Sunday Mladen took me to Kamenjek Park, which was absolutely AMAZING! Seriously, the views of the rocks and water in this park was spectacular. So we spent the day there, hanging out and enjoying the warm afternoon.
Jun17
Jun16
Naked Postman at the Beach
Saturday afternoon, Mladen took me to a beautiful beach here in Pula. Actually, it was more of a rock climbing adventure to get to the place where we could lounge and then climb down to swim. Of course the water and landscape was absolutely beautiful, and it was fabulous to be outside enjoying the wonderful weather! Furthermore, since it was away from the regular beach, it was rather interesting to observe the differences to what I am used to seeing when I go to the beach.
Jun15
Journey to Pula
Friday morning, Maja made some delicious pancakes with Nutella, which were more like crêpes than American pancakes, so I was happy! Then I packed up my stuff and got ready to venture to Pula, Croatia. Since Maja had set up my ride share from a Slovenian website, it was quite easy to catch this ride because they were set to pick me up near the bus and train station, which is just about a five to ten minute walk from their flat. So with my luggage, I headed to find my ride and get on the road to Croatia!
When my ride arrived, I learned that it was a Slovenian couple about ten years older than me as well as a university student. Along the way, they talked in Slovenian, so I just chilled, which was totally fine! Passing the border in a car was SO easy compared to going by bus. Seriously, it took only a few minutes, which was fabulous! However, they did not even stamp my passport when I entered Croatia, which was rather bizarre and funny because I am getting this new passport! After just three hours, I arrived in Pula and went to meet my Couchsurfing host, Mladen at a bar.
Jun14
Thursday Night in Ljubljana
Thursday afternoon I hung out with Maja, which was totally fun! She is so awesome and helped me to arrange my transportation to Pula, which was becoming quite complicated. Since I don’t speak the language, things of this sort can be rather problematic at times when I am not able to just find a direct train to my chosen destination. Therefore, I was extremely grateful for her help! As I packed my bags, she worked on some stuff around the house and we talked about all kinds of stuff! Meeting super cool girls in my travels is always much appreciated, as I miss my girlfriends in Arizona.
Jun13
Bled
Wednesday I began my day with an amazing lunch! Tim took me to this market with super fresh fish and he ordered all of this random stuff. Seriously, had I gone to this place, I would have had absolutely no idea what to order, yet everything that we ate was so delicious! It was fabulous to be able to go there with a local who knows what to eat there!
Jun11
Ljubljana
Luckily, Bozidar took me to the train station today in Zagreb. Although it rained along the way, I was happy to arrive free of any other issues! Once I got on the train, the ride to Slovenia was absolutely GORGEOUS! Seriously, I think it was one of the prettiest train rides I have taken.
Jun10
What a Day!
Today my day began with another visit from Bozidar’s mother. Seriously, as soon as I woke up, there she was bringing some soup for breakfast, which was very nice of her. However, since she does not speak English, I did not know what was in it, so I waited to try it until Bozidar woke up and told me that it was a vegetarian soup. Of course I was very grateful for some food!
Then when I checked my email I had a message from the embassy telling me to come in today instead of tomorrow and that they would do what they could to help me with my passport. So I hurried up and got dressed and Bozidar walked me to the embassy, which was really cool of him! Of course along the way it rained, which was pretty annoying, but not the biggest of my challenges today! When I arrived, everything was wonderful and smooth until I got to the window to apply for the passport. First, she told me that I did not qualify for an emergency passport and that it would take about a week to get the new one. She did not understand why I was not just getting more pages added, and I explained that I was advised in Bratislava to get a new passport instead doing that. So I clarified my situation further, telling her that I will be going to France and will need a visa, which will cause complications since I need to renew my passport it in 2015 and plan to stay in France for more than a year. I am not even kidding, her response was, “Well, that is not our problem.” Wow, really? Then she reprimanded me for not having my forms filled out. When I explained to her that I am traveling and do not have a printer, she said that was not an excuse!
