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  • TravelerVienna & Croatia
    Day 42–43

    Travelling home

    January 5 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Early start with a very smooth return of the rental cars. Even the luggage check in was almost instantaneous so our last croissant and coffee in Austria before the flight to Doha. Qatar Airways is excellent!

    We were all eager to cuddle our very excited Callie girl again, and Rubes even made a show of being mildly interested in our return.

    The wrap up...

    Austria never fails to deliver. Great to see 50% of our au pairs again. Croatia was a great country to visit, but I am not sure we would have liked it as much during the peak tourist season even though the incredible azure and clear water would have so inviting. Dubrovnik was a highlight and deserves its reputation. The cats were surprisingly fun to spot and pat. No dodgy accommodation although each had its quirks. No real food highlights as such, but still some excellent meals along the way. Great to see a little bit of snow. The roads were excellent to drive on. Did not need much in the way of cash.

    I sleep with five pillows and even took my body pillow with me. This trip we did not encounter one stupid European pillow, but we still didn't find a single good pillow. Not a fan of the split doona system (still). And, how amazing is it that in October 2005 Craig and I managed to buy the best mattress in the whole wild world?

    Now on to planning the next thing to look forward to!    Read more

  • TravelerVienna & Croatia
    Day 40

    Zagreb to Vienna

    January 3 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    We set off on our journey back to Vienna to catch the plane home tomorrow. We are staying in a hotel right near the Airport as we have a 5.45am start tomorrow to drop the cars back before checking in at 6am for a 9am flight. Our last meal more or less matched our first in Austria with a twist. We had a schnitzel variation with cordon bleu. Otherwise, the rest of the evening was spent getting the bags repacked so everything fits in!Read more

  • TravelerVienna & Croatia
    211
    Day 39

    Dead centre of town

    January 2 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    The trusty guidebook sent Craig, Kate and me to Mirogoj Cemetery about 3.7km from our apartment today. We set off in 1°C and fog so it added a nice ambience to our meandering through Zagreb's largest cemetery in addition to very cold fingers and chin. Of note was the 500m of arched palisade however it was blocked off from access for some reason. The cemetery went on forever and we could not see the end through the fog. It is estimated about 300,000 people are buried here and large family sites were the norm.

    To get some respite from the cold we decided to stop for a coffee. The first coffee shop had mournful singing coming from it, and given we had seen people leaving a funeral we decided to leave them be. The next caffe bar was full of smokers so we had a lot of smoke with a side of coffee... The things you do to get warm and do a pee!

    We meandered back into town to give Kate her curry fix over a lazy lunch before walking through Tunnel Grgic which is part of a network underground tunnels built during WWII as an air raid shelter and then used again during the Homeland War 1991-1995. There was an art installation called Polar Dream in the centre section.

    We then decided on some lunch dessert at a cafe before heading home. Dinner at the advent markets for our last night in Croatia, with sausage, pizza, kebabs, donuts and kahuna gin.    Read more

  • TravelerVienna & Croatia
    Day 38

    New Year's Day

    January 1 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Hello first day of 2024!

    Zagreb took this day seriously with no shops open so we could not resupply our groceries. Mid morning we headed out into town to locate the attractions of note as per the guidebook in the apartment. There is a canon fired at mid day every day which we heard but didrsee as we walked into town.

    As we hit the main square we could hear marching drums, and just as we arrived we had a great view of a small group of military looking personnel with a few of them on horses. I later looked this up to find this was the Crabat Regiment which was a 17th century soldiers parade where they change the guard. These days only performed on weekends and three other days throughout the year of which New Year's Day is one of them. We found the Dolac farmers market but it was closed today.

    We then walked up to the old town to see St Mark's Church, with this old town nothing like the ones we have seen everywhere else. To enter we passed through the only remaining stone gate entrance to the old town built in 1266. There is a tiny little chapel built into it with a few church pews off to the side.

    Zagreb has been a weird mix of new construction, loads of old buildings virtually shrink wrapped as though something is happening to it, and most other buildings in a state of disrepair and in urgent need of significant maintenance, and covered in graffiti at street level. It looks drab, and grey and uninviting, not charming like the other places in Europe we have been to. Kind of like a poor man's Vienna. That said, there are so many online reviews saying how great it is and their reasons relate to aspects we are not seeing now because it is winter.

    After lunch in the main restaurant and coffee bar strip, we were so cold we all came home to warm up. There is a weather station in the park down the road which has been maintained since the 1800s. It told us it was 7° on our way home, but definitely felt a lot colder. I came home and got straight into bed under the doona to warm up, for several hours!    Read more

  • TravelerVienna & Croatia
    1
    Day 37

    Plitvice to Zagreb (NYE)

    December 31, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Hello last day of 2023!

    We only had a two hour drive from Plitvice to Zagreb today so decided to break up the journey with a stopover in Karlovac. Apart from a nice coffee shop there is absolutely nothing to recommend it!

    Being New Year's Eve and every man and his dog came to Zagreb + our accommodation is close to the action, parking was a bit of an issue. We eventually found a garage about 1.3km away, and made our way to the accommodation, leaving all our gear in the car for now. Across the road from our apartment is a beer garden, so we headed over there for a sausage and a beer, mainly because it was close, but also because there was a life-sized statue of Nick Cave at the entrance, which was just a little bit random!

    Due to the sheer number of people still pouring into the city, we decided to leave our cars where they were and walked back to the car park and then back again with all our suitcases. Given our late lunch, our last meal of 2023 was cheese and biscuits. Craig and I headed into the main square to see what NYE celebrations would look like which included a very loud DJ playing unintelligible doof doof music (I know I sound old) etc, so we headed home again. I had read before I went out that in May the Zagreb council had opted out of NYE fireworks. Locals evidently had not because there was random explosions happening all night, included some just outside our apartment. And at midnight I heard the main fireworks display, so the council obviously had a change of heart.

    I also managed to slip in one final injury just two hours before midnight trying to work out how Sam Kerr can jump so high as per a photo I just looked at. In attempting this spectacular recreation, I forgot I was wearing socks on a polished timber floor. Ouch from my wrist. The owner of the apartment had left us a bottle of liqueur. Not saying if the two things are related...    Read more

  • TravelerVienna & Croatia
    Day 36

    Plitvice Lakes National Park (Lower)

    December 30, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We went back today to walk the lower half of the lakes today which didn't take very long at only several kilometres. It was a Saturday, but also a lot of your buses pulled up in the car park, so we had to contend with a lot more people than yesterday.

    By late morning we were back at the car and found a cafe which had the cheapest cappuccino so far of the whole trip at €1.60. We bought some fresh bread and a burek at the bakery next door for lunch.

    Given we have no ice, we cooked dinner at home tonight using up the bulk of our refrigerated food as we head off to Zagreb tomorrow.

    A bit of a lazy day really.    Read more

  • TravelerVienna & Croatia
    Day 35

    Plitvice Lakes National Park (Upper)

    December 29, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    A big walking day for us with just over 15km of walking the circumference and a few other zig zag paths around the upper lakes and waterfalls of Plitvice Lakes National Park (21,500 steps according to the watch). This Park gets over 1,000,000 visitors a year, a large proportion of them in summer, but we still arrived there reasonably early (by our holiday getting-out-bed standards that is) to beat the enthusiastic winter crowds. We bought a two-day pass which includes a few boat rides and the mini bus. Apart from the compulsory electric boat to get you to the start of the trail head for the upper lakes, we avoided the bus and boat and elected to walk.

    It was an overcast day with one brief appearance by the sun which you can see in the photos where the water is a brilliant blue/green. Also incredibly clear. I don't think the Croatians do murky water.

    Our second last trail was obviously not as well maintained as it was covered in autumn leaves which obscured roots and steps so made the walk a little more "exciting".

    No bears, red deer, otters, wolves or lynxes made an appearance 😥

    At long last we have also found an open restaurant serving peka which is a traditional Balkan form of cooking over coals where the lamb and potatoes are placed in a pot and covered with a giant iron bell and cooked for around 4 hours. I had the peka, whilst Craig, Finn and Jeff had a "local winter meal" which was pork knuckle, sausage, ham etc. Basically a lot of pork based meat, cabbage and potatoes. Very hearty.

    Kids were in bed early tonight. 15km must be tiring!    Read more

  • TravelerVienna & Croatia
    Day 34

    Dubrovnik to Plitvice Lakes NP

    December 28, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    We left beautiful Dubrovnik today and drove about 5 hours to a tiny village of Korana which is a few kilometres out of one of the entrances of Plitvice Lakes National Park. This is our home for the next three nights.

    Croatia has a large number of mountain ranges so they don't mind a tunnel or two, and we went through several today that were 3+km long.

    We stopped in a reasonably sized village called Korenica at this really popular restaurant. The menu was totally in Croatian and it was a place like IKEA where they dish out your food for you. We just took 4x of whatever the first thing she took the lid off which was a really delicious thick beef steak in gravy served with mashed potato. By way of comparison, a 500ml bottle of Ozujsko beer is just over €1 in the supermarket, about €8 in restaurants in Dubrovnik and €2.40 in this restaurant. We then did a small grocery shop and found our Airbnb in a tiny village of about 15 houses located in Korana right on the river Korana. There is a restored water mill in the village with its own little series of cascading waterfalls. Once again, crystal clear water.

    Craig and I then did a quick reconnaissance trip about 5km down the road to see what the supermarket and restaurant scene looks like around here. We have also downloaded the app ready for our visit to the National Park tomorrow. Unfortunately there is no snow as I would have really liked to have seen the NP in snow, but the upside that we don't need to fit snow chains to the car.

    It would also be very nice if the brown bears and lynx and wolves and deer in the region also congregate in the NP over the next two days for our viewing pleasure 🤭    Read more

  • TravelerVienna & Croatia
    Day 33

    Dubrovnik Walls Part III

    December 27, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    After we finished walking the walls we went over to the Lovrijenac Fort. We had bought the Dubrovnik Pass which grants entry to multiple historical sites and museums. Still cannot get over the clarity and colour of this water!

    Here we found our favourite cat so far - Fort Cat. He was lying in the sun and did not move from his bizarre position the entire time the kids were patting him - quite a chill dude. Loved him!

    We then met up with Glen and Jeff for lunch at the restaurant we spied from up on the wall. It would be lovely if Brisbane could build some 700 year old walls and an equally old building and put a restaurant near it. Walking to the restaurant we ascended a large stone staircase used in Game of Thrones for Cersei Lannister's 'Walk of Atonement' scene.

    Lunch was a leisurely affair because it was such a lovely setting.

    Afterwards we meandered through the Rector's Palace which served as the Seat of the Rector of the Republic of Ragusa, and also housed an armoury, watch house and prison, so the museum contained related artifacts. We also visited the Christmas markets one last time for a mulled gin (called kahuna gin here), and the yummy 'prickle' donuts. The kids left us because Craig and I decided to visit the Museum of Modern Art of Dubrovnik which we have walked past every day as it is in the same street as our apartment. The Tasmanian Moma is safe, this was not anything to write home about. Due to our food indulgences today, dinner was a bit of cheese and biscuits at about 8pm. A fabulous day!    Read more

  • TravelerVienna & Croatia
    11
    Day 33

    Dubrovnik Walls Part II

    December 27, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    More beautiful pictures...

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