Headin west

One final word on bulgaria. The bulgarians have an interesting way of serving food at restaurants. In north america and western europe, one usually orders a whole meal and it arrives on one plate (maybe a separate salad). In may parts of eastern europe, one selects the meat, and each of the sides separately...fine. The same is done in bulgaria, the weird part is that they bring things out as soon as their ready. So one day i received a plate of hot rice, 10 minutes before i got my chicken. Or received my coffee before my cake. Or the first person at the table gets their food and can finish by the time the last person gets theirs. Takes some getting used to.

Ok, that was more than a word. Over night i traveled through serbia and now im in Bosnia. Sarajevo to be exact. I've been absolutely blown away (no pun intended) by the beauty of this city. It's nestled in the middle of beautiful green hills (which are very tempting to hike, but unfortunately are littered with mines). The old town, most of it resorted after the war, has influences from so many cultures and religions...and everything feels so authentic...the people, the shops, the buildings...not to mention that there are very few western tourists. Of course, there are still visible signs from the recent war, which makes the place even more interesting. The people are very nice and welcoming...you feel the spirit is about rebuilding and looking towards a better future. While at a border crossing, i needed to use the toilet but i didn't have any of the local currency (you gotta pay to pee)...a serbian guy who was leaving the washroom reached into his pocket and paid for me without a thought.


cemetery