Zagreb

We left the rain in Ljubljana and headed to Zagreb. This was our first border crossing, as Croatia is not in the Schengen zone. We had border checks at both the exit of Slovenia and the entrance to Croatia, which is a bit weird as the train went for about ten minutes between the two as though there's some kind of country-less no-man's land in between. I got my passport stamped which I thought was pretty cool, although it's a bit unnerving when armed guards get on the train.

We were really smug when we got to Zagreb as it looked like we'd left the rain behind us. We walked around the main square and bought some pizza slices for about £1.60 each and had a nice stroll. My first impression was that Zagreb is a lot more capital-city-ish than Ljubljana, it's a lot bigger, more modern, which tram system etc. It decided to rain again the next day, but we braved it and went out with our brollies, mooching around in the upper and lower towns. It turns out it was a public holiday ("some Catholic thing" according to our host) and it meant that stuff was closed. We had a nice walk around untill we got totally soaked and so we went to the cinema to see the Great Gatsby, for the grand total of about £3.70 each - bargain.

Apparently you have to register with the police station when you go Croatia, and if you're in a hotel or hostel they usually do it for you. We were staying in private accommodation so we weren't really sure what to do. Tourist info were a bit vague saying your host should go there as it's their property but suggested we give it a go ourselves. We got there too late on our first night so it was closed, and we couldn't go the next day because of the bloody public holiday. We turned up on Friday to do it, giving ourselves two hours before we were meant to get the train to Krapina for the day. We get there and there's people spilling over the street and it's total chaos - a bit like a mix of the DVLA, Citizens Advice Bureau and the Post Office. We ask a copper and he says "counter 29" pointing upstairs. It's mental up there too and there's a sign saying "Foreigners 90 day visa counter 29, no ticket." We wait there for about 20 mins and finally someone appears and says no, we need to get a ticket and queue for 30. In the end after standing in the queue in this complete dive we decided to just give it up and go get our train. What a farce. I don't think holidays should involve spending a morning in the copshop. We asked at Tourist Info at the station about registering with the Police, and the guy shrugged and said it's the host's responsibility, not ours. No one seems to know their arse from their elbow.

So anyway, after the police fiasco we went to Krapina, where there's this big Neanderthal Museum because apparently loads of settlements were found in the region. It was pretty nifty, more for adults than kids because of the depth of info on evolution etc - pretty cool and something I'd not necessarily expect from a Catholic country. It was bloody freezing on the platform waiting to come home. Also, having an actual platform at the regional stations is fancy in Croatia, at one point we were just stood on a dirt track next the train tracks, and you just have to clamber up onto the train and try not to wee yourself when it pulls up next to you.

We got the train to Budapest on Saturday, which was another massive farce about. We got to our platform early, and there was another train supposed to be arriving before ours which was conveniently late. On the board there were two trains, including ours, for the same platform at the same time. I rightly assumed that they'd be the same train that splits off at some point, one going to Osijek and the other to Budapest.

Anyway, the platform got crowded and this earlier train didn't turn up, but it was now 5 to 10 and no one was quite sure which platform the Budapest one would be at when the board still said this delayed train was meant to be turning up at any point. Everyone kept asking me and Dan, as if I'm some train guru. Finally a train appeared with about 3 carriages for the vast amount of people and luggage on the platform. The train said 'Osijek' on it, but the guard Dan asked said it was Budapest. Naturally, there was the mad scramble as everyone did the bit of mental arithmetic that tells you there's not enough seats and standing up for the next 6 hours isn't fun.

We jumped into a compartment, faffed getting our stuff on the racks and sat down. A bloke comes in going "This train going to Budapest?" I said yes, the other people in the compartment, no. "Other end of the train, this splits off." ARGH. It's like 2 minutes to 10 and there's this mad scramble on the train with everyone shouting "BUDAPEST?" at each other, including me. I couldn't get through the train cuz of the crowds and I wasn't even sure if you'd be able to if they were separate trains, so in the end I flung myself off the train and legged it to the other end of the platform, repeating "Budapest??" at randomers. I found the group of American lads I was chatting to earlier on and we plonked our stuff in the compartment next to theirs and continued asking people if this was to bloody Budapest or not, the majority of answers "I hope so." ARGH.

Was a bit nervous at the border crossings what with us not registering ourselves in Zagreb but the guy just stamped our Passports without question. A lady got on and asked "Anything to declare for customs?" and left when we all just said no. Not exactly the tightest security, then.

Now... Budapest :)