So I arrived in Berlin to play my first year of pro hockey about 8 months ago and well that is about how far behind I am on my blog… Well, not that bad but pretty close. J Right now I am on a bus from Plitvice to Split, in Croatia. I just spent the last 4 hours walking through Plitvice Javara National Park and it is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, seen and could have dreamed. To another’s eye it might have looked like a gloomy, rainy somewhat cold day, to me the moment I stepped into the park I couldn’t stop smiling. I think the only time the smile came off my face was for about 15 seconds when I realized the battery in my camera had died. After a full 15 seconds of sulking I put the camera away and realized this just allowed me to really enjoy the full beauty of the rest of the park, and that there was no way the images and georgeousness would be forgotten (plus the probably 400 pictures I had already taken helped ease the pain as well). Something to note, about 3 weeks ago I was in Berlin touring around a bit with my brother Aiden and I put my stuff down as I had offered to take a photo for a German couple who were obviously going to go throughout most of their trip with one photo of him, and one photo of her, this might be my 3rd favourite thing ever to do. Anyhow, so after taking the pictures making sure they were happy with them I picked up my stuff to hear my camera hit the ground. Not completely concerned as this might possibly not be the first time I have dropped my camera, maybe once in a disco… So the bad news here was that the screen had cracked on the inside, the even worse news was that there wasn’t any old school peep hole to see what you take your pictures of but the good news (there usually is good news if you just look for it) was that the camera could still take pictures, and the even better news is that I have been in training for the past 4 years taking nearly 1000 pictures a month so I know my camera pretty well and have a good idea of which buttons to press how many times on which settings in order to have the camera on the option I would like to use.
Alright, so quite the side note but it was a traumatic and memorable moment I wanted to share. Aiden had to deal with me being in a pissy mood for about 18 minutes but I slowly came around after realizing there really wasn’t anything I could do at that point to change the situation, except for get back at taking too many pictures the way I lived my life 18 minutes ago.
So, back to Plitvice and the 400 pictures I had already taken of this absolutely astonishing National Park and it didn’t matter for a second whether I could see what I was taking or not as the entirety of the park was breath taking. Now I sit here wishing I hadn’t packed the camera adapter under the bus otherwise I would be going through the photos and seeing how they turned out. But again, on the positive side I am catching up a bit on my blog.
Prior to Plitvice I had been in Zagreb for one day, 2 nights. I had my very first couchsurfing experience and it turned out great, stayed with 2 young guys from Zagreb and they were super helpful, Marin picked me up at the train station, offered to carry my stuff and we arrived back at his place to a Champions League Soc… I mean Football game (which I have somehow grown to really enjoy until I either get bored cuz there is no goals or til I throw something at the TV due to the frustrating and embarrassing dives the players take), so football game, pizza and beer. Boy did they choose the right girl, not much more you could ask for, Beer, Pizza and sports. So needless to say I knew this situation was going to work out just fine. I crashed on their couch that night then had a decent sleep in and did 2 walking tours, one around the old town and one around the lower town I believe it is called. From my 3 days of experience Croatians are incredibly nice and very helpful people. I enjoyed touring myself around Zagreb with a book that gave me the route, a map and then information and history at each stop point. Was a nice way to see a city, it was completely at my own pace and if I wanted to wander down some random street or into a different church I wasn’t holding anyone up and I could stop for food or to take others pictures anytime I liked. **Side note to the side note, the breaking of my camera while helping others with a photo has not deterred me from continuing this passion of mine**. After the tours I dropped by where Tomislav works “Cyber Funk Café” great place and one of the only juice bars in Zagreb right now, he told me when things happen in westernized countries they usually take a few years and make their way over to them. So always smart to travel, see what’s cool and working and get a head start on everyone back in Croatia. Jumping ahead to our evening, we decided to stay in watch TV, order some more Pizza and just hang out. Was really nice and turned out to be a great decision as the weather turned to lightning and thunder storms.
So Marin, Tomislav and his girlfriend Sandra (who I only got to meet for maybe 10 minutes but she is such a sweetheart) were great hosts and also got to meet some of their other friends too. I highly suggest this form of travel to anyone and EVERYONE. If you have heard of couchsurfing then skip this next paragraph, I am going to try and give a Coles notes version of what I understand of it so far cuz I think everyone should be involved even on a small scale if possible:
Couchsurfing.com a program started by someone either in Canada or the States (I told you I don’t know a lot yet) and it allows people all over the world to have a profile, share what they would like about themselves and get to know and experience other people from every walk of life imaginable. So some of the ways you can be involved is to host people at your home, you say how many you can have, if you are currently available to host someone and what your home is like (ie: pets, non-smokers etc. etc.) and then people can check you out, see if you are a good match and then you do the same to see if the person requesting a couch is someone you would like in your home or not. You can also be that person looking for a couch to sleep on, so you contact whom you’d like and share a bit about you and why you would like to stay with them (obvious shit reason.. cuz it’s free, really helps to take the time to read through profiles and what others have said about them and their experiences couchsurfing with them). Or you can also just be available to meet for coffee and give some advice of what to do in your city. Things like that, so super short version but likely noone got this far anyhow.
Hello everyone who either just woke up from my last paragraph or who skipped it entirely. To complete my update of Croatia thur far, I am now headed to Split where a really nice PHD student has offered to take me into her home for a few days, she is supposed to be coming to BC (Sydney) to do some research for 6 months, not sure when though. Anyhow, the drive has been beautiful and I am extremely happy that I chose to sit on the right side of the bus from Plitvice to wherever we are now as the cliffs and heights are not my favourite. But if you love the view and are tougher then I am take the left side. Helpful random tips for traveling in Croatia. That wraps up this portion of my blog and I will working my way backwards to attempt to catch up on highlights. Thanks for tuning in and back on home soil in less than 2 weeks!! CRAZY!!!
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