I definitely have it. You may have it too. It’s the insatiable urge to see more of the world, experience more culture, learn more about history…some call it the ‘travel bug,’ I call it living. My wife Olinka and I celebrated the start of 2014 down in the Florida Keys with some of our good friends. On one of the several nights that we spent sitting outside enjoying the Florida ‘winter,’ adult beverage in hand, a conversation was started about taking a trip to Europe later in the year. My wife’s entire maternal family lives in Eastern Europe, in Slovakia – the former Czechoslovakia. She was ecstatic about the idea of bringing some friends along for the adventure. I was stoked on the idea of another trip with friends, though I knew this could potentially turn into a logistical and mental nightmare if we didn’t properly plan.
When I first traveled to Europe at the extremely mature age of 21, my friends and I didn’t plan much beyond what countries we were visiting. We had time on our side and were armed with ‘the necessities’ – some Delta Airlines’ ‘buddy passes,’ Kodak disposable cameras, all the cash we’d stashed from jobs in the service industry and a week’s worth of clothes in our backpacks. We flew by the seat of our pants the entire trip and had the time of our lives doing so. As you get older, it seems as though you feel the need to have things a little more organized, comfortable, and planned out; especially when you have now substituted your 5 single high school buddies for one female (who may or may not have OCD, nah she’s got it). Plus you know she’ll be bringing a backpack, a giant purse, and an oversized/overweight suitcase. I knew I could count on Olinka purchasing every travel guide and map available. From the Lonely Planet’s ‘Europe on a Shoestring’ to Rand McNally road maps – she bought it all. I will say that the tips and suggestions offered in the guides did play a role in laying out our itinerary. We knew we were going to visit the family in Slovakia, but did not know where we would explore before or after. Europe offers seemingly endless experiences. Picking the places to go and things to do is the absolute hardest part of planning a trip like this when time is limited; unless of course you have just cashed in your winning Mega Millions Florida lottery ticket. Who cares about time and logistics then?
I learned early on to travel on a budget, some may call me cheap, but I can’t help myself from seeking out inexpensive lodging options. The recent popularity of vacation rental sites like VRBO, Home Away, and Airbnb have made finding reasonably priced travel accommodations a piece of cake. I’ve used them all, and I’ve found that Airbnb is the best for international travel. We ended up deciding on Croatia and Hungary for our additional European destinations. We booked a sweet condo overlooking the Dubrovnik harbor in Croatia and a cozy flat in the 9th district of Budapest, Hungary. With our entire three weeks mapped out, the trip started off without a hitch. We met our friends, Brad and Ally in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia after a long, slightly uncomfortable journey across the pond. Flying just ain’t what it used to be. We puddle jumped a short flight to Dubrovnik the next morning after a fun night of exploring Zagreb’s culinary and pub options.
Dubrovnik is located at the southern tip of Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is difficult to describe the beauty of this Medieval town, so hopefully I’ve done it some justice with photographs. For those of you that don’t know, the old city of Dubrovnik is the filming location for King’s Landing in HBO’s Game of Thrones. So for TV nerds, it is not to be missed. Another draw to Dubrovnik is its proximity to the neighboring islands of Lopud, Koločep, and Šipan. Each can be reached by a short ferry ride for around 20 euro. The ferry ride is worth it for the scenery alone, but visitors won’t be disappointed by these semi-wild, sparsely populated islands. From fresh octopus salad, award winning local wines, to homemade breads and olive oils you’ll do yourself a favor by visiting one of the only sandy beaches around prior to getting all gluttonous. After a few days of overeating, drinking and island hopping we said goodbye to Dalmatia and headed for Budapest. Word to the wise here…avoid taking the trains in Croatia! While most of Europe can be comfortably traversed by affordable luxury high speed rail, Croatia is well behind the proverbial curve here. We found out the hard way, so you won’t have to. After an advertised six hour, no transfer train ride that turned in to a 10 hour, 3 transfer plus two bus rides to avoid bridges that had been knocked out by recent floods, we arrived in Budapest.
Budapest is special to my wife and I (I asked her to marry me at the Buda Castle overlooking the Danube River three years earlier), and we wanted to share this incredible city with our friends. I think we could spend the rest of our lives exploring the streets of Budapest and still never see everything. The city boasts over 1000 restaurants, more UNESCO World Heritage sites than you can shake a stick at, arguably the best public transportation in Europe, thermal baths, Ruin Pubs, retro gardens, opera houses, and everything in between. It is safe to say that the capital of Hungary is my favorite city on Earth (and it doesn’t even have surf). We took in as much of the city on this visit as we possibly could on foot and also utilized every form of public transportation on offer. The highlight of the Budapest leg had to be our entire day spent at the Szécheny Thermal Baths. Hungary is extremely rich in thermal waters and Budapest has even been called “the world’s spa capital.” A day spent soaking in the medicinal waters here will leave you feeling relaxed and refreshed. You’ll need it after all of the cabbage and paprika you ingest from the traditional Hungarian cuisine. After three incredible days in Budapest, we boarded the early train to Slovakia.
There’s nothing quite like experiencing a foreign country with family who lives there. We stay with Olinka’s Aunt and Uncle in their flat in Huemenne when we visit. Vladko, my wife’s uncle is a 63 year old family physician who has been playing a Monday night pick up volleyball game for over 40 years. He and several of his pals from high school meet at the local high school gym every Monday night to play six a side indoor volleyball. I played with the group in 2011 on my first visit, and I wanted Brad to experience this unique slice of culture. I’m glad there’s no photographic evidence of our play as we were clearly outmatched by a bunch of guys in their mid 60’s. Following the game we headed over to the neighborhood pub for pints of Slovak pilsner and pizza. Olinka and Ally spent the evening visiting with her Aunt, Babka (Slovak for Grandma), and her cousin Olga. After looking through old pictures, eating homemade pastries, and downing several shots of Slivovitz (Slovak Plum Brandy) we were all ready to hit the hay.
We spent the next week visiting with extended family, hiking the Tatra Mountains, and eating and drinking ourselves silly. Our last full day in Slovakia will be forever engrained in the memory bank. Olinka’s cousin Zlatíčka and her husband Janko invited us over to their cottage in nearby Porúbka. They live just past a dusty gypsy village on several acres in the foothills. A visit to their place means several things; riding horses, touring the attic filled with neatly piled up vintage motorcycle parts, drinking homemade brandy, eating too much bacon, shots of Slivovitz, pints of Pivo (beer), Janko marching around wearing his Czechoslovakian army uniform, and a group picture in the Western Express (a vintage wagon Janko rebuilt). You need at least one full day to recover after a day with Janko, which we didn’t get, but there’s no rest for the weary.
The following morning we drove to Košice, where we would take our last train ride back to Budapest for our flight home. On the drive, I missed a detour and ended up at the Ukranian border. This normally would have been no big deal, but with the unrest in Ukraine it could have become a sticky situation. We were able to plead American ignorance and move on without incident luckily. The next day we said goodbye to our friends (they live in NYC) and returned to reality.
To me life is about making memories. I plan to leave this Earth with millions of memories rather than millions of dollars. If you don’t have the travel bug, spend some time with someone who does…hopefully you’ll catch it.
