07/07/2023 Split, Croatia
Split
Our last stop on the world trip
It is a weird feeling to think we will be back in Germany in four days time.
As our last highlight on the road we wanted to experience one last thing together: the biggest electro festival in the world aka Ultra Europe. (Besides Tomorrowland maybe, but let’s not get into semantics.)
Expensive weekend ahead
We arrived yesterday evening. After taking an uber to our airbnb, we only went out for cheap kebabs and drinks.
Our airbnb is very basic and costs as much per night as an entire week in a fancy hotel back in Laos. Can’t blame the Croatians to make the most of the festival weekend.
The calm before the storm
Today we went to the beach only 20 minutes away from our airbnb. This very relaxing time at a quiet beach felt like the calm before the storm that was awaiting us tonight.
Reunion with a great friend
In the afternoon a good friend of mine arrived to join us for the three-day-festival-banter. I had met Sarah during my two months in South Africa in 2013, where we both did volunteer work in Cape Town.
We go way back
Since then I have traveled with her quite a bit and consider her a really close friend of mine:
- We traveled around Asia and Australia together for three months in 2016 after my teacher training
- We’ve done Budapest together with two other close German friends of ours that we have met in Cape Town
- We visited Dublin on a weekend trip
- Blake and I visited her in Stuttgart during our camper van road trip in Southern Germany in 2020 during lockdown
- Since 2013 we usually meet up twice a year for a weekend trip somewhere in Germany with our other two German friends from Cape Town
So it is needless to say that I was quite excited to see my first German friend again after having been on the road for one year straight. It was great seeing Sarah again and it felt like we had just seen each other yesterday.
Time to party
In the evening after eating a traditional Croatian cevapcici with flatbread (minus the sausage for me), we were ready for Ultra Europe Croatia.
The festival area was huge with four different stages. (Not that I have much comparison as a non-festival goer, but it looked pretty big to me.)
Obviously, the biggest artists such as Zedd or Hardwell played on the main stage, the biggest stage in the centre of the festival.
Great DJs
Zedd was probably my biggest surprise as I loved every song from him. That definitely made it much more enjoyable and made up for the fact that he played until 3 a.m. (which wasn’t even the last act of the night).
From sunset to sunrise
After sunrise we walked home from the festival. I was already wondering how we were going to party until sunrise for another two nights after this.
08/07/2023 Split
We are too old for this sh**
Waking up at 11 a.m. after partying all night long definitely sounds (and feels) more fun when you are 24 instead of 34. My body was aching, I could hardly open my eyes and the thought of doing this all over again tonight was unthinkable right now.
But first things first: Breakfast!
Glitter-licious
For breakfast we walked into the old town. It was hard not to see that I had attended the festival last night as my face was still covered in glitter from the “glitter station” on the festival. (I mean a festival without glitter isn’t really real, is it?)
Suddenly – while I was in the middle of digging my face into my coffee mug – someone tapped me on the shoulder. And then a female voice said to me: “Hello, beautiful lady!” My first thought was: What did I do last night and who did I talk to?
The biggest surprise
But it wasn’t anyone from last night. It was one of my closest friends from back home: Denise with her boyfriend! It took me a while to register her face (I’m blaming the party night and the lack of sleep) and to realize that she was here to surprise me.
Once my brain had caught up, I was so happy to see the two of them again! I couldn’t believe they had planned that behind my back together with Blake and took a detour in their camper van just to see us again!
Partying with my pregnant friend
Later the five of us went to the beach together. In the evening we all went to the festival after having dinner in the old town at “Veg plant based meals”.
I was quite impressed Denise and Pascal joined us for the festival since Denise was probably the only seven-month-pregnant woman at the entire festival!
09/07/2023 Split
Chill-mode it is
After coming home after sunrise again from the festival last night, we wanted (and needed) to take it easy during the day. And this meant: beach time! Luckily Split has a lot of beaches. Therefore we went to a different beach each day.
Denise and Pascal joined us at the beach again. In the evening they came over to our airbnb for dinner and some drinks before saying goodbye to us. I was so happy that I got to see them again, even before landing in Germany and officially ending our world trip.
One last party night until sunrise
The last night at the festival was so great for Sarah, Blake and I.
I have no idea how we managed this, but we stayed till the end of the festival again, which finished off with massive fireworks above the main stage.
We loved partying for three nights straight and ending our world trip with great friends and with (literally) a bang.
10/07/2023 Split
The last day on our world trip
We had one last relaxing day at the beach, a nice dinner and and ice cream in the old town together with Sarah, which was the perfect way to end our time in Split after partying for three nights straight.
And just like this our last day of the world trip has arrived.
365 days on the road
365 days of endless adventure, no plans, lots of sun, great food, interesting people, 20 different countries and memories that will last for a lifetime!
We are so grateful we decided to go after our dreams and see the world together. I cannot wait to one day tell our grandkids about this.
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