An introduction to Montenegro (3): the coast

After our five-day hike in Durmitor National Park in northwest Montenegro we felt it was time for a less active mode of existence: beach time! So we board the bus from Žabljak to Kotor again. At the bus station we are greeted by the wonderful Radu, who drives us to his coastal hometown, Bigova. Before we drive out of town, we stop at the stall where we bought our gas for our hike – we have a full canister left and we want to return it without asking our money back. We have a hard time explaining ourselves to the extremely suspicious lady who runs it though, so Radu comes to our help and in the end she accepts the offering. On the way to Bigova, he tells us stories about it: one of the first things we learn is that everyone in the village has the same surname: Lazarevic. As does Ranca, our host who awaits us at the too-good-to-be-true apartment we will be occupying for the next six days. To do nothing much, apart from sleeping late, having breakfast in bikini, strolling to the beach, going for a swim, having dinner at one of the two seafood restaurants, and strolling home again.

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Traversing Europe by train: how and why

I’ve wanted to travel from Romania to Belgium (or vice versa) by train for a long time, and now I’ve finally done it! I am more than a little pleased. Initially I felt a little daunted by the length of the journey: it took me two days to get from Oradea (RO) to Ghent (BE) via Budapest and Vienna. I decided to split it in two and spent two nights in Vienna. That way I made sure I didn’t get overstimulated by the journey and was able to do some sightseeing at the same time. After all, it would be a shame to pass through one of the pearls of Europe and not see it. I could have stopped in Budapest as well but had already been there several times. In this post I will explain how to travel across Europe by train. It is a little more challenging than booking a plane ticket, but well worth the effort!

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Sounds of Romania: the station

I love Romania. I love trains. I love Romanian trains. Hence, I don’t mind arriving at the station early to just watch the train come in and hear the tune that precedes all announcements played over and over again. Here is some footage to give you an idea of the atmosphere at a Romanian station – Gara Braşov, in this case. Hopefully you will feel as thrilled as I do – although I am probably a bit of a train maniac. Enjoy! more “Sounds of Romania: the station”