Tour Day in Herzegovina

While there are countless benefits that I could go on and on about to traveling alone (and probably will soon), I briefly encountered one negative aspect during the first leg of my trip. 

I'd researched all different tours that I was hoping to book, but when I finally went to book them I couldn't- they required you to sign up with at least two people! I was really bummed at first, but it ended up being a blessing, as what I did find was a million times better.

In a previous post I commented on the exceptional hospitality at my hotel; when I asked about tours outside of the city at the front desk early my first morning, I thought I was out of luck. I'd waited too long and hadn't planned ahead. But I was told that calls would be made, and they'd find me a tour- and they did! One of the manager's also ran Airbnb's with his girlfriend, and she was taking a couple out the next day!

I woke up that morning ready for action, repeatedly telling myself that spending the day with strangers was definitely something I could handle. As we made our way to the first stop, our guide (I'm going to call her A) filled us in on some of the major points of Bosnian history, especially focusing on the most recent war for independence. Hearing it from someone who had been born in the midst of it was heartbreaking. I won't get into too much for the sake of her privacy, but her perspective was honest, thoughtful, and open-minded. 

She shared that her high school had been divided between Bosnian and Croatian students. 

On student council, she and her friends had tried to encourage the school to mix the students for at least one class, but they remained separated. We learned about her grandma's old stories from the days of Tito, as well as how the war still impacts her life every single day. Though her outlook was positive, it was fascinating (and sad) to hear so directly about life during and after such a terrible time in their history.

Blagaj Tekke

Our first stop was at Blagaj Tekke, a Dervish monastery built between 1446 and 1520 along the Buna River. Because it is situated directly next to the cave holding the source of the river, the water is pure enough to drink! Immediately upon stepping out of the car in Blagaj, a sense of peace unfolded around me. The monastery is built at the base of the high cliffs surrounding the river. Though nearly 100 degrees elsewhere, the temperature seems to drop the closer you get, making it cool and comfortable.

Though a major tourist attraction for the area, the Tekke is still a holy place. Before entering we were required to remove our shoes and cover ourselves. There were long wraps to cover our legs (for both men and women), and scarves to cover our hair (women only). Walking through the serene building feels like you're in on a secret; the prayer rooms aren't always in use, but they were during our visit. I felt like we were tip-toeing around something very private, though as I mentioned, it is a tourist destination. The rooms are decorated with the typical Ottoman rugs, and hold volumes of religious texts.

Pocitelj

Our second stop was at Pocitelj. During the middle ages, Pocitelj was the center of administration and governance for its county, and was supposedly built by Bosnia's King Stjepan Tvtko in 1383. What makes Pocitelj especially special is its architecture mixture of medieval and Ottoman. Between the 14th and 18th centuries, the city was ruled by the Hungarian empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian empire. The architecture of an old rule is often destroyed to make room for the new, but in Pocitelj, you can see elements of all clearly, as it was well preserved. Because of this, Pocitelj is on UNESCO's Tentative List for classification as a World Heritage Site.

Perhaps because it was so hot, we were some of the very few visitors to the small city, and at certain points the only at the citadel. While the hike up the uneven, slippery stairs was a struggle, the view was lovely, and you probably know how I feel about ruins by this point (hint: I love them). A told us about the history of the town, as well as the 1992 bombing that nearly destroyed the city, and landed it on World Monuments Watch's 100 Most Endangered Cultural Heritage Sites list in 1996 and 1998. After our hike up to the top, we treated ourselves to ice-cold pomegranate juice and little cones full of fruit on the way out of town.

Kravice Falls

The final stop was the one I was most excited for: Kravice Falls. The falls consist of a lake surrounded by about 20 waterfalls, some over 80ft tall. Most importantly, YOU CAN SWIM THERE!!! After a steamy day of climbing fortresses, nothing felt better than jumping into the water and scaling up the rocks to get right under those falls. It was a great bonding experience for me and the other tour-ees (though they were a couple, and there's a chance that I was a huge imposition...), and A later told us that she was terrified watching us climb around like little mountain goats the whole time.

As a longtime waterfall-calendar enthusiast, I was basically in heaven the entire visit. The falls themselves are hugely impressive; nature is truly incredible. I may have bought a waterproof phone case specifically for this visit; though I have never been a selfie person, I probably took 800 on this vacation... oops :) In addition to swimming, climbing, and taking pictures there were some brave souls who we also watched jumping off the falls into the water below. How they managed to miss the rocks and shallow parts, I'll never know, but I was only courageous enough to watch.

While swimming, we met two Americans who shared that they were traveling and playing at different venues around Europe. I intended to go and watch that evening, but without internet access, I didn't think I'd have a great chance of finding it. Well, on my way out for one last exploration of the city that night, I heard some great music coming from near the Crooked Bridge (another cute Mostar bridge). As I got closer, I recognized the name of the bar not only from one of my favorite songs, but also from my earlier conversation: Black Dog Pub. Drawn by the music, I headed in and saw one of the guys I'd met playing along with what turned out to be a Serbian wedding band! Unfortunately, my new friends had been double booked, but lucky for me I got to hear not one but TWO awesome bands play. There was some additional craziness of the night, including finding the worlds cutest kitten, being aggressively invited to breakfast by a homeless man, and finding a ride for the next day to Croatia. Overall, that day exploring Herzegovina was one of the most interesting days I've ever had!

Magic, Monarchs, and Malt: Thanksgiving in Scotland

For me, the hardest day to live abroad is Thanksgiving. 

Knowing my family is together, celebrating a holiday that for us has always been about togetherness, and not being there is heart wrenching. This year I even looked into plane tickets to make the trek back to Rochester for the four-day weekend, but by the time I got home I would have had to turn right back around. Anyways, lucky me gets to distract myself from the sadness with fabulous adventures! I loved my trip to Edinburgh, which had the perfect mixture of wandering and history.

This cutie little dog has a super sad story, and is a symbol for Scottish loyalty. When his owner died, he made a trip to the graveyard every day for years, spending hours sitting on his owners grave, until his own death. Poor little guy :(

I loved this. "Light" has been a major theme in my thinking
lately- see my previous post for more!

What I connected most with from Scotland was the element of storytelling that is so prevalent in the culture. 

As one of the last nations to adopt written language as a method for recording their history, the Scots have a passion for the spoken word. It was evident in almost all of my interactions with the Scottish people that my friends and I met throughout the trip.

On our first night, we went to "The Dark Side Tour," which covered Edinburgh's dark and spooky side: mausoleums, murders, witch hunts, and folklore. 

Our guide had our rapt attention for hours, hanging on his every word- he was incredible!

I love mythology and folklore, and was excited when our guide told us some stories that I realized many of my favorite books were based on. We wandered up a dark, spooky hill, where we learned about kelpies and silkies, as well as "Arthur's Seat," a hill some believe King Arthur was buried on. However, that isn't the case at all. The land was supposedly once roamed by giants, and the last giant in the area (Arthur) use to people watch while sitting on the hill. Hmm. 

Scottish folklore is like other fairytales and myths in that it is meant to explain things. However, it is typically much scarier and darker. 

For example, kelpies are water demons that take on the form of beautiful horses. They lure you to their side at the shore with their beauty, because who doesn't want to pet a beautiful white horse, and then they eat you. Brownies were good little beings who clean up your house at night in exchange for food and little gifts. They're happy to help as long as you don't abuse their generosity; if you do, they retaliate and burn down your house. Interesting way to keep children away from the water, and keep their rooms clean!

At Doune Castle, the filming location for Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Game of Thrones (Winterfell!),
and Outlander! I am in heaven!!

Rich, royal colors!

We went on a second tour the next day through the Heart of Scotland Tours.

Ours was Tour Two: Stirling Castle, Highland Lochs, and Whisky. The first stop was Stirling Castle, where Mary Queen of Scots was crowned as an infant. This was the beginning of my TV-show-fan-girling, because one of my favorite shows (Reign) is about her! Ahhh! While roaming through the castle we came across a woman dressed as a lady in waiting. She explained that the king's bedroom was completely bare because after his death Marie de Guise had every reminder of him removed. The queen's room, on the other hand, was completely decked out in rich colors, tapestries, and ornate decor to remind visitors of her regality. In fact, though there was a bed in the room, she didn't even sleep there; the bed was in place to give important visitors the feeling of intimacy with the queen.

These tapestries took years for three women to
complete! The craftsmanship was incredible!

I enjoyed hearing these details, but the woman/actress/storyteller in the next room blew me away. 

She was completely in character as a maid the entire time we listened to her, telling story after story, fact after fact, in a seemingly natural way. She'd connect little stories to details she pulled from the crowd. At first I was a little disappointed to hear that most of what we saw a replication, but then realized how incredible that was. The tapestries on the wall took three weavers years to make, working all day, side by side. The oriental rug was made using the same exact techniques that had been used that was used in the 1500s, and the Italian wallpaper books that were admired during the time were used to inspire the designs painted during the castle's restoration. I was astonished by the connection we still have to the past, that there are people spending years of their lives recreating artwork using original techniques. It's just so cool! But as amazing as that was, for some reason I got choked up when she told the crowd that the door to the room we were in was the original- Mary, Queen of Scots used that door! Crazy! (I cry over everything, don't judge me).

My buddy Fiona and I have the same hair :) 

Just your average Scot, frolicking through the highlands. 

The storytelling wasn't just limited to tourism, though my next example is from a tour guide. 

Every day conversation was embedded with stories and history. While making idle chatter towards the end of the tour, I asked our guide about typical mealtimes. We had noticed the night before that our 9:00 dinner reservation at The Witchery (AMAZING restaurant, btw) left us as the only late-night diners, while in Italy 9:00 would be peak dinner time. Instead of simply responding with "6:00pm" or something, he launched into an intense discussion on the class system that hasn't quite disappeared yet, and how mealtimes and the number of meals you ate a day depended on whether you were working or middle class... whew!

Enjoying our mulled wine at the Christmas market!

I left inspired to go home and write (clearly, since this is post #2 since my return, and I have been slacking since August!), and I'm not alone. 

J.K. Rowling wrote the first of her fabulous series in the first cafe my friends and I stumbled across in Edinburgh! I was absolutely in awe! When she was living in the lovely city, she didn't have a lot of money to spare and would look for free things to do- after seeing the boarding schools, castles, and being immersed in the folklore (Care of Magical Creatures/Defense Against the Dark Arts with Lupin, anyone?!), it's easy to see how the magical city inspired her. And she wasn't the only author who gathered name inspiration from wandering the graveyards. A certain Mr. Dickens passed a grave in Edinburgh marked, "Here lies Ebinezer Scroggie, a mean man," and based his own Scrooge off of this idea of being so cruel, people couldn't even be kind or gracious on his headstone. Years later, however, he discovered that the grave actually read, "Here lies Ebinezer Scroggie, a meal man." Turns out Scroggie was a  well liked, charismatic, slightly licentious corn merchant. Dickens felt terrible for blackening his character by associating the gregarious Scroggie forever with  the mean-spirited Scrooge!

Switching from Mozzarella to Feta

For Spring Break this year, my friends and I spent the week in Oia, Santorini. This is going to be a mostly food based post, so I'm going to get these other highlights out at the beginning:

Staying on Amoudi Bay

April was still pretty chilly in Santorini, but staying on the bay was lovely. The sunny days lured us out to a boat cruise from the dock right in front of our apartment, and watching the storm on the water from our apartment window was beyond cozy. I loved this little blue fishing boat- it made me feel like Lena in from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants! 

Exploring Oia's village undisturbed

Because we went so early in the year, the tourist season really hadn't begun yet and Oia was nearly empty. Even the shopkeepers and restaurant owners were just beginning to arrive and open up their places for the season. It was nice to have the streets nearly to ourselves- we could stop for pictures without anyone in our way, and artisans were so excited to share what they'd been making all winter with their first costumers! 

 

**While it was wonderful to be there in such a quiet time, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. We had a number of freezing, rainy days and were not prepared with what we'd packed. Many building (including are apartment) didn't have heat. However, if you don't mind rain, it was still a wonderful week!

Food (Including a fabulous cooking class)

Snoot guide

As a future Domestic Goddess, one of the most memorable experiences was taking the 6-hour Wine and Food Lovers tour with Santorini Wine Adventures, and I would 100% recommend the tour to anyone interested in either of those things (wine and food-- who isn't?).  Let me begin by saying I probably gained 10lbs on this trip. Meditteranean/Greek food is by far my favorite type of food, and I couldn't get enough of the feta, eggplant, olive oil, and wine. The stuffed eggplant I had on the first night there was probably the best thing I've ever eaten. 

We started off by touring two different wineries and trying all of Santorini's local wines. While I love wine, I know basically nothing about varieties or even what I like (I mean, I know in theory... but I can't try one and know what it is, or even detect 'notes!'). I do, however, know now that in Santorini, grape vines grow in a nest shape, which keeps the grapes safe from the wind and sun. I also know that if I'm feeling snooty and would like to be a little pretentious, I should look at my wine for a while and smell it before drinking it. 

New friends

The cooking class wasn't quite as hands-on as I expected. 

The chef who taught us did the majority of the work, though we did help out with chopping and mixing the tomato fritter dough. Since I'm home, I decided to try out the recipes for myself and made them for my family (I did make the fritters for myself also a few months ago). Along the way, I had to Google things like, "What is a skillet," which will show you just about where I am on my journey to Domestic Goddess-hood. Our menu consisted of Greek Salad, Tomato Fritters (Domatokeftedes), Tzatziki with bread, and Greek Turkey Burgers with Feta (from Wegmans). Originally, the meat was meant to be Pork Medallions in Vin Santo Sauce with a side of Fava, but I couldn't find Vin Santo. I did still try to make the fava spread though- it was a disaster. It just stayed a bunch of wet hard little beans in a pan no matter what I did. The rest turned out well though! (I just finished dinner-- I didn't take any pictures of the process or the final table setting! Where's my head!?). Anyway, if you're interested in a few recipes, and a few more cooking class photos, you'll find them at the bottom!

Boat Tour

We picked the PERFECT, gloriously sunny day for a boat tour! Seriously, there wasn't a single other day that would have been as nice! When I remember what tour I took, I'll add that in! The tour took us around a few lovely islands, sailed along the coast, up to hot springs, and past a volcano. I didn't realize at the time, but the meal they served was exceptionally good. I mean, I knew at the time that it was delicious, but I didn't realize how good it was for a boat meal :) The tour was the epitome of relaxing luxury. After lunch, we even fell asleep stretched out on the dock. Soooooo wonderfully luxurious!

    

    

Breathtaking views

Just unbelievable. Every turn led to the most gorgeous views, and the hikes it took to reach some of them were well worth it. Prepare for many pictures (something new from me...).

Yes, they're similar, but I couldn't choose! And yes, I may have overused some Insta-filters on this one... so sue me ;)

 Sunsets

I suppose this could have fit under "Breathtaking Views," but I felt like it deserved a category of it's own!

Recipe time!

Greek Salad (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cucumber, seeded and cut in rounds
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• Capers
• Caper leaves
• Kalamata olives
• Olive Oil
• Salt, pepper, and oregano to taste

Mix all ingredients together except the cheese. I was not able to find caper leaves, but if you can, they're delicious and should be added! Let sit for about an hour. Right before serving, add the cheese! This is great on its own, or with a little lemon or tzatziki!

Tzatziki (makes about 2.5 cups)

Ingredients:

• 1 tbs. fresh dill, chopped
• 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cups olive oil
• 1 tbs. red wine vinegar
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and grated
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (depending on how strong you want the garlic flavor!)

1. The first step is getting your cucumber ready. After peeling the cucumber, I used a cheese grater (careful of your fingers!) to grate the cucumber. It was very strange. It will end up very watery and needs to be strained. 
2. Mix all ingredients together. Go slowly with the garlic. I would suggest adding one clove the first time you try it, because after the tzatziki sits, the flavors deepen! 
3. Let sit for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator before serving! Enjoy with vegetables, as a salad dressing, with tomato fritters or fried veggies, to dip bread in, use as a sandwich spread... really anything that could use a little Greek deliciousness!

I used a little less oil and they were still pretty tasty!

Tomato Fritters (Domatokeftedes)

Ingredients:

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• Olive oil (add a splash as you're adding flour, but not too much!)
• Low-flavor oil for frying (enough to shallowly fill pan)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine the tomatoes, onion, herbs, and olive oil in a large bowl. Slowly add the flour as you stir the mixture. Kneed with your hands (it'll be messy!) until the mixture is the consistency of thick pancake batter. Set aside for at least 30 minutes (though leaving it overnight will allow the flavors to come out even more!). 
2. Heat up enough oil in a frying pan to shallow fry the fritters. 
3. Scoop up spoonfuls of the tomato mixture using an ice-cream scoop or spoon and drop them into the oil, no more than three at a time. Fry each side for about 2-3 minutes. Don't be tempted to poke at them too soon, as they'll fall apart!
4. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel before serving.

These are also delicious with tzatziki! Just a note from my first experience making them on my own: if the batter is falling apart when they're frying, add a little more flour to your mixture.