It's been almost a week since I've returned from my travels. I'm still very sad that I'm back in Glasgow, in the cold, with no sun. .・゜゜・（／。＼）・゜゜・．But hey, I had a great spring break regardless! In short, I traveled around parts of East Europe with the Italian! Croatia - Slovenia - (a short day in) Austria - Hungary. (★^O^★)
Over the course of time, Baba and I traveled via train, bus, car-pooling (you name it) and stayed in hostels and homes of couchsurfers! Was an incredibly new experience for me, and I loved it! Also met many new people during our trip and despite me being shy/awkward, I really enjoyed it and am grateful for everyone's kindness. (◡‿◡✿)
So anyway, I'll start from Zagreb! Baba and I traveled for approximately 18 - 22 hours to get to Croatia because we took a bus from Glasgow to London from 1pm - 10pm and then we had to wait for our flight which was at 7am in the morning (I know, just kill us). But we managed to get to Zagreb in one piece; disregarding the fact that we were both complete zombies! Baba didn't sleep for more than 2 days so you could tell that he was technically brain dead. (✖ Д ✖)
We arrived in this beautiful hostel (hopping into the tram and hoping to the high heavens that we arrived to the right destination) and rested for a bit! This hostel was amazing! The owner was super friendly, beds were comfy as heck and the hostel was so funky, with all the murals and colours! Super love. (๑・ω-)～♥”
Hello! This is us over-looking Zagreb! It's quite a quaint city but in all honesty, you can cover the place in more or less, 2 days. The next time we go to Croatia, it's for the coast and the beaches! SOON. The weather was amazing though! Well above 15*c! I was wearing a tank top on our first day there! GLEE!
(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧
A very weird and interesting museum that Zagreb has and that I recommend to anyone who would be randomly visiting the city (cause it's a pretty new idea and it's super cheap to get in) is the Broken Relationship Museum. It's coohl because people send in objects of sentimental value and then write about whart it meant to them! So there were stories between couples, families and etc.
I have 3 favourites, the first being a black stiletto which you can sorta see in the photos above, on the far left; and it being about a woman who's a BDSM prostitute. Before she entered the business, she fell in love with a man but they both went their separate ways. But one day, while at a job, she was doing her BDSM stuff with the whip and all, and then she discovered that the man she was pleasuring was the man she fell in love with. At the end, he asked her for one of her shoes, and she was left with this black one. SO WEIRD.
｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡
The second story revolved around a toaster and how the girl who got dumped stole it from her ex. The text said, "When I moved out and across the country, I took the toaster. That'll show you. How are you gonna toast anything now?!". So hilarious!
The third one being a list of "Top 10 reasons to stay in the UK", by a British man who fell in love with a woman who was moving to Australia. One of the reasons was, "I'll cook for you naked alot". #win
(ノ＞▽＜。)ノ
Another place we went to was the forest (lol) with the intention of finding a restaurant that was apparently very famous and was highly recommended by our host at the hostel. Unfortunately, us being ill-prepared, hungry and lost, we ended up here, in another restaurant which was somewhere in the forest too (lol again). Regardless, we got lost together, we managed to eat good meat and cheese, and it was fine. Hahahahahaha!
One of the greatest things we did was go to a jazz bar called Bacchus and listened to a live performance over some wine! ♬♪♫ ヾ(*・。・)ﾉ ♬♪♫ The performance was great! It stimulated so many ideas for me (I constantly came up with design ideas during that night. If successful, the designs would be IMPECCABLE). I appreciated the music because it was upbeat and funky. I really liked it! Also, the guitarist started speaking to us and he's a real funny guy. He introduced us to the cheapest but most delicious sandwich place in town (AND IT IS BRILLIANT OK BRILLIANT).
The day after, we headed up to Ljubljana, Slovenia via train! Was funny because when we reached the border, of course it was required for us to show our passports to the border officials but I swear to the power of the universe that the Slovenian policeman thought I was some smuggled maid or something! He took about 15+ minutes to check my passport, with a magnifying glass that had a light on it and shit! Kept asking me more questions than usual and when he was investigating my UK visa, he pointed and asked "Where dis?!". And I was like "Uh ... UK? Says so right there". Baba had to show our flight tickets to prove that I wasn't some illegal immigrant trying to live in Slovenia. Sorry bruh but Malaysia is a country that is about 10 times the size of yours. There's no need for me to go into your country illegally ok (ಠ_ಠ) (FYI I was super grumpy cause they woke me up from my nap hahahahahahaha).
Anyway, we arrived Ljubljana that night, took a bus to the outskirts of the city and found our way to a couchsurfer's home. This guy was so strange to me! Haha. My first couchsurfing experience and it was with a man who had hosted over 300 guests (me and Baba being the 302nd and 303rd). He's quite an interesting pick from the bunch! A 55 year old man who's traveled almost half of the globe and mostly on his bicycle. People like these only exist in books (you would think) but hey, I met him in real life!
So anyway, after getting accustomed to the area, Baba and I headed out to the city. Here's me having coffee (which led to many other coffee-dependent days). The weather was so nice! This was the official beginning of my everyday tanning routine (to get back the tan I once had)! ヾ(◍’౪`◍)ﾉﾞ♡
Voila! A beautiful view over the river! Just look at the weather and plants! SPRING! ✿✿✿
We were lucky enough to wander towards and into an antique market. They had the coohlest things that I unfortunately couldn't buy because I would have no where to put it when I got back to Glasgow.
（；￣д￣）Baba found a man who was selling old watches and he spotted his watch there! The people were so excited and impressed by Baba's watch and said it's worth a lot because of it's rarity and age!
Here, we have food from a lovely restaurant somewhere outside of the city centre! That steak was AMAZE-BALLS mmmk. It was made with pears and capsicum! Strange combination but super good and the steak was medium rare and tender as heck OM NOMZ MAX. щ(゜ロ゜щ)
At the end of the day, we went to go see the sunset on the hill that was over-looking Ljubljana. Here's a photo with an old man walking his CAT. Yes, CAT. I wish I could've walked my cats! (●ↀωↀ●)✧
This city is really beautiful albeit it's tiny in size. Would love to go back and stay a bit longer! Felt like we didn't get to explore enough!
The day after, we hopped on a bus and went over to Bled for the day. Bled is AMAZING. Super picturesque okay! It was gorgeous! It's really worth visiting when you're there. One day, I'd like to stay there for a few days and just have a relaxing time, barbeque-ing and soaking up the sun. It's a perfect getaway!
I mean, look at this! How is this even possible?! Baba and I couldn't stop taking photos OF THE SAME LANDSCAPE. But you can't blame us! We walked all around the lake and everywhere we stopped, it had a beautiful view! ♥♥(✿ฺ´∀`✿ฺ)ﾉ♥♥
Here's a relatively dramatic shot of Baba, gazing into the distance with the castle island in the background. Looks like an album cover for ultimately emotional and sad music. (˘ε ˘)♬♪♫
Before heading over to Kranj, we had dinner while watching the sunset. WHY SO BEAUTIFUL LARH?! Got such majesty in the world meh?!（ ＴДＴ）
That night we headed over to Kranj to meet our second host! A couchsurfer who lives in a loft above a bar! Super beautiful home and an equally awesome bar! Kranj is also such a sweet (but tiny) town. Anyway, our host is such a doll! She's gorgeous and has this super epic surfer personality. Extremely laid back and friendly. She's lived in Indonesia for a few months so the first thing she did was greet me, "Apa khabar?". Haha! So cute.
Here's me becoming black in front of the bar her parents own! Those little people were made by her and I thought they were cute hehe. (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)
Oh I forgot to mention THE VIEW FROM HER LOFT. It wasn't enough that her loft was so amazing, but the view that comes with it made it hard to believe that such a home existed. WHYYY! So beautiful!
（●´∀｀）ノ♡
Here's Baba and I having coffee at one the churches in Kranj. The time spent there was super slow and chilled out. We basically did nothing. IT WAS GREAT. Super relaxing and stress-free. LOVE IT.
Our host was also kind enough to invite us to a barbeque that her and her friends were having! Oh, I don't know if it was because I was mega hungry or whart, but that was one of the best bbq-ed meat I have ever eaten! You can ask Baba, I didn't stop eating for like an hour; non-stop. Living up to the gluttonous name, I am. (~‾⌣‾)~
JUST LOOK AT EVERYTHING. LOOK AT IT. I WANT IT NAO. (I'm super broke and have no food in my flat at the moment so having this would be INCREDIBLE RIGHT ABOUT NAO). (屮゜Д゜)屮
The next day, after having one of the laziest days of all time, we left Kranj via train to Ljubljana and then by car-pooling to Maribor! Arrived in the city at night and was happily welcomed into our 4th temporary home! We were hosted by an amazingly friendly couple who had a dog that looked like a plump sausage with legs! Super cute. Haha! They were really kind and despite their busy schedule, they made time for us and brought us around whenever they could.
This is a photo from the hill in Maribor! We had to climb a flight of stairs consisting of 454 steps (or something like that). It suddenly dawned on me how incredibly fat (on the inside) I was because I wanted to go to bed and sleep right after I got to the top (lol). Anyway, we managed and I didn't die so that's a plus.
(✖‿✖)
Snapping a pic with our hosts! One busy with the camera and another all camera shy! Haha. Loved them.
We went for ice cream afterwards to rest for a bit. GOSH GUYS. THE ICE CREAM WAS SUPER GOOD. Ananas and Blueberry flavour were my absolute FAVOURITE! And it was so good after spending time sweating under the sun! So refreshing! ( ﾉ^ω^)ﾉﾟ
Here's a photo of the big, fat lump of fur named Freddy, taking a rest after climbing up the hill with us! He's a super fit and happy dog, despite the fact that he's 12 years old! ▼o・ェ・o▼
Here's a photo of Maribor and also a swan that Baba was harassing (because he's an ass liddat). I was staying as far away as possible from the violent bird because swans (and geese) are freakin' bitches and they'll attack you whenever they want! ヽ(￣д￣;)ノ
One of the most funny (now we can laugh) experiences we had during this trip was when, for a moment, we were about to be homeless. But of course, hostels would save us. However, hostels in Maribor really stripped us of our money because they've gotta be the most expensive hostels I've ever stayed in! We stayed in this hostel called Hostel M for 2 nights and, it was alright. Facilities were good, room was clean, there was wifi, but despite all the positive qualities of it, I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT AT ALL.╭(๑¯д¯๑)╮Why? Firstly, it was like an hour away on foot, TOTALLY NOT WORTH THE WALK, and it was located in the most random part of the (outskirts of) city. Secondly, the service was really bad; the staff didn't speak English and they were super rude to us. Nothing kills your mood like someone who's being a complete dick.
(╯°Д°）╯︵/(.□ . \)
Lucky for us, Eddy had a car so at least he could send us back to the hostel after spending the day out with him and the girls. Before I forget to mention, we went to Vienna for the day (or like 6 hours because it took too long to drive there and back)! We need to go back there for a few days man. One day wasn't enough! Vienna is so beautiful and too full of things to see!
I dunno why but I found this so super hilarious! It's so fucking random. It's like the mannequin is asking, "Dafuq you want? Fuq you lookin' at?!". (｀∀´)Ψ
(っ˘з(˘⌣˘ )
Vittoria, Eddy, Giada, Baba and myself, in Vienna! This is a really nice photo of us, no?
(^^)-(^^)-(^^)-(^^)-(^^)
The 3 wonderful Italians were extremely kind to us; constantly making us food and accompanying us everywhere! We even went to the thermal baths in Maribor together and it was soooooooo relaxinnnnggg.
Anyway, after 2 nights of staying in that shitty Hostel M, we decided to move to a hostel in the city centre (which I regret not booking in the first place) called 4Rooms, which was SO much better.
It looks like this and FYI, we had the hostel all to ourselves. Big screen TV, the most comfortable bed I have every slept on in my life, a massive bathroom; PERFECT. And the hostel was beautiful too!
I was annoying Baba when taking photos of the sunset! Haha. As an Asian, having the habit of taking like 20 photos of the same scenery is normal ... NORMAL OK. But anyway, this beautiful sunset was taken while waiting for Eddy to pick us up and bring us to the thermal baths in Maribor (which were so unbelievably relaxing! That night itself, I just KO-ed ... KOOO!).
Our last stop for this trip was Budapest, Hungary! To be honest, I had no knowledge or expectations whatsoever for Budapest, at all (actually, I had no expectations for all the countries I visited. I just went on a whim), but I loved it! I love how beautiful it is, how cheap it is and the culture there is ... different.
We arrived in the city at night, after a very long 6 hour train ride in which I took the liberty of sleeping in (like a freakin' dead fish, I might add). When we arrived, we found our way to our hostel which I was very happy with! It's called the 11th Hour Cinema Hostel, and it was only €3 a night (for a bed in the dorm room)! Sahhh cheap I know! Baba and I were convinced that there'd be something wrong with the hostel, but we were proven wrong. Clean beds and toilets, free towels, coffee and tea, helpful staff, friendly people and a cinema room that we could use any time we wanted! Unbelievable!
Here's a photo of the cinema room! The furniture were made of wooden pallets; which to me, is a super plus! Very comfy and nice space to relax in. Baba and I watched the Big Lebowski one of the nights when we were free. ~(˘▾˘)~
After walking around Budapest for a bit, we discovered some hidden gems in the Jewish District (which was totally unexpected). A whole area full of alternative cafes, art stores, bars, studios and restaurants! LOVE.
Snapped a photo of these print screens from a cafe called Printa; which was a cafe/design shop/gallery/studio all in one! I couldn't afford anything, unfortunately, but I bought a postcard of an old man in a thermal bath (which represents Budapest quite accurately I might say)! Really wish I could've gotten one of their designer clothes or bags. They were handmade and so fashionable! ヽ( ★ω★)ノ
I told Baba to complete the composition and so he did. This is the facade of the Printa Cafe!
Here's another cafe that I SUPER LOVE. It's near the Grand Market. It was this super funky place with really strange chandeliers and artwork on the walls! I kept saying that this place was the definition of my mental diarrhea! This is my mind in a rectangular box. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧
And then, we hit the motherload (after discovering like 20 other cafes though), we found the alternative Ruin Bars! SO BEAUTIFUL! We went there during the day and night. In daylight, you can see the funny elements all over; the recycled materials and art pieces used to decorate the space! So gorgeous! And at night, it was SO HAPPENING! Everyone drinking (relatively cheap beers I might add) and listening to good music! Super love! Baba and I were hypnotized by everything, I kid you not. (｡♥‿♥｡)
LOOK AT THAT GNOME. I LOVE THAT GNOME. GIVE IT TO ME. щ(ಥДಥщ)
We couldn't go a day without trying the thermal baths, no? Haha. This one was the very famous one in Budapest. I had high expectations for this bath but it was just alright. It was nice, don't get me wrong, relaxing and all that but maybe we weren't as convinced because there were many tourists. Baba and I kept laughing at this couple from S. Korea (I think) who wrapped their iPhone 5 in plastic and brought it into the baths. Aiyo, just sit and chill larh. Let the bubbles massage your ass! ヽ(￣д￣;)ノ
A moment to appreciate the architecture please ... and to think that in almost every corner you walk in, there's a building that's worth looking at for at least 2 minutes! Everything is very well taken care of in Budapest. *(*´∀｀*)☆
Buda & Pest. Only during our trip did I learn about Budapest once being 2 separate cities! I also learned about its history; the city going through war and all sentiments that came with certain monuments and architecture (via Baba because he's my personal tour guide haha). ｡◕‿◕｡
On our last full day, we decided to take a tram over to Budapest and try to find the difference between the used-to-be-two cities. From my observation, I'd say that Buda was the more upperclass area, just judging by the architecture and the people living there, as opposed to in Pest. I could be wrong, it's just my own assumption.
Thought that this photo was nice! Buda framing Pest! (‘∀’●)♡
At 6 in the morning of our last day in Budapest, Baba and I decided to take a tram to one of the oldest thermal baths in Budapest and ... it was the right choice. This was the best bath we had been to, first of all, because it's absolutely gorgeous! Just look at the photo above (which I sneakily captured, likeaninja). How can you not enjoy relaxing in such a beautiful environment! Apparently, this bath house is from the 16th century! Amazing. Secondly, whart better way to end our holidays than with a nice, healthy, relaxing soak in a warm pool of awesomeness. Melt away the worries before we return to STRESS. I really loved it.
(♥ω♥ ) ~♪
Ending this looooong post with a photo of the both of us and Buda as our backdrop! (ﾉﾟ▽ﾟ)ﾉ Was an amazing trip we had, spent with wonderful company. I experienced so many memorable things along the way too! Meeting other passionate travelers, couchsurfing, turkish bath (ohoho), FOOD AND COFFEE, sunbathing and becoming 5 shades darker (again), discovering new places and absorbing the greatness of many beautiful landscapes! I want more!!! And whart better way to do it than with someone you really care about? ♥(✿ฺ´∀`✿ฺ)ﾉ
Cheers!
xo
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