Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina

July 22, 2017July 28, 2017Leave a comment

My time in Mostar 🙂

The famous bridge in Mostar

Walking around Mostar

City: Mostar

How Long: 3 nights

Accommodation:

I stayed at Hostel Miran and it was incredible!! The host, Miran, was an incredibly nice man who was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the region, as he had grown up there and actually lived through and fought in the Bosnian War. I learned so much from him. The hostel had small lockers in each room to store valuables but not big enough to store your whole bag, but I found everyone at the hostel to be very friendly and nice so I wasn’t worried about anyone stealing stuff from my bag. There was free breakfast and often at night Miran would BBQ so there was a free dinner sometimes. They also offered a great tour of the region. Highly recommend this place!!

Where to eat:

This place had free breakfast and sometimes free dinner so I mostly utilized that, BUT the hostel did recommend Hindin Han and I ended up going twice! Once just with Sam, and then once with Sam and three Germans we met on Miran’s tour (more on that in the next section!). Hindin Han was in the middle of the city center overlooking a small stream and was very cheap! Awesome food and alcohol selection.

Accidentally ordered Rakia, which is a rum made in the Balkans. Ranges from 40% alcohol to 90% alcohol. It was quite strong!

SO MUCH FOOD

What to do:

Number one thing you should do is go on Miran’s tour! (even if you don’t stay at his hostel I’m pretty sure you can still go on it!) Miran lived through and fought during the Bosnian War and had some incredible stories for us. The tour took us to an abandoned aircraft hanger utilized during communist occupation in Bosnia, two quaint cities (Blagaj & Pochitelj) and lastly, Kravice waterfalls. Each was uniquely beautiful, but the waterfalls were my favorite because we got to swim!! As we made our way back to Mostar, we were told many stories about the realities of living in Mostar during the Bosnian War. The damage from the war is still very visible in Mostar today.

Entering the abandoned airport hangar

From the inside

Blagaj

Blagaj

Drinking the fresh water

Where two rivers meet

View from the fort of Pochitelj

Up in the old fort

Pochitelj

Kravica Waterfalls

Our new German friend smoked his pipe and read while the rest of us swam in the water 🙂

The aftermath of the Bosnian War

Buildings still in disarray

The other thing that is fun to see while in Mostar is someone jump off the famous Stari Most bridge which is 24 meters (~78 feet) tall! The professional divers will jump once they have collected enough money from tourists 🙂 If you are a tourist, you pay around 20 euros for an hour-long lesson from the professionals and then you can jump! Only around 2,300 people have done it and Miran said they were mostly Aussie or Kiwi.

Someone about to jump!

Overall thoughts:

Mostar was such a pleasant surprise. I honestly had such little knowledge about this region and was thrilled to learn all that I did. Highly recommend visiting this richly historic, beautiful city.

Nighttime views of the bridge

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Rome

July 19, 2017July 19, 20171 Comment

CITY: Rome

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Hostel Alessandro Downtown and it was not my favorite, but only because it was very big, which means it is difficult to meet people. The kitchen was only available after breakfast. The common room was too big so people ended up sitting alone at different tables instead of all close together. The rooms were big, but the lockers were a little janky. Some worked and some did so I was a little paranoid that it would be easy to break the locks (luckily no one did). Anyway, I wouldn’t stay here again.

WHERE TO EAT:

I was only in Rome for 2 nights, 1 day so it was quick! I did eat some delicious pasta and pizza, but surprising it is easy to find pasta and pizza 🙂 I did eat some delicious gelato at Venchi!

WHAT TO DO:

Because I only had one day I decided to walk around Rome and see the sights, but not take the time to go inside anything. I know I will be back and hopefully with more money, so it made sense to just visit the outside of all the incredible sites. I started with the Colosseum the first night I arrived because that was the closest to my hostel. I caught it right at sunset and it was incredible!

Perfect timing!

My one full day started with a visit to the Vatican, where I managed to see the Pope speak. What a unique experience.

St. Peter’s Basilica

The Pope!

After meandering through the smallest country in the world I headed to Castel Sant’ Angelo, Piazza Navona, then the Pantheon.

Castel Sant’ Angelo

Piazza Navona

Pantheon

After a quick gelato break I arrived at the Trevi fountain, where I just sat and watched all the tourists get their selfie/boomerang of them throwing a coin in the water! Pretty funny stuff.

Next up was the Spanish steps before heading to the ruins. The ruins were probably my favorite part because it made you think about all the people who came before those of us living today, and how they built an entire city. It’s crazy how much is left standing after all these years!

Spanish Steps

I’m guessing this is kinda old?

Walking around Rome

Streets of Rome

Ruins

More Ruins

EVEN MORE RUINS

Finally after miles and miles of walking I turned back to the hostel to pack up before getting up at 3:45 to catch a flight to Greece!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I went in with such low expectations of Rome because I am not into museums or religion… so I wasn’t sure what I would do in Rome, BUT I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed my day exploring the city. However, I wouldn’t say Rome is the best city for solo travelers. Like Paris, I think Rome is better with someone, whether it be a parent, sibling, friend or S.O.

Ciao for now 🙂

The Mediterranean

July 14, 2017October 28, 2025Leave a comment

Greece

Rome

Cyprus

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Turkey

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Portugal

Malta

Nice + Monaco

San Marino

UK + Ireland

July 14, 2017May 29, 2024Leave a comment

London + Cambridge

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Bath + London

Edinburgh + Southend on Sea

Ireland

Worcester + Cardiff

Stonehenge + London

Sheffield + London

Northern Ireland

London + Cambridge

June 6, 2017July 19, 20171 Comment

Sadly, this is my last stop on my trip! BUT I made the most of it with a final visit with my favorite British people. (You may remember them because I stayed with them all the way back in June 2016 and then again in February 2017.) Originally I had met them at a hostel in Barcelona in May 2015 and have visited them 4 or 5 times since then. So without further adieu…

CITY: london

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Astor Hyde Park while in London for the final time. I booked super late so there weren’t many options left, but I ended up getting one of the last beds at this hostel. This place had large under the bed lockers and an en suite bathroom. There’s a large guest kitchen and two great common areas for socializing. Also the hostel is right next to Hyde Park!! Definitely recommend a stay here.

WHERE TO EAT:

The main thing I did while in England was go to Cambridge for the day with my British friends! To start off the adventure we went to Copper Kettle for a full English breakfast. This was the first time I had one, and while I can’t get on board with beans for breakfast, the rest was delicious!

Enjoying brunch

Full English

After a full day of exploring Cambridge, we all went to Bill’s for dinner + drinks. It had a good vibe and could seat all 6 of us. I got a tomato soup because I wasn’t super hungry, but AJ and his gf, Chloe, split a halloumi burger and it looked great!

I went to Nandos, a staple in the UK, for the first time on my last night in Europe. I met Henry and one of his high school friends for dinner. It’s a Portuguese chicken chain and it’s pretty good, although I was surprised by how spicy it was! There are tons of different menu options. Definitely recommend a visit here if you have the time.

The most perfect hot chocolate I got while Henry and I were waiting for the rest of the crew to show up

WHAT TO DO:

As I mentioned, the main activity of my visit to London was a day trip to Cambridge. Henry and I met up at the train station in London and headed to Cambridge, while AJ & Chloe and Tony met us there as they drove. After getting brunch, we walked around the town before finding a grassy spot to enjoy the sun. Around 2pm we loaded into a boat to go punting, which is very popular in Cambridge.

Meeting Henry at the train station on our way to Cambridge

Cambridge

Enjoying the sun!

The crew

Busy day for punting

Aj, Chloe, Tony, & Henry

We made it on the boat

The bridge of sighs

On the boat!

After punting we again found a grassy spot and just enjoyed the rare sunny day.

Sitting in a park

Henry planting a garden on AJ

My fav’s

The most exquisite roses I have ever seen

Other than Cambridge, I did spend a day at Hyde Park reading my book. A wonderfully relaxing day.

Hyde Park

My last day on this wonderful trip I spent hanging at my hostel, meeting some people, and working on my blog 🙂 That night I grabbed dinner with Henry and his friend and we were some of the last people to leave the restaurant.

It was really, really hard to say goodbye to my friends because they ended up being such a big part of this trip!! Each time I visited before, we knew there would be at least one more visit ahead. This time, we knew it would be an indefinite goodbye. HOWEVER, I am trying my hardest to convince them to come to CA to visit me sometime in the future.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

As always, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in England, and it is has furthered cemented my dream of moving here. I hope to eventually find a path to living in London, even if it’s just for a few years.

See ya soon California! While I will miss Europe with all my heart, I am excited to go home and sleep in my own bed for the first time in a while 🙂

Greece

May 30, 2017July 22, 2017

After 6 weeks of solo travel, I am ending my trip with about 8 days with Adam, one of my best friends from high school! Also our friend Matt joined us for Santorini. It was so much fun to see a familiar face and travel with a friend!

CITY: Mykonos

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed Orpheas Rooms hotel and it was GREAT. It was reasonably priced and we had two separate bedrooms. The location was perfect and close to everything. The shower was AMAZING, we both had never seen anything like it. It had like 4 different water spouts and was piping hot. We also had a little patio with a table and chairs where we spent hours playing cards and drinking wine. Definitely recommend a stay here!

Our little patio

The coolest door that was next to our place

WHERE TO EAT:

After settling into our place, we wandered out to find some food. We eventually found Kavos Cafe Bar Restaurant, which is right on the water. I am trying to try new foods in each place I go and thus ordered my first ever plate of gyros– and I think I fell in love. They were delicious! Plus they come with tzatziki and french fries so I was in heaven.

After renting ATV’s and exploring some beaches, we wanted to find a restaurant outside of the more touristy downtown and we were in for a treat when we found Myconian Plate. It felt homey and local. The food was delicious and the waiters were very attentive. We had such a great experience at this place!

Lunch at Mykonian Plate

Mykonian Plate

After laying out in the sun the next day we found a lovely restaurant right on the beach on the other side of the island called Yialo yialo. The staff were super friendly and the food was good. The best part was that after we ate we were allowed to use their chaise lounges on the beach.

Our last meal on Mykonos was at Marco Polo. It’s a family run restaurant in the middle of Mykonos Town that had a nice ambiance. I ordered a delicious plate of Greek meatballs and Adam and I shared a bottle of wine. It was a nice end to our food experience in Mykonos.

Dinner at Marco Polo

our dessert

WHAT TO DO:

Other than walking around Mykonos Town, which is quite cute, the main thing to do on the island is rent ATV’s and go to the cool beaches— So that’s what we did. It was so much fun zipping around the tiny island on them. We used them to beach-hop all day. As you can imagine, we played cards, read our books, napped, and swam all day long. Overall, super fun and relaxing!

The famous windmills

Beach day

“Try and look like you are not freezing!”

All the chaise lounges

Adam being inventive

However, as we were here in May, it was a little too early for all the famous partying and clubs to even be open. I think Adam and I were actually pretty happy about that because neither of us are super into that scene. We did end up going out to a bar/club in Mykonos Town and had a blast! They played super fun danceable music and we made some Australian friends.

The “crazy” famous beach clubs that weren’t so happen’ while we were there

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I really enjoyed Mykonos and am not sad about being here in the shoulder season. The beaches were beautiful, although a bit windy. I also really liked Mykonos Town, as it was quite cute and trendy.

Our ferry to Santorini

CITY: Santorini

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at an airbnb that was literally carved into the cliffs. It was accurately described as a cocoon. It was on the small side but had everything you needed. The best part of the airbnb was the incredible patio that offered chaise lounges to view the incredible sunsets every night. The bathroom was spacious and there was a tiny kitchenette. The bed was comfy and there was also a table with two chairs. Really enjoyed this special airbnb.

Our patio

WHERE TO EAT:

Our favorite place ended up being a cafe right near our airbnb called Cafe Galini. I think we ended up eating here about 5 times during our stay in Santorini. We had amazing greek yogurt bowls with fresh fruit + honey. Also the club sandwich was our go-to for lunch. I often enjoyed some hot milk + honey in the mornings because I was feeling a little under the weather while here.

Greek yogurt + fresh berries + honey 🙂

Our other favorite spot was Zafora. We ended up here twice, once for a late dinner, and once for an entire afternoon of playing cards and snacking until the sun had set. We really enjoyed the food, customer service, and most importantly, the view. One night I had a yummy crepe, and the other I had a yummier gyros plate.

Zafora!

Sunset from Zafora

One night we cooked our own meal with some pasta, prosciutto, garlic, and onions and ate on Matt’s balcony.

Dinner on Matt’s balcony

The sunset the next day from the same spot

Drinks to celebrate our birthdays

WHAT TO DO:

Santorini has plenty to offer in forms of things to do. First up was a walk through Fira. Settled at the top of some cliffs, you are offered some incredible views as you stroll through the town. There were plenty of restaurants and stores to wander through. What we came to realize in our time in Santorini was that given how the town is etched into the cliffs, almost everywhere you go has an incredible view over the water.

Views

Near our airbnb

Santorini at sunset

My favorite wall

The next day, along with Matt, we rented ATV’s and headed over to some black sand beaches. I have never been on ATV’s before Greece and really, really enjoyed riding around in the open air on these things. It’s the best way to explore the Greek islands. After the beaches, we rode 45 minutes over to Oía, the other main city on the island. We walked around the famous city streets and eventually headed down to the water so Matt and Adam could go cliff-jumping. After, we found a nice lunch spot.

Black sand beach

Snack break

Oía

Matt + Adam jumping off the cliff!

Another highlight was a boat tour to an active volcanic island and to some hot springs. We got to walk around the island, even seeing some smoking craters. Next up we boated to the island next door and jumped into the fairly cold water to swim towards the hot springs. Pretty quickly we realized a more accurate description would be “lukewarm springs” but we still had a good time spreading the “healing” mud all over our bodies!

Exploring the volcanic island

Santorini in the background

Where the hot springs are

Adam and I enjoyed a nice afternoon at Galini cafe playing cards and reading our books after a couple of action-filled days. We had said bye to Matt, who was supposed to fly to Rome that day BUT he got bumped from his flight and got “stuck” in Santorini one more night. Lucky for us he got put up in a super nice hotel on the other side of the island where all the beaches are. SO the next day (and our last day) Adam and I lugged our luggage over to his hotel to hang pool and beach side until our midnight flight to Athens. We really lucked out because this place was super nice and we were just able to relax all day.

Sunscreen is important!

Attempting to skip rocks

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Santorini is awesome! Incredible views, incredible people, incredible sunsets. Such a picturesque place. It’s definitely not the cheapest place I went, but we had such a fun time exploring the island.

CITY: Athens

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at Athens Backpackers and it was the perfect location. Adam and I were only here for one full day so it was critical to be centrally located. This place also had a guest kitchen and common room. The beds were comfy and there were lockers. They were connected to a bar, restaurant and a laundry facility so there were options to explore beyond just the common room. Definitely would stay here again.

WHERE TO EAT:

We only had the one day but we had 2 great finds. First off, to warn everyone, Athens restaurants were SO AGGRESSIVE at trying to lure in the tourists. Adam and I were harassed almost every where we went. It was overwhelming. But eventually we picked a restaurant and we ended up having a great meal with the first round of drinks on them 🙂

The more important find was a dessert place called Lukumades. They had these fresh, homemade donuts and they you could add ice cream + the donuts in a bowl. WOWOWOW it was good. We got two combos to split.

Lukumades

Apple filled with honey + cinnamon on top

Chocolate on Chocolate on Chocolate

WHAT TO DO:

We started the day with a visit to the Acropolis. Pretty spectacular what the Greeks were able to build all those years ago. After walking around that site, we meandered through all the pedestrian friendly shopping streets before popping into the National Garden to soak up the sun and play some cards. The gardens had some interesting combos of animals in the park. One tiny pond had probably more than 50 turtles. There were goats and rabbits in the same pen. They had all sorts of birds. It was a crazy place haha.

The Parthenon

Exploring the Acropolis

Ancient ruins feat. Adam

National Gardens

Adam checking out the sun dial

approx. 1,000,000 turtles

Walking through the park

Beautiful purple trees

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I went in with low expectations of Athens, and was quite pleasantly surprised! Adam and I had fun exploring Athens by foot and enjoyed everything except the harassment from the restaurants. I wouldn’t necessarily rush back to spend a ton more time in Athens, as there are other places I would rather go back to and obviously there even more places that I want to go that I haven’t been to! BUT I really liked my time in Athens.

Montenegro

May 24, 2017July 28, 20171 Comment

After Dubrovnik, I crossed into Montenegro! This was my first time to this tiny country of only about 700,000 people.

CITY: Kotor

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Montenegro Hostel 4U and had very mixed feelings about this place. On the one hand, the facilities were great- Big rooms, big lockers, nice bathrooms, and good kitchen/common area. There were kayaks and bikes available to rent and it was right on the water. HOWEVER, this hostel had the most aggressive organized drinking I had ever seen. I mean it’s one thing for the staff to encourage people to socialize and drink, but it’s another to pressure a kid into drinking so much that he had to go to the hospital. I found the staff to be very sexist and too involved with getting people to drink. When I would say that I was fine drinking water, they seemed to be upset and continually asked me to drink alcohol instead. Despite the aggressive staff, I did meet some awesome people here!

WHERE TO EAT:

The hostel had organized BBQ’s most nights so I tended to join in to meet people, but my favorite restaurant I went to was called Konoba Akustik. They had delicious Cevapi and other yummy food.

WHAT TO DO:

The most important thing to do while in Kotor is hike the old fortress. It’s not the easiest hike (about 1,300 steps straight up the mountain) but the views make it worth it. It was only 3 euros (as opposed to the 20 euros it costs to do the city walls in Dubrovnik).

Walking across the bridge into Old Town

Heading up with Jacob, a guy I met at the hostel

View over old town

Up we go!

The old fort at the top over looking the bay

Old Town

Next up was renting some kayaks with some new British friends (Yay Louisa + Matt!). We spent many hours joking about our mutual appreciation for good butter (butterbaes for life) and Louisa does an amazing valley girl accent so we also had many made up conversations about our alter egos Becca and Ashley! We literally couldn’t even….

Lastly, I decided to do a day tour of Montenegro because apparently with one day tour you can see about 60% of the country. Crazy right?! While I did see some cool things and we went for a boat ride on a river, the tour wasn’t anything special. I probably would’ve preferred to just hang around Kotor.

View over Bay of Kotor

the Mausoleum (the second highest peak of mount Lovcen) where is buried the great Montenegrin ruler and poet Petar II Petrovic Njegos

Cetinje Monastery

River Crnojevica

Budva

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Despite my hostel being less than ideal, I met some fun people and enjoyed exploring Kotor/ other parts of Montenegro. Kotor and Montenegro in general are so untouched compared to many other parts of Europe. But, slowly it is being discovered. In Kotor, more and more cruise ships are stopping for a visit and surely, it will become a hotspot in the next 5 years.

CITY: Ulcinj

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Hostel Pirate and it couldn’t have been more opposite to my hostel in Kotor. It was so relaxing and because Ulcinj is not very big, there wasn’t much to do at night so all the guests would drink beer and just hang at the hostel. I had a great time meeting new people and playing cards. The rooms were nice and the lockers were big enough for valuables. A large guest kitchen and common room were available for use. Also the staff were super awesome, helpful, & generous. ALSO as a bonus there was a Belgian Shepard and the house cat had just had kittens!!!!

WHERE TO EAT:

I mostly cooked my own food while I was here so don’t have any recommendations unfortunately.

WHAT TO DO:

Despite being fairly small, Ulcinj has plenty to do! First up for me was a walk through the old town, which was literally empty (again polar opposite to Dubrovnik). Fun views of the little cove and town below the old town.

Walking through the Old Town

View of Ulcinj

Next was a day trip to ALBANIA!! I went to Shkodër which is near Skadarsko Jezero, a huge lake that is half in Montenegro and half in Albania. I spent a couple of hours exploring the town and went to some castle ruins. Rozafa Castle was built around the 14th century. Definitely cool to walk around the ruins, and it wasn’t really regulated in terms of where you could go, so you can essentially walk everywhere and can climb up all the old walls.

Rozafa Castle ruins

Albanian flag

Ebu Beker Mosque

The best day was my first proper beach day in a while. I ventured out with an American couple I had met on the bus from Shkodër that also happened to be staying at my hostel. First, I went with Tess to a women’s only nudist beach, which is interesting as this is a Muslim dominated area, but we had a very relaxing time. After an hour in the sun we walked 40 minutes along the coast to another beach (14km long!!!) We met up with her boyfriend, Aaron, here. Our hike ended with a treacherous bridge, but we survived! I honestly thought this might be how my life ended (or at least how I ended my trip with a broken leg). After the adrenaline wore off, the three of us enjoyed the breeze and sun rays for a couple of hours.

Views along the hike to the beach

The beach all to ourselves

THE CRAZY BRIDGE

I ran out of time so was not able to do all I wanted to do in Ulcinj, so if you have time definitely explore all the forests and hikes in the area!!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Ulcinj was awesome!! I barely heard any english being spoken as I walked around and all the locals were so friendly!! There was so much to do and I enjoyed everything I did while here. I would love to come back some day!

Dubrovnik

May 16, 2017August 15, 20232 Comments

City: Dubrovnik

How Long: 4 nights

Accommodation:

I stayed at Hostel Villa Angelina Old Town while in Dubrovnik. I had very mixed feelings about this hostel. The beds were comfy and had individual plugs and lights, which is always appreciated. Small lockers for valuables in the room. Guest kitchen and common room were available for use. BUT the staff were sorta of rude and the staff wake you up every morning. The shower always flooded the entire bathroom, which is gross. The kitchen was quite small so only one person could really be cooking at one time. I would not stay here again.

I did have a nice view from my dorm room though 🙂

Where to eat:

2 highlights for eating: Preša and Dolce Vita. Preša is a cheap restaurant in a sea of overpriced, touristy restaurants in the old town. It’s yummy food and it has tons of options ranging from burgers, traditional Croatian meat platters, salads, & crepes. Came here a few times during my stay in Dubrovnik. Secondly, Dolce Vita was the go to ice cream place. Need I say more?

The alleyway where Dolce Vita lives

What to do:

Dubrovnik has so much to offer in terms of things to do!! The first thing I did was go on a kayaking tour that took us to Lokrum, an island right next to Dubrovnik. I went with a Scottish guy I met at the hostel, George. We kayaked around the island and even visited a cave. After rounding the island we headed to a beach that you can only reach by boat. They provided snorkeling gear so George and I quickly jumped into the cold water to explore!

Grabbing our kayaks

and we’re off!

Exploring caves

Beach only accessible by water

Snorkeling

George!

Heading back to Dubrovnik

After getting back, George and I decided to walk the ancient city walls of Dubrovnik. It was annoyingly expensive, but I thought it was worth it. It provided incredible views, and we went at sunset, making it even more special.

Starting the hike around the walls

Main street from above

Old fort

George and me

City walls

Outside the walled in part of town

Old port

The old roofs

What a unique city 🙂

Next up was a trip up the gondola to an even more incredible viewpoint before hiking down the hill with an American girl I had met at the hostel. You can also just hike up and not take the gondola.

After the gondola ride

On our way down

Other than the more organized activities, you must just wander through the town.

The amazing alleyways

Main square

One of the entrances

Another entrance

George!

Sunset

Outside the walls

Overall thoughts:

Despite being the most touristy place I had been, and by far the most expensive, I really enjoyed my time in Dubrovnik. As I walked around I felt like I had been transported to another time period. Loved being here, but I was SO happy to be here in May and not in peak season. I can’t even imagine what it is like in August, but it would be a nightmare.

Now I’m making my way to Montenegro!

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Northern Croatia

May 7, 2017July 12, 20171 Comment

After spending a few days hiking in Bled, Slovenia, I headed to the capital of Croatia: Zagreb.

City: Zagreb

How Long: 3 nights

Accommodation:

I stayed at the Swanky Mint in Zagreb. It was a larger hostel with two separate bars that were filled with both locals and guests staying at the hostel. It also had a common room attached to the guest kitchen, which was just for guests. I did find it a little hard to meet people but that is to be expected at a larger hostel with a bar in the building. The beds were comfy and the lockers were big enough to hold my backpack. I will say that the staff were spectacular! I was sick and asked for extra blankets and they were happy to help me. They also made sure the heater was working. I just felt they consistently went above and beyond!

Where to eat:

One of my favorite meals from this trip was at La Struk in Zagreb. WOW it was so good. They serve a traditional Croatian meal called strukli. It’s basically dough and cheese + whatever variation of flavor you choose and then they throw it in the oven and it comes out piping hot. SO GOOD. I had the truffle strukli and the blueberry strukli because yes I came back twice. HIGHLY recommend a stop here if you are in Zagreb. Other than this I used leftover groceries from Lake Bled to save money.

My blueberry Strukli

What to do:

I arrived in Zagreb feeling fairly sick so unfortunately I did not do much while I was there but I did go on the free walking tour, which as always was a great way to orient myself and get a flavor for the history and culture. ALSO, after my walking tour I ran into Tom, a Brit I had met at my hostel in Bled. He had come to Zagreb with another girl I had met at Bled so we decided to grab drinks later that night. Always so much fun to randomly run into people you’ve met at previous stops along your trip. I’m so glad we ran into each other because Tom and Sam, the Kiwi he was traveling with, decided to come with me to my next stop!! The three of us took off the next day for Plitvice Lakes National Park.

Viewpoint of Zagreb

St. Mark’s Church, and no it is not made of legos 🙂

Walking through town

Zagreb Cathedral (Tallest building in Croatia)

Overall thoughts:

Because I was sick, I didn’t really get a full chance to explore Zagreb as it deserves. Although, from what I saw I don’t know if I need to go back. It was a capital city that felt not all too different from any other metropolitan capital city. I keep finding that I like smaller towns and this felt a little too industrial for me.

City: Plitvice Lakes National Park

How Long: 2 nights

Accommodation:

I stayed at the awesome Falling Lakes Hostel while exploring the Plitvice Lakes National Park. This hostel was GREAT. I was in a 10 person room and there were large locker under the bed (my favorite type because it’s so easy to just grab what you need!) Nice guest kitchen and plenty of bathrooms/showers. There was a common room with plenty of seating. My favorite part of this hostel was all the board games they had!! Tom, Sam and I played Settlers of Catan on our table while others at the hostel played other games, and others still were playing guitar and singing. Such a fun scene.

Where to eat:

The three of us went to the store for both dinners and made pasta one night, and pizza the other. It was a fun struggle because Tom is vegetarian, but I don’t like tomato sauce so both nights the three of us had a slightly deconstructed version of the meal. Sam and I would have meat on ours, while Tom and Sam had tomato sauce other theirs. Nevertheless, it was delicious! On our hike at the national park, we just bought lunch at the restaurant in the park.

What to do:

The main/only reason to come here is to go to the Plitvice Lakes National Park. IT IS INCREDIBLE!! Basically it’s a magical place filled with waterfalls around every corner. The photos below do not do it justice!! Highly recommend a visit here. This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip.

Beginning our hike though the most magical place 🙂

Look at this water!!!

The waterfalls begin

Up we go

WOW

SO MANY WATERFALLS

Tom, Me, & Sam

Friends 🙂

Unbelievable

Look at that water flow

The tallest waterfall in the park

Overall thoughts:

Please visit this incredible spot! I can’t say enough good things 🙂

After this awesome spot, Tom and Sam decided to follow me again, but this time to Split!! We decided to try out hand at hitchhiking, to the dismay of my mother (my dad was fully supportive, which is why I told him beforehand and not Mom 🙂 ) Unfortunately it was raining, which means it is much less likely that someone will pick you up. BUT someone did stop while we were waving our “SPLIT” sign around. However, he was going to Zadar not Split. We made a group decision to take him up on his offer, figuring we would at least be that much closer to Split. He was a super nice guy who was on his way to work in Zadar. We arrived in Zadar and walked around until we found “Crazy Pizza” which was an indeed pretty crazy as the pizza’s were HUGE. After lunch we found the sea organ that is famous in Zadar, which is essentially an organ that makes noise as the water hits it (?) It was pretty cool even if I don’t totally understand how it works. The rain started coming down so we decided to give up on hitchhiking and took a bus the rest of the way to Split.

Anyone wanna take us to Split???

City: Split

How Long: 3 nights

Accommodation:

I stayed at the Backpackers Fairytale hostel in Split. While the facilities were for the most part adequate as there was a guest kitchen, nice sized lockers, and a common room, my experience here was ruined by the staff. They were unavailable, rude, and seemed annoyed to help me whenever I had questions. Also there were not enough showers/bathrooms. The beds were also super squeaky so whenever someone turned over the whole room could hear it. Also, security was sorely lacking, as a girl turned up around midnight, somehow got into the hostel and crashed in the bed above me, without having a reservation. There was no staff around to stop this so I think she just left in the morning and the staff were none the wiser… Would not stay here again.

Where to eat:

Our favorite spot ended up being a restaurant in one of the main squares called Bepa! We ate there for breakfast twice and wish we had time to eat there again. The first time I had a delicious chia pudding with a hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was one of the best I’ve ever had… seriously. It was so thick and rich. It almost felt like a chocolate pudding. I wish I could have another one right now as I am writing this. We also went to Fife for Tom’s last dinner before he left to go back to England. It was a great spot with cheap, yummy food.

Chia pudding at Bepa

Tom feat. his fruit infused water at Bepa

What to do:

We walked around the old walled in city in Split, which is super cool. No matter how many “old towns” or “walled in cities” I see, I still think they are awesome!! Maybe it’s because we don’t have any in the States, but I just love an “old town.” We also walked along the beach and found a spot to lay down and read for a bit. On Tom’s last night we went to grab a drink at a bar that turned into a nightclub as the night went on. We had fun singing and dancing to the music until it turned into very clubby music and we decided to leave. Tom caught a flight early the next morning, leaving Sam and I to our own devices for out last day in Split. We decided to catch a ferry to a city called Supertar, which is on Brač, the third largest island in the Adriatic Sea. Supertar has 3,300 habitants, but apparently it is a growing population as we saw construction of a lot of new houses. We enjoyed wandering the old streets and then plopped ourselves on the beach to read for a couple of hours. We ate a yummy lunch before heading back to the port to grab our ferry to Split.

Split

Tom pondering his life as sailboats sail on by

So pretty

Can’t get over this water!

Tom testing the water

On the clock tower

Split from the clock tower

Relaxing in Supertar

Overall thoughts:

I really enjoyed my time in this city. It was definitely touristy and busy, so I can’t imagine what it’s like in August!! But I still have a blast walking around and finding my favorite ice cream places and bakeries. I also bought a punch of lavender so now my bag smells amazing! Definitely would go back to Split!

Now off to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina 🙂

Slovenia

April 25, 2017December 26, 20181 Comment

Slovenia: the only country with the word LOVE in its name!

After Austria, I took a bus to the capital of Slovenia, which is called Ljubljana.

***Apologies in advance for the amount of photos, but this place was just so darn beautiful!!

City: Ljubljana

How Long: 5 nights

Accommodation:

I stayed at Hostel Vrba in Ljubljana. At first, when I arrived I feared it would not be that social, but I found some awesome people at this hostel! Mainly a British couple who have quit their jobs and are riding their motorcycles all the way to CHINA! Crazy cool! (Check them out here) Lottie and Ryan were super fun and sweet to me, even getting me a bottle of champagne for my birthday 🙂 Anyway back to the hostel itself, there was a good kitchen/ common room and plenty of bathrooms and showers. It was about a 15 minute walk to the center of town, but it’s a lovely walk along the river. The lockers were good-sized and the beds had personal sockets for charging devices.

Drinking Birthday champagne in the common room of the hostel!

The walk along the river

Where to eat:

Because I was here so long, I went to the grocery store and loaded up one eggs, chicken, and cereal. Saved a bunch of money and hung out with people in the common room while cooking/eating. BUT the highlight of Ljubljana food was an ice cream store called Vigo. Ryan seemed to go every day and I managed to tag along a fair bit of the time. It was just so good (+ cheap)!

What to do:

Wow Slovenia has so many things you can do! The first day I was there I went on the free walking tour and saw most of the major sites in main part of the city, as it is not very big. I ran into an Australian guy I had met at my hostel in Vienna so we did the tour together and after walked up to the castle!

On my way up to the castle

Still on my way up

The final stretch!!!

Finally the view!

and….. on my way down

View of the castle from the town!

The next day I decided to do a day trip to small town about 30 minutes outside of Ljubljana called Škofja Loka. Lottie and Ryan joined me as we headed out to explore a bit of the countryside. The town was tiny, tiny, tiny, but super cute. Of course there was a castle and a church (as every town in Slovenia seems to have) and an old town so we walked around all these areas. We also grabbed a bite to eat and a beer (cider for me, though).

The main part of town along the river

View from the church

Then it was my birthday! I decided to book a day trip around Slovenia so I was doing something fun for my bday. I visited Predjama Castle, then the Lipizzan horses in Lipica, Piran, and the Škocjan caves.

Predjama castle

Predjama castle feat. me

Piran, Slovenia

Above the caves/river that runs through it

Where we exited the caves

Overall thoughts:

I really enjoyed my time in the capital of Slovenia. After traveling for so long, I’ve determined that I tend to like cities on the smaller side with a few obvious exceptions (London, Paris, and of course BARCELONA!) Ljubljana is a good base for seeing other parts of the country as well! It’s a quaint town that only needs about 2 days for the city itself, but if you want to explore the region, add a couple more days to that.

City: Lake Bled

How Long: 3 nights

Accommodation:

I stayed at a great hostel called Castle Hostel 1004. I would highly recommend staying here if you ever get to Lake Bled. It was 5 minutes from the lake and 1 minute to the bus station. The hostel itself has a great communal kitchen and common room. There are big lockers in the room, but you needed your own padlock because sometimes they run out. The only annoying thing was that sometimes all the bathrooms were full (right before bed + in the morning) but overall wasn’t that big of a deal.

Where to eat:

I mostly ate food I bought from the grocery store to save money and then I would eat in the common room with everyone else while they were eating food they had bought, but the hostel had a deal with some of the restaurants in town so I went to Pizzeria Rustica. We got a 10% discount and the food was great!! I had a yummy white pizza with truffle oil and bacon.

What to do:

WOW, there is a lot to do in the Lake Bled region if you want to spend the time and money. You can go canyoning, sky diving, kayaking, rafting, hiking, swimming, and paragliding. It’s amazing all the outdoor activities that are within reach. As I am on a budget and I was here in April, where it wasn’t quite warm enough for some of the above activities, I mostly stuck to the hiking. BUT the hiking is spectacular, so I definitely did not feel like I was settling. The first day I hiked around Lake Bled with a stop at an incredible view-point. It was about a 5 mile hike in total.

The starting point of the hike along the lake and already it is so beautiful

Ducks!

So peaceful

Hike up to the viewpoint

Unreal!!

At the viewpoint I ended up sitting on the bench next to a girl from South Africa. We got to talking and decided to hike up to the Vintgar Gorge together. It was stunning. Definitely recommend going here. It’s a 5 euro entrance fee (cash only) and about 2 miles roundtrip.

Headed through the gorge on these cool pathways

So pretty!

THIS WATER

My second day consisted of hiking around a different lake called Bohinj Lake. This lake is bigger and less developed when compared to Lake Bled. It’s about 40 minutes away by bus. I went with an Australia guy I met at the hostel the night before. He had just hiked to Base Camp of Everest so needless to say I was much less fit than he was. I managed to keep up with him (for the most part) up to the waterfall, but once we started on hiking around the lake, I was left in the dust. I meandered along at my own (slow) pace and enjoyed the marvel that was this valley, which had been created by a glacier many, many years ago.

The start of the climb to the waterfalls!

The valley as we climbed to the waterfalls

THE WATERFALLS

Lake Bohinj

The day started off cloudy

but the sun turned up for us towards the end of our hike!

Can’t get enough of this place!

Overall thoughts:

I stayed 3 nights in Lake Bled, but really only got 2 full days out of it. At first I thought 3 nights would be too much, but I wish I had booked more time here. After spending so much time in large cities, it was so relaxing being here. I loved being in the nature! Overall, I would highly recommend a stop here in Lake Bled.

Off to Croatia now 🙂