Birthday in the Balkans

Hello kids. I'm back again with some news!
A lot has happened since my last post. So it's inevitable that I will forget something. So why not start with an announcement: I forgot my phone recharger in Leipzig. This means a few things. One is that I'm not in Leipzig anymore, second is that you can't reach me on the phone. Just FYI. I will get it back of course, but I'll be without my phone for a month or so.

So why am I not in Leipzig anymore? Because I left! I left on thursday the 29th, to go to Croatia to be exact. Man what a trip; ups and downs. On the wednesday evening before that we had quite a success with our introduction workshop. I felt good and I felt ok with leaving so I could see Iva on my birthday. It was not so easy to get out of Leipzig. Originally I had planned to take a ride with mitfahrgelegenheit (if you don't know this site you had better bookmark it, MUST-HAVE for any traveller!) just to get onto the highway, from which point I would hitch my way to Zagreb.

However things did not go that way; Alex told me that I could take a bus that would take me close to the highway from which point I should be able to get a ride. But I couldn't find any rides going there, and I felt completely stupid standing along the road with my cardboard sign waiting for someone to stop. It just didn't feel right; if it was gonna be easy to get a ride it would've already happened by now. I ended up being at that particular place for 2 hours, which highly pissed me off. I got up at 6 am just to make sure to make it in one day. The worst thing that could happen to me was stuff like this. At the same time I was calling my friend Cezar to see if he could arrange for any rides on the internet, but no luck.

Then I decided to go back to the main station, see how much a train ride to Zagreb costs. Now I know that Germany aint the cheapest place for train travel, but 258 euros + 30 for a sleeping compartment?! No fucking way. Frustrated I went back home, with all my luggage, and went on the internet to look for a ride. On the way home something must have happened. I swear I could've breathed fire if such a thing was possible, that's how angry I was. I kept saying that no matter what I would leave this city. The first guy I called when I came home was a positive hit. I didn't have much time to get to the rendezvous point, so I left immediately. From this point on, everything went smooth.

I left Leipzig at around 3 pm. It was hard to believe that I would make it to Zagreb that same day, but I said to myself I wanted to be there at midnight. I had learned from setting goals; it really does work. And it worked again because I actually arrived at 1 am. Quite a good job if I say so myself! I got a ride near Munich from a very kind Austrian guy. I always had a prejudice against Austrians, but no more. Then somewhere near Salzburg I took a ride with some Serbians who were passing Zagreb; fucking jackpot! Iva had a car, coincidently, and could pick me up at the place where they dropped me, right outside of town. I always say everything happens for a reason.

So birthday in the Balkans for me! First time in Eastern Europe. I met some of Iva's friends, who were really nice. And her family is also really nice. We stayed at her mom's place for a couple of days, and then went to take a train to Istanbul. This was like 2 days ago. As cold as Croatia and Serbia were, as warm it was today in Istanbul; I love this place! Kind people, best borek you've ever had, and beautiful sights. The train ride was cheap and pretty comfortable, and we managed to get ourselves a place to stay here in Turkey with Cigdem, a friend of ours that we met on CLP.

We'll be staying here for some days for sure, the weather forecast says the temperature will start dropping next wednesday, so that might be a good point to leave and move on. We still don't know where we will go next, just that Izmir will have to be the end destination in Turkey because we'll take a flight from there on the 23th. We were thinking of Syria and Libanon, or just to cruise around the Turkish coast. Maybe even pay Egypt a visit. I suppose it will depend a lot on the possibilities available for traveling. Hitching this time of year is not so nice, so we'd be looking for cheap bus and train rides. What is for sure, is that it'll be fun, and that we'll be enjoying Istanbul the coming days.

It's been really good to see Iva again, the love is burning, and I've gotten better at this relationship thing. Isaac was really happy to see me as well, because Iva got obsessed with her kitten. Even though this troublesome creature is only busy attacking your feet as you walk around the place. She don't know when play time is over. But then again, neither do I; we're all innocent in our own way.

Birthday boy turned 22. Feel like a real man now! Got a book about Tantra, deep shit man. Not just about sex, but more about care, respect, and intimacy. Masculinity got a new dimension. Sexual Empowerment Seminars, wouldn't those be in high demand? Sri Sri I need to talk to you... ;)

PS. Hi from Cigdem!