywhere. They were not a complete surprise since the guide book wrote about them. It seems that Enver Hoxha, the first secretary of Albania’s Communist Party decided Albania didn’t need allies as long as the people could be protected from attack. So over a 35 year period, from 1950 to 1985, he constructed over 700,000 ‘air raid shelters’ throughout the country. They were designed as indestructible concrete domes, and they are. Today, no one knows what to do with them, other than try to camouflage them with paint or planting. You find them in the countryside, in the middle of residential areas, even along a main street! (Sally’s was intrigued that the secretary insisted that the engineer prove their indestructibility by sitting inside a bunker while it was attacked by tank. He survived!) The Cars Almost every other car is a Mercedes. Not just the taxis that are often Mercedes throughout the world. The passenger cars are too. In the poorest country in Europe! When asked why they have so many Mercedes, Albanians will tell you they are good, strong, long lasting cars. They will then mutter something about getting them for a good price from other parts of Western Europe or America. I kept looking to see if any bore the names of Vancouver car dealers, but it seems that all vehicle identification is removed from the vehicles by the time they arrive in the country. Colourful Buildings No doubt in response to the era of communist rule, the Albanians paint their buildings with some of the most incredible colour combinations. High rise buildings are chartreuse, with burgundy trim. Or bright yellow. It’s fantastic. I couldn’t stop taking photos.

Durres We came to Durres, a coastal town, rather than Tirana, the capital, since the guide book and other travelers described the latter as very beaten up and dusty, with large potholes that could be tricky to navigate. Sally didn’t want a repeat of Skopje. Rather than experience another dreary bus station, we decided to get off the bus along a strip of beachfront hotels. After walking past a number of colourful, but mundane buildings with our luggage on our backs, we came upon an attractive 5 storey hotel. At 40 euros a night, it came with breakfast, beach chairs and an umbrella. We took it, but were subsequently surprised to discover that it had no elevator. The room was very large, air-conditioned, and there was a bidet in the well appointed bathroom. The view of the beachfront was colourful, to say the least. Changing money Once again, we had no local currency. So we set off on foot, assuming we couldn’t be that far from the centre of the small town and cash machines. We were wrong. After 30 minutes, we still had a long way to go. But amongst the squalor, we came upon a modern shopping mall. There had to be a bank machine inside. After all, there are lots at Oakridge. No such luck. But there was a very nice supermarket and we pick up hors d’oevres. We were surprised to discover this very fancy store would not accept credit cards. But they did agree to change Euros that I didn’t need to bribe the border guards and we had enough lekes to buy champagne, beer, and antipasto. I was surprised at the number of Italian items in the store. But I shouldn’t have been since Italy is just a short boat ride away. We didn’t have enough money left over for a taxi, so we took a bus back to the hotel. We had just enough left over for another bus into town in the morning, where we could get local funds.

Dinner That evening, we checked out the restaurant scene along the beach. We discovered that our hotel was by far the best place along this immediate stretch of beachfront properties. And since none of the hotels would accept a credit card, we returned to our hotel for dinner. The food wasn’t great.

The thief The next morning, we set off for the centre of town by bus. Within seconds, Sally noticed a man trying to steal things out of my bag. She managed to push me away, but there was little else we could do, other than stare him down until he got off the bus. Afterwards, Sally regretted not giving him some money, as a way of letting him know he shouldn’t be trying to steal. I didn’t have the same thoughts.

Downtown Like so much of the world, the centre of Durres was a study in contrasts. Many of the older apartment buildings were amongst the most decrepit I have ever seen. But nearby, colourful new apartment blocks were going up. While most roads were in incredible disrepair, the main street and sidewalks had been refinished with attractive granite pavers. We got some money, and checked out a seafood restaurant recommended in our guidebook. We spent the afternoon on the beach, where I discovered the fellow next to me was a Macedonian now living in Chicago. He said most of the friends he left behind look so much older than him.

Another dinner We had a very nice evening at the restaurant. Although the menu was very good, the food was a bit disappointing,. Our assortment of seafood hors d’oevres included smoked salmon, pickled anchovies and red mullets, a variety of squid and octopus dishes, seafood croquettes and fresh oysters on the shell. (I couldn’t believe I was eating oysters in Albania!) The main course was assorted Albanian fish on coals. Next time, I’ll have something else. We were entertained by a singer who sang only American songs. We initially thought she might be English speaking, but as the evening progressed and she got tired, she started to mispronounce words. It reminded me of the movie ‘Westworld’ in which the robots start off just like human beings until something goes wrong with their wiring, and they start to act up. We subsequently learned our singer was an Albanian from Tirana.

Leaving Durres The next morning, we set off for Montenegro. I wanted to take the train to Tirana and look for more colourful buildings. But a travel agent cautioned us. “Albanian trains are not for people like you” he said. We knew what he meant. (We have subsequently learned that someone managed to steal George Bush’s watch off his arm while he was visiting the country!) From Tirana, it wasn’t quite clear which way we would go. Our guide book was vague on whether a new border crossing would be open, and the internet was full of stories about people being literally taken for a ride by some taxi drivers. My hope was that we would find a direct bus from Tirana to Budva, an acclaimed resort community on the Adriatic coast.

Some final thoughts. Albanian buildings illustrate why we need condominium associations to manage the exterior and ongoing maintenance. In many, many cases, residents paint their portion of the exterior whatever colours they want. The results can be quite interesting. Albanian people are very kind and generous. Other than on the bus, we always had great experiences with everyone we met. People went out of their way to be helpful. And oh yes, if you ever come here, nodding your head up and down means no; shaking your head sideways means yes. Just when we got used to this, we had to leave.