Elora goes backpacking | FindPenguins

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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Bucharest Last Day 27
July 26, 2025 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C
The time had finally come for my last day to arrive. I was originally supposed to leave a week before but I extended because I wasn’t ready to leave.

The first picture is Daniel aka mama Daniel. He is the volunteer manager and he truly was such a cool Scottish guy and “mother” to us girls. He made sure we had anything we needed and didn’t play with rude people against us. Soooo we came up with the idea to make him a letter with us photoshopped on it as his babies and of course he loves a good ciggy and Randi’s breakfast tea so he had to have both in the picture as well. Us girls signed it and gave it to him and he was laughing so hard. I also featured mici the cat who is also his child and stuck photos around the hostel for fun.

The night my bus was at 11 so I spent time with everyone and when the time was coming up roisín started crying which made me cry because I was the first to leave and I was the first to arrive so we spent every day together. The experience was ending for all of us as we were leaving within the same 3 days of each other so it hit even harder to know “attic babes” we’re going our separate ways. We had to take one last photo in my bed together since that was the late night chat bed and it hit really hard. When I walked around saying bye to everybody I started sobbing and it was warming to know that I had such a good experience and impact at T5 social. I plan to be back one day and I am beyond thankful to have had 4 weeks there even though it only felt like a week.Read more
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Sofia, Bulgaria
July 27, 2025 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
I took an over night bus from Bucharest to Sofia from 11pm to 6:30 am. I finally arrived at my hostel around 7am and I was exhausted because I didn’t sleep much. I ended up meeting a girl named Frieda when I arrived and it was her first time solo traveling and she was 18 so I “adopted” her for the day and she was so sweet and thankful. We planned a walking tour at 10 am so we sat at the hostel until then and a guy named hamza who was also on a solo journey for a week trip so I also adopted him even though we were the same age haha.

We all went on the walking tour together and then got lunch before going back to the hostel to finally check in and take naps. At the hostel I wasn’t really impressed, especially with the staff and I had an attitude with one of them because they lowkey called me a liar. I had spoken to a worker in the morning to make sure I could pay with card and I was told yes. When I got back to check in and pay a different guy asked me if I had cash and I told him no and that I was told I could pay with card. He decided to tell me “I highly doubt you were told that” to which I replied I highly remember I was and slapped my card on the counter to which the original guy walks up and said yes. I then went and got my bed and took a nap.

That evening I went out with them and explored more before getting a traditional dinner and I even tried veal liver and it was actually quite good but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat it again truthfully. After we went back and I got some sleep since I had to be awake super early and I was only on 3 hours of sleep.

Sofia was pretty but not my favorite city truthfully. I had 23 hours in the city and that was enough for me.Read more
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Skopje, Macedonia
July 28, 2025 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
God I am beyond behind on posting but I had less than 24 hours in Skopje and I ended up meeting a lot of really cool people. 3 people that I met I told to go to Shkoder Albania where I was heading to and they ended up going.

Anyways, I did a walking tour and some street dogs even joined along. I had lots of great traditional food and walked 30,000 steps it was insane! Also, fun fact… the city and government are very corrupt and in 2014 the government used laundered money and made over 300 statues and buildings that were not built with great materials leading to all of the statues being hollow and breaking apart. The city is also referred to as the Vegas of Europe. It was a beautiful city though and I think it is underratedRead more
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Ohrid, Macedonia Day 1
July 29, 2025 in North Macedonia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
Got to Ohrid by bus and found out a girl from my last hostel was staying so we decided to meet up later in the evening. I went out and got vodka chicken pasta and it was SOOOOOO GOOD! I also had local wine and treated myself to some tiramisu at the restaurant. That evening we walked around and then went in for the night since we both had long days.Read more
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Ohrid Day 2
July 30, 2025 in North Macedonia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
This day Jade (a girl I met in Skopje) and I went to go have a beach day for a little and then went walked around the city to the fortress and it was super nice but such a long walk up hills so that was rough. In the evening we met some people from the hostel and played card games before heading to bed!Read more
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Ohrid Day 3
July 31, 2025 in North Macedonia ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Last night in ohrid and I went on a Ferry with some guys from the hostel and went to the bay of bones museum (a colony built on water) and then went to the basilica near the Albanian border and had lunch and celebrated one of the guys birthdays. We got back and took naps before playing cards in the evening and tried local beer.

I also saw a peacock and it was sooo pretty it was the highlight probably hahaRead more
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Back to Shkoder!!
August 1, 2025 in Albania ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Took 2 busses back to Shkoder and the first one was to Tirana. The border line took 1.5 hours and the bus had no AC so we were all dripping sweat. I also saw a guy run back to the bus and fall and all of his pocket items went flying out and I was trying so hard not to laugh… he was okay. Got to Tirana and took a taxi to the bus station and then got on a bus to Shkoder.

I got to Shkoder and I was welcomed back with open arms and excitement from everyone it was so heartwarming to finally be back with my Albanian family.

I had met some people in Skopje that were going there so I convinced them to stay as well so that was really nice seeing friends in another country.Read more
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Shkoder Day 2 wine tour
August 2, 2025 in Albania ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Went to a wine tour in the city with the girlies and it was 15 euros for the tour, food, and 4 glasses of wine…. STEAL!! I was tipsy when I left and got a little extra. The owner also offered to let me take the cat but the hostel said no :(

It was such a lovely time and I am starting to like more red wines so yayayaRead more
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Shkoder Days 2-4
August 2, 2025 in Albania ⋅ 🌙 26 °C
Got my hair cut by Ada and she did wonderful and saved me money haha. We had some family dinners. They also got me a welcome back cake of tres leches my fav and it was soooo sweet.
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Shkoder Day 5-7
August 6, 2025 in Albania ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
I hosted task master here and everyone loved it but I can’t share the videos they are a little too messed up haha. We also did a day trip to prekal ( canyons and rivers) and it was soooo pretty and refreshing. I even saw a cow heheRead more
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Shkoder Day 8
August 8, 2025 in Albania ⋅ 🌙 26 °C
We had a photoshoot with a digital camera app I have and it was soooo much fun!! We all played games and took pics together around the hostel.
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Ulcinj, Montenegro trip
Aug 10–13, 2025 in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Amete and I needed a break so we took a bus up north to Montenegro and had a girls trip! The city was beautiful and sooo sunny! We watched the sunset in the old town each day and had so many fun laughs together. I am so thankful to have Amete (Donkey) in my life and to have met her!Read more
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Shkoder Day 13-16
August 13, 2025 in Albania ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Got back from Montenegro and took a nap before getting roped into going to prekal again for a few hours. It was beautiful and I actually swam this time because it wasn’t as cold. Got back and realized I forgot to separate my whites so my white clothes are now splotchy green but it made my packing decisions easier because I was contemplating getting rid of some of the clothes.

Fast forward, that evening I had the worst stomach ache and diarrhea… I’m talking on the toilet every hour on the hour. The next morning I had a nail appointment that I had cancelled already so I had to go. So I got some medicine and thugged it out. I went back to sleep after and then the lower back pain started. I slept all day and then went to bed early, but then it kept getting more and more unbearable and it reminded me of when I had a kidney stone 2 years ago. So I went to the ER but it’s not like what I’m used to so we didn’t stay we left and went to a pharmacy to get me medicine and now I’ve just been popping pain pills and sleep meds to rest it off and hydrating like my life depends on it with electrolytes…

Next day I went and pissed in a cup at a clinic and I await for results on Monday to see if there’s an infection and I will get my blood drawn that day to check levels as well.
Anyways, 99% sure it’s a kidney stone so if I could count how many I’ve had at the ripe age of 22 that is 2… 2 too many for my liking but here I am I guess.

Also… nail lady popped off 20 euros is a STEAL!!Read more
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Skoder Day 16-18
August 16, 2025 in Albania ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
Well ya girl has been feeling like death with a kidney stone and an infection but I got some good meds and had some good pets with my cat Miçi. Lina and I also found ice cream in the freezer and ate it and that revived me a little too. It was my last night in Shkoder and very bitter sweet to say the least.

From spending 2 weeks here in June and having my first volunteer exchange to leaving and asking to come back in August a week after leaving because I missed my Albanian family. Spending 2.5 weeks here this time and truly having the time of my life has been such a blessing to say the least. Albania carries a piece of my heart from now on and I will always cherish my time here. Until next time Shkoder ❤️🇦🇱Read more
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Shkoder - Belgrade
August 19, 2025 in Serbia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
The day finally arrived to say my goodbyes yo my Albanian family and leave for the summer for my next adventures. My Miçi boy knew I was leaving and gave me lots of cuddles and didn’t want to leave my side and it made me miss my cats a lot and reminisce on how big he has grown.

I threw my sandals away as well after 4 long months and 3 continents of walking because they were absolutely TRASHED! My bus was at 1pm but kept getting delayed which only made the goodbye even worse in my opinion. I thankfully met a guy from my hostel who was on the first bus with me so that made the leaving a little easier and no more tears shed as I cried the night before. Anyways, I said my goodbyes and Lina also went to the bus stop with me to say goodbye.

The bus had shit AC so I used my pashmina to cover the window because I am a genius and I had a 3 hour ride to Podgorica, Montenegro and then sat for 2 hours before my 9 hour bus to Belgrade, Serbia. The second bus wasn’t bad and I slept the whole time so I couldn’t complain. I arrived at like 4 am and took a taxi to my hostel and got a bed super early so STEAL!

My time in Shkoder, Albania has too many words to describe it, but I have left a piece of myself there and taken a large new foundation of myself along with me from there. As cliche as it sounds, it truly was the time of my life and I can’t wait to go back again one day. At heart I am now Albanian and I will always find comfort and peace when talking about Albania, especially Shkoder. My first Balkan country and my favorite to say the least. I have learned so much about myself from being there and I am honored and grateful to have had the experiences I had there with everyone.

To bitter sweet memories and Raki shots… faleminderit Albania ❤️🇦🇱Read more
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Belgrade, Serbia
August 20, 2025 in Serbia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
Sorry guys I am literally almost a month behind on posting. The last 3 weeks have been really fast travel for me and if I’m being honest I’m kind of drained mentally and physically. Don’t get me wrong, I am having such beautiful life experiences but I am socially drained and after spending long periods in some locations with people leaving gets really tough. Anyways let’s get on with the show haha

Serbia was an interesting experience… really depressing, but it was beautiful and the few people I did chat with were absolutely lovely. The one that stood out the most to me was a sweet older lady who owned a souvenir shop and we chatted for about an hour actually. We talked about everything and she was so happy that I came and didn’t have any predetermined notions about the country since it is often looked at negatively. But, if I have learned anything from traveling it is to not have a questionable opinion of a place from people that have never been or from media alone. By going to a city or country you can create your own experiences and opinions without being biased from others. Anyways, we also chatted about cats and she told me about her old man of a kitty that actually detected that she had cancer and it made my heart so warm because she saw my tattoo or Shadow and I told her about the amazing work she has done for my dad and I. I actually ended up going back to her the day I left and gave her the left over box of cat food that I had bought and she was so thankful.

Anyways let’s get into the nitty gritty. I went to the Nikola Tesla museum and it was sooo cool to say the least. I walked around the city and took a ton of busses since they were free and got to do a long random exploration for the day. I saw many cats that had google pages and I fed many of them haha. I also got over stimulated because the busses were lying to me and I was over heating so I went to McDonald’s to get a sweet treat haha.

I met some cool people at the hostel as well but stayed in because I was pretty tired. Great beds with curtains so that was steal haha. Left the next day around 4 to go to Budapest.Read more
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Belgrade to Budapest
August 21, 2025 in Hungary ⋅ 🌧 20 °C
Okay sooo I left Belgrade around 4pm and got a 6 hour bus to Budapest, Hungary. The bus wasn’t bad until… the border.
It took an hour of sitting for us to get to the border and when we got there we all got off the bus to do the stamps and passport control stuff and all was fine until they decided to make us ALL get off the bus with ALL of our stuff.
Now I have had border stops where they do the drug dogs or check 1-3 peoples bags but never everyone on the bus. Everyone was looking at each other in disbelief. So we all get off again with our stuff and they make us all line up infront of a table outside and they go to TOWN!!! They pull us up 1 by 1 and start pulling everything from our bags it was rough. To add to the experience it started pouring down rain and they didn’t care to let you repack on the table at all. You were forced to grab your loose items and bags and walk across to repack on the ground in the rain. It took about an hour for us to get through all of this and we were all baffled. Lightning even struck the roof above us and we all jumped.
Fast forward, we get back on the bus for about 5 seconds and have to get off again at the Hungary border and get stamped but thankfully it was a breeze.
We get back on the road and it was only another 1.5 hours but the bus driver decided to take the only stop of the journey for 30 min at a rest stop when we were only 30 min away so everyone was annoyed. We go and get food and I start chatting with some other people from the bus and we all laugh about the experience and then go on our ways.
I finally made it to Budapest around 11pm and then I met my friend Liam for a night out. I met him in Macedonia and in Albania so obviously we had to have a cross over in a 3rd country haha.Read more
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Budapest Day 2-3
August 22, 2025 in Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
Yall im so behind so speed run on posts

Chimney cake 10/10
Langos 12/10

Budapest is actually 2 cities split by the river so buda and pest… I actually thought it was a joke at first but no it’s real

Met some cool British guys at the hostel and had a blast with them.

Saw a good chunk of the city but it’s huge and spread out so definitely will be going back one day.Read more
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Elora goes backpacking Traveler
Bratislava, Slovakia
August 24, 2025 in Slovakia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Spent 2nights here and enjoyed every bit of it

The city was small but adorable and the hostel was an experience to say the least. First and last time I will stay there haha

Went to a lake party and that’s a story in its own. Went swimming and lost my favorite pants somehow so that was GREAT.

Met some cool people and even a corgi named mango.Read more
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Vienna
August 25, 2025 in Austria ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
Oh Vienna… one of my new favorite cities! Full of so much charm and culture. I also made friends with these 2 Canadians and they were so much fun to spend time with there!

The hostel was in an IKEA… yes you read that right!

We went to a palace and walked around the entire city.

I went to an 11 story aquarium for about 4 hours and it was a blast.

I dragged the boys Josh and Pavel who I was hanging out with the whole time out to a drag karaoke show at the hostel. I also somehow convinced everyone else in the room to go and it was so much fun!

We ended our last night at the travel shack and had the best time with cheap shots and new memories.

Vienna has a special place in my heart and I dream of going back again. As Billy Joel sings… “Vienna waits for you”Read more
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Prague, Czech Republic
August 28, 2025 in Czech Republic ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Took an hour bus to Prague from Vienna and met up with my girl Lina who I volunteered with in Albania. We partied a little and walked around the city.

Prague has the oldest astronomical clock because they were never bombed during wars.

The city is extremely clean and beautiful

Went at the worst time ever because it was pouring rain every day. I felt like a wet dog.

I would definitely like to go back one day but with some friends and more time.Read more
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Salzburg
August 31, 2025 in Austria ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
My dream finally came true… the sound of music tour!!
I took an overnight bus from Prague to Salzburg and arrived at 530 am. My tour was at 9am so I did school work at a coffee shop for a while and then I went and did my tour.

It was so magical and adorable!!
I spent 12 hours in Salzburg before my 3 trains to Hannover Germany. It was worth the exhaustion truly!!Read more
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Hannover 4 days
August 31, 2025 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
Took 3 trains to get to Hannover, Germany and it was worth it. Hannes and Jonas picked me up at 4 am and it was so cute! I saw them run up to the wrong platform and then they ran back down to me super excited. I then got to the house and slept for ages haha

It was so nice being back home with them and rest before my side quest to London and France.Read more
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Trip end
September 19, 2025