Ha! Not sure if it was coming off a wonderful week in Budapest with the best people ever OR the turmoil I put myself through deciding where to go next (stay in Croatia and work my way down to Greece OR work my way over to Italy and head down) OR maybe it was the fact that someone I care about at home was having a terrible week (P.S. addiction SUCKS!!!!!) OR maybe that the city was just waking up from their winter slumber and a lot of things weren’t open yet – most likely it was the unfortunate combination of all that. All the ORs and all the emotions made Zagreb…meh, for me. 

Now to be fair, I hope go back to Croatia a little later in the season to see Split, Hvar and Dubronik. Or, maybe I’ll just take the boat over from Italy and see what I really want to see, King’s Landing. 

On that note…my Zagreb Top 5.

Dear Zagreb, 

I hope we get the chance to, how you say “try again”. But for now, I just wanna remember the good times we shared. 🙂

1. The Free Spirit Walking Tours. Contrary to popular (aka my hostel’s) belief the free walking tours are year round – 11am at the Bloody Bridge. I highly recommend a free walking tour in every city that you visit. It’s a great way to get the lay of the land, meet people and learn more about the culture you just jumped into. But for me, it’s all about the tour guide. 98.3% of the time they are SO passionate about their city that you can’t help but sip the kool aid. Minus my disclaimer above, I really did enjoy this city’s history and all the stories of it’s medieval roots. Imagine a river dividing two towns in conflict, barbaric men pillaging women in the middle of the night and making them wave to their husbands from the opposing town walls the next morning, than everyone heads down to the Bloody Bridge for the final showdown. Ha. Coming from the States these stories seem like a fairytale. And we all know I love fairytales. 

2. The Museum of Broken Relationships. Imagine all the interesting breakup stories you’ve heard and give them each a talisman (like that CD you played on repeat when you started dating, or that sweatshirt you wore when you kissed for the first time, or the gift they gave you for Christmas 10 years ago, etc.) now put all the talisman in a museum. Volia. Here, you will experience every emotion imaginable. Get ready to cry, laugh, get angry, be heartbroken, seek revenge, you name it. This was a wonderful way to spend a couple hours. The strangest part – out of maybe 40ish stories, 4 or 5 of them were from Colorado. What’s that about, CO?

3. The Mirogoj Cemetery. I get it, I’m creepy. Just ask my mom I was a creepy little kid with all this stuff. Ha! But come on, look at this place! It’s more like a holy and beautiful park that you can wonder around and get lost in. And boy did I need an afternoon like that. I put my headphones in and just wondered. I took this time to think about addiction and how it’s killing the people that I love so much. And how I HATE it and wish my family didn’t have this struggle. I don’t know what your personal experiences are with addiction but it can ruin relationships, blow people up and make a mess of simple things. Ugh. I wish this for NO. ONE. The struggle is real and it’s ugly. Good thing there are some beautiful places in this world, even cemeteries, to take refuge in seasons like this.    

 

4. I came all the way to Croatia to see Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. After that sad note, let’s add a little celebrity. Haha. This seems so random. Or maybe not if you follow this kinda thing, but for me it seemed, totally random. Me – just walking down the street in Old Town Zagreb and into the Museum of Broken Relationships, turn around and guess who?! Seriously, SO strange.  

  

5. A good starting point for the rest of Croatia. I would HIGHLY recommend Croatia to anyone that asks. And I would say start in Zagreb, get some history, get your barrings and work your way down the beautiful country until you end up in Dubrovnik AKA King’s Land. Zagreb really is the backbone of this country and I can only imagine once I get over to see the rest of if I will appreciate my time there.    

All in all Zagreb, it wasn’t you, it was me. When I make it back to Croatia I might get you more and you might get me more. But for now, let’s just be aquaintances … that don’t talk much, k?

Deuces. ✌🏽

Emily Ann Peconi
Nerdy Girl Book Club

  

The Fever by Megan Abbott

I really wanted to LOVE this book. And I did … for the most part. It was a lot of build up for a pretty simple ending. So simple in fact I didn’t really see it coming. Haha. 

EP Tagline: Outbreak meets Mean Girls. Interesting, huh? It is pretty unique!

   

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Kinda like the movie but WAY more detailed. This was a perfect read for me in this traveling season. And I get it, people (mostly women) love books about women being empowered to do things out of the ordinary. Who run the world … girls! Right, B! But seriously, this book was a fantastic read. 

Notable Quotable: “I was entering. I was leaving. California streamed behind me like a long silk veil. I didn’t feel like a big fat idiot anymore. And I didn’t feel like a hard-ass motherfucking Amazonian queen. I felt fierce and humble and gathered up inside, like I was safe in this world too.”

Dear Budapest, 

You are gorgeous! Thanks for fulfilling all my hopes and dreams of being in the novel A Tale of Two Cities, with Buda on one side and Pest on the other. But more than that, thank you for your wonderful people. I’m in love with everyone I met there and the spirit of your unique city.  

1. Making new friends. The best part of volunteering when you travel is making new friends. This past week in Budapest I defiantly met some kindreds. It’s fun to meet people with similar interests and passions. Similar to the people I’ve meet in hostels BUT I’ve actually been able to keep up with the folks and even meet up with them in other cities. This past week I defiantly met some favorites.  *Degrassi called – they want their picture back (just look at these characters?!). 

2. Meeting up with new-old friends. It was good to meet up with some new-old friends this week before volunteering and making some more new friends. I have found that the backpacking community is a rather small. There are always more people to meet but I have found, people with similar personalities tend to choose similar hostels, attractions, walking tours, volunteering opportunities, etc. You end up running into the same people and it’s kinda nice. We all seem to be going different routes but ultimately the same direction. 

3. River cruise at night. Gorgeous. I most defiantly recommend going on a night cruise to see the two sides of the city all lit up. And what’s better, you are greeted with a glass of champagne…and those that know me, KNOW, I’m obsessed with the champs. All the champs. And the lights. All the lights!   

4. The House of Terror. I’ve said it before, but I’m a bit museumed out. BUT this one’s … a little different. Ok, a lota different. The House of Terror was built to remember a rather shameful past that the Hungarian nation took part in; the fascist and communist dictatorial regimes. But also serves as a memorial to the victims of both. I’m not sure how the people of Hungary feel about this museum but as an outsider it was super informative and extremely interesting. And is it weird to say beautifully executed? Cause it was. You start on the second floor and labyrinth your way down to the basement. Every twist and turn has a new musical score and the lighting is continually changing to fit the mood. The details that went into each room were insanely creative. I highly recommend visiting. I’ve always been a learner (except for that damn high school history class) but the older I get the more I realize I know jack about the world. Good thing I flew to the other side of the world to work on this.
 

5. Vajdahunyad Castle (aka the castle in the park). This castle is actually a knock off…ever heard of Bran Castle (aka Dracula’s Castle). Yep, now you know why it was a must see for me … Just in case I don’t make it to Romania for the real thing. As I walked through the castle gate there was a man playing a steel drum and it totally felt like Disneyland … But, only for a second. I soon realized the inside is a museum of agriculture…wah-wah. That’s a hard pass for this girl. For what it’s worth, I most defiantly enjoyed the music and lakeside view. And again, it’s a castle in the park. Dracula’s Knockoff Castle in the park! So, I’d do it again.   

6. Turkish Bathes. YASSSSSS. This is what I call THE ultimate killer combo. Combine relaxing in a warm to hot bath (bather’s choice) and some epic people watching. Yep. It doesn’t get much better. Well, except that these bathes are crazy healthy for you. I recommend all the bathes you can find. WARNING: some things you can’t unsee. Mwahahahaha.  

7. Ruins bars. What a concept?! Imagine a creepy, old, abandoned building … Now, add alcohol. Sound like me? TOTALLY. A new goal of mine to go back and visit ALL of them. #goalz  

8. Palinka. All I’m saying is a little bit goes a lonnnnnnng way. In some cases it’s a one and done kinda drink. It claims to be the long lost cousin of brandy…but I beg to differ. More like a fruity Everclear. It burns so good. I can see how this unassuming bevy can quickly ruin a casual night out. Cheers. Or as the Hungarian’s say Egeszsegere!

9. The late night kebab. In the US if you wanna feel ok in the AM after a night of drinking one might hit up the local Taco Bell for a yummy Crunchwrap Supreme or maybe Mcdonalds for a burger and fries or (where available) The Waffle House for some mediocre, greasy breakfast. But in Europe it’s all about the kebab. And I’m not mad about it. I love me some kebab, drinking or not. And after a night of Palinka and multiple ruins bars, one needs a Kebab. STAT. 

10. The diverse architecture. This was the first European city I could really feel the Middle Eastern influence (or Isamic architecture) mixed with Roman, Baroque, Gothic, Renaissance, all the good stuff. Budapest is a bit of a melting pot when it comes to architecture. And it’s gorgeous to say the least.   

BP-Until we meet again, and we WILL, Cheers!!!!

❌⭕️❌⭕️❌⭕️❌⭕️❌

Em