Backpacking in the Balkans

I’m currently backpacking in the Balkans and, considering that it’s been such a long time since I wrote a blog post on my blog, I figured it was a good idea to write about it.

As I am traveling, I am also field testing KDE Itinerary and sending patches as I buy new my tickets and reserve my hostels.

Ljubiana, Slovenia

My first stop was in the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana. I went there by train from Berlin. I first took the night train to Graz and then an intercity train to Ljubljana. And while the connection was perfect and there was no delay, the whole journey took almost 19 hours.

Night Jet

Sleeping car in the night jet

I stayed only one night in Ljubljana in the party hostel Zzz and I enjoyed my time there quite a bit. Thanks to the Hostelworld app, it was super easy to find a group of fellow solo travelers to enjoy the evening with. We went to a food market and I had some delicious local pasta.

Street in Ljubiana

Castel

Food market

Another view of the food market

The food at the food market

Rijeka, Croatia

My second stop was in Rijeka, the third biggest city in Croatia. I also took the train to get there. The city itself is very beautiful, same for the beaches. But I didn’t really like that the city has a massive sea port splitting the city center from the beaches. The hostel experience was the most disapointing of the whole trip so far.

Small port of Rijeka

Small stairs going to a swimming spot in Rijeka

Sunset from the swimming spot

The sea

Split, Croatia

My next stop was in Split, the second largest city in Croatia. While there was a train connection from Rijeka to Split, I decided to take the bus as the train was significantly slower than the bus. I stayed at the Hostel Old Town.

I really had a blast in Split. The city is very old, with Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Venetian influence. I met a cool group of American/Norwegian travelers in a hostel bar and got dragged to the Ultra festival, which was an amazing experience.

Small allway in the old town of Split

Old fortification

Small town scare

Another old building

Picture of the festival

Group picture of the people I meet at the festival

Chilling out the day after the festival in the shades of a tree

The day after, I went to a boat party which was equally a blast.

Boat party

Boat party with the sunset

Drinking a reasonable amount of Aperol

Dancing with a stick

More dancing

Group photo at the end

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