"How was it?"

from 30 September 2015

"Well, how was the trip?" - I think it's still too recent for me to really understand what I learned from my experiences this summer. But it will always be difficult to describe a period of two months, in which I visited 13 countries, 9 of which I've never been to before, in just a couple of words. "Great", "exciting" or "interesting" doesn't really seem to describe it for me. It wasn't that special after all, I find myself thinking sometimes. I didn't really meet super interesting people I will stay in contact with, I didn't fall in love with anyone like I usually do.

Maybe it's because I didn't make any fancy SLR photos? Maybe it's because I didn't get so many likes on facebook? Maybe it's because I didn't get drunk and therefore don't have any stories to tell for everybody's amusement?

Bucharest, April 2015

When I try to free myself from all the external and internal expectations one might have of a journey like I had - that everything is shiny, that drinks are always ice cold, that people are happy all the time - I come to the conclusion that I simply had a good time. It wasn't "crazy" or "rad" or any other extreme experience - all in all it was just nice, in a good way. What else would I want if not have a nice time?

Highlights

"So which one was your favourite place?" - again I don't really know. There was places that disappointed me (like Mostar), places I couldn't get warm with (like the Baltics), and people that made my stay less enjoyable (like in Tallinn), but in general I'm glad that I went to all the places I visited (except Ulcinj maybe, but I didn't really stay long anyway). 

Mt Plješivica

If I follow my feeling though, the undisputed highlight of my trip was the hike to Mt Plješivica. Not only was it a big challenge that I overcame, it was also a lot of fun (mostly in retrospect haha), and last but not least, there was fancy pictures:

Augustow

Another highlight was my short but beautiful stay in Augustow, because I felt very much in the moment there. The canal festival, the atmosphere, the food, the weather, the waterskiing - everything was just perfect.

Poland

In general I enjoyed Poland very much. I had never been there before and actually spent more days there than in any other country. I had really nice hosts in Gdynia and Szcezcin, enjoyed the sea, liked the countryside, loved the food, was surprised by Warsaw, had a great time in the Jewish Museum, and felt really fancy in Krakow. Poland is definitely a country with lots of more places to explore, and I want to return soon.

Gdynia

Gdansk

sunset in Sczecin, where it was too hot for sightseeing

street art in Warsaw

POLIN Museum in Warsaw

Krakow

on some hill around Krakow

Bosnia and Hercegowina

I was stunned by the great atmosphere in Sarajevo, and loved how the little houses seemed to have grown uphill from the once small settlement in the valley. Of course the experience was made complete by Vjetko's perfect introduction to the local cuisine. In general, BiH would be a country I would like to visit again, not only because of the Drill & Chill Festival hopefully happening there next year again, but also because there is just so much more to see in this country.

Bulgaria

I loved both Sofia and Plovdiv, for reasons so many that I don't actually know where to start. Bulgaria is such a forgotten and neglected country, in spite of being a member of EU since 2007. I like the idea that most people whom I talked to don't spend their weekends in Sofia, even though the city is among the greenest I've ever seen, but drive to the countryside, where many families have second houses.

More than about anything or anyone else, I learned about myself on this trip once again.
I spent a lot of time alone, walking, and I liked it. I really liked it :)