Another change of plans today. We were supposed to be catching the overnight train to Vienna tonight but couldn’t reserve tickets. So decided to jump on the 7am train to Vienna. We arrived at about 2pm. We found our hostel then headed out to meet up with Jess (a friend from Environment Southland).

We caught up with her at her hotel then headed out for some authentic Weiner Schnitzel. It was enormous!

We left the good weather in Croatia and now it is cold and rainy in Vienna which is quite a nice change to be honest.

Plan to look around the city tomorrow then head to Prague with Jess on Friday.

Ok so change of plans today. We were originally going to catch the night train to Zagreb then make a day trip to Plitvice Lakes National Park. But we met some Canadians in the train station who were getting a rental car and heading straight to Plitvice then to Zagreb tomorrow. They asked us if we wanted to go with them and we thought it would be fun. So we are now in Plitvice staying in a choice little house. We are panning to do a 6 hour hike tomorrow around what is called the ‘World’s Top Destination’. It had been highly recommended to us by everyone so we thought we should check it out.

My pack is coming along nicely. I have a patch for every country. 5 more to go.

A very relaxed day today in Hvar. Cruised around the small town that seems to have an endless supply of waterfront restaurants. When we had heated up enough in the scorching sun we headed straight to the beach for another swim in the crystal clear water which never seems that lose its appeal.

We are now relaxing on our balcony soaking in some more rays drinking some very strange Croatian fruit beers. They have grapefruit, current & lime, orange and lemon. Lemon is by far the best with current & lime being the worst. Very cheap though.

Last night in Hvar. We are catching the catamaran ferry to Split tomorrow where we will spend the day then catch an overnight train to Zagreb which is the capital of Croatia.

Wow! What an absolutely amazing day! A low of 24 and a high of 33 so pretty much melting. We headed down to the old town for a sea kayaking adventure. It involved a 3 hour trip around a near by island stopping in caves then back to the old town giving us spectacular views of the city. Had a great time but both of us are very sunburnt now.

We then had a look around the old town which is full of restaurants and souvenir shops. Danielle even managed to find some cider a.k.a fruit wine for the first time since London. Then went straight to the beach for another swim.

Last night in Dubrovnik tonight. Heading to Sucuraj tomorrow. Going to miss Dubrovnik, especially the view from our room.

A crazy couple of days! We have arrived in Dubrovnik! Had a nightmare of a day yesterday getting to Bari and the ferry from Bari. First of all we had an hour delay on the train because of technical difficulties then we couldn’t find the ferry anywhere. Turns out the check in is 3 km from the actual ferry terminal so we walked 3km with our packs on in 33 degrees. Then we find out that there is a free shuttle and a place to store bags.

Apart from that though the ferry was good and Dubrovnik is amazing. The highlight of the trip so far. We dropped our bags off and headed straight for the beach. Went back the room for a siesta then straight back to the beach. Will check the old town tomorrow.

2 nights in Dubrovnik then heading to Sucuraj.

A long day today as we got up nice and early and caught the train to Naples then changed train to go to Pompei. About an hour and a half all up. Once again the sun was beating down, 34 degrees worth.

Pompei was a very cool place to visit. A lot bigger than we thought so didn’t quite get time to explore it all in the hot sun but what we did see was amazing.

We stopped at Naples on the way back for a late lunch and absolutely hated it. The worst place we have visited yet. It was so dirty and full of beggars and groups of middle Eastern men leering at us. After about half an hour of walking to try and find a better neighbourhood we managed to find a pizza place and have a good pizza (was created in Naples) then we were back to Rome as fast as we could.

Finally off to Croatia tomorrow where we can hopefully escape the heat by swimming in the Adriatic Sea.