[tayser2]

HRVATSKA

DUBROVNIK

Bravo Bravo.

BEOGRAD NA MARU

Well, the following image pretty much sums up Beograd for me.

3 full days in this mid-Croatian coast town and it was pretty much just spent drinking the above and lazing about the beach. It was ****en gold. Why? Well Sterling to Kuna was something in the region of £1 to 10HRK. ($2.50AUD to 10HRK). And a pint of the above beer costs you approx 8-12HRK. Nice place, caters more for families but I think that really wasn't an issue seeming as though I'd just finished work and the thought of doing nothing apart from drinking in a hot climate was quite appealing.

RIJEKA

Eves on apartment buildings, I love it.

pics like this remind you are in the Balkans and that the cities have been through a bit of shit in the past 20 years or so.

Croatian Highlights:

KARLOVAČKO! Bravo Bravo
Dubrovnik's old town.
Cevapcici
Quick stop off in Zadar.
The coast roads north of Dubrovnik and Zadar.
Rijeka full stop.
The crazy Croatian Ricky Lake look-a-like who has her own chat show.
The cheap everything - food, drink, inter-city bus network, Aussies can't bitch and moan about exchange rates in Croatia, everyone gets a sweet deal there.




DEUTSCHLAND

BERLIN

German highlights:

Having a brief conversation in German at Hannover airport security - this going off what I learnt 10 years ago and hardly ever spoken a word since :lol :
The walking tour of Berlin
The pub after the walking tour of Berlin
Unter den Linden & Brandenburger Tor
Teaching Canadians what 'seppo' means at the pub after the walking tour of Berlin
Mentioning the walking tour of Berlin for a forth time in this highlights summary
Potsdamer Platz
Berlin Hauptbahnhof
The ICE ride up from Munich
The view from the S-Bahn from Zoo to Hackescher Markt stations.



NEDERLAND

AMSTERDAM

Riding up to the ATM, only in Amsterdam.

Had the best Asian grub in Europe in Amsterdam too.

Dutch Highlights:

Schipol airport, probably the longest walk I've ever had to get my luggage (and yes that was a highlight, not a lowlight!)
Top notch girls in the red light district
2 for 1 Wifebeaters (Stella) for €3.80 at the hostel's bar.
The lane behind the hostel's beer garden.
Spending half the night bringing up the wifebeaters & sitting at the bottom of the shower on the last night. *punches the air*
Incredible urbanity with not a skyscraper in sight.
The Dutch themselves.
The Dutch English accent.
The Dutch language.

Part 2 is coming when I can be arsed editing everything, includes Paris, London & Dublin.

 

[Observer Walt]

OK, I'll bite: what does "seppo" mean?

Interesting pictures!

 

[tayser2]

'strayanisms usually involve dropping letters at the end of words and adding 'o' or 'ie/ee/ey/e'.... and seppo is short for septic.

septic tank rhymes with yank. (there's also a reference between the accent and toilets lol : ), although I've only heard that once before and I'm vague on the detail).

seppo = American.

other examples: bottlo (bottle-shop), spazzo (spastic), shoppo (shopping centre [mall]), Honkee (a person from HK), bikkie (biscuit), brekkie (breakfast), lippy (lipstick), mozzie (mosquito), smoko (smoking/cigarette break [from work]) etc.

anyhow it's a long and convoluted explanation, but the Canadians (one of them the tour guide originally from Edmonton) at the table in this pub were wetting themselves with laughter and loved it saying they're taking it back to Canada with them.

 

[garden of evil]

love the ass hanging out of that girls short shorts

 

[ganjavih]

Nice pics. European cities... always interesting.

 

[Observer Walt]

Re: July in summary Part 1

Thanks for the "explano"! These words are new to me, except for "brekkie" which is occasionally heard in Canada.

Looking forward to the rest of your pictures, and perhaps, a report on the quality of beer consumed in Ireland?

 

[ahrvojic]

Great photos, tayser!

Only one thing: "Beograd na Maru" is actually Biograd na Moru. Beograd is the capital of Serbia

Also, crumbled facades in Croatia aren't necessarily war damage, but more typically the result of complete neglect under the previous communist regime. Zagreb has been undergoing mass-renovations for years now, but of course it's the capital.

 

[tayser2]

I thought they both translated to Belgrade - the Crotian one is just 'on the sea'? language/dialect differences?

anyhow, I stand corrected! Hvala.

I also wondered about neglect - it is quite extensive in Rijeka and on the outskirts of Split (only had a 30 min stop in Split, which was enough IMO :lol ).

 

[ahrvojic]

Hah! I think you're right about it being a dialect difference, actually

Yeah, Rijeka is more of an industrial port, so probably doesn't get the same priority for government renovation money as the more touristy destinations do. Eventually it'll all get fixed, but will take quite some time to reverse that lost half-century.

 

[istrian]

July in summary Part 1

no pan intended...

Everything east of the river Rijecina, which lies in the city (town) of Rijeka, is Balkan indeed, so is Susak
now integral though east part of the city of Rijeka, but
west bank of Rijecina wasn't any more Balkan. Remember, Rijeka and Istria was Italian teritory once,
and over the river Rijecina was Jugoslavija. Calling Rijeka
Balkan is offense for the citizens of Rijeka.

PS: Otherwise you may say the Triest (Trieste) is a Balkan too, which would be simply geagraphic nonsence.

The border line would be that red circle, but most probably the
real balkan border, according to the mentality of its people would be that green line, which is close to the Bosnian territory...

 

[bizorky]

Re: July in summary Part 1

Picture six: I would say that the tush is exactly centred. Good aim tayser!

 

[Brighter Hell]

Re: July in summary Part 1

That patio/beach/cliff/fortress looks amazing!

 

[tayser2]

Re: July in summary Part 1

bizorky: it wasn't hard believe me.

Brighter: it was, and so were the white pointers

 

[Mislav]

Re: July in summary Part 1

Nice pics tayser!

I've been to Dubrovnik only once (in 2004) and I was very much impressed. Rijeka, although you showed it really well, is not my favourite Croatian city due to the terrain on which it was built. Have you had a chance to visit the islands?