I Hotel Zagreb

... no matter what. Next thing I know, granny stood up and a wrinkled hand shot through the window and grabbed the bottle of juice. I was about to snatch that plastic bottle back and tell her we were going to start this transaction over without the attitude. She repeated the nizh nazh mess and the girl behind me started giggling again. Out shot granny's hand for the second time and it grabbed the chips. All the commotion made me drop all ...

... my trip. I guess i really miss nature. I saw this place with the waterfalls and started to feel at home, and along with the limestone colouring of the water, i felt like i was looking at a tropical paradise. 3.5 hrs later and getting lost and i huffed and puffed my way back to the bus stop.

This is where the adventure begins. First, no bus comes to split...twice. So, im sitting and thinking that i just lost out on my booking, wihch was 20 euros. ****. Well, a ...

... the recent rain, and all the floating jettys have gangplanks leading up from the riverbank instead of down. After several laps of the Danube bridges we found our way up to the citadel for some photos overlooking the beautiful city below. We will definitely try to return and explore.

Then back on to the motorway (after an inexplicable parallel run through very grim ...

... that loops and weaves all through and around the still blue lakes and stunning waterfalls that are sprinkled all through the park.  After a couple of hours of walking in 'crisp' weather conditions, we were not sure if our extremities were going numb from the cold or from the beauty of this place.  We decided to take the rest of the day off from the elements and head back to town for another lovely, and more than reasonable dinner at Nocturno, the place where we ate at the previous ...

Having taken my short tour of Split, I decided to take the sleeper to Zagreb, not least because I thought the title "Night train to Zagreb" sounded imposing. The Croation Sleeper experience matched the ferry from Bari. I was impressed and slept like a baby, arriving in an overcast Zagreb at 8.00 a.m. Since I was only there one night, I treated myself to the comfort of the Art Nouveau Hotel Esplanade. ( I also know from experience ...

... to work out how much I had left to spend) and then to the two sparse tourist offices to pick up some leaflets. Although one of the guys in the first office tried his best, I ended up with precisely one leaflet that would be helpful in any way. He also couldn't tell me anything about Plitvice National Park (the main tourist attraction in Croatia!) and directed me to a different office. Right in front of the train station, behind the Heineken Ice Bar(!) are three separate squares ...

... 10 minutes of the climb, we were chatting and hiking at an easy pace. Then, the road became 60 degrees incline dirt path. oops. While Dave went in front to scout out the road, I lead the way with my arms fully extended to the back, my mom and dad hanging off of each hand. I dragged them about 200 meters up. We were slipping and sinking into rotted wood and leaves. Well, you could imagine this was not what they had in mind for ...

... sprint towards the 1.15 as the conductors whistle blows. We clamber aboard, still holding our bundle of Euros just as the train starts to pull out. We peel off our backpacks and slump onto our seats, exhausted but still riding some kind of adrenaline high. Zagreb starts to speed by, we are finally getting the hell out of the Balkans, without the burden of thousands of unuseable dinars, heading towards the comfort and familiarity of Jane´s family home in Slovakia.

... and went into the cold, beautiful water and falls. We later learned that there were snakes and other critters in their, thankfully I didnt go in :) THe falls were beautiful!! We hiked up a bit to get a beautiful view, and really enjoyed our day! Our taxi driver was great, and gave us some great info on the way up and back (about an hour each way) He was very friendly, and gave us great tips, info, etc! The unit of currency used in Croatia, is the ...

... is either green or yellowing. Leaves are falling, and the air has that color of cold in it already. It is magical to be in such a place at this time of year. Okay, so maybe it isn't that unremarkable here. It is a lot more comfortable, certainly, but no less awesome than anywhere I've seen so far. So I will continue to enjoy it as I make my way slowly back to somewhere where I can get to Morocco in three weeks. Goodbye everyone till next time...