Beyond Backpacker: Digital Nomad in Zagreb

(from the journal, September 4th) Backpackers are strewn across the smooth cement of Zagreb’s train station. In between hostels, they consult thick Eastern Europe guide books, munch on chips, jot down memories in tiny journals, smoke cigarettes. They haul their giant packs from hostel to hostel, paying twelve bucks a night for a bunk, two dollars for a giant slice …

The Bucket List: Plitvice Lakes

(from the journal, August 31st) Poorer European countries get the cast-offs. Old, somewhat refurbished German and Austrian buses get a second chance in countries like Croatia, where I assume they are then driven another couple hundred thousand miles into the ground. Our bus is one such bus, with its German warning stickers adorning windows and doors. It rumbles down the …

Arrival In Split

(from the journal, August 18th) The bus from Zagreb to Split is five and a half hours with one bathroom break mid-way. You do the math. We pull up to the mid-point – a gas station and a 24-hour restaurant. The front and mid-cabin doors open and women hit the ground at a full sprint towards the facilities. Many, many …