Ice Cream – SteveWhittythoughts1965

December 14, 2013December 14, 2013

Day 9, 16 September – Jump to it

Yesterday we were teasing Renud the French guy about the joys French toast or eggy bread depending where you come from. Matia must have overheard us as for breakfast we were served French toast. I am enjoying this hostel. Sitting outside in the sunny weather sharing breakfast with good people. Today as with most days travelling I will be saying goodbye to most of the people who I was with at the restaurant last night.

As this was the last full day I would be spending in Mostar I thought I would explore the town more. Mostar is quite small with the places of interested situated around the Stari Most. This is the focal point of the town. I popped into a nearby bookshop. Inside they showed a continuous video of the bridge destruction and rebuilding. It must have been devastating to witness at the time. I even jumped when I saw the mortar hit the bridge.

Following on from that I visited the museum that was next to the bridge. It is interesting as it told the history of the Ottoman occupation. You move on to another section where you are told the story of how the bridge the original bridge was built. You can only admire the ingenuity of the engineering. It is also worth watching the video of the reconstruction too. I found that to be moving.

Mostar is definitely split into two sides. One Croat, the other Bosniak. There were obvious differences. The Croat side seemed to be more wealthy while the Bosniak side appeared more run down. As I walked across the city I noticed a large shopping mall that looked totally out of place. The Mepas Mall is a typical modern shopping mall. I had been told that a hospital was demolished to make way for it. Aledgially, money changed hands and a replacement hospital was built out of town. I moved away feeling sad. I needed something to cheer me up, ice cream.

For the second day in a row I made my way to the Palma Ice Cream parlour. Two scoops of ice cream washed down with a complementary glass of water was just what the doctor ordered. Feeling refreshed I made my way back to the old town.

The best ice cream in Bosnia Herzegovina

I had yet to see anybody jump off the Stari Most. However, when I reached the river bed I saw two people practicing from a smaller diving platform. One of the swimming club members was training them. Another member was checking from the bridge. Once he said everything was alright then they could jump off the main bridge. The crowd was waiting for the first person to jump. Dressed in a wetsuit he jumped in. A round of applause followed. About ten minutes later the next person appeared ready to jump in what looked like the same wetsuit. How very hygienic! He also jumped in to great applause. Had I considered jumping? No way.

I had to be back at the hostel for 5pm and the evening meal. Tonight it was a hearty soup with bread. Met new people and we seemed to get on well. The evening was spent chilling out in the lounge. We then decided to head out and ended up at the Coco Loco. Sitting outside with no light seemed a surreal way to end my final day in Mostar.

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

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November 24, 2013November 24, 2013

Balkans Day 6, 13 September – Oh Sunny Day

I woke up this morning with my head feeling fuzzy. It was not an hangover but I had felt better. Also my tongue felt like it was itching. I wondered what I was going to do with myself for the day. With the hostel being underground it was hard to say what the weather was like. I needed not to worry as the weather was hot and sunny.

Breakfast was a pastry from the local bakery. It went down well as I made my way towards the old town. Neno the hostel owner told me that there were two things I should try while I was in Dubrovnik. Firstly, tour the city walls and then ride the cable car. Today I decided to try the city walls. I was not disappointed. Dubrovnik old town is beautiful. My finger never left the camera shutter button. At 90kn the tour lasted two hours. Also I walked the city walls early in the morning and I managed to avoid the cruise ship crowds.

For those of you who are looking to visit Dubrovnik my advise to you is to avoid the old town between the hours of 12-4pm. You cannot move for the cruise ship crowd. They were like sheep being herded by the dogs (tour guides). One aspect of Dubrovnik that disappointed me was the lack of signs for places of interest. There were plenty for the restaurants. My remedy to avoid the crowds was laundry. It was long overdue.

The laundrette was self service to the point that nobody was there. I seemed to be doing alright until I leant back and broke the chair. Oops, I hope there were no cameras to witness this.

Once back at the hostel I was not sure what to do. Eating out was not an option as it would put a dent into my budget. So homemade sandwiches it was with potato chips and fruit. It filled me up for the evening. I met a guy from Yorkshire, England who had just arrived from Mostar. He told me that I would love it. This was giving me something to look forward to. Kelly, a girl from Belguim suggested that we should go out for the evening and get some ice cream. It sounded a good idea to me. There is always room for ice cream even late in the evening. This was also a chance to console a Canadian girl who had just arrived into Dubrovnik. Sadly, her luggage had not, the worst fear for any traveller.

I felt that this was the best time to visit the old time. It was September and the season was starting to wind down. We were sitting on the steps of the cathedral enjoying our ice cream. We noticed a couple of guys taking photos. They had the full equipment including tripods. The wives/partners were with them and they looked fed up while their other halves were trying to shoot the perfect shot. I suppose it is better than using a iPad as a camera. That would lead me to a different subject altogether.

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

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November 6, 2013November 6, 2013

Balkans Day 3, 10 September – Need to Slow Down

There was a late start to the day. The past couple of days have been hectic. The hostel served breakfast which consisted of scrambled eggs and zucchini fritters. It was tasty and well worth the wait. My plan was to explore the town and make my way towards the market.

The sun was still out so it was right to enjoy the day. Split is a small city so it was easy to explore. There were plenty of opportunities to take photos.

Off course it was the perfect opportunity to enjoy the first gelato of the trip. Today I had Jaffa flavour. That's chocolate and orange to you and me.

By the mid-afternoon I was starting to flag. Time to get back to the hostel for a quick nap. After waking up I decided I was going to stay in for the night. Josko was cooking a meal for us so it felt right to take things easy. Josko also mentioned that he was planning to take a group of us to the national park. I had heard so much about this from both Josko and Charles. Without too much thought I said yes. I knew I was going to look forward to this. Roll on tomorrow.

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

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May 29, 2013May 29, 2013

Photo of the Week – Ice Cream

Summer is coming and the sun has been shining in the UK. To celebrate, this weeks photo is off a summer treat – ice cream cone.

It is one of the tastes of summer. This cone was strawberry and lime. However, ice cream is not just for summer. It tastes good in winter.

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and enjoy.

Steve

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March 15, 2013March 17, 2013

Vienna & Budapest – Day 4, 9 March 2013

Another good nights rest was taken and another hearty breakfast had been eaten. I was ready to take on Vienna again. However, there was a slight setback. I had overspent yesterday and I needed to preserve my Euros. So I made the decision to visit landmarks that were going to be free of charge.

First stop was the famous Naschmarkt. This is an institution in Vienna.

A food market where you can literally eat the world. Another bonus point is the store holders who were on hand offering free samples so I could get fed as I was walking along. It is a big market and you can spend some time here. I noticed there was a hostel nearby. To have the ability to purchase and cook fresh produce daily. Being Saturday the Naschmarkt was also holding its weekly flea market.

I can only say that some people have rubbish they wish to sell. A lot of it was broken yet the locals seemed intent on buying it. Each to their own as they say. One nice thing about the market was the amount of vinyl records that were being sold. Flicking through the covers took me back to my youth where every Saturday was spent in record shops. I often wonder if CD's had not been invented would we still have record stores. It was while walking when I spotted something that literally stopped me in my tracks. Amongst the LP's the elderly gentleman was selling was a copy of Gobbels greatest speeches. I had to take a photo to share but the gentleman looked at me wondering what was the big deal.

Even though Germany invaded Austria in 1938 there were plenty of Austrians who were sympathetic to the Nazi values.

Fortified by an excellent Vanilla Custard cake that cost one euro I made my way towards the Stadtpark. It has an almost English feel to it. It contains a golden statue of Johann Strauss. Just be vary of people trying to sell you tickets to concerts. The park itself had plenty to see and photograph.

After a quick cup of coffee my final destination of the day was the Zentralfriedhoff or Central Cemetery. An unusual choice you may argue but there are some famous people buried in there. It was a long walk from the U-bahn station Stringasse. I knew I was getting close as I noticed there were a lot of shops selling gravestones.

How does one go about visiting a cemetery? After all it is a place of rest and reflection. It is Europe's second largest cemetery and is in use today. I could not get used to how large it was. As you walk you notice the gravestones. These were not individual graves but family plots that have lasted for generations. What I also noticed were how well looked after the graves were. I could see families taking as much care as if it was their own homes. It was touching to see. Also moving were the number of graves were one partner was buried whiles both names were carved on the gravestone.

You reach the main building where there is a map showing where the famous are buried. The highlight of the visit would be the grave of Beethoven and the memorial to Mozart. He is not buried in the cemetery. When Mozart died he was buried in a pauper's grave.

I also found the graves of Brahms, Joe Zawinul and Curt Jurgens. The only grave I could not find was 80's popstar Falco. Visiting the cemetery gave me time to reflect. We will all end up in that state one day. So it is best that we make the most of life while we can.

From the cemetery I made my way back to the Naschmarkt. Maybe there was a store open to get some food. By the time I had arrived there stores were closing so I made my way towards the city centre.

This is my second visit to Vienna but I had yet to see it at night time. I was simply bowled over by the sights. Again I was snapping away.

Being out at nighttime allowed me to try a Currywurst. This was not wrapped in a bun but sliced up and served on a plate with a bread roll. It still tasted delicious.

With my feet starting to feel like they could no longer take another step I made my way back to the hostel. Not before stopping off to purchase an ice cream. Yes, chocolate and caramel cone. The weather was cold but the temptation was there and I succumbed.