Flying visit to London

We had been looking for something memorable to do for Mel's 30th, and decided London was the go. Although it may sound strange, it seemed to be the perfect choice for some diverse and good food and a much needed dose of the mother tongue, after 16 or so months. We had a great time and, though we mostly looked at things from the outside instead of going in (the Korean Won doesn't go too far in London), we kept very busy for 5 days. We managed to eat Indian at Bricklane, Korean in Chinatown, English pub fare in Nottinghill (where we stayed), Thai at the restaurant of an Aussie chef, with some stodgy pies and mash for a 'light' lunch.

Bridges old and new across the Thames

To spare you too many of the same old shots, we've combined some iconic London images into one picture!

A patriotic London taxi negotiating Picadilly Circus

The 'Gherkin' is a recent addition to the skyline

Over six weeks in China, we became very familiar with the state run English TV station and the endless repetition of the same two or three commercials. Our favourite, for its hilariously appalling amateur acting was for 'Jade Travel', who claim to be the specialists in organising travel to China - kind of curious, we thought, seeing the viewer is quite clearly in China already. We wanted to see if it really existed, and to our great surprise...it did!

Mel in front of the famous (to us) Jade Travel

London has a wonderfully multicultural flavour - we found this junior Bollywood performance in Trafalgar Square

Another well photographed item but interesting all the same!

For Mel's birthday, we had a very memorable dinner (that we were late for) at David Thompson's 'Nahm' restaurant, and as you may now know it was this night that I hit Mel with the 'big question'.

The night of Mel's 30th

We also had a chance to catch up with my Aunty Bet and cousin Ian, who live in Essex just outside of London. This was a wonderful opportunity and a truly special occasion, especially finding out more about Dad's time in England.

Aunty Bet with Ian in her house in Romford, Essex

Back to Italy

Now back on our way west again, we found ourselves in Italy for one last night. The city of Trieste, at one stage claimed by Yugoslavia, was definitely Italian in character and was a great finale.

First thing to do was load up with an Italian platter of cheese, hams, mostardo and olives - what a lunch!

Golden mosaic tiles of a former palace in huge central square

The sun setting on our time in Italy

A last look at Eastern Europe

Our final stop in Eastern Europe took us to seaside town of Piran in Slovenia. It was nice to get back to the coast, but the real gem was back inland - Lake Bled.

It was nice to get some sea breezes again - Eastern Europe had been through a severe heat wave this year

Hanging out the 'smalls' in Slovenian sunshine

Lake Bled's backdrop - the Julian Alps

The glacial waters aren't so good for swimming, but some keen rowers tackle the blue expanse

A 15th century church is a beautiful centrepiece

This, apparently, is Slovenia's only real island!

Ljubljana (a difficult name)

Despite not knowing how to say the name, we managed to get on a bus from Croatia to Slovenia's capital, which we have since learned is prounounced 'Loob-lee-arna' (or thereabouts). This is one pretty place, and we found that sipping on some caffeinated beverages in the square was an ideal way to pass the afternoon before the sun went down, when we could head to the riverside terrace bars and hit the reds.

The Ljubljanica River winds its way through the centre of town

Red and green - the view of the city from above is leafy trees and tiled rooves

The stairs we had to climb to get the last pic!

Dragon guardian of the city

The slow flowing river is like a mirror in places

There's some amazing in-situ artwork around town - this is a church door

Summer flowering over the Ljubljanica

Zagreb

From Serbia we passed back through Croatia, stopping for a few days at its capital Zagreb- a very cosmopolitan city.

Back to Christianity in Croatia - the golden statue of Jesus or Mary (oops, forget which) glimmering in the last light of the day

Illuminated columns in the entrance of Zagreb's cathedral

Our apartment (in the background) came with a built-in wake up call - the daily produce markets that started before 7am

Zagreb's most dangerous job - a fearless painter takes a short cut between rooms

Serbia (minus Montenegro)

Last year Montenegro broke away from its big brother Serbia and claimed independence, leaving Serbia - the heart of former Yugoslavia, landlocked. We decided to check out the former Yugoslav capital- Belgrade, and the smaller northern city of Novi Sad.

Some trivia to start- In 1993, due do a state of hyperinflation, the Yugoslav government issued some very high demonination banknotes- up to a 500,000,000,000 dinar note (yes 500 billion!). Unfortuntaley we didn´t spot one during our travels, but Trent picked this small one up for the bargain price of equivalent A$0.20.

"That will be fifty million dinars thank you"

The former Yugoslav states love trams- still a great way to get around and avoid the traffic

The National Assembly in Belgrage that was the site of many anti-Milosevic protests

A funky shop at the start of the street we stayed in at Novi Sad...

... and the view from our room

Some more rooftops of Novi Sad residences

The main Novi Sad cathederal

A quiet Novi Sad street

Sarajevo

Our next stop was Sarajevo- B&H's capital and another city most people still associate with war. History buffs out there will also know that it was here in 1914 that a young Serbian guy assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, precipitating World War I.

Our first few of Sarajevo was along 'Sniper Alley', where civilians would often fall victim to gunfire from the Yugoslav army up in the hills- The yellow building is the Holiday Inn, from where most journalists covered the war

Moonrise over the hills that enclose the city

Bosnian sweets - not so distant relations to Turkish delight

Sarajevo's hills are hard on the legs

A young boy playing with his toy gun at one of the hillside cemeteries- often, the gravestones of the entire cemetry will have the same year of death

The 'Latin Bridge', where history changed - looking across to the spot where Gavrilo Princip shot Franz Ferdinand

A plaque now marks the place where the assassination occured

Sarajevo goulash, complete with fresh dumplings- a real treat

Mostar

From Dubrovnik, we traveled across the border to maybe the world's most awkwardly named country - Bosnia & Herzegovina. Our first stop was Mostar, scene of some of the most intense fighting in the war in the early 90's, and a city still divided along ethnic lines. The old town has now been beautifully restored but the carnage from the fighting is very visible elsewhere. It really felt like this is where the western world ends and the eastern begins, as church belltowers gave way to the minarets of mosques.

Mostar's Old Town, with the famous Old Bridge (destroyed in the war but now rebuilt) forming the visual and social centrepiece

Outside the town centre, condemned buildings are frequent

Advertising billboards hide the destruction behind

Young guys show off to the girls by jumping from the bridge into the Neretva River- later we saw a foreigner try it and end up with a bloody nose. The river is the coldest in the world, with a summer temperature of 7 degrees

Early morning sun hits the cafes just off the bridge

Copper coffee pots in the market

Signs of the war still abound

Some buildings show how incredibly intense the fighting must have been

The beautiful dusk colours of Mostar- even today, Croats mostly occupy the western bank of the river and muslims the east