Croatia

After a month in Eastern Europe, we were pretty excited about getting to the Mediterranean climate of the Balkans and were probably most excited about taking in some R&R on the Adriatic, but our first experience in Croatia was its capital, Zagreb. We had heard some mixed things about Zagreb... nothing bad, but nothing positive enough to suggest that any extended time there would be warranted. Since the path out of Slovenia and to our next overnight destination (Plitvice Lakes National Park) required a stop in Zagreb, we decided to make the most of it and spent about three hours walking the town. After this short excursion into Zagreb, we made our way by bus to Plitvice for two nights. We explored the park for the day, witnessing some truly unique and amazingly picturesque scenery. We then made our way to Split, on the Dalmatian Coast for our first taste of the Adriatic. Two nights in Split were followed by a ferry ride to Hvar for some time in the sun on Croatia's most popular island. A ferry back to Split was followed by a nauseatingly uncomfortable bus ride down the coast to Dubrovnik, our favorite and final stop in Croatia.

For the sake of time, I wont get into all the details, so here are a few of our observations and highlights of our time in Croatia:

-Zagreb felt like Western Europe. The architecture, the style, and the sheer number of cafes seemed reminiscent of Vienna to me. We found out later, in talking with a local, that Croatians (along with Slovenians) have always felt more closely associated with the West than the East despite their place behind the Iron Curtain.

-Plitvice Lakes National Park was incredible. I am so glad that we stumbled upon this and decided to make the trek out there. I dont know all the science of it, but these really unique geological basins created a series of pools and waterfalls with the most incredible water color that contrasted so beautifully with the green-turning-yellow forest. Stunning. And it was a great time, like at Bled, to get away from all the cities and be able to hike and experience the outdoors.


(amazing Plitvice...the colors here were unbelievable)

-We stayed at a guest house in Plitvice which was really great. The guy who owns it brought us some homemade brandy, made from some plums from the trees out back, as a welcome drink. Perfect after a long bus ride!

-Split really surprised us, despite the smell at the waterfront. It is the jump off point for most of the ferries to-from the islands, so there is a lot of tourist traffic. The main tourist draw for the town, however, is the massive palace built by Emperor Diocletian. The old town still exists within the walls of the palace; a maze of alleys with shops, apartments, and the occasional Roman edifice.

-Hvar was beautiful, although expensive.


(relaxing in Hvar on the Adriatic...no one around...sailboats occasionally coasting by...reading the second Twilight book...heaven)

-It was also a ghost town when we were there... really strange given that it had just barely turned from September to October. I understand this is the shoulder season, but it was DEAD. The beach was clean and the sun and water were warm, but the hotels were abandoned for the winter. Beach chairs that you would normally have to pay for were just laying around for the taking. We spent time soaking up the sun on the water's edge and had it all to ourselves

-Dubrovnik was even more amazing than we had anticipated. At the time we arrived, our first inclimate weather of the trip arrived. It was incredibly windy and cold (it had been sunny and warm a day earlier), and rain poured each night we were there. But the daytime stayed dry for the most part, allowing us to explore much of the city.


(red-roofed Dubrovnik)

-Our hostel owner, an ex-sailor in Titos navy, was the nicest man ever and was so helpful... even coordinating to drive us up to the fort high above the town for some incredible views.

All in all, Croatia was great. And it was a good way to end our time in Eastern Europe.

Now... off to Italy.

Slovenia

So after Hungary we headed down to Slovenia, a small country smushed in between the borders of Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. Nathan had been here a few years back but it was my first time. He was so excited to show me the beautiful town of Ljubljana and surrounding countryside and it truly is a beautiful place, indeed. The town of Ljubljana is quaint and so picturesque, with a river running through it and a huge daily farmers market in the main square. In the evening, the riverfront lights up with restaurants and bars - everyone is outside drinking, eating and socializing. We strolled through the town and up the hill to the castle, then visited the farmers market. There were colorful dahlias, yummy fruits and vegetables, tons of gigantic mushrooms that looked like they were just picked from the surrounding forest floor that morning...lots of Fall colors, it was great! We bought huge ripe figs and got two FREE apples - we got looked at like we were crazy for only wanting two; this is, apparently, not the Slovenian way of buying at the farmers market...so he ended up just giving them to us for free! We were very excited - you may think we are too easily pleased, but anything free or cheap in Europe is VERY rare, and therefore VERY welcomed. They were also two of the best apples I have EVER had...truly.




(fall colors and HUGE mushrooms at the farmer's market)

Our second day there we took a trip out to Lake Bled. Once we rose out of the tiny town, beautiful green hills and mountains streched accross the sprawling countryside and the Julian Alps peaked out above them. It was a stunning landscape and all of the trees were just beginning to turn from green to yellow and orange...it is (or was) finally beginning to look and feel like Fall! Once in Bled, we hiked up to the castle that rests on the top of the highest point at the lake for beautiful views of the town, lake and countryside. You'd be impressed at how much better we are getting at these uphill hikes - stairs and steep inclines are no match for us anymore - we're impressed with ourselves at least. :) We spent the whole day walking leisurely around the lake (about 4 miles total), eating our farmers market fruit and taking in the beautiful surroundings. It is one of the most beautiful settings. The alps tower behind the green mountains surrounding the town...green, orange and yellow trees surround the beautiful lake...on the cliffs above the lake lies the castle that we had hiked to earlier in the day, and in the middle of the lake is a tiny island with a beautiful gothic church. It was so peaceful and serene...the weather was just beginning to get cold but the sun was still warm. There were people in kayaks and row boats on the lake just paddling around...it was lovely.


(lake bled and the castle on the hill that we hiked to)

MIA

Okay, so first of all, sorry for the lack of posts...

We are alive but have had pretty bad luck with computers throughout Italy...no internet at our hostels, or only WIFI and our small I-Pod that is not great for blog posts, or crazy expensive internet in internet cafes (like 10 euros per hour which, with our sad dollar, is about $15 - not cool). Anyway, here we are in Germany with good, cheap internet so we are going to try and update you on our adventures, and hopefully, post some pictures tomorrow.

Enjoy!

Budapest, Hungary

I am going to leave the history part of Budapest to Nathan because he is WAY better at explaining the facts than I am, but the history of this city was the most fascinating and captivating part, by far. [How did I become the resident historian here? Here goes: Like Poland and a few other countries in Eastern Europe, Hungary dealt with two take-overs by two opposing regimes in a short period of time. Interestingly, the Nazis didn't take control until late in the war and only held power for a little over a year. During that time, however, their impact was intensely destructive. Shortly after the war, the Soviets set up shop in Budapest and terrorized Hungary for another ten years until the 1956 uprising. The revolution was thwarted by the Soviets, but caused them to leave control of Hungary to a puppet government that enforced communism under the Warsaw Pact until its fall in 1990. During the time of Nazi and Soviet occupation, Hungarians were made to live in fear that anything they did or said might land them in an internment camp or prison, or cause them to be executed.]

The oppression these sweet people have faced throughout their lives, and really so many other countries across Eastern Europe too, is incredible. To see elderly people walking down the street and think about the crazy things they have endured during their lifetimes was just unfathomable. The most memorable and incredible thing we did while we were here was visit the House of Terror, a museum dedicated to the oppressed history of this country and the two regimes that terrorized it for so long. It was not only the most well done museum I think I have ever visited (so many cool, creative exhibits), but it was extremely powerful and effective in explaining the history of this country.


(the beautiful city of Budapest)

(memorial to the 1956 uprising...these show the bullet holes that were left in the buildings nearby and cover the entire block)


(can't get this picture to flip, but here is the roof of the house of terror museum)

The city itself is beautiful. We hiked around to see the sites and took lots of pictures. We also spent an afternoon at the Hungarian Baths, which was very cool. We hopped around to the different saunas and steam rooms, and dipped into the hot, cold and luke warm indoor pools. Then we went outside to find a HUGE outdoor pool area complete with a whirlpool which, of course, Nathan and I just had to see what the fuss was about...and it was so fun! You have to time it right so that you don't knock into the people around you but you jump into the current of the water and it sweeps you up and literally catapults you around the pool...we banged up our feet and elbows a bit (it is that forceful), but it was definitely worth it!

We also found out that my good friend Alex and her friend Lindsay just happened to be in Budapest the same day we were so we met up at Szimpla, this great chain of restaurant/pubs that takes over abandon buildings and refurbishes them with local neighbors' donated furniture - very fun, hip atmosphere! It was so fun to see them and catch up and so crazy that we just happened to be in the same place in Europe at the same time! That is two friends we have seen now and we have only been in Europe for three and a half weeks!

(my dear friend Alex...hanging out at Szimpla)

Next destination...Slovenia. Getting closer to the Mediterranean!

Vienna, Austria

After Salzburg, we decided on an ambitious itinerary on our way to Budapest...we headed out at the crack of dawn on a train from Salzburg to Vienna and spent the day there walking the city, getting a fabulous dinner and running back to the train station to barely make it onto the train that would get us into Budapest late that night. I should mention too that we ran with our huge bags, which is seriously impressive given their aforementioned weight, and with all of the hiking, walking, stairs, biking, huffing and puffing we have been doing, we BETTER have some seriously good legs and butts to show for it when we are done...this better not be for nothing! Anyway, our ambitious plan worked out great even though it was a bit crazy.

Vienna is a bigger city and there was so much to see, it was hard to cover in one afternoon but we did a pretty good job. We started at the Schoenbrunn Palace which was amazing...what once started as a hunting grounds for the Hapsburgs, later became their main residence. During that transition, the palace was expanded and redecorated in the Rococo Style, which most of you probably don't care about, but for me (SA), it was SO FUN to see all of the furniture and decor that I just studied in school. It was beautiful and extravagant and I loved every minute of it. The grounds of the palace were made to mimic those at Versailles...they are beautiful and vast and include a labyrinth, a zoo, fountains, and more gardens and flowers than you could imagine. We only had time to hike up to the top of the hill and see the view, but we could have spent hours there.

After the palace, we headed into the city to see the sites...we did a TON of walking and saw all of the beautiful buildings and gardens that we could in the amount of time we had. We ate dinner at a yummy Italian restaurant called Da Capo, on the recommendation of my friend who had just been there (that we ran into in Prague)...fabulous. And then we were off to the train station to make it to Budapest!

Salzburg, Austria

We loved Salzburg...it is such a beautiful town, rich with history. Also, we spent our one year anniversary here...crazy that it has already been one year! It felt so special to be able to celebrate in Austria! We spent our time winding through the streets, visiting the beautiful churches, walking through the most beautiful cemetery, of all things, and visited the castle on the top of the hill. We ate yummy fruit from the sweet elderly women at the farmers market and had proper tea and cake, Austrian style. The streets in Salzburg were really beautiful...lots of narrow cobblestone streets with great shopping and cute 19th century wrought iron signs that hung over every doorway. One of the things we loved the most was the people in Austria...everyone was so friendly, helpful and just sweet and smiley.

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

After the busyness of Prague, we decided to take a hint from America's travel sweetheart, Rick Steves, and booked a bus ride to Cesky Krumlov. This town gets rave reviews in almost every guidebook, including Steves', for being a beautifully preserved example of medieval Bohemia... smaller and purer than Prague. There is a river that bends around the picturesque old town, and renting a boat to float down it is, apparently, a popular activity in Cesky Krumlov. Above the river, one of Europe's largest castles looms over the town. This all really does give this place a picturesque postcard feel, earning it Steves' stamp of approval.

But what, exactly, did Mr. Steves do while he was in Cesky Krumlov?

The town is SMALL and other than a few photo-ops and a hike up to the castle, there isn't really much to do there. The old town, although legally preserved through UNESCO, is saturated with tourists during the day and is empty at night. The restaurants aren't bad, but the prices were still obviously adjusted for tourists. We met some drunk Californians who insisted that we come with them to float down the river for the day. I had had images of this river excursion in my head before we came... it would look a lot like rowing a boat down the River Avon in Oxford; pleasant scenery, picnicking families on the riverbanks, beautiful trees and warm sun. But when the selling point for our American friends, (who were already drunk by 8:00 that morning), was that the rental company would provide them with an extra raft to float all of their beer in... I knew this wasn't what I had imagined. In fact, the river itself was a bit disappointing. The castle casts a deep shadow over much of the river making it a decidedly less sunny experience, the riverbanks were surprisingly dirty and unmaintained, and there were more concrete walls than trees guiding the path.

I think that I would have been pretty disappointed in Cesky Krumlov had it not been for a stroke of luck that even the perpetually good-fortuned Rick Steves would have been jealous of. While Oktoberfest was happening in Munich a few hundred miles away, the small town of Cesky Krumlov puts on its own festival for one weekend each year... and it just happened to be this one. The occurrence of this Czech Folklore Festival meant that the otherwise dull market square would be busy with food, crafts, music, and beer for the entire weekend. It was SO great. Each evening we were in town, we would buy a sausage and some mulled wine and sit in the cold for a free concert from some, apparently, well-known folk musicians. We listened to a Czech band that played Bretagne music, and the next night experienced the exuberance of gypsy folk music and dance. During the daytime, we watched traditional Czech dancing and singing while snacking on pastries, crepes, and... more beer! When in Bohemia...!

Prague, Czech Republic

After arriving in Prague, we hiked with our bags about 20 minutes uphill to our hotel reception, checked in...then were told that we needed to hike another 10 minutes, also uphill, to our room. Did I mention how heavy our bags are? Curse you H&M and late night delirious packing! Sending a shipment of stuff home is looking pretty good about now. We ended up having such a cute hostel, with a balcony overlooking the monastery and green hills in the Mala Strana district of Prague...it was amazing and so relaxing, thanks to Nathan!

I cannot begin to describe how incredibly beautiful the city of Prague is...I think it is one of my favorite cities I have ever been to. Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings and interiors everywhere...we took SO many pictures, it is ridiculous. It is such an artsy and inspiring city. At night, when it is all lit up, it looks and feels just like Disneyland! We were smiling and happy the whole time.

We wandered around admiring the sites and architecture, took billions of pictures, went to the Museum of Decorative Arts (which was phenomenal, by the way), visited the cathedrals and castle, drank delicious Czech beer, ate lots of sausages, had the yummiest thai food two nights in a row, celebrated Nathans 30th the proper way at a fancy restaurant overlooking the Charles Bridge (and we managed to spend all his Birthday money there - thanks wonderful SC friends!!), and ended up running into a friend of mine from High School...so crazy! We had drinks with them and spent some time catching up, it was so fun!

We had such a great time and are sad to leave, but are excited for our next destination... Cesky Krumlov.

Our Route So Far...

I have been meaning to do this for a while because I thought it might be interesting to anyone, like myself, who love maps. here is our route so far...

We will try to update this as we go.

Oh, and see below for new updates!