I will be here in Zagreb two more nights. Then I am off to Split Croatia, for three nights.
I have reformulated my travels a bit to try and figure out a better way of seeing all of the places I want to see. After Split, I am heading to Budapest, Vienna, and Prague. Then I will fly from Prague to Rome on Orion Air. From Rome I will head north in Italy, into Switzerland, cross over to France, head north to the UK, then come back across the channel to hit Belgium and the Netherlands, before finishing up in Germany. I got out my big train map of Europe the other day and drew out the route. When you squint your eyes a bit and look at the map of my route, it looks like a fox doing some sort of kung fu.
I spent most of today walking around and sketching, trying to find a post office where I can ship stuff home to. Luckily I found the place but the international freight section was closed, so I will go back tomorrow.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday in Zagreb
Sunday is a nice relaxing day for the the natives and the tourists as well. I got out earlier for a little walking tour. There was a half marathon this morning that got people out, but nothing in Croatia is open on a Sunday.
Most of us in the hostel have just been sitting around watching movies. We watched the movies in English. The Croatians aren't big on dubbing, they just put in subtitles. We watched "21" (the card-counting blackjack movie with Kevin Spacey... interesting), "The Bank Job" (A film based on a real life bank robbery, involving a lot of government coverup and dirty photos of a princess... good, but saddening), and "Fools Gold" (Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson picture about finding shipwrecks... different and cute). One of the guys running the place was saying that he gets the movies before they are even out in theaters in Croatia, I felt a little shamed in breaking any laws, but these are all movies that are already on video in the U.S. so not that big a deal. It would be different if we were watching the yet unreleased Harry Potter pic.
I finished the day with a bit of walking and a Kebab, cheap and easy. I have to keep reminding myself that the Kuna is way cheaper than the dollar, so taking 200 kuna out of the cash machine is only taking about 50 dollars out. It just gets a little scary when a Kebab costs 20 kuna, and at first I am going "THAT IS OUTRAGEOUS, wait that's not euros, Ok."
Everyone here seems really relaxed and laid back which is nice. When traveling like this you feel a little guilty about not being out every second of every day seeing and doing things, but when almost everyone else in the hostel is sitting around watching movies with you, it seems alright. Well I am off to bed soon after a stop at the little boys' room, which is down an interesting flight of stairs, so better to do now while still alert as opposed to scrambling for the light. Which I had to do last night.... not fun!
Most of us in the hostel have just been sitting around watching movies. We watched the movies in English. The Croatians aren't big on dubbing, they just put in subtitles. We watched "21" (the card-counting blackjack movie with Kevin Spacey... interesting), "The Bank Job" (A film based on a real life bank robbery, involving a lot of government coverup and dirty photos of a princess... good, but saddening), and "Fools Gold" (Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson picture about finding shipwrecks... different and cute). One of the guys running the place was saying that he gets the movies before they are even out in theaters in Croatia, I felt a little shamed in breaking any laws, but these are all movies that are already on video in the U.S. so not that big a deal. It would be different if we were watching the yet unreleased Harry Potter pic.
I finished the day with a bit of walking and a Kebab, cheap and easy. I have to keep reminding myself that the Kuna is way cheaper than the dollar, so taking 200 kuna out of the cash machine is only taking about 50 dollars out. It just gets a little scary when a Kebab costs 20 kuna, and at first I am going "THAT IS OUTRAGEOUS, wait that's not euros, Ok."
Everyone here seems really relaxed and laid back which is nice. When traveling like this you feel a little guilty about not being out every second of every day seeing and doing things, but when almost everyone else in the hostel is sitting around watching movies with you, it seems alright. Well I am off to bed soon after a stop at the little boys' room, which is down an interesting flight of stairs, so better to do now while still alert as opposed to scrambling for the light. Which I had to do last night.... not fun!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
My First Evening in Zagreb, Croatia
Well most of today I spent in bed, exhausted. I do think Venice is one of those places where you need to see once in a life time, but if you are really in need of a gondola ride, I would say just go to Vegas and do it a little cheaper with a guy that sings, at the Venetian.
I have done a little walking around Zagreb today, it is a really beautiful and life filled city (Apart from at 4 am when everyone who is smart is in bed). I am staying in a great little hostel right near the main square of the city. The two guys that run it are former backpackers from Zagreb, who saw a lack of quality hostels in the city. They are a lot of fun and very accommodating. In fact a group of Australians showed up tonight, and they only had 4 beds for the 6 people, so they pulled out some extra mattresses and let a couple of them sleep on the floor next to me. They bought me a beer at the bar downstairs for being so good about it.
Croatia is really trying to improve their tourism market. All over the place are posters advertising Croatia as "stress relief." So far I get that. It is a very laid back city, everyone is always at the bar. In fact, they start the day with a beer in hand. It is sort of a Croatian equivalent to coffee. Croatia is also very cheap compared to the rest of the European Nations. 10kuna is equal to 2 US dollars. For 10 dollars tonight I had a great chicken risotto, bread, and two cokes at a local restaurant.
Well I am going to try and hit the hay early tonight, even though it is Saturday, so that I can sort of catch up on my last bit of sleep that I missed. I am no longer taking the advice of not to get a sleeping car on overnight trains. Greg, the violin player in Venice, warned me against it saying he knew a guy who had done the sleeping car on a train in Croatia and been held up by train robbers. I think I will just carry light cash when sleeping in the car.
I have done a little walking around Zagreb today, it is a really beautiful and life filled city (Apart from at 4 am when everyone who is smart is in bed). I am staying in a great little hostel right near the main square of the city. The two guys that run it are former backpackers from Zagreb, who saw a lack of quality hostels in the city. They are a lot of fun and very accommodating. In fact a group of Australians showed up tonight, and they only had 4 beds for the 6 people, so they pulled out some extra mattresses and let a couple of them sleep on the floor next to me. They bought me a beer at the bar downstairs for being so good about it.
Croatia is really trying to improve their tourism market. All over the place are posters advertising Croatia as "stress relief." So far I get that. It is a very laid back city, everyone is always at the bar. In fact, they start the day with a beer in hand. It is sort of a Croatian equivalent to coffee. Croatia is also very cheap compared to the rest of the European Nations. 10kuna is equal to 2 US dollars. For 10 dollars tonight I had a great chicken risotto, bread, and two cokes at a local restaurant.
Well I am going to try and hit the hay early tonight, even though it is Saturday, so that I can sort of catch up on my last bit of sleep that I missed. I am no longer taking the advice of not to get a sleeping car on overnight trains. Greg, the violin player in Venice, warned me against it saying he knew a guy who had done the sleeping car on a train in Croatia and been held up by train robbers. I think I will just carry light cash when sleeping in the car.
Zagreb, Croatia
5:30 in the morning in Zagreb Croatia. In my line of work, I only see this time when I have been up all night programming light cues. Well I guess I am holding to that ideal. I left Venice yesterday evening at 21h27 and got into Zagreb at 4h18, with a few stops at the Slovenian and Croatian boarders for passport inspection. The train was headed to Budapest, with Zagreb just being one of the few stops on the way. Now I am sitting outside my hostel, which was a little more difficult to find than anticipated, but it has a terrific location right on the main square of the city. I can see the huge spires of the cathedral over the roof tops across the way. It is starting to get a little cold in the evenings, so I am glad for my warmer cloths. The walk from the train station to the square wasn't bad at all, but from the square trying to figure out what a "yard" means to a Croatian was interesting. (The directions to the hostel said go to the second yard on my left.) But luckily in my hunt a baker across the street noticed me walking aimlessly with my backpack and a list of directions. He pointed me in the right direction, and now I wait to watch the sunrise, drop my bags off and start exploring.
Well, what does one say about Venice. If you are familiar at all with the musical "Urinetown," Venice is in fact a city in which you have to pay to pee. I don't think the Venetians have ever heard of the concept of a free public toilet. Each time you see a sign for a W.C. expect to pay 1 euro for that porcelain throne. Even in the train station there was a fee to use the toilet. Let me tell you, to make things "simpler" they but the turnstiles on the outside of the separation between men and women, so everyone pays at the same place, but once through the pearly white gates there is never a clear determination made as to which direction each gender should go. This is all really nonsensical, but in case you have had loads of espresso in the morning in Venice, are caught walking around the canals when all of the sudden nature calls, make sure you have a 1 euro coin handy so you aren't squatting off the side of a bridge. (There is not a single bush in Venice to hide behind.)
There is a crazy separation between the generations when it comes to their opinions of Venice. Every person I talked to over the age of 35 to 40 thought that Venice was one of the greatest cities of all time. The opposite could be said about those in their 20's to early 30's. I was in the middle somewhere. I though Venice had some amazing qualities, but there are only so many times I can walk by a "Murano Glass" store and see the exact same little figurines looking back at me. I think that is one of the main reasons it is so easy to get lost in Venice. Not because the streets are poorly labeled and most of them randomly dead end, but because it is impossible to set regular bread crumb landmarks because every shop looks exactly the same. I was most disappointed with the beautiful and stunning Rialto Bridge, which from a far was simply breathtaking, but when you walked over it, you see that the inside of the bridge, the part they don't show you onpostcards, is covered in tacky souvenir shops. No Bueno Venice!
Once you get off the tourist lined paths of the grand canal, you start to see a little bit more of the city for what it is and possibly once was. I think the thing that most got to me about the city was the lack of pride and respect that the locals had for it. They were using the canals like a personal trash can, and simply ignoring all of the chaos surrounding them. New York is filled with tourists and craptacular souvenir shops, but its residents have a pride and awe about their city that gives it the spirit and character that make it what it is. Venice along the way has lost that.
Well as I step off of my soap box, I would like to tell all of the readers out there (yes, I am talking to you, and thanks for hanging in there with me) that today was the first day I had a random run in with a repeat traveler. An Australian guy I shared a room with on my last night in Cinque Terra, sat next to me on the train to Zagreb. The strangest part was not the run in, but the fact that we shared a room and then on the train we were literally seated in seats right next to each other. Just thought I would drop that little useless tidbit of news in there. Use it as you will.
Well, what does one say about Venice. If you are familiar at all with the musical "Urinetown," Venice is in fact a city in which you have to pay to pee. I don't think the Venetians have ever heard of the concept of a free public toilet. Each time you see a sign for a W.C. expect to pay 1 euro for that porcelain throne. Even in the train station there was a fee to use the toilet. Let me tell you, to make things "simpler" they but the turnstiles on the outside of the separation between men and women, so everyone pays at the same place, but once through the pearly white gates there is never a clear determination made as to which direction each gender should go. This is all really nonsensical, but in case you have had loads of espresso in the morning in Venice, are caught walking around the canals when all of the sudden nature calls, make sure you have a 1 euro coin handy so you aren't squatting off the side of a bridge. (There is not a single bush in Venice to hide behind.)
There is a crazy separation between the generations when it comes to their opinions of Venice. Every person I talked to over the age of 35 to 40 thought that Venice was one of the greatest cities of all time. The opposite could be said about those in their 20's to early 30's. I was in the middle somewhere. I though Venice had some amazing qualities, but there are only so many times I can walk by a "Murano Glass" store and see the exact same little figurines looking back at me. I think that is one of the main reasons it is so easy to get lost in Venice. Not because the streets are poorly labeled and most of them randomly dead end, but because it is impossible to set regular bread crumb landmarks because every shop looks exactly the same. I was most disappointed with the beautiful and stunning Rialto Bridge, which from a far was simply breathtaking, but when you walked over it, you see that the inside of the bridge, the part they don't show you onpostcards, is covered in tacky souvenir shops. No Bueno Venice!
Once you get off the tourist lined paths of the grand canal, you start to see a little bit more of the city for what it is and possibly once was. I think the thing that most got to me about the city was the lack of pride and respect that the locals had for it. They were using the canals like a personal trash can, and simply ignoring all of the chaos surrounding them. New York is filled with tourists and craptacular souvenir shops, but its residents have a pride and awe about their city that gives it the spirit and character that make it what it is. Venice along the way has lost that.
Well as I step off of my soap box, I would like to tell all of the readers out there (yes, I am talking to you, and thanks for hanging in there with me) that today was the first day I had a random run in with a repeat traveler. An Australian guy I shared a room with on my last night in Cinque Terra, sat next to me on the train to Zagreb. The strangest part was not the run in, but the fact that we shared a room and then on the train we were literally seated in seats right next to each other. Just thought I would drop that little useless tidbit of news in there. Use it as you will.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Venice, Italy
I have made it to Venice and am spending two nights here. I got into Venice on the train yesterday and spent a little while trying to find the shuttle to my hostel/campsite. Yes, I am roughing it in Venice. On the internet it didn't look like there were very many backpacker hostels on the island of Venice, so I found this campsite that also has hostel beds. Really there are just two bunk-beds in a cabin out in the woods next to the airport. There are tons of cabins though. And when I say next to the airport, I mean, part of the view out of my cabin window is the runway 100 meters away. It gets a little loud listening to the planes landing overhead. It is a fun place, the rooms are cheap, they have just developed an art out of the nickel and dime-ing you. The shuttle is two euros, the wifi is 2 euros per hour, and the food is super expensive. Nothing is included in the price of the bed.
Venice is beautiful, but I am glad I am only here for two nights. You really can see the whole city in one day. There most be something divine about it, though, for the older crowd. They just want to stay here all the time. It is very touristy, very expensive, and there isn't a whole lot to see and do. But it is very incredible. I would just waste a lot of money really quickly if I stayed here that long.
The canals here are great. I wanted to take a gondola but it was 80 euros to rent for 45 minutes. So, it was a bit out of my price range. One of the guys I am sharing a room with and spent the day with, is a violin player, and is playing on the streets of the cities he goes to, to help pay for his trip. We thought it would be fun to steal a gondola and while he played the violin, I would sing, and the other guy would row. We didn't get the opportunity. Gondoliers are quite protective of their boats.
Tomorrow I am going to take my first night train to Zagreb, Croatia. That should be an experience, and allow me to spend another day touring Venice before I go.
I have included some pictures from Cinque Terra.
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Mark, Simone from Sidney and Roberto from Brazil.
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Venice is beautiful, but I am glad I am only here for two nights. You really can see the whole city in one day. There most be something divine about it, though, for the older crowd. They just want to stay here all the time. It is very touristy, very expensive, and there isn't a whole lot to see and do. But it is very incredible. I would just waste a lot of money really quickly if I stayed here that long.
The canals here are great. I wanted to take a gondola but it was 80 euros to rent for 45 minutes. So, it was a bit out of my price range. One of the guys I am sharing a room with and spent the day with, is a violin player, and is playing on the streets of the cities he goes to, to help pay for his trip. We thought it would be fun to steal a gondola and while he played the violin, I would sing, and the other guy would row. We didn't get the opportunity. Gondoliers are quite protective of their boats.
Tomorrow I am going to take my first night train to Zagreb, Croatia. That should be an experience, and allow me to spend another day touring Venice before I go.
I have included some pictures from Cinque Terra.
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Mark, Simone from Sidney and Roberto from Brazil.
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Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Cinque Terre, Italy
There is no Wifi in the hostel that I am staying in and there is only one computer with internet. Plus, there is a $0.50 charge for every ten minutes that you use it, so I am typing as fast as my little fingers can keep up.
Tonight is my last night in Cinque Terre. I have LOVED it here. Tell Chris Caver that she better have had something really important to do this summer to have missed this place. I highly recommend it for a tourist.
It is a place covering a lot of land with these five small coastal cities weaved into the hillsides. The geography is incredible-one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen. All of the towns are connected via a train and all of these little paths. As you get farther away from the big town, Riomaggori, the paths get harder and harder. On the first day I started in Riomaggori walking, and by that time I got to the fourth city, Vernneza, I was soaked to the bone with rain even though I was in my rain slicks, and tired beyond belief, so I got the train back to Riomaggori and hit the hay early.
I met up with Simone from Nice here, so today she, this guy Roberto from Brazil, and I walked all of Cinque Terre together. It was fantastic. We started with the hard stuff and then finished with the easy things. In the last city we stopped, we swam amongst these huge boulders in the clear blue Mediterranean. It was the perfect way to end a day of heavy hiking. We followed up the dip in what I now refer to as "my pool" with dinner in the second city and enjoyed the wonderful fresh seafood.
I should really run, because people are waiting to use the one computer. Tomorrow I head to Venice. I’m staying in a camping site/ hostel. It sounds like a lot of fun and easy to get to with the private shuttle from the train station.
Tonight is my last night in Cinque Terre. I have LOVED it here. Tell Chris Caver that she better have had something really important to do this summer to have missed this place. I highly recommend it for a tourist.
It is a place covering a lot of land with these five small coastal cities weaved into the hillsides. The geography is incredible-one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen. All of the towns are connected via a train and all of these little paths. As you get farther away from the big town, Riomaggori, the paths get harder and harder. On the first day I started in Riomaggori walking, and by that time I got to the fourth city, Vernneza, I was soaked to the bone with rain even though I was in my rain slicks, and tired beyond belief, so I got the train back to Riomaggori and hit the hay early.
I met up with Simone from Nice here, so today she, this guy Roberto from Brazil, and I walked all of Cinque Terre together. It was fantastic. We started with the hard stuff and then finished with the easy things. In the last city we stopped, we swam amongst these huge boulders in the clear blue Mediterranean. It was the perfect way to end a day of heavy hiking. We followed up the dip in what I now refer to as "my pool" with dinner in the second city and enjoyed the wonderful fresh seafood.
I should really run, because people are waiting to use the one computer. Tomorrow I head to Venice. I’m staying in a camping site/ hostel. It sounds like a lot of fun and easy to get to with the private shuttle from the train station.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Still More Nice, France
Saturday, September 20
Well I had a nice relaxing day in Nice. I was finally able to get my laundry done this morning which was an extra special part of my day, good clean (un-smelly) clothes.
Last night I went out with Nadia and Arian (the two girls from Quebec) and Simone, a girl from Sydney. We headed to a little discotheque in the city center and danced the night away. We had a ton of good laughs and enjoyed the good music. At one point they had a big balloon drop, so we all got to pop balloons in each other's faces. Plus there was this guy, whom I believe was on GhB, that was passed out against a wall that we decorated with balloons, got a picture, and then had security call him a cab. We made up for our bad behavior by saving his life. We are still good people.
We finished off the night by stopping at a vender on the way home and having a Kebab, a Nice staple for preventing the morning hangover. It was not quite what I expected. I thought "Kebab" was a bunch of meat and grilled veggies on a skewer, but it was a tortilla wrap filled with vegetables, cheese, and meat shaved off of a HUGE kebab. It was delicious, and the perfect way to end an evening out.
Today I woke up a bit later than normal, 10:30 and had some bread smeared in Nutella, Europe's chocolate replacement for peanut butter. It definitely filled me with enough sugar to get up and go. After breakfast, I rummaged together all of my dirty cloths. There were so many of them that they no longer fit in the little bag I had for keeping them in. Note to self, when the bag is nearly full, DO LAUNDRY!
After I had clean clothes, all folded nicely and returned to their respective zip-lock baggies, I headed to the beach. We had wonderful weather today, so everyone was enjoying an afternoon on the polished white rocks of the Cote d'Azur. I found a small but vacant piece of beach and set up home. It was just a wonderful way to spend a bit of the afternoon. Since Nadia and Arian left for Provence this morning, and Simone was heading to Monaco, where I had already been, I just spent the day by myself. After the beach I walked around Old Nice, getting lost in the tiny streets, and then walking to the top of the Chateau to see the great view of the city.
Well I had a nice relaxing day in Nice. I was finally able to get my laundry done this morning which was an extra special part of my day, good clean (un-smelly) clothes.
Last night I went out with Nadia and Arian (the two girls from Quebec) and Simone, a girl from Sydney. We headed to a little discotheque in the city center and danced the night away. We had a ton of good laughs and enjoyed the good music. At one point they had a big balloon drop, so we all got to pop balloons in each other's faces. Plus there was this guy, whom I believe was on GhB, that was passed out against a wall that we decorated with balloons, got a picture, and then had security call him a cab. We made up for our bad behavior by saving his life. We are still good people.
We finished off the night by stopping at a vender on the way home and having a Kebab, a Nice staple for preventing the morning hangover. It was not quite what I expected. I thought "Kebab" was a bunch of meat and grilled veggies on a skewer, but it was a tortilla wrap filled with vegetables, cheese, and meat shaved off of a HUGE kebab. It was delicious, and the perfect way to end an evening out.
Today I woke up a bit later than normal, 10:30 and had some bread smeared in Nutella, Europe's chocolate replacement for peanut butter. It definitely filled me with enough sugar to get up and go. After breakfast, I rummaged together all of my dirty cloths. There were so many of them that they no longer fit in the little bag I had for keeping them in. Note to self, when the bag is nearly full, DO LAUNDRY!
After I had clean clothes, all folded nicely and returned to their respective zip-lock baggies, I headed to the beach. We had wonderful weather today, so everyone was enjoying an afternoon on the polished white rocks of the Cote d'Azur. I found a small but vacant piece of beach and set up home. It was just a wonderful way to spend a bit of the afternoon. Since Nadia and Arian left for Provence this morning, and Simone was heading to Monaco, where I had already been, I just spent the day by myself. After the beach I walked around Old Nice, getting lost in the tiny streets, and then walking to the top of the Chateau to see the great view of the city.
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