• Diane and Darryl
Jun – Jul 2017

Diane & Darryl in Europe 2017

A 27-day adventure by Diane Read more
  • Trip start
    June 22, 2017

    Zagreb: First Day in Croatia

    June 22, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F

    It is hot in Europe this week--it was 90 in London for our half-day layover yesterday and the same here in Zagreb. Nevertheless, we walked all around the old town. Today is a national holiday--Anti-Fascist Struggle Day (Google it). So all museums were closed. Our taxi driver gave us the names of some traditional foods, so we were able to order a regional lunch and dinner. We heard a great singer at a park as part of today's celebration and then some street musicians right outside our hotel. One way we stayed cool was to walk through the 350 foot long Gric Tunnel, built as a bomb shelter in WWII and also used as a shelter during the Croatian War of Independence (1990s). We saw posters left from what looked just like one of Erin's architecture school reviews, so it is in active use for cultural events. The city was pretty quiet during the heat of the day but came alive as the sun set.Read more

  • Museum Day in Zagreb

    June 23, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    With everything being closed yesterday we kind of packed today with museums. We started off with the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art. Most of the paintings were done on glass, and even though these are untrained painters, they were very skilled in figuring out how to paint from the foreground to the background.

    Next we went to the Croatian History Museum with an exhibit focused on Dubrovnik during the war in the 1990s. At the time it was thought that Dubrovnik's cultural significance would spare it from the bombing and also it wasn't of strategic importance to the aggressors. Instead it ended up being one of the main targets, possibly just to crush the spirit of the people.

    Finally, we went to the Archaeological Museum with extensive Egyptian, Greek and Roman collections. We finished off with a walk around the botanical garden where we saw 4-foot diameter water lily pads.

    We met our tour guide and fellow travelers this evening--3 other couples. Seems like a good group and we're looking forward to setting off tomorrow!
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  • Plitviče Lakes National Park

    June 24, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    Today we left Zagreb and drove 3 hours to Croatia's oldest and most popular park. It is a chain of 16 terraced lakes, connected by waterfalls, surrounded by forest. We walked among the turquoise lakes on wooden boardwalks, which allowed us to get very close. We took an 8-mile mike, most of the time accompanied by a portion of the 1 million visitors the park gets each year--think some of Yosemite's popular trails.

    From there we went to stay overnight at Korana Village, population 15. The entire village, which is in the boundaries of the national park, was destroyed in the war, but is now rebuilt. Our group is staying in two cabins on the banks of a clear, cool river--perfect for cooling off after another 95 degree day. We have our own cook who has prepared fantastic regional cuisine for our meals, which we eat on a covered porch next to her herb garden. The evening found us sitting creekside sampling the local beer, wine and their equivalent of grappa.
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  • Biking the villages around Plitviče

    June 25, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    We set off from Korana village on hybrid mountain bikes to cycle rolling backroads through small farms and villages. At one point we were around 6 miles from Bosnia-Herzegovina. After about 10 miles we stopped to tour one of the approximately 10,000 caves in Croatia. Our young, but obviously knowledgeable and very enthusiastic guide told us the cave is 60-65 million years old and that there is evidence of use during the Ottoman Empire, and remains of a prehistoric bear and other animal bones have been found, as well as a 3,000-year old bronze bracelet. It takes 100 years to grow a centimeter of stalagtite.

    We carried on with our 20+ mile ride, occasionally seeing bombed out homes, but mostly fairly newly-built alpine-style homes--many for rent because it is so near the park. Micha, our REI guide, told us the homes not reconstructed were because the owners don't have paperwork to show ownership and so they were not able to get government aid.

    Again, many home cooked meals, including Trahana a Bosnian soup.
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  • Kayaking the Zrmanja River

    June 26, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Kayaking the Zrmanja River

    We said our farewells to Korana Village and our excellent cook, Mariana, and set off for the river kayaking adventure with planned stops along the way.

    The first stop was an overlook of Plitvice, which was great to see where we'd been walking 2 days before. The next stop was a coffee and rest stop in a village that showed more evidence of war destruction than we'd seen before. Apparently this was a town that was not as high a priority for rebuilding as our previous two destinations.

    Our REI guide, Micha, was 9 years old when the family was evacuated from Croatia to Bosnia, then to Syria (strange to hear that now). Micha and his family returned about 9 years later, after he finished high school. A lot of the things he tells us about life in Croatia is amended with "after" or "before" the war. Like how the village in the distance where we stopped for an overview of the Velebit mountains used to have 5,000 people, factories, a high school, and now it has 300 people, mostly retired, farming goats and small gardens.

    Still, things aren't all doom and gloom. He loves sharing the natural beauty of his country, and our group gets along fantastically, with lots of fun and jokes.

    Also on the drive to the river we stopped at a 700-year-old Russian Orthodox monastery. Micha knows the priest and arranged for him to explain about the history of the building and its artifacts. Like how Interpol found their lost/stolen icons in 1984 in Amsterdam and returned them to the church. We also heard Gregorian-type chanting/singing in the distance.

    Now, on to the kayaking: we were on the river for about 3-1/2 hours, paddling through green-blue water with occasional small rapids and a few small waterfalls we could go over for some low-stress fun. Darryl got to go down a 6-8 foot waterfall at one point because only one person from each double kayak could go safely. The rest of us walked around and took pictures of the daredevils. And none of us went over the 40-ft waterfall shown in our pictures. We were the only people on the river the whole time. This is really a beautiful country with very friendly people.

    We ended the day in Novigrad, a small town on the Adriatic Sea on the Dalmatian Coast. We had an open-air dinner of sea bass and calamari as the sun set and the large crescent moon began to rise.
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  • Hiking in Paklenica National Park

    June 27, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    Today we hiked about 10 miles in another of Croatia's national parks--a river canyon in the Velebit mountains. The trail was rocky and steep for 5 miles--about an 1,800 foot elevation gain--but always wide and safe with no threats of slipping off cliff edges. Much of the trail was wooded and shady, a relief from the continued heat. The views up the limestone cliff faces were spectacular, and it is a popular area for rock climbers.

    There is no camping in the park, but there are several mountain huts where climbers or visitors can stay the night and get a meal. We stopped at one of the huts perched high on the mountain with spectacular views. We were greeted with a table full of a variety of flavored homemade grappa--all very smooth, not like the firewater we'd had before. It seems strange to drink hard liquor in the middle of the day after a strenuous hike, but that's what they do here!

    On the porch overlooking the valley, we were served a special traditional lunch--Peka, which translates to "under the bell." It was prepared in a smokehouse they call a black kitchen (because of the soot-covered walls). On a raised platform is a tiled pizza-oven-like surface. This is where they would prepare their own prosciutto and other smoked meats. Peka is a way of slow-cooking: chicken and veal pieces are placed on the hot surface and covered with vegetables, herbs, wine, and some bacon, then covered with a heavy flat-topped metal dome, and coals placed on top of the "bell." Midway through, the meat is switched to the top of the vegetables and cooked until tender. It is served with homemade bread (all the baked goods here are freshly baked and delicious!) and salad with vinegar and delicious local olive oil.

    Somehow after that wonderful lunch we kept hiking higher up the mountain until we reached a 400 year old homestead. The overhanging cliff provided part of the roof and all of the back wall of the stone home.

    Back in Novigrad, we enjoyed a late dinner of risotto with mussels--a local specialty. We had seen the muscle "farms" in the sea on our drive earlier.
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  • Krka National Park

    June 28, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    After leaving our harborside town of Novigrad, we drove south past an agricultural area with olives, nectarines, grapes, cherries and a field of yellow Chamomile flowers for making massage oils. This was a mainly Serbian area, and again there was evidence of bullet-riddled homes and some vacant ruined stone homes. These days they are rebuilding with red brick-like cinder blocks, then covering with stucco. The stucco is painted with earth tones or white, which fits in with the limestone surroundings. Roofs are always red clay tiles. There are signs of rebuilding everywhere, with the aid of EU grants. Also along the drive we passed some 15th century castles from the time of the Ottoman Empire.

    When we got to Krka National Park, we could see why it, too, attracts 1 million visitors a year. Similar to Plitviče, it has a series of lakes connected by waterfalls. It was very beautiful, but so much more crowded because all these visitors had to fit into a smaller area. One of the highlights was an "ethno-village," which was less crowded. A woman was weaving on a loom (sheep wool), there was a blacksmith forge, and we walked through a reconstructed hydroelectric plant and grain mill. This was the second hydroelectric plant to come online in the world, just two days after the first one--on Niagara Falls--in 1895. Both plants were based on the designs of Nikola Tesla, born in Croatia. The Krka plant was in operation until WWI, when it was dismantled for armaments. Only in 2006 did they do archival research to reconstruct it.

    Another delicious traditional lunch was enjoyed by a rushing river: prosciutto and something that was like thin bacon that they called ham, local cheese, salad and bread, and wine or beer (grappa at the beginning of course). There was plenty of time for a relaxing swim in the cool river.

    We ended the day at Skradin, a harborside town with pedestrian-only streets. We hiked a short distance to the remains of a 14th century fortress (about the size of our house). Nice cool breeze and beautiful views from there.
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  • Kayaking to Zlarin Island

    June 29, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Today we drove about an hour south to the open sea side of Šibenik, where we picked up kayaks and paddled about 45 minutes to a small car-free island. The water was clear blue-green, and the wind and current were very light, making for easy going. On the mainland side we could see a 14th century fortress for guarding the Šibenik harbor and city from the Turks. We beached the kayaks at a cove on Zlarin island and Micha left us to swim while he went off to organize lunch plans. When he returned, he'd brought fruit and a really unique chocolate bar--filled with something creamy and something crunchy. Micha was often surprising us with little touches like that--a special food or viewpoint. We then strolled around the narrow village walkways together. We passed the large estate of the inventor of the Mag-lite, and shopped for coral jewelry (earrings for Diane). Only five people are licensed to collect coral and only in a specified area off the coast.

    Lunch was at an old olive-pressing tavern, which still had the wooden presses for us to see. We were served whole grilled Dorado whitefish (really moist!) and sheep cheese from the island of Pag, which tasted a lot like Manchego. No grappa this time (thankfully), but really good iced tea and some local white wine.
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  • Farewell evening in Trogir

    June 29, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    After paddling back from Zlarin island we had just a short drive to our hotel at Trogir, a UNESCO-protected city. The city was founded by the Greeks around the 3rd century BC. The oldest structures there now date to the 13th century, and some parts of the medieval city walls are still there, along with its fortress and a beautiful church. We gathered together for our last group dinner at the open air restaurant at our hotel.Read more

  • Bus ride to Dubrovnik

    June 30, 2017 in Bosnia and Herzegovina ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    We were a bit sad to move on from our new friends and wonderful guide, but excited about what lay ahead for us.

    We'd reserved seats on Croatia's equivalent of Greyhound (with a little city bus parentage). But the price and the views were totally worth it.

    The first half of ride had the tall white mountains on our left--just like our hike at Paklenica--and the sea with its turquoise coves on our right. The best of both worlds.

    Near the Bosnian border, the land became much more agricultural--figs, olives, cherries, and other fruit trees. The plots of crops were separated by waterways/canals and were relatively small and slightly haphazardly placed. Not like the large organized farms in California. Soon the terrain gave way to larger plots for vineyards, on hillside slopes. Then we reached the border of Bosnia--the country has a 12-mile coastline that cuts into Croatia. The ticket agent on the bus gathered up all of our passports to show at a border crossing gate, that looked much like our agricultural inspection stations in California. We can officially say we were in Bosnia because the bus stopped for a 15-minute break and we got out for a piece of pizza at their cafeteria to take in the road. Road-stop Bosnian pizza isn't anything to rush out for.

    Leaving Bosnia, there were so many floating mussels lines in the water. The road gradually climbed into the mountains, giving us panoramic views of the winding coastline and the many, many islands of all sizes.

    We arrived in Dubrovnik in the late afternoon and were met at one of the city gates by our Airbnb hostess. She is from Vancouver, Canada, living and working in Croatia now.
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  • Walled city of Dubrovnik

    July 1, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    Our apartment is within the old city walls, affording easy access to the narrow walkways filled with restaurant tables. This city is built like a bowl, with the fortification walls on top with several tiers of "streets" (no cars) ringing the city, connected by stone steps. Even the tiered streets have some steps from time to time.

    By going down over 200 steps from the wall, you reach the main plazas, filled with visitors.

    We spent the morning walking the 2.5K-long wall (1.5 miles), getting some amazing views. The maritime museum is up there too, where we learned that Dubrovnik's merchant shipbuilding and trading port rivaled that of Venice.

    The clock tower has two bronze figures inside, "zelenci" (green twins) that strike the bell on the hour and at various times between.

    Despite the humidity and the crowds, we really enjoyed exploring this medieval city and can see why it has long been considered the Pearl of the Adriatic.
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  • Dubrovnik outside the walls

    July 2, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    For our second day in Dubrovnik, we spent much of the day outside the city walls. We walked to Fort Lovrijenac (aka St. Lawrence) to get some great views of the walled city. The fort is also home to a summer Shakespeare festival, and apparently, some scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed here.

    Nearby the fort, even higher above the city and port, we strolled through a park with some nice shade trees, cool breezes and great views.

    Back within city walls, we took in more of the winding pathways, and ran across an archaeological dig site where they were trying to find the remains of an old church, but never found it. We liked some of the whimsical and decorative stone carvings on the buildings and the fountain. Then it was time to get on our ferry to Split back north in Dalmatia country.
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  • Split, Croatia: Diocletian's Palace

    July 3, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ 🌬 81 °F

    The Roman emperor, Diocletian, ruled from 284 to 305 AD, and built a nice summer home for himself (and about 1,000 others) in Split. In the central plaza (Peristyle) are columns and a sphinx brought from Egypt. There had been at least 12 sphinxes in the palace, but only one still has its head. The others were ritually beheaded by Christians who occupied the palace a couple centuries later and didn't like these pagan idols.

    One of the defensive features of the palace was the double gate -- like an airlock. Once the enemy broke through the outer gate they were faced with a second gate to get through, and by that time the palace army could attack them from behind and above in the small space.

    Our walking tour guide said that Split received more damage in WWII than in the civil war of the 1990s. In fact, when clearing the rubble, many old Roman structures were exposed that had been built over and lost to history. One of the artifacts was the mosaic floor from one of Diocletian's swimming pools.

    In the afternoon, we walked to Marjan forest park: a 580-foot climb over a bit more than a mile, mostly with steps. At least Split is cooler and less humid than Dubrovnik. The views of the palace, the city and the harbor are fantastic. See the pirate type ship in the photo? Those are replicas of merchant ships.

    Wandering the city before dinner, we ran across a performance of traditional music by a 15-piece string group. The instruments were guitars, stand up bass and and mandolins (or similar). Finished the day with a tasty pasta dinner in this city which has a lot of Venetian influence.
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  • Driving to Slovenia

    July 4, 2017 in Slovenia ⋅ 🌙 63 °F

    Today we picked up a rental car in Split to drive up the Croatian coast to Slovenia. Along the way we stopped at the museum and boyhood home of Nikola Tesla. The exhibit featured a chronology that placed his life and work in the context of the larger world of politics, science and art during his lifetime.

    Tesla invented the wireless remote, vertical takeoff aircraft, remote control for ships, radar, and so many more inventions! Yet he lived the last part of his life penniless and died alone. We got to see a demonstration of a million-volt Tesla coil which lit up fluorescent bulbs held in the hands of young volunteer visitors.

    The drive along the coast was stunning, and brought back great memories of our REI group tour.

    Tonight we're staying in a very small farming village nearby to the cave we'll visit tomorrow. We are the only guests at the inn, and were the only diners this evening. Our hosts are very welcoming, serving us local wine and beer, and regional dishes like truffle gnocchi (yum!).
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  • Cave and Castle day in Slovenia

    July 5, 2017 in Slovenia ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    We started with a 2-3 hour walking tour of Škocjan Caves, a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the world's largest known underground river canyons. Like Croatia, Slovenia has over 11,000 caves due to so much of the geology being composed of limestone and other soluble rocks that create sinkholes and caves.

    Škocjan was different from some of the other caves we've visited (and you know we've seen many with our family), because of its very large "rooms"--up to 140 meters in height and maybe 50 meters across. We got to cross a bridge that was 45 meters above the underground river running through the cave. Some years the river floods the cave to as high as 100 meters!

    Photos weren't allowed in the cave because any artificial light causes algae to grow (they did have plenty of light for our walk, but they turn off when not occupied). We took a photo of the bridge we walked on from their sign outside. After about 3 km, we went on our own in a very open part of the cave along the river where we could take photos.

    On the recommendation of one of the guests we met at breakfast (we weren't the only overnighters after all), we drove from the cave to the farm where they breed the Lipizzaner horses. These are pure white dressage horses whose lineage dates to the time of the Habsburgs in the 1500s. They are born brown or black, but gradually turn white beginning around age six.

    Also in the area is Predjama castle, built into a cave. It was built in stages and used by various groups for protection as early as the 13th century. It was an interesting tour because of the ingenious ways they used the cave features to their advantage (cooking chimneys, fresh water collection, and a secret escape route). It was last used by an Austrian family for a hunting lodge until the end of World War II, when it was nationalized by the Yugoslavian government and turned into a museum.
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  • Ljubljana, Capital of Slovenia

    July 6, 2017 in Slovenia ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Back to 90-degree temperatures made it a little hard to appreciate walking around pavement and city buildings, but we had a great 2-hour guided city walking tour before it got too hot.

    Ljubljana's city flag depicts a dragon, who is said to have been defeated by Jason and the Argonauts (or St. George, depending upon who is telling the story). But legend holds that the dragon is just slumbering under the city.

    This is a lively city full of many tourists and young people--there are 50,000 students in a population of less than 300,000. And most of them are riding bicycles on the wide bike/walk boulevards, so you need watch how you walk. At least the old city center is closed to cars. It received the European Green Capital Award in 2016.

    The dominant architectural feature is their 11th century castle on a hill reached by a funicular with great views of the city and of the mountains where we're heading tomorrow. The castle was never used for nobility, but for military purposes and later for holding prisoners during wartimes. It is now part museum and part event space, like for weddings and art exhibitions. It has been creatively and beautifully renovated most recently in the 1990s--juxtaposing glass and brushed steel with medieval stone walls and timber ceilings.

    The river features predominantly here too. There is a wide promenade along the banks with so many restaurant tables, all full of people any time of day. We took a 45-minute tour boat ride to cool off in the afternoon and saw Nutria, or river rats, swimming (remember them, Erin?).

    At the end of the day we played around in their new Museum of Illusions. Fun for all ages!
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  • Driving to Lake Bled in the Julian Alps

    July 7, 2017 in Slovenia ⋅ 🌙 66 °F

    Leaving Ljubljana, we opted for a back road route to Lake Bled, which took us through rolling farmlands and deeply forested areas. At one turn in the road we were startled to see someone hurtling down a bright green steep hill. Turns out they have practice ski jump runs here. We did a U-turn to go back and watch for awhile.

    After less than an hour's drive, we arrived at Radovljica, a well-preserved 12th-17th century village with both a gingerbread museum and a beekeeping museum--both part of Slovenia's traditions. We learned that to make one kilogram of honey, the bees have to visit 4 million flowers and fly four times the distance around the earth. Busy as a bee! The museum also had on display many decorative hives -- a form of folk art unique to Slovenia.

    Arriving in Lake Bled after a short drive, we were met by our innkeeper for our 4-night stay in a lovingly restored alpine-style pension. We walked down to the lake and got caught in a deluge of rain, wind, hail, thunder and lightning. It was pretty amazing to watch the placid lake turn turbulent, and we watched it all unfold from under the shelter of a tree. After an hour the show was over, the sun began to show, and we took a pletna (like a large gondola) to the island church, following behind a wedding party. There is a tradition here that the groom carries the bride up the 99 stone steps that lead to the island's church--unfortunately we missed seeing that spectacle. From the boat we could see the Bled castle high on the cliff above the lake.

    We ended the night with an amazing dinner at our own pension--truly fine dining! Think Chez Panisse with outdoor tables, and just as professional wait-staff. The tasting menu we chose started with lox-type salmon, garnished with berries, then a roasted duck and mini-cheese-filled "ravioli" stew, followed by medallions of venison that were so amazingly tender and flavorful in a red wine sauce with roasted vegetables. Finishing off with a dessert of the restaurant's version of the traditional Lake Bled cream cake -- kind of a custard -- accompanied by fresh berries.

    All in all, a memorable start to our stay in the Julian Alps.
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  • Biking to Vintgar Gorge and villages

    July 8, 2017 in Slovenia ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    We were surprised to find that our Pension Berc (highly recommended, if visiting Bled) offers the use of free electric bikes. We used these in the morning to avoid what we'd heard would be big crowds at Vintgar Gorge. We did miss some of the hordes and would have missed more if we hadn't gotten a little lost on the way. Well, I guess you could say Diane lost Darryl and spent time riding in circles and gesturing to villagers instead of continuing to the gorge straightaway where he was waiting. Oh well. The turquoise river and falls are definitely worth it, although some of the Oregon rivers and falls come close (and don't have tour buses).

    We didn't actually use the power-assist that much, as the roads weren't that steep most of the time. But as we got lost with more frequency on our continued ride around the countryside, it was nice to know we could have help going back up that lovely downhill we'd just taken that wasn't the right way. All told, we covered about 20 miles and a dozen small villages, all while traveling through green, green farmlands and a quiet, wooded trail along the river, with a bonus waterfall thrown in. We got some nice views of Lake Bled again as we passed by on our route to the lower valley.

    Dinner was at a Chinese restaurant, just for a break from figuring out menu items and to get more vegetables. Then we got in a game of mini-golf where Diane won almost every hole, with 2 holes in one -- what a switch.
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  • Biking the Radovna Valley

    July 9, 2017 in Slovenia ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    On the recommendation of our innkeeper, we ventured out again on bikes to a farmhouse that serves traditional Slovenian fare for lunch on Sundays only. We passed by some of the same villages as yesterday (some multiple times as we struggled with our directions), but traveled farther up the river valley along stunning meadow/farmland. Wildflowers are everywhere right now, and the fields are dotted with the traditional straw-drying racks. The sheer-walled glacier-carved valleys prevalent all around us are reminiscent of our Sierra Nevadas.

    We came across the stone ruins of a home, left as a monument, of a village destroyed by the Nazis as punishment for Slovenian resistance.

    Biking is a popular activity in this country, and the cars have been very accommodating. Also, other bikers have offered help with directions and suggestions for scenic rides. It's worth noting here that nearly everyone we've met in Croatia and in Slovenia speaks at least a little English, if not completely fluent.

    After a delicious lunch and more scenery-gazing, on our return to Bled, we took advantage of the e-bikes and powered up to the castle overlooking the lake. The castle interiors have mostly been modernized and are occupied by shops and a museum, but the views are what make the trip worthwhile.

    We finished the day with a "summer toboggan" run just down the road from our pension.
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  • Into the Triglav National Park

    July 10, 2017 in Slovenia ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    Triglav is Slovenia's only national park, and we drove here to see Mostnica Gorge and Lake Bohinj. An 8-mile out-and-back hike took us through more wildflower-filled meadows and along the deeply-carved river gorge. It reminded us of a hike we took with Ryan at Glacier National Park or the slot canyons in the southwest, but this was filled with green-blue water.

    This gorge is a bit more remote and was not overrun with tourists. The lake we'd come to see, however, was tourist-filled, and strangely had trees blocking the view of the lake all along the road, and what little parking there was, was expensive. We did find a nice place to stop for a brief picnic and view of the lake, but we were soon sent on our way by a friendly policeman who said we couldn't park where we had stopped.

    In the countries we've visited on this trip, we've noticed a different concept of support for parks and environmental sites. Instead of paying a one-time entrance fee, you pay to park at each parking lot separately, and at each trailhead.

    We returned to our own Lake Bled and took the e-bikes around the lake to a swimming spot (where we didn't have to worry about parking).
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  • Farewell to Lake Bled

    July 10, 2017 in Slovenia ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    Our 4-1/2 days in Bled were so memorable, mostly because of the time we spent away from the actual resort area -- biking in the alps, hiking in the gorge, and our wonderful pension and friendly host. We leave you with a few images of our stay at the Pension Berc and its fabulous restaurant.Read more

  • Arriving in Austria

    July 11, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    The first bummer of our trip happened today. The gorge we'd planned on seeing, which was the initial focus of our planning for this trip, was closed due to a big rockfall they'd had in May. They won't even get the gorge open until next summer. Disappointing, but we've experienced so many beautiful natural sites, we can't complain too much.

    As we drove through the Alps north from Slovenia into Austria, the terrain became more dramatic. By the way, "through" the alps is an apt term -- we travelled through many long tunnels on our route (some as long as 4 miles). The Austrian alps are more sheer and imposing than the Slovenian alps.

    We arrived at Hallstatt, a UNESCO designated town on one of the many lakes about an hour outside of Salzburg. The homes here cling to a cliffside, seemingly one on top of the other, most with only stairs to reach them. Walking around the area, we saw that they used a platform-and-pulley system to bring firewood and supplies to the homes from a small upper road. Winters must be severe here because there were large caches of firewood at every home (in Slovenia as well).

    Hallstatt is a very picturesque lake and town, and not so overrun as Lake Bled. The lake has swan paddle boats, but no kayak rentals as we were disappointed to find. Since it started raining soon after we arrived, that was okay. We enjoyed typical Austrian fare for dinner, of Wiener Schnitzel and Goulash, with "bier" and "wein" of course!
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  • The Austrian Alps: Atop and Underground

    July 12, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    We spent our day high above Hallstatt, visiting lookouts and caves. The day started with a cable car ride and 1-mile uphill walk to the Dachstein Ice Caves, where the temperature is always slightly below freezing, so we finally used those warm jackets we've been lugging around Europe all this time. The walk alone was fantastic, because of all of the wildflowers on display and informative signs about the alpine flora, not to mention the views above the valley. In the cave, the water that seeps in makes interesting ice formations, some with blue or gold tints. It's so cold in there that the ice growth in the winter exceeds the melt-off in the summer. In August, they even bring in a piano and hold concerts in one of the larger chambers - brrr!

    After leaving the ice cave, we took another cable car to a lookout point at about 7,000 feet. There is a platform that hangs out over the cliff--overrun with tourists, of course. It's just as easy to sit on the mountainside above the platform and take in the views without the stress.

    Coming down from the Dachstein mountain lookout, we went up the mountain on the other side of the lake to tour the salt mine. Hallstatt means "place of salt," and there has been salt mining here for 7,000 years. Salt obviously was an extremely valuable trade good in those days. While it is still an operating mine, it is a big tourist attraction where they describe the old and new mining techniques and some of the archaeological findings in this prehistoric cave. For example, in 2002 they found a wooden staircase which dates from the 13th century B.C. It is the oldest wooden staircase discovered to date in Europe, maybe even in the world. There are replica wooden slides used by the miners that we tourists get to use for fun to go between cave levels -- they are zippy! By then, we were 2 km deep in the mine, and we exited on a small train in a small, narrow tunnel -- tall people watch out!

    Back down at lake level we finished the day with a walk to a waterfall nearby our pension. It had rained heavily overnight both nights, so the river was running fast and high. Since we couldn't translate their trail markers very well, I'm not sure if we got to the waterfall, or just a really great rapids, but by then it was time to return for dinner. Being in the high mountains (even in the Julian Alps of Slovenia), the weather has been more changeable -- afternoon/evening thunderstorms are common. We've gotten lucky with not getting caught in the rain too much -- we've generally been indoors when it starts up again.

    One last thing about Hallstatt -- because of the sheer cliffs the town is built against, there continues to this day a profession of keeping the stones from falling on the town -- something like "stone sticker."
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  • Driving to Salzburg via lake villages

    July 13, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    Driving to Salzburg via the lake villages
    Between Hallstatt and Salzburg there are many lakes and historic villages. It has become more common to see building frescoes now that we are in Austria, and they like gnomes on their buildings too (kind of Grimms fairy tale-like). In St. Gilgen (the birthplace of Mozart's mother) we stopped in a small church and heard the organist practicing--a lovely sound and ornate setting to hear such grand music.

    It is just a one-hour drive between these mountain lakes villages and Salzburg, so after returning the rental car, we had time to take in some sights after walking to our hotel in old town. The Salzach river runs through Salzburg, with many bridges crossing it, as well as a fortress high on a hill above the town. There are so many church spires here, we can't use them as landmarks. It is really a picturesque city, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

    We strolled through the Baroque gardens of the Mirabell palace -- impressive as a whole, but the geometric patterns and identical plantings are not that interesting to our contemporary tastes. The fountains and dwarf figures were interesting. The palace and gardens were built in 1606 by prince-archbishop Wolf Dietrich. From the 1300s to 1800, Salzburg was a sovereign state of the Roman Empire--not part of Austria-- and was ruled by a combination secular and Catholic religious leader.

    In the evening we enjoyed a concert of Salzburg classical music--Mozart and Hayden, primarily--by a quartet of flute, violin, viola and cello. For the last piece, a guitarist joined for a Boccherini quintet piece. The setting of the concert was in the Baroque Marble Hall of the Mirabell Palace.

    There is a big emphasis on music here, from Mozart to The Sound of Music.
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  • Salzburg's Residenz Palace

    July 14, 2017 in Austria ⋅ 🌧 61 °F

    We decided to buy umbrellas today, reasoning that maybe that would be enough to get the rain to stop (it did, from time-to-time). We started with a brief concert of a Mozart piece from the glockenspiel at the plaza near our hotel--Salzburg is the birthplace of Mozart, after all. More about that another day.

    We then toured the palace that was the residence, cathedral, and seat of Salzburg government during the reign of the prince-archbishops. Of course it was very opulent, as they were trying to show their importance to political visitors.

    Underneath the cathedral is an exhibit of the archaeological excavations showing the underlying Roman structures, featuring mosaic floors, some one on top of another.

    Enjoy some photos of the sights of the city.
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