Today we got the train from Budapest to Zagreb, then another one from Zagreb to Split. As we departed Budapest at 6am, it was an early start. It was made earlier by the fact that the alarm was set for the wrong timezone. We woke up an hour early, at 3:30 am. On the way out the door, we met a few guys coming back from a night on the town. This would have been a much better strategy for us I think.. The trains took all day, we got into Split at about 9pm. We had to wait for a few hours in Zagreb, but not long enough to do anything. I made the most of my time by sampling a range of Croatian beers. The train from Zagreb to Split is quite new I think, and only stopped at a few places along the way. It is a bit of a rollercoaster though, with banked turns and lots of weaving up and down mountains. I had heard that it could induce motion sickness – Simone didn’t really enjoy it. It is like a 5 hour rollercoaster that never gets to the good bit. The scenery from the train makes it all worthwhile though. Through valleys and over mountains (probably just hills in Europe, mountains to Aussies though), you get some really great views over the countryside. We arrived in Spit and navigated to our hostel, which was in the old town area.

September 01 – Day 49

Today we explored the streets of Split, mainly around the palace (which is now the ‘Old Town’). I also climbed St. Dominus Bell Tower, which gives a great view over Split. We also walked around to the beach, which as with every other beach we have been to was completely packed. Everyone says Australians are spoiled with beaches, it is definitely true. We also saw the fish market and the green market while wandering around, but neither is very exciting (unless you want fish or fruit & veggies).

September 02 – Day 50

After wandering around Split for the morning, we got the ferry to Hvar around lunchtime (this took about an hour). We checked in, and had the best room in the place – complete with a nice big balcony overlooking the Pakleni islands. Our hostel was a little walk out from the centre of town, so we spent the rest of the afternoon drinking and walking, and watching people on beautiful yachts in the marina. We have decided that a yacht would be an alright way to travel around :)

September 03 – Day 51

Today we hired a little boat to go exploring around the islands. We had a really good time, one of the best days of the trip so far. We spent the day island hopping, dropping the anchor in little coves, jumping off the boat and laying in the sun. We haven’t had many relaxing days so far, but this one made up for it! We normally stopped about 3m from the shore, but the water was really deep (8-10 I think). Even at that depth, you can see fish swimming right at the bottom. The only thing that could have made the day better was a ladder to get back in the boat. Each time we swam, there was a conversation about the best way for me to get Simone back onboard. Neither of us were able to do it with any dignity.

September 04 – Day 52

We spent this morning in a cafe near the marina having breakfast and drinks, before getting on the ferry back to Split. After arriving, we had half an hour to get on the bus to Dubrovnik, so didn’t do anything else in Split. The bus to Dubrovnik took around 5 hours, but was very scenic. It felt like five hours of postcard shots, I would even go as far as recommending the 2:30 bus in your itinerary if possible – you get about 3 hours of sunsets, and lots of photos.

September 05 – Day 53

This morning we walked around the city walls. After about 7 minutes, the clouds above us turned into a massive storm, and we got rained (poured) on for the 2km walk. The views were excellent, and the clouds actually added to the scenery (if you felt very optimistic). We were both soaked to the bone, so headed back to the hostel for a change of clothes. Dry, we headed off for drinks and food at a pub, before wandering the streets of the old town. We also looked back at the old town from outside one of the gates, which looked great when it was lit up. Dubrovnik is very beautiful, until the loads of cruise ship passengers arrive, and you need to squeeze past people wherever you go. I wouldn’t recommend staying for longer than 1-2 nights.

September 06 – Day 54

We decided that we didn’t need as much time in Dubrovnik as we have, so we decided to spend a day travelling through the newest country in the world, Montenegro. We booked tickets on a nice cheap tour that seems to cover a lot of sights. Next we went to War Photos Limited, an exhibition of various war photos. There is a level devoted to The Homeland War, and another one that I think changes. It was really interesting, but there were a lot of very disturbing photos. We spent quite a few hours there, it is a must see in Dubrovnik. We had a drink, then a walk around the inside boundry of the city walls, stopping at Buža and Buža II – Buža means ‘hole’. These are little places outside the city walls overlooking the sea, are very overpriced, but are must see (even if just for one beer). We were walking through the back streets and saw some cricket on the TV in an Irish pub, so ended up spending a few hours watching the England/Australia one day match, which was good fun (in a pub full of Aussies). That was pretty much it for the day. Dubrovnik is a good place to relax, but I don’t think there is really that much to see.

September 07 – Day 55

We were picked up at 8am for our day trip to Montenegro, and were in the country soon after – the beauty of travel in Europe! We travelled around the beautiful Bay of Kotor, with a photo stop on the way, until we reached the town of Kotor. It is a walled town – the tour guide said that it was established by aristocrat traders who felt they needed defence from the outside. It is full of palaces, restaurants, lots of banks, and churches. Also, you can see the walls stretching up the mountain face – something I would have loved to explore more if we had more time. We were only in Kotor for about an hour, before continuing on to Budva. Budva has a small old town, but it didn’t seem as well looked after, and there wasn’t much to see in there. We went into the Citadel, which gave pretty good water views, had some lunch, and looked at the beaches (not the one you need to pay to get into though – ridiculous!. According to the tour guide, Budva is now home to a number of Russian millionaires, and the marina did not fail to disappoint :) Simone and I (as well as a few others on the tour) would have preferred to stay longer in Kotor, as Budva didn’t really seem too exciting. There were lots of things to do in Kotor that we didn’t have time for (and a bit of sitting around waiting in Budva). Montenegro is definitely worth a day trip from Dubrovnik, especially if you are staying there for a few nights. On the way back, my camera broke, and started overexposing every shot. It seems to be an issue for Casio Exilim cameras. There is no quick fix, it needs to be repaired. It had only done ~4000 shots in two years, so it is pretty disappointing. Buying a new camera became a top priority.

September 08 – Day 56

Today we flew to Zagreb from Dubrovnik – less than an hour in the air. As always, it seemed to take the whole day. Croatian Airlines do an airport transfer to Zagreb bus station, where we got a tram to Knaternikov Square, and walked to our hostel. We ended up checking in at about 4pm. My top priority was a new camera – a Panasonic DMC-TZ7. I had thought about getting it before I left, but was convinced that my camera was perfectly fine (which it was). I asked the first camera shop I saw if they sold Panasonic – they didn’t, but told me the address of where to go. I think the salesman must have thought it was his lucky day when I walked in and bought it with no convincing whatsoever. Next, we needed to reserve our train ticket to go to Vienna. We found the agent for the train company, and did that, and then it was about 7pm, so had dinner and drinks, and went back to the hostel. We were told by a few people that Zagreb wasn’t worth staying around for, but I think it would have been good to stay for at least a day or two. Simone and I both liked Croatia, it is very pretty. I haven’t written much about it here, mainly because we had quite a relaxed time, and there weren’t as many things to list down :)