Lucky to Leave with all my Belongings

Venice, Italy 1 night

I met a girl from Korea at my hostel and we walked around taking pictures and exploring the winding streets of Venice. We got dinner after a long day of travel and waking around the city then called it a day. 

Florence, Italy 2 nights

October 15th, I took a train to Florence. As usual, checked into my hostel and got situated. Of course I met some more great people at the hostel who I walked around with before we had dinner at Tijuana which served Mexican food. We enjoyed fishbowl sized margaritas. 

On the 16th I did a day trip to Pisa. On the train I sat with an Italian man and an older couple from Portugal. With Portuguese, Italian and my broken Spanish we all tried to communicate a bit which was quite fun and a way to pass the time quite quickly. 

When returning to Florence I went to a garden which I did not have a ticket for and tried to enter through the wrong gate but the lady was nice and just let me in. I then bought pasta to cook and a bottle of wine for dinner. 

After eating, a group of us from the hostel attempted to find some open bars but had no luck. We ended up running around the streets in the poring rain. I was already soaking wet and had taken my flip flops off but a man selling umbrellas found it impair active to follow me around saying an umbrella was a good idea. 

Rome, Italy 2 nights

I pretty much wasted my first afternoon in Rome because I was hung over and all I could do was sleep. I took a long nap after I was able to check into my hostel and then decided that I should get up and do something. Dob, one of the Aussies I met in Vienna, happened to be in Rome at the same time so we met up for dinner and walked to the Trevi fountain. The fountain was absolutley a shit show of tourists. I took a picture from a distance with tons of people in it and threw a penny hoping it would make it into the water without hitting anyone.

While we were out waking around I am pretty sure we saw someone get robbed. A man dashed across several lanes of traffic with a womans purse in his hand so I can only assume that is what happened. After this I was a lot more aware of my surroundings and my bag, especially when I was walking by myself. 

The next morning Dob and I met at 8am to do some sight seeing. Our first stop was the fountain, in the hopes that it would not be as crowded. I had very little hope but to my surprise there were not that many people there. I could not believe it, it was actually a pleasent experience and we got to enjoy the fountain for what it was worth and not have to deal with a hundred other people at the same time.  

Naples, Italy 3 nights

The first night in Naples, October 20th, I met Katie, Adam, Huey, and James in the hostel bar. We had several rounds before making our way to the center where everyone hangs out and drinks at night. Once we got to the center I was amazed by the number of people there. Everyone was outside enjoying being outside and drinking. We met a few locals, had a few drinks, and enjoyed everything ourselves before heading back to bed. 

The next morning when I woke up I had trouble opening my right eye...I was not too sure what to think...I then got really itchy everywhere... I got out of bed to go to the bathroom and when I looked in the mirror it looked like I got punched in the face, my forehead just above my right eye had swollen to the size of a baseball! I put two and two together, it had to be bed bugs!! Ahhh! My worst nightmare. I was itchy all over, looked like an alien, and when returning to my room actually found a bed bug on my pillow. 

Here is the embarrassing photo or the bedbug attack...

I went to the reception desk and told them what happened. The guy working had me show him the bed and said he would change the sheets and spray. I didn't want to think about it so went to breakfast got some toast. Adam suggested getting putting ice on it so I did for a bit, I'm not sure if it actually helped but like to think it did. Another guy gave me an antihistamine. I normally don't take any type of medicine when I have any type of issue, I just let my body fight the cold, headache, or whatever the issue might be. However, I was desperate and did not think twice. Huey, James, Adam and I began our day by going to one of the castles in Naples; it gave us an unbeatable view of the city and mount Vesuvius. 

Afterwards, we made our way back to the main part of town where we had pizza for lunch at one of the most popular pizza places and did an underground tour of the city. 

The tour was interesting, we got to see underground passageways and part of the Greek Roman Theater. 

After all of this we made our way back to the hostel and I asked the lady at the reception desk if she could move me to another room after explaining what had happened. The hostel was very large so she moved me to the newer building. I made sure to check my things before moving to my new room so I would not bring any bed bugs with me. That night I was afraid to go to sleep even though I had checked my bed and it appeared to be fine. It was a very restless night of sleep; I woke up about every three hours. Luckily I did not have any new bites the next morning and the swelling around my eye went down a bit. 

That day, October 20th, I hung out with Adam, James, and Huey again; we did a day trip to Pompeii. It was a bigger site than I had expected and interesting to see what an enormous impact that a volcano can induce on a city. 

That evening I met Luciana, a Brazilian girl that was working at the hostel for a couple of weeks. She took us all to dinner at a local place. There was lots of yelling, some broken dishes, and confusion with orders but it was a great meal with a true Napoleon influence. 

On the 21st Luciana took us all to a local beach to swim. The water was amazingly clear with lots of life among the fish and coral. Adam and I swam over to a small island and explored a bit. When we got back to the rest of the group Huey told us that a kind in red shorts almost stole our bags. Apparently, he ran up to our stuff and could have taken anything he wanted but an extremely nice local told him to go away and then told Huey to pay more attention to our things. Needless to say, we got extremely lucky. The guys had rented a car and driven us all to the beach and were heading to Rome that afternoon. Luciana and Max (a bartender) convinced me to stay another day which was pretty easy because I had no plan so the guys dropped us off at the hostel and then made their way to Rome. That evening I made worked on figuring out plans on how to get to Athens and potential stops before hand. I could not find many good options and then talking to the receptionist she helped me find a cheap flight with Ryan air. The down side was I had to backtrack to Rome for the flight but I ended up staying at The Yellow hostel which was where the three Aussies were staying. 

When we were at the beach we also experienced an attempted robbery. We had our bags on shore, Adam and I decided to swim to the island in the above picture while everyone else stayed with the stuff. When we got back Huey said a kid had run up to our bags and could have easily taken them but a local older man yelled at him and told us to watch our stuff better. 

While I am on the topic of getting robbed someone attempted to pick pocket me on a tram that 

was jam packed. I didn't actually see it happen but after I got off the tram realized the zipper pockets on the clip part of my large backpack had been unzipped. Fortunately for me I don't keep anything important in therefor this exact reason! 

 

In spite of the bed bugs, attempted robbery and attempted pick pocket I loved Naples and could not have asked for a better group of people at a time that could have been really bad for me. 

Rome, Italy 1 night

On the 23rd I made my way back to Rome and met up with the guys for dinner. The water at dinner said I looked like a model and  I reminded him of someone famous  . While ordering we made a joke that I only need a piece of lettuce and a couple veggies. I ended up ordering a lasagna and salad which were delicious but as a joke he brought out a plate with two vegetables on it and a piece of lettuce. 

We then drank at the hostel bar. We got two free shots for taking a picture and posting it to Facebook, several beers, and I got a free shot for participating in a dance contest. Quite a night. The next morning I planned on leaving the hostel at 6 to get to the airport at 7 for my flight that boarded at 9. However, after quite an ambitious night of drinking I had a hard time waking up. My bunk mate actually ended up waking me up but it was 7am. I was already supposed to be at the airport!! I thought there was no way in hell I would make my flight. I was so tired and possibly a bit drunk still all I wanted to do was crawl back in bed and sleep for another 8 hours. However, I had already paid for the flight so I had to make an effort to try and get there. I struggled leaving the hostel. First of all I could not find my key to unlock my locker so I went to the front desk to ask for bolt cutters. I cut my lock and was able to get my things packed. The struggle continued when I went to check out I couldn't find my room key so I had to pay 2 euros. I then caught a bus to the airport where by some miracle I made my flight! When I boarded the flight attendant even out me in the first row because he needed a native English speaker in the emergency exit row. I sat next to a window, had loads of leg space, and no one was sitting next to me. Once the wheels were off the ground I was asleep to all of the world and woke up just before landing. I was the first person off of the plane and got my bag right away. I have no idea how this happened but it all worked out perfectly. 

CWS Family

Split, Croatia 2 nights

Night 1: After a beatiful bus ride along the coast of Croatia I checked into my hostel and then went on a walk. I made my way up a hill to get to a park. I got an amazing view of the sunset before heading back down and having chavapi for dinner and gelato for dessert; it was a very plesent afternoon. 

When I got back to my hostel there were more people around hanging out and socializing. I met a girl from Brazil, a girl from China, and two guys from Paris. We all decided to go out and explore the night life. We started on a street with a bunch of bars, had a couple drinks before making our way to a club. The club was full of locals and there was a live band playing music. 

The next day, I walked around a market, the old town, and touristy areas of the city. The market was nice. I was able to get good deals on fresh foods. 

That afternoon new people arrived at the hostel. Everyone was outgoing, social, and had an interesting story. As the afternoon turned to evening we decided to go to a market and by giant beers for about 1 USD. 

We played some drinking games before we made our way out to the bars. Since I had gone out the previous night I ended up being the tour guide and leading the way to the street with bars and then the club. This time we went to Vanilla which was across the street from the club that I was at the night before. The club atmosphere in Croatia is not the most upbeat. For the most part people are just standing around with stone faces smoking cigarettes. However, we did not let this stop the fun for us. There were enough of us from the hostel that we made our own fun. We had a few rounds of Yeager shots and danced amongst ourselves. After we had enough we all left and headed towards the water which was a little bit past our hostel. We had initially intended on finding a beach party before going to vanilla but were told by locals that because the season was ending that nothing was really happening. Therefore, after Vanilla we ended up at the port and went skinny dipping. The water was cold at first but refreshing and energizing. After our midnight swim we made our way back to the hostel and got ready for bed. 

The next morning I met up with some relatives that I just found out lived in Croatia. I'm not entirely sure how we are related but never the less we are family and it was great to spend a little bit of time with them. Later that afternoon everyone from the hostel met up again and we made our way to the beach. There was a small cliff on the way that a couple of us jumped off of and I swam the rest of the way to the beach which was about a 15 min swim. Several of us swam out form the beach to a water polo court that was in the middle of the water. Once we got there we just floated and chatted because we did not have a ball to play with. After about five min a local threw us a ball to play with and we invited him to play with us and about 6 local guys ended up joining. They were very good and said they played pretty much every day. I know some basic water polo but was no where near their skill level and including myself there were only 2 girls. It was a ton of fun though. We were in the water and playing for a couple hours. It was refreshing not only to be in the water but to get some exercise because it is very difficult to exercise while traveling, especially the kind of exercise that I am used to. This was by far one of my favorite days while traveling because I absolutely love being in the water and enjoyed the sun, loved meeting locals, and relaxing with great people. 

After a wonderful day at the beach I gathered my things from the hostel and made my way to the port to catch a ferry with a Brandon from California who showed up at the hostel and was headed to the same place. We got to the blue line ferry where I checked in and got my room key. I got an amazing deal online that allowed me to have an outside room with one other roommate for 20 euro and with port taxes ended up being 40 euro. This was cheaper than just buying deck space the day of so I was quite pleased to have a bed. Brandon and I hung out in the lounge bar area for a while before heading to bed. The next morning we met up, watched the sunrise, and then made our way to the train station. I did not have any plan at all. I wanted to go to Venice but thought it might be a bit out of the way and was thinking of skipping it and going to Florence. It was a good thing that I met Brandon though because he was planning on going to Venice and then making his way down to Florence and Rome so I decided to travel with him to Venice. However, when we were at the train station we bought different tickets to the same place. Out first train was the same but when we had to switch to another one realized he had paid for the fast train and I had paid for the original train. I took a picture of the dictions to the hostel he booked but once I got there did not end up finding that hostel but walked into another one and got a bed for the night. For not having a plan it worked out really well. 

Bosnia

Bosnia: Sarajevo & Mostar 

Sarajevo oct 6-8

When I checked into travelers home hostel the man working said, "so I hear I'm supposed to make you am omelet". Joe form my Hedonist in Belgrade had told him to make me an omelet and to ask me about the story behind it. I just smiled and laughed. 

I met Joanne and Matis there who were part of the Belgrade Crew. 

I did a free walking tour, went to a war history museum, wandered around, saw a great view of the city from a hill, met locals, went to a bar that was in a theater, and got out of a 200 mark fine from Bosnian police. 

Mostar 2 nights

I was quite excited to arrive in Mostar because I had heard so many good things about it, specifically about the hostel I was going to stay at because of a tour that was only offered through the hostel. The hostel was called Miran Hostel and Miran the guy that ran the hostel picked Kris, Aurturo(?) and I up at the train station which we were lucky to arrive at because there were no signs and the train was not running on time. With only 30 seconds to spare we got off the train and were greeted by Miran. He picked up breakfast for us which consisted of bread stuffed with potatoes, cheese, meet. That afternoon Joanne, Chris, Arturo, a German guy whose name I forgot, and I did a walking war tour. We learned about the recent war, saw a sniper tower, remnants of shrapnel & bullet casings, and the war torun buildings. We also watched a short film on the Mostar bridge being destroyed in the war and then rebuilt. Not having learned much about this previously it was interesting to learn about it while in the country and in the presence of people who lived it and could give first hand perspectives. The following day we did a full day tour where we got to see 

Waterfalls:

A Castle:

The front line of the war:

A bunker: 

It was a wonderful stay in Mostar and a fantastic tour led by a welcoming, educated, and fabulous host. It was an enriching and eye opening experience that I would recommend to everyone who goes to Mostar! 

http://www.hostelmiran-mostar.com/

Love for a Day

Belgrade, Serbia 3 nights

Leaving Budapest was actually quite a challenge and not because I didn't want to leave (which was true) it was because the train station was a disaster. I arrived with about 30 minutes to spare but could not find my destination on the board so I began to ask people. I was told told the wrong platform twice and was wandering around like a chicken with its head cut off. No one seemed to know, even the people that worked there. By some miracle I found the platform and was pretty sure I was headed in the right direction. I was getting a bit concerned a couple hours into my journey because my ticket did not say Belgrade but was told it was the correct place. I finally asked a lady sitting behind me if she knew where the stop I wanted was and she said she was going to that place as well. Instantly I was not so worried. We got off at the right stop and then the real challenge began. I successfully got a tram to the area my hostel was in but then my directions did not match any of the street signs. I quickly realized my directions were in English and the street signs were in cerrilic. I once again had to ask someone for directions. The lady I asked made it really simple she told me to go straight down the road I was near and walk three blocks and the street I want should be on the right. I started walking and as I'm making my way down the street I hear someone sprinting behind me. My first thought was I was about to get robbed. I turned around and realized it was the lady I asked for directions. She had run after me to let me know she had told me the wrong directions. It was still very close to where I was but I could not believe how nice she was to chase after me to correct her directions. I think this just generally symbolizes how wonderful the people in Eastern Europe are. 

The morning of the 4th I did a free walking tour and about 10 minutes into it the lady leading it pulled out a plastic water bottle out of her bag and told us about rakia which was a local alcohol that everyone had to try. She passed out small plastic cups and about 30 people took shots of rakia at 10:45 in the morning.  After the tour a group of us decided to go to a local place for lunch. After a delicious lunch we split into two groups; one group that wanted to go biking along the river and the other group wanted to get their pictures taken at a bank and have it printed on money for free! Both sounded like fun to me but of course I chose to go with the biking group.  We all met up later that night for drinks at the "?" Bar. After that we ventured to a boat party which we were told was the last one of the season, I believed it because earlier we were told there were no more that year. 

On the 5th of October the group of us that soon became known as the Belgrade Crew did a second walking tour to a different part of town and met up for a pub crawl in the evening. We went to three bars, one traditional serbian bar, one pub and ended at a club.

On the morning of the 6th I had scheduled a 7am door-to-door hostel drop off service for 20 euros. I woke up looked at my watch, saw that it was 10am, stared at my watch trying to figure out what it was I had to do that morning and when I finally realized I missed my bus I jumbled out of my bed and went to reception. Joe, the guy at reception for Hedonist Hostel said don't worry I booked you the 2pm bus before I could even say anything. I was so relieved! He then asked me if I am normally a really heavy sleeper and then explained he and the leaning lady had attempted to wake me up but my only response was rolling over in bed and swatting away their hands when they poked my nose. I have come to realize when I drink quite a bit I sleep really heavily. 

That morning Yagiz from Istanbul mentioned mentioned that an omelet sounded good and then we were both determined to find omelets for breakfast.  It was a the beginning of tretiorous search. We asked Joe where we could find omelets and he told us of palace near by, however, after a long search we had no luck. We walked around a bit more and then returned to the hostel where we told Joe of our lack of success. He then told us of another place near by  but it was close to 2pm so we had to be quick. With our struggles that day we were again unable to find anything and ended up returning to the hostel empty handed with hungry stomachs to wait for my van. We waited in the main room where reception was and Joe disappeared for a while. When he returned he had made me a scrambled egg! I couldn't believe it- it was not an omelet but I was so happy and overall this challenging day was lovely because of the company I was in. 

The Pearl of the Danube

Budapest, Hungry 3 nights

When I arrived at my hostel there was a man in his 80s talking to a lady that worked there and every 5 minutes would cough so  intensely I thought he might need serious help. Once I checked in I discovered that we not only were in the same room but were sharing a bunk. That night I got no sleep because his coughing combined with his snoring would shake the bed. All night I was counting down the time until 6am when he said he was checking out. Finally when he left I got a couple hours of sleep but it was not nearly enough.  

After my first night in Hungry I got a fbook mesage from Mirium telling me to check my email because she had sent me something. I opened my email and found a video from people I went to Jordan with. I will add the link to the video once I'm using a computer and able to do so. I should also mention that my most recent posts don't look as good as previous ones because the iPad only lets me select one size of photo and it can't be moved around the page. 

Anyway, it was perfect timing for such a lovely message considering the restless night I had and helped me start the day on the right foot. 

On the 30th I wandered around on my own and discovered an amazing park before doing a free walking tour which showed a large part of the city with lots of history included. We went from the Pest side to the Buda side and saw many significant monuments and places.  

On the tour I met a girl from the states named Lucy and a guy from the UK named Chris. We decided to meet up later at the worlds third best bar. Before meeting up Chris and I got dinner which was delicious. I wasn't sure if he actually recommended it because he liked it or because it was the first thing he saw on the menu. Regardless, whatever I had was delicious and local. 

We all met up at Szimpla and had a couple beers. Lucy left fairly early with her friend and I was left there with Chris and another guy we met at the bar. Chris was getting a little weird so i decided it was time for me to leave. 

http://ruinpubs.com/

On the 1st of October I went to the Terror museum which has exhibits about Hungry's relationship with Nazi Germany, fascist Arrow Cross Party, and Communism in Hungry. It was a very powerful exhibit with many graphic images and videos. I wish there was more on the walls written in English but the informational flyers conveyed the message well enough. 

I then attended another free walking tour put on by the same people but it was more specific. They ran a communist tour and a Jewish walking tour. I initially intended on going on the communist tour but then decided to switch at the last minute because the lady running that tour was not as enthusiastic as the guy doing the Jewish walking tour. In the end I was happy with my decision and was able to see the Jewish quarters and learn a lot about the segregation that occurred in Hungry that I was previously unaware of. 

Dohany Street Great Synagogue

That evening I had dinner at a street market and enjoyed a mini concert with local music. 

Upon returning to the hostel the people in my room had changed. I sat in the common area for a while looking at possibilities for places to go next. Before I knew it the three new people in my room invited me to drink with vodka with them from their hometown in Poland and another unplanned spontaneous drinking night was born. We went to Szimpla had several drinks, hung out and had a much better night than the previous night there purely because of the good company I was in. 

They sell carrots....don't ask...

The next morning I went on a refreshing walk along the river before boarding my train to Belgrade. Overall, I loved the city layout, the locals I met, and the Polish guys that mad my last night a blast. 

Hobo Bear

Zagreb, Croatia 3 nights

After a long day of travel mishaps I found Hobo Bear which was the hostel that I was staying at in Zagreb. My first impression was that it was very quaint & homey. The check in area was shared with the common space with brick walls which brought about a calming feel. 

Within the first couple minutes of arriving it was brought to my attention by the large group of people hanging out in the common area that it was happy hour. I was exhausted and had just planned on going to sleep early but couldn't resist meeting new people and having a cold beer which cost me 1 USD. Before I knew it I had been convinced to go to a club Aquarius. The club was not the best but the people I went with were all amazing which made the night fun. 

On the 28th Nathan, Kristen, Kaan, and I cooked owlets for breakfast, walked around, and did sightseeing throughout the city. Later that evening I went with Nathan to meet his friend Pave he had met through sail Croatia. We had several laughs over an interesting powdered juice and called it a night fairly early because we were planning of waking up early to go to Plitviza national park. 

The next morning we got an early start but the tram that we had to take to the bus station was not on time. We were running very close on time. When we arrived at the bus station we ran to the ticket counter to purchase our tickets but the lady told us we could buy them on the bus. We sprinted through the station to find the platform and somehow we made it onto the bus with two minutes to spare! 

For some reason the bus we took dropped us off at gate two instead of the main gate. Unfortunately Kristen, Billy, and BoDo needed lockers which were at the main gate. It took us about 45 minutes to walk back to the main gate. Kristen, Billy, BoDo, Kaan and I all explored the park regardless of the constant rain. It was a bit of a bummer for Nathan being an Aussie used to sun and great weather all the time. However, my Seattle mentality that if you are not going to do something because of the rain then you will never do anything rubbed off a little.  We hiked the large loop and took a boat across the lake to see the main falls and finished by taking a tram back to the main gate to get our bus back. 

Yes, this is a terrible picture....but the only group photo I have. 

Kaan, Nathan and I Returned to Hobo Bear for another night where everyone in the hostel got together to watch gladiator, play drinking games, and talk until falling asleep. Hobo Bear truly felt like a home while staying there thanks to the travelers passing through, the hostel itself and the fabulous staff. 

Next destination: Budapest 

Searching for the Dragon Bridge

Ljubljana, Slovenia 2 nights

Traveling to Ljubljana was more difficult than it should have been. I got my ticket without any problems but got off at the wrong stop. Who thought it would be a good idea to have two stations with the same name!? Okay, one had three letters at the end but I didn't know what they meant so I thought the first stop was mine even though it didn't have the three letters at the end. I quickly realized that I was not in the right place because there was NO ONE there....I was able to find someone working on the organization of the train lines in a office and he tried to help me the best he could and ended up telling me to take the next train to the next large station. I went back to the platform to wait for the train. After waiting for a while I begin to doubt I'm going to make it to Ljubiana or even be able to find a place to stay in whatever town I was currently in. All of a sudden the man working came across the tracks with a piece of paper he had printed with the train schedules to Ljubiana. There was one more train that day and I only had to make one transfer to a larger station. I would not have made it to Ljubiana if it were not for the kindness and helpfulness of this man. When I finally arrived at my hostel I talked to my dorm mates for a bit before going to bed. 

On my first full day there I...

Stumbled upon a festival

Did my first free walking tour

Saw the main sites 

 Hiyked up to a medieval castle to get an amazing view of the city

& Drank at a open air bar within a park outside a hostel that used to be a prison. 

The town was beautiful but small and quiet; one full day was enough for me so I got a bus ticket to Zagreb on the 27th.