November 2014 ~ The Traveling Ginger

16.11.14 Kickin' it in Kotor

16.11.14 Posted by Nikki Carlson Balkans, Hiking, History, Kotor, Montenegro, Travel Buddies No comments

A few days before I was set to fly to London, Tommy, Ian and I decided to leave Pristina and head to Montenegro where Ian and I had the same flight to Stansted Airport on the following Sunday – talk about a small world! We initially thought that Kotor for two nights would be wishful thinking...

A Continuation of My Confusion: Kosovo

13.11.14 Posted by Nikki Carlson Art Museum, Balkans, Confusion, Culture, History, Kosovo, Pristina, Travel No comments

After being baffled by statues in Macedonia, I headed onto an equally as confusing city – Pristina, Kosovo. Ground zero of the war in the late 1990s, the city is a curious collision of past and present, finished and unfinished. I arrived in my usual manner - up for anything and less...

Macedonian Madness

11.11.14 Posted by Nikki Carlson Balkans, Confusion, Culture, Macedonia, Mother Theresa, Skopje, Statues, Travel Friends No comments

If you’re looking for a place to boggle the mind, head to Skopje, Macedonia. Bridge to Parliament, statues everywhere The most notable feature of the city from a tourist perspective: its statues. If you think that there are too many statues in Paris or Rome, you have no idea what...

The Incredible Istanbul

9.11.14 Posted by Nikki Carlson Border Crossing, Culture, History, Istanbul, Travel Friends, Turkey 1 comment

Arriving at the Turkish border at 2:00 AM on a blustery November morning is less than thrilling. Amelie, Claudia and I were shaken awake from our various states of half-sleep when our bus sputtered to a halt at the Turkish border from Bulgaria. Upon seeing that we were awake, we were instructed...