Oct. 2014 in Croatia, Slovenia, Montenagro and Bosnia-Herzegovina: TR
Nov 2nd, 2014, 01:39 PM
#41
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10/16/14 Ljubljana.
183 km to our next destination, a B & B called Slamic. I had mapquested the directions the night before and they worked beautifully to take us right to the door of the parking garage. “Affordable luxury” is how RS described it and that was about right. Located over a nice cafe.
Loved walking around this architecturally lovely city. We had dinner at an outdoor restaurant at Zlata Ribica, with a heater overhead. Our view was the river and the river walk. We both had traditional dishes. And we splurged a little on the Slovenian Cabernet Sauvignon. At one restaurant in the city, we noticed the wine price was listed for one deciliter. Hubby asked, “Only one deciliter?” The waiter answered, “This is Europe!” “You are Americans?” “You sell gas by the gallon, we sell it by the liter.”
Point taken.
Shopping was not quite as interesting here, although I did buy one of the traditional bee hive panels, this one painted with a nativity scene.
183 km to our next destination, a B & B called Slamic. I had mapquested the directions the night before and they worked beautifully to take us right to the door of the parking garage. “Affordable luxury” is how RS described it and that was about right. Located over a nice cafe.
Loved walking around this architecturally lovely city. We had dinner at an outdoor restaurant at Zlata Ribica, with a heater overhead. Our view was the river and the river walk. We both had traditional dishes. And we splurged a little on the Slovenian Cabernet Sauvignon. At one restaurant in the city, we noticed the wine price was listed for one deciliter. Hubby asked, “Only one deciliter?” The waiter answered, “This is Europe!” “You are Americans?” “You sell gas by the gallon, we sell it by the liter.”
Point taken.
Shopping was not quite as interesting here, although I did buy one of the traditional bee hive panels, this one painted with a nativity scene.
Nov 3rd, 2014, 10:51 AM
#43
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10/17/14 Ljubljana.
Lat night’s weather forecast for rain switched this morning to rain early, then sunny. So we drove to Lake Bled. We did stop along the way to see the Bee Keepers Museum in Radovlijica--small but quite interesting. And who knew that bees really like to keep themselves clean; that they identify their own hives by color, shape, etc. which is why the beekeepers began painting the end panels in the first place-so they’d recognize their home! We learned that some bees flapped their wings to cool the hives and all had jobs. We saw the oldest bee panel, painted in 1758.
At Lake Bled, we found a parking spot at a campsite that only charged on the weekends. We walked the 3 1/2 mile walk around the lake. It usually takes 1 1/2 hours, but we finished in 3 hours! That included coffee and a shared piece of Kremna Rezina--a cake made of crispy layers of pastry with a thick cream and vanilla custard layer, sprinkled with powdered sugar. We took this break at Tito’s old place, outside on the patio.
The views around the lake were outstanding and the clouds were lovely- white, gray, gray-blue, and dark with a dark mountain background.
St. Martin’s Church is also lovely with a bleached-white, torch-like appearance against the deep blue-gray background. The tiles on the roof became visible as we approached. The church on the island, as well as the castle high up on the thick rugged rocks were lovely from all angles as we ambled around.
At Tito’s place, you can visit inside the now hotel to see some serious communist paintings of workers, soldiers, etc. Tito’s desk and portrait remind of a dark reality.
After dinner back in Ljubljana, we wandered around the Old Town again.
Lat night’s weather forecast for rain switched this morning to rain early, then sunny. So we drove to Lake Bled. We did stop along the way to see the Bee Keepers Museum in Radovlijica--small but quite interesting. And who knew that bees really like to keep themselves clean; that they identify their own hives by color, shape, etc. which is why the beekeepers began painting the end panels in the first place-so they’d recognize their home! We learned that some bees flapped their wings to cool the hives and all had jobs. We saw the oldest bee panel, painted in 1758.
At Lake Bled, we found a parking spot at a campsite that only charged on the weekends. We walked the 3 1/2 mile walk around the lake. It usually takes 1 1/2 hours, but we finished in 3 hours! That included coffee and a shared piece of Kremna Rezina--a cake made of crispy layers of pastry with a thick cream and vanilla custard layer, sprinkled with powdered sugar. We took this break at Tito’s old place, outside on the patio.
The views around the lake were outstanding and the clouds were lovely- white, gray, gray-blue, and dark with a dark mountain background.
St. Martin’s Church is also lovely with a bleached-white, torch-like appearance against the deep blue-gray background. The tiles on the roof became visible as we approached. The church on the island, as well as the castle high up on the thick rugged rocks were lovely from all angles as we ambled around.
At Tito’s place, you can visit inside the now hotel to see some serious communist paintings of workers, soldiers, etc. Tito’s desk and portrait remind of a dark reality.
After dinner back in Ljubljana, we wandered around the Old Town again.
Nov 4th, 2014, 06:03 PM
#48
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We visited most of the places that you did on our trip there in September. I almost backed out of visiting Sarajevo and Mostar, but am so glad that I didn't! We really enjoyed the Mestrovic galleries in Split and Zagreb. I believe that I photographed everything in the two places, or at least I tried. The whole trip was just great, and all arrangements went smoothly. Thanks for your report! I don't seem to do trip reports, but I enjoy reading those by others.
Nov 4th, 2014, 06:56 PM
#49
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One of the best ways to see the islands that dot the Dalmation coast is to charter a yacht. You can can get one with a full service crew, partially crewed, or you can bareboat if you have experience. You can compare boats, cruises, and deals on http://maviturgocek.com. It will be a relaxing trip that you'll never forget. Cheers!
Nov 9th, 2014, 08:21 PM
#53
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Breakfast at 8 AM and then off to the Julian Alps, where hubby did great driving through all the 24 hairpin turns going up to the Vrzic Pass and the 26 down. He said he has never driven so far in only 1st and 2nd gears!
Beautiful, but hard to capture by camera. Rugged peaks, limestone outcroppings, huge, tall pine trees. Hubby said it was a delightful drive requiring Alpine driving skills.
On to the Soca Valley, had pizza in Bovec and drove on to Lipica to see the Lipizzanner horses that he wanted to see so badly. Traffic was slow, so we missed the 4:00 tour, but the 5:00 PM tour was the best. It was the hour for the horses to run back from the fields to the stables to eat; mares and foals first. Wow! Goran was our guide and explained how they had two trainers, 15 professional riders, and one ferrier.
They watch the horses for four years to discern their character and personality features and then choose the best to go to school for five years. Those decisions are made by three people, including a vet and a manager. They also decide which riders should work with which horses and work with them for life. Some of the gentle mares are kept for outsiders to ride! With advance notice (maybe 2 days), you can make arrangements to ride them.
So a horse’s best years are between 9-10 years and 22 years. Then they are retired. Goran explained that the horses develop a prancing style due to the rocky soil in the karst area.
It was almost dark when we left there at 6:20 and drove the almost 70 km to Ljubljana. Our drive was extended a bit when we drove around trying to figure out where we were, but finally spotted the correct exit according to my notes and we found Slamic again! Yay!
Beautiful, but hard to capture by camera. Rugged peaks, limestone outcroppings, huge, tall pine trees. Hubby said it was a delightful drive requiring Alpine driving skills.
On to the Soca Valley, had pizza in Bovec and drove on to Lipica to see the Lipizzanner horses that he wanted to see so badly. Traffic was slow, so we missed the 4:00 tour, but the 5:00 PM tour was the best. It was the hour for the horses to run back from the fields to the stables to eat; mares and foals first. Wow! Goran was our guide and explained how they had two trainers, 15 professional riders, and one ferrier.
They watch the horses for four years to discern their character and personality features and then choose the best to go to school for five years. Those decisions are made by three people, including a vet and a manager. They also decide which riders should work with which horses and work with them for life. Some of the gentle mares are kept for outsiders to ride! With advance notice (maybe 2 days), you can make arrangements to ride them.
So a horse’s best years are between 9-10 years and 22 years. Then they are retired. Goran explained that the horses develop a prancing style due to the rocky soil in the karst area.
It was almost dark when we left there at 6:20 and drove the almost 70 km to Ljubljana. Our drive was extended a bit when we drove around trying to figure out where we were, but finally spotted the correct exit according to my notes and we found Slamic again! Yay!
Nov 9th, 2014, 08:46 PM
#54
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10/19/14 Ljubljana to Zagreb.
Before leaving Ljubljana, we shopped a little more, buying one more painted bee panel. We also visited the gorgeous Serbian Orthodox Church near our hotel. I really wanted to photograph all of the amazing icons, but people were worshipping.
We drove about two hours to Zagreb and easily found our hotel parking lot. Jagerhorn wasn’t quite ready for us, so we parked our bags there and shopped around, before returning to repack.
6:00 PM dinner at Agava, recommended by both RS and also the last restaurant we had visited on our last stay in Zagreb. We loved it. A great place for a last dinner. Lovely dinner, but even better conversation with our waiter Zdravko, who told us about his life. He works every day and it has been four years since he has even been to the coast. He said most live in 250 square feet and wives often can’t find jobs. Taxes are immense--on everything. He wished us a happy meal, but we kept questioning him. His mother lives here, so I think he will always remain. At the end of our time, he had another waiter bring us a lovely fruity drink in crystal glasses, as a type of dessert. The meal itself was lovely. Hubby had a risotto with spicy sausage, yellow and red peppers. I had a pasta, with prawns (actually tiny shrimps) and small squares of chorizo-like meat. The appetizer was a foccacio (sp) with Sicilian olives, arugula, onions macerated in balsamic, roasted red peppers , ... Delicious!
Before leaving Ljubljana, we shopped a little more, buying one more painted bee panel. We also visited the gorgeous Serbian Orthodox Church near our hotel. I really wanted to photograph all of the amazing icons, but people were worshipping.
We drove about two hours to Zagreb and easily found our hotel parking lot. Jagerhorn wasn’t quite ready for us, so we parked our bags there and shopped around, before returning to repack.
6:00 PM dinner at Agava, recommended by both RS and also the last restaurant we had visited on our last stay in Zagreb. We loved it. A great place for a last dinner. Lovely dinner, but even better conversation with our waiter Zdravko, who told us about his life. He works every day and it has been four years since he has even been to the coast. He said most live in 250 square feet and wives often can’t find jobs. Taxes are immense--on everything. He wished us a happy meal, but we kept questioning him. His mother lives here, so I think he will always remain. At the end of our time, he had another waiter bring us a lovely fruity drink in crystal glasses, as a type of dessert. The meal itself was lovely. Hubby had a risotto with spicy sausage, yellow and red peppers. I had a pasta, with prawns (actually tiny shrimps) and small squares of chorizo-like meat. The appetizer was a foccacio (sp) with Sicilian olives, arugula, onions macerated in balsamic, roasted red peppers , ... Delicious!
Nov 9th, 2014, 08:48 PM
#55
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10/20/14 Zagreb to Los Angeles.
We shopped a bit before returning our car at the airport. We had used our award miles for business class, but since there were no seats available, we were confirmed economy. We did fly business from Zagreb to Frankfurt, but it was economy from there. So we got to visit the business lounge in Frankfurt while waiting.
We boarded--still only with carry-on’s! We settled in at row 40. We had been wait-listed for business but never assigned there. So that was okay. The pilot told the flight attendants to strap themselves in and the plane began to roll away from the airport.
Suddenly, the plane slowed and stopped and we heard over the loudspeaker, “If you are xxxx, please put your call light on.” We did and a flight attendant came back and said she didn’t know what was wrong but would find out. A minute later, another one came and said they had two seats in business class with our names on them, but no one was there, so they had to check it out. Apparently they knew we were on board but not in those seats, so maybe it was a security breach? Anyway, we stayed put and they moved us up after the plane leveled off and the pilot okayed it. Apparently they upgraded us as we were boarding?
What a great way to end our trip. It was over 11 hours back to San Francisco and those flat bed seats are worth it! This all came about because of a quirk I had read about online and if any of you fly United on award miles and need more info, I can let you know. You do have to have enough miles for business to be wait-listed. The food and service was great- from the warmed cashews to the entire meal to the ice cream with hot fudge sauce and almonds and Grand Marnier at the end.
We shopped a bit before returning our car at the airport. We had used our award miles for business class, but since there were no seats available, we were confirmed economy. We did fly business from Zagreb to Frankfurt, but it was economy from there. So we got to visit the business lounge in Frankfurt while waiting.
We boarded--still only with carry-on’s! We settled in at row 40. We had been wait-listed for business but never assigned there. So that was okay. The pilot told the flight attendants to strap themselves in and the plane began to roll away from the airport.
Suddenly, the plane slowed and stopped and we heard over the loudspeaker, “If you are xxxx, please put your call light on.” We did and a flight attendant came back and said she didn’t know what was wrong but would find out. A minute later, another one came and said they had two seats in business class with our names on them, but no one was there, so they had to check it out. Apparently they knew we were on board but not in those seats, so maybe it was a security breach? Anyway, we stayed put and they moved us up after the plane leveled off and the pilot okayed it. Apparently they upgraded us as we were boarding?
What a great way to end our trip. It was over 11 hours back to San Francisco and those flat bed seats are worth it! This all came about because of a quirk I had read about online and if any of you fly United on award miles and need more info, I can let you know. You do have to have enough miles for business to be wait-listed. The food and service was great- from the warmed cashews to the entire meal to the ice cream with hot fudge sauce and almonds and Grand Marnier at the end.
