Sorry this is so late and from so long ago but I’ve been too busy having fun! Here are just a few of the things that have been going on and random highlights…

Belgrade, Serbia:
Pancakes, but not your typical pancakes, more like slightly thicker crapes stuffed to the max with cheeses and meat or nutella, banana, cherries, plasma (basically crushed vanilla wafers…but way better) and tons of other options. This place was recommended to us by a girl from a hostel we stayed in and even though we got lost trying to find it…it was worth all the confusion. They were delicious! I even came back and got a nutella one for breakfast the day we left :)
We also went to this night club with some people from our hostel called Plastic (because there is night life everyday of the week in Belgrade) There was this great DJ from England and we danced the night away. When we finally got tired Tia got us totally lost on the way back to the hostel. She wouldn’t listen to me at first, but then she realized I was right. It’s okay if she messes up every now and then because I don’t know what I’d do without her!

Nis, Serbia:
The Concentration Camp. It was very eerie to go to, but very interesting. Of course we’ve all learned about WWII many times throughout school but there is something to be said about seeing one of the places where so many terrible things took place. Even though it was a beautiful sunny day outside, inside the building was freezing. There was also a map that showed all the camps in Europe. Numbers are just numbers but when you look at the amount of camps spread out on a map it’s awful. There were way too many.

Pristina, Kosovo:
Minimal background knowledge is that Kosovo separated itself from Serbia and declared its independence, but Serbia doesn’t recognize it as a country. So there is definitely tension between the two areas. The most interesting experience was getting in and out of Kosovo. We had to arrange a private service from Serbia to Kosovo because Serbian buses don’t normally go to Kosovo. Technically we should have gone back through Serbia to leave…of course that didn’t happen so now I don’t have a Serbian exit stamp. I probably wouldn’t be allowed back into Serbia if I tried because it looks as though I exited illegally or that I over stayed my Visa.

Scopje, Macedonia:
Tia, Fabian, and Pear (two Germans) and I did this hike up to the top of this huge hill overlooking the city. It was a lot of fun because every now and then we came across snow and of course all the mud stuck to my shoes and I was sliding everywhere. Everyone wanted me to fall so they could laugh but when I finally did these two men were walking past and I grabbed on to one of them just before I landed in a huge pile of mud. I was so lucky they were there. When we reached the top we climbed this massive cross (of course there are cross’s at the top of almost every hill over here). I actually got a little scared because you could see through it to the bottom and it was sooo high up. Plus you weren’t really suppose to be on it in the first place!

Sofia, Bulgaria:
Tia and I ventured to the Rila Monastery which is a very big religious site because it was the first monastery in Bulgaria. It was way up in the mountains and absolutely beautiful. I totally froze but all the murals and structures were so intricate it was definitely worth the cold. We stayed at Hostel Mostel which was enormous and great for meeting lots of travelers. We went out to this funky little bar where you have your own beer tap at each table to celebrate a Peace Core Volunteer’s Birthday. It was very nice because our Peace Core friends paid for everyone’s beer with our government’s money. Oh the things our government supports! You gotta love it!

Plovdiv, Bulgaria:
The best thing was our cute little hostel with really fun staff and going to these little ruins a 2 minute walk from the hostel that overlooked the whole city. It was one of the first really sunny days we had and Tia and I sat up at these ruins for over 3 hours talking, absorbing the sun, and looking at the city. I couldn’t have picked a better travel partner even though we know how to drive each other crazy haha.

Turkey:
So amazing! We were traveling throughout this country for over 16 days and I want to go back so bad! Definitely one of my favorite places! All the people we met were wonderful, the food was fantastic and it’s so beautiful! T and I started hitchhicking and Couch Surfing so our trip changed a lot in Turkey in a good way!! I have less than 8 weeks left so you might just have to ask me about Turkey in person because I'm so BUSY!