When planning this trip, many friends and neighbors would ask “why there”. We had several reasons. First, it was an area we’d not visited before. Second, my in-laws travelled to Dubrovnik many times and loved it! (a bit of an homage to them) Third, this area has become popular in tourist magazines and we wanted to visit before it became overrun. I have to say, its getting very touristy and crowded. We did not particularly enjoy Dubrovnik as a result. There were some charming back alleys but it just seemed very commercial. Filming Game of Thrones there did not help with the commercial appeal.

Quick overview: 4 nights in Ljubljana, 3 nights in Zagreb, 1 night in Zadar then joined an Abercrombie Kent tour in Split for 8 days and followed up with 2 nights independently in Montenegro. We flew from San Diego to Ljubljana via Frankfurt and returned from Dubrovnik to San Diego via San Francisco to avoid Newark Airport. All flights were on United except the puddle jumper from FRA to LJU on CityLine/Lufthansa and Croatia Air from Dubrovnik to FRA on the return.


Highlights:

� Private guided tour with Teja in Ljubljana

� Private photography tour with Arne in Ljubljana

� Stop at Otocec Castle enroute from Ljubljana to Zagreb

� Shooting the canon in Zagreyes, hubby was in the tower with the guy who shot off the canon!)

� World War 2 Communism and Tunnels tour in Zagreb

� Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb

� Lunch and Winery tour at Vulec Breg near Zagreb with Tomas

� Plitvice National Park

� Sea Organ in Zadar

� Sun Greeting in Zadar

� Tour to Tomic Winery

� Walking the walls in Dubrovnik

� Stari Grad wandering on Hvar

� Visit to Silk weaver on Hvar

� Private day tour to the interior of Montenegro with Bob



Top Hotels:

� Intercontinental Ljubljana

� Palace Elsabeth on Hvar

� Hotel Cattaro in Kotor

Hotel Bastion in Zadar



Top Restaurants:

� Juilette in Ljubljana

� Marley and Me in Ljubljana

� Druga Violina for lunch in Ljubljana

� Arsenal in Dubrovnik for lunch, dinner and late night drinks

� Druga Violina for lunch in Ljubljana

� Tramonto in Zadar

� Scala Santa for dinner in Kotor

� Food was great; Slovenia and Zagreb were more meat focused while the coastal areas were very focused on fresh seafood and more Italian/Mediterranean preparations. We loved it all!



Suprises:

� Electric Carts gratis in Ljubljana – just call and they come around

� All boat tours in Ljubljana are not the same – find one with bathrooms, narration and drinks

� Dubrovnik is crazy crowded – start very early to walk the walls – 8am if possible

� Buy a Dubrovnik pass as the walls cost 40e/person and the pass is almost the same and includes churches, museums, etc.

� Plitvice park exceeded expectations!! Take the C route and be prepared to be blown away!

� Resturant Gariful on Hvar has a great location but the prices are ridiculous! Hubby had 4 scampi – only scampi, no sides, nothing – and it was 40e. Food was fine, but way overpriced!

� Look for concerts in and around Dubrovnik – our tour director is a concert pianist and we were able to see a performance!

� The church bells were lovely to hear in all the cities we visited

� The Sea Organ and Sun Greeting were great fun in Zadar and unexpectedly so

� Use only authorized taxi’s from Lju airport to your hotel! There are lot of ‘taxi’s’ which prey on jet lagged people and charge twice the normal price. Alternately, call your hotel and have them arrange a transfer.

The trip from San Diego to Ljubljana was relatively easy. A quick connection in Chicago (our home for 40 years) with enough time to grab some Garrett’s popcorn. From O’Hare to Frankfurt was smooth, service on United was great and we arrived in FRA a few minutes early. No matter how many times we fly into and out of Frankfurt, it always seems to present challenges. We went immediately to the Lufthansa lounge to take showers before the connecting flight to Ljubljana. The desk at the Lufthansa lounge said it would be better for us to go to their lounge near our departure gate but that meant going through passport control. Off we went only find that the passport control desk was closed and everyone was being rerouted to another one almost 15 minutes walk away. Again, since it was the only one open, the line was quite long. We got through and realized we would not have time to shower. Off to the gate to get boarding passes printed since Lufthansa did not allow us to print them at home when we checked in (I have no idea why). CityLine put all of us on a bus and we took a very scenic route around the airport to our eventual plane sitting on the tarmac. Then we sat on the bus for 15 minutes waiting for the crew to arrive. By this time, everyone was tired, cranky and hot. The flight to Ljubljana was less than an hour – we joked on the bus that perhaps they were driving us to Ljubljana since the drive to the plane was so long!



Arrival in Ljubljana is easy – passport control was a quick stamp and we were on our way. There are no Ubers in Ljubljana despite what I had read (hoping those saying no Ubers were incorrect). Follow the arrows to the taxi stand please!!!! We were approached by a man asking if we needed a taxi and showed us to his car. Yes, it had the Taxi sign on the top and what we thought was a fare card on the visor. The ride was pleasant, about 20 minutes but the surprise came when we arrived at the hotel and he told us the fare would be $130 euros!! The normal fare is 40-50 euros. We were furious and flabbergasted. The hotel was understanding but said that he is a private company (not really a taxi) and can charge what he likes. Needless to say, this was not a good first impression.



Our room at the Intercontinental was ready by 10:30am so we showered (and needed it after 30 hours of travel and the taxi surprise) and headed out for a quick walk. We saw that the forecast was for good weather the first two days of the trip and we wanted to take advantage of that.

First stop was the old town which was 5 minutes away. The square was lovely, lots of families and young people milling about not but it did not feel crowded. We walked through the Church of the Annunciation (the pink church), sat and contemplated for a bit and then headed over the TI office. I inquired about a boat ride on the river and was told that all companies are the same, take the same route and cost the same. She directed me about 50 meters along the river and down a flight of stairs. Great directions…..the tickets were 15e each but we found that all the rides are not the same. Ours did not have narration or any cold drinks to purchase. We passed many boats who had both. Given that the point of the ride was to get a different perspective and understanding of the city, this was not great. However, I take responsibility for the choice – we should have walked along and looked at options. Chalk another one up to travel fatigue. After an early dinner, we collapsed!


We loved Ljubljana! It was clean, compact and had a wonderful cafe culture. For our first full day, I engaged a guide through Rick Steves's guide book for a private day tour and she was great! The cost was 100e for 3 hours and well worth it. We saw the city from a local's point of view, key information and some awesome gelato! Even though the weather was beautiful and it was a Sunday, I didn't feel like the city was crowded. We took the funicular up to the castle, wandered around and had wine on the terrace. It was so windy that glasses were flying off the tables and shattering. This was an omen of the weather to come!

Our second day was a full day trip to Lake Bled. It was cloudy, raining, very windy and cold! Again, I opted for a private tour and we found out the difference between a driver and guide right away. We had a driver; to be a tour guide in Slovenia, you must be fluent in the language and take a course.

We arrived at Lake Bled and were told to wait for a boat to the island. Our driver left and we were to meet back with him in 90 minutes. We waited, we waited, the 'captain' of the boat was dismissive. A bus pulled up and he told us that he was taking the large group first and we had to continue to wait. That did not sit well and we got on the boat. The island was a mad house due to the rain and wind. We first walked up the bell tower instead of the church as there was quite a line, waiting in the rain. Doing the sites counter to the large groups allowed us to stay dry(er) and not be mashed in with hoards of people. This was shoulder season. I cannot imagine the place during high season. We also ran into a couple from Australia who'd been on our bus between the Frankfurt main terminal and our puddle jumper to Lju!

We met our guide again after another harrowing boat ride back. The group was rude, umbrellas were open and poking those on either side and the noise level was over the top. The initial plan was to hike to an overlook but with the rain and mud, our driver estimated it would take 45 minutes each way and be quite muddy. Instead, we headed to a small town where cream cake supposedly originated and had coffee and cake with him.
The drive back was fine but the driver was not fully conversant on the area and sites. My bad.

Our last day in Ljubljana started with massages at the hotel. Amazing!! We had lunch at Druga Violina. I can't recommend this place enough! They don't serve dinner and no reservations are possible. We arrived and were seated right away; around 1pm; within 15 minutes, there was a long wait. The place has just a few tables, its all farm to table and the menu changes daily. We both had 3 course lunches including soup, entree and dessert for a total of 22e! We walked to the Plecnick house/museum. They require a guided tour which was fine. I had hope for more information on his inspiration, unique aspects to this work, etc but the tour focused on his daily life instead. Give it a B-

We had dinner at Juilette the first night. I had the mushroom pasta and hubby had veal. Both dishes were excellent. We were seated inside in a relatively quiet area. I would suggest reservations and it was quite busy by the time we left.

Our second dinner was at Marley and Me. This is right next door to Juilette. They have around 8 tables so be sure to make a reservation. I had sausage with potato salad and hubby had the beef goulash. There were two young ladies from France seated next to us and one almost licked the bowl of goulash so that sealed the deal for hub. We had cream cake for dessert - a must.

We'd go back to Ljubljana and add in a day trip to the Julian Alps and another to the caves.