** Diakuiu  multumesc  teşekkür ederim  Merci  Faleminderit  Blagodaram  Hvala  Köszönöm  Dakujem

Fast Train Bratislava Kosice (Slovak student discount):  11,90E
Kosice-Lviv: 19,59E (reservation)+ 14E = 33,59E
Lviv-Bucarest: 55E
Balkan Flexi Pass (up to 26 year old): 51E (valid in Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia)
I add 10E for Bucarest-Istanbul and Istanbul-Sofia
Skopje-Pristinë (bus): 5E -10E for a return ticket

I spent in Kosovo very nice time; people were very kind and open-minded. Never listen people talking about Kosovo, they do not know what they talk about, everything and everyone is surprising there!

I left Kosovo to Skopje in Macedonia with my friends then I came back not without problem to Bratislava, what an adventure that trip back!! None of my trains were on time so I missed trains and destroyed my knee in Beograd.

In Skopje we saw mainly the castle and the main square full of bars.

They dropped me around Kosovo; we visited Prizren and stopped in a village in Albania.

Prizren:

Albania:

When we crossed the border, they even did not check yours ID maybe because the car was with a Kosovo matriculation. To join Kosovo and Albania, there is the construction of a highway that we took and surprise when we got Albania; the highway was full of cows! Welcome in Albania!!

In all the landscape you can find many bunkers which testify the hardness of the last war. Actually even people in Albania are more close-mind than in Kosovo, certainly one of the rest of the civil war.
A monument about the exile of Kosovar people:

I spent a strange night in the train station of Nis, my next train must arrive at 2am but unfortunately it was in late of 2hours and half.

I got Skopje at 12am and took a bus to Pristine around 1:30pm. My friend was already waiting for me in the bus station of Pristine; I studied with her in France in the law faculty of Toulouse. We went to her home where we had very nice burek. Then, she showed me the city center which is small but nice. Streets and bars were full of people, very good ambiance.

Some information about Pristine and Kosovar’s culture:

- The main boulevard is called Mother Teresa because she was a catholic Albanian living in Skopje; her real name was Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu.
“By blood and origin I am Albanian. My citizenship is Indian. I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the whole world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the heart of Jesus.” Mother Teresa

- The University library of Pristine is a very strange building, even a bit weird. We can try to imagine that it looks like any chained brain. Who knows?

- The first post-war president, who served until his death in January 2006, was Ibrahim Rugova. He definite Albanian as Muslim European, as regard to my experience there I totally agrees. They are Muslim but they practice it in a totally different way than in Turkey or in Morocco.  The successor of Ibrahim Rugova is Fatmir Sejdiu.

- Adem Jashari was born on28 November 1955, Independence Day in Kosovo. He was one of the main creators of The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).  He fighter actively against Serbian forces and he died in a fight in his house with his family. In 2008, he got the title of “hero of Kosovo” and he became a symbol of Independence.

- All portraits on this wall are people who disappeared because of the last war

Unfortunately, my train was in late. I could not inform my contact couch surfing because my phone was out of battery. Anyway, we met each other in the train station with two hours on late. We looked for my tickets to Skopje, something wrong in my plan because I did not expect to have a connection in Nis, in Serbia during the night.

In Sofia, Martin and Angel showed me:

- The main University of Sofia with all its secret passages

- The Mosque of Banya Bashi which is one of the souvenir of the Turkish occupation in Bulgaria

- The statue of San Sophia from 2001 in one of the main Carrefour.

- The oldest church of the country called Sveta Sofia (don’t miss to have a look inside, the atmosphere is particular)

- The Tsurkva Sveta Nikolai (Russian church San Nicolas) which is an orthodox church, it is very nice and much decorated inside. In the first floor there is a room for writing wishes on small papers as orthodox tradition.

- The theater Ivan Vazov

- The Cathedral Nevsky which is the main orthodox cathedral in Sofia, and one of the biggest one in Eastern Europe. They started to build it in 1903 and finished it in 1916; it is one of the symbol of the Bulgarian independence from Turkey.

I caught my train to Serbia after a nice afternoon and get prepared to a moving night.

** In Turkey, there is an expression which says that when someone does not understand he is French!

Freedy came to Istanbul from Bucharest, we met a first time in the morning and then in the end of the afternoon to have a look on the Bosphore.
On the morning we went to a church to make a wish. Every first day of the month, if you go in a church in Turkish you can buy a key and make a wish. As regard as the superstition if your wish become true you have to send back to the church your key.                                    

On the afternoon we decided to take a touristic boat along to the Bosphore, it was really nice and a famous character in Turkey interviewed Freedy and I. Then we had a fish and bread, very tasty and cheap meal.

I left Istanbul the evening to Sofia; I had a very good look and souvenir from Istanbul and Turkish people. All of them are very generous and help me a lot. Anyway, to visit Istanbul you need at least one week, I wish to come back and to travel in Turkey with that Balkan Rail pass. There are a lot to discover.

After a very nice traditional Turkish breakfast, we went to the city center under the rain.

We saw:

-              Topkapi’s Palace, inside there are several exhibitions about the Turkish treasure, some of them were really interesting. 

-              The big Bazar, it was too touristic and not that interesting, I think that there are others Bazar in Istanbul less touristic and much more interesting to see.

-              The commercial street called Taksim in the modern part of Istanbul, that area lives all days and nights.

Nice wake up, the landscape had completely changed!

I arrived to the train station by bus, actually the central train station of Istanbil, Sirkeci is under construction so the train stopped at two hours from the city center and then you have to take a bus. Fortunately my train was in late of two hours, I got the train station at 10:30am which was good because I wasn’t able to give good information about my location to my friend, Pelin. We finally met around 11:30, I did not expected Istanbul so huge but if you don’t know in which city center you are how do you want to find someone!!

We went to a famous restaurant to eat kofte, this kind of balls meat; it was very tasty. Then we went for sightseeing around Istanbul, so many things to see, I know already that in three days I won’t see everything!

We saw:

-              The Bleue Mosque

-              Hagia Sophia, I did not go inside because all entrances in monuments were 10euros for non-Turkish people. I chose to visit the Topkapi’s Palace th next day.

-              The Galata Tower also called Christea Turris, from upstairs we can have a very nice view of Istanbul. One man built for him some wings and flied from that tower to the Asian part of Istanbul.

-              The Mosque of Ortaköy is close to the Bosphore, we had a drink there and a huge waffle with fruits and different kind of chocolates.

Freddy went to visit the Parliament the morning with a girl from his program, he proposed me but I wasn’t really interested. I took this day more as a travelling one; I went to buy what I needed for my journey and simply caught my train. On the platform I met the conductor of my carriage, a Turkish very nice but quite a bit curious! He told me that we were only three to go to Istanbul, and three foreigners! So I took a compartment only for me, second time in the trip because it was already happened from Kosice to Lviv. It was great because I needed to wash my clothes!!

The train is leaving…

In Romania we went through the countryside, it was nice but sometimes you feel in another century.
When we crossed the border between Romania and Bulgaria we got an ID control, this was really incomprehensible, are we in European Union? All trains, buses, trucks and cars were controlled!
Anyway, the conductor come to tell us that in few minutes it will be a nostalgic landscape so three of us we pasted our faces to windows. The border is drawn by a river called Dunarea. (3pm)

My first initiative was to find a new hostel close to the train station and with internet. Then I met Freedy around 3pm in Unirii, we went to the Parliament of Romania it is the biggest one in the world; so impressive!

Then Stefan, my couch surfer, called us and we met in the fountain of plaza de Universitatii. We had a walk in the city center; Lipscani’s district and a water pipe in the Passage called Macca Vilacrosse. Stefan was a perfect guide, he knows a lot about Romanian history, politics and economics, European Union, etc. He gave me a lot of interesting details about his country and Romanian people and particularly students.

In Bucharest the Church of Stavropoleos in Lipscani, Stavropoulos street, was built by the monk Ionachie from Greece in 1824:

I had a good impression about Bucharest, more about the city center, because I did not stay enough time to see more. Romanian people were very nice and I noticed that they don’t try to hide what isn’t glorious about their country. Anyway, I felt stressed in this town, not only about my adventure the first day. May be because Lviv or even Bratislava are small towns without stress and Bucharest is a true European Capital.

I woke up on the train in the beginning of the afternoon, my train got Bucharest’s train station around 8pm. 
My first aim was to buy a flexi Balkans pass (Interrail ticket); during 5days in the months I could use trains in unlimited in Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. This ticket cost 51E if you are up to 26 years old.
My second aim was to find a hostel, I could not imagine that it would be so difficult but at that time I did not know that hostels in Bucharest changed all the time of location and I did not expected that Metallica will disturb me!

I had a list of some hostels close to the train station and in the city center; I went to all of them by foot but unfortunately all of them were closed!!

I found a very nice taxi driver who helped me to find a hostel, in my crappy day I met Freddy a French guy participating to a program in Bucharest. Finally I found a room in my prices so it was perfect but so stressful. A huge thank you to Florentin and Freddy!

I spent a moving night on the train, two passports controls (cf: Javier); several documents filled and they switched the rails under my bed. This last operation takes a lot of time because both countries have different rails, like Spain and France.

I woke up at 4am because the train was going throught Mukachevo, and if you are Erasmus in Bratislava you become an hero if you went there! In that village at the border of Slovakia and Ukraine has a beautiful castle and a scaring train station, noone will advice you to get there but everyone will advice you to see that fantastic castle on a hill!!

Finally I got Lviv on the morning; I waited a bit for Stepan because he passed his State exam, but feed my time was easy because I had to buy my ticket to Bucharest for the 26/06, only one train in the night 1am.

Then I met Stepan, the last time that we met was when I had a train trip around Ukraine with Francesco and Javier. That time we saw mostly everything in Lviv except the cemetery, beautiful and particular one. After a lunch we got there, we went to visit the huge cemetery Lychakivskiy where there are buried several generation of Ukrainians, Russians, Polishes and Austrians. Most of tombs are sophisticate and the result is wonderful in this forest. At the end of this cemetery there is a Polish military cemetery; Lviv was Polish before the WW2.

We met Sania and went to the new bar in the town; the fantastic house. A great place where we had some Kvass (kind of dark beer without alcohol).

** In Ukraine when someone travel alone we called him/her frog traveler and of course it is became much more funny expression when the traveler is French!!

This day was a resting one, some good souvenirs and a good night. Stepan dropped me to the train station, where I took my night train direction Bucharest; it was a long journey of about 18hours.

I start my trip in a very weird way, before to leave I had to checked out my accommodation in Bratislava, thank to the fast of the Slovak administration I missed the first bus to the train station. Normally, It did not matter because the second bus was right to get the train station on time, just few minutes left to catch my train. But It was without counted the traffic jam!!

Leaving the dormitory after huge hugs with my roommate, Ilijana and Thomas I catch my bus … when I finally got the train station I heart that stupid sentence: “the train is leaving…” I always made fun of this sentence in the train station (hlavna stanica) of Bratislava, but that time it was about my train so not that fun! I started to run but when I got the platform my train was effectively leaving! A good surprise waited for me, a very nice guy on the platform :)

At the end of the day, we spent a nice last moment together and I took the next train, not the faster one (7hours instead of 5).

What a departure!!

On the train, L’ubomir my Slovak friend who I should meet in Kosice informed me that he had some problems and he is not sure to come.

Well, I finally arrived in Kosice when L’ubomir told me that we could meet in one hour. So, let’s find the city center and the most important the post office to send my documents for the validation of my bachelor in the University of Toulouse 1.

I decided to take a tram, usually my technique when I don’t know where to get off is to do it in the same time of most other passengers. Finally, I met an old guy and talking half Slovak half Spanish he told me where to get off and how to get the main square, funny discussion because I mixed between yes, àno and si!

Looking for the post office, I entered in a jewelry to ask my way and I find a gay completely crazy who start to draw the map of Kosice on two post-it that he taped, anyway thank to him I found the post office in less than 5 minutes after 15 minutes of explanation!! Even traffics light were indicated!!

I had a sightseeing of the Main Street and square when L’ubomir joined me in the Opera. We went for a drink, my last Kofola before leaving Slovakia. Then we took a tram to turn in the city, the best way to see more then the city center. Finally I caught my train to Ukraine on time… Dovidenia Slovensko!!

I spent two semesters in Erasmus in Bratislava, Slovakia. To ending that great experience, I decided to leave for a trip in Balkans following where I have friends.

The first stop was clearly drew; Lviv in Ukraine. I have good friend there, I met them in Lithuania three years ago during a work camp. But when I went to the train station the buy my train tickets to Lviv, it was less expensive to stop in Kosice; in Eastern Slovakia, because thanks to my Slovak student card I could get discount, that why I decided to make a stop in Kosice and to meet one of my Slovak friend native from a close village.

About the second stop I did not have idea; for sure I wanted to get Istanbul to meet a very nice girl from Erasmus, to cut my journey I decided to stop in Bucharest, Romania. So after Bucharest, I must get Istanbul in Turkey.

In France, I studied my first two years of Law in the faculty of Toulouse. One of my good friends met there is from Kosovo, from Pristine exactly. At the end of May, I came back few days in the south of France, We met around a coffee and she proposed me so nicely to come some days to visit her in Pristine, Why not?

Actually I wanted to visit Kosovo for long time, in my first trip in Balkans with two Erasmus friends we wanted to get there but we missed time. Anyway, when you greeting in a country from native people it is always much more interesting and yours impressions is always much more fantastic.

So It was decided my next goal will be Pristine, far from Istanbul that why I planned a stop in Sofia, Bulgaria. A problem was to get Kosovo, I don’t know and don’t want to know about the pressure between Serbia and Kosovo that why I did not want to get Kosovo by Serbia, nevertheless much easier. A stop to Skopje was then necessary to get Pristine.

After to have counted few days in Pristine, my budget and my free time was over I needed to go back to Bratislava to take my plane to France. I estimated my budget trip at 400E everything included; actually it was my biggest deal.

Je tiens a remercier toutes les personnes qui de près ou de loin m'ont accompagné et aidé durant ce voyage.

Je suis partie de l'hôtel très tôt le matin puisque mon avion partait à 8h10 en direction de Moscow, de plus 40 km séparent le centre ville de l'aéroport. Je n'ai pas très bien compris, mais je n'ai pas pris de taxi, la réceptionniste de l'hôtel s'est arrangée pour que je profite du transport de deux business men. Cette journée a été très fatigante, j'ai fais Krasnoïarsk-Moscow Moscow-Frankfurt Frankfurt-Paris, j'ai posé les pieds sur le sol français à 17h, heure de  Paris.

Je suis allée chez Etienne jusqu'au lendemain soir, mon train de nuit pour Toulouse partait le 18/08/09 à 22h56, arrivée 6h41 gare de Toulouse Matabiau.

A 10h05 heure de Moscow j'arrive à la gare de Krasnoïarsk, il est 14h05 heure locale. Je dis au revoir à mes rencontres transsibériennes et rencontre mon contact local (WORLD4U). 

Un chantier international ne se raconte pas, il se vit, en tout cas c'est mon point de vue, je vais juste en donner les points essentiels, faire une sorte d'emplois du temps. Etaient présent deux Grecs, Pandelis et Katerina, deux Italiens, Stefano et Michael, un Suisse, André, et deux français, Julien et moi. Nous n'avions pas de campleader, apparemment son nom était une invention. 

Jours de train et de calme, je fais de nombreuses rencontres, malheureusement j'ai bien du mal à me faire comprendre. 

En Russie et même à Pékin (dans le cadre du transsibérien), toutes les horloges des gares et tous les billets sont à l'heure de Moscow, c'est très étranges, mais ce qu'il est encore plus c'est que dans le train on vit à l'heure de Moscou, on est complètement décalé avec le soleil.