berlin, Germany

After a week of goodbye parties in Zagreb (at that time everybody was leaving, some home, some on travel), i took a plane to Berlin, without a precise idea about how much that city was going to blow up my brains. I was in the mood for a big city; for speaking spanish with my good friend Santiago, who lives there; and, of course, for traveling.
Berlin is an incredible big city, although its population is small considering its size. Its quitness and order (that's not synonymous of boredom, in this case) surprised me; there weren't many cars on the streets, its trains and subways system is outstanding (and expensive, sure); and, perhaps the best thing, it's extremely bike friendly. I stayed at my friend's flat, in Mite neighborhood, 3 blocks away from the tv tower; nice location, indeed. Anyway, i wouldn't mind to live in Kottbuser Tor or it's surroundings, with their bohemian, turkish, coffy style. Neither i would complain to be near the river or one of the many channels that cross the city. I think that almost any place would have been great; that's Berlin!
I went to a couple of theater plays, in both of wich people got undressed. Clubs put a stamp in your arm, with wich you can go in and out as many times as you want, during the whole weekend. Sunlight in summer lasted until 23hs, days were endlesssss! Kebaps were tasty and cheap. Its ALLOWED to take your bike in the trains or subways. Train and subways work all night long from friday to sunday. Flea markets are beautiful, street festivals are very funny and buildings are covered with huge graffities. Bars decorations are outstanding, from cool to kitch, woody or with sinthetic red fur on the walls. Etc, etc, etc.
That's what i call 'first world'.
A big big hug and thanks goes for my german friends, Jelena and Nadja, whom i've met in Zagreb while studying croatian.
Ajde, enjoy the pics!
i own you the description for each one... soon!




























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otok Krk (Krk island)

For the closure of our classes, the whole Croaticum group (about 80 persons, among students and proffesors, some of them speaking croatian really good, some of us just babbling) went to Otok Krk, one of the biggest (if not the biggest) islands in Croatia. As usual, the way through Gorski Kotar was cloudy, cold, little bit rainy and beautiful. Better, most of us hadn't slept much (the day before were the last exams, so it was a hard partying night at the residence). Just a coffe on the road and we got into that marvelous tunnel that separates the mountains from the coast, clouds from sun and cold from warm. Slowly we went down the road towards the coast, and the islands started to appear like swimming dinosaurs.
Krk has many urban centers, not really big but very beautiful. The towns are trapped between the sea and the mountain, so the roads are narrow and the buildings tall, with an exquisite mediterranean style, tiny balconies, windows with flowers and an easy going atmosphere everywhere.
At the beggining was still cloudy, but after lunch the sun came out, the water become turquoise and warm. In the afternoom we went to a winery for a degustation of some special wine made in Krk. As you can imagine, half an hour later everyone were drunk from varied types of wines and rakijas. At that time, i stopped taking pictures, and i hope the others did the same thing. On the returning bus, we started singing and continued drinking the wines that were supposed for souvenirs. They never got Zagreb.
Ajde, bok!!












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pula & brijuni national park

Last Sunday, we woke up extremely early and went on a trip to Pula and Brijuni islands, in the Istrian peninsula, at the west of Croatia, quite near Italy. Between Zagreb and Istria you have 'Gorski kotar', a mountainous region with beautiful woods and lakes (šime i jezera, in croatian). It's higher and wetter than the rest of the country, so in winter (zima) it's quite cold and you have a lot of snow there. It would be a fantastic place for camping and easy living, if there were not wild hungry bears around. Anyway, you'd enjoy a fantastic stay before being their lunch.
A long tunnel separates this region from Istria, after wich weather can change drastically, as you can see in the pictures. One hour and a half later you get to Pula, a beautiful little city on the coast of the Adriatic sea (Jadransko more), in the extreme south of the peninsula. It has one of the few coliseums (arena) in the world, and some extremely friendly cuasi-italian population. After walking through the city, we crossed the Fažana strait on a ferry to get to Veli Brijuni, the bigger island of the Brijuni archipielago. It was one of Tito's residences (former president of Yugoslavia)... wise guy. It has a little zoo, with an elephant and some zebras, and an olive tree 1600 years old, but it still looks nice.
The crossing of the strait was, for me, one of the most beautiful moments of the trip. I wish it would have last more, but it's a very short strait.
Ok, here go the pictures. See you later!
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1. on our way / Gorski kotar landscape
2. on our way / After crossing the tunnel, in Istria side
3. on our way / going down to Pula
4+5. around Pula
6+7. around Pula, looking at the Colisieum
8+9. around Pula, again.
10, 11, 12 + 13. before, meanwhile and after crossing the Fažana strait.
14. Brijuni islands, big map
15. around Veli Brijuni
16. excursion around in a tiny bus, Veli Brijuni. at the center, Najwa from Jordan. at her right, Ignacio from Argentina. in front of her, little bit to the right, Vjollca from Albania (but she lives in Macedonia and studies in Kosovo).
17. taking pictures feverishly to everything that moves.
18. where are we?

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