I just stumbled on this thread a few months ago and have enjoyed reading all the reports and discussions. This is my first report. I went on a tour with Grand Circle and for a tour it was good, but discovered I am not a tour person. This is my first tour in 40 years of traveling.

There are some things that I would not have seen had I been on my own and this tour did spend time enough (4 nights Lake Bled, 4 Opatija, 1 Split, 8 Dubrovnik) so that I could opt out and do my own thing from time to time. The hardest two things were on the bus rides. I saw lovely places where I would like to have stopped for a photo op. However, you can't get 40 people on and off a bus efficiently so it would be unreasonable to expect it. The stops for the "technical reasons" were also a pain. The men could run in, whip it out and be out in a minute or two, while it takes twenty women forever. There were some delightful travelers on the tour. There were also some very strong personalities.


The trip over was Boston-Frankfurt-Ljubljana. Lufthansa to Fr. I checked in early but got a seat at the back which didn't recline and was against the galley wall and had drawers opening and closing with a bang all night. Oh well someone has to have those seats, I guess, so why should I complain? Adria Air Frankfurt-lju. was worse than steerage except it lasted only a couple of hours. I got on to find someone sitting in the aisle seat to which I had been assigned. The flight attendant pointed to an inside seat again against the back wall. I asked if I could have another aisle seat that was empty. "No that belongs to to someone else! Sit here!" REal drill seargent tone. I wanted to ask why someone was allowed my seat but decided not to hold the whole line up. Food was awful--two slices of dry bread with paper thin slice of cheese between--no dressing or ther moisturizer-- and an apple that had seen better days.

Arrive in Lake Bled to Park Hotel--clean, quiet, and efficient. My room had a balcony which looked over the lake and the castle up on the rock. sat and watched the sun come up behind the castle every day. wonderful breakfast buffet--anything you could want.

it was midafternoon so there was time to walk around the lake, about three miles of fairly level smooth path.

Day 2
Short bus trip to Lake Bohinj. Too short a time to walk around. The alps were still snow covered at th top. Lots of local families out for a Sunday outing. Beautiful scenery.

This evening dinner in Radovijica village. First course was mushroom soup served in bread baked in the shape of a mushroom and scooped out for the soup. Mushrooms are a favorite of mine.

Back at the hotel, plugged in the recharger for my digital camera batteries. Even though it was supposed to take European current, Poof, dead. Several other people had the same experience.

Day 3
ran over to the little shopping center across the street from the hotel and found a camera store. Bought a European charger. I was willing to invest the $35 as I know I will use it again and sure didn't want to be lugging around tons of disposable batteries. Also charged batteries for several other people each night as it could do four at a time.

Off to Skfja Loka (skow' fee low'ka) a charming walled town. Could have spent a lot more time here exploring.

Continuing report. My beginning just poppped into the thread before I was done.

Did have some time to explore down a few streets and then hung out in the main square and watched the local kids ride their trikes, bikes, scooters, and roller blades.

Day 4
Ljubljana. Dark gray day wich ended up with rain as we were leaving. I was not impressed but so many others here have loved it, I think I will have to do a return on my own and explore some more.

A sort of boring walking tour and then a couple of hours on my own. A like minded tour member and I ducked into the nearby MacDonald's (I know some of you are rolling your eyes in disgust, but we did not want to take all our free time eating.) Had a salad and sat out on the terrace where I got hit on the head and shoulder by an overflying bird. they say it is good luck, but I don't notice many people satnding around saying, "Here, Birdie, Birdie, come poop on me!"

Interesting toilet situation. On your receipt is a number code which you have to punch in to unlock the door. Good thing I had shoved my receipt into my pocket before going upstairs to the facilities.

The market place was very interesting. All sorts of produce, dcrafts, etc. There were bottles of honey in all sorts of interesting shapes. I saw back on the bus that several people had bought some to take home. Hope it made it safely. not my idea of something I would want to break in my luggage. I did get some intersting little carved ornaments for gifts.

I forgot to tell about the boat trip in Lake Bled. The boats,called pletna, which are propelled by one fellow standing at the oars, are for rent at lakeside. 16 of us were squished into one boat for the ride out to Slovenia's only island (in this lake). There is a church there which is lovely and peaceful. There are 100 steps up from the lake. During the summer couples come to be married here and traditionally the groom carries the bride up the steps to show he is strong enough for the burdens of marriage.

On the way back our tour director had arranged for a stop near Tito's summer palace-quite elegant. Several of us chose to walk back from there. It was a delightful walk along the lake with several places to stop for a bite to eat or drink.

The climb up to the castle from the lake is quite steep but the view is worth it.

Will add more later.

please keep going. i am thinking of a slovenia trip next year and there arent a lot of posts here about it. Was 4 days in Lake Bled too much time? I was thinking just two nights there.

You are a very calm person! I would have had a problem with that treatment on the plane. Looking forward to more.

Chicglori, I stayed at Lake Bled 4 days. It's too much for just the Lake but I used it for a base for a couple of daytrips; Ljubljana and Villach, Austria.

Catbert - did you go to Ptuj? Or Maribor? Ptuj looks to be close enough for a day trip. I would also want to see Piran and Lake Bled so I have been trying to figure out a good base, how many times to move etc. I would have about 9 nites I think.

I was wondering about Ljub. or somewhere around there being a base for day trip to Ptuj and even Lake Bled. Then spend some time in Piran for another few nites. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks, Lori

I am having trouble this evening. Twice I have written a continuation of the trip report and suddenly had it disappear. Don't know if it is my computer or this website. Anyone know if there is a way to retrieve this?

chicagolori, Bled would make a good base for a few days. There were a lot of interesting looking villages that we passed through and there are lots of good hiking spots. I noticed several companies that offer kayaking, hiking, etc. trips for the day. The roads seemed decent and the drivers reasonable for renting your own car. Our tour director did mention that it can get hectic on summer weekends when lots of Europeans take their vacations.

Day 5

Up and off to Opatija on the Istrian peninsula (near Rijeka). Not a long drive with several stops for "the technical reasons".

Hotel 4 Flowers in Opatija. The best I can say that it was clean. Two hours after arrival my luggage still had not arrived in my room. I went down and retrieved it my self from the large pile of our group's luggage which had not yet been delivered to rooms. Several pieces were delivered to the wrong rooms and it took several hours of lackadaisical(by the staff) searching to find it. My room window was right over the hotel dumpster. Unpleasant odors wafted up from time to time and it was expecially bad right after garbage pick up. The bed was squishy--like sleeping in a hammock.

That evening several of us went out on our own and found a lovely restaurant at the water's edge for supper. I had octopus salad--not impressed, but I'll try anything (well almost anything) once. It was delightful to sit and watch the sunset and relax over the meal.

Day 6
Oops, the last installment posted before I edited and I see some spelling mistakes's. I'll try to do better today. Sorry!

I opted out of today to do some exploring by myself.

There is a seaside walk which goes through several villages and it looked inviting.

As I started I passed a little cove where I saw a sign that said "Water taxi" beside a little putt--putt boat. The captain(?) hailed me and asked if I wanted a ride. We agreed on a price and I hopped aboard.

As soon as the boat cleared the pier, he pulled out a bottle of wine and two glasses and offered me a drink. I thanked him but said it was too early in the day (8 am). He proceeded to work on the bottle himself.

He was quite chatty. He did not speak much English but did speak German. My German is rusty but I got the gist of his stories as he pointed out the sights along the way.

Half an hour later we were in Lovran, the beginning of the trail and a lovely town which I had noticed on our way through the day before. A quiet church for a minute of peace, lots of interesting little side streets, some cats eager for attention. Stopped in a quiet restaurant for lunch of salad and bread. A clean toilet with NO line.

After lunch, I started back along the seaside path. It was smooth and shaded in many spots. Lots of places to get off for a drink or snack or to catch the bus back to Opatija.

Lots of wild flowers as well as well tended little gardens of the houses along the way. Little coves where you could climb down the rocks or sometimes stairs and bask or swim. Many families and small groups enjoying the sun and water.

At one point I caught a glimpse of some young women enjoying the sun topless. Just around a bend in the path there were three fellows in the overalls of the crew who were working on trail grooming. They were looking through the trees at the view down below and joking. couldn't understand a word they were saying but the looks are the same. They did have the grace to look embarrassed when they saw me. At another point there was a group of Germans (middle aged) being led in calisthenics beside the water. They then began to strip down for a dip. I hurried on, though I was beginning to plod.

As I passed the cove with the water taxi, the fellow was idling around by his boat. Wonder how many wines he had comsumed. He saw me and hollered up,"You walk?" I nodded and he put two thumbs up and smiled.

A really relaxing day. I was especially pleased when some of the members of the group told my that the day's tour had been boring (with a capital B).

I noticed lots of "sobe" signs in Lovran and think that would be a wonderful place to spend a day or two. Opatija was definitely a tourist sort of place. Lovran was quieter and seemed more "real".

Day 7

Trip to Krk Island. Sort of interesting. Glad I went for a different picture of Croatian landscape. A lot of stones and barren countryside. Glad I wasn't driving. Narrow, twisty roads with drivers tearing along.

Day 8

One of the best tours of the trip. Off to Rovinj on the other side of the peninsula.

We didn't have a local guide and our tour director cannot by law give tours in the town. So he gave us a bit of background on the ride and when we arrived, said he would walk up to the hilltop church and told us where to meet the bus in three hours.

Some chose to follow him up to the church;many of us opted to poke along on our own. The church was at the top of the town and I figured if I just kept going up I would wind up there.

I met a young fellow who had just opened a souvenir shop and we chatted as I chose some small gifts. He threw in an extra little item as he was wrapping up my purchases.

Saw kids playing soccer in little squares. Met some friendly cats. Waved to a couple of grannies leaning out upstairs windows to hang wash and chat with neighbors.

Reached the church (St. Euphemia) and went in for a quiet moment. You could pay extra to climb the bell tower, but it was a long ladder to climb to the entrance and I chickened out. I did see one fellow in our group who walked with a cane try it. More power to him.

Back down to the harbor and meeting place. Ferry from Italy was just arriving.

Lunch was included. We stopped at a farmhouse down all sorts of twisty lanes. The family makes wine and we had a short talk about the wine and there were several varieties to try before lunch, which was delicious and served in a wonderful room with overlooking the vineyards.

The afternoon was a visit to the Roman amphitheater in Pula. It is the 6th largest still in tact. It seated 23,000. Our guide here was excellent, one of the best I had ever heard. Not only did she love her subject, but she knew how to bring it alive. She gave us just enough information and knew how to lead people on to ask interesting questions. I was fascinated.

Back to Opatija in time for a wash up and then off to mass at a little church near the hotel. A bride and groom were just coming out with the wedding party as we arrived. Not much of the mass did I understand except for Amen and Allelujah, but it was a sweet church.

Afterwards the small group of us from our group came out and watched wedding pictures being taken in the gardens around th church.

The seven of us went off to find supper. A lovely restaurant on one of the side streets. Sat out on the terrace. I chose a meal that came with truffles. I know now why these are so treasured by gourmets. I can't describe the taste, it was just mild with a tang of outdoors. I have never had truffles before, only read about them. Wish they were locally available. We sat and talked and enjoyed the evening of a great day.

Day 9

A long day on the road to Split. The bus took the shore route, more scenic but slower than the new road.

Absolutely brilliant views along the coast! Lots of rocks and drop offs to the sea. Worth the slow drive, though I think I was glad not to be the driver. saw some places bombed out from the war. Also lots of stark hillsides where all the trees were burned off in a spate of recent devastating forest fires.

Arrived at Hotel President in Split. Clean, efficient and interesting--at least to me. My room was pretty small and I was glad I was not sharing. The shower was an interesting set up. I got in and was hit by several cold jets. Twisted, pulled and pushed all sorts of knobs before I found the regular hot shower one. There was some fussing about this. Also someone mentioned that the flush handle was on the "wrong" side. Funny I had not ever thought about this but since then have checked out toilet handles and realize they are usually on the left. The places you go and the things you Learn!

Dinner at the hotel included in the tour. Was quite good especially considering it was a "tourist" menu.

A short walkabout in the nieghborhood and then to bed for an early day tomorrow.

Day 10

A morning tour of Split and Diocletian's palace. The palace part of the tour was quite interesting. One bit of trivia was that it was egg white that was used to hold the crushed rocks together in places where there was a cement like substance used. The guide loved his city it was obvious, but after the palace it was sort of boring to me, and I just wanted to cut loose.

We did have a time to wander on our ow n before the bus left, but it wasn't long enough.

On the way to Dubrovnik. Saw lots of wild goats. Also lots of iris which seemed to be growing wild. To a New Englander, they are garden flowers, but here seem to be everywhere beside the road.

Into Hotel President Dubrovnik. Clean, efficient helpful staff. We all had terraces that looked out onto the sea. Watched some gorgeous sunsets from here and saw many of the cruise ships coming into the harbor early morning. One evening a ship was sailing out well after dark. It was all lit up and seemed like a fairy boat floating off into the distance. Was a bit out of the old city. End of #6 busline--a fifteen minute ride.

Tickets are 10 kuna (about 1.60$) if bought on the bus or 8kuna ($1.30) if bought a the kiosk or hotel desk. The ticket is good for an hour and a half, so one day I rode it as a hop on, hop off trip and took the time to take pics along the way.

Day 11

Morning tour of old city of Dubrovnik. Forgettable guide.

But walking around the old city was fabulous in spite of the heat. (90's) The little side streets were shady and had a cooling breeze going through. Several of us wandered down to the old harbor and took a boat ride around one of the islands and the city walls. It was a refreshing break from walking.

This afternoon and evening were one of the treats of the tour.

We visited a school (elementary) which interested me immensely. Some of the children dressedin fold costumes demonstrated a traditional dance. another group sang for us while several played instruments. Then we got to visit the classrooms. Unfortunately it was the end of the day so the children were packing up to leave. That process went about as it does in the school where I taught.

However, there were textbooks and workbooks out so we could look at the things they were doing. The third grade math book looked as if the were covering the same things I had done in that grade level.

Then it was on to a home hosted meal. We were broken up into groups of 8-10 and escorted to homes in the small town.

Thefamily where I ate was delightful. An uncle came in traditional fold dress with an instrument (stringed) which he played for us. The girls age (8 and 11) dressed in fold clothes helped serve and sang us some Croatian songs as well as some songs in English which they had learned at sschool.

We had a tour of the garden from which all of our vegetables came. The husband had pressed 200 liters of olive oil last season. Also made wine.

We were served a wonderful salad and plates of cheese and pickles, which the wife had made, were passed around. She had baked the delicious bread we had. The husband had grilled the chicken on an open fire and cooked the potatoes which he had prepared with herbs and olive oil also over the fire. I could have eaten the whole plate of potatoes.
Dessert was a hazelnut cake.

Our host took us on a tour of the new house he is building himself after his regular work hours. The house next door had been bombed during the war and was still damaged. He himself had been taken prisoner by the Serbs and spent 7 months in prison.

A sad time. But he seemed like such a hopeful person, full of optimism for the future.

Side trips from Dubrovnik

Montenegro (Kotor and Budva)

An interesting ride down the coast through wonderful scenery and then along the Bay of Kotor. Some call this bay a fiord. Saw the places built into the mountain where the submarines came in. My neighbor at home who grew up in Yugoslavia(between the two world wars), said the water is so clear here that you could see the subs coming in even when they were at full depth.

Kotor was a great place for an explore but an awful local guide. Couldn't get away fast enough. Just a note, Montenegro uses euro so I wanted to get to an ATM to get just enough for a day of odds and ends shopping. Three banks with the cirrus logo refused my card with the note "Your bank has declined this transaction". I had been into my bank (a small local one) before I left to notify them that i would be using my card abroad and to this point had had no trouble. But perseverance paid off and finally at the Opportunity Bank (no joke) I was successful in drawing out a few euro.

On to Budva for lunch and a short explore. Again interesting narrow streets, lots of flowers and a harbor to photgraph.

Cavtat--one day in Dub. a friend and I skipped out of organized activity and went down to the harbor where there are many companies offering excursions to islands and other coastal towns. We took one of the boats to Cavtat, where we spent a relaxing time exploring and wandering.

Lunch at the Restaurant Cavtat, right on the waterfront. My friend had a thick, hearty vegetable soup and I had a salad, reasonable prices (about $6 each). There are a string of restaurants along the little waterfront. They all looked inviting with interesting menus. The cat lured us into this particular one.

Returned to Dubrovnik on the midafternoon boat.

Mostar

Back up the coast to Bosnia-Herzogovina where we turned inland.

Stopped in Pocitelj, a little village with a large Moslem community. There is a mosque up on the hill. our van was greeted by villagers in dress. They were selling fruits in paper cones--figs, cherries, apricots,etc. I bought some which I enjoyed on the onward trip. Later I realized I should have waited until I had an opportunity to wash the fruit. Fortunately no ill effects.

Mostar was very different. I felt as if I were much farther east. Many mosques. We visited one with a good guide. She explained that there were so many mosques because in the early days the call to prayer was just a voice and so all believers needed to be within hearing distance of a mosque. Now the call is broadcast with speakers.

We passed over the old bridge which was destroyed in the war in the 90's. It has now been rebuilt using as many of the old stones as possible. There were two young men in trunks on the bridge. Our guide explained that if they could collect 50 euro from the crowd, one of them would jump off the bridge (quite high). Did not see a jump while I was there. One of the men in our group said he would do it for 100 euro (10 apiece). His wife squashed that idea quickly (some comment about silly old man)
as some of the other fellows reached into their pockets.

There are still many signs of war damage here. Many bombed out buildings and bullet marks on most others.

Time to wander on our own.

The souvenir shops were selling things I had not seen earlier in the trip--a lot of items had a turkish look to them. I passed several cafes that seemed to be for men only; at least there were only men sitting around in them and the music had a different tone to it.

As I made my way back to the meeting point, I wandered into a cemetery with many new looking gravestones. Most of the death dates were 1993 and most were young men (a few young women). I wonder when we are going to decide that war isn't the way to solve our problems.

Cilipi

On Sunday morning we were off to Cilipi. After Sunday mass many of the villagers come out in folk costume to demonstrate folk dances in the town square. It is definitely a tourist attraction, but I thought it was interesting. Also many of the villagers set out booths with handcrafts to sell. Saw lots of examples of intricate needlework, was tempted, but then decided I don't need anything else to iron.

In Dubrovnik

I went into the city early one morning to walk the walls. It cost about $9 but the money goes for the repair and upkeep of these historic walls (which kept the Serbians out in the last war). There are three places where one can enter the walk. I chose the one at the Pile gate as that put the uphill part of the walk first before it got too hot. From th wall you can see the bright new roofs of the city. Most were damaged during the shelling so it was rare to see an old roof--lichen covered and faded red tiles.

I believe speed demons could do the walk in well under an hour, but I chose to stroll, pause for pictures, and reflect. It was getting pretty hot, as well.

After coming down, I went back to visit the Franciscan monastery, an oasis of cool and quiet.

I walked the main street on the shady side and ducked into side streets. Paused for an ice cream. Sat at the fountain and watched people. Saw a group of American girls (15-16) who were photographing each other in various fun ways. One which I would not recommend was at a large (5 foot) cement ice cream cone outside one of the shops. Two of them were licking the cone (ick, but I guess no worse than my eating unwashed fruit in Mostar) while their buddies took pictures. Stopped at the market and bought fruit, which I did take back to the hotel to wash.

Early evening I went up to a restaurant just outside the Ploce gate for a leisurely supper. The food was not outstanding, but the view from the terrace was great. I watched the little boats returning to the old port, people coming and going, a bridal party being phtographed at the gate, cats playing on the railing of the walk.

A couple of English ladies came in and sat at the next table. We exchanged pleasantries. They said the weather was a great change for them as it was cold and rainy when they left England.

They were quite surprised when we talked about where we were from that not only had I heard of their towns, but had been there as well. I mentioned that I was from Massachusetts. I rarely say where as it is a small town most people have not heard of. Well it turned out that one of the ladies had a daughter who was married and lived two towns away and she had even been to my town on her last visit!

Back down to walk through Dubrovnik at sunset. Good people watching as I strolled down the Stradun (main street). Saw the guard come on duty at the get. The guards are dressed in
15thc. outfits and hold lances. They were led through the street by a drummer similarly dresses.

A great end to a great day and a good trip.

I won't go into details about the trip home via United, but it was a nightmare of lost luggage and missed connections and unhelpful people at Dulles. Now that I am home, I can see the funny side to the situation and look at it as just part of the adventure of travel.

Hope this report gives someone else some help in planning their trip. I so enjoy reading all the helpful info on this board and am already thinking about my next trip.