By Nikko Stevens
From sleeping in the car, to showering at gas station rest stops, to brushing our teeth in hotel lobby restrooms, I would say visiting 6 countries in 3 days is a pretty successful road trip. And all of this would not be possible if it were not for the free upgrade of our rented car. I don't know how we would have fit in a little Fiat Panda that we were supposed to have. Me, personally, would definitely not have fit in any of the seats. However, a good sign to the start of a great trip, the rent-a-car place ran out of “Panda's” and upgraded us to the much bigger Fiat Doblo. In all seriousness, without this car, the trip would definitely not have been as good.
We started the trip by going northeast of Florence, and the first country on the list was Slovenia. Who the hell goes to Slovenia? How many people have even heard of the country? Well, Slovenia actually borders Italy, and we were crazy enough to go there. I must say, driving to Slovenia had some of the best scenery of the whole trip. Between the tip and corner of northeast Italy and into the Slovenian border we saw tremendous mountains and cliffs, gigantic waterfalls, and rolling hills that were absolutely beautiful. The drive to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia was about 6 hours from Florence. We arrived in the evening and spent it touring the city and meeting the locals. The city at night was gorgeous and we explored different monuments and restaurants. We went to some of the local bars that were outside and met some people that we talked politics with. That was mostly Sebastian's forte--he loves to get reactions of the locals and talk about government. It's interesting to note that in all of these different countries we got different opinions and reactions about America and American politics. In Slovenia, they were mostly docile toward us and had a positive reaction when we said we were American. And trust me when I say, we were the only Americans there!
The next stop was Zagreb, Croatia. We arrived there during mid-day the next day and toured the city. We encountered a military parade, saw various churches and statues and went to a huge local market where people were selling fresh fruits and vegetables. We left Zagreb in the evening and headed for Belgrade, Serbia. Stuck at the Serbian border, it took us almost 2 hours just to get through. People were outside having picnics, pushing their cars, walking along the highway- it was crazy, the traffic must have been backed up for at least 5 miles. Once we got into Serbia, we stopped at the gas station. I went inside to fill up my water bottle and as soon as I took a sip, it tasted like absolute s***. I asked Ronald and Clint to smell it and taste I, and they both said it smelled funny and would not try it. Then, we noticed signs everywhere saying “Water not for drinking.” Wow. I should have known you cannot drink the water in every country. Trust me when I say, that night in Belgrade my stomach was doing summersaults.
We arrived in Belgrade in the late evening, and the nightlife there was amazing. That is what the city is primarily known for- it's nightlife- and I must say it lived up to the hype. We visited four different clubs that were located right on the water. The next morning we started to head back north because time was pressing against us. We headed towards Romania, were we stopped in the city of Timisoara. Driving around for a while, we went to the mall that is apparently one of the best malls in Romania. Lulius Mall- four floors and it was awesome.
After we left the mall we took the Fiat off-roading through a motocross course on the side of the highway. It was absolutely hilarious. Ronald was driving like a madman, and we were going through dips and hills, and the car eventually got stuck in a pothole. We had to push it out, and there was mud everywhere. What’s also crazy is that located within this motocross off-roading area was a little lake with a small beach. It was filled with locals and they were having picnics and playing in the water- a really cool site.
After we left Romani,a we headed 6 hours to Budapest, Hungary. Budapest was one of my favorite cities because it was so modernized- and not to mention a beautiful river that splits the city down the center. We saw an amazing church- probably the biggest church I've ever seen- and it was right on the river. On top of that, we went to the top of some mountain that overlooked the city and saw various statues and monuments.
Leaving Budapest in the evening, we arrived in Vienna, Austria. Vienna was another really cool city because it had skyscrapers and lights everywhere. We went to some local bars and met some really interesting people. The nightlife in Vienna was awesome, too, as we went to a few different clubs as well. We left Vienna in the morning and started the 9 hour drive home back to Florence. The sights on the way back were amazing- rolling hills, great plains, hillside mountains. All in all, it was hands down, by far, the best road-trip ever, and each of us had great experiences and in all honesty, nothing went wrong. Who can say they visited 6 countries in 3 days, and actually spent some time in each one? Maybe a few, but they definitely did not have as much fun or the experiences that we had. It was an awesome trip; I can't say anymore than that.
Ciao,
Nikko
Ciao,
Nikko
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