Prague, Budapest(again) and Croatia

They say Prague is the "Paris of the East", but if you ask me a comparison cannot be made between the two. Paris is very beautiful but pompous. She walks around with her nose in the air and pushes her weight around with her name, history and iconic structures. Her hair is coiffed in a simple low chignon with a few pins and when she eats, she takes small bites of her food leaving the table hungry in order to maintain her fragile shape. Prague on the other hand possesses a power that lies within and inner strength cannot and does not lie. Her beauty is undeniable and conspicuous. She turns head's with her glossy, shiny locks that bounce and swing to and fro when she walks and is not ashamed of her appetite or curves for that matter. Prague's beauty just is effortless and just IS. If the two were to come face to face, Prague will crush Paris' overrated reputation like a bug with her stiletto, pressing with the ball of her foot with all her weight and giving a little twist to the left and right before strutting off. Paris wouldn't even know what hit her.
Prague had it all. Delicious inexpensive meals, cute cafes, it was colorful and intensely rich with out being flamboyant. The architechture continually amazed me at the turn of every corner. If only I could say the same about the hostel. The worst so far. It was strange and musty and reeked of mildew. I did however make a friend there. It was the fourth of July and I met an American named Benjamin while I was using the computer in the lobby with a keyboard that looked as though it carried the plague. Benjamin is also traveling solo. We chilled and drank tea and spoke of our travels. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the holiday. I also stumbled upon a Bulgarian restaurant that was in the smoky basement of an old hotel. I had spicy zucchini with a garlic dill yogurt sauce. Quite interesting this place was. My intentions were to continue moving north to Estonia while I was in Poland but a friend from New York emailed me while he was visiting family in Hungary so I changed my plans and worked my way down south. It seems Hungary and I have unfinished business. I somehow deleted all my pictures from Krakow and Budapest(so sad about this) so I had the opportunity to retake some of them, and also got to see Erika once more. I met my friend in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. It is a small city and not much there contrary to Lonely Planet. The best part of this trip was the gypsies on the train on the way to Split. I always thought the idea of being a gypsy was glamorous. Moving through the world, plans deliberately undesigned, sleeping on peoples couches, experiencing one moment at a time, wherever you go there you are. Turns out gypsies are not cute. They are filthy and have hearts of stone. A whole pack of them was on our train chain smoking cigarettes and were speaking to all the passengers in another language but clearly begging for money. A boy of about eight pulled out a little pocket knife on the guy sitting next to us and a blond little girl, about two, was walking up and down the train continuously with a beer bottle in her hand, buck naked. Passport control finally caught them with out papers and they were escorted off. It was really entertaining to witness all of this but we were happy to see them go.
Croatia was gorgeous but there are a few crucial details one must know before going. The beaches are very rocky. It is best to bring a blanket for padding. Many of the locals were wearing crocs, as it is impossible to enjoy with out them, in the ocean as well as the beach. It was also most difficult to navigate beyond the center of the cities because the maps did not have street names, only a mere shape of the streets which are not exactly easy to follow. The seafood market in Split was open daily with fresh fish from earlier the same morning. We went early and bought clams, shrimp and squid and made paella from the technique I learned in Spain, which was the best meal we had in Croatia. I also made peach crumble with fresh peaches from the fruit market. The food in Croatia was my least favorite in Europe. We did try a Bosnian restaurant, highly recommended by locals, which was new for us but I can't say I loved it. I found the food to be lacking in Croatia in many ways. After Split we took a bus ride down the coast to Dubrovnik. We stayed with locals here and had quite the unique experience to say the least. The Old Town section of the city is definitely worth seeing. It is surrounded by ancient walls and beyond them is sapphire waters. We concluded our trip with an excursion on a boat to a secluded beach called Lopud in our last effort to find a sandy beach. It was sandy but still a lot of rocks. It was a great day either way and a great close to my European adventure. The next time I write will be in Asia. See you there?