Split, Croatia

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I saw the Carlsens off this morning for their trip to Italy, they really looked after me while I stayed with them and even gave me everyone cell phone numbers, even people who worked for the Embassy, just in case anything went wrong. Mirella (their Croatian help) was so incredibly nice to me, she gave me cold medicine to take with me, along with a few bottles of water and a few granola bars. She spoke wonderful English and told me that I wouldn’t be able to buy anything since that day and the next were Croatian holidays. I loved her accent and the way the Eastern Europeans talk to you, they are a straight forward and honest bunch!

The night before, Colonel Carlsen had arranged for their taxi driver to come and pick me up and take me to the train station, I was so grateful not to have to figure out the tram system! Sure enough the taxi driver was right on time and after I said goodbye to Mirella I was off! I got to the train station with plenty of time and my train was waiting for me. This was my first experience on a European train and I didn’t want to mess anything up. I looked up at the board for it to tell me where my train would be and there wasn’t a lick of English on it. Ooooook. I saw two numbers next to the one for Split, a 4 and a 1 – well which is it? I ended up matching the Croatian words to the signs outside and tada! I found my train (after consulting with a fellow backpacker just to be sure). I found my seat and I was set, off we go! I was in a seat that had a table and there was one seat next to me and 2 across from me which 3 Croatians sat down not long after I did. The woman sitting next to me was kind of hefty and took up some of my seat too, so I was happy when she got off the train! Once she did the lady in front of me waved for me to take the window seat next to me that was now unoccupied and then literally smacked my small bag I had on my lap into the seat where I had been sitting, she then gave me a nod and went to sleep (say what you really mean why don’t you! . haha - these people crack me up!). I was feeling so crumby and I just wanted to already be in Split, I normally love getting from point A to point B, but I just wanted to lie down.

We finally made it into Split, Croatia as a whole has a beautiful countryside and Split is no exception! We unloaded and I then had the task of finding my hostel, I was accosted by a few Croatian ladies telling me to stay at their hostels and hotels and I kindly told them I already had accommodation. So when a guy came up to me asking if I needed help I thought he was one of them and said no (I must have looked pretty lost) he then said that he used to live here and knows the place pretty well and could help get me to where I was going. Oh! I said, sweet, yes please! I couldn’t even begin to pronounce the name of the street it was on, so I pulled out the paper I had written it down on and we were off! His name was Shanti and he works for the International Red Cross and he got me to my hostel perfectly! (note: I would have never found it myself as there weren’t any signs for it or the street it was on, and I talked to some other backpackers who were staying here and they had great stories of wandering all over the place looking for it, I got so lucky!) He then gave me his cell number and told me to call him because he wanted to hang out and show me Split. What a kind guy! I told him that I didn’t have a phone and wouldn’t be able to contact him, but he said he would give it to me just in case.

I found my way up to my hostel (which is on the 2nd floor of an apartment building) it is small, but cute and clean, and the staff is great. I set my stuff down and head out on the town of Split, I walked around for a bit on the water, and ended up getting the biggest ham sandwich you have ever seen! All for 15 kuna (about $3), I had a full belly and I was happy. I wanted to catch up on my sleep so I would hopefully feel better and be able to explore the next day so I called it an early night.

The next morning I woke up around 6:30 and was feeling better so I went out and got some breakfast. I only had one roommate in an 8 bed room so that was really nice, she is Australian and was expecting 2 other Aussie friends that day. After I got back from breakfast I felt exhausted and I ended up laying down and sleeping some more. A little later the Aussies invited me out to explore the town and I went with them. Before we left a Kiwi started up some conversation with me and she was traveling alone as well (to be honest the majority of travelers I have met have been girls traveling alone) and since I know what it’s like to be on your own I invited her along as well! We hit it off great and her name is Annalisa. And it turns out she is from the same city, Christs Church, NZ as Bex, the Kiwi on my last trip. We wondered the markets together for a while until we lost track of the Aussies. So Annalisa and I did our own thing, which included going to the beach. But first I must talk about lunch! We each bought a half kilo of fresh cherries, sat down at one of the cafes (since it was in the shade), and ordered espressos, this felt like living! It was also very filling! After relaxing and looking out over the water we decided to make our way to the beach, and give the water a try!

Good lord, I think everyone who was alive was at the beach today, I have never seen so many people. It was so crowded and the beach was not very clean (I saw broken glass and cigarette butts galore!), I honestly was a little disappointed! The water was a nice temperature so we went in for a dip then laid out in the sun. We packed up once it got late, since I needed to shower and pack since I was leaving in the morning for Budapest.
We got back and there was a line for the shower, but I didn’t mind since I had to catch up on my blogs anyways 😊 I then went out and got a small ham sandwich (which was still huge, I saved half of it for breakfast) and came back to the hostel to exchange some money with Annalisa. She would be in Croatia for a few more days and I was leaving, so we exchanged 300 kuna for 40 Euros. I then hung out in the hostel kitchen with everyone. There were 4 guys from England who decided a week ago that they all wanted to take a holiday together to Croatia, and 2 Americans from Cali who were very cool, they had just finished teaching English in Spain and were taking a bit of a holiday before heading back. Everyone was drinking from 2 liter beer bottles (these things were huge!) and Annalisa shared her wine with me. Around midnight we all said our goodbyes as I leave for Budapest in the morning!
B

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