The Balling Balkans and Meditating in Budapest

"Yeah, I model on the side."

So we last left off in Italy on our way to Croatia. One overnight 19hr ferry and we were in Split. We hopped on a bus to the walled city of Dubrovnik. The bus ride bordered that strange line of terror and amazement of the drivers ability to keep the bus upright. The periodic fear ridden ride was completely worth it once we got a look at Dubrovnik.


We found our small hostel and began exploring the city. The water was the most amazing color I had ever seen. We stopped at almost every bench overlooking the bay just admiring the beauty of the city. Just when you think this could not get anymore surreal, an old wooden ship would sail past.

One of the main things to do in Dubrovnik is to walk the walls that surround the old city. The city walls were one of the best things we had done up to that point. It took over an hour to walk the whole wall and the entire time you spend stunned by the scenery.

What could make our city even cooler? A fort on the hill.

A professional wall walker.

I could continue to go on about how much we loved Croatia, but for the sake of brevity I will jump to us hoping on a train to Budapest. We started out thinking that the trip to Budapest would be like any of the other travel days we have had. If we only knew what was in store for us...

Enjoy today because tomorrow might suck.

It started with the treacherous bus ride back to Split. Then a train to Zagreb, which promptly broke and we had to be shuttled to a new train. Once we finally arrive in Zagreb we realize that we have missed our train to Budapest and the next one isn't till 5AM the next morning. Guess who gets to spend the night in the Croatian train station? We finally get on the train and proceed to watch the border patrol for Hungary completely tear apart the train. Happy to have the travels behind us we arrive in Budapest.
After walking around Budapest for a good deal and spending time getting to know the people, I must say that it does not get near enough credit. The city was amazing. It was very similar to Paris, except the people were nicer and the American dollar was actually worth something.

I can actually buy things!

We found a little side market and had a great time shopping and just being obnoxious travelers.

Your breath is vile.

Only Russian smile on record.

As we sat on the beams of a bridge we climbed up on, I realized that if I were to come back for a small trip, that I would come back to Eastern Europe.

We enjoyed our days in Budapest, but like anywhere else, it was time to move on to the next city. Time to strap the backpack on and head to Vienna