Katharine Goes to Europe: I've Always Wanted to Eat Dinner at a Gas Station in Slovenia

This weekend I had my first opportunity to travel outside of the Czech Republic on a bus2alps trip to Split, Croatia. I was thrilled to take a much needed break and visit the Adriatic Sea, but I dreaded the 13 hour bus ride. I was correct—the bus ride was horrible! Our drivers did not speak any English and stopped almost every hour for a cigarette break. The tour guide played loud movies into the night and the person in front of me reclined his seat fully so I woke up with numb legs. We reached Split 2 hours late and had to run through the city to our hostel so we wouldn’t miss free breakfast.

We arrived Friday morning and had a free day. I went with 3 other girls (1 from my program, 2 from a program in Florence) to explore the town. We hiked up a hill and were rewarded with a breathtaking view of the town and water. After wandering around up top we headed back down to the main part of town. We strolled along a promenade on the water before heading down the narrow streets. The main part of Split is located inside the remains of Diocletian’s Palace, which was built in the year 305 AD. It is really neat to see ancient remains interspersed with shops and restaurants. After lunch we headed to the beach. The weather was mid-70s, a pleasant break from the bi-polar weather in Prague, and the sea was crystal-clear albeit a bit chilly. I enjoyed doing some laps with my head above the water (that counts as swimming training, right?) while my friends sat on the shore.

View of Split from atop the hill

View of the Adriatic Sea from atop the hill.

Jumping for joy to be in Croatia

Seaside promenade

Diocletian's Palace

Arches in Diocletian's Palace

Enjoying the Adriatic Sea

Saturday morning we left the hostel around 10 for an island-hopping boat cruise. Though the cruise was optional and cost extra, every student on the tour signed up to participate. We rode along the water for about an hour before reaching our first destination. We exited the boat and walked around a small village, stopping along the coast to take many pictures. After our free time there we boarded the boat again and ate lunch. We then travelled to Brac. Once we were close to the beach we were given the option to jump off the boat deck and swim about 500 meters to shore. Of course I chose to jump. It was such a thrill to plunge into the water and I enjoyed swimming to the beach. Most kids sat on the rocky beach but I decided to swim around for a while (I need to be training for NESCACs after all!) before joining a game of volleyball. The beach was picturesque—the water color was a perfect blue, a few trees lined the coast, and the mountains rose above in the backdrop. I could have spent an entire week in this place. On the boat ride back to Split I managed to face-plant and hit my mouth and nose on a large metal stump. My face hurt terribly then and I still have a bruised lip and partially numb nose!

Fishing boats at our first stop

Beach at our first island stop

Looking out across the sea

Checking out the view from the bow of the boat

The second port we stopped at from afar

View from the beach on Brac

The beach on Brac

The stunning water at the beach on Brac

Our boat docked at the second port.

Sunday morning we left Split at 8 for Krka National Park. Once we made it to the national park we hiked down a lush hill. Soon we were face to face with waterfalls. We even had the opportunity to go swimming near one. It was a really neat experience. After that quick stop we were back on the bus. The drive home seemed a lot longer than the drive to Croatia because we were awake for most of it (en route to Croatia we drove through the middle of the night). After hours of driving we were told we would be finally stopping for dinner and at 8pm we pulled up to a gas station in Slovenia. This was our dinner stop. Never before have I so badly wanted a Whole Foods in my life. The gas station was packed with our entire bus of students and as you would expect did not have many dinner offerings. The gas station also only accepted Euros while most of us only had Croatian kouna or Czech crowns so we all had to use credit cards. It took forever and the food was horrible. We finally returned to Prague—3 hours late this time—at 3 in the morning. 3 other students from the dorm and I hailed a cab and I was finally able to go to sleep in my own bed. The trip was long and exhausting but it was definitely worth it to see beautiful coastline. I am now adding a Mediterranean cruise to my list of trips I want to take and I highly recommend checking out Croatia!