Non stop action!

The days have been super busy lately, and it feels like we are just touring around non-stop. We have been meeting up with tons of cool people as well, both through couchsurfing and also people that we run into at the hostels (the few times that we are forced to stay at them). We had a couple of action packed days in Budapest, and I have to admit that it is now one of my favorite cities. It has so much to offer, and we were lucky enough to plug into a fantastic group of people there that was able to show us around part of its extensive night life.During the day Braden and I would wander around and do the touristy things, but then in the evenings we would meet up with the couchsurfing groups and stay out until all hours of the morning. The bars there are pretty sweet, huge multi-level places with open atriums and DJ clubs accessible from random entrances. Pretty crazy. The last night we were there (before having to get up way too early and run across town in the rain to catch a 6:30 train) we were at a place that had a reggae party DJ contest down in an old converted wine cellar.
Now I am laying low in Bratislava, trying to recuperate and catch up on sleep before shooting over to Vienna and possibly starting the whole process again. However, as I am writing this I have been informed that instead that the plan for tonight might be to go to the pub for the rugby game before heading over to this club in an old converted nuclear fallout shelter. We'll see how the night ends up.....

PS, got a new album up on picasa, check it!

Croatia and Hungary

I am currently chilling right now in the town of Pecs, Hungary, staying with a friend of mine that couchsurfed with Braden for a while back in Bulgaria. I have only been here for two nights, but they have been two very action packed nights. Last night we went to a wine tasting party out in one of Hungary's most famous wine producing regions, and the day before we met up with a bunch of the local exchange students for some interesting presentations on different countries around Europe, followed by some time checking out local bars.Today was a relaxing day going out to a natural spa just outside the city where they have a collection of geo-heated pools, and we just hung out and and recovered from the last week of travel.Before coming here we had a few days out in Zagreb, the capitol of Croatia. They were some fairly low keys days, we but had some great hosts and it was a great time hanging out with them and touring the city together. Zagreb is a really cool looking city, with interesting architecture all through out, but there really isnt all that much touristy stuff to do, so while it was fun wandering around, it didn't take long to see all the major sites.
Overall the trip is still going great, but every day the weather is getting colder and colder, and I fear that winter is closely approaching. Ugh, winter sucks.

Pictures!

I got two new photo albums up on my picasa page from my trip so far, check them out!

Raining on my Parade

I am sitting inside right now in Slovenia, waiting for a thunderstorm to pass over so that I can go out on a day trip I had been planning to a nearby town. The weather here has been less than stellar the last few days, although we did get a break yesterday and had absolutely perfect conditions to go out and visit lake Bled.

(Bled Castle)

The lake was gorgeous, and was even cooler looking than I expected. We spent the day strolling around the shore, visiting a few nearby towns, and visited the castle overlooking the lake as well.
The first day here though it rained half the day, and we got soaked trying to get to our place to stay. It cleared up after lunch, and we got a chance to go check out the old town of Ljubljana, but then we got caught in a bit more rain. Ljubljana is a sweet city, and if the weather clears up then hopefully we will get some more time to wander the center tomorrow, but the bummer part was that on Saturday and Sunday, practically everything is closed. Even all the markets are closed on Sundays past noon, so while its cool to walk around and look, there is hardly anything really to do. Hopefully today and tomorrow will turn out better.

Belgrade or Bust

Well, after a few more days of wrapping stuff up, I finally finished up my work here in Bulgaria and started off on my grand adventure. We set off a day later than I had been hoping for because the night train that I had been planning on taking left the country before midnight, which I was not allowed to do since I was still officially a volunteer until midnight on the night of the 7th, but there was an early morning bus up to Belgrade the next day, so it all worked out.

We ran in to a few problems after reaching Belgrade, however. We were supposed to meet up with our couchsurfer in the afternoon that day, but after waiting around that the pre-arraigned meeting spot, she never showed up. We asked all the people we could find if we could borrow a cell phone to call her, but no one was willing to help us out at all. Serbs are apparently not the friendliest people to strangers, but then again, maybe it was just bad luck that all the ones we were meeting were rude. Either way, we got stuck having to search out a hostel at the last minute and found a place with the least friendliest and helpful staff that I have ever stayed at. The receptionist couldn't even point us in the direction of a restaurant for dinner, she just said "They're out there, I'm sure you'll find one." Gee, thanks lady.We ended up having a nice time walking around the old city though, checking out the sights. We even got to watch the old guys in the park playing speed chess, which was pretty sweet as well. Belgrade is a lively and interesting city, but it also still bears scars of the war. Bombed out buildings still stand in stark contrast to all the improvements and reconstruction that has been completed, and it serves as a reminder of the dark history that Serbia is still working to overcome.
Anyway, it was a nice day that ended with a crazy dinner. We finally found a little diner-cafe joint that we sat down at to have our meal, and after looking through the menu for a while at a bunch of dished we didn't recognize, we decided to ask the waiter what he recommend. He pointed out two items that he said were "fantastic" so we each decided to order one of them. I ended up with a Serbian style hamburger, and Braden got a plate of sausage. It sounds good at first, until you realize that ALL I had was one giant two pound hamburger, sans bun, toppings or side dish, and all Braden had was a mound of sausage, also with no side dish or dressing. It was just one giant pile of meat. There was no way either of us could have hoped to finish such a meal, and I remember just looking at each other laughing at the ridiculousness of it all when the plates were served. Crazy old Serbia....
The last night in Serbia ended up with Braden and I catching a night train out to Slovenia. We reserved a private room for the two of us complete with bunk beds and a little table/sink. Braden set up his laptop and we were able to enjoy a movie before going to bed while the train whisked us away to our next destination.

I will try to get more pictures posted soon, but my net is super slow at the moment and I was lucky even to get these ones posted as it is. I should have a new post up in the next few days. Peace

Sofia!

So far I have made it to Sofia, and things are going great! I had a decent sent off from my organization, followed by a weekend of visiting friends and final goodbyes in Burgas. Then Braden and I caught a train across the country to Sofia, where we have been for the last few days taking care of the last bit of paperwork before my volunteer service is complete. I have another two nights here, then it’s off to Belgrade, the first stop on our trip.

I got all my stuff down to one backpack (although barely) that I will be taking with me. The weather is great and I am pretty much prepared to go right now. I Just have to wait until midnight of my last official day before I am allowed to leave the country. Until then, I’m pretty much just hanging out. Here are a few pictures of the last days out in Burgas.