Balkans Tour - Croatia

Off to Croatia today, and a number of border crossings as the road goes into Croatian, and then back to Bosnia & Herzegovina TWICE!

8 or 9 places to visit in Croatia- all in one blog entry... So check back until we move on...

Dubrovnik...

Once again, amazing scenery as the road follows the coastline on the way to Dubrovnik. We passed through an area of arid, rocky mountains, but the valley between was intentensively farmed, obviously very fertile.

Dubrovnik, narrow streets, much traffic, and LOTS of tourists. Although our hotel is a distance out of the main city area, our bus went in to drop of one couple. The driver had said that parking was difficult, and very expensive. He was sooooo right. We pulled up in a bus station, for only a couple of minutes. Nearby sign indicated that fee for stopping a 30+ seat bus was 700kn (equivalent to 100€), even if only stopping for 1 minute. Discussion between driver and parking attendant, as well as necessary translations to tour guide took the greater prt of our 2 minute stop. In the end no money was exchanged, lucky eh.

Great aspect of organised tour group life, apart from the obvious things of having someone else manage travel arrangements, is showing you where things are and how to operate independently in a foreign place. Like how to buy a bus ticket, how to validate the ticket, which bus to catch, and how to get back to the hotel. Particularly in this tour, the tour gets you from one place/city/country to another, and once there, following a short orientation, you're free to do what you want. So those basic life skills in a foreign country take the stress out of it, and give us independence.

So after arriving at our hotel, which was some distance from the old walled town, we were shown the usual (ATM, money exchange, restaurants, supermarket...) and then bus ticket buying. Working in kunas now, and big numbers ( like 5 kunas =1$ AUD) hence we refer to them as big kahunas. Three island boat trip on offer was 250kunas. Sounds a lot, until you swap to dollars. But we are going to be in Croatia for 8 days, so we need to get used to them.

Louise took us into the walled city, bought tickets for us all to walk around the old town walls - 2 km, pointed out various things to do, and see, and then we were on our ow with one and a half days in Dubrovnik to explore. LOTS of tour groups all following people with flags. Not for us! We wandered some of the narrow cobbled streets and narrow lanes before heading up to the wall. TIP we were given was to walk the wall either early morning or late afternoon, when most large tour groups have returned to the cruise boats.

BTW, cruise ships are massive!! Apparently they take 4000 passengers, and there were 2 in Dubrovnik for the day. They look like floating cities. I used to think I would love to do a cruise on such a boat in the Mediterrean, but now I am not so sure.

What can I say about Dubrovnik, the walled city is amazing (crazy to hear how much was destroyed in the Balkans War in the nineties)' scenery is spectacular, and the water is stunning! Sooo clear.

Hole in the wall bar

We spent some time in the old town, and the area around our hotel. Both areas are beautiful, and on the must see list, but I really enjoyed the nearby area. It was so peaceful and relaxing. We found the Cave Bar, quite by accident, honestly. Saw the sign, and stopped for a coffee, sitting out on a deck over the water. Not bad after a short morning walk- coffee and cake. Went into the hole in the rock wall to pay the bill, thinking to ourselves, ' so this is the cave bar we heard mentioned the evening before.' Inside was a very nice small cut into the rock cliffs. We asked if we could take photos....' Certainly, but come in here.' Was the response. Wow wow wow. It was a small opening with absolutely fabulous limestone formation, both up and down. Apparently when they were building the hotel above, they discovered the cave. It has been beautifully presented- a special place. Below the centre of the cave is a 6 m pool of water, where they store some of the wine.... As a consistent temperature. Just another feature. We loved it, and just had to take the others back there later. We enjoyed time in the cave bar, then onto the waterfront deck to see the sky change colours at sunset, and later we enjoyed a delicious steak dinner in the restaurant above. Expensive by standards over her, but so worth it.

The water looked so inviting, and half day kayaking was possibility, but, to a purist, they were NOT kayaks, so we gave it a miss. Boats were to be our mode of transport for the next few days, so we figured that would be enough.

Korçula .

A 4 and a half hour boat trip, through the islands to Korcula. Beautiful day to be on the water. We have been very fortunate with the weather

Another Stari Grad (old walled city, very beautiful) and lots of very tranquil restaurants right on the waterfront. All fabulous, but the highlight of our short trip to Korçula was the Moreska Sword Dancing. A fantastic show. We listened to a group of femal singers first - just stunning voices and harmonies. Then the sword dancing.... A fight over a girl! Such agile,talented men. It is wonderful to see this tradition still being passed down. We are definitely privileged to be here to see it. It's only performed on this island, and only on select days during the summer season. How good is that!

 

Hvar.

Wow,wow, wow. What a beautiful place. It's also the place where some of the world's rich and famous spend their time, apparently. Obviously not in the areas we're staying in. There's some very flash hotels here.

A short, early morning boat ride (like 5.15am pick up for a 6am departure) brought us to the island town of Hvar quite early, giving us 2 full days here. There's lots to do here, both on the island, and in the waters around this and nearby islands. Lots of boat cruise options, and whilst a trip to the Blue Cave or the Green Cave was enticing, I wasn't up for a 10 or 11 hour day out on the water.

Nearby Hvar, there's another Stari Grad ( Old Town), as 385 BC. Weather here is hot! So we are opting for morning activities.

Accommodation here is unusual - not hotels, or hostels, a bit like B&B without breakfast. So the group is quite spread out across the town. We have a very nice room, with a large deck, and a fantastic view over the the town and the water and nearby islands. So naturally, we are up the hill, many sets of stairs UP. As we enjoyed pre-dinner drinks on the deck, a large square rigger we'd been watching all day hoisted its sails, all 38 of them ( at Lex's count), and glided majestically, and ever so smoothly out of of the passage. Definitely a magical sight.

Every rocky outcrop becomes useful

Today, day 2 in Hvar, we are planning a leisurely breakfast on the deck with a view, a walk up to the fortress before the day gets too hot, and then we've discovered a Sports Bar which will be screening the Lions v Australia rugby game. So that takes care of most of the day!

Could have been a better outcome. ;-( Not a great game for the Aussies, but we barracked them on regardless, amid a much larger British crowd. The girls came prepared!

Hvar is my favourite place so far. It is absolutely beautiful, and just so peaceful and relaxing. There are lots of people around, but it doesn't feel crowded or chaotic. Incredible. Oh and free wifi all along the waterfront, and bars and cafes, but not in our accommodation. ;-(

This is as popular spot with young people, and we'd heard it's a party place. This morning as we walked down to the dock for our next trip, we noticed one reveller flat out on the ground. His mates, I presume, had moved one over the rope barriers around him. Thoughtful fellows.... this section of the dock gets very busy with vehicles and passengers.

Split

Early morning ferry to Split.... And a busy time followed. Public transport tours involve a lot of changes. For example today we walk to the dock, ferry to Split, short walk from dock to taxi stand, taxi to hotel .... so backpack goes on and off frequently, and in the words of one of our fellow Aussie travellers, 'like a bride's nightie'.

After check-in, and collect the wifi passwords, walk to the bus station for a local bus to Trogir (45min hot ride). Interesting place, another 'old town' on the water, with narrow meandering streets, lots of restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops. Loved some of the beautiful jewellery made out of blue or red coral. Lex took a walk to the top of the cathedral tower, while I volunteered to stay below to take photos. Generous eh!

Back in Split we did a guided walking tour. LOTS of information about this interesting palace built for the retirement of a Roman Emperor. So many relics from the past, sad that I don't retain all that information, as in most of the places we visit and hear about. But it definitely kindles an interest to find out more.

Near the end of the walk, the boys notices a sign on a billboard 'Home made beer'. Not as good a phrase as 'craft beer' unfortunately, but definitely sparked Lex's interest, and as soon as the tour was finished, like a homing pigeon, he led us straight to it. The packaging and presentation certainly didn't reflect the tag 'home made', and apparently it tasted good. Sorry Milka, I forgot to get tasting notes for you. ;-(. BTW, I love that you asked for those on FB.

Plitvice.

I think it is Monday, and our last week on this tour. Today we are off on public bus to Plitvice National Park. Long bus trip, without comfort stops, possibly.

Spectacular Plitvice Lakes. Such amazing colours, something I have heard about, but another detail I do t remember. More for me to research. .. Later

We walked around some of the lake the afternoon we arrived. There are vehicles to take visitors to the main starting points, and boats to get back across the lakes, but there are sooooo many people here, it really detracts from the experience. Too many people for a bus load, so we walked.. Best walks of course are around the lakes themselves. Photos don't do this place justice. It really is spectacular.

Next morning, we hired a boat and got up close to some of the smaller waterfalls. Who'd have thought we would be spending a morning rowing on a lake in Croatia. Loving this retirement. ;-).

Next stop, Zagreb.

Zagreb

Two nights here, always good. Zagreb seems to have a comfortable feel to it. We are staying some distance out of town, just a 10-15 min tram ride. Modern trams too. Interesting to see trams run on the outer side of the roads. Cars use the inside lanes. It means that traffic doesn't need to stop when trams stop, but it's tricky for cars to pull up kerbside - like. Taxis. They go up onto footpaths. And cyclists use the footpaths too. So walking can be tricky too.

Some interesting buildings. Love the roof on this place.

And lots and lots of open air restaurants, bars and cafes. LOTS!!!

Strangest accommodation ever. Movie Hotel sounded promising, with rooms decked out in various movie star themes. Even the bar/reception looked intriguing, with lots of memorabilia in a dark wood-panelled room. But reality was different. We hardly used the bar, as it was so stuffy and hot. Double rooms were not actually in the hotel building, but in a different building accessed via the car park (very dark at night), then to the fourth floor of what appeared to be a warehouse, by way of an old, very stuffy industrial lift. So unusual, but plumbing system created the most discussion amongst us - it was incredibly noisy whenever water was used in the room. Incredible, since we were told the 'back' rooms would be quieter without traffic and tram noises.

Off to Slovenia this morning..... Another country, and another border crossing, this time by train.

More to come.....

 

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