To Croatia again

Had a bit of a nightmare catching 3 trains from Ljubljana via Zagreb to Zadar, because we were held up on the Croatian border and the train was late into Zagreb. With the help of a kindly station worker, we raced across the top of the train tracks for me to catch the right train with only seconds to spare! Then in the middle of nowhere, another train was hitched on and we seemed to be going backwards! At a tiny little place called Knin, where I again had to change trains, I ran across the railway tracks again and went in this tiny little 2 carriage train to Zadar. We went through lots of tunnels with some stunning rock formations(see photo). From Knin across to Zadar the landscape was pretty derelict with farmers eking out a living with straggly wines and olives amongst the rocks.Lots of different landscapes today,from scruffy Zagreb, then rather pretty forested country which became drier, rockier and more sunburned as we headed south and back to 40 degrees! It was a very long day's traveling!! I can't believe how difficult it has been to get down to Zadar when it would only be 3 or 4 hours by car. O je! Roll on the sailing!

Ljubljana again

I came back to this lovely city today and I have had fun sitting in a cafe at the Triple Bridge, people-watching. Hot again, so any gear goes - gorgeous slim brown girls in long sun frocks or shorts, stylish hats and interesting shoes, street musicians on every corner, kids on roller blades or bicycles, adults sitting in cafes with a beer and their dogs and street vendors peddling their wares all along the river. This city has a great atmosphere: lovely houses with ornate doorways and shutters, lopsided rooftops, the romantic bridges and quaint little alleyways , plus a lovely park in the central city, where people sitting,chatting,reading or smooching! For the people of Ljubljana culture is a way of living, it has an excellent university with over 50,000 students and hosts over 1,000 cultural events every year, including the alternative and the avant- garde. The young people give it its vibrancy and it is not called 'the city of wine and dine' for nothing. I've seen some amazing platters dished up and I like their wine.

Lake Bled

It was worth the wait to get here today. It is some religious holiday or other, so shops in Ljubljana are shut and there were fewer buses running, so I didn't get here till after lunch. I honestly feel like I'm sitting in a picture postcard.Lake Bled is stunningly beautiful. I have just had a swim in the hotel pool and I am sitting on my balcony overlooking the lake. The lovely old St Martins church bells are ringing, kids are happily playing on the lake edge and a clarinet is playing below. It is a balmy evening and very pleasant just sitting here soaking up the lovely view. It is so picturesque, with the lake surrounded by mountains and forested hills, the castle above is lit up and the fountain is spraying out colored lights. Tomorrow I will climb up to the castle and take a boat over to the island in the middle of the lake. Apparently you should ring the bell 3times and make a wish for good luck.Lake Bled is also well known for hosting the World Rowing Champs several times.Slovenia reminds me very much of NZ and the people are friendly like us. Two girls chatted away to me on the bus and I've got another 'fan' in the restaurant on the lake. He made a beeline for me tonight. Quite flattering? Incidentally Otto was also Slovenian! I'm going to enjoy a couple of days catching my breath in this lovely place.

Ljubljana

Another really lovely city and the capital of Slovenia, again with a very attractive Town Square and the famous Three Bridges. I've decided to spend more time in this lovely city. The architecture is stunning, the magnificent baroque St Nicholas Cathedral ( see photo), the castle above the city, the Three Bridges, the Dragon Bridge ( apparently if you are a virgin and cross this bridge, the dragons wag their tails!!) and the cafes all along the river.
Slovenia is definitely the prettiest of the countries on this tour. The landscape is very neat and orderly and it looks wealthier than the other socialist countries we have visited. We have a typical Slovenian evening tonight, with typical food, music and dancing. Off to Lake Bled on my own tomorrow then back to Zadar to go sailing with Claudia and Ralf. I am really looking forward to that.

Zagreb

Capital of Croatia, with 800,000 inhabitants, one quarter of Croatia's population and is the political and cultural centre. Not a very pretty city with a lot of graffiti and cracked and dilapidated facades, but has some magnificent architecture too.It could be a truly lovely city if they had the money to fix up many of the beautiful buildings. The neo-gothic St Stephens Cathedral was stunning and even had the sarcophagus of Cardinal Aloysius in all his splendour. We had an excellent local guide , Smjezana, who gave us a potted history of Croatia, which has a very chequered history, having gained Independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, along with Slovenia and Macedonia. Bosnia- Herzegovina gained independence in1992, but the Bloody War then intervened.Serbia-Montenegro didn't gain Independence until 2006 and Kosovo in 2008. Smjezana had a wonderful sense of humour eg the statue of Ban Jelacic on his horse in Republican Square is a common place for lovers to meet 'under the tail'!! (see photo)The Croats are very proud of their nation and their sportsmen. You see their red, white and blue colours everywhere. Note the roof of the Town Hall.

Plitvice Lakes National Park

Cooler today (Monday 13th) , 22 degrees, so pleasanter for traveling and a very pretty drive through rolling wooded Bosnian countryside.Much of the forested landscape could have been in NZ round the Nelson Lakes or the King Country.We passed through lots of villages with rather plain blocky houses, many uninhabited. Some of them were prettily decorated with hanging baskets, hay stooks and vege gardens, especially corn. Jajce had a pretty waterfall and was the town where Tito apparently held an important summit meeting.We also passed a beautiful scenic area called Pliva Lake, which was totally undeveloped, but anywhere else in the world would be a stunning holiday area.
We also drove through some limestone karst country not unlike around Maungati, with big potholes.
The Plitvice National Park is a huge area of 16 lakes and 2 rivers. The lakes are interconnected by weirs and waterfalls and are really spectacular.We spent 2 1/2 hours walking around this lovely park, including a short boat ride.Apparently there are brown bear, lynx and wolves in the park, as well as woodpecker and mountain owls. The most common tree species was beech, also fir and spruce.The water was a real aquamarine blue but it was hot and teeming with tourists. Never mind!

Bosnia Herzegovina

What a fascinating day, because Wentz our tour leader, was born in Bosnia and the history was so interesting.
We backtracked today from Dubrovnik to get into Bosnia Herzegovina and we went past Otto's fruit stall again in the lush Neretva Valley, which is the fruit bowl of Croatia,but he wasn't there today!! Sad to see wildfires in the hills, so quite smoky and 30+ again today. The son of the family where we had dinner last night had been up all night, worried about his home in the hills.

There are three major ethnic groups here : Bosniac Muslims,Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats. It is a poor and religious country which once belonged to Yugoslavia and unemployment is apparently about 40%. Approximately 110,000 lost their lives in the war here, so some we saw some very full graveyards.
We drove up the Neretva Valley to Mostar, which had an interesting mix of Ottoman and modern architecture, with mosques and Turkish and Middle Eastern influences, as well as delapidated buildings, many badly pockmarked by shells. The shopping was amazing - like a Turkish bazaar with lots of jewellery, metalware, silver, glassware and war paraphernalia and cobbled streets again, but this time with stones set in concrete, so hard on the poor old feet again. Tobacco and wine are major products from this country. Mostar is renowned as the hottest city in Europe, often up to 45 degrees, but fortunately not today! A very cosmopolitan atmosphere with muezzins calling the people to prayer, local lads jumping off the famous Mostar Bridge for money and teeming with tourists.Sad to see gypsy women with babies begging in the street.(see photo and I did give her some money!)
From Mostar we had a very pretty drove to Sarajevo along the Nerevta River gorge with rocky sides, and the river an amazing green- blue colour.(see photo).Much more vegetation away from the coast.
Sarajevo also had an interesting history, having been a military garrison and is much more progressive than other cities here. Also tragically devastated in the 20th century (bombed four times in WW2) and gained International fame as the place where Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated, starting WW1, also the site of the Winter Olympics in 1984.It is a long narrow city 25 km long and 7 km wide, squeezed between hills and mountains with a population of 400,000. It was an interesting mix of ghastly concrete socialist flats, modern buildings and attractive homes in the hills. We drove up a street known as 'Snipers' Alley' because of civilian shootings.The population is predominantly Muslim and Jewish and the main mosque was stunning. The first time so far I have seen Moslem women with covered heads. I had to sneak the photo shown!