Timisoara: You can check out anytime you’d like…

An excellent and most classy cabaret bar that was so much fun

Welp I’ve done it again. Was supposed to spend two nights in Timisoara but my old tricksy friends Hops and Malt may have made it very difficult to wake up in time so one more night was in store! I wish I had a week to spend there, really loved the city. Had lunch at a restaurant and a wife and husband sat down with me because there were no more tables. Learned a lot about Romania and they were very friendly but also very curious as to why I was travelling alone. I LIKE IT OK! I SWEAR I HAVE FRIENDS.

And now for an aside:

At first travelling alone was daunting, and yeah it can be lonely at times but its not often that I’m alone. I don’t know if I’ve written this before (I can never remember what the heck I’ve written before.. blogs are hard man) but this trip was the first time that I can remember that I’ve gone out and eaten dinner alone. When I first did it I felt like some sort of circus animal, a freak, a one man amusement! Not really, but it was a bit sobering and lonely. A little later I mentioned this to a fellow traveller and they gifted me some pretty solid advice, don’t be lonely or sad when eating alone or doing anything by yourself, embrace the freedom that you have: that you’re eating dinner on the Adriatic. After that I walked with a new sense of style and purpose.

I’m slowly catching up in the blog. Gonna have to, my last country comes atchu live in 12 hours. BE THERE

Thanksgiving in Timi

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My turkey dinner. It was delicious

I’m a fan of squares

It was a day late, but I had me some turkey to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving. And you know what?? It was glorious. Went to a fancy restaurant that was kind to the wallet and strolled around the city, there will be more about it next post, but there is something neato about Timisoara. It was the first city in Europe to get street lights, second in the world I think and it was the start of the Romanian Revolution. No that’s not the name of a 90s electro-disco group, it was the beginning of the end of communist rule in Romania. Purdy nifty.

The White City

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The Promenade

The Promenade from the other side

Bad photo of the courtyard of the royal palace. Am interested in buying the place

Some arches at my palace

A fine rum.

Belgrade you troublemaker you. What a great city. It earns its title of top nightlife place in Europe. Wooooo! I’m not too high on clubs, and the Balkans hasn’t changed that opinion all that much but Plastic in Belgrade was something else. Great music and it was paaacked. Not only did I amend international relations with some Serbian nationalists, I enjoyed good beer at a whopping $2 for 2.5L. Keep people beered at a good price and you keep people happy. I went on a couple tours which were really interesting but I definitely need to see more of the city next time around. Moving onto Romania next! Actually I’m writing this while already in Romania enjoying beer in a kebab joint. But I don’t want to break this ‘up-to-date blog’ illusion. ILLUSIOOON.

Just another (crappy) one of Nis

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Grainy statue

Now Be Nis

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First night there went out to a local comic book art exhibit

My hostel. (Just kidding)

Getting to Nis was the biggest test this man has endured. Many a person has failed, but I was determined to succeed. I arrived at the bus station plenty early. I’m normally used to having a general ticket sales counter, sometimes an international and regional section, but it is usually very Cody-friendly. Sofia was a little different. To make a long story short, it took me 45 minutes to find the proper bus company (Maptu) that would take me to Nis. The worst of it was that I previously wrote the name of the company in my little book. A super friendly local who was also on my bus helped me out, thanks Veronica!

Nis was a lot bigger than I expected. Really cool city, a lot of students there. The hostel was pretty empty so the host took me out with his friends out on the town. I’ve been to some big party cities on my trip and y’know I’ve put in some work, but I don’t think I’ve partied harder than I did in Nis (sorry mom).

Currently a couple cities ahead of the blog, onto Cluj Napoca next 🙂

Sofia, Sofia

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Church at another unknown time in the morning – Sofia

From the hostel in Sofia!

Closer to the Cathedral

Cathedral in Sofia

More words to come. Too sleeeeepy

[Edit:] Hitting capitals harder than the shift key, Sofia was the next one on the list. Only spent a couple nights there but had a good time. It has quite a history with a ton of roman ruins underneath the city which has made it a PITA to dig subway tunnels. Joined in on some anti-government protests (sorry mom) and the passion was infectious. Shot straight up to Nis, Serbia afterward.

Skopje is dope, ya

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Air freshener

Main square Skopje, on the anniversary of a famous Macedonian singer: Torsha(?)

A cathedral at some unknown time in the morning

For some reason before hitting Skopje I was warned to not even stay a night, that its not worth it and I completely disagree, I had a killer time. As I said in the last post I was going to spend a couple nights in Ohrid but a girl told me about a festival in Skopje called White Night. Its just a big festival started for no reason other than to drink lots and bar crawl (all are open all night), both are things that I’ve never done before.

Me and her hit the bus station around 6 and were approached by a taxi driver. Now cab drivers around here are your best friend before they slap you with the glove of injustice and take your money. This guy was a total saint though, for a few extra euro than a bus, he drove us to Skopje about an hour earlier than the bus wouldve done it in.

“Sport, family and love most important in life” – Goron the Taxi Driver

The festival was wild. With rakija flowing through my veins I showed the locals a few things about shindigs, or they showed me I’m not too sure.
“Don’t drink too much. Please.” – Goron the Taxi Driver
Sorry Goron, ol Cody boarded that train long before Skopje.

The rest of the city is really easy to get around. Really wish we had more pedestrian friendly areas in the centre back home. They also have a million (not quite) or so statues built in the last couple years to draw in tourists. The locals hate them because of the wasteful spending, I like them because they’re gigantic.

Currently in Nis, Serbia sitting in the centre really wanting sleep. First pastries. Then sleep.

Oi Ohrid

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On top of the Fort in Ohrid with the lake behind

Fish rule the waters

Mandatory tourist shot

Before hitting Ohrid I had an idea for some reason that Macedonia would be more of the same, just without the coastline. It was a dumb thought because I was wrong. Stupid Cody, stupid, stupid. Maaaan do I love Macedonia. The people are tremendously friendly and warm and its a different place from where I’ve been before. I was planning to spend two nights in Ohrid but I found out about a city festival in Skopje where the bars and clubs are open all night so I packed my bags and hit off with a hostel mate in the evening. Catching a ride with a great taxi driver (you have to be careful in many places, taxi drivers can take you for a ride as I learned) for cheap. Off to Sofia today, more on Skopje later 😀

Zico Tragedy

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Unlike Ponyboy, some things can’t stay gold forever. This is the sad tale of my flip flops. No! They were more than flip flops. They were a statement, a statement that no matter how run down and bleak it all may seem, a little bit of positivity and bandage tape can go a long way. Or at least I thought.

To have so much sentimental value in flip flops might be concerning, but other travelers seem to share my enthusiasm. My zebra beauties were already reaching the end of their lives before I even left home, and I think it was in Croatia when they really fell apart, it was heartbreaking. Using McGuyver like ingenuity I put them back together with bandage tape and little shame. This did two things. First, it didn’t do much in terms of structural support. And two, it gave them character. Especially with all the random hostel hair stuck to the tape. In Zabljak they developed a strong odour. This scent was a cross between Buckley’s and mold. I don’t think they dried properly. This is when I started to quarantine them on the outside of my bag. Was I ashamed? No. Was I embarrassed? Yes.

When I hit Tirana they thought I was checking out early, so the merciless cleaning lady peered into this vile and rotten bag of filth, saw the clumps of hair stuck to the tape that were starting to pulsate and banished them to the garbage. Not the ceremonial end to the tale that I wanted to tell to my grandchildren, but sometimes it doesn’t always work out that way.

Oh and just another note, no matter how comfortable you are in a hostel, don’t leave your things unattended. A nice girl left her laptop on her bed for not longer than 30-45 minutes and in that time it was swiped. You’d think other backpackers are all in the same boat and wouldn’t steal, but unfortunately there’s some pretty scummy people no matter where you are.

RIP Lucy and Rita.

From Tirana to Berat

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Skanderbeg Square in Tirana

Berat, view from the hostel

University of Berat

The air is getting crisper, but frost hasn’t reared its anti-summer face yet. That’ll soon change in a couple weeks, so I’m gonna sip on some Korcula and pop fresh pomegranate seeds until then. Albania has been so welcoming and Berat has been a real highlight. Got schooled in Albanian rules pool but a few beers later and it levelled the playing field. Its a smaller town but its beautiful with a lot of character. Did a solid hike up to a ruined fortress and I’m surprised my heart hung in there despite all the burek and pastries I’ve been attacking it with. I’m starting to plan a little more rigidly since I can see the end of my journey is drawing closer and I want to give myself enough time to see errrthing I want to, but I still have a couple days of leeway.