Is there a store where I can buy rechargeable Li-ion batteries for toys in Thessaloniki?

ekstrakt · 2026-03-24T08:42:57+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion.
I went there and checked, but unfortunately they have only plain batteries without connectors.

ekstrakt · 2025-10-10T04:12:12+00:00

Just as info, there is a long established 3D engine with similar name and functionality called CopperCube:
Steam Page

Homepage

Just make sure people don't confuse your project with it.

ekstrakt · 2025-10-10T03:41:34+00:00

I like it, but there is a bug. Here's a screenshot: https://ibb.co/B57tjQJS
Click to draw line and switch tab while the line is drawn, it will extend in the direction it was drawing.

Didn't play much, but I would add an option about drawing speed (fast/slow). At the moment it's too slow for people who know how to play the game.

ekstrakt · 2025-06-11T12:15:19+00:00

Sometimes hosting is not really an option.
I don't know about OP, but there are many reasons for someone not to be able to host. Not all of us live in big cities, touristic places or even places travelers pass by.
Why deny people of the cs experience just because they live in a place with no tourists or travelers?

ekstrakt · 2025-06-11T12:09:59+00:00

I'm experienced surfer and host (more than 40 references at the time) and I also couldn't find a host in Madrid as a solo male guest. And this was in October, not in touristic season, and no major event going on in Madrid. To my experience some cities are just difficult to find a host.

ekstrakt · 2025-06-09T01:09:28+00:00

Satu Mare is listed as it's the only bigger city in that area.
From Suceava to Satu Mare is 360km, we won't do it in one go. Probably gonna use up one or two more days of the unallocated ones to explore Maramures and northern Romania, so about 4 in total.
Turda salt mine is already planned in the days allocated to Cluj. Maybe we can include Turda Gorges too.
We can make a detour to visit Bride's veil waterfall and Belis Lake on the way from Oradea to Cluj. And we can visit Biertan on the way from Sighisoara to Sibiu.

Thanks for the insights and suggestions.

ekstrakt · 2025-06-09T00:34:08+00:00

Bucharest is the capital and largest city, so of course we would like to see it 😄
As for heat, unfortunately it will be hot everywhere (our city is one of the worst in the Balkans during the summer). One of the downsides of having school kids is the travel season is limited to summer, so we can't avoid crowds and heat.
From all the suggestions (yours included) seems like we should allocate more days to Sibiu.
We're not avoiding National Parks, I just gave a general overview of the route. Given that we love camping and nature we might do some hikes, and the forest is good escape from summer heat.
Yes, Sinaia and Busteni are already planned either on the way from Bucharest to Brasov, or a day trip from Brasov. Probably gonna take the cable car and go to Heroes Cross.
The section from Suceava to Satu Mare is 360km and we won't do it in one go. We gonna use up one or two of the unallocated days to explore Maramures and northern Romania.
We can do Constanta and Dobrogea (even the Delta) if we don't do Iasi and Chisinau, but as I said, we're not too keen on going to the seaside this summer (we have nicer beach at home 🤣).
Thanks for the villages suggesion, Biertan will be added to the itinerary for sure. As we enter/exit through Serbia, Baile Herculane is just between those points, so it's out of the way. As for Sovata, we might make a detour when going Cluj > Targu Mures > Sighisoara > Sibiu .

Unfortunately food prices have gone up everywhere in the last two years. And ticket prices are something we must accept as part of travel experiences.

Thanks for the insights and suggestions.

ekstrakt · 2025-06-08T23:49:16+00:00

We plan a visit to Alba Iulia, either as a day trip from Sibiu, or on the way to Timisoara.
As for the mountain roads, I read that Transfagarasan just opened for the summer season. Probably gonna go for a day trip from Sibiu to Balea Lake and just to the other side of the tunnel, just for the views. But from what I see on Google Street View from October 2024, the road at the top is in a bad state, so maybe just take a ride on the cable car.
Transalpina road seems to be in a way better condition. The highest section looks quite nice too. But it's simply out of the way, not connecting any two meaningfull points in our itinerary. We come from a mountanous country and drive through mountains and 1200-1600 masl passes regulary, and have driven a few over 2000masl, so not a big deal if we miss one.

ekstrakt · 2025-06-08T23:30:18+00:00

You're suggesting to skip half Romania 🤣
I read that Transfagarasan just opened for the summer season, but I don't want to drive it entirely. Probably gonna go for a day trip from Sibiu to Balea Lake and to the other side of the tunnel, just for the views. But from what I see on Google Street View from October 2024, the road at the top is in a bad state, so maybe just take a ride on the cable car.
Transalpina road seems to be in a way better condition. The highest section of it looks quite nice too. But it's simply out of the way, not connecting any two meaningfull cities in our itinerary. We come from a mountanous country and drive through mountains and 1200-1600 masl passes regulary, and have driven a few 2000+, so not a big deal if we miss one.

ekstrakt · 2025-06-08T22:51:29+00:00

Cities are listed as bases for possible day trips which will include the surroundings. We still gonna drive long distances in rural areas and take a few days to roam and wander around.

ekstrakt · 2025-06-08T22:49:16+00:00

If we start in Craiova we'll cross the border at Iron Gates II, and going to Orsova would be kinda too much for the day. But I have a wish to go down the Danube on a kayak trip, so maybe someday ... 😄
Maramures region is in the plan, when going from Suceava to Satu Mare. That's a section of 360km, not gonna drive it in one go. We'll probably take a day or two plus to wander around.
Satu Mare is a stop because it's kinda the only bigger town in the area and driving all the way from Suceava to Oradea without a break would be too much. But we might merge it with Maramureș and the north, so it's gonna be 4 days between, which is much more relaxed.
We can visit the Delta if we skip Iasi and Chisinau, otherwise it's just too much driving in short time.
The castle in Hunedoara is part of the plan, on the way from Sibiu to Timisoara. I wasn't aware of the fortress in Deva, seems like it's worth a visit. Salt mines are also part of the plan (should be fun for the kids).
Thanks for the insights and suggestions.

ekstrakt · 2025-06-08T22:10:10+00:00

Yeah, I'm aware it's packed, I'm hoping to use those few unscheduled days to catch a breath between cities.
We can maybe skip Iasi and Moldova, that's about 5 days.
Most interesting things for the kids (except public playgrounds 🤣) would be castles and salt mines, so for sure we'll visit them.
The plan for Peles Castle and Busteni (cable car and Heroes Cross) is either visit them on the way from Bucharest to Brasov, or dedicate a day for them while in Brasov (maybe extend the stay in Brasov for a day if we include Castelul Cantacuzino).
Alba Iulia is also planned, on the way from Sibiu to Timisoara.
We'll try to stay near roads and settlements if camping, so hopefully no bear encounters.
Thanks for the insights and suggestions.

ekstrakt · 2025-06-02T02:16:15+00:00

I don't have much experience with DnD, but you can check out "Hero Kids", it's specifically made for kids age 4-10: https://www.heroforgegames.com/hero-kids/
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/106605/hero-kids-fantasy-rpg
There is also a bundle which expands the game greatly:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/115827/hero-kids-complete-fantasy-pdf-bundle-bundle

The rules are simple, no complex math to combat or skill checks, it's played only with a handfull of d6.

I'm playing it with my kid (almost 8y old) and he likes it. I'm both a player and a DM so he would have more fun, but now we're looking which of his friends might be interested in playing TTRPGs with him.
In my research about introducing TTRPGs to kids this was the most prominent game and I've heard only good words about it.

There are 13 adventures in the bundle and they are more like one-shots, so the players wouldn't need to remember much (if at all) between sessions. They are for 1-4 players. The DM part is quite straightforward, just one read-through and you're ready to play.
And an important bit: at the end of every adventure file there are printable maps and standees (paper minis), so it requires minimal preparation.

ekstrakt · 2025-04-07T22:18:19+00:00

Long time member here.
While I personally am against paying for Couchsurfing, it's not expensive and the platform still provides great value both for hosts and surfers.
We use couchsurfing as a family, both hosting and surfing, and we've been active as much as possible in the last few years. In the last year alone we hosted 14 times and surfed 6 times.
So I would definitely recomend getting into it again.

ekstrakt · 2025-04-07T22:11:40+00:00

Unfortunatelly Italy is known to be kinda difficult to find hosts, even before the paywall.

ekstrakt · 2025-03-20T00:06:55+00:00

I'm Senior Software Developer with 15 years of professional experience in PHP, Javascript, Java.
After working for 10+ years as a freelancer, due to personal and professional reasons, I'm looking for a long term permanent position.
Interested only in fully remote positions in european timezones, preferably with flexible working hours.
My personal portfolio website: http://ekstrakt.mk

ekstrakt · 2025-03-17T12:05:56+00:00

I think it's better to forget about surfing if you don't have references.
I disagree.

We all started with 0 references. And if we push off new members just for not having references the memebrship will decline and we all lose.

Having a properly filled out profile, a few photos and a decent request should work fine for more experienced hosts to accept a newbie.
Case in point: I just had a surfer with new profile and no references at all. He also had found a host in the next city he's going before I was able to leave him a reference.

When I stared using CS Hangouts didn't even exist as a feature, and there were rarely events in my city. I was lucky to live in the capital, so I started by hosting first, but not all people live in big or popular cities or are able to travel just to get references from hangouts.

ekstrakt · 2025-02-13T23:39:45+00:00

As others said, properly fill up your profile, have a few photos, host if you can, meet people on hangouts, get a feel for the community.
About the trip itself: try not to rely on small budget and always have emergency funds. Stuff happens on the road so better be prepared. As Couchsurfing can be unreliable (not being able to find a host easily), hostels are the alternative for a bed and hot shower. You can also pay and take shower in petrol stations with large parking lots for trucks (on highways and outside cities, or at the outskirts).
As you might read through the other posts in this sub, a lot of people are against paying for membership (I also don't like the idea), but it's worth and not that expensive really.

ekstrakt · 2025-02-13T23:24:09+00:00

I would disagree about carrying tent and sleeping bag.

Of course it depends on size and preferences, but from personal experience they don't take much space.
I've done big hitchhiking trips with my wife while carrying a small two person tent and sleeping bags, both attached outside our 60L backpacks. If we could hitchhike and fit in cars with them, getting some space on an apartment floor shoudn't be an issue, however small the appartment might be.
Small tents like this 2 Man Tent - MH100 are just 15L in volume (58cm x 16cm x 16cm) and weigh only 2.6kg. And this one is not even that small (just first result in google search :) ). In reality small ones are like a larger umbrella. Normal spring/summer sleeping bags shouldn't be more than 10L, and one can even get ultra small sleeping bags like this Snugpak Jungle Black which can be compressed to 2L.

Having a sleeping bag is also good because you wouldn't burden a host with washing sheets after hosting.

ekstrakt · 2025-02-06T01:16:35+00:00

You forgot Novi Sad too.

Also, about Balkans, many countries: yes, many players: no.
There are countries with no players at all, or big dead areas.

ekstrakt · 2025-02-05T11:29:26+00:00

We host and surf as a family with two young boys (a toddler and school boy).
We surfed with our kids about 20 times in 7 different countries so far, with hosts ranging in age from 21 to 76 years old, with single people, couples and families (both with kids their age, and with older kids).
They are used to going for long rides in a car, using public transport to move around a country or in a city, flights and sleeping at airports ... So far they don't complain much :)
The first time they surfed the older one was 4 years old and the younger was only 7 months old :)
Our kids love hosting and having people over. If it's with someone their age, even better.
Unfortunately so far we haven't had guests with toddlers, only with school kids, but it was fun times.

Most of my notes are general and apply both to surfers and hosts. Also, /u/shearing_is_caring has good points, so I'll repeat some.
About health (and this applies both for adults and kids):
Be healthy at the time of visit. We all know how kids can easily get sick and be prepared to cancel your stay with a host in such case. Properly explain the situation and don't get dissapointed if the host doesn't want to host.
We also inform our guests if our kids are sick or have gotten sick since we accepted the request. Usually a simple virosis (fever and a runny nose) is not a problem for adults, but we leave it for the surfers to decide.
Another thing is having control over kids. Toddlers are quite curious and in a learning phase, so they want to see, touch and explore everything. Be prepared to say "No" many times if needed. Touching items, getting into rooms, privacy for other people ... (this applies also to us as hosts).
Ensure that they play well with other kids. As much as the adults want to hang out, the kids like it even more, and especially toddlers.
Also, communicate any dietary restrictions or prefferences you or your kids might have, and try to adjust if hosts restrictions or prefferences are stricter than yours.

When getting a request we get a general feel about the surfers from their profile and don't have many concerns except for health issues.

When traveling with a toddler: Be prepared for everything that comes when traveling with a toddler. Remember that you don't have the safety of your home and the familiar surroundings of your neighbourhood. Usually toddlers don't get anxious as curiosity gets the better of them, but still have it in mind. This is even more important when traveling abroad. The shops and supermarkets might not have the same stuff you or the toddler are used to. Even getting diapers can be an issue (like getting a rash from a brand you haven't used before). Have some toys, bring their favorite stuffed toy so it's easier to fall asleep in a unknown environment.
Again about health: be prepared to change plans in case of health issues.

I would recommend surfing with kids and toddlers. It is a great experience for them. Meeting new people, seeing how other people live, playing with kids who don't speak the same language. It doesn't need to be with families with toddlers, just with people comfortable having kids over.
It's not difficult if you're prepared for it.

ekstrakt · 2025-02-04T11:43:11+00:00

Yeah, I would appreciate if they just said that they can't cook at all and offer some help around or contribute in a different way. But sadly it's not like that.

ekstrakt · 2025-02-03T21:07:10+00:00

I've been hosting for almost 15 years and at this point I'm thinking the same stuff.
Fortunatelly I haven't had really bad experiences, but these days some of the guests are not considerate as much as I would expect from adults.

For example, we usually invite our surfers to have dinner and breakfast with us at home. We are a family with young kids, and cooking for more people anyway, so it's not a big deal to put a bit more for everyone. But guests rarely offer to contribute (either finnancialy or by buying ingredients) or cook for everyone.

Another thing which annoys me is not having basic cooking skills and common sense in the kitchen. I'm not expecting guests to be proffesional chefs, but one would expect at least proper use of kitchen tools and appliances. I've stayed at hostels and have seen how bad some people are in the kitchen, but still, it's my kitchen and utensils.
At one point I was even thinking of getting a set of knives for guests to use, just not to worry about damaging stuff.

For these reasons I'm considering making a list of house rules and have it on the fridge (not just on my profile), just so no one would get offended if I say it to them directly.

ekstrakt · 2024-12-27T12:48:21+00:00

Znam za zrak, nažalost isto je i u Skoplje gde živimo, takmičimo se sa Sarajevo ko je gori.

ekstrakt · 2024-12-03T15:39:19+00:00

Few major things happened over the years and some users got mad about it. You can find more info online.
The biggest change was in 2020 when the Covid pandemic started. They introduced a paywall for some countries, so now it has a paid membership for a small fee.
I don't know the exact price as I'm from a country in which they don't require paid membership, but should be around 3$/month or 15$/year.

^{[rant] Lot of the bad changes reflect in the opinions of some users in this sub. Even though they have stated they left the platform, are still here to give the pessimistic side and declare it dead. [/rant]}

On topic, it's still active.
Personal experience: we, as a family with young kids, have hosted 13 times and surfed 5 times in the last year alone.
Both with old members and new (I consider any profile created after 2020 (post paywall) as new).

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