Eastern Europe

On December 19th my roommate Anna and I are headed to Eastern Europe to backpack for two weeks. Its going to be a crazy trip, traveling mostly by train and bus (only flying to our first destination and home from our last). It will be strange being away from home for Christmas this year, the first time in my life. But I am really excited to see so many new places and to experience their cultures. I'm sure I will have some crazy stories to share...

On Friday we fly to Bratislava, Slovakia. We will spend only one night there, because it is a small city and we want as much time in Vienna (our next stop) as possible. On Saturday we will take the quick train ride across the boarder to Vienna, Austria. We will spend three nights in Vienna, possibly taking a day trip somewhere else. On Tuesday (23rd) we are off to Ljubljana, Slovenia, about a six hour train ride from Vienna. Although a small city, we plan to stay for 2 nights due to the long train ride and will be there for Christmas eve. Not sure how the city will be for Christmas, but it should be interesting either way. On Christmas day we will hopefully wake up early and take the two hour train ride to Zagreb, Croatia. We will spend Christmas day in Croatia. Unfortunately, we have to leave the next day to stay on schedule. On Friday (26th) we are off to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina for two nights. I am really excited to see this city and have heard really good things about it.

The next few days will be a bit tricky. We are supposed to head to Sofia, Bulgaria on Sunday (28th) but the train/bus route is a little confusing. We may have to go to Belgrade, Serbia first...Luckily I have a friend who lives there, so he can show us around the city. Either way, I would say we are looking at about a 10-12 hour bus ride. Our goal is to reach Sofia on the 28th, but it may be the 29th. From there we are off to our final destination; Istanbul, Turkey on Tuesday the 30th (9 hour bus ride). I hear the boarder crossing can be a bitch going into Turkey and some of the other countries for that matter. But its all part of the experience I guess. We are going to spend 3 nights in Istanbul, including New Years. I don't think they are a big drinking culture, so it will probably be a mellow night...we shall see. Also, my roommate Brian and his brother will be there, so we will have some more company for the last part of our trip. On January 2nd we head back to Roma.

When all is said and done, we will be going to/through eight countries. Needless to say it will be a very interesting trip and probably very stressful at times. But that's part of the fun of traveling. I will try to update the blog every one or two days, but I might not get to it as much as I would like.

Hope everyone has a great Christmas and New Years!!!!