Balkans start

I’ve been planning this month long Balkan’s adventure for the past 18 months and it started with a picture of a cave. I had Googled “off-the-beaten places to visit” and Slovenia, the country of caves, popped up. Like most people I know, I had no idea where Slovenia was, so I did a little research and found that it was part of the Balkans: a group of about 12 countries where some were part of what was once Yugoslavia (in Eastern Europe). Since each country is essentially the size of a small a State, I figured in a month, we could see a fair amount of places.

After a bit of research and cross checking numerous blogs and travel sites, I found a tour that would last 15 days and take us through most of the countries where signs are commonly written in Cyrillic and looking for a bus is as “easy” as turning right at the red house, walking 600 meters, and waiting by the blue sign for an indeterminable amount of time. The tour would allow us to breeze through border crossings, see off the beaten towns, and not have to waste about 4 days trying to navigate various public transportations. 

The rest of our adventure will be broken up by 4 days with Robby’s old host family, who live in Prague, and 9 days on our own exploring Croatia and Slovenia. Apparently those 2 countries have become very westernized and easy to navigate without getting too lost. Thanks Game of Thrones.

I had went into OCD producer mode about a week before the trip ensuring that all our tours, hostels, and planes were set. I packed and unpacked my bag to make sure everything fit and it didn’t weight a 100 pounds; the first try was 15 pounds, but after adding toiletries and a few more clothing items, the final weight equaled 28 pounds. Better than the last few years, but apparently I will never be a minimalist traveler. 

Finally, September 7th arrived and we were actually at the airport. It’s weird to anticipate something for so long and then it arrives. That mystical journey that you’ve painstakingly researched and planned is actually here and it’s a little scary because you’re not sure if it will live up to your expectations or exceed them. 

After 2 long plane rides and watching free movies on a 5” screen, we touched down in Prague and were greeted by Pavel, Robby’s host father from when she lived in the Czech Republic for all of 11th grade. I’d meet her host family 12 years ago, when I’d last wandered through these parts. Reconnecting, a bit crappier with Robby’s remeberence of the Czech language, went smoothly, as if no time had past. 

We talked all the way back to the house and through an amazing home-cooked lunch by Jana, Robby’s host mom. Even though we originally said that we would go into Prague central (Robby’s host parents live a 30 minute bus ride away), jet lagged kicked in and grounded us. Apparently getting older means no go, go, go. We napped for a bit and decided to explore the area around the house. For about 2 hours we walked along a 2 line road through two small 6-shopped towns bordered by grassy fields and gentle rolling hills. It was quite beautiful and peaceful. We essentially used the last of our energy making it to the local metro station (3 miles up the road) where there was an ATM in which to pull money and a bus to take us back home. 

All in all, our first day was simple, but just what our tired bodies needed.