Speak to me in kisses

Counting down to the second last post in the Balkans Travelogue series, we now arrive at the city of Ljubljana - a large bustling city in Slovenia. Expect to see some beautiful Christmas markets, love bridges, and even a panoramic of the Ljubljana from the castle overlooking the city...

Now we come to the 6th part of our Balkans travelogue - the beautiful city of Split in Croatia. It is here that we come to learn of the emperor Diocletian's customs, how he became emperor, more about his palace, beautiful Diocletian singing... among many others. I hope the pandemic has treated you, my treasured reader, well and that this travelogue is a respite for you in this period of travel lockdown. Are you ready for a relaxing tour of Split? Come on in...

Today, we journey through the countryside of the Balkans to arrive at the second destination of the trip - Sarajevo in Bosnia. The population of Bosnia is 3 million with 70% Muslims, and the rest made up of Catholics and Christian Jews. It also has the nickname of being the Jerusalem of Europe. Sadly, their unemployment rate is 40%, as their country is still trying to recover from the civil war, which ended in 1994. For 4 centuries, they were occupied by the Ottoman Empire, which explains the Muslim architectural influences on their buildings. Later on, the Austro-Hungarian brought technology like the first tramway in Sarajevo. Come in and let's explore Sarajevo together!

Hola at you readers! It's me, Sasha Bear here - and today we're FINALLY going to post about my trip to the Balkans circa October 2019. I hope this post cheers you up in these trying times due to the coronavirus, as I bring you on a tour around Europe in the dulcet tones of autumn. Come on in to read more!

Day 11: Budapest to Pandorf to Vienna

Not pictured here is the morning's trip to the shopping outlet Pandorf near Vienna. The outlet is huuuuge, with stores such as SuperDry, Prada, Michael Kors, Miu Miu, Ralph Lauren and the like. It started snowing when we arrived, so that was a lucky surprise - the trees and roads were peppered white. Purchased 2 bags here with some shirts and presents for the brother/dad. I have to talk about the tax refund process because of the grief it gave me. You are able to do refunds at Pandorf, but it's very troublesome. 

Day 6: Poznan to Krakow, Krakow to Auschwitz

I have to say this leg of the trip was pretty heavy, like the mood and all, because I guess the tour guide wanted to convey the severity of the atrocities suffered by the Jewish population in Europe during WWII. He was showing Schindler's List on the bus - although it was a great movie, it did give this part of the tour a more serious tone.