Tuesday, May 24th
Today we left for Split, Croatia from Sarajevo. Our bus left at 10am so we woke up, packed, and walked around the city one more time. We checked out of the hospital and said goodbye to our good Aussie friend Jo. She is going on to Mostar, Bosnia this evening. We are really going to miss her. She was a wonderful edition to our group. The hostel said we had a 15 or so minute walk to the bus station. We did not want to repeat our run to the train station in Bulgaria so we left at 915am. We walked, and walked, and walked. At 935am we asked somewhere where the bus ration was. She said 5 more minutes that way. We walked. We asked another person 5 minutes later, and they point to this building and said turn left then 1500 meters. We asked another and we finally see it. By this time its 950. We haul ass the last 3 blocks and somehow found this obscure entrance to the actually buses. We find our bus, hand our driver the tickets, spray on some deodorant, then jump on the bus. We left two minutes later. The Balkans have a twisted sense of time, so never trust anyone from eastern europe about time or distance. A 15 minute walk, turned into a 45 minute marathon.
The bus ride, however, may have slightly made up for it. These few sentences will never do it justice. We followed a river that was blue green nearly half the time. The river was surrounded by massive mountains and cliffs covered with beautiful tall green trees. Then the river started getting wider and wider, so we knew the ocean was close. We turn around a mountain, and the whole view opens up. On the right are massive cliffs. On the left, a huge beautiful green blue ocean. There a towns with white walls and orange roofs everywhere. It is absolutely gorgeous. By far one of the most beautiful bus rides we will probably ever take. We finally make it to Split around 4pm. We were able to walk to our hostel from the bus station, which this time actually is a true 5 minute walk from the station. We set our gear down, and went out for some food. We snacked on chips the whole bus ride so we wanted some veggies. We got two nice salads, and Morgan got bruschetta. This bruschetta was on a toasted English muffin, with 3 sardines, tomatoes, and tons of melted mozzarella. I attempted one and nearly gagged from the fishy, salty taste of the sardine. Apparently sardines still taste horrendous even over here. Morgan was hungry and didn't mind the taste, so he ate everything.
Natalie: The city reminds me a lot of Venice, Italy. It is a huge coastal town with tourists from all over Europe. There are fairies going in and out to the Croatian mountains, and cruise ships docking daily. There is only one major the road where we are, the rest of the streets are very tight pedestrian walkways that are barely 8 feet wide. It reminds me a lot also of Pirates of the Caribbean. There is a huge fortress on the hill too. There are many souvenirs stands that even have Pirates of Croatia shirts! I could stay in this city for days traveling to the beautiful islands. I will definitely return to this coast.
We went back to the hostel and met some of the other travelers. Two Aussies run the hostel at the moment. The owner went on vacation, so they are just helping out for a week or two. There is another girl Aussie, who lost her voice at a pub crawl that week. She had been traveling for a few months, but mainly spoke about her time in India. There was a British girl, whose accent was 'lovely' (Our new British vocabulary word). She was from a very rich part of London, and had traveled the world. She was 28, drank a lot, and smoked like a chimney. She was incredibly fun to listen to just because of her accent, but also because she had great travel stories. We all had some shots of rakija then the left for the bar. We went to Element bar first, which is two doors down from our hostel. I had pineapple juice and vodka, and Morgan had walnut rakija. The group got in various political conversation about different countries. It was mostly about India, china, and the war that went on in the Balkans. We then moved on to the bar Charlie's, where they played tons of old school classic rock like Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. It was loud and out of control. We tacked on to a pub crawl and moved on to another bar nearly 20 minutes away. There was not a lot of people, so we left after 15 minutes. We got lost going home, but had a wonderful conversation with the Australian, who was actually also Croatian. Her parents left Croatia and moved to Australia, so she gave us a wonderful history about Croatia from her families point of view. She did say some family members are still bitter towards Serbians for what they did, but other members of her family are not. It had a lot to do with politics and how the government never paid their soldiers after the war. Croats that no longer live in Croatia can actually vote about the laws and vote for Croatian officials, which seems very unfair for the people that actually live and work in the country. Another wonderfully, informative night. Beach and tanning tomorrow!
Wednesday, May 25th
Today was an absolutely beautiful day. We went to the fresh food market this morning to buy carrots, green beans, and figs. An odd combination, but everything was so incredibly delicious and fresh. We then headed to the rock beach which was about a 45 minute walk down the promenade. There are two types of beaches here: sand and rock. The sandy beach is very touristy, and the water, we heard, isn't very nice. The rock beaches are less touristy, and the water is blue green. It was a nice walk around the marina, through a park, and along the coast. We stopped at the third and last beach, which had only about 5 local couples. The rock beach is more like a pebble beach, so it's not that uncomfortable. We stayed there snacking on our fresh vegetables, reading, and swimming in the water. Morgan didn't think the water was that cold, but I thought it was freezing. Morgan became a lobster around 230pm so we left for some food.
We stopped at a classic Croatian restaurant called Fife. We ordered a mixed fish plate, mixed meat plate, and potatoes. The fish was grilled, skin, bones, and all. We had mackerel and silver hic. I liked the mackerel better than the hic. The meat was a mix of sausage, possibly veal, and chicken. Frites also came with the meat, so we finally got to enjoy some crispy French fries! The potatoes were soaked in butter, which isn't a bad thing. We then walked around looking for a souvenir patch for Morgan, then got dessert. We had an amazingly, chocolatey tort and some snickers/"Philadelphia" gelato. A free city tour started at 6pm, so we headed to the promenade to meet the tour group. The tour guide never showed, so everyone just left. We went for a beer and apple cider with a guy from the Netherlands. He was very nice and told us all about the Netherlands. His country is only 300km long and has 16 million people, so it seems incredibly dense. We came back to the hostel fairly early, and I, Natalie, called it a night. Morgan went out for a few drinks and came back around 1230am.
Thursday, May 26th
Today we woke up fairy early to climb the hill surrounding Split. We first stopped at the bus station to buy our tickets. I bought a bus ticket for Zagreb, Croatia that left at 3pm that afternoon. Morgan bought a ticket for a night train that left at 9pm and arrived in Zagreb at 630am tomorrow. I value my sleep, so I wanted to sleep in a hostel not a train. After buying our tickets, we went to the hill. The trek up took about 40 minutes. We had to stop a few times because it was a lot of stairs! At the top is oddly the Split Zoo. There was also a purple building that said Observatory. We walked inside up a few flights of spiral stairs. However, while walking up there was an open door that looked like a living room with computers...We realized this probably wasnt a tourist stop, so we sprinted up the stairs. At the top was a lot of high tech equipment, but we took pictures of the amazing view anyway! It was a beautiful day, so you could see incredibly far. We sprinted back down the stairs to the normal path. We walked around the fortress area for another 30 minutes or so then went back down the hill.
For lunch we stopped at the hidden restaurant we found the first night. I ordered spaghetti carbonara, while Morgan ordered a pizza. My pasta was very good, but incredibly rich and creamy and overly salty from the pancetta. Morgans pizza was incredible with ham, bacon, and a porcini type pepper. We then walked to the beach and laid out for a few hours. I actually decided to jump in the ocean, as well, since it was so hot outside! The water was so cold and salty! It was like eating a spoonful of salt. After getting out of the ocean, the salt actually sticks to you. So we had salt stains all over our skin. We walked back to the hostel around two, where I packed my things and left for the bus. The bus ride was uneventful. I slept for most of it.
I arrived in Zagreb around 730pm and had to find my hostel. I did not have a map, so I just started asking which way to a street called Dordica. I asked people every few minutes to make sure I was on the right track. One man was getting in his car and overheard me. He said he would drive me. I was hesitant at first, but he was short and skinny so I figured I could take him. He was extremely nice, and a musician/music teacher in Zagreb. I made it safely to the hostel, where I was one of three guests. It was very quiet compared to the other hostels I stayed at with 20 plus people! I walked around the city for a few hours then went back to the hostel. A mother and daughter, who were Canadian, were back also from their walk when I got back. We drank tea, ate cookies, and talked for an hour or so. We went to bed and planned to eat breakfast together the next morning before we all headed to the train station at 8am.
Morgan took the night train at 9pm that night with a girl from our Split hostel named Chelsea. The train was apparently not that bad, since they had a 6 person compartment to themselves. This meant they got to spread out over the 6 chairs plus a few Vallium didnt hurt. After Zagreb, we are on to Slovenia!
Today we left for Split, Croatia from Sarajevo. Our bus left at 10am so we woke up, packed, and walked around the city one more time. We checked out of the hospital and said goodbye to our good Aussie friend Jo. She is going on to Mostar, Bosnia this evening. We are really going to miss her. She was a wonderful edition to our group. The hostel said we had a 15 or so minute walk to the bus station. We did not want to repeat our run to the train station in Bulgaria so we left at 915am. We walked, and walked, and walked. At 935am we asked somewhere where the bus ration was. She said 5 more minutes that way. We walked. We asked another person 5 minutes later, and they point to this building and said turn left then 1500 meters. We asked another and we finally see it. By this time its 950. We haul ass the last 3 blocks and somehow found this obscure entrance to the actually buses. We find our bus, hand our driver the tickets, spray on some deodorant, then jump on the bus. We left two minutes later. The Balkans have a twisted sense of time, so never trust anyone from eastern europe about time or distance. A 15 minute walk, turned into a 45 minute marathon.
The bus ride, however, may have slightly made up for it. These few sentences will never do it justice. We followed a river that was blue green nearly half the time. The river was surrounded by massive mountains and cliffs covered with beautiful tall green trees. Then the river started getting wider and wider, so we knew the ocean was close. We turn around a mountain, and the whole view opens up. On the right are massive cliffs. On the left, a huge beautiful green blue ocean. There a towns with white walls and orange roofs everywhere. It is absolutely gorgeous. By far one of the most beautiful bus rides we will probably ever take. We finally make it to Split around 4pm. We were able to walk to our hostel from the bus station, which this time actually is a true 5 minute walk from the station. We set our gear down, and went out for some food. We snacked on chips the whole bus ride so we wanted some veggies. We got two nice salads, and Morgan got bruschetta. This bruschetta was on a toasted English muffin, with 3 sardines, tomatoes, and tons of melted mozzarella. I attempted one and nearly gagged from the fishy, salty taste of the sardine. Apparently sardines still taste horrendous even over here. Morgan was hungry and didn't mind the taste, so he ate everything.
Natalie: The city reminds me a lot of Venice, Italy. It is a huge coastal town with tourists from all over Europe. There are fairies going in and out to the Croatian mountains, and cruise ships docking daily. There is only one major the road where we are, the rest of the streets are very tight pedestrian walkways that are barely 8 feet wide. It reminds me a lot also of Pirates of the Caribbean. There is a huge fortress on the hill too. There are many souvenirs stands that even have Pirates of Croatia shirts! I could stay in this city for days traveling to the beautiful islands. I will definitely return to this coast.
We went back to the hostel and met some of the other travelers. Two Aussies run the hostel at the moment. The owner went on vacation, so they are just helping out for a week or two. There is another girl Aussie, who lost her voice at a pub crawl that week. She had been traveling for a few months, but mainly spoke about her time in India. There was a British girl, whose accent was 'lovely' (Our new British vocabulary word). She was from a very rich part of London, and had traveled the world. She was 28, drank a lot, and smoked like a chimney. She was incredibly fun to listen to just because of her accent, but also because she had great travel stories. We all had some shots of rakija then the left for the bar. We went to Element bar first, which is two doors down from our hostel. I had pineapple juice and vodka, and Morgan had walnut rakija. The group got in various political conversation about different countries. It was mostly about India, china, and the war that went on in the Balkans. We then moved on to the bar Charlie's, where they played tons of old school classic rock like Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. It was loud and out of control. We tacked on to a pub crawl and moved on to another bar nearly 20 minutes away. There was not a lot of people, so we left after 15 minutes. We got lost going home, but had a wonderful conversation with the Australian, who was actually also Croatian. Her parents left Croatia and moved to Australia, so she gave us a wonderful history about Croatia from her families point of view. She did say some family members are still bitter towards Serbians for what they did, but other members of her family are not. It had a lot to do with politics and how the government never paid their soldiers after the war. Croats that no longer live in Croatia can actually vote about the laws and vote for Croatian officials, which seems very unfair for the people that actually live and work in the country. Another wonderfully, informative night. Beach and tanning tomorrow!
Wednesday, May 25th
Today was an absolutely beautiful day. We went to the fresh food market this morning to buy carrots, green beans, and figs. An odd combination, but everything was so incredibly delicious and fresh. We then headed to the rock beach which was about a 45 minute walk down the promenade. There are two types of beaches here: sand and rock. The sandy beach is very touristy, and the water, we heard, isn't very nice. The rock beaches are less touristy, and the water is blue green. It was a nice walk around the marina, through a park, and along the coast. We stopped at the third and last beach, which had only about 5 local couples. The rock beach is more like a pebble beach, so it's not that uncomfortable. We stayed there snacking on our fresh vegetables, reading, and swimming in the water. Morgan didn't think the water was that cold, but I thought it was freezing. Morgan became a lobster around 230pm so we left for some food.
We stopped at a classic Croatian restaurant called Fife. We ordered a mixed fish plate, mixed meat plate, and potatoes. The fish was grilled, skin, bones, and all. We had mackerel and silver hic. I liked the mackerel better than the hic. The meat was a mix of sausage, possibly veal, and chicken. Frites also came with the meat, so we finally got to enjoy some crispy French fries! The potatoes were soaked in butter, which isn't a bad thing. We then walked around looking for a souvenir patch for Morgan, then got dessert. We had an amazingly, chocolatey tort and some snickers/"Philadelphia" gelato. A free city tour started at 6pm, so we headed to the promenade to meet the tour group. The tour guide never showed, so everyone just left. We went for a beer and apple cider with a guy from the Netherlands. He was very nice and told us all about the Netherlands. His country is only 300km long and has 16 million people, so it seems incredibly dense. We came back to the hostel fairly early, and I, Natalie, called it a night. Morgan went out for a few drinks and came back around 1230am.
Thursday, May 26th
Today we woke up fairy early to climb the hill surrounding Split. We first stopped at the bus station to buy our tickets. I bought a bus ticket for Zagreb, Croatia that left at 3pm that afternoon. Morgan bought a ticket for a night train that left at 9pm and arrived in Zagreb at 630am tomorrow. I value my sleep, so I wanted to sleep in a hostel not a train. After buying our tickets, we went to the hill. The trek up took about 40 minutes. We had to stop a few times because it was a lot of stairs! At the top is oddly the Split Zoo. There was also a purple building that said Observatory. We walked inside up a few flights of spiral stairs. However, while walking up there was an open door that looked like a living room with computers...We realized this probably wasnt a tourist stop, so we sprinted up the stairs. At the top was a lot of high tech equipment, but we took pictures of the amazing view anyway! It was a beautiful day, so you could see incredibly far. We sprinted back down the stairs to the normal path. We walked around the fortress area for another 30 minutes or so then went back down the hill.
For lunch we stopped at the hidden restaurant we found the first night. I ordered spaghetti carbonara, while Morgan ordered a pizza. My pasta was very good, but incredibly rich and creamy and overly salty from the pancetta. Morgans pizza was incredible with ham, bacon, and a porcini type pepper. We then walked to the beach and laid out for a few hours. I actually decided to jump in the ocean, as well, since it was so hot outside! The water was so cold and salty! It was like eating a spoonful of salt. After getting out of the ocean, the salt actually sticks to you. So we had salt stains all over our skin. We walked back to the hostel around two, where I packed my things and left for the bus. The bus ride was uneventful. I slept for most of it.
I arrived in Zagreb around 730pm and had to find my hostel. I did not have a map, so I just started asking which way to a street called Dordica. I asked people every few minutes to make sure I was on the right track. One man was getting in his car and overheard me. He said he would drive me. I was hesitant at first, but he was short and skinny so I figured I could take him. He was extremely nice, and a musician/music teacher in Zagreb. I made it safely to the hostel, where I was one of three guests. It was very quiet compared to the other hostels I stayed at with 20 plus people! I walked around the city for a few hours then went back to the hostel. A mother and daughter, who were Canadian, were back also from their walk when I got back. We drank tea, ate cookies, and talked for an hour or so. We went to bed and planned to eat breakfast together the next morning before we all headed to the train station at 8am.
Morgan took the night train at 9pm that night with a girl from our Split hostel named Chelsea. The train was apparently not that bad, since they had a 6 person compartment to themselves. This meant they got to spread out over the 6 chairs plus a few Vallium didnt hurt. After Zagreb, we are on to Slovenia!
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