Over the two week Easter break students receive at the University of Lincoln, I had an amazing trip with two other friends where we travelled to Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary. I had never been to any of those countries before so needless to say, I was very excited for the holiday.

We flew into Venice and immediately got on a bus that took us to the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana. Our Airbnb host graciously picked us upon arriving and took us back to our accommodation and also provided us with a bus pass so we could travel back and fourth between their house and the city centre. The next day the first sight we went to see was one the cities main attraction; the 900-year-old Ljubljana castle (Ljubljana Tourism, 2017). The castle provided an amazing view of the city and the mountains on the horizon. One of the best highlights for me was the Ljubljanica River that runs through the city. We spent most of our time in this area, viewing the architecture of the old buildings, enjoying the food and drink that overlooked the river and a boat cruise on one of the tourist riverboats.

The next day we did a day trip to Bled, which is a town that is on the beautiful Lake Bled, in the midst of the Alps mountain range (Tourism Bled, 2013). The day was spent simply walking around the lakes entirety and taking in the spectacular views. Lake Bled was tied with Krka National Park (more on it later) for my favourite location of the trip, as I just couldn’t decide between the two on which one I liked better. Bled Castle overlooks the water and there is also a Church that sits on a small island in the middle of the lake. I loved sitting at the restaurants on the water and enjoying the food, drink and beautiful weather while taking in the views of the mountains and the lake.

The following day we travelled to the Croatian capital of Zagreb where we had to transfer to arrive at our final destination of Šibenik. Luckily our next Airbnb host once again picked us up from the bus station. Šibenik is a town on the Croatian Cost that was originally a military camp and some of the popular attractions are St. James’ Cathedral, which is built entirely of stone and St. Michael’s fortress (Šibenik Travel, 2017). We spent half of the day on the city beach and the other half walking around and exploring the town. We also had a great lunch in the square that St. James’ Cathedral sat in.

The next journey was to Krka National Park, which was a short drive outside of Šibenik. We again got very lucky because our Airbnb host actually worked at the park and she drove us there. The park consisted of beautiful clear flowing water that ran through the foliage of the park until they became waterfalls, which you could view via a circular boardwalk that went through the park. Because we got there so early, we were the only people in the park and we actually ended up walking the boardwalk three times. It was so nice being there with no one else because we could take as much time as we wanted viewing the scenery. I remember on our last trip through the boardwalk, a lot of people started showing up, and I wouldn’t have enjoyed the experience as much if we had to weave our way through the foot traffic.

We then travelled to the last destination of my trip, which was Budapest. We spent the day exploring the city centre and its many amazing sites. Our first stop was St. Stephens’ Basilica, which had a gorgeous marble interior and also allowed us to go up to the Basilica’s panorama to get a great 360-degree view of the city. Next was the massive Hungarian Parliament building, sitting on the Danube. We then crossed the river to see Castle hill.  Castle Hill boasts medieval buildings which are connected by cobblestone streets, such as Buda Castle and  Mathias Church. Buda Castle has been converted into the Budapest History Museum and the National Gallery. During the evening we did a wine and beer tasting cruise on the Danube, viewing all the lighten up buildings and the company of two American tables that sat at our table. Sadly the next day it was time to return home so the day was spent travelling back to Lincoln.

One of the main things that I think about when reflecting on the trip is how lost we would have been without our phones. We used them for everything from navigating the city, to finding a place to eat, looking up bus schedules or taking pictures (including the ones posted in this post). I can’t even imagine travelling before the age of GPS and cellphones, having to look off of a paper map or following directions from a local, especially if you’re travelling alone. Smartphones and their many apps allow us to become more independent travellers and to keep in touch and share our experiences with friends and family back home (Rusu and Csorba, 2016). My family back in Canada was thrilled that they could see the pictures of my trip as I was experiencing them. In a week I’m travelling to Italy on my own and after this trip I’ve definitely glad that I live in the generation of the smartphone.

 

References

Tourism Bled (2013) Bled. Ljubljana: Tourism Bled. Available from http://www.bled.si/en/ [accessed 13 May 2017].

Ljubljana Tourism (2017) Ljubljana Castle. Ljubljana: Ljubljana Tourism. Available from https://www.visitljubljana.com/en/visitors/things-to-do/sightseeing/ ljubljana-castle/ [accessed 13 May 2017].

Rusu, S. and Csorba, L. M. (2016) Smartphones – A Powerful Tool for Tourism. Romanian Travel Apps. Journal of Economics and Business Research, 22(1) 69-78. Available from http://www.uav.ro/jour/index.php/jebr/article/view/693/pdf [accessed 14 May 2017].

Šibenik Travel (2017) History. Zadar: Šibenik Travel. Available from https://www.sibenik-tourism.hr/en/history [accessed 13 May 2017].