Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Viva Italia! We have made it to Italy and boy am I excited! But more about Italy later.
Throughout this trip we have had some really interesting public transit stories. Our first train ride from Munich to Prague we had this really nice private car with six seats. I was stretched out and ready to relax for the 6 hour ride but right as I am getting settled this wild group of Icelandic men storm into our car. Yep, they cozied right up, opened the Vodka and began to spew facts to me about Iceland. For instance, did you know that the country has only 300,000 citizens and that Iceland is actually more green and Greenland is more ice? They had been traveling for two days, with no shower, and only stopped in Munich to drink the beer. Needless to say, they smelled of Pilsner and Red Bull. Kerry of course loved the whole situation and its authenticity. As the train made its way through he Czech Republic our railcar turned into a party car. There was a huge group of American college students that turned their seats into a mobile bar. Kerry and I felt like we were right back in college, only older and less smelly.

Buses - Unfortunately the trains don't go everywhere that we want, so we have been forced to ride the buses. Our first trip began in Sarajevo and arrived in Dubrovnik. 7 hours, no biggie, right? Wrong, half way through they cut the AC and the hundred degree heat seeped in through every crevice in the bus. And to top it off, the bus driver stopped every 30 minutes for a smoke break. By the time we arrived in Dubrovnik, I thought Kerry was going to pass out.

After the hellish Sarajevo train, we thought we had experiences the worst. We boarded our little bus heading to Split, Croatia from Dubrovnik last Thursday. It might have been a breeze of a 6 hour ride but unfortunately the night before Kerry drank a little too much Limoncello, and was not very chipper for the ride. At one point the bus driver stopped for yet another smoke break and Kerry started walking down the highway. As I watched from my seat in the bus, I actually thought he was going to start running away. He had this look in his eye....

Boats - We scheduled an overnight ferry ride from Split, Croatia to Ancona, Italy. We stepped it up by reserving a private cabin, instead of sleeping on the deck of the ship. The minute I laid down to go to sleep, I realized that this was going to be a rough ride. Since we aren't high rollers, our cabin was just below sea level and right next to the engine room. I laid in my bunk bed for about 30 minutes, believing the entire time the ship was sinking. I had even planned my escape route. Everytime the ship hit a larger than usual wake, there was this massive sound of rushing water. I really thought we were going down. Finally at about midnight, I grabbed the pillow and a blanket and headed to the deck with the vagabonds. Kerry, in a dead sleep asked where I was going and I simply told him - to the deck. I ended up sleeping on the ground with a hundred others backpackers, while Kerry slept in the cabin.

Planes - We booked a flight from Zagreb, Croatia to Sarajevo, because the bus ride was going to be 10 hours. It was an amazing race moment where we had three hours to book the flight and get the airport from the train station. Kerry casually asked the travel agent, do many people go to Sarajevo? She quickly said NO. This is when I start to worry. At the airport we are the only English speaking passengers and the plane we board fits about 30 people. I cant understand any directions and better yet, its the dead of night. We landed just fine, with a little smirk on Kerrys face that read "I told you it would be fine".

We have come to love the modes of transport, because they provide us with endless entertainment and lots of laugh afterwards. We have officially become "Euro." Kerry sported a faux hawk, capri pants and speaks fluent Italian.

We will write more later... off to the Tuscany..Caio, Grazi.