In classic Hollywood fashion I thought I’d leave you with a question mark at the end of the End… I’ve always hated a good cliffhanger, except for the Empire Strikes Back.
27.July.2009
This whole day was spent traveling really. I arrived in Vienna at around 5.30, had to take a metro across town and then wait for another bus. The Student Agency bus was leaving at 8.30am but I found a 7.50 Tours Bus that was cheaper (5.80 Euro) to Brno and so hopped that one. Upon arrival in Brno I chatted briefly with someone in the area but they were really busy and I was really tired…so I hopped a Student Agency bus which left 10 minutes after I bought the ticket. It was shaping up to be a perfect travel day. That continued as I arrived in Prague, took the metro across town and purchased a ticket to Liberec on a bus that was leaving about 5 minutes after. All I had time to do was buy a slice of pizza, a bottle of water and throw my bag in the bus before we left.
That’s a hell of a day by bus Zagreb – Vienna – Brno – Prague – Liberec…
But I survived and was welcomed with open arms by Hana who was amazed at how fast I had managed to get there considering she had only arrived Saturday night and went directly by train…
28.July.2009
I’m sad. I think I’m suffering from Post-traveling depression. For seven weeks I was a leaf on the winds of the world, going wherever they blew. Now I feel like a boat anchor has been wrapped around me and I have been dragged to the depths. It’s raining today, the first time I’ve seen actual rain for quite some time. I feel like a bird that has been caged and not let free to fly. I feel like part of my heart was left behind somewhere and it’s calling out to me. I feel like I need to go back… back to Sarajevo, back to the adventure, back to find that small piece of my heart that makes me want to weep for its absence.
This is the price we pay no? We take our grand adventures, we make our master plans and then when they come off how we had hoped they would we’re left with an emptiness. Or perhaps I didn’t leave a piece of my heart out there in the world, perhaps someone stole it (probably even knows who she is) . Perhaps it’s calling me back to get it and therefore to fulfill yet another of Fate’s plans for me. Then again, perhaps it’s just the rain, the fact that I don’t see any travel in the next few months (until October at present). I even went so far as to see how cheap a plane ticket from Prague to Sarajevo would be (not much if I buy about 5 weeks in advance).
There is work that must be attended to. Things that I have been paying attention to along the way but not to the level that I should have. There are things that I need to achieve so that I can again pack a bag and leave indefinitely wandering on the winds of the world with no plan and place to be. This work will prove to be profitable even if all it allows me to do is to be a homeless vagabond and travel to those corners of the world where I’ve been in the past and where I will be in the future. I know it’s a price that must be paid and it’s the cost of being who I am. But it’s also the means to an end and that end is coming up on the horizon.
I’ve found a literary agent for the WifeCycle (for those that haven’t noticed the status change on the top of this page). Her name is Heidi, she seems focused and driven and I believe she has the ability to push me forward with the book and get it into the hands of someone who will consider it worthy of publishing. We haven’t made a complete, formal agreement yet. But we do have the foundations laid and I think it is a good fit. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a very long and fruitful relationship that will see my books on shelves around the world.
Speaking of the books. Myranda’s Story is progressing. I did take a lot of time away from it on this trip but I had so much to see and do that I couldn’t give it the attention it needed. But there are around 200 pages written now and I’ve just come to another major milestone in the book – the escape from the second land. I’m going to go and write it right now as a matter of fact.
This will wrap up the travel blog for now, though I’ve been thinking about it and since I don’t have a flat I’m still technically traveling no?
Trip statistics:
Countries: 8 – Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania (in chronological order of first visit)
Cities: 19 – Ljubljana, Zagreb, Zadar, Šibenik, Split, Dubrovnik, Mostar, Sarajevo, Belgrade, Pančevo, Podgorica, Prishtina, Skopje, Ohrid, Tirana, Kruja, Shkodra, Ulcinj, Budva (in chronological order of first visit).
Most visited City: Sarajevo 3 times
Longest stay: Split – 7 days straight (with Hana), second visit. (Sarajevo 10 nights combined on 3 visits)
Total time: 7 weeks, 3 days.
Total distance: 6222 km (roughly according to Google Maps)
The Return Trip (since Tirana) 2164 km
The previous map can be found here (Prague to Skopje): http://www.christophor-rick.com/2009/07/08/travel-blog-ohrid-to-tirana
Note: there’s a missing piece Skopje – Ohrid – Tirana which was 308 Km.
If you want to read the whole travel blog from beginning to end begin here:
http://www.christophor-rick.com/2009/06/05/where-in-the-world-is-chris-05-06-june-2009/