Country #84 - Croatia Day 1

The Planning Day

I woke up early this morning and decided to take the early morning train to Zagreb instead of the afternoon time. I wish there had been a time in the middle but oh well! I checked out of the lovely Antiq Palace Hotel and bid farewell to the great front desk staff. I rushed to make my train and made it to the station with a few minutes to spare. The train ride was just beautiful. Almost the entire ride was along a rushing, freezing river and much of it was also through stunning mountains. There was a passport check on the train (where you get stamps and everything) at the stop closest to the Croatia border, but it did not take very long at all.

I arrived in Zagreb mid-morning and took an Uber to my hotel, DoubleTree by Hilton Zagreb. It did not take long to get there from the train station at all, and the hotel was amazing! I was greeted at check-in (where I was given a warm DoubleTree welcome cookie) and then headed up to my room. It was so nice, modern, and had the best view! The floor to ceiling windows and the nice sitting area made for the perfect day to work on planning my trip. Thank you so much to DoubleTree by Hilton Zagreb for sponsoring this night of my trip.

It was a very rainy day as well, and since I will have all day in Zagreb tomorrow taking the day off was definitely the right decision. I worked all day and ordered a yummy dinner from room service before going to sleep incredibly early, around 7pm. I’m still very jet lagged so hopefully getting a great night of sleep tonight will help!

The Broken Relationships

After another good night’s sleep I woke up really early again and worked for a bit before getting ready for my day in Zagreb. Snow had fallen overnight and it looked really pretty from my great view. I had a great buffet breakfast at DoubleTree by Hilton Zagreb before heading out for the day. At checkout I was gifted a very sweet keepsake heart from Zagreb and even offered a goodbye cookie (which I amazingly declined due to being so full from breakfast). Public transit was not hard to figure out in Zagreb but I decided to stick to Uber due to the rain and low prices in Croatia.

I headed to the Upper Town area of town, which, as the name implies, is higher up than the rest of the city. My first stop was St. Mark’s Church which wasn’t open but had a really unique roof. From there I easily covered the rest of the ground in the Upper Town area as it was not very large. My stops included the Stone Gate (a gate with religious importance), Lotrščak Tower, and a walking area called Strossmayerovo šetalište before visiting two museums in this area. The first was the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art. It was very small but definitely worth the miniscule cost of admission to get a great overview of Croatian art! My other museum visit was quite unlike anything I have ever visited before. The Museum of Broken Relationships was one of the most interesting, and definitely most unique, museums that I’ve seen!

Basically, the museum is made up of artifacts and mementos from past failed relationships, along with a short note on the relationship from the person who donated the item. It was quite a rollercoaster of emotions to read them all: some were quite funny and others were obviously very sad. It was overall such an interesting concept and is the original iteration of this museum - it has since been exhibited all over the world! Another plus was the sweet puppy that the museum was looking after for the day named Lola. She was adorable!

After a great and engaging visit, I then headed to the Lower Town area of town, just a quick walk from Upper Town through the Stone Gate. I walked through the Dolac Square to Ban Josip Jelačić Square. My last stop was to visit Cathedral of Zagreb, which was really stunning. I ate at a great little burger place called Otto & Frank before walking up Ulica Ivana Tkalčića street to take an Uber back to the hotel. At the hotel, I had a few hours until the late night flight that I used to work a bit more. I then headed to the airport for my very short flight to Split, Croatia!

Split has been near the top of my list of places to visit for a few years, and I’m so glad to finally be going. Upon my arrival, I took the bus from the airport to the bus terminal near the Old Town. I met Tomislas from Hotel Vestibul Palace. who walked me to the hotel as certain parts of the city are closed off at night so it would have been a bit difficult to find so late at night on my own. It was a very short walk before I was shown to my room which was incredible!

Basically, Split is centered around Diocletian's Palace, and the wall of my hotel room actually shared a wall with part of the palace (the vestibule area, to be exact)! It was amazing and definitely one of the most unique rooms that I have stayed in throughout my trip. Everything about my room was so nice as well, and the location couldn’t be beat. Thank you so much to Hotel Vestibul Palace for sponsoring these night of my trip! I didn’t have time to really eat dinner tonight, so the lovely fruit basket in my room was also much appreciated. After facetiming with my parents to show them how cool it was I was ready for a great night’s sleep before learning more about Diocletian's Palace and Split tomorrow!

84 countries down, 112 to go.

Read about my second day in Croatia here.

To learn more about DoubleTree by Hilton Zagreb click here.

To learn more about Hotel Vestibul Palace click here.

Country #83 - Slovenia

The Pink Church

I had a great night of sleep thank goodness! I slept from about 7pm to 8am and it was amazing and so needed. I then had a nice breakfast at Hotel B&B Graz (you scan your keycard to enter the breakfast area which was pretty cool) before heading to catch my train to Ljubljana, Slovenia. I had a compartment all to myself for the four-hour train ride.

I arrived in Ljubljana around 3pm to find that the service on my phone was no longer working so I had to take a cab to my hotel as I couldn’t pull up directions. Note to self: never take a cab in Slovenia! It is basically a monopoly and I was charged 12 euros for a five-minute ride. Uber is not allowed in Slovenia and it’s really no wonder why: the taxis would be out of business in a second! It was insane but I didn’t really have another option. When I got to my hotel, Antiq Palace Hotel & Spa, I was able to use the wifi to find that T-Mobile was having a global roaming service outage, so it definitely was not just me. The good news was that Ljubljana was so small that I would be able to walk everywhere and wouldn’t need directions.

Speaking of Antiq Palace Hotel, it was absolutely amazing! Thank you so much to Antiq Palace for sponsoring this night of my trip. I was greeted with such enthusiasm at the centrally located stunning hotel. The building itself was so cool and had a definite antique feel while being very luxurious at the same time. My room was just incredible: I had a huge living room, kitchenette, and giant bedroom with a king-sized bed. I couldn’t believe it when I walked in! I was also greeted with a plate of fruit which was quite refreshing.

After figuring out my plans for the day (since I couldn’t on the train due to the lack of service) I headed out to see the town! Luckily Antiq Palace Hotel was right in the center of the Old Town, and no more than a five-minute walk from anything that I wanted to see. I started my visit by walking along the water to perhaps the most well-known spot in town, Preseren Square. Preseren Square sits between the Triple Bridge and the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation. The Triple Bridge was really unique because, as the name implies, there are three walkways on it. The Franciscan Church was beautiful but the best part was its one of a kind pink facade.

My next stop was to walk along the water past two more bridges - Butcher’s Bridge (known for its many locks) and Dragon Bridge (known for its giant dragon statues). From there I took the funicular up to Ljubljana Castle. The castle sits overlooking the city and has sat there for over 500 years. It is beautiful from below and I was thoroughly enjoyed walking around the castle grounds. There is a small museum on Slovenian history and you are also able to climb to the top of the tower to look out on Ljubljana. If it hadn’t been dark you can apparently see up to a third of Slovenia on a clear day!

After walking around the castle I took the funicular back down and then made my way to eat dinner at ROBBA. It’s a really cool spot that serves traditional Slovenian food but also had a very modern feel. I had the chicken fillet Ljubljana style (filled with cheese and ham) served with mashed potatoes. It was fantastic and also tasted quite similar to chicken cordon bleu. After dinner, I walked past a square known as Town Square and along Stari trg road and then crossed the water to head back to Antiq Palace Hotel. The jet lag and lack of sleep for two days was still getting to me so I went to sleep really early again! It was a great day in Slovenia and I really enjoyed walking around the small but beautiful Ljubljana. I’m looking forward to three days in Croatia starting tomorrow!

83 countries down, 113 to go.

To learn more about Antiq Palace Hotel & Spa click here.

Country #82 - Austria

The Hauptplatz

I arrived in Austria around 4pm and headed straight from the train station to my first hotel of the trip, Hotel B&B Graz. I’m so excited to sleep in a real bed tonight you don’t even know! Hotel B&B Graz was only a five-minute walk from the train station which I really appreciated. When I arrived I was greeted so warmly! I had my picture taken checking in and in front of the Hotel B&B Graz sign. Everyone was so welcoming and I really appreciated the warm welcome! Thank you so much to Hotel B&B Graz for sponsoring this night of my trip. After receiving my key card I was so tempted to literally just collapse into my bed, but after realizing how late it already was and that there was a chance of rain later I toughed it out and headed back out to see Graz!

It was about a ten-minute walk from Hotel B&B Graz to the city center. My first stop was Kunsthaus. Kunsthaus was such a cool building! Its design was incredible and it also lit up at night in different patterns which was so cool. The inside was neat as well, but unfortunately, the exhibit hall was already closed for the night so I just visited the museum store instead. From here I walked over to see Murinsel, which is basically a man-made island in the middle of the Mur River that, once again, had such a cool design!

My next stop was to walk past the Clock Tower that sits on top of the hill (I was way too tired to climb up it) and then I headed into the heart of the Old Town. I walked past The Hauptplatz which was the main square in the center of the town, and from there I headed inside of Kastner + Ohler, the big designer department store in Graz, to warm up! It was really pretty inside and made for a great pit stop on my walk through the Old Town. From there I walked up Sporgasse, the main Old Town street, which very picturesque. My last stop was to walk by the Glockenspiel. I was not about to wait outside for over thirty minutes in below freezing weather to see the Glockenspiel actually run, but it was a beautiful building!

I walked back to The Hauptplatz where I grabbed a burger to go from a food stall and then headed back toHotel B&B Graz. I was very glad to finally be headed to get a good night’s sleep! I ate the burger very quickly and literally just fell into the bed at 7pm. I haven’t been that tired in a while, but at least I was able to get a ton of sleep tonight!

82 countries down, 114 to go.

To learn more about Hotel B&B Graz click here.

Country #81 - Slovakia

The F*** is Bratislava?

It’s safe to say that by this point I was thoroughly exhausted. I slept a few hours on the plane, a few hours on the train, and now I had a whole day and two countries ahead of me. I’ve been to Bratislava, Slovakia before so I had some idea of what to expect and was looking forward to a relaxing day in the small capital city. I arrived around 6am, though, so nothing was open and I sat in the train station for two hours before heading to go eat breakfast.

I ate at a quaint cafe called Mondeiu. I had some really unique but tasty french toast that was topped with bacon and a fried egg. I also had liquid chocolate (like you get in Spain) that was fantastic and filled with berries. After breakfast, I walked by St. Martin’s Cathedral and then walked up to Michael’s Gate. I was basically hitting a few of the high points in one fell swoop!

From there I walked over to Old Town Hall. I didn’t go inside this time as I have been in before, but I highly recommend it as I learned a lot and it’s very well done! My next stop was across the street, the tourist information center. I got my Slovakia signatures here, and the two women working inside were so nice! They even offered me a free spot on the city tour but unfortunately, I would already be on the train out of town before then.

I had a little time to spare at this point so I headed into a cool spot called Urban House where I sat in a comfy chair and drank some tasty apple juice for an hour. My last stop of the day was a store called Kompot, which is known for their unique t-shirt designs. My (and my parents) favorite is the “Where the F*** is Bratislava” design. We literally have a magnet on our refrigerator at home with that on it from my last trip, and I have a button as well! You can’t help at laugh at their self-imposed humor of no one really knowing where their city is. I love it and made sure to stop back by the cool little store that thought of it!

After finishing my whirlwind tour of the city I took an Uber back to the train station where I then took my next train to Vienna (also known as Wien if you are ever travelling about in Europe). I would only be changing trains in Vienna, but I’m excited to be heading to Graz, Austria!

81 countries down, 115 to go.

Country #80 - Poland

The Business Class Flight

Last night was the first time I have slept more than four hours before leaving for a trip before, so I guess that’s a good sign? This will be a 30-day trip, my longest since the very first adventure, so I made sure to get as packed as possible as early as possible. It was still a scramble to get ready before heading to the airport for my first flight of the day, from Dallas (DFW) to Raleigh Durham (RDU). I'm flying on a family airline pass today, but the good news is that it looked like I would have no problems throughout the day with getting on flights.

My first flight was a breeze - the flight from Dallas to Raleigh was pretty quick and I made it on the flight with no problems which is all that really mattered. I landed in Raleigh with two hours to spare until my flight to London, United Kingdom. All day it looked like I would definitely get on the flight (which I still would), but now all of a sudden there was a small chance that I might get to sit in business. I thought there was no way, but everything seemed to be falling to give me a shot at it!

It was a painful two hours of waiting, that’s for sure. I would refresh the priority list on my phone every few minutes to see how it was going. It got worse, and then it got better. And then, with about an hour left, it looked like the last person was not going to show up. And they didn’t! So I got business!! I was so excited, especially for this trip, as I will be spending the night on a train tomorrow night so it would be two rough nights of sleep in a row. In my situation, the best part would actually be the arrivals lounge in London, where I would be able to take a shower and avoid feeling completely gross for the next two days.

The seat was, of course, amazing. I watched Girls Trip while eating dinner of lots of rolls, grapes, steak, and some really tasty caramel ice cream. After the movie finished I slept for about three hours, and as soon as I knew it we were landing in London. The other business perk is the fast track immigration lane! It was pretty slow this morning, so I can’t imagine how slow the regular line would have been. I headed straight to the arrivals lounge where I took a shower in the super nice facilities before having a pancake breakfast and then heading to the Heathrow Bus Terminal.

I took the National Express bus from Heathrow to Stansted instead of taking the Tube and then the Stansted Express. It was $10 more expensive but saved me a good two hours. I arrived at my least favorite airport in the world (Stansted) two hours early for my flight. I dealt with annoying security (it has never gone smoothly once for me) and then sat in the huge mosh of people waiting area for my gate to be announced. I finally had my gate, headed to my plane, and boarded. The flight itself was fine and I actually slept on and off for the entire two hours, which would be really helpful in helping me to make it through the day in Poland.

The Polish Dumplings

I arrived in Poland around 4:30pm. Immigration was a breeze and I took about a 45 minute Uber to the Krakow train station. When I arrived I bought my ticket for the overnight train tonight to Bratislava. Unfortunately, though, they couldn’t sell me a sleeper car ticket (apparently it was too close to departure) so I have to try and figure out how to buy it on the train. I then put my things in a locker which did not go as smoothly as it sounds. The first locker ate one of my coins, and the second one, once I put my things in, would not give me the key. Effectively, all of my belongings were now stuck in a locker.

I tried kicking the key, the locker, etc. I tried asking the man sitting across from the lockers in the luggage storage area for help, to which he so kindly responded “not my problem” and kept reading his book. I’ve had many encounters like this in Poland before so it wasn’t too shocking, but honestly just crazy annoying. I took off my coat, wrapped the key in my vest, and finally got it to turn! I don’t know what would have happened if that hadn’t worked, but thankfully I didn’t have to find out.

After struggling to store my things I got my signatures from the information desk where two very nice girls signed for me. I then took an Uber to the center of the Old Town to at least see a little of Krakow! I saw the Old Town Square, The Cloth Hall, and St. Mary’s Basilica. It was a very pretty area, as was all of Old Town that I saw. And, bonus, Krakow still has their Christmas decorations up!

After walking around (and freezing) I then headed to eat dinner at Klimaty Poludnia. It was a really cool spot right near Old Town. It was very popular and I was lucky enough to get the only non-reserved table! I had traditional Polish dumplings for dinner and they were so good! They were filled with chicken or cheese and had bacon on top. It was a hearty dinner and a much needed big meal. After dinner, I took an Uber back to the train station and luckily had no problems getting my things out of the locker.

I then had to wait, and wait, and wait. My train kept getting delayed until it would now be leaving an hour and a half late, sometime after midnight. Luckily the train station wasn’t too bad to wait in, as there was free wifi! The train finally arrived after midnight and the conductor would not sell me a sleeping ticket. He said they were sold out (the ticket people earlier said that it was not) so I think he just didn’t want to deal with me. I sat in my originally assigned seat in a compartment where there were two other people.

For the first three or so hours I slept uncomfortably on and off. One of the passengers left and another took her spot, and by this point, I was awake for good. It was at this point that I formally met Peter, who had been sleeping across from me. He’s a student from Australia travelling around Europe during his summer break (it took me a while to grasp the whole summer during winter thing). It was really great to make a new friend and talk with him for a few hours, especially because we were able to talk about each of our travels! Before I knew it the train was in Bratislava - how it arrived on time after being over an hour late is a mystery to me!

80 countries down, 116 to go.