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Vienna & Croatia
  • Gabrielle Ingram
  • Gabrielle Ingram

Vienna & Croatia

Finn has finished Grade 12 so we are heading off on a family holiday before he starts uni. Leggi altro
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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    The front of our house this morning
    This is "the beach"How clear is this water???Zlatni Rat beachSculpture on the beachDeconstructed burgers, deliciousWaterfront at BolBol marinaA small 16th century chapel in BolBolShetland pony in a Christmas jumper and a llama with a Christmas tinsel wreath on its neckPuzzle update1Winter European sunbathingKids skipping stonesLunch viewsZlatni Rat Beach1I'm going in!

    Bol

    17 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We went on a day trip to Bol which is a village on the other side of the island which was a hairy drive with lots of switchbacks but spectacular views. There is a famous Croatian beach called Zlatni Rat (Golden Horn Beach) in Bol. In summer it is packed, today we had it all to ourselves. Today was also the day to put the tootsies in the sea. Not as cold as expected. The sea is so clear it really is not surprising why it is such a popular place to come.

    We had to stop to descale the car of salt after days of windy, was getting a bit hard to see. The servo was closed (being Sunday again) but the owner was there hosting down his building, so kindly gave the car a once over to get the salt off it

    Lunch was a traditional Balkan pljeakavica burger and beer at a great cafe, except for the complaints from the kids because we were surrounded by smokers. We are really discovering that obeying laws are kinda optional here in Croatia.

    As we were leaving the village, families were starting to gather for a Christmas market, so we passed a Shetland pony in a Christmas jumper and a llama with a tinsel wreath, being followed by a lot of children.

    Work on the impossible puzzle continued in the afternoon, which concluded with the annual watching of Love Actually.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    The easy section of the first path we had to retreat from
    Feeling jubilant too soon as we had to turn back not far from herePart of the steep section of the 1.7km trackThe last bit before we got to the cemeteryThe road from the cemetery in Scrip through to the supermarketFantastic stonework in the buildings15th century castle, museum downstairs, ruins at the topOur lunch viewsThe sheep were just below usViews back to Postira where we are staying, and the mainland in the distanceHeading back down and thankful for the hiking poles1Impossible puzzle update

    Scrip

    18 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Craig and I decided we would do a hike which offered a bit of road and a bit trail to a nearby village called Scrip, about a 7km round trip. It was an opportunity to try out our hiking poles with an elevation gain of about 250m. The kids decided to stay at home (Kate went in for a dip in the sea out the front of our house), the parents went to Supetar.

    We followed an off road trail according to Suunto but after quite a bit of elevation gain we got to a temporary fence, went through that and came across two more blocking the trail where there had been a bit of land slippage, so we turned around and went all the way back down to the road.

    After then following a footpath on a back road we came to a sign which was for walkers to follow and said 1.7 km to Scrip. That would be 1.7km of steady and at times quite steep descent. Pretty sure most of our 250m elevation gain happened in that 1.7 km.

    But, beautiful views and we popped out at the top at a lovely cemetery. After walking down a boulevard of sorts past an old church, a 15th century castle and a variety of buildings which looked of similar vintage, we bought some baguette, cheese, salami, beer and chocolate and walked back to the cemetery as it had a park bench with fabulous views (the deceased really do get prime real estate in Europe).

    It was a great stop. A flock of sheep just below us had bells attached which provided a lovely background sound! I feel like this was a bit of Camino-in-training... Although of course we only walked about 8.4 km and the Camino will call for 20 km/day minimums.

    Back home, the boys tried a bit of fishing and the impossible puzzle quest continued.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    1Cooking the fish, which is from the shop
    Our new favourite dessert3Myrtle berries

    Lazy day

    19 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    A lazy day of doing not much at home, other than the impossible puzzle and lots of Christmas movies. Pretty sure we've exhausted the entire Netflix range of Christmas movies now!

    Craig and Jeff did some fishing. Craig grilled some fish in the BBQ for lunch. Those sentences are totally unrelated. 🙂

    Craig went for a walk to get his 10,000 steps and came across a crop of myrtle berries.

    Hot tip if you get a chance, try Milka Choco and Biscuit Chocolate bar!    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    Piles of rocks, or little rock walls, on every property
    Lunch at the only open restaurantNearly homeNearly homeViews on our hike to SupetarWalking the street back to our AirbnbIt's finished!

    Hiking to Supetar

    20 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    All members of the Ingram Junior family did a 17km round trip hike to Supetar today as a means of getting a bit of exercise and this resulted in a 20,000+ step day. Still short of a Camino 20-25km day, so will see how we pull up tomorrow. Kate went to bed before 8pm.

    This was Finn's first walk into any of the villages which is a bit weird given we've been here for 6 days.

    We pretty much followed the coast line heading west. Passed lots of olive farms, and got to see up close the phenomena where the owners have made little retaining walls of rocks all over their property.

    In Supetar there was only one restaurant open, so decision making was easy on what to do for lunch!

    I had read that Lidl-brand Cornetto icecreams had won a taste test as being better, so since we needed to walk past a giant Lidl on the walk home, we bought some for dessert. Inconclusive results since Kate and I had pistachio flavour and it was not pleasant. We may need to submit ourselves for further testing 😄

    The kids saw a Dalmatian dog today, so our first sighting of a Dalmatian in Dalmatia! Makes it more authentic 😁

    This afternoon we also completed the impossible puzzle, and there was a spare piece which means some poor bugger out there in the world is spending the better part of a week doing a 2,000 piece puzzle and will be one piece short.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    The missing spot for the additional piece
    Sutivan beachGirl pointing (at church)Don't you just want to walk in there?Church on the waterfrontChurch of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin MaryMeandering through lanesThe kids running races on the other side of the marinaCoffee viewsOur incredible mixed grillBBQ boysKate wasn't waitingPastries for dessert

    Sutivan & mixed grill BBQ

    21 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Edit from yesterday: we had obviously had too much to drink because when I got out of bed this morning, the parents had found the space where our jigsaw puzzle piece went, so puzzle had the right number of pieces, we were just blind (either literally or figuratively, hard to say🤭).

    We all took a short road trip east to a village called Sutivan today which seemed a lot more "Italian" to me than other villages so far. It had a lovely palm tree lined boulevard, and a lot of very old but charming buildings. We had a coffee looking out over the marina whilst local school kids were having some sort of PE lesson doing races in pairs along the length of the marina.

    We decided we'd use our BBQ grill again, so Craig and I stopped at the supermarket for supplies whilst the kids came home with Glen and Jeff to get the BBQ charcoal going.

    I also stocked up on a new jigsaw for Dubrovnik since we have lots of public holidays and... well it is my tradition to do jigsaws at Christmas.

    Back home, we got some roasted potatoes in the oven and meats such as pork rolled up things, rib things, and two different types of sausages going on the BBQ (including Craig racing off into the village to buy more briquettes). Salad on the table and we were feasting on the deck, with beautiful views.

    And right on cue, just as we finished eating our spectacular meal, Finn spied a pod of dolphins jumping out of the water, a magical way to end our meal. We didn't get photos, so we've borrowed a line from "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and decided to "enjoy the moment without the camera getting in the way" (code for it is too hard to capture a picture at the right time they jump).

    An early night tonight because we have to wake up significantly earlier than our usual 8.30-9.00am to be down at the ferry by 6.45am. Off to Dubrovnik tomorrow!    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    The ferry
    Streets of stepsLunch in old townApartment viewsHi Katie up thereApartment viewsSunset as we walked into townThe mountains are REALLY closeBeautiful streetsNarrow street views to the mountainsUmmm, they seem to be declaring 2024 earlyOutside the walls, with a half moonKings Landing1The passing paradeWise menHot ginLots of these streets with a lot of stairs

    Brac to Dubrovnik

    22 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    We woke up super early (like 5.00am early) in order to get down to the ferry by 6.45 for a 7.45am ferry. Turns out we arrived in time for the 6.30am ferry with minutes to spare, which made the ferryman a little bit grumpy at us.

    Still, it was smooth sailing as the sun rose. The drive was quite spectacular both inland between the mountain range and then along the coastline as we approached Dubrovnik.

    As a result of the early start and lack of timely communication from the apartment owner, parking was a painful issue (tip: if you live in Dubrovnik, ditch the idea of a car). Once we managed to secure one though, we headed into the old town for lunch.

    After we checked in, Craig and I walked back into the old town to get some steps up, just as the sun was setting. The Christmas markets were coming to life and there are a lot more tourists here than anywhere else we have seen in Croatia so far. We bought our first ever mulled gin and it was delicious!

    Whilst we were in the main square some musicians in a parade of three wise men, Jesus, Mary and Joseph and some angels walked down the main street. We asked "gin guy" if it was a traditional Croatian Christmas carol as lots of people were singing along. He reckons he had never heard it in his life 🙂

    The guy at the stall told us about 85% of restaurants closed down for the season in early November through to about April. But the good news is that the rest stay open for tourists, which means we should be able to get a restaurant for lunch on Christmas day.

    There are a L.O.T. of steps in Dubrovnik. And a lot of beautiful streets. Can't wait to explore!    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    It is a bit sunny
    View of old town from our apartmentPerfect dayOur pizza caveThe biggest kebab Finn has ever had1Pizza caveThe clouds moved in over the mountain1Kings Landing for GOT fansPile Gate entrance (there are drawbridges at the gates)Friendly catSunset at a bar outside the wallWith friendly cat lap warmerSolitudeA nativity scene popped up since yesterdayThe entrance to the library❤️

    Christmas preparations

    23 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    This morning consisted of meal planning for the next three days of shops being closed, and gathering of the items which are cookable in the apartment kitchen with supplied appliances. In the space of about one hour, we are ready for Christmas!

    Craig did a 10km round trip walk to the far side of town search of Sim cards.

    Once he was back, we set off for a pizza lunch on the way back into the old town at a pizzeria I had found on Google which had excellent reviews. We ended up in their only remaining inside table in our own little stone cave. We had originally asked for an outside table up on their terrace, but we thought the cave was better when he eventually came back and said they would be willing to clean the outdoor furniture for us. Google reviews were correct!

    After lunch, the kids did a bit of strolling with us and found some more cats, including a very friendly one which jumped on their laps when they stopped to pat them.

    A bit further on we went through a doorway which went through the actual wall to a balcony on the outside of the wall. We decided we'd stop for a drink at the makeshift bar there, the kids ditched us, so we stayed there to watch the sunset. The friendly cat then reappeared and jumped up on to Craig and then my lap and contentedly sat there keeping my legs warm whilst we had a beer. Quite welcomed as the breeze cooled right down as soon as the sun went down.

    I have also started a new jigsaw puzzle, so have a few days to finish a 1,000 piece puzzle in the shape of a butterfly.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    Fake Freddie
    Fake BrianThe back stage view

    Queen Sensation

    24 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    I saw a poster on a wall today for a concert which was on this evening from 9.00-11.00pm in Stradum which is the main square in the old town, as part of Winterfest, with a band called Queen Sensation.

    At 8.45pm I asked the husband if he was going, we put on our boots and coats and walked the 1.3km back in to watch the show. The setting was pretty spectacular.

    I googled the band when I got home. They are Croatian and formed in 2007 and are now one of the most popular Queen tribute bands in Europe.

    As we were leaving we had to go out the main gate of the wall, which was behind the stage, so now I can kinda say we've been back stage at a Queen concert.

    Fun night out!    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    The path up
    The first station of the crossOne of the switchbacksViews over DubrovnikThe last station of the cross. Nearly there!The old town in the backgroundThe kids found an unusual spot to wait for us at the topMe in the distance way behind the others on the way downFootpaths Dubrovnik style. You gotta be ok with stairs around here.A footpath downTrying to keep up with Kate and he ripped the knee of his jeans

    Christmas Eve

    24 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    This morning we did a steep descent hike up to the mountain and fort which look down over Dubrovnik. At the end of each of the 14 switchbacks on the track was a plaque for the Stations of the Cross, which was a very convenient way of knowing how far we had left to go!

    Unfortunately a bit of cloud cover came in over the horizon out to sea during our climb, but the views were great anyway.

    Christmas Eve is a big deal, and there was a cacophony of sound reaching us as we hoked. We could hear music coming from a concert in the old town, canons being intermittently fired, with one round having 20 shots fired, intermingled with church bells. We could also see loads of people in the main square.

    On our descent we headed into the main square, but since we were in our walking gear and all the locals looked dressed as though they were attending the fanciest wedding they'd ever been invited to, we felt very out of place and as Craig put it "like we turned up at a party we hadn't been invited to". The square was packed, so we grabbed some food from the bakery and headed towards home.

    We have cracked open the butterfly jigsaw and the edge is almost impossible. As we were doing that we had a knock at the door and Robert, the son of Ari the owner dropped by with a plate of various homemade cakes his mother had made. Robbie, who is only 19 and just started uni 3 months ago, was up for a chat and stayed for ages. I think I forgot to mention that Ari had dropped in the night before with two bottles of wine for us too.

    To get to the start of the track up to the lookout we had to walk along the edge of a road which is the main highway going south through Dubrovnik. We moved to the other side of the guard rail favouring falling down the hill over being run over by a car. Unfortunately this caused Craig to snag his jeans on the guardrail and rip a 30cm hole down the side seam. So he spent several hours tonight starting sewing them back together, necessary because he only has two pairs of jeans with him.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    Still sewing
    Walking into town for lunchThe family being happy at ChristmasWaiting for lunchChristmas feastChildren getting alongEnjoying fritule / prickleViews walking home from lunchJigsaw progress

    Christmas Day

    25 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Sretan Božić!

    Casual day for us today as no presents, no big breakfast, casual doing of jigsaw, a glass of bubbles and then we toddled into town to find a restaurant.

    There was not much open but we found one (all you need) and you could tell it was full of tourists. So we had a pleasant lunch, then went back down into the main square for dessert which are called prickle here but went by the name fritule in northern Croatia. Like a dense doughnut ball and AMAZING. Now I feel sad we haven't been eating them sooner. We washed that down with a mulled gin.

    On the way home we bumped into a Croatian we knew! Robert was out walking his dog.

    Back home, more jigsaw puzzling continued and we had beef massaman curry for dinner. Craig also spent an inordinate amount of time finishing off sewing his jeans back together.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    Sun spotlight
    Motorcycle santasArtwork by Josip Škerlj. Walls plus two churches withinWashing hanging from balconies plus Catholicism1City walls, not sure what else this depictsThe cats of DubrovnikSea chicken?Fishing heritageIntense enrolment activitiesCompleted stupid puzzle

    Boxing Day

    26 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Quiet one today in that we literally did not step outside our door, except for Kate whose turn it was to take the rubbish out 🙂

    We accomplished completion of the painful butterfly jigsaw minus two missing pieces and I have donated the puzzle to the accommodation place.

    And bought tickets to walk the wall tomorrow - can't wait!

    Other notable events included me saying "is that a plane taking off over the top of us" just as we started to then hear lots of honking in the street below, so we hurried outside to see a great many Santas on motorcycles going down the street.

    We have also seen a few times now where a little break in the cloud makes a spotlight of sun on the water, and I managed to get a photo this time.

    Finn worked on his university enrolment for next year for the Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)/Master of Engineering which UQ hasn't seemed to make easy. So now that he has set up a spreadsheet he is writing some code to do his proposed program plan taking into account prerequisites and corequesites.

    Ari, the apartment owner dropped by this afternoon to see if we needed anything, so we chatted to him for a bit and then got some new paper towel and loo rolls. There is a person in the apartment complex who plays the piano for hours a day. On the first day some of those hours included a lot of scales and arpeggios, but since then it has been piece after piece of classical music. Ari asked if it was bothering us (no!) because he has had some guests leave bad reviews of his accommodation as a result of the piano playing. He said she is one of the most notable pianists in Croatia... No way to verify this of course, but we have free live music so why would we complain?

    And I haven't yet posted about the original artwork in our apartment. Seven pieces by a Dubrovnik artist named Josip Škerlj. I think in our conversation we have deduced he is Ari's brother. Most of the pieces in our apartment are depictions of life around Dubrovnik with the walls featuring heavily.

    https://hr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josip_Škerlj    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    Kings Landing (Game of Thrones) from the wall
    Commanding views of your enemies approachingLokrum Island which we had views of outside our accommodationThe kidsThe lone fishermanOne of three wall cafes which don't bother to open during the off seasonWe think this is lap warming catNew tiles and views up to the mountain we hiked on Xmas eveThis restaurant below looked like just the spot for lunchBuza Bar from aboveSeveral backyards you can check out from aboveThe church ringing dingers up closeThe old roof tilesEnjoying the echoes

    Dubrovnik Walls Part I

    27 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    O.M.G.

    Pretty sure this has become my most favourite town EVER! We walked the wall today and had perfect weather with clear blue skies. It is the most number of photos we have taken in one day on our entire trip so far! And with good reason, the views were spectacular and got better with every turn. As a result this post will be spread over about 2-3 because I cannot choose my favourite 20 photos for one day.

    We had the wall to ourselves for most of the time we were there and I cannot imagine what it would be like in summer when you would be sharing it with hundreds of others. Today is a day where I think it is 100% worth not being able to swim because the water is cold and most of the restaurants are closed because the trade-off is that we are experiencing something like the Dubrovnik walls without hoards of people.

    We took a couple of hours walking the 1940m of wall. There were some quite steep stairs in sections. We were able to get views of various places we had already visited during the previous several days.

    We spied a great looking setting for a restaurant which we later visited for lunch, met up with a cat we are sure was my lap warmer a few days before at Buza Bar, found a unique basketball court which is the result of a 700 year old wall gets in the way of your rectangular court requirements, found someone who had 28 pairs of white underwear hanging on their line and possibly the same number of white singlets to match, could peer into lots of backyards where the wall was part of their backyard (imagine!), and found a really spectacular vege patch with a load of citrus trees and grape vines with a great view. We also enjoyed bit of cat spotting including one white cat asleep in the most precarious spot you could imagine.

    Many of the rooftops were destroyed by shelling during the Yugoslav Wars in 1991, and during the walk you could clearly see the difference between the original and new terracotta tiles. The walk also brought you up close to the various church bells.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    The fort
    Views from the fortDown on the beach at King's Landing which I am sure has a more formal nameIf you saw a shark in this water you would die of fright before the shark ate youMe and himViews from the fortFort catThis should be the Walk of AtonementHow is this for a magical lunch setting?Pulled lamb briocheRector's PalaceBell dingers in the museum of Rector's PalaceSunset from the Museum of Modern Art DubrovnikMOMA

    Dubrovnik Walls Part III

    27 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ ☀️ 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!    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    A quite significant bridge outside Dubrovnik
    Mountains everywhere which typically look like thisWe spent a lot of time in tunnelsA brown bear replica at the restaurantOur AirbnbThe Korana river running through our villageThe old millThe sluiceThe kids in their natural habitat

    Dubrovnik to Plitvice Lakes NP

    28 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ ☀️ 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 🤭    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    A text book looking duck!
    Catching our little boat over to start the walkAutumn leavesWaterfall under the bridgeCascadesNo leaf blowers on this route!Local winter mealPeka

    Plitvice Lakes National Park (Upper)

    29 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ ⛅ 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!    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore

    Plitvice Lakes National Park (Lower)

    30 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ ☁️ 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.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    Graffiti is a notable feature on pretty much everything in Zagreb
    Our apartment stairsLunch in the beer gardenVery good Croatian hot dogNick CaveDoof doofHappy New Year minus two hoursCroatian liqueur1Sore wristFireworks in the street

    Plitvice to Zagreb (NYE)

    31 dicembre 2023, Croazia ⋅ ⛅ 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...    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    Walking through Park Zrinjevac, around the corner from the apartment
    Changing the guardThe coffee stripThe nights markets the next dayThe starting of a chewing gum wallStreet artA different form of street artThe edge of the old townThere are 200 gas lamps lit every night in the old townStone gate chapelStone gate chapelSt Mark's ChurchView from upper townThe main cathedral under repair

    New Year's Day

    1 gennaio 2024, Croazia ⋅ ☁️ 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!    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    Being appropriately sombre
    Neo-Renaissance arcade, one of the finest examples of historicist architecture according to guideMemorial to the Homeland WarA bit of coffee with our smoke2Our classy caffe barCurry fixMore respite from the coldTunnel GrgicPolar Dream art installation in the tunnel11Choices... Choices...Cherry pie for Kate and some sort of torte for meAdvent marketsLast night in Croatia

    Dead centre of town

    2 gennaio 2024, Croazia ⋅ ⛅ 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.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore

    Zagreb to Vienna

    3 gennaio 2024, 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!Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaViaggiatore
    Airport lounging
    Excited dog and humanOn home soilJoy

    Travelling home

    5–6 gen 2024, 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!    Leggi altro

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    Fine del viaggio
    5 gennaio 2024