Roatanmel

I left the hostel in Zadar mid-day yesterday and headed back to the bus station for the 3 hour trip to Trogir. Stela (from the group Host a Sister- what a great group!) was waiting with her daughter to pick me up. We went back to her place, and her daughter helped get my bag to my room. Then we had dinner together, salmon and salad. She has an apartment above her house that she rents during busy season, so I had it to myself- so kind! And there was a bathtub (I only had a shower in the apartment in Vir and in the hostel, and had been wanting to soak my sore body in hot water). I had a great bath and a pretty early bedtime. The next day, my flight wasn't until early ... read more

I arrived in Zadar around 9:30am, and Hayden was waiting for my arrival. He's a traveler from New Zealand that I've been communicating with- we decided we'd team up to explore for a few days: I'm sharing my home exchange apartment in Vir and he's renting out a car for us. We plugged in the directions to the apartment, and off we went. We stopped at a grocery store along the way to pick up a few basics, and then continued on our way to the apartment. Vir is an island connected by a bridge to the mainland, with a cute beach town vibe. Our apartment is just 100 metres or so to the water. It has a lovely covered porch, and little yard with fig trees. We dropped off our things, unpacked groceries, and then ... read more

Since I've been to Austria before, I thought I'd take one of my days to check out nearby Bratislava. I left the apartment when Gaby when she headed in to work, and we took the tram together for part of the way, then I continued onwards to get to the main train station. Tonight I'll be spending the night with Marion, who lives outside of the city, but I didn't want to carry my bag around Bratislava, so Gaby will bring my bag and meet up with me at the train station when I return, so that I can continue on my journey. The train to Bratislava just takes an hour, and round trip is only 18 euro. There's also the option to take a boat, but it was quite a bit more expensive, and apparently ... read more

We arrived early morning on the 7th, and Elly's friend Zori came to pick us up and take us to our Home Exchange apartment. Our hosts, Franta and Milena, who live above the apartment they offer, were there to meet us and offered us breakfast. After we got settled in and had something to eat, we walked into town. The apartment is in a great location at the top of the hill, just a short distance (maybe a 15 min walk) from the castle. We continued down to cross over Charles Bridge. There was way more congestion with tourists here- maybe because it's smaller than Budapest. Some areas were packed with people, mostly tour groups following around behind a guide. We weaved our way through them and checked out a few other sites, like the Astronomical ... read more

What a beautiful city! I flew into Budapest last night, following the directions given by the host of the home exchange apartment that we're staying in. Elly flew in from Athens earlier in the day, so we planned to meet at the apartment. The directions were very clear, and public transportation is well laid out. I took a bus, then the metro, then a streetcar. Got to the apartment and caught up with Elly, and then we caught a bus into the centre of town to walk around a little, and have dinner together. Mexican, which seemed kind of wrong, but in the long stretch of restaurants, there didn't to be any real Hungarian cuisine (though the typical dishes that I read about were all meat based anyway). There was Italian, Japanese, Spanish, American, Mexican options. ... read more