Train Travels

I have spent a lot of time on trains and transportation in last few days. Getting around becomes slower and harder the further east you get. My train was to leave at half past 7 am and I woke up around six thinking I would have plenty of time. Unfortunately my laundry was still fairly wet so I tried to blow dry it so it wouldn’t stink up my bag, by the time I realized how long it was taking it was already seven. The train station was at least a 20 min walk and a lot longer with all my stuff on my back. I figured I would just check out and no problems. However since the girls left the night before with out checking out there was slight confusion and the man didn’t understand english well. I didn’t have time to try to explain because I was running late. By the time I got to the train station I was huffing and puffing and just made my train. Thankfully or the rest of my day would not work out well since I still had two more trains to catch. The guy didn’t want to let me on the train because he insisted it was the wrong one. However I was pretty sure I was correct but that always makes someone slightly nervous. I eventually convince the man to let me on and try to explain the reason he was confused was because I only had to pay for the poland portion since I had a euro rail. I don’t that he understood but just figured that if I was wrong it was my fault and at least he tried. Thankfully I was correct and I was able to get to my stop. Along the way I chatted with a guy from chicago and some girls from texas. It was only a short train. I then caught my next train to vienna, where I was to possibly meet up with Marina since I convinced her to come to Croatia with me. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure she would be coming and when I got her email it said she might be catching a bus because it would be cheaper for her and she would try to meet me at the train station first. My train was an hour late so I didn’t end up meeting her in Vienna. I could only hope we would find each other in Zagreb. My train was scheduled to arrive 10 mins before her bus assuming everything was on time. This train from Vienna to Zagreb was fairly long and there were a group of 10 Irish kids who were quite loud. The lady across from me kept just shaking our heads. We didn’t speak but maybe a few words but it felt like we had a bond between each other. Its weird how even though there was a language barrier we had a slight connection. She was continually smoking in the bathroom and also when ever the train would stop. There was an old couple in their 80s across the way who absolutely were adorable. They made me smile. For the most part I caught up on my blog, read and slept on the train. At the border, we were stopped both in Slovenia and Croatia, I received 2 stamps always exciting. The irish kids I started to talk to and they were so excited to get their first stamp since they have an EU passport it rarely gets a mark. When we finally arrived I had to find the way to the bus station, but I did research before I arrived and knew they were in walking distance. I had about 10 mins to get there or I might miss Marina and she might have tried to come to the train station. I briskly walked and tried to look in every tram hoping she was not in one. When I finally arrive at the bus station I walk around searching for her. I find the empty bus from vienna that had just arrived so I knew she had to be close. Every corner there was a girl in a green backback that I kept getting fooled by. Eventually I wonder upstairs and there is Marina! Success we didn’t have another Amsterdam night. She was just about to ask for directions to the train station. I made it in perfect timing. We bought our tickets to go to the national park in the morning. It is really convenient that the ticket office was still open it was open 24 hrs which rarely happens . We locked up our stuff and went to find a place to sleep. Went to train station, but didn’t look a good place.. Looked in the parks but everything was too open and a lot of people were still out and about. We eventually find a little hide away under some trees. Seemed like a perfect place to set up camp. After about a half hour of getting settled in, a man walked right up to us, not saying a word just staring. Instantly the knife was in my hand and I was ready to pull it out if he got any closer. He just walked around us and behind the trees. This made us slightly nervous and we contemplated leaving. It wasn’t until another guy and a train that stopped full of men right by the clearing showed up that we decided it would be best to move. We just went back to the bus station and slept there. We weren’t sure if we would get kicked out but we figured we would give it a shot. Thankfully everything was safe and sound sailing from there