Mostar

I am in Mostar today, the city is full of derelict buildings damaged beyond repair in the Balkan War. There is a ten storey office building that was on the front line that looks like it is ready to fall over in the next strong wind. Nearly every building has some shrapnel damage, if not signs of a direct hit. The roads have lots of potholes that have been filled in and alongside some of them you can find a plaque listing those who were killed by the shell.

On the way in the bus went past a number of cemetaries, it was depressing to see the number of young men who died in 1995 - most were born in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

At the border the procedure was a bit weird. First a passenger collected up all the ID Cards and Passports and took them to the passport control office while the bus queued up in the traffic. Then he came back and handed them all back and we had officially left Croatia. Finally a Bosnian Policeman came on board and checked all the passports. One of the passengers was refused entry to Bosnia - she was Asian so perhaps she needed a visa to enter and didn't have one.

Around the new "old" bridge (finished in 2004) it is quite touristy, but cheap. An ice cream cost me 0.50KM (about 50c NZ, which makes currency conversion pretty easy). Everyone accepts Euros as well.

The bridge was covered with tourists and at one end is the diving club. There is an official diving competition off the bridge every year, a 22 metre dive. Completing the dive gives you membership of the club. There are also photos of the city from 1994 and 1995 on display with the bridge destroyed and most buildings damaged.

Perhaps the best thing about coming to Mostar is the knowledge that being a tourist and spending my money reduces the risk of future blow-ups. The main source of income is foreign aid (all the buses are provided by the Japanese, Ambulances by the Spanish, police vehicles by the Italians and building reconstruction by the EU and USA) and tourists.

Dubrovnik

I have safely arrived in Croatia, somewhat perplexed at my fellow airline passengers. They were rather uncomfortable with the approach into Dubrovnik Airport as it was a little (Yes! a little) bumpy and would often gasp at the (tiny and infrequent) air pockets. They should try landing in Wellington during a storm! I could not understand why they applauded after landing.

Despite all my expectations of the timeliness of Sky Europe, we actually arrived 20 minutes early. On the way in we had a good view of the city and the old town, plus you could also just see Italy through the clouds.

But SkyEurope are a strange airline. We all climbed on a bus at Bratislava to be taken 20 metres out to the plane, would have been much quicker if we just walked.

The moment I stepped off the plane in Dubrovnik it started to rain. No airbridges! And it continued to rain until about 2 hours ago. I got a little wet strolling around the old town but have dried out now.

Everything you read about Dubrovnik is true. It is a beautiful place, great for wandering as you find something interesting around every corner. It is also wall to wall tourists from all over the world. You hear a lot more english than in other places I have been and there seem to be a few Italians and french. But lots of Germans, as always.

I guess most people my age would have first heard of Dubrovnik because of the shelling of the Old Town by Serbian forces during the Balkan War in 1992. (Completely pointless as the town didn't have anything of strategic value in it)Looking around I haven't seen any obvious signs of damage - apparently the tiles or bricks will be a different colour from the rest of the wall or roof - but in the tourist knick-knack stores there are books about the siege available.

I have already booked my onward ticket to Mostar on Thursday as I understand buses can get full quite early. It's an early start though as I have to be at the bus station by 7.30am. Is about a 45 min walk without my pack so I might work out if I can catch a local bus or taxi.

Back in Budapest

Have arrived safely in Budapest this morning. On the way only one section of the highway was closed, but while the truck blocking the road had a Hungarian Flag I think the blockage was for road repairs, not protest. On arrival all seemed calm so I went for a walk and ended up (by mistake) at the Parlament.

The rally is peaceful when I was there, with the protestors (surprising) made up mainly of middle age and older people, most waving flags and singing songs. Probably about 5000 people at 2pm. I can't help wondering if some of the older people were protesting at the same spot in 1956. Signs in front of the media tents displayed various slogans, some in English. My favourite has to be: "If you want to be President, come to Hungary and lie". Other signs showed where the protestors were from, some from as far away as Debrecen (near the Ukrainian border, about as
far as you can get from Budapest in Hungary).

I did find one young man who spoke english, I asked him why they were so keen to see the back of PM Gyurcsany, he said that it was because his lies meant he had no mandate to rule - if he'd been truthful then the election would have been about how to fix the problems the country had. Fair point.

Separating the crowd from the actual Parlament building is two metre high reinforced fencing and about 200 riot police. The fence is covered with white roses, tied on with ribbon in the national colours.

Around the outside of the grounds are stalls selling food, flags and tourist knick-knacks. Also the Hungarian Green Party (I think) have a stall, and I think some other parties have stalls as well. There is one tent feeding the protestors for free, looks like a broth full of potatoes.

The main square (Szabadsag Ter) near Parlament in which all the Government Buildings are is blocked off by Riot Police - probably fearful that if the rally does turn violent the buildings could come under attack. However, the police there look relaxed and people are walking around the streets to reach the Parlament.

Somewhat surprisingly, most of the bars around Parlament are open (and full). Being a weekend only a few of the other stores are open. If there was one thing I thought the police would do it is keep the access to alcohol to an absolute minimum.

All the time more and more people were walking towards the Parlament holding Hungarian flags - I do hope when the rally is in full flight later today it stays peaceful. However, I am heading back to the Hotel (about 2km north of the Parlament and 1.5km west of Heroes Square for those who know Budapest) to be safe.

Bucharest, Hungary and other matters.

I am back in Hungary. I am a bit worried about the situation in Budapest at the moment and want to return the rental car before tonight's planned protests. Although most the protests are around the Parliament and Government district on the eastern bank of the Danube so I should be able to avoid them as the depot is about 5km away.

On the Hungarians PMs remarks that he won the election by lying about the economy, I actually think it's a step in the right direction. Hungary needs to take drastic measures to reduce it's budget deficit - 10% of GDP. 50% of Government spending is on Welfare Payments and personal subsidies so no guesses where is the first place to start looking.

Anyway, Bucharest is not a place I recommend going to. It's a filthy city with stray dogs everywhere and you keep seeing homeless living around every corner. Everyone considers tourists a source of money (and nothing else) and finding your way round is impossible.

The Parliament complex is huge. I walked around the entire grounds, it took almost an hour to encircle the outer wall. The building is very big as well, probably 100 metres on each side. When I tried to find out about tours, I was told there were none (I think there was something on in the Parliament that day as I remember Jeff Wilson doing a tour of the building when he went on Intrepid Travels).

Leading to the Parliament from the east is a wide boulevard with impressive fountains and government buildings running the length. I think it's a bit of a wasteland as most of the shops are empty and there were more stray dogs than people when I went. However, half way down I found a dress shop called "Ellis" - obviously a store of style and sophisication.

I contented myself with walking around the main sites of the 1989 Revolution as I am mostly musuemed out. All seem to have memorials to those who were killed that have fallen into neglect. Right next to the cross at University Square (where tanks were driven into the protesting crowd) was a campsite for a homeless person. The monument outside the old Communist Party headquarters was populated with people sitting around smoking.

Perhaps the worst thing in Bucharest was the driving. I thought the driving on the highways was bad, but the kamikaze techniques used in Bucharest are unbelievable. Even riding on the bus is scary enough. It seems the local politicians don't bother with it as there are dozens of motorcades speeding throught the city all the time.

I also had to catch a taxi back to the hotel one night after I was too late for the last bus. (It was only 9pm) The taxi driver told me he would charge double (as he had to get also drive back - what a crock) and then pretended not to understand english. He spent to next 20 minutes getting insulted from the back seat about how he was driving taxis at night as he was too ugly to find a women and have a family, with every story ending with "of course, you don't understand english so you don't know what I said."

I also headed out to Snagov to see the church in which Vlad Tepes is (reportedly) buried. It took two hours to find the village, and another hour to find the jetty where you can be rowed over to the island where the church and monastry is. The Romanian who rowed me over was a bit of an entreprenuer, waiting until I was on the island to fix a price and when he saw the contents of the wallet (oops) he demanded 50RON, about 30NZD. Hard to argue when you're on an island with no way back.

The church is in the process of restoration, and has great frescoes of various passages of the bible and of the early saints (The church and monastry are Romanian Orthodox.)

After poking around Bucharest, I went to Brasov - supposedly the new Prague. However, Prague is not famous for it's apartment buildings and dust, which is all Brasov seemed to be. The historic centre was not as nice as I hoped it would be.

Last night I drove back into Hungary. Leaving Romania was easy, but crossing back into Hungary was not. I had to undergo a full inspection of all the luggage as Petrol, Cigarettes and Alcohol all being much cheaper in Romania smuggling seems to be a problem. It took an hour of waiting to cross on the Hungarian side of the border.

Anyway, back to Budapest today, then off to Bratislava tomorrow. Then flying to Dubrovnik on Tuesday.

The Birthplace of Dracula

Crossing the border into Romania was a lot easier than I expected - I just showed my passport and visa and was sent on my way. No other checks on the car or possesions.

I had been warned about how bad the roads in Romania are - they are not actually bad, just poorly maintained. The major highway is off an equal standard to a New Zealand State Highway. It looks like some money has been spent on the main highways but as soon as you turn off onto a bypass round the large towns the roads are full of large potholes.

However, drivers in Eastern Europe are crazy - they overtake on blind corners, speed limits are ignored by massive amounts, particularly through towns and villages. You can't go a few kilometres without passing a horse and cart either. There are no obvious police patrols on the highways but in Romania there are signs everywhere advising how many people have been killed on the particular stretch of highway in the past five years. There are some very sobering statistics. Petrol is slightly more expensive here than in NZ - about $2 a litre - but it seems everyone drives as the roads are very crowded.

Despite several near misses, I safely made it to Sighisoara. The medievil citidel is fantastic - it includes the house where Vlad Tepes was born and lived until he was five. (He was then held hostage by the Turks to ensure that his father wouldn't cause problems against them, and learned some of the cruel torture techniques that earned him his reputation.) The house is now a restaurant so dinner was in there last night - the mainstay of the menu is bloody steaks.

Dinner was accompanied by a number of brass bands playing in the main square - it seemed to be an Octoberfest type event as there were beer tents all around. Some unusual music selections as well - I've never heard a brass band play "Your So Vain" and "Like a Virgin" before.

Afterwards I walked up the hill (in a 400 year old covered walkway) to the cemetery. It's supposed to be spooky but there were a few german tourists around so you can't get freaked out by noises.

I also went to the Historical Musuem in the Citidel - about $5 to get in - it was mainly about Vlad Tepes. But the musuem has a lovely view over the town.

I am enjoying the cheap beer - usually about $1.50 per half litre - and dinners in restaurants are usually about $20 each. Sometimes you can have two beers and a pizza for less than $15 if you pick the right place.

Hungary?

Left Bratislava on Thursday morning - on the way to the train station a high speed, official motorcade went past with the Czech President (or Prime Minister) through the centre of the city. Probably looked like the infamous one from last year as they were going pretty fast.

On the train to Budapest I had a compartment to myself the whole way. Was able to see the Basilica in Estzergom from the train plus a medievil ruined castle above the Danube.

Arrived mid-afternoon in Budapest and found my hostel. Then checked the sights around Buda (The western side of the Danube) before turning in. Left the castle for the following morning.

The following morning walked through Pest (The eastern side of the Danube) past the Parlament. Some of the buildings still bear the scars of the uprising 50 years ago Lots of statues of Hungarian Heroes dot the city.

I then crossed over the Margaret Bridge and walked along the river back to the castle. Caught the Funicular up the hill and got some good views from the Fishermans Bastion. The town within the castle walls was pretty and good to wander around - except for a very out of place modern Hilton Hotel.

After getting back to the city I caught the Metro to Heroes Square. I noticed that the Metro trains in Hungary are manufactured by the same company who supplied the Wellington Units, GANZ, although they look very different.

Heroes Square is a large open plaza with more statues at the end of the main boulavard in Budapest. On each side are Art Galleries and over the back is a large park. The park also includes a large thermal poolhouse.

Finally I walked back down the boulavard past the Opera House and St Stephens Cathedral (I didn't want to go in and see his hand) before heading back to the hostel for the evening.

Today I have driven to Southern Hungary and tomorrow I will cross into Romania, staying in Sighisoara, birthplace of Vlad Tepes (aka Dracula).

Hot in the City!

Another warm day here in Bratislava - 28 Degrees at present. Everyone is walking around in jeans, and I think my shorts are attracting strange looks.

This morning I walked across the two main bridges in Bratislava, the "Old Bridge" and the "Bridge of Slovakian National Uprising" or New Bridge. The New Bridge has a restaurant on a tower over the central span known as the UFO.

Then a walk up a steep hill to the Soviet Cemetery where almost 7000 Soviet Soldiers are buried - all soldiers who died during the liberation of Bratislava in 1945. The memorial is quite impressive and is complete with statues of Slovak Women holding out flowers for the Soviet Soldiers.

After that I walked back down the hill to the Castle that overlooks the city. Nowadays it is basically used as a series of museums - including one dedicated to (of all things) clocks.

A Late Lunch was in the local Irish Pub, the Dubliner. Followed by a rest for my sore feet.

If anyone is planning a trip to Europe I recommend they add Bratislava to their itinery - it's only 1 hr from Vienna by train and as good a place to visit as Prague.

Tomorrow it is off to Budapest in Hungary - only 250km away. Unfortunately the Hydrofoil Ferry was fully booked so I will be travelling by train.

Bratislava, Slovakia

The local tourist promotion is "Bratislava - The Best Kept Secret in Europe". They could be right - this place is as nice as Prague but without all the tourists crowding out everywhere.

This morning I caught the train from Vienna to Bratislava and then walked to the hotel - right by the Castle. After a quick rest, I headed out into the old town centre for a look around.

Before long I found the "Man at Work" and the "Paparazzi".

After lunch, I went on a walking tour of the old town and many interesting and weird sights were uncovered, including Napoleon, one of his guards, and a drunk friar. And for proof that New Zealanders have the highest number of entry stamps per passport, two Hamiltonians were on the tour with me.

Tomorrow I'll be off to see the castle and other sights of the city outside the old town.

"It means nothing to me, ahhhhhhhhhh Vienna!"

What a performance - Emirates has gone right down in my estimates. I've made it to Vienna 26 hours later than scheduled. I'm too tired to do anything today and I'm off to Slovakia tomorrow.

First Brit Girl turned out to be a real drama queen who attracts bad luck - while we had to pass 5 hours in Changi Airport from 2am until 8am with most the shops closed the cleaners made off with a number of her items she left on the plane. But they left all the rubbish in the seat pockets! I don't think she is capable of flying unaccompanied as she needed help in Dubai.

When we arrived in Dubai I queued for 4 hours to arrange a flight to Vienna - several other flights had been delayed and everyone had to queue for replacement flights. Emirates had helpfully booked me onto a flight to Frankfurt then Vienna but didn't tell me. So when I got to the Transfer Desk I had missed that flight as well! (Of course, being a gentleman I let German Guy - who is 17 y.o. - and Brit Girl - get their flights before me. Arrrgh.) At least Emirates put me up in a nice hotel for the night and paid for transfers and meals.

One thing about Dubai - walking out of the air conditioned airport was like walking into a furnace - a very mild 40 degrees. When I left this morning at 6.30am local time it was already 35 deg and the forecast was for 45!

The flight to Vienna was interesting - for the first part of the flight you could see Iran, then we flew along the western Iraqi border (all you could see was desert) and then over Romania and Hungary - it was a clear day so could see the cities clearly, especially the House of Parliament in Bucharest which looks massive. The final interesting part of the flight was the landing - we touched down, got airborne again and then touched down for a second time.

Pissed off!

I've just arrived in Singapore, it's 2.30am and we've just been told that our Emirates flight is delayed for 5 hours - becuase the crew need to rest. Consequently, the flight I'm catching from Dubai to Vienna leaves about 30 mins before I will arrive.

And it's not like they didn't know how long the flight from Auckland to Brisbane to Singapore to Dubai is!!!!!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

UPDATE: When they first announced the delay the passenger next to me broke down (known hereafter as Brit Girl). Brit Girl has no SGD, a few GBP and a boyfriend expecting to meet her in Manchester later today to take her home to Newcastle.

Anyway, I gave Brit Girl SGD10 to get a phone card, and bought her a drink so she's all calmed down now. She's had a rough couple of weeks as someone tried to break into her flat a few days ago on the Gold Caost with her in it. (Plus a couple of other things.)

German Guy, who was sitting in the aisle seat, came and joined us for breakfast as we are all travelling alone. The breakfast is possibly the worst breakfast I've ever had - a cold watery sausage, cold doughy toast (with rock hard butter you can't spread) and something that looked remarkedly like a fried egg - but was also cold and tasteless.

We've still got a two hour wait until we board - and I've checked the net and there are no direct flights on any airline from Dubai to Vienna after 10am today.

Leaving!

Off to Europe for five weeks this morning. Will try to keep you all updated on my travels.

My Take on This Week

If you ask me, this week is the dirtiest week in politics since Muldoon accused Colin Moyle of being picked up by the police for homosexual activities. Helen Clark has thrown out accusation after accusation at National.

However, while some mud sticks - I think Labour have completely missed the point the public see. Average Joe and Jane in the street hate politicians. They hate the way they always find money to spend money on 'stupid things' like centrally-heated prison cells for criminals and there is never enough for the 'good things' like hip operations. They don't understand how Government really works, just the "If I was Prime Minister I would/wouldn't let that happen" principle.

Along comes the Auditor General and says, "You spent money on yourselves illegally" and all average voters want is politicians punished. National fesses up and pays back its dosh - that earns some respect. But Labour keeps spinning, accusing and avoiding paying back the money - even the scheme to underspend is not seen by the average voter as a punishment as the Labour Party bank balance is untouched. While the amount owed is huge Labour would just have announced that it will pay the money back - even over several years - and they would've killed the issue in a few days.

And just like Muldoon forcing a by-election in Mangere ultimately led to David Lange having a landslide victory over him, Helen Clark's continued digging when she's already in a hole will probably cost her in the long run.

No-one will remember the contents of Don Brash's emails next week. They will remember that Helen Clark and Labour owe $800,000.

UPDATE: Yes, wrong person - I've corrected it. But in my defense I was in Primary School at the time so I can't remember everything from then.

Book Sale

An annual event to look forward to in Wellington is the Downtown Ministry's Book Sale at the Queens Wharf Event Centre. (Now called the TSB Bank Arena.)

Over the years I have picked up some bargains from the sale, and today is no exception. I managed to find:

• The Second Volume of the 'Yes, Prime Minister' Books. (I bought Volume 1 at the same sale two years ago.)
• A couple of Tom Clancy novels I haven't read.
• A book with lots of good information about Budapest
• A couple of childrens books

The total cost? Just $12 for eight books.

If you head along tomorrow to the sale, prices are halved - but the selection is limited as people grab the better books on the Saturday.