My crazy #RoadToHiveFest

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(Edited)

I knew I would go to the HiveFest as soon as it was announced. That is, I will do everything to go. I can't tell what motivates me more - the sea that I miss so much (Split is a lovely ancient Croatian city on the shores of the Adriatic Sea) or the unforgettable ambiance and my friends from Hive that I miss even more. 💔 I met with some of them in Krakow last year as I couldn't make it to Mexico. Thanks to the magical abilities of @Gandalf and the hospitality of @hallmann it was a memorable gathering during the charming fall season, and I often think back to those days. I must confess that @arcange was absolutely right when he convinced me to go to my first HiveFest in Amsterdam in 2022 saying that after experiencing it once, I would never miss it. 🙂 At least, not of my own free will. 😅 This is absolutely true.


Also, there is a personal reason for visiting Split. Vacation in Split was my first experience in planning and organizing a solo trip abroad for me and my future hubby. It was 15 years ago! I think it would be nice to re-visit it and find out how much I remember and how much this city and we have changed.

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✅ Making a decision. Done.

I was not active on Hive lately. I guess this is because I badly need a pause, a break, a vacation - whatever you call it. And I supposed HiveFest would be my long-awaited escape from my daily madness but this is the case when before you can get relief from stress, you have to go through even more stress.

Besides, I made the task more complicated this year (therefore more difficult) by deciding not to go alone but with someone from the family. My daughter @nataliabuchynska is a big sea lover on one hand and a hardworker on the other hand. My hubby is in the (war) military on the one hand but supposed to have a leave on other hand. They have stayed in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war, and I believe that they deserve a rest no less than I do. So I really wanted one (or two) of them to go with me.

So, the next step was to choose transport. Due to the war, the airspace over Ukraine is closed. Otherwise, it would be a direct flight Kyiv-Split. Now we have to choose between bus or car (very bad idea), trains (not a good idea), and plane + train(s) (the best available).

I chose Warsaw as the departure city. This is the largest nearest airport and the most congested route from Kyiv.

✅ Plane tickets Warsaw - Split - Warsaw. Done with some remarks.

I forgot that my daughter changed her last name after marriage when I bought the ticket for her. And she forgot to reissue her foreign passport. So I had to apply for a name change. And now we hope that her passport will be ready in time.😬


Next is to get to Warsaw.

✅ Bus tickets for my daughter. Done.

This was easy as there are lots of private buses from her city available in advance.


Accomodation. There was a tempting offer from the HiveFest organizers, good accommodation and a discount. Unfortunately, I could not use the chance when someone (thanks @lordbutterfly, @roelandp and all behind the scenes!) had already done all the work for me. We needed some additional options, so I had to do it myself. And it was a difficult search given the available wide range of choices. As a result, I pre-booked 2 apartments as I could not choose just 1 with the intention of canceling one of them later. Finally, I canceled them both yesterday and paid for the 3rd.😜 No refund. No regrets. Hopefully. 😁

✅ Accommodation in Split. Done.


Time to get tickets to HiveFest2024, isn't it? Seems the most straightforward stuff but it was not there. I bought the ticket for me for HBD. My daughter is a minnow and has not enough HBD. And it turned out that reduced tickets are not available for fiat.

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✅ HiveFest tickets. Done (with the help of my friends 💖)


The last but not least - tickets to Warsaw. And the part I hate the most.😖

Our local operator introduced a nice-looking latest-greatest app for buying train tickets since my thorny path to HiveFest two years ago. But this is a false impression when it comes to the purchase. It is still impossible to buy train tickets to Warsaw in their app or without it. Due to stress, I hardly slept for the last 3 nights. The sale started today at 9:00 a.m but I could not make it in their app. Thank goodness for my hubby. With his help, we got tickets to Warsaw a ticket to Warsaw via another Polish city. It will take us more time and nerves but this is the price we pay now for everything...

✅ Train tickets. Done.

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Almost there! We still need return tickets - the last link in the chain.

☒ Return train/bus tickets. To do soon.

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Ahhh, I can't believe I'm coming.

Hopefully, see you all soon!

@zirochka



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44 comments
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Sympathy for your daughter as she is having passport complications. Why did the last name change?

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Thank you, @momins.
She got married a while ago and took the last name of her husband.

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Wonderful! I'm very glad you'll be able to make this happen! I was hoping be there this year as well but it's not in the cards for me until my wife fully recovers.

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Well, this sounds like a motivation to do my best to attend next year and finally meet both of you guys!

Speedy recovery to your wife and a virtual cyber !HUG

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That would be wonderful. I haven't been to a 'Fest since Lisbon in 2017. I hope HiveFest is in Europe again next year. Thank you @zirochka! We appreciate it. I hope you have a good week.

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Very nice and very interesting article. Greetings for today.

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Yay! You will be there! And even with your family! So happy for you my friend :) If only I could go too... Btw Split holds a special place in my heart too, it was where I saw the sea for the first time in my life (and has been in love with it ever since) :)) Enjoy!

@tipu curate 3

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You heard my thoughts!!!
I was thinking of you when I wrote this post, my friend. We finally met in Krakow.

Btw Split holds a special place in my heart too, it was where I saw the sea for the first time in my life

Aww... These are special memoirs indeed.

I hope we will all meet again!
Cheers and !BEER 😉

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I'm thrilled you will attending Hivefest again this year along with your daughter and (hopefully) husband too! Planning everything is stressful but well worth it in the end! ❤ @zirochka

!LUV !HUG !PIZZA !LADY

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'm thrilled you will attending Hivefest again this year along with your daughter and (hopefully) husband too!

Finger crossed!...

You know, the process of buying train tickets is so stressful plus poor alternatives... I can do everything else in advance but this can be done only 20 days before the departure. It keeps me on my toes until the end because the whole trip can fail.
Seems that I started to relax only now...

Thank you so much for your support, dear Nina! 💖

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Yay I am so glad that you are able to go again. Split is so beautiful I would love to return and see my Hive friends again. I have family obligations that are keeping me from going. Have such a great time. Eat some amazing food again. That restaurant in Amsterdam was incredible.

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Eat some amazing food again.

I haven't even thought about it yet! That's crazy. Although Mediterranean cuisine was my love from the first spoon for many years. I just remembered a few confusions about fish happend to me in Chroatia. Thanks for reliving my memories 🧡

The restaurant in Amsterdam was both pleasure and adventure. I am still a little ashamed of the misunderstanding with the payment. 😬😵‍💫

Sorry to hear we will not meet this year. But family is above all.

!LUV

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... after experiencing it once, I would never miss it.

Hehe... absolute (and contagious) truth 😂

Looking forward to meeting you with Natalia in Split 🤗

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Double-check the dates! ;-)

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Nooo, don't wake up my paranoia!! ))

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Return train/bus tickets. To do soon.

I hope that Krakow is on the route ;) So we will be able to see each other twice! До зустрічі!

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Krakow is on the route without saying! Can't wait! I plan to visit KBK so we will meet twice! ❤️

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I can't wait to see you again and to meet the family !! Counting down the days....

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I started my countdown when bought the last ticket. 😊🤗

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Hivefest and the beauty of Poland you have portrayed beautifully in this post.

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Подивився по покупкам квитків у вашому випадку, той ще квест.
Бажаю успіху у придбанні зворотніх квитків.

P.S. Не розглядали варіант: поїздом до нас, під кордон, а далі комфортабельним бусом (не автобус) на пару чоловік до самого Спліту і назад таким же шляхом ?

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(Edited)

Конкретно цей маршрут не розглядала, але шукала бус з Кракова і не знайшла.
В мене ще тут параноя з приводу того, наскільки цей бус надійний, чи 100% буде і т.д. Не знаю, чи я була б готова поїхати якимось невідомим бусом, навіть якби і знайшла.

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Вірю. Особливо, якщо не користувались такою можливістю.
Наприклад, є у нас компанія H2O (є сайт, фейсбук...), яка може перевезти і забрати з Угорщини, Австрії, Хорватії, Києва ;-) і т.д. Ціни треба з ними узгоджувати, бо є групові поїздки, а є індивідуальні. В них навіть регулярні рейси в аеропорт Будапешт є і там оплата нижча.
Є також і інші перевізники.


але шукала бус з Кракова

до Києва, чи до Львова, може до Ужгорода (а там поїздом) ?

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Ні те ні інше ) Та вже однаково купила.
ХайвФест це єдиний раз на рік коли я виїжджаю з України. Хтозна що буде за рік і де ми будемо...

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Хтозна що буде за рік і де ми будемо...

Будемо надіятись на скоріше закінчення війни на нашу користь і..чом би і ні, проведення HiveFest в нашій країні

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До війни була така ідея. Як дочекаємо кінця, буде видно 🙂

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Seems almost it all sorted out! Now comes the cool part, to go and enjoy! I won't make it this year, but funny enough, I was visiting Croatia for the first time in 2022, and flew directly from there to the Amsterdam Hivefest! Loved the country. Have a drink and a swim for me and have fun! !BEER

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It is a great pity you won't make it.

Have a drink and a swim for me and have fun!

I will do my best ☺️☺️

!HUG

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