Sad to leave Slovenia, but guess I gotta keep moving if I want to see more of Europe. Next destination: Zagreb, Croatia. Got an 8am train and conked out immediately. Was woken up by some guards asking to see my passport at the border of Slovenia and Croatia. I thought these border checks were a thing of the past. The Slovenian guard tried scanning my passport several times in his little machine to no avail. It just wouldn't read. I was starting to get a little worried. What would happen? He then radioed something and spelt out my name. About five minutes of nervous waiting, he stamped my passport and handed it back. Crisis averted. Immediately after the Slovenian guard left, a Croatian guard came on and asked to see the passport. You'd think that if one country already approved it, it should be ok. Nevertheless I handed it over and got it stamped within seconds (no fancy machine for this guy). This whole border check took about half an hour so we were stuck in a stationary train meaning I got into Zagreb half an hour late. Not a big deal. At least I have more passport stamps!!
Got into Zagreb, dropped my bags off and explored the city just as I usually did. In the town square, I managed to catch some sort of festival or celebration of the mandarin (perhaps to signal the start of the season?), but it was great watching the song and dances, even though it was all foreign to me. At the end of all the performances, everyone started crowding around and waving bags. I was so confused and fearing that in the midst of all these bodies that my wallet would go missing, I promptly got myself out of that crowd and watched from the side to see what was going on. Turns out they were giving away mandarins, and this festival had blessed these fruits that they were giving away. It's cultural things like this that make me really happy that I'm travelling and seeing the world. What great timing that I was here to see that.
Next stop was the Museum of Broken Relationships, an eclectic collection of tokens from relationships that longer exist. Reading the stories behind some of the objects were so interesting. In particular, one which caught my attention was a stuffed toy lobster. The girl who donated it said she didn't understand why her boyfriend would give her a lobster. Clearly she's not a Friends fan. Any true Friends would know that a lobster means true love. The rest of the arvo was dedicated to other museums and just exploring the city.
Checked into my hostel at 5pm. My room was so cramped, clothes were strewn all over the floor and there were four people asleep. At 5pm. This was definitely a party hostel. I spoke to one of them as they got up, and found out that he'd been here for four nights already. And he'd been drunk four nights. He pretty much just slept through the days and partied the nights away. I don't wanna judge but I just feel that if you're in a foreign city, you should at least see the city. You can drink and party anywhere but these cities are all unique and you can't just sleep it all away.
I had a quick dinner in the hostel restaurant of cevapi, which is Croatian meatballs. Downed with a local beer and ended with chocolate crepes, that whole dinner cost me only HRK47 (about €7). It's amazing how cheap everything is here.
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Day 20
Party hostel confirmed. Roommates got in about 6am all drunk and making a racket. Most were considerate and tried to be quiet, but one stupid fucking bitch wouldn't shut the fuck up and kept laughing at the top of her lungs. I later found out that she worked at the hostel. Real professional.
Original plan was to do a tour to the Plitvice Lakes, organised by the hostel. I found out in the morning, as I stood outside waiting to be picked up, that it had been cancelled. Thanks for the notice. My original concern about going to the lakes by myself was that I could get stranded there. There were so many reviews online talking about buses not showing up and people being stuck about three hours out of the city. In the end, I knew I'd regret not going so I made my way to the bus station and sorted out own transport.
Dozed off and woke to see beautiful blue water rivers. We had to be close. As we pulled up to the park entrance, as if the weather gods knew, the sun came out and all signs of miserable weather were gone. I caught a shuttle bus up to the highest point and began my hike down. It was beautiful!! That is seriously an understatement. The water was so clear that you could see the fish swimming below the surface. The trees were all different colours due to the autumn colouring, and this was just perfectly complemented by the perfect blue skies. The water ranged in colour depending on where you were, but I saw bright blue to bright green. All my doubts about coming were erased. I could have stayed here for days just admiring all this natural beauty.
I took so many photos, as well as many selfies, as I followed the constructed pathways meandering through the lakes. As I got to the bottom, I took a boat to the next point and trekked to see the famous giant waterfall. That was an experience. Standing at the bottom and feeling the spray was definitely a highlight. Suddenly becoming very aware of the time, I quickly left and hiked back up to the entrance point. Turns out my concerns were completely unnecessary. There were extra buses provided by the park that weren't on the official timetables. I could have gone at a more relaxed pace through the park, but nevertheless, I still enjoyed myself and took in all the magnificent sights. This is definitely somewhere you need to see if you're in Croatia. Had I had more time, I actually would have camped here and spent a few days hiking along the natural paths.
So glad I did this. Highlight of Croatia for sure. And to think, I wasn't going to come. This experience made me realise that sometimes you just have to take things into your own hands and deal with whatever happens. You can't rely on others all the time. Had my fear of not knowing how to get back held me back, I would have missed out on what is now one of my biggest highlights so far on this trip. There's always a solution. The first bus back at 4am would have worked, there were hotels nearby, easily solved. Not ideal but at least it wasn't like what I had imagined being stuck in wilderness. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I'm glad I did this and I have no regrets.
HBL signing out from Zagreb, Croatia.
Up next: Not the last time I'll see Budapest...
Previously: Slovenia: an unexpected delight...
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