CAMELOT FANTASIES

That's right. Please share all your travels with me as I love to listen and love to look at all the great pictures.

this is Bryce Canyon, Utah.



Utah is a mecca for mountain bikers and I have yet to make it there. I need to plan a trip to this place.

During my stay in Zadar, we went on a guided tour to Plitvice Lakes National Park.
Normally I hate nothing more than guided tours but unfortunately there are only very few busses running from Zadar to Plitvice and back. That means if we had taken a bus, we would have only had 2 hours or even less in the park. The guided tour allowed us to spend 6 intensive hours in the park. I'm used to walk a lot but after 6 hours in the heat and basically running after the tour guide (who was very eager to show us everything in very little time), I thought I would die. There were 2 girls from Ireland going on the tour with us and one of them was wearing high heels. I wonder how her feet felt at the end of the day. 

Well, what's there to see in the park? Waterfalls, crystal clear waters, wildlife, untouched nature. All too beautiful to be true. My own pictures only reflect half of the beauty of the park. I think I was also too amazed by the landscapes so that I didn't take that many good pictures.









In the park itself I didn't see too many wild animals but on the way back home we visited a wildlife sanctuary which gives shelter to bears, deers and wild pigs which are still too young to live in the national park by themselves or which are injured.



Just found out that the bears living in the park are called "European Chocolate bears" (or European brown bears). They are sweet as chocolate indeed. I just wouldn't want to be attacked by one.

Next up was Trogir. I was also just passing through on the way from Zadar to Split and had nowhere to leave my luggage when I arrived. That is why I just walked around a bit to get a little glimpse of the charming historic quarter which is built on an island and connected to the "newer" parts of the city by bridges.

A Croatian guy who we had met wanted to show us a less crowded beach on our last day in Split. So we went to a village called Omiš which is in the East of Split. Afterwards we went back to Split to have a drink. At midnight I had the guys singing me Happy Birthday in Croatian. Hahaha.

Upon arriving in Mostar, I decided to explore the city on my own. It was my birthday, already dark outside (around 10 pm or so) and I just wanted to get a first glimpse of the old bridge. Just when I was about to snap a picture, someone approached me from behind saying "Hello". I turned around and saw a guy who was about my age. We chatted a little until he suggested that he would show me a beautiful place. When we went to his car I thought that the "beautiful place" was most likely the place where he would chop off my head and **** me afterwards (yeah, such sickos maybe exist). Fortunately I was wrong. He took me to Blagaj. A historical village on the source of river Buna. They have a Dervish (a Muslim sect as far as I remember) monastery there and a neat restaurant directly by the river where you can enjoy a cold breeze and a refreshing drink to make the summer heat bearable.

I had my first Bosnian lemonade there. The first Bosnian coffee - which is, hands down, the best in the world - came the next morning.



The monastery

After a rainy day in Tuzla (more clouds than rain, thankfully) it was time to explore Sarajevo, Bosnia's wonderful capital.

Main square in the Ottoman quarter
This place is truly magical. I could spend hours walking around there, just enjoying the smell of freshly-made coffee and food and looking at handicrafts.


Cathedral


Latin Bridge, the place where Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was killed. His assassination led to WWI.


Martyrs' Memorial Cemetery for victims of the Siege of Sarajevo -  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Sarajevo


Sarajevo Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track from the Winter Olympics 1984

Next up was my first trip to Montenegro. I visited Kotor in the beautiful Bay of Kotor which is home to Europe's southernmost fjord.

Kotor has so many beautiful narrow cobblestone streets, old churches and houses, fortified city walls and a beautiful small port. If you manage to climb up the countless stairs to the fortress, you are rewarded with a beautiful view of the entire city and the fjord.

View from the fortress


City walls


Stairs leading up to the fortress


Old town


Main square


One of countless churches