We awoke to find the reception unattended. We left a note of thanks and payment for the night, before cutting through a hole in the fence onto the main road. This was the same route that Danny and I had taken the evening before, and as we had discovered then, it had few redeeming features. Balancing on the curb for the most part and regularly bending down to avoid overhanging branches, we were all thankful to reach the station in one piece. Having found the appropriate platform, we went to the station shop and bought some baguettes for the journey. Danny also bought a big bag of Chipsies and a good few packets of Mintos. Chipsies and Mintos were fast becoming the staple diet for Danny on this trip.
Once on board, we settled in and tucked into our baguettes. Our hunger satisfied, we resumed our marathon cheat match, Danny bluffing his way back into contention. A few hours into the journey, and we were nearing the Croatian border. The train came to a halt to allow the border guards onboard. As the train continued on its way, the guards inspected our passports; a routine which we were fast becoming used to.
Now, you know what they say about little red buttons. It is generally a good idea to leave them alone, especially when you're on a train in Eastern Europe, and there are armed guards onboard.
Danny thought otherwise...
As soon as his finger touched the button, the horn sounded and the train came to a grinding halt.
We found ourselves in a situation. Thinking fast we decided to deny everything and pretend to be asleep. Our curtain was pulled back but a matter of seconds later. A large gentleman with a gun holstered to his side was peering down over us. I looked at Catz through skinted eyes. He was rubbing his eyes and yawning. Danny on the other hand was pretending to snore. It was a very unconvincing act and one the guard surely hadn't bought. Waving his hands around and speaking to us in an unknown dielect (probably Croatian), his tone of voice suggested he was becoming increasingly frustrated with us. Catz and I shrugged our shoulders and shook our heads until he gave up on us and went elsewhere. All this while, Danny was still pretending to snore.
We pulled our curtain back across and decided to keep a low profile for the rest of the journey. Half an hour later and we were still stationary. The carriage full of noisy kids next door was now silent. We decided to send Danny out to investigate. It seemed only fair, since he was the one responsible for almost getting us arrested a short while earlier. He returned to tell us that everybody was getting off the train. A fellow passenger walking past must have noticed our blank expressions and explained the situation to us in English. She told us that the train had inexplicably broken down (Danny gulped hard) and we all had to disembark.
Scrambling to pack our bags, we bundled off the train. We didn't even know which country we were now in. We followed the crowd and came upon two busses. Everybody was boarding one or other of these busses. We opted for the bus with most people on board. Danny and Catz were sat together and I was sat behind them, next to an old lady. From the signposts we managed to work out that we were heading for Zagreb. This bus journey was one of the worst bus journeys I have ever had to endure. There was no air conditioning and the windows wouldn't open. We were all sweating away, and it was a relief to reach Zagreb.
Boarding a random bus |
On board the bus to Zagreb |
The bus had taken us to Zagreb train station. Our plan was to stay a night in Zagreb and then go on to Bosnia in the morning. As we tried to find a train timetable we got talking to a fellow traveller who had been on the train with us. Her name was Carla. She was heading to the seaside town of Split, and upon discovering that there were no trains the next day, we decided to join her. This meant we had a couple of hours to kill in Zagreb. We locked up our bags, acquired some Croatian money and headed into the city.
We were greeted by a massive market, selling nothing but strawberries. We all indulged in a punnet and continued on our way, following the long line of parkland that stretches from the train station to the town. We reached the lower town and sat down and had a beer. Well everyone had a beer except for me. Feeling the strawberry vibe I chose to indulge in some strawberry juice.
Strawberries in Zagreb |
Ise looking gay with his strawberry juice |
Refreshed, we continued onwards. Climbing up a hill we reached the upper town, where we found the most photographed sight in Zagreb, St Marks Church, which sports a multi-coloured tile roof constructed in 1880. Thanks to our newest member, Carla, flashing her student card, we were all charged the student rate to climb Lotrscak Tower. This afforded us splendid views of the lower town, and the city as a whole.
With time pressing on, we had just enough time to stop and buy some cheap pizza, which we ate next to a fountain. Catz chose to bathe his blistering feet in the fountain, and as he did so, was approached by an elderly lady. Catz feared it may have been a sacred fountain, and was anticipating a clip around the ear. His feet certainly weren't sacred feet. As it turned out, all she wanted was his empty can of Lipton Ice Tea. Finishing our pizza, Danny presented the elderly lady with his finished can of coke, which she was only too happy to accept.
St Marks Church |
Catz up Lotrscak Tower |
Retrieving our backpacks, we made our way up the platform to our train, only to be turned away because we didn't have a reservation. With five minutes till the train departed, it was yet another mad rush to get back to the ticket office and pay the extra money for a stamp on our tickets. Danny somehow found time to buy a bag of Chipsies and another couple of rolls of Mintos for the journey.
We got back to the train just in time. Thankfully, there were no little red buttons in sight. As we entertained ourselves with some inventive use of our travel pillows, it suddenly dawned upon us that we had no accommodation booked in Split. We needn't have worried though. There were numerous touts waiting for us outside the station. One of them approached Catz and he told her the name of the hostel we wanted. She was soon marching us down the promenade. Catz was particuarly worried as to where we were being led. He had already expressed his fears of being caught up in the sex trade. His fears were allayed when we reached the hostel. The staff were fiendly and the hostel was clean and well furnished. We decided to book two nights here, giving us a chance to recharge our batteries.
Coz that's what they're for... |
Carla, Catz and Ise in Room Two |
We were staying at Hostel Placida and had a four bed dorm to ourselves. As we began to unpack, the girl that checked us in decided that this dorm wasn't good enough, and that we could stay in a different room, an even nicer affair with a big TV. So we uprooted and moved to this new room. Thanking the girl for her kindness we started to unpack. A few minutes later, and she was back. They had a new booking, and we had to go back to our old room. So back we went. Danny made first use of the shower across the hallway. As he was busy lathering himself up, the girl came back. Yep, we had to move again. This time we were in a three bed dorm and we were assured we could stay here for both nights. We grabbed our stuff and dumped it in our third room of the day. Danny was still in the shower, so me and Catz grabbed his stuff and took it to our new room. We watched through the door as he came out of the shower in his towel and made his way back to our old dorm. Upon discovering we weren't there, he wandered aimlessly around the landing area. Luckily for him, the girl returned and pointed him in our direction.
It was Saturday night, so we put on our glad rags ready for a night on the town. Well, Carla did. We just found our least dirty pair of jeans and nicest smelling pair of underwear. Feeling good, we left the hostel in search of some food and beer. We were staying close to the Diocletian's palace, a massive building built by the emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD. This is now the heart of the inner-city of Split. We found a nice little outdoor bar within the walls of the palace and ordered four beers and some pizzas. Our stomaches full, we were keen to sample some Croatian night life, but were dissapointed to find that the only two open venues were full, so much so that people were spilling out onto the streets. We retired back to the hostel for the night, a trip to the beach awaiting us in the morning.
Within the Diocletian's palace |
Carla and Danny |
This was the first day that we didn't have to be up early and it was a welcome relief. We spent the afternoon at the beach. The waves were quiet big and the sea fairly shallow. Danny and I went for a walk up the coast, and encountered some major wave action. We had to dodge the incoming waves as they crashed against the sea wall. We both ultimately failed and got very wet. On the way back to Catz and Carla we stopped so that Danny could have an ice cream. Danny found it hard to walk past an ice cream stall without stopping, and if ever Catz and I lost him, the first place we would look would be the nearest ice cream stall. If he wasn't there, he would almost certainly be buying chipsies from somewhere.
We walked back from the beach through the Diocletian's palace and stopped to admire some of its finer points. It really was a beautiful place, so much so, that I think we all forgot about the yeast situation for a while. We bought a bottle of wine each on the way back. It was surprisingly pleasant considering how little it cost us. We spent the evening drinking wine and chatting, before another fruitless effort to find a pub open past midnight. Admitting defeat, we returned to the hostel to get some sleep. We had a bus journey to Bosnia awaiting us in the morning.
Next (Bosnia)
Ise and Danny at the beach |
Danny loved his icecream |
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