I had ordered breakfast for my first morning at the hostel when I checked in. For it I got to try two HUGE Croatia spiral meat or veggie pie things called Börek. They were both great, but I could only eat one. I had to wake up a little early in order to catch the last few minutes of breakfast. The bartender (Barbara) was nice enough to keep it open for a few minutes longer just for me. Although being full I went and took a nap before showering and leaving the hostel.
Cameron was still sick and I was meeting Nicole at the restaurant from the night before to get some coffee. The square had turned into a food market since it was a Saturday and it was a nice spot to people watch while we planned the day. Using one of the placemat maps we decided to follow the recommendations. There were a few nice buildings and parks on the map that we visited on our way all the way out of the city to a large park. Our waiter had told us of a Croatian music festival happening that weekend featuring local music and activities. It was pretty cool. There were tents set up for all the different parts of Croatia and neighboring large cities such as Vienna and Budapest. We found our way to the Budapest tent for some goulash and sausage rolls while a local string quartet played some music. After a few hours we decided to take a bus back into the city. My hostel gave me a coupon for the hostel bar to get a free drink of the Croatian drink called Rakija, so we decided to go back and give it a try.
Barbara, the bartender, gave us both one on the house and joined us too! It is some interesting stuff that comes in all sorts of flavors. After hanging out with Barbara for a while, she told us to go climb the viewpoint down the way to see the city. We did and ate some popcorn while enjoying the great view. After a little more wandering we went back to the hostel for a drink and to thank Barbara. The Swanky Hostel’s hostel bar is very interestingly decorated. Since the entire hostel was an old textile factory, everything in the hostel has been reused. All the lights and tables were something else at some point in their life. It was fun to sit and look at everything. Better than most normal bars. After a while, it was time to get some sleep
