So once again i have waited far too long to update. Im in Budapest now but i will be updating the past few days, which includes the rest of my stay in Croatia.

Hvar

The afternoon of my last blog i caught the ferry to Hvar island and arrived around 3pm. When i got there i spend a good hour or two just looking for my hostel because the directions from their website were wrong. it was a lot of stair climbing and sweating in the hot sun with my heavy pack. somehow, i think it was luck, i eventually came across it and was happy to finally put my stuff down. From there i went and found some antique hot chocolate (although they only had white chocolate, it was quite good). i walked the promenade for a little bit but i eventually got cold and went back to the hostel. I met some really nice girls who are also travelling and my roomates in the dorm, three american guys who are studying in Prague. After having a couple beers we all went out and got some dinner, drinks then went home.

The next morning I couldnt believe it was raining! Hvar is the sunniest island in Croatia and it barely ever rains, but lucky me, i was there on the one day it did. I had planned on renting a bike and touring the island but i was unsure if the weather would clear so after the rain subsided i just walked to the end of the coastal walkway, and enjoyed the crystal clear turqoise water and rocky beaches.

Hvar is beautiful, by the way. it is quite small, the old town is anyways, and can easily be walked from one end to the other. the same white (marble) from split paves the promenade and main square, there are quaint homes on a gentle slope, and a castle at the top of the hill. It is the greenest of the Croatian islands, and the water is out of a movie. It is a wonderful place to just relax and enjoy yourself, rather than deal with the hustle and bustle of sightseeing.

I did go to the castle later in the day, it was very simple, but i got a great view of the city. i also got to go in for free because the guy who sells tickets wasnt at the table and im pretty sure i heard him partying down in the snack bar so i just went right on in.

Later that night we went out to dinner and i got the best steak ive had on this trip, in a delicious mushroom sauce and then we went to a bar and hung out with the croatian mafia. ok, so it wasnt that dramatic, but the one guy at least used to be in the mob and was a little bit insane.

My last day in Hvar i spent sunbathing on the rocks by the water before boarding the 5pm ferry back to Split. For some reason i thought it would be beneficial to take the 1am bus to Zagreb rather than spend the night in Split, so when i got there i booked a ticket and dropped my stuff off at split hostel, who were nice enough to allow me to do such. I then spend way too long looking for the hostel of the boys i had been in hvar with, found them, went to meet them for dinner, place was closed so i lost them again, went back to their hostel and hung out with the girl working there and one of the guests. it was very aggrevating but my new company were extremely nice, intelligent people, and both extensive travellers. the guy is currently part of an organization where he is biking europe to raise money to find a cure for epilepsy, and the girl, who is currently backpacking and just stopped to work for a while, spent a year travelling south america. im officially convinced that my next trip will be there.

Zagreb

the 1am bus was an absolute nightmare, it was packed and sleeping was impossible. it was also freezing. we got in at 7am and i was miraculously able to get myself to my new hostel with no problems except that checkin wasnt until noon. so i dropped my bags off and hopped another two hour bus to Plitvice National Park, which was the reason i had decided to catch that early morning bus.

Plitvitce is absolutely stunning. it is a park filled with waterfalls that are accessed via wooden footpaths. the lakes are all crystal clear blue and teal, and when you walk, you can see tons of fish in the water. I was there for around five hours, it was very easy hiking, which my feet were happy about and the scenery is just indescribable. whenever i post my pictures you will get a better idea than any description i can type out here.

when i caught the bus back, to my surprise i ran into a women i met at split hostel and who was in my group at the bar. it turns out we were staying at the same place in Zagreb. to add to the strangeness, she had already run into two other guy from our hostel and when we got to the tram station, a third guy who was out with us went by on the tram, waving at us. he lives in Zagreb but its a huge city, so it was very surprising to see him jot past on the tram. We got some dinner together at a very good local restaraunt called Nokturno and then went back to the hostel to lounge. a group of people went out that night but i was too beat from such a long couple days that i went to bed by 11, one of my earlier nights here.

The next day, Sam and I got coffee and pastries and then i went off on a pamphlet guided walking tour of the old part of the city. I saw an beautiful church and many fantastic statues, something Zagreb has quite a few of. it also took me through the old town gate and into the market. i love markets. they are one of my favorite parts of travelling and i dont understand why we dont have them in the states. in the market there were rows and rows of fresh fruit, vegetables and honey! there was also lavander, something Zagreb is apparently known for. they had a fish market as well, always my favorite part, because it smells so good and i can imagine cooking it up and eating it, but dont, because i live in hostels. so in a way going to the fish market is a bit sad. After my walking tour i went back to the hostel to do some itinerizing then headed out again to do the second tour. on my way i ran into Sam again who happened to be going to a museum on my route. We passed the theater which was beautiful and surrounded by fresh flowers in the colors of the croatian flag. I wound up going to the museum with her, its called the Mimara and is a private collection housed in a huge old primarly school building. There were many great pieces of art there, but nothing too exotic, as far as museums go. After that we parted ways again and i spent the rest of my afternoon in the botanical gardens and then reading in the park. Later on we got dinner at the same place and wound down the night with a bottle of wine.

Now that i was rested i was finally able to go out again and i went with a few very interesting people from my hostel, including one Australian guy and two guys from Turkey. the Turkish boys were so nice and it was great to get to talk to some people from a country that i would love to visit and have heard so much about. they told me a lot about Istambul and what its like to live there. The Australian guy told a pretty insane story about his trip to south america, having his tent eaten by ants in the amazon, looking for shelter, getting shot at and then spending the night in a jail cell. i would expand but i think i need to get off this computer soon.

i will have to continue my update tomorrow and discuss my past few days in budapest but people want the computer now and im sick of typing.

ciao!