Touring Zagreb

After a full breakfast at the Sheraton, we headed out for a tour of the city. Our local guide (Elena?) was wonderful. She spoke in very clear English and did not over explain what we were viewing. The entire tour was on foot and took over 2 hours. It was interesting that we were only a few blocks from the central square. Many buildings in the city show damage from the most recent (5.2?) earthquake. That followed another major one about 170 years ago. It seems that they are constantly rebuilding. Some buildings only showed minor damage with the facades having been damaged. Others are under complete renovations with tarps and scaffolding covering entire structures.

The city has 2 large u shaped street street structures with public buildings anchoring sections of it. It is called the green way as large trees can be found along the streets. As we walked through a park, there was a small meteorological station built years ago. It showed the temperature, barometer, wind etc. Despite the age it is still active and once a week the data recorded on paper is changed. The central square was a busy place which is part of the new town. A flower market was located at one end. Throughout the morning we encountered many tour groups. We saw not only groups with “whispers” (individual hearing devices) but large groups of children as well. From the activity, the number of souvenir shops, etc you begin to appreciate how important tourism is to a city.

From the central square we took the funicular to the Upper Town which is the “old City”, the original part. It contains many churches, palaces, museums, galleries and government buildings. The ride up (66 seconds) provided nice views. It has retained that old world charm that we see in older parts of cities. Nicola Tesla was from the area and at the turn of the century tried to convince the population to change from gas to electric street lights. It did not happen and today the gas lights remain in operation.

Making our way down the hill back to the main square we passed the Cathedral which is one of the tallest building in the city. It is under complete renovation for the 3rd or 4th time in history. It is only open for services so we did not visit. We found ourselves back in the main square where we started. The afternoon was free to rest explore etc before our trip to an restaurant for dinner. We took the opportunity to have a drink in a local outdoor bar where we met others from Senior Discovery. We headed out by bus for dinner at a local restaurant. The place was interesting in that it had lots of books on cooking. The small establishment had been around for about 200 years. We had some traditional fare to eat along with a local wine. Headed to Slovenia tomorrow about 150 kilometers.

Touring Plitvicka Lakes National Park

We headed east today leaving the coast with its history of Roman and Venetian rule for Plitvicka Lakes National Park. It was about a 2 hour drive and before we got to the park we stopped at a small town. It reminded me of Canmore just outside of Banff. It is the same type of town with places to stay and eat. Plitvicka is the best of the national parks with over a million visitors per year. It is so busy that you need to book a time to enter. It reminded me of the situation in Lake Louise. Being later in the tourist season it was not as busy although there were lots of people on the trails. Plitvicka is a lush valley with 16 terraced lakes strung together by countless cascading waterfalls.

You can hike different trails from easy to difficult. We were on a pleasant trail with not much elevation gain. The section we walked on was a well groomed path (few rocks )and over wooden bridges. As we climbed the terraced lakes we were on wooden walkways. They were elevated for the water that fills the area in spring. It is very dry this time of year and there was only a few muddy spots. As we went from lake to lake we saw many waterfalls. You could imagine what it must be like in the spring. The hike itself took about 2 hours at a slow pace to cover the 4 kilometres.

A few in our group chose to meet us at the end of the trail. A short stop for “lunch” and we were on the tram that took us back to the starting point . At the end of our park visit, we continued to Zagreb, Croatia’s capital, for a 2-night stay.

Day 8 To Sibenik And Zadar

We left Spit this morning for our 2 tours of the day as we headed to Zadar where we will be spending the night. Sibenik is another one of those little settlements with a long history. We did stop in a square to view one of those old churches that has some amazing features. This church was completely built of stone without the use of any wood to hold it together. One feature on the outside were “heads” of people the sculpture/designer knew. Every one had a different expression which reflected something of their personality. It was an impressive place. St James Cathedral showed incredible craftsmanship.

The interior was impressive enough but the baptistery was something to see. We descended a small staircase. The baptismal fount was not overly large in the small space. The carvings of the angels and the way the natural light filtered in showed that the builder had taken great pains in the design. After a short time to walk around we headed to Zadar. Zadar is a large city and port. Our destination was the old city within the walls. As was expected there were many shops. We were given some time to explore.

A large bell tower of the cathedral was built in the 15th century and has been added to over the centuries . It is about 160 feet high and quite impressive. For a few euros we could walk to the top. The views of the city were quite impressive! The area near the shoreline had been settled by the Romans and we toured the remains of the Roman settlement. The foundations of the “market shops” could easily be seen. A walk along the waterfront brought us to the “sea pipe organ”. A series of openings were made at the low tide level.

Small openings were left to the walkway above. As the waves roll in air if forced upward to the small openings making a rushing whistling sound. Hence the organ sound. After a long day of sightseeing we were glad to head to the hotel and dinner.

Day 7 Touring Diocletien Palace And Tozeur

Today we had 2 separate tours. Our morning tour took us back the the centre of the city to visit the Diocletien Palace. He was the Roman emperor in the 2nd century. We have seen many Roman ruins over the years but this was quite different because it was a whole palace and defensive position all in one. The surface portion of the palace was destroyed and has been completely built with “modern” buildings built on the ruins of the palace. A few things do remain of the original structure. The surrounding wall and 4 main gates are still intact. We walked the entire fortification which not only was a palace but a town with housing for the Roman guards, workers, etc.

The part that was most impressive was the underground or foundation of the palace. All the rubble from over the years had been dumped into that area which has now been excavated. The foundations were enormous. The photo gives you a limited idea of the scope of these rooms. It was used in roman times to store the goods that were brought in by sea. Originally one side of the fortification was along the sea wall. Today that original area had been filled in. It now a very wide promenade. You do get an idea of how large the upper rooms were as the “basement” walls supported the walls of the upper buildings. The workmanship and building techniques are really on display.

The surface area of the palace although it has been rebuilt over the centuries still has a certian ancient feel to it. About 3000 people still live inside this palace but it is filled with all types of shops, hotel rooms, restaurants etc. However parts of the original temples can be seen. You do get a good impression of the entire complex. All 4 main gates are still intact so the entire palace can be entered from one of the 4 gates. The east west gates lead to a road that intersects the north south road. We did have some free time to walk around so we wandered a bit, found a gelato shop and then just sat and watch the boats in the harbour until we left.

After returning to the hotel for a short break we were off to Tozeur. It is a small outlying settlement from Spit. As everything along this coast, it has a long history of Roman, Venetian and Ottoman settlement. It guards the entrance to Spit. It reminded us of a medina that we saw in Tunisia. There were small shops, churches, narrow streets and plenty of restaurants of all kinds. It was filled with tourist from the smaller tour boats. There were were at least 3 alongside. The town is close to the airport and it is a perfect jumping off point for cruise ships that are going to visit the small ports along the coast. Dinner tonight was in one of the many restaurants in the area. It had good food and service. We are on the move north tomorrow.

From Mostar to Spit

Today was moving day! We had to drive about 200 km so we had a leisurely morning leaving around 10 am. When we left the hotel we passed a building that I assumed had not been repaired after the war. The roof was blown off and the walls had lots of marks that must have been bullet holes. I wondered if this had been the location of a “sniper” with the holes represented people firing back?

We had to go through the entering the EU again with the requisite immigration proceedings. However somehow the bus driver found a friendly agent (I think he told them something about old people not being able to walk). So they came aboard with a hand held passport scanned and camera and did the checking right at out seat. It was very convenient but we did have to wait a bit. Once we cleared that we headed to a local “winery” for a tasting and snacks. At the Konoba Jokan we had welcoming drink. Once seated there was fresh bread, cheese, prosciutto (Croatia style) cut thicker than we usually get it and a tasting of white and red wine. They also had deep fried dough balls that reminded me of apple fritters from our family.

We drove to Spit which is the second largest city in Croatia. We managed a glimpse of a castle where some filming for Game Of Thrones was done. We finally stopped at the Amphora hotel which is located right on the ocean. Very Nice!

Dinner tonight was at a local restaurant where we had choices of what to eat from the platters set on the table. The Chop and Grill (?) is a popular eatery in the core area. They served everything on a platter. We had 5 (?) appetizers enough for the 4 at the table. The main plate had chicken, lamb and 4 beef tenderloin. There was more that enough to eat then came the dessert platter. Enough said. The rain kept coming but hopefully it will be done by tomorrow when we are back to walking tours.

Travel to Mostar, Bosnia

Today was a travel day to Mostar. Out by 8 for a 2 hour drive. We are travelling

north for the rest of the trip. The drive along the coast provided good views of the many islands that are along the Dalmatian coast. We did see the prime oyster grown area. There were many buoyed beds in the bays.

Since we were crossing into Bosnia Herzegovina a non EU country, we needed to go through the leaving the EU area procedure. The Bosnia Herzegovina border check point was basically in the same building. Scanned passports, photo and then scan passport stamp the old fashion way and off we went. We crossed through the mountains and the karst topography area to our lunch spot. The “complex” had a very large outdoor restaurant. There we 5 or 6 (?) tour busses already there. The specialty is trout which they farm right where the large spring discharges into the river. The flow was pretty strong. We saw buildings with “slate” roofs something we had never seen before. We crossed the picturesque bridge, had a nice salad, local wine and 2 10”(?) trout with the heads still attached. Very tasty. The meal also had potatoes and spinach. That is the second time that spinach was the vegetable.

After lunch we made the short drive to Mostar which was our stopping place for the night. A local guide met us and walked us through the old quarter. She detailed the war which split the city. She indicated that during the conflict snipers would fire on the population. We crossed the old bridge (destroyed and rebuilt) into the Turkish section which is the oldest part of the city. Streets were cobblestone with many souvenir shops. The tour including a visit of an original Turkish home and the Mosque. We arrived at the hotel where we had a bit of a rest.

One of the things mentioned was that the unemployment rate in the city is 50% and people are in need. It was depressing to see young girls (10 years old ?) begging with signs asking for money. Women with young babies asking for milk money. In fact one women was nursing a baby!

Montenegro A Border Crossing and Rain Torrents

Today was a real adventure! We headed out at 8:00 this morning on the optional tour to Montenegro. Everything was going along just fine until we stopped at the border. The first check point was the Croatia exit. With the new immigration system we had to “leave” the EU. Everyone needed to scan their passport and have their picture taken again. The 15 Canadians finished easily. The problem was the bus and the operator. Our original transportation (mini bus) was in an accident the night before and was not available. There was along delay in the release of the bus. It was finally resolved with the payment of a fine. The crossing into Montenegro went faster. It was finally resolved 2.5 hours after we first arrived there. Needless to say we missed parts of the tour because of the shortened time available. We picked up our new guide and spent the next few hours touring the Kotor area.

Kotor is at the end of a very extensive “fiord”. The walls of the fiord were not steep but the water area was very extensive. There were 3 cruise ships anchored in the city so again just like yesterday it was overrun by visitors. The Viking ship was the same one that we saw yesterday. The tour included a boat ride to an island church and then a walk along the city streets. Because of the border delay we needed to get to our lunch location quickly. After lunch we had a mini look at the older parts of the city and our guide did an excellent job of pointing out the various buildings.

The only drawback other than the border delay was the very heavy downpours that continued all day. Some of the storms were extremely heavy! We managed and headed back to Dubrovnik. This time there was only a minimal delay at the border as we were scanned fingerprinted and photoed again as we entered the EU. Another adventure in the books. We are on the move north tomorrow.