Itinerary... for now.

I think I've pretty much set my itinerary, at least as much as it can be. The first two weeks are plotted out, but after that, the only known is my departure from Zagreb, Croatia, a month later. Anyway I'm sure most of you are interested in seeing where my brain's been for the past week or so. So here goes.

Week 1: England.
My dad and I arrive in England on the 1st of May. We'll be in London for the first part of the week. I'll be staying on my own for one night at YHA St. Paul's in London, then moving on to meet up with my dad in Manchester on Thursday. We'll chill in Manchester for a few days, and then part ways on Sunday.

Week 2: England / Croatia / Montenegro.
From Manchester, I'll take a train to Lake District National Park. I'll be staying in Ambleside for a few days, probably be doing laundry and taking hikes, enjoying the natural beauty of the parks. On Tuesday, I'll take the train back to Manchester and fly from there to Dubrovnik, Croatia. I'll take my time in Dubrovnik, just to get a sense of my surroundings, and to take in the beaches and islands it's famous for.

After three nights in Dubrovnik, I don't have any arrangements for transportation or accomodation set out. From here, I plan to take a bus to Montenegro (you have to switch buses at the border; they won't cross over from Croatia). Apparently Kotor is quite a pleasant place to stay; I may spend the weekend there.

Week 3: Bosnia.
I'll head up to Belgrade up through Montenegro if possible, but the more likely plan is to hit up Bosnia first. It's pretty easy to get a bus from the coast to Mostar. I'd like to spend some time there, then move north to Sarajevo and Travnik, the birthplace of Nobel Prize winner Ivo Andric. (He wrote Bridge on the Drina, an historical novel spanning the history of Bosnia from the 16th century to WWI.) If time allows, I'd like to visit Banja Luka -- I know the Bosnian population in Boise has a strong representation from there.

Week 4: Serbia.
From Bosnia, I'll take one of the newer trains that runs from Sarajevo to Belgrade. Apparently Belgrade is quite the city to behold, not necessarily because of its sights or architecture, but for its spirit. Something to note: one of my travel guides outlines a "NATO Tour", which takes you through the sites NATO bombed during the "conflict" (of course noting that photos may not be entirely welcome). For contrast, Belgrade has an intense nightlife and a lively "spirit", both of which I'd like to experience when I'm there. There's a few day trips from Belgrade, including Smederevo, which has some old castle architecture, but most of my interest in Serbia lies in visiting Belgrade itself.

Week 5: Croatia.
From Belgrade, I'll work my way back, if possible, to the coast again. By this time I'll only have a week left. I'd like to spend a bit of time on the coast, checking out some of the islands, but I'll probably have to cut it short in order to spend some time at Plitvice Lakes National Park. This place is known for its beautiful lakes and waterfalls (much like Lake District NP in England). From there, I'll take a bus up to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. I'm told there's not so much to see here, but the surrounding towns of Samobor and Varazdin are worth a look. Among other things, there's an entomological collection and more cool architecture to check out.

Week 6: Croatia / England, part deux.
I fly out of Zagreb on Tuesday the 6th, and arrive in London late morning. I'll grab hostel arrangements there and chill out until Cap arrives early morning on the 7th. Cap's modest list: "visit one nice museum, preferably not modern; visit one nice tea shop; go out for one club night and dancing." We fly back to Boise on separate flights Saturday the 10th.

Who knows, the whole thing may go out in the garbage once I discover the beauties of Dubrovnik; I've left myself the option to do as I please, with the only constraint being to leave June 6th from Zagreb. The cool part is that Zagreb isn't more than a day or two's journey from any of my destinations, so my schedule remains extremely flexible.

I think I've got most everything collected; I need to do a preliminary pack early this week, but other than that I think I'm set. This last week before departure is just a matter of learning to speak Serbian and Croatian well enough to get by. It's not a necessary measure, but a bit of an experiment I'm trying.

One week to go!