#goingbacktotheprecioushomeisetup

[rolenejaffe]

Museum of Broken Relationships

Peace Love and Gratitude Day 5 - Sunday July 16th, 2017

I woke up in the morning and thought....hhhmmm what should I wear today? Well my happy dress was dry, this would be my 3rd day in a row wearing it and I was good to go in ten minutes.

While lying in bed last night and going over my day I realized I felt really lonely yesterday. It was a different environment and it was not really conducive to meeting people. You are all walking on the paths in rows or stopped on the side of the road to rest or eat. I couldn't share the magic and beauty with anyone so I just had to talk to my imaginary friends; Peter Pan and Wendy. 

That's why it's nice to come home to a backpacker’s environment. There are always people around to talk to and share your day with and that is exactly what I did.

Well I booked my bus ticket last night, and my accommodations were done and busted...right no WRONG!!!

Zadar and Zagreb look and sound the sameish; oiu vei each one going in a different direction. I've just come from Zagreb and I'm going to Zadar. Well I booked everything the wrong way....damn damn damn.  I was lucky I never got onto the wrong bus. That would have seriously pissed me off.

Well I took Nicolas up on his offer and he is finding me an accommodation while I'm on the bus, all is well that ends well.

When I was in ZAGREB, I went to the Museum of Broken Relationships. It is a very interesting name, usually not a subject that gets a lot of sympathy or discussion. It is the kind of well the relationship is over, so get on with it. It doesn't have the same status as a divorce. Broken relationships for young and old alike have profound life changing affects. Young people and their first love all the way up the ladder to the elderly, so I was really curious about the Museum of Broken Relationships.

The international collection of keepsakes reflects the heartbreaking ends of couples, each of whom has a story to tell. 

It is very rocky with huge holder vineyards. There were lots of olive trees and a huge mountain range in the distance. It was mind-boggling and as I went through it and read the different stories my heart really broke open because you get a glimpse into somebody else's pain. It was absolutely brilliant and I've been thinking about it every day.

I checked into a fabulous backpacker today. It's really funky colourful and the staff is amazing. I walked into the Old Town and I don't know why I got so lost. I went to the Adriatic Sea for my first swim. Well that wasn't successful at all because where l ended up there's no actual beach just a concrete sidewalk and you climb down some stairs into the ocean. I was about to climb down the stairs when I realized that once I was in the water I didn't know if I could pull myself out to get back onto the steps. So I decided I wasn't going to risk it incase I couldn't get out the water, damn I was pissed off. I'm headed to one of the islands tomorrow so I'll get to swim in the warm Adriatic Sea then!

The old city was buzzing tonight. They had concerts in the streets, packed with people milling around and everyone seemed to be eating ice cream. The women are beautiful here and have stunning figures. 

I actually didn’t want to come home but I've got an early start tomorrow morning. Watching the sunset on the water with the ships and boats was a magical way to end the day.

[rolenejaffe]

My life always seems to be a series of 'New Beginnings.'

Day 1- June 26th, 2017

There are no words to describe the feeling of leaving my son Sascha in SA along with my family, friends and a county I absolutely love 8,500 miles away.

It is only when I'm suspended in mid-air with no land in sight, that I'm forced to unravel my wings and begin my flight. As I fly, I still may not know where I am going and the miracle is IN the unfolding of my wings. I certainly don’t know where i might go, but what I know is as long as I spread my wings and TRUST that with Hashems Grace, the winds will continue to carry and lead me to exactly where I need to be. 'European Peace Walk' (EPW), I'm not sure if I'm ready for you, however, on the 2nd of July the journey will unfold perfectly as it always has for me.

[rolenejaffe]

Dozmat to Szentpeterfa 25.5 Kilometers (40,310 steps)

EPW Day 4- Wednesday July 5th, 2017

The secret to happiness is allowing every situation to be what it is instead of what you think it should be. There is no better time than right now to be happy.

We walked out of our beautiful accommodation this morning. It was the first morning with clear blue skies and it was absolutely beautiful. We walked across acres and acres of potato and mealie/corn and just as we turned the corner the most beautiful field of sunflowers popped up with its amazing rows of happy faces looking towards the sun. In the distance we saw deer in the fields. 

We seemed to miss our red arrows and thank goodness for our fearless caring leader, on went MapsMe and we were heading in the right direction again. The other challenge and it was huge for us all was we were no longer walking through the forests but right down a sand road in between fields of wheat, potatoes and mealie/corn. It felt like the sun was beating down on us at the 12 o'clock pitch for the entire 6 hours of the day. There was no shade anywhere and we had 8 kilometers till our first stop. There was no cafe open and no coffee to kick in to help us with the rest of the day. We had just more unbearable sunshine and humidity.

We were lucky enough to find two or three trees on the side of the road and the difference in temperature was unbelievable as we stood under the shade. Now I know what it's like when you see animals standing in the shade under a tree.

My skin was actually cooking and my face was blood red from the heat which I've never experienced like this before. By the grace of G-d I didn't have my backpack on my back otherwise I would have just died. What made it even more difficult for me was that I was about to run out of water. It was a tough lesson to learn and a mistake I will not make again. I will now carry my camel pack in my daypack.

Finally we joined the track again and walked through the most exquisite forest with huge trees, dappled sunlight filtering through the trees with apple groves, it was absolutely exquisite. I think we appreciated it even more because of the incredibly hot walk we'd just been on.

We passed welcome EPW signs, first time we'd been welcomed into a Village. With 2 kilometers to go we were so excited and could literally smell that coffee and apple strudel. The village had the strangest name, Pornòapáti. Well guess what?!  When we arrived there was no coffee or strudel. There was only a little minimart with water and bananas. We were disappointed!!

The villages we walked through had beautiful well-kept homes and colorful gardens. When we crossed the border, which was not really a border just a mark and a signboard, from Hungary into Austria it was quite eerie. They had photographic scenes along the road from the days of Communism of people being shot, tanks, barbed wire fences and lookout stations with big spotlights. 'Lest we never forget'!!!!

There was also a maze and a bunker that you could walk through. I started to walk down it and the energy was so hectic that I backed straight out. From a historical point, it's very important that they have these scenes displayed along the way because once again people need to remember what happened and already there are factions of communities saying it never happened. What makes me so sad is that I don't think we've learnt anything because history keeps repeating itself. 

[rolenejaffe]

Jaw Dropping Scenery

Peace  Love  and Gratitude  Day 10 - Friday July 21st, 2017

I didn't sleep very well and had to get up early be at the bus station by 7am.

Once again the scenery has to be seen to be believed. The turquoise water, small beaches, harbors, islands in the middle of the sea, cliffs, forests, huge rock formations falling into the ocean and on and on and on. It is jaw dropping scenery. It breaks my heart to say this but Cape Town coastline you come 2nd. There's no question our actual beaches are magnificent, whew I feel better having said that!! 

It was supposed to be a 4 1/2 hour bus journey but it landed up being 6. Only 2 loo stops, so I really couldn't drink enough water. I arrived in Dubrovnik exhausted and dehydrated. I had no clue what to expect and was completely blown away. I've never watched Game of Thrones, I don't know what it's about, but this city is definitely a movie set, wow wow wow. I checked into a beautiful Hostel. It's only been open a month. It is a magnificent old renovated building to keep the old charm.

The hostel took about 15 of us to watch the sunset but we didn't fully see the sunset because the clouds came up but nevertheless it was beautiful.  I came back to the city while everyone else went on a pub crawl. I walked around for a while before heading off to bed. What an amazing day. I look forward to searching out the alleyways and streets tomorrow.

[rolenejaffe]

Homemade Swimsuit

Peace  Love  and Gratitude  Day 9 - Thursday July 20th, 2017

When I woke up this morning and put on my black gym bra and black panties, I twirled around the room shouting magic magic magic. My bra and panties turned into a bikini wow.

Several years ago I was sitting at the dinner table at my Aunty Myra home and for no apparent reason I had wiped my mouth on the tablecloth. I had never done that before. She was horrified and said Lulu, my nickname, that's a tablecloth not a serviette/napkin. I started to laugh and I looked at her and I said the tablecloth doesn't know it's not a serviette/napkin and so this silliness was born. The same about my bra and panties today. Now that you know the history, let me share the rest of my magical day.

I have been traveling for 41 days today and I decided that I was going to just chill. I got out of bed at 10 o'clock and called an Uber. They were 4 minutes away then 30 then 45 minutes away and then my driver phoned me to say he's an hour away because there's been a traffic jam because of a fire and I should get another Uber. I canceled my drive with him and got charged. I'm very pleased to tell you that I called and left a message and within half an hour they had responded and reversed my payment. I was very impressed.

I found my way to the beach and I was there by 12 o'clock. I stayed till 6:30 swimming, lying in the sun, sleeping and swimming in the sea; it was sheer bliss.

I met a fabulous young lady, Nedhma, on the beach and we went out for dinner together. I really had a lot of fun! 

[rolenejaffe]

Blessed Blessed Blessed

Peace  Love  and Gratitude  Day 8 - Wednesday July 19th, 2017

The bus ridge from Sibinek to Split was totally insane. Firstly, I woke up at 5am and by 7am I was at the bus station. It was the best 2.5 hour ride EVER. We mostly rode along the coast and each village, city, town we drove past was prettier than the next. Each harbor was filled with boats and yachts of various sizes. I kept trying to get photos but the bus wouldn't stop for me to get photos, damn. It was a visual feast for my eyes; absolutely incredible. 

Nothing prepared me for arriving at the bus station. Ugh, there were so many people.  I definitely did not want to be with so many tourists. I had just left a small coastal peaceful town. I had to catch a local bus to get to my backpackers. The place was so far away. I checked into a huge hostel and to my disappointment it was far away from the old city. It would be another bus journey, which I am definitely not going to do so it was Uber to the rescue. My driver was a fabulous young IT student who was fluent in English. We raced around to find the walking tour, which this time it wasn't free; it is 100 Kuna. I got seriously lucky. I was the only person on the English tour.  I had this wonderful young Doctor of Archaeology take me around the castle, palace, and all around the wonderful little streets all to myself. Yippee yay, I could ask as many questions as I liked, I really appreciated that. Guess what I asked her? I dare you. Is there a Jewish community and a Synagogue?  

Yes to everything. During the walk she took me to see the Synagogue and we discovered it was closed for the day. We were standing there talking and I asked her if she knew the hours of operation. A man walked past us and answered my question; it is open again tomorrow morning. Oh no I won't be here!! GUESS what??????? He's the man who does the tours. He told me he would open it up for me at 4 pm!

Lucky lucky me I love my life and how if it's meant to happen it always does. I feel blessed blessed blessed in so many ways and on so many levels. 

The history of Split in its early days revolves around a Greek settlement founded in the area between the 3rd and 4th centuries. It is most famous for its historical development. In 295 AD, Roman emperor Diocletian ordered a residence to be built there for his retirement, as it was close to the nearby large Roman settlement of Salona (present-day Solin, about 5km from Split).

It took ten years to build this magnificent palace and Diocletian lived there until he died in 313 AD. After his death, many Roman rulers continued to use it as a retreat.

Built in 4th century,  it is now 17 centuries old and still being inhabited, which isn't that mind boggling. Do you think anything we've built would survive 17 centuries?

The most important thing to remember about the palace is that it has been a living City/Palace since the 3rd Century. If it had not been lived in it would have been an archaeological ruin today and that is what makes it so spectacular. 

Notes from the day:

Roman Imperial palace declared Unesco. World Heritage site in 1978.

Population of Split 1700 people. 

Croatia 4 million.

Largest city Adriatic Sea. 

Klis fortress protected the whole area.  

60,000 people lived in the Palace area and surroundings back in the day.

After 20 years of being Emperor, Diocletian retired. He surprised the world. It takes the expression enough is enough to a whole new level.

Being an army man with an army mind he fortified his palace with walls, which was a first.

People live in apartments in the palace today.

The fact that people chose to move in and live there is what has preserved the palace today.

There are several smaller palaces built within the largest Palace.

Papalic family decorated the front entrance of their Palace with their family crest, a Dragon.

In the palace, the ground floor was used for storage, the first floor home to members of the family and top floor was the kitchen. If there was a fire it was at the top, which was very cleaver back in the day.

Jupiter Temple is the best preserved in the world. Absolutely amazing!

The Synagogue is the third oldest synagogue still operating in Europe. The 1st Synagogue is in Prague and the 2nd in Dubrovnik.

Today, Croatia is home to eight synagogues and associated organizations, located in Zagreb, Rijeka, Osijek, Split Dubrovnik, Čakovec, Daruvar, Slavonski Brod. Of these, the Zagreb community is the largest and most active, organizing events such as the annual Zagreb Jewish Film Festival to promote Jewish culture and identity.

The Jewish communities of Croatia flourished in the 13th and 14th centuries, with the communities enjoying prosperity and peaceful relations with their Croatian neighbors.

This ended in 1456, when Jews, along with most non-Catholic Croats, were forced out. There followed 200 years where there are no records of Jews in Croatia.

World War I brought about the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and upheaval for the Jewish communities of the region. 

The Nazi invasion was the doom of Croatian Jewry. Under the Germans, the Croatian ultra-nationalist Ustaše movement came to power. Croatian fascists established a state called the Nezavisna Država Hrvatska (NDH), which translates to Independent State of Croatia. The Ustaše were notoriously anti-Semitic, and wasted little time in instituting anti-Jewish legislation and persecuting the Jews under their control.

The Ustaše set up concentration camps at Kerestinec prison, Jadovno, Metajna and Slana. The most notorious, were heinous crimes and cruel torture perpetrated against Jewish and Serbian prisoners, were at Pag and Jasenovac. At Jasenovac alone, 20,000 Jews were murdered.

During the Holocaust, the Ustaše murdered a total of 32,000 Jews (including 20,000 of the 23,000-25,000 Croatian Jews or 75 percent of the country's pre-war Jewish population.

The Catholic Church and the Catholic Bishop of Sarajevo, Ivan Šarić, published in his diocesan newspaper that "the movement to free the world of Jews, represents the movement for the restoration of human dignity". Omniscient and omnipotent God is behind this movement " In July 1941, the Franciscan priest, Dionysius Juričev, in Novi list wrote that "it is no longer a sin to kill a seven year-old child".

Only 5,000 Croatian Jews survived the war.

The post-war Jewish community of Croatia became highly assimilated, with 80% of Zagreb's 1,500 Jews either born into mixed marriages, or married to non-Jews. In 1991, there were approximately 2,000 Jews in Croatia.

Eish the Catholic Church played such a big part in aiding the Germans in perpetuating hate and lies about the Jews till as late as 15 years ago.

My son went to a boarding school when he was 12.  He phoned me one day in tears because his religious instruction teacher told the class the Jews killed Christ and he was the only Jewish child in the class. He was traumatized .

I immediately called the Rabbi in Natal, got into my car and drove from Botswana to Treverton. It was an 8-hour journey. The following day the principal, the Rabbi and myself met with the teacher. He had to apologize to my son in front of the entire class and was told if he ever said that again he would lose his job. 

After walking around the castle for 3 hours and visiting the synagogue I found myself a nice quiet place to spend the next three hours people watching, drinking coffee and just enjoying the unbelievable magical gift of where I was. Feeling blessed.

I had the most wonderful pasta dish for dinner and I was very proud of myself I caught the bus home and was asleep in seconds when I got back.

[rolenejaffe]

#networkerofnote

Peace Love and Gratitude Day 7 - Tuesday July 18th, 2017

I really wasn't ready to wake up at 7 o'clock this morning and get on the bus to carry on my journey to the next town. The air con on the bus is not working very well so it’s not a whole lot of fun. At least it’s only a 1 1/2 hour long journey. Once I got off the bus I went straight to do a free walking tour then have something to eat. I walked around the town, it is small. I'm so pleased I have a small backpack to walk around with all day because it's so light.

I am definitely the little #networkerofnote. I met a great kid in the backpackers the other night. He's 26 years old and he is an IT Engineer born and raised in Guadeloupe. He currently is living in Spain on a contract. He decided to do his PhD in Cybersecurity. I'm fascinated because I know nothing about it. We had a fabulous chat as he educates me on it. He's so sweet; as he talks he just giggles haha. It was a treat to met him. The following day I was sitting on the boat chatting to a man sitting next to me. He is the HR manager for IBM in Belgium. I asked him what IBM is up to these days because you don't hear about them like you used to back in the day. I tell him about the youngster I met and what he's studying. He asked me to please tell him to get in touch with IBM because they are always looking for people in this field. It's one of IBM areas of expertise moving forward. #Networkeofnote

I love my skills.

Facebook can be amazing and pretty shocking all at the same time. On my newsfeed today I found out that another beloved one had left the planet. What a shock! A courageous and magical powerful teacher Shakti Nevertheless. Just seeing it unprepared really threw me. It is  the second person in two weeks; pretty intense.

I went on a walking tour this afternoon and jotted down some notes:

Otok Zlarin Island is where they process Coral.

Krapanj Island is where all the sponges come from.

St Nicholas Fortress  has just been declared a Unesco Heritage Site.

Muscle tuana octopuse farms are all around this area and they are  as fresh as they get.

Croates created Sibinek.

The city is surrounded by the wall is no longer in use, so businesses on the left side and private appartments are on the right side.

Sibinek was an industrial city after the war then changed to tourism. After 5 years ago they had 1 hotel and now they have 3.

They are also famous for their wine, most homes had a cellar and produce their own wine.

They have their own version of a 'fat cake' 'koeksister' deep fried, small round blobs, sprinkeled with castor sugar, delicious.

Sibinek had its own theatre which started in 1920.

Peter Bacia built 300 organs in his life in Sibinek.

The books I have pictures of were printed and then each picture was hand painted, wow!

In 1895 the main park got electric lights and it was the first park in Europe to do that.

Two fortes were built in 4 months and even children were involved in the building.

There is a huge blues and jazz concert this weekend. I'm going to miss it.

I went into only Serbian Orthodox synagogue filled with beautiful icons.

There are 28,560 stairs in the city.

A Sibinek button was created for men and womens clothing. This technique was brought to this region by Yemons and Syrians a vert delicate intricate craft.

Men used the buttons on their jackets.

Babies were given one when they were baptized.

Brides wear rosemary on their dresses when they get married. It boosts your memory and the story is not too forget that magnificent day.

It's a city of 66,000 inhabitants and it gained its city status in 1914.

I totally fell in love with this seaside resort. It was quiet and beautiful and It would have been great to spend another day there.

[rolenejaffe]

Counting my Blessings

Peace Love and Gratitude Day 6 - Monday July 17th, 2017

Had a wonderful sleep last night, apparently I snored and one of the young girls went to sleep next door. Eeeek I feel really bad but what do you do? I've never heard myself, my ex husband always said he'd record me, but he never did so I'm sure its not true. 

I walked to the pier and boarded a boat with about 100 people and off we went. The area we went through was absolutely exquisite; islands all over the place. My pictures don't do it justice. 

Some notes:

The water is blue crystal clear. 

There are 150 islands on Kuna 

440 different species of plants

300 private holiday homes in the park. 

300 kilometers of dry wall.

Sea 70 meters deep

66 species of Coral 

Adriatic dolphins are only found in this region. 

It was a whole day trip. It was run very well, we got a snack and lunch on the ship. 

We were on the beach and I swam for 3 hours #pebblebeach, #rockboulderbeach it was so funny. Swimming in the beautiful Adriatic ocean. I completely and absolutely enjoyed it!!

I arrived back to the city at 5pm and walked around the Old City for the next 7 hours. What's really interesting on this side of the world is that the museums and galleries stay open till midnight so there's no excuse to miss them.

#museumofancientglass #museumofillusions #Chagallexhibition

#StMarysChurchancientsilverandgoldexhibition

#seaorgan

It was now midnight and I have been going since 7am. I don't like to miss out on anything. 

I took a 20 minute walk back to my backpackers and I plopped into bed with the air con on and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

What a day, I count my blessings all day.

[rolenejaffe]

Plintvice Lakes

Peace Love and Gratitude Day 4 - Saturday July 15th, 2017

What an extraordinary day today, I was up at 6am on a bus already and was at the Lakes by 7am. I had three options for the day but choose to do an 8-hour walk/magical adventure. About 90% of it was walking and then there's a bus ride for 10 minutes and a boat ride on the River. Oh my gosh I've never seen anything like it!

Plitvice Lakes National Park is one of the oldest national parks in Southeast Europe and the largest national park in Croatia. In 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage register.

The national park was founded in 1949 and is situated in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia, at the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The important north-south road connection, which passes through the national park area, connects the Croatian inland with the Adriatic coastal region. The protected area extends over 296.85 square kilometers (73,350 acres). About 90% of this area is part of Lika-Senj County, while the remaining 10% is part of Karlovac County. Each year, more than 1 million visitors are recorded.

For at least 80% of the time you walk on wooden walkways and every corner you turn around there's another blue lake with waterfalls and incredible vegetation. When you walk up the hill, you are at the top of the waterfall and then you walk all the way down to the bottom. Some of the lakes are huge while others are smaller. I took a million pictures because everything is so beautiful. Then we walked through amazing forests with huge trees. I went into one section off the pathway because I saw what looked like tomatoes growing and as I turned the corner there was a huge green snake! Thank goodness it slithered away and I went straight back onto the pathway, forget the tomatoes.

I had to catch a taxi about 20 km to where I'm spending the night. I'm in staying at a great backpackers. It's new with high ceilings and 10 of us are in a room. The rooms are big as well. I think I must be at least 40 years older than everybody here.

I'm going to have a fun evening with all the youngsters tonight, wish me luck. Actually I love being around them and talking to them. Hearing their views on the world and how passionate they are about change and the environment.  They are the future and so it's great to actually hear their opinions and why they think what they do, it keeps me young and on my toes!!!

A 25 kilometers day at my own pace.

I'm going to post their official video and some of my interesting pictures.

[rolenejaffe]

Packing Light

Peace Love and Gratitude Day 3 - Friday July 14th, 2017 

I had the pleasure of sleeping in late this morning and only woke up about 8:45. I was very excited because I packed my backpack last night and posted it to my next destination. I am traveling so light for the next in 10 days it's hilarious! I have ONE of everything listed in my little day pack; bra, panty, long pants, t-shirt, skirt, a new happy dress, 2 pairs of socks, sweater, my wrap around that I refer to as 'miss everything,' sandals, walking shoes and a small box of toiletries. Now that's light!!! I just love it!

I bought myself a bright happy dress, which is very sweet. You'll see me wearing everyday in the photos and of course I had to buy a pair of socks to match pink and turquoise. It also matches my skirt. I'm not wearing my thick grey Camino socks anymore. I also bought myself a little happy red heart purse. It was a big shopping spree today. I have a new name for myself #shabbychicbackpacker

I think I look terribly cute but I don't think I'd win a competition for the best-dressed woman that’s for sure. It's practical, the dress you can wash every night and it will dry in the morning. What more can a #backpackingtraveller ask for. 

I missed the bus!!! I bought my ticket and the guy told me to go and stand at number 305 exit. I get to 305 and there are about 20 people. I looked down the stairs and it looks like the doors closed so I think they will open the door when the bus is there. Five minutes before the bus is supposed to leave a woman walks down the stairs and she doesn't come back up so I go down the stairs and I stand at number 305. I look at my watch and it's now 3:05 and the bus has gone. I go back to the ticket office to the same man who sold me my ticket looking all lost and forlorn and explain to him what I did. For an extra €3 I purchase another ticket and immediately go downstairs and get onto the bus. Note to self never wait upstairs always go down to where the buses leave.

The bus driver was a maniac, oh my gosh!! I was sitting right in the front and I had closed my eyes several times. The views were beautiful as we flashed past fields, valleys and an army airport museum. 

I checked into my accommodation for the night and I felt like I was in a palace compared to last nights with 6 of us in the room and it feeling like a sweat Lodge. I have a whole cottage to myself. I'm walking around; I don't know what to do with myself.

I'm heading to Plitvice Lakes National Park tomorrow and in Slung Rastoke they have a little national park. I got a 'baby' taste of waterfalls.  The pictures will tell the story.

[rolenejaffe]

Peace Love and Gratitude

Peace Love and Gratitude Day 1 and 2 - Wednesday July 12th, 2017 and Thursday July 13th 2017

My life is mine. Others can try to persuade me but they can’t decide for me. They can walk with me but not in my shoes. I need to continually ensure I allow myself to be on autocorrect and make sure the path I decide to walk aligns with my own intuition and desires and not to be scared to switch paths or pave a new one when it makes sense for me RIGHT now.

This 2nd leg of my Journey I’m calling Peace Love and Gratitude

What to do with my free days now that I'm off the EPW?

Blessed blessed blessed is all I can say. I had the undivided attention of Nikola from Accredo this morning courtesy of Vanja. We planned my trip through Croatia from Zagreb to Dubrovnik for the next 10 days. It was so exciting and I was feeling more confident as the morning progressed. I sorted out my cell phone and I am now locally connected. I am under strict instructions from Vanja and Nikola that I can call them at anytime if I need help. They have friends everywhere along the route. With Grace my trip sorted all out, I jumped onto the bus at 3:50.

It definitely takes a certain level of 'braveness' to travel alone in a foreign speaking country. My bus journey was 1 1/2 hours through rolling hills, fields of green and yellow. I had a short snooze and to be honest I was feeling a bit stressed. I was excited to see they had a toilet on the bus and after drinking 1 liter of water to discover that all the toilets on Croatian busses are locked. They’re on display!!!

I was happy to discover Uber is operational in Zagreb. It is new and there's a lot of friction between the taxi drivers. I was also pleased to hear they don't shoot one another. 

It was only a 16 minute walk from the train station to my backpackers but it was hot and I was tired.  I decided to Uber it instead. I didn't think it would be a good idea to call an Uber to be collected at the bus station, so I walked down the road and stood outside a restaurant and got picked up there.

It was inexpensive and within 15 minutes I was in my room. I laid down on the bed and from exhaustion I fell asleep and woke up 3 hours later.

Switched on Google maps and off I went to the center of the old town, which was absolutely buzzing. The park was full of families sitting under these huge trees, different food truck selling amazing food, a live concert, not my kind of music but it was fun to experience. I spend the next 1 1/2 hours walking around the city. My motto is you can’t get lost if you don't know where you going. I just walked around and when I was ready to go home I switched Google maps back on. I landed up being closer to my backpackers than where I was in the evening, haha

When I got into my room there were 6 people inside. It felt like I was in a sweat lodge it was so hot. Maybe I'll loose weight sweating for 6 hours, what do you think???  It was difficult falling asleep, duh. I love that word. I was feeling a lot more confident about my decisions and myself. I didn't sleep like a baby haha or maybe I actually did!

I seem to have my weird sense of humor back again; I’m pleased about that and I'm not sure how you feel reading it.

[rolenejaffe]

Thank you Vanja and Nikola

EPW Day 9- Tuesday July 11th, 2017

Last night we slept in a modern B&B. I slept on the couch and it took me a while to fall asleep but once I did I was out like a light. 

In the morning, Nikola from Accredo came to collect us and dropped us on our route.  

I learnt all about Geocaching today from our driver, Nikola. It was so fascinating to learn about because I didn't know a thing about it. He is completely passionate about its potential plus the fun that people have. You learn so much culturally from one site and one city to another. There is a tremendous amount of research that goes into setting up a spot. It’s very exciting; I think I may look for some sights on my travels. Now I'm really getting hip and tech savvy.

We started walking at about 7:30 – 8:00. It was basically a nice walk today; we walked along country roads, through forests and passed a beautiful lake. The lake was so still the reflections in the water were amazing. It was starting to get hot but it was tolerable; it was only 9:30. 

As we entered the forest today, that same panicked feeling came rushing back from yesterday when I wasn't able to see the group and I thought I was lost. It just popped up for me like a knee jerk reaction. I definitely didn’t want that to happen again so even though I was already walking at 'boot camp speed' I was vigilant and made sure I had everybody in my sights. Marg was also making sure i was around. I really appreciated that.

I'm not sure if I shared this before in one of my posts but what I've realized about the EPW and my group is that on the Camino I got up each day and walked 10, 15 maybe 20 kilometers. I strolled through the day on the Camino. I took my time, I stopped in the forests, I smelled the roses, I stopped at cafes, and I met people along the way and chatted with them. I really enjoyed my days even if I was exhausted. With my EPW group we don't do that. Not once have we stopped in the forest for 5 minutes. We just keep going and that's what I'm not enjoying. 

I also realized that the dynamics of every group is different and this is the way my group operates. So should I do? I haven't sung once on this walk and on the Camino I would sing every day. I feel this is telling me something.

One of the things that I've loved about the EPW is that the roads and pathways are clean. There isn’t any trash lying around until today. We walked out of one of the forests and they must have been 8 or 9 pieces of tissue and toilet paper. That makes me so sad; it’s so disrespectful. Toilet paper is not biodegradable. Come on guys, how about carrying a little ziplock bag for your loo paper guys????

When I walked the Camino an older woman showed me that she had a scarf hanging from her backpack which she called her 'loo' scarf, it got washed everyday and there was no loo paper lying around after she'd made a wee. I have my own special "loo scarf" this year, which was gifted to me by an REI employee in Atlanta. It has the following words on it “A woman's place is in the wild,’ ‘Outside is the largest playing field on earth.’  #womenareaforceofnature

Vanja Tarandek, the owner of Accredo, is an amazing young man. When he saw me, he told his staff that he thought that I was Jewish, which he was obviously right. So when we started chatting he told me about a synagogue that doesn't exist anymore but there's a memorial and a cemetery and he would definitely take me too see, how awesome is that!!!

I also told him about my dilemma with walking, how I was feeling and not coping. I asked him what he thought. After a lengthy discussion with him I made the decision to quit the EPW. This decision was extremely hard for me to do. I don't give up on things easily; I'm a fighter! This is different though and I have to honor my body and my mind.

I'm really sad about this and I'm now going to focus on the fact that I was on it for 10 days and managed to do what I could. Being a grown up isn't easy; when does it get easier?????

In Cakovec, the synagogue in this area was the oldest synagogue in this region. It was built in 1836 and it was torn down in 1944. Now there's a memorial to the synagogue and to the Jews of this area. In 1997 memorial was built.

Vanja and Nikola took me to the cemetery and unfortunately it was locked. If you want to get in you need to phone ahead. I took pictures through the fence; it is pretty overgrown. 

There are only 2 elderly Jews living in the city. As a result nobody visits the cemetery or has the ability to take care of the graves. I suppose that is the way of the world of dwindling or non-existent Jewish Communities especially throughout Europe. 

I feel very privileged and moved over the last two years to have been able to see some of these places

Thank you Vanja and Nikola for your generosity, thoughtfulness and time.

[rolenejaffe]

"To Sleep Like a Baby"

EPW Day 8- Monday July 10th, 2017

Today is a real treat breakfast in Hungary, lunch in Slovenia and dinner in Croatia!!!

That sounds absolutely idyllic but with temperatures soaring at 33 degrees and humidity at 80% I'm traveling with the bags through the countries to the Accredo adrenaline junkie center where we will be spending the night, yeah!

Lucky me I got to sleep in this morning and in an air-conditioned room; I loved it. The linen on the bed was cool and I slept like a baby. I really wonder where that expression comes from "to sleep like a baby" because babies don't sleep. If anyone can tell me I'm really curious as to the origin of that strange expression.

I spent 3 hours in the hot thermal pools doing as many stretches as possible. My calves and thighs feel completely locked. I had a wonderful lunch at the Dennis Hotel again. Renee was there to help and make sure everything went smoothly. I am sad I'm not walking through the three countries but I just can’t walk in this heat and that distance.  I am in the taxi right now with the air on and the temperature outside is 33 degrees! My taxi driver was telling me that the humidity here at the moment is at 95%. It also makes it difficult to breathe with that kind of humidity. No wonder we struggled like we did yesterday.

In some of the accommodations or bars there are no plugs in the basins; they don't have to worry about water on this side of the world because it is very wet and full of water.

We just drove through the Hungarian Slovenia border. Because of the European Union we don't need to get out of the car

You pass your passports out one window Slovenia; stamp. Then the next window is Croatia; stamp.

We just drove passed a shop called DAD it sells lawn mowers

I arrived at the Accredo Centre, which is also called an adrenaline junkie center. They have paintball, climbing walls, quad cars and everything else imaginable to make sure you have loads of fun. Companies come here and do team building activities. I just laughed to myself because can you imagine walking 30 kilometers in this heat and then jumping onto a quad bike and having fun.  Well actually they told me there's lots of the EPW Walkers that do just that. So amazing and what a fun place with great people.

We didn't sleep at the Accredo Centre. We were taken to a Bed and Breakfast apartment.  

There were thermal pools here, plus a zip line from the hotel to the swimming pool. This is obviously a magical holiday resort. We travelled through wine lands, small mountains and beautiful villages. I had dinner with Sue and Dave then went to bed early because we were being collected in the am and will be put back on the walk.

[rolenejaffe]

Time to Say Goodbye to EPW?!

EPW Day 7- Sunday July 9th, 2017

I walked outside today at 6:30 it was very beautiful under the shade in the forest.

I'm pleased that I put my shawl around my body to protect my arms and face. I definitely got a touch of sunstroke. There were so many fruit trees along the way cherry, apricot, apples, plums, pears and of course grapes.  

The humidity must have been 90% because our clothes were sticking to our bodies. I was sopping wet, it felt like I had just stepped out of the swimming pool. It's exhausting to walk and breath in these temperatures. I walked through some amazing forests, I got stung by a lot of netals but the directions along the path were good though.

We finally found a little coffee shop; the coffee was so strong it felt like it would keep me going for the next year. I also bought a package of raisins and chomped on them while I walked. There were massive fields of very very beautiful sunflowers. I decided I was going to make this a flower day today because there are so many beautiful flowers along the road and I'm trying to take as many pictures as possible. At times while walking I felt like I was the intrepid bushwhacker fighting my way through the overgrowth. It was taller than me; no seriously they were 5ft to be exact. As the afternoon progressed I physically felt I was going downhill at a rapid rate of knots. I cannot cope in this unbelievable heat and humidity we are experiencing. We spent most of the afternoon walking in the direct heat.

At one stage we were in the forest and I stopped to make a wee and when I went to pull up my pants it took me ages because my body was so wet with sweat. When I lifted my head I couldn't find my group. I knew that they wouldn't leave me and that I wouldn't be lost in the forest but I panicked. I started running in the tall grass and fell several times. I fell into mud while shouting for them and even almost lost my shoe. Eventually I heard Marge and she kept telling me to keep talking so she could find me. When I saw her she started walking ahead and the group kept going. I was shattered; nobody asked if I was okay and all I wanted was a hug. The truth of the matter is they would never have continued walking and left me in the forest but I felt so vulnerable and just had a complete meltdown. I don't know how I managed the rest of the walk; I was a mess. It felt like it was getting hotter and hotter and I had drunk over 3 liters of water.  

I really felt like I should give up the walk today, that it's just too much for me. I realized that on the Camino I strolled my way through 850km but on this walk it’s a boot camp that I'm walking. There is no strolling on this walk. My pace has increased tremendously and I'm really walking even faster to at least keep up with the group, well to keep them in sight.

I slept for 3 hours this afternoon. Actually I didn't sleep I think I just died of exhaustion. I have to really think about this walk and how much I can actually do a day in this heat. What would be best for me and also to be fair to the group?

I think its “Time to Say Goodbye”..... Andrea Bocelli

[rolenejaffe]

Another boot camp day on the road

EPW Day 6- Saturday July 8th, 2017 (part 2)

Last night there was a full moon and I believe it was a hectic one, I haven't checked why. I had the most shocking dreams that were violent, awful and so terrible I can't even talk about my dreams. I woke up feeling like I've gone through one of those old drying machines that have the two rollers and you put your clothes through it and it squeezes them dry. That's what I felt like this morning, my body felt bruised emotionally not physically and I actually felt very shaky.

Last night I had also received news that a high school friend of mine had ended his life and he had suffered from severe depression. Waves of sadness engulfed me at the thought of how desperate you must be and the absolute devastation and sadness for his children, family and very close friends. Reading his FB posts over the last few months it was obvious he was depressed. So by reading them and not doing anything what does that make me? I don't know, I’ve been looking for answers?

I’m asking myself, could we as a community have done something different? What can we all learn from this? How could you do it differently next time for someone else?

I said a prayer for Tony, Jaya and Mira. I can only hope he is at peace.

I spent the morning once again catching up on my blogs, which I don't seem to be very successful doing but I think finally I'll be done by today. I won’t hold my breath. I just seem to faff around and do all kinds of things. I’m not very focused at the moment.

I joined my group halfway through the day today. They had left at 6am and it was another scorcher of a day. I begin my walk at 11 o'clock and we got in around 2pm. It was a fairly easy walk today. The route was easy to follow this time because there was great signage posted. It was very muddy and slushy in sections. I fell a few times, tripped on the long grasses, which were higher than me. Slipped in the mud and my shoes were caked with mud which made them feel really heavy. Lots of stinging nettles, eish they sting. There was a section where we had to walk sideways high up in the grass because there was just water everywhere. It was fun! The greens in the landscapes were unbelievable from almost lime green to very very dark green. We didn't have a lot of shade today; we walked through some forests and got a bit of cloud cover towards the end. 

Because the humidity was so high I didn’t realize how sun burnt I was getting, I was really cooking, I could not cool myself down. Right now this walk is no fun at all, each day feels like another boot camp with no time to rest. A stop in the beautiful forest and have a 10 minute meditation I'm not having fun at all, its way to intense for mel!!!!!

It was very exciting to see the name of our accommodation written on a tree, GO NO and realize that we were probably a couple of hundred meters away. Yay it's time to jump in the pool. I actually had to go back into the pool 3 times to try and cool my body down it was cooking. In the garden they had a little enclosure and five of the sweetest little puppies, I got to go kiss and cuddle, oh my gosh puppies always smell like puppies, duh, they were delicious... 

Had a good night's sleep we left early in the morning another boot camp day on the road.

[rolenejaffe]

Janet’s Home

EPW Day 5 and 6- Thursday July 6th, 2017 and Friday July 7th, 2017

Everyone told us that the Fabulous Janet would be fabulous. In meeting her and chatting it was clear to see the depth of her genuine concern and love for the EPW as an organization and it's success and those of us who walk it. Her attitude on life is: nothing is too much trouble, everything can be sorted, and we'll make it all happen. She certainly does all of that in her stride without being flustered, which is simply amazing.

We stayed at Janet’s for 2 days and her food was amazing. She made Cherry Soup for lunch which is a Hungarian specialty requested by Dave. Oh my gosh it was incredible!

Friday afternoon she dropped us off at the lake so we could experience something different. Then at Dave's request again we were fed Langos, another Hungarian traditional food, it was totally delish. Langos is a deep fried flat bread made of a dough with flour, yeast, salt and water (a kind of bread dough). It is eaten fresh and warm, topped with sour cream and grated cheese, garlic or garlic butter, or doused with garlic water.

While we were lazing in the sun she was busy organizing a concert so that Dave from Simply Red could play with their local band. There were at least 30 people who attended, the youngsters in the band were so excited to play with such an accomplished musician, it was all a surprise. Just another example of the mischief she gets up to in a day. At dinner time plates of wonderful vegetarian food just kept rolling out of the kitchen; magic, magic, magic.It was sad to leave this amazing stop on the EPW. I know our whole group felt the same way.

To quote the words of the Rocky Horror Show 'Janet Janet we love you!' 

Recipe for Cherry Soup

Add cherries, with their juice, to a 4-quart saucepan. Add salt, cinnamon stick, and lemon. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until cherries are soft, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream and 1⁄4 cup of hot cherry liquid from pan.