Blogs from Split, Dalmatia, Croatia, Europe - page 13

Little did we know that the 750km train/bus ride would turn out to be THE worst day of my life. As I said previously, it was hot in Budapest. Well, the day we were leaving for Split... it got hotter it was like 48 degrees hot. When we got to the train station we had filled out our jounrey on the interrail pass and we were still early but the train was there so we decided to just go find a seat and sit in it. As time passed drips and drabs of people wandered through the carriages looking for their seats. At this point we had a whole carriage to ourselves; "What a great train ride this is going to be we thought" as we put our feet on the opposite seats and had our ... read more

This morning we slept in for quite awhile because we had been kept awake by a couple of people in our hostel who were really loud when they got back. But at least there were no snorers! Once we got up we went to a cafe and Rach had a moccachino that was served in a cocktail glass - very cool! We got some lunch and then went for a walk around the waterfront to see if we could find a beach. We walked quite far and couldn't find one, but we came across a cute area with a couple of beachfront cafes. Just as we got there it started to pour with rain, so we settled in with a cider until the rain stopped. When we were walking back we decided we wanted to go ... read more

Hello again, I have returned from the east... well eastern Europe that is, and I will say it was a very pleasant experience. Crystal clear waters, hot sunshine, good company, beautiful sights... there are many wonderful things do discover around the world and Croatia is no exception. I have spent the last ten days touring Split, a Croatian coastal city on the Adriatic Sea and the islands just off the coast. It has been a dramatically different experience from the rest of my travels thus far but one that will always be remembered. Split is a tourist city and 70% of their income is from the tourism industry. So one can imagine what the energy of a place like that is like. People from all over the world, restaurants, day treks, markets with stands and people ... read more

It’s all over!!! – We’re home! But to complete the story… Our 2 days in Split were excellent. It’s a town very much worth visiting in it’s own right. The history of the places we’ve visited in the UK, France, Italy and Croatia is fascinating and makes Australia’s white occupation history period look very ordinary and insignificant. I tended to find myself looking at buildings that were newer than 250 years old as being of much lesser interest than those much older. I mean they’re nearly new aren’t they? Many of the really old buildings (ie the Palace in Split) have been used ever since their construction including for everyday life and the stone and marble steps and floors have been worn smooth by countless footsteps from countless people from a myriad of backgrounds and powers ... read more

Saturday 25th update. Well we’ve now completed week two sailing the Adriatic with our second week being on the bigger 13 metre cats. There were 9 of us on each Cat. My cat (Lagoon 440) had me Margie & Kate; mum, Chris, Jules & Glen, Tim and Therese. Richard’s slightly smaller Belise 43 had himself, Feathers & Kitty; Hannah & JD, Jesse, Janet, Josh & Maeli. The Lagoon 440 that I skippered was a very nice boat but bristled with electric pumps, 3 fridges (!!), 4 bathrooms, too many lights and other battery draining things that tended to stress the batteries badly when at sea or anchored in secluded areas. Some careful energy management was called for and it was really a boat designed to be plugged into shore power each night. Not really my cup ... read more