Have Peanut Butter, Will Travel - Zadar and Šibenik

Well guys, I'm in Dubrovnik, Croatia.  Which means I am three cities behind.  Typical.

First let me say I was sad to hear that we lost our beloved Pooka yesterday, I picked up the email from mom this morning.  He's been sick for quite some time and it sounded like he decided he was ready to go, and started refusing food, water, and meds.  I knew when I left home that it would most likely be the last time I saw him, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there at the end.  Go with peace and light, my boy, we love you.

It's strange being so far away - I'm sad but I feel so removed from normal life and, to an extent, normal feelings.  I'm not sure there's a way to describe the mindset that this kind of traveling puts you in.  In order to make it you have to press pause on any hyper emotional responses.  You can't let things get to you; believe me, there will be times when the bus doesn't come, or there's nobody at the hostel when you arrive, or your bag is stolen, or your drunk room mates wake you up at 4am, or you get lost in a city where you don't know a single word of the language, or a million other things.  If you panic, or get upset, you make it worse on yourself.  As my best friend once said, "it's not a noodle, it's a backbone.  Use it."  Traveling like this means you're constantly moving and changing, and boy do you find out quickly what exactly you're made of.  Today I was talking to someone and he asked me if I every get lonely traveling by myself, and he was really surprised when I said I don't.  But honestly, I truly don't.  I miss friends and family, but overall I actually quite like being alone out here in the world.  

And speaking of the world, let me get back from this digression to Croatia.

We will start again with Zadar, where I finally remedied the sad state of my hair with a box of cheap hair dye, instructions in Croatian only.

Thankfully this was not my first rodeo and despite the unnerving color of the dye itself (I kid you not, bright orange) both myself and my hair survived the experience.  My hair, according to the box, is now "chocolate red."  

So, let's talk about what else I did in Zadar.

First thing the morning after arriving I woke up to the unfortunate discovery that my watch battery had died.  Considering I'm without a cell phone, my watch is the only means I have to tell what time it is aside from my iPad, which is a wonderful device but, let's be real here, too bulky to carry around everywhere.  So I was in a pretty pouty mood right off.  (Oh, woe is me, I'm traveling the world and I don't know what time it is...  Yes, I know, #firstworldproblems).  As fortune would have it, I stopped in a random shop to buy a new hat (having lost my Dublin beanie) and while the wonderful gentleman behind the counter didn't have the proper battery, he did point me in the direction of an honest to God watch store.  There I made the acquaintance of a lovely old man who replaced the battery and reset my beloved timepiece, so I am happy to report I am once again amongst the ranks of people who know what the fuck time it is.  Serendipity, you are wonderful.

I spent the day wandering around old town Zadar, including a visit to the "sea organ," called Morske Orgulje, which contains a series of underwater tubes that, with the help of wind and water, makes this hauntingly beautiful music.  It sounds like whales singing.  I'm blown away that somebody came up with this.

This nondescript looking set of steps contains the organ.  I have a video of the sound but it doesn't appear to want to upload, so you can look it up online if you're curious.

Here are some shots from Old Town.

The Forum square.

I found a pizza place for late lunch (fun fact, Croatian food involves a lot of Italian influences.  If you look at a map, this makes perfect sense) and enjoyed a ham and cheese pizza with olives with a nice sized beer to wash it down.  

Heaven.

I then took a trip to the grocery store for some laundry detergent, shampoo, red wine, and dinner fixings.  All the essentials.  And by dinner fixings I mean a loaf of bread, jam, and peanut butter.

So, in explanation, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are one of those totally random things I really, really miss from back home.  And wouldn't you know it, peanut butter is next to impossible to find anywhere in Europe, being a strictly American thing (or actually Canadian, according to my friend Daf).  I'm pretty sure I found the only tub of peanut butter in the entire supermarket, and it will be accompanying me on the remainder of my journey.

Therefore, have peanut butter, will travel.

That late night sandwich, by the way, was excellent.

The last full day in Zadar I slept in a bit, then made my way back to old town (it's about a 30 minute walk from my hostel along the coast) where I located the hair dye and then sat by the forum for a half liter beer at a cafe.  By this point I was ready for some lunch, so I located a restaurant that tripadvisor recommended and treated myself to something other than kebab and pizza.  

First thing I noticed on walking in - they're playing Etta James.  Good start.

I ordered myself a glass of the house red, then decided to go big and ordered an appetizer of cheese with olive oil and tomatoes to start.  Imagine, creamy sheep cheese, local olive oil, fresh tomatoes, and a sprinkling of peppercorns.  

Um, wow.

I followed this up with a cuttlefish stew with peas and broad beans, accompanied by fried polenta.  I wanted to bathe in the sauce, it was that good.  The only minor critique I had was that a little touch of lemon would have hit the spot.  But the cuttlefish was absolutely melt in your mouth tender, and the whole thing was warm and filling and tasty as all get out.

At this point, and I'm not sure if they just really are that nice or if I made them nervous by taking notes in my little journal, the owner sent over a shot of (cherry?) rakia to finish off the meal.  "The boss wanted to treat you," was what the waiter informed me.  Whatever prompted it, I will take it, as it was the perfect finale to lunch.

Five stars for you guys.

I spent the remainder of the afternoon walking around the Ancient Glass Museum, which was a sweet little museum with lots of interesting and pretty glass to admire.

I noticed a sign that appeared to indicate no photos after I took all these, so it doesn't count, right?

I took my time walking home, pausing on several occasions to check out the not-sucky view of the Croatian coast.  I would love to come back here in the summer sometime, I bet it's gorgeous.

Leaving old town.

The gate to Old Town.

Which brings us pretty much up to Šibenik, my next stop.  Which I honestly don't have many photos of so I'm going to include it in here.

I stayed in Šibenik for two nights, and, once again, found myself the only person in the hostel.  Three hostels in a row before I broke the pattern in Split.  

First thing upon arrival; there's nobody at the hostel and the doors are bolted.  Hm, interesting.

An angel of mercy in the form of a random Croatian man passing by, however, seeing my confusion, handed me his cell phone to call and the owner appeared within about 10 minutes.

A shot of peach brandy later and I got myself settled in and, as an added bonus, wrangled the owner into doing my laundry for a few Kunes since I was quite literally down to the wire.  I then went off in search of lunch, and following the recommendations I had gotten I went to a place right on the water and had myself a beer, a bowl of simple beef soup, and some green pasta with creamy scampi.  

Absolutely wonderful.

Now, the good side to not going during the high season and therefore not having other tourists around is that you get a real chance to hang out with the locals.  After my lunch, as I was getting ready to leave, I heard the magic words, "have a drink with us!"  Enter Marcos and two of his fellow restaurant employees who, bored nearly out of their minds during the slow season, were happy to hang out with me and talk about everything under the sun.  It is from experiences like these that I have learned an unbelievable amount of info about Croatian political and social opinions, history, and general daily life.  I had a great time and got to enjoy some local red wine, which was outstanding.  This is the real Croatia.  And I have to tell you they are some truly lovely people.  

I spent that evening at the hostel with a bottle of red wine and some cookies, being lazy and watching old Conan clips on YouTube.  I also chatted with my parents on Skype, which was wonderful.  It was nice to see their faces and laugh and plan.

The next day I considered going to the nearby national park, but opted out because, to be quite honest, I wanted a break from the public transport system for just one day.  So I decided I would just walk around town and relax.

Enter, the door from hell.

In my entire life I have never, ever, been so thwarted by a door.  But this heavy wooden thing nearly got me.  To the point where I was thinking, oh my god, I'm going to have to use skype to call the mobile of the owner and admit I can't get the front door to open.  As it turns out, I did eventually get it open, which involved some serious superhuman strength and stubborn determination.

A freaking door.

Then I went off in search of food, having sapped my energy in the quest to leave the hostel.  The local pizzeria was actually not serving pizza because it was Sunday (really guys?) and several other places were closed as well.  At this point I was wondering just where the hell people eat on Sundays.

Then I walked back to the waterfront and, happily, found myself a real restaurant serving real, honest to god food.  And holy moly was it good.

Pork grilled over a wood fire served with "scampi" (in this case something that looked to be between a shrimp and a lobster), fries, and some sort of sundried tomato spread.  

I was much happier by this point than I had been earlier in the day.

Here are the only other shots I got of Šibenik during my quick visit.

This swan was hysterical; there was this little yappy dog barking at the swan while the swan just looked at him like, "oh bring it the fuck on," and hissed at him.

Some random notes about Croatia to finish this post off:

Free homemade red wine served out of a plastic jug is actually better than the stuff you buy at the store.

Rakia tastes like lighter fluid unless you order one of the following favors: cherry, walnut, or honey.  In which case it tastes like alcoholic candy.

During the off season most hostels will not have someone at reception all the time, which makes it very important to give them a window of arrival so they will be there.  This is challenging when faced with public transportation.

Love to everyone back home, keep on keepin' on!

~Swan

The Quiet Life - Rastoke and Plitvice

Well, I'm still at it!  

Let's catch up first.  The day before yesterday I made it to Slunj, which is a quiet little town in approximately the middle of nowhere, Croatia.  Slunj's claim to fame, however, is that it's right next door to Rastoke, which boasts a crystal clear blue/green series of waterfalls.  I had heard about it from one of my fellow travelers that I met in Zagreb, who also recommended the hostel I stayed at.  Rule number one of traveling; ask for recommendations, they often pan out.

So upon my arrival in Slunj I got myself settled and then proceeded to go a'wandering around town.  At this point the whole novelty of snow had not yet worn off, so I had loads of fun traipsing around in my fuzzy Toms boots taking photos of my neighborhood.  Which looked something like this.

Eat your heart out, America.

Here are some more shots of Slunj and Rastoke.

Slunj, including the old castle.

Slunj from the direction of my hostel.

Rastoke.

Also Rastoke.

I mean, come on, the waterfalls run through town.

Bridge between one side of Slunj and the other.  Also the fastest way into town from the hostel.

Getting my boots nice and soaked.

This is what leggings look like after you decide to climb an almost verticle hill in the mud and snow.

So freaking cool!

At the end of all this mountaineering, I was starving and of course it was right at that awkward "it's not lunchtime anymore but dinner isn't for another two hours" part of the day.  Luckily for me the local pizza place apparently never closes so I demolished an entire "small" (ha!) pizza before holing up in my empty hostel.  Where I subsequently passed out at a really embarrassing hour.

The next morning I was awake early without even trying, so I walked over the river to the bus stop where I caught the 9:10 bus headed in the direction of Plitvice.  Which is definitely one of the most amazing natural wonders you've never heard of.

First thing you see when you enter the park is this:

This is where Swan turns into a five year old and gets childishly giddy with joy and wonder.

Because it was winter parts of the park were closed, but I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Oh, by the way, it was snowing almost the whole time.

Snowy hair glamour shots.

What's the term for "pouring snow?"

Can you imagine what this place must look like in the summer?!

All in all I spent a few hours exploring, and it was definitely worth the bruised knees I got from slipping and crashing on the ice.  Twice.  Remind me to never move somewhere it snows.

Afterwards I did finally manage to catch a bus and get safely home, despite the odds against me.  Here's my crash course in Croatian public transit and driving 101:

- Whatever schedule you found online is probably wrong.  The promised bus may or may not ever arrive, and when you ask the locals they usually don't have any answers either and will just keep directing you to ask other people.

- It will inexplicably cost 3 Kunas more to return from your destination than it did to get there in the first place.

- The bus driver will decide you are going somewhere other than your destination until you persist in correcting him.  "Zagreb."  "Slunj."  "Zagreb."  "No, Slunj."  "Slunj?"  *nods emphatically* "yes, Slunj!"

- While driving a bus it is totally acceptable to not only drive like a bat out of hell on icy roads, but also to answer your cell phone and do assorted paperwork.

- You will drive the bus like you're driving a BMW convertible, not like you're driving something the size of a semi.  This includes cutting people off, passing in no passing zones, and honking with enthusiasm.

If I think of more to add to that list I will, but that gives you an idea for now.

After a peaceful (with the exception of grappling with public transit) two days, I left Slunj this morning to catch the bus to Zadar.  I grudgingly peeled myself out of bed bright and early, then trekked through what Californians would classify as a blizzard (no but seriously, it was really, really snowing) to the bus stop, where I patiently awaited my faithful ride, which was only 12 minutes late.  Another incredulous conversation with the driver about my destination, and I was on my way.  In about 3 hours I went from ice and snow to the ocean, and, thank god, up from 0 to 10 degrees, which is positively balmy after the last several days.  

Upon arrival in Zadar I followed the hostel's directions and... I got lost.  I'm sensing a theme here.  To be fair to the hostel, the directions were good up until the last bit.  To be fair to me, the last bit of their directions absolutely sucked.  So I found myself trekking back to the bus station, which is thankfully nearby, where I found the only restaurant with free wifi and took screenshots of a map while downing kebab.  As it turns out the map was necessary as I never would have found the damn place without it. But eventually, map in hand, I prevailed!  And there was nobody at reception.

Say what?

Well, as luck would have it, eventually my hostess did show herself, and turns out to be lovely.  So I am warm and cozy in my hostel room where I apparently have one room mate who has yet to show himself.  I only know it's a guy because first question from my hostess was "do you mind if there's a guy in your room?" since I had booked an all-girls setup.  As it turns out I only booked the girls room because it was inexplicably cheaper than the mixed dorm, so I could care less.  Frankly I'm not a big fan of girls only dorms - out of the many room mates I have now had in my travels the girls have without fail been the most difficult (in general - of course I have also met some wonderful gals as well!).  I'll happily take a little snoring over passive aggressive bullshit any day, thank you.

So, onto a new city.  I know nothing about Zadar but I intend to find out what this place is about.

~Swan