Europe Train Challenge – 12 Countries In 4 Weeks: The first month of the Europe Train Challenge has past, and we have learnt so many lessons for a life time.
Countries This Week: Italy, Slovenia, Croatia
This week we went to a place I’ve wanted to visit for many years but for some reason never have had the time to see: Venice!
The historical, beautiful city on water that I had dreamed of going to – was right there in front of me – the narrow streets, hundreds of bridges and thousands of Venetian masks were no disappointment.
The only thing that surprised me was that the pizza I tried there just didn’t live up to expectations – maybe it’s just bad luck, but none of the ones I tried in Venice were any good!
And to be rudely honest, the best pizzas I’ve tried have actually been in other countries…
Sure, I give the Italians credit for having invented this awesome thing, but to be honest I think some countries have been inspired and taken pizza to a new level 
Maybe I just like people experimenting with food, trying to reinvent something rather than settling for the tradition is more my thing.
The Italians would probably laugh at me if I told them that my favorite pizza is one with banana, curry and peanuts as ingredients… trust me it’s nice!
Bled, Slovenia: our next destination, was outstanding.
The place looked as though it was taken from a child’s fantasy:
The small turquoise lake with a tiny island and a church on top with a mysterious “wishing bell”, the castle perched on top of a steep mountain, alps and green forest surrounding the villages – 100% fairytale like!
The people we met there were among the most outgoing ones we’ve met during the trip so far, and unlike many other places in Europe, the locals seemed grateful for the tourists coming there, and made an extra effort to show us and tell us everything about their village.
After having shown our tickets and passports countless of times on the same train, we arrived in Zagreb, Croatia and ended the week there.
Most people tend to head straight to the coastline when coming to Croatia, but we decided to go to the capital. I know we might say this often, but this place was AWESOME!
The first impression wasn’t too nice, with really intimidating police officers and rundown buildings as a view from the train window.
But once we got off the train and entered the city, all of that changed very soon.
The first person we spoke to broke up in a big smile and said hello to us in German (for some reason?), the first thing that happened when we arrived at the hostel was to get a welcome Rakia shot and Croatian homemade cookies.
Zagreb has the cutest streets, strangest traditions and the cultural people made the city feel so vibrant and alive.
Besides, beer for 1 Euro and a restaurant meal with salad and dessert for 4 Euro wasn’t too bad either.
The biggest thing I’ve realized is that to find a place to live cheaply, you don’t have to go all the way to Asia or South America – Europe has them too. I knew eastern Europe was cheap, but it’s a different thing to know it than to see it for yourself.
So if you want to stretch your money when traveling Europe, go East – Week 5 starts in Bosnia!
Unfortunately even in all of the city’s historic glory, I think the food in Venice is pretty disappointing too. I haven’t been to Naples but we have a couple of great Neapolitan places in Florence; that said, I enjoy experimental pizza as well!
Slovenia and Croatia are on the top of my list for places to travel in Europe. Looks like you guys had a great week!
Good to hear I’m not the only one
Slovenia was definitely a highlight on our trip, and I promise that Croatia will not disappoint you!
As an Italian living in Italy, I can safely say you will find the best pizza in the Southern part of the country. I live in the far south and I personally think we have the best Italian pizza you will ever eat!
Hey Jaelle,
Thanks for the tip, I’ve heard that the food in Sicily is incredible, would love to explore southern Italy and its food some time.
I hope you both didn’t run into the cast of the Jersey Shore in Venice…I read they were there searching for their “Italian roots” and were disappointed that they didn’t seem to fit in. lol Great post!
haha ‘unfortunately’ we didn’t :p would have been funny to have them cameo on our travel show
Nice to hear that Zagreb is such a cool place. Would love to go there. I think you’re train challenge is terrific — wish I was along! I will be traveling by train in Germany and the Netherlands very soon – looking forward to it.
Great, traveling by train in Netherlands was great, the trains are modern, fast and everything worked very well with connections.
Have yet to travel in Germany by train, tell us how it was when you get back!
Enjoy Venice. I stopped there 3 times on my 75 day backpacking trip through Italy, just kept getting drawn back!
I see why you went back there so many times, it really is a special place.
Am very much looking forward to our time in Venice myself. It’s probably the only place in our whole trip though that I’m not so excited about the food side of things, I’ve heard from several sources now that it’s not great in Venice and certainly not representative of Italy’s usual standard. Thinking I might now have to add Bled to a future trip … that photo is beautiful.
Yeah, other places in Italy are better for enjoying the best of Italian food, but Venice is still a must for its beauty!
Add Bled, it’s annoyingly beautiful!
New destination on my list: Bled, Slovenia. That lake looks awesome!
The place is amazing, it’s really beautiful and the people we met there were SO friendly.
I so want to go to Bled, Slovenia! You made it sound so lovely and what a nice bonus that the locals are welcoming too =)
The nature was amazing, but the people we met there really made the place a highlight on our trip.
My husband and I learned the hard way that pizza was not Venice’s specialty. Ours tasted like soap, but I did love the fresh tomato sauce with the gnocchi.
I should have gone for that one instead, especially since I love gnocchi..
If you are looking for great pizza, then you have to travel to the Naples area. I don’t touch the pizza anywhere else in Italy after living here!
Thanks for the tip, will definitely make sure I try the pizzas when I visit Napoli!