Skip to main content

Day 12: Budapest to Zagreb

Image
By

Well today has been the earliest start since we left Scotland! I think it's safe to say that 4:30am isn't our most favourite time of day to rise and shine. Despite that we made it to our train no problem, as we waited on our platform we could see nobody else but fellow tired interrailers. Who else is crazy enough to get on a train at this time? We got on board and bagged a whole cabin to ourselves for the majority of the journey. The sun was just starting to rise as our train set off, making for some splendid views of the Hungarian countryside covered in morning mist. It was enough to make us think that the early start was worth it. We fought our eyelids for as long as we could trying not to miss any of it, but we soon gave in and dosed off for a fair bit of the 7 hour journey. Somewhere along the way we woke up shivering (not often we've been cold on this trip) turned out that the air con was just too good. Extra layers ensued and a warm jacked that I was beginning to regret packing finally got some use. 


So we made it to Zagreb at approximately 1pm and we patted ourselves on the back for choosing an early train for once. It's so much nicer to arrive in the daytime when things are still open. Horray! However what we didn't bank on was our hostel being shut for the afternoon... Thank goodness for the bar next door or else there would have been absolutely nothing to do for the next hour and a half. We were located a bit out of town in a business park, we felt it was a bit of a strange location for a hostel but oh well. When we finally got checked in the hostel was very nice inside. Once we were settled we took our time getting refreshed, a shower was top priority - we still whiffed a bit from the Turkish baths... Probably why we managed to keep a cabin to ourselves most of the way... Anyhow, we then spent a fair bit of time planning our accommodation for Italy, and trying to find an affordable part of Italy to stay in... Turns out that Venice is super busy due to a film festival right now... Damn! We managed to find a nice compromise though, were still going to Venice but just for a day trip, instead we'll be in Florence which we're super excited for! So stay tuned for that! 😁
All of this planning worked up a mean appetite so we walked into the centre find some food! It took us a while to find somewhere (our tummys were really rumbling by this point) started to worry that the people of Zagreb don't eat out, as all we could see were bars, pubs and no restaurants (except McDonald's). We eventually found this healthy kind of fast food burger place (not McDonald's I swear) which satisfied our hunger quite nicely. We then got to walk around and get our bearings of the city in a more relaxed way, but by this point tiredness caught up with us and we had to call it an early night. Saving the adventure for tomorrow!

Claire

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Zagreb and the not so orient express.

By
Not going to lie, this was not the most productive day we've had so far. We had the majority of the day to spend in Zagreb before we needed to board our first night train of the trip. However, we couldn't do anything with our big heavy rucksacks so we had to lug them about wherever we went. To be fair we did do a lot of walking the previous day, so we felt quite content with exploring the areas closer to the train station.  So, first of all we walked up to the grand hotel that used to serve as a rest stop for travellers of the great Orient Express. We considered having a wee coffee just to experience a small slice of what it might have been like to live such an affluent life (the hotel has been visited by the likes of Queen Elizabeth...). I would love to say that we did... But we gazed at the fancy waiters in their fancy suits and then took a look at ourselves and settled upon having our pack lunch in the gardens with a view of the hotel instead. We we haven't had a great e...
1 comment
Read more

Day 2 : A day in Amsterdam

By
Hello! We have lots to tell you about our day in Amsterdam, we tried the food, visited many places and learned a lot about the history of this liberal city.  Where we stayed: It had been suggested that we tried the lucky lake hostel, and it was certainly worth the pennies (perhaps one of the more expensive hostels we'll be staying in during this trip). The cheerful decor and helpful staff really made us feel at home, we're already dreaming of coming back some day. Our highlight was sitting in the hammocks holding a nice cold Amsterdam beer.  (Pictures to follow ) Places we explored: We managed to cover so much of Amsterdam in one day! The beauty of this place is that it's so easy to get around on foot (just watch for the cyclists, they will not  stop for you). As it was such a nice day we spent a lot of time visiting the outside attractions. We were lucky enough to stumble across a free walking tour, lead by a lovely guide called Karen.  (Pictures to follow ) Food we...
1 comment
Read more

Day 3: Amsterdam to Bonn

By
Day 3: We had an early start today, quite sad to be leaving the lucky lake hostel behind...but quickly we were looking onwards and eager to get to our next stop...Bonn in Germany!!  Claires lovely friend Kati lives in Kaltenborn just south of Bonn, where we'll be staying for the next couple of nights...so, we got the train quite early from Amsterdam central and headed eastward towards Cologne where we them got a train to Bonn. Kati met us there and we had a walk around the town (in 30 degree plus weather!!) En route we got some beer (which you're allowed to drink in the streets here!) and sat in a lovely park next tithe Rhein river for a few hours, chatting , napping, catching some sun!  (Images to follow)  By let afternoon we were tired and a bit hungry so we headed to Katis house where her family had prepared a lovely BBQ for us! YUMM!! "Jummy jummy!!" Her parents are lovely as is her brother! Trying very hard to speak English to us and there's ...
1 comment
Read more