Budapest was originally two towns, Buda (left of the Danube) and Pest (right of the Danube). Buda is the more historical side with majority of the museums and sights located on Castle Hill overlooking the Danube River. Pest is the more commercial side. We opted for Pest and headed for the most populous hostel neighbourhood. We settled into an apartment hostel overlooking a busy street with a view of the stunning architecture this city has to offer. Budapest is k...

We timed our last destination in Croatia to be on the eve of this nation's welcome into the EU. Our sobe (guesthouse) host was enthusiastic about the oncoming festivities and as we explored the city streets watching preparations in action for the night's celebrations we were not sure what to expect of the evening. To our delight as we rocked up to Ban Jelačić square we could hear a marching band thrumming through the crowds. As the night continued we were...

Plitvice Lakes National Park is famous for its expansive wildlife, tranquil lakes and waterfalls. Being similar to Jiuzhaigou in China we were interested to compare the natural phenomenon of the terraced lakes occurring half way around the world on another continent. In Jiuzhaigou we ended up riding on busses between lakes despite our best efforts to hike through the park. In Plitvice we somehow managed to avoid the crowds and had plenty of time to explore a...

Brac Island is one of over a thousand Croatian Islands in the Adriatic Sea and is famous for its high level of sunlight all year round (approximately 2600 hours). Stepping off the ferry onto Bol we were transformed into Mediterranean holidayers. With beautiful pebble beaches and cool, clear water it was an easy couple of days. It even inspired us to go for a run along the water and trek up to Vidova Gora, the highest point along the island and perfect vant...

Croatia is known for its sobe or guesthouses, rooms let out from private homes. When we arrived at the Dubrovnik bus station we were bombarded by a number of women offering rooms. Overwhelmed by which to pick and not happy with the prices we disentangled ourselves from the crowd. While deciding what to do we were approached by a middle aged man who agreed on a reasonable fare. When we arrived at the sobe we were greeted by his wife, cheeky 3 year old son and a...