the first thing we didn’t know was the fact that the highway from the Hungarian border to Zagreb was rather new and not many people were using it. no trucks for example. so we were stuck on the gas station near the border and not a single car (apart from the one with Croatian plates, but filled to the roof) was going to Croatia. people were going mostly to Slovenia and Italy from there.

texting with our Zagrebian host we were trying both: standing on the sideway with the Zagreb sign and asking people if they’re going in the right direction. our host was very understanding and she was worried that we can’t make it to her place. she was even agreeable to wait for us till midnight. but as the time went by we understood that there was no chance we can sleep in Zagreb that night. that was the second sleepless night in a row, but we were two strong and determined girls, so we had to deal with that somehow.

I was going around the station looking for a not sleeping person who could take us. I met a Romanian guy, who promised to ask on CB radio if somebody’s going the right direction. then I talked to a Polish guy who was going to sleep soon, but before that he found us a driver going to the second frontier post, from which we were supposed to stand a bigger chance to get a lift.

so we ran with all our stuff (mine: a backpack, a handbag & a guitar) to the truck which were waiting for us like a hundred meters behind the gas station. we were almost falling on the road, but we ran anyway. that was the new hope which got into us.

it was a 30-minute ride. and then we were stuck on another gas station, that time near the border with Slovenia. of course no one was going from there to Croatia as well, but our last driver told us he’s going to Maribor in the morning, so if we wouldn’t find any ride till then he’d take us. but it was around 9pm, so we were sitting on the pavement in front of the station waiting for a miracle to happen. a miracle did not happen, but around 10pm some guys from the minibus with Ukrainian plates stopped by and in very bad English asked if they can help us. they told us that we’d probably have a better chance to get a ride to Zagreb from Lubljana.

so we decided to go to Lubljana with six guys. just in case I put my pocket knife in my pocket, but first thing I did after we set out was falling asleep, so they could drive us anywhere if they wanted. anyway, they happened to be good guys and they took us to the gas station in Lubljana like they promised. the only thing wasthat we were on the wrong side of the road, but luckily there was a bridge over the highway, so we didn’t have to run through it. I probably wouldn’t be able to such run anyway with the guitar and stuff.

we stood on the right side of the road for some time and I was feeling guilty, ‘cos I really thought I made the wrong decission and Anna was looking at me as if she wanted to kill me. I talked to the guy working on the station, then to two Serbs, who were going to Austria, and eventually I talked to the Slovenian guy who was driving bread and buns in his car. he offered to take us to Maribor from which there is a straight road to Croatia and many people go that way. although he had some objections about how we’re gonna make it to fit three people in such a small place, I told him we’re used to even worse conditions.

and so we fitted inside and it was not so bad apart from the fact that I couldn’t move my legs at all. Anna was sleeping again and I was trying not to, so I remember the whole way to Maribor. I had a feeling we visited almost the whole Slovenia that night (it’s not a big country after all). somewhere in the middle of nowhere we got sandwiches from our driver and then we continued to the small gas station in the middle of another nowhere close to Maribor. the guy left us there with coffees and promised to go back soon.

it started raining and it was almost 5 in the morning, so we were happy to sit in someplace warm with a coffee and a cigarette. the young guy working on the station was very nice to us - apart from coffee we got croissants for breakfast and a sign saying “ROG.” (which stands for Rogaška Slatina, a town close to the Croatian border). he was also asking everybody if they could take us.

the rain almost stopped falling around 5:30, so we went to the road again. in a while the black car drew in, a woman stormed out of it and started to yell at us in Slovenian. but when she realized we’re not from there and we have no clue why she’s yelling at us, she smiled, helped us with our backpacks and took us as close to Rogaška Slatina as she could. after she dropped us off I didn’t even have a chance to smoke my cigarette, when another car stopped.

it was a middle-sized truck with a Bosnian guy inside. when we got close to the border I had to get off and use my feet to pass the border. I was asked where I’m planning to go in Croatia and then I got a stamp without any problems. I sat on the pavement in front of the gas station and the next hour I spent waiting for them, freezing, taking the first pictures from this trip and eventually listening to my mp3 player. they finally picked me up at 8am.

so we were in Croatia at last! great! luckily our driver was going to Zagreb, so we got there in an hour or so. I was mostly sleeping. and Anna was taking the sleeping pictures of me…