Have Itch, Will Travel

I always wanted to visit Budapest . I had envisioned an exotic and grand city, but strangely, this "vision" had no formed image. I had no idea what its buildings looked like, whether there were mountains or snow, I didn't even know that the Danube River ran through it (wasn't that in Austria?). The extent of my knowledge was this: vizslas, salami, and langos. One can enjoy a delectable, fully loaded, fried bread in Budapest (or Eat Street Markets, Brisbane) We stayed in one of the hundreds of apartment blocks on the Pest side of the city. An enduring memory of mine involves the gridded streets of residential buildings, great concrete things several stories high, seemingly identical but somehow each unique. The clatter of trams and trilling of the overhead wires echoed off the walls, providing regular reminders of our location whenever our minds meandered. We always liked a city with affordable light rail, but discovered a more fun alternative: MolBubi , Budap...

Jeremy Clarkson said it was the greatest road ever made, so naturally, Rob wanted to test the hairpins of Romania 's TransFagarasan Highway. We started our Transylvania loop in the 13th century town of Braşov , and enjoyed the activity in the ridiculously photogenic Piata Sfatului . People slurped on frappes and sucked down gelati under cafe umbrellas as rows of delightfully pastel buildings embraced the cobblestone square. The spires of the ominously gothic Black Church  meanwhile, peered over the goings-on from nearby. Piata Sfatului was originally a marketplace. Before embarking on the TransFagarasan, Rob warmed up our trusty steed for the week, a pure white Renault Clio. The TransBucegi Highway  (Route DJ 713) gave us a taste of the Transylvanian alps as we wound through Bucegi Natural Park , and reached an altitude of just under 2000m. But the 39km stretch was only a primer for the TransFagarasan Highway. The TransFagarasan connects the centre to the south, and wa...

We hadn't planned it this way. The bus station was in a dingy industrial estate some kilometres from the city centre and, budget being at the forefront of our minds, calling on the services of a taxi was out of the question. A stop along Croatia's marvellous coastline had been erased from our itinerary due to its exclusive accommodation costs, so the capital Zagreb had to do; only, we had arrived the very day of the World Cup Grand Final , and Croatia was headlining the event with France. The closer we drew to the centre, the more red and white checks were seen, until we finally joined a parade of chanters and singers, all clad in the happy colours. Rob looked over at me with a grimace, and I knew what he was thinking: there was to be no way through to our accommodation. Ahead, the main square was one undulating mass of red and white, with towers of scaffolding holding up TV cameras and equipment, spaced evenly around the perimeter. The streets feeding the square were rap...

One-bag travel means packing can be a challenge, especially with essential but relatively bulky items like a jacket . This video shows how you can fold your jacket into an even, tidy roll to strap to the outside of your backpack in the pack cover. Packing it this way means you can save valuable internal space, have the jacket easily accessible, and keep it clean.

Kebabs Everywhere Sarajevo was founded by the Ottoman Turks  as a precious metals mining town, set in a river valley surrounded by hills. This piece of ancient history was a surprise to us, as we hadn't known the extent of the Ottoman Empire's reach. In fact, Sarajevo's lively hub was like revisiting Turkey, with blocks of tidy Ottoman-style shopfronts lining cobblestone streets. The lane of hammered copperware still exists in the same place, while most of the other stores have been replaced with bars , cafes , and restaurants . The Ottomans' influence extended beyond architecture and goods, also introducing Islam, some vocabulary, and food to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our favourite dishes, çevapi and bürek , skinless sausages and meat pastries respectively, were pretty much born straight from kebabs and Turkish börek. Bosnia's version of the Turkish kebab, served with pita, raw onions, and cream.   Where East Meets West The collapse of the Ottoman Empi...

Unsatisfied with Ulcinj , we sought a Montenegro coastal town worthy of the praise we had heard. Kotor was it. A small tourist town set at the end of an elongated fjord-like bay, Kotor was dwarfed by cliffs and mountain ranges. The cold green water saw cruise ships daily, and international tourists flooded its immaculately reconstructed Old Town to get lost in its labyrinthine cobble stone lanes. A photographer's dream, the Old Town was also the site of fine food , coffee , and souvenirs. Just beyond the city walls, one could take a boat trip, swim , ride a bike , or simply sit at the water's edge to take in the landscape. We decided to hike . We climbed up to the mountain ridge across the bay, each switchback providing a more inspiring view of Kotor and its surroundings. At the top, we found abandoned buildings from the old Yugoslavia days, including the eerie Fort Vrmac . Its dark concrete chambers were strewn with rubble, and rusting iron fittings jutted from the wal...