Beautiful Hvar

John woke up today feeling worse - won’t go into the details but he was self diagnosing whooping cough, pneumonia, pleurisy or the like. He has a nasty cough and very little voice.

Again we had our continental breakfast on board. Each morning we have cereal with long life milk and juice to start. The basket of freshly sliced bread is on the table along with single serve sized packets of cream cheese, sour cream, pate, Barby (a very sweet type of nutella), honey and jam. There is a jug of coffee and also a jug of hot water with a selection of tea bags. Liz usually goes for the green tea, the rest of us have either black tea or coffee. One morning we had slices of cold meats and cheese as well.

We have had lunch on board each day. Lunches are 3 courses of homemade cooking. Today was entree of mussel and prawn risotto, main of fried calamari with creamed spinach / broccolini / potato with a cucumber side salad. What a shame Ron doesn’t like cucumber - or at least what cucumber does to him. Desert was a delicious apple strudel. All food is freshly made on board for the 20 passengers.

We have had a stop at a beautiful swimming bay around mid morning each day. We then head off and continue sailing throughout lunch. After lunch we again anchor in another equally beautful spot for more swimming. We can either dive in off the platform at the rear of the boat or for those of us like me who don’t want to get their hair wet you can walk down the steps and delicately glide into the water. The water temperature is still what I would descibe as ‘fresh’, but soon becomes fine when you have been in for a while. Today, enroute to Hvar, we swam to land and got out on a rocky shoreline (which seemed to go on forever - the sandy section was a long swim away.) You do have to be careful where you put your feet as there are black coloured sea urchins. One clever person in our group waited until a lot of us were in and then joined us in reef shoes - that was John of course! - certainly made it easier for him to climb up on the rocks.

Hvar is the longest island in the Dalmation group. Our second swimming stop yesterday was in one of the Hvar bays. After this stop, it took us about an hour and a half to sail to our dock in Hvar. What a superb scene it was, sailing in. Where we ‘parked’ for the night was along a beautiful stretch of restaurants, shops, markets and bars. Fortunately there was a doctor’s surgery so we headed there. John saw a very thorough female doctor who spoke quite reasonable English. She diagnosed a virus and put him on antibiotics due to the possibility of secondary infections. She also prescribed a cough medicine like Bisolvin as well as cold and flu tabs - with all that, hopefully he will improve dramatically very soon.

(As I am sitting on the deck typing this up Liz is trying to put up a deck chair - they are quite challenging! Marie has come to her assistance - then John. How many people does it take to put up a deck chair?)

There is yet another fort / castle on the cliff near where we docked - many of our group took the walk up but due to John’s ‘state’ we just went up a few alleys and walked around about half way up to the fort. Of course the bells rang out every hour as we have experienced everywhere we have been. The atmosphere on Hvar is wonderful. After all of our eating John and I only felt like a light dinner. We settled on pizza and salad in the plaza.

(Also as I sit here - it is almost 10am - we can all smell the delicious aroma of lunch being cooked.)

After dinner we went for a long walk around the winding pathway along the water's edge - just stunning. It is not getting dark here until about 9pm. We discovered a 5 star+ hotel on our walk. The pool was amazing - waterfalls, little ‘bays’ within the pool, fairy lights and it was huge! The hotel building was also huge. Must look it up on the internet. It’s name was someting like Aforma.

We met up with Liz and Ron who were having an ice-cream and sat with them for a while. A cute dog came past and I called it. It came over - enjoyed a pat then walked around next to Ron to check out his ice-cream. It did one almighty sneeze on Ron’s leg - Ron was not impressed and gently chastised me for calling the dog over. As if understanding what he was saying it sneezed again down Ron’s leg and came back to me for another pat.

We strolled back to the boat about 11.30 pm after we too indulged in our obligatory ice-cream - John is making sure he tastes the ice-cream everywhere we go - so “whats new?”, I imagine some of you are thinking.

When the boats dock, they are often 3 or 4 deep - we were number 3 this time. A group on boat number 4 were having a bit of a loud party. We laid in bed and read until just after midnight. The party settled and we went off to sleep in our comfortable bed.

As I am not an early riser (when given the choice) I again woke about 7.30.We departed Hvar at 8am - this seems to be the pattern for our departure time . We are on our way to Trstnik today. Apparently it is a small island with only one restaurant - this, I guess, is why they have put the Captain’s dinner on tonight. We had the choice of fish or meat. Both John and I have chosen fish. Not sure what time we will arrive, but we should be getting close to our swim stop now. As I type all of our group are relaxing on the deck reading - we are currently in a large expanse of sea and there is quite a cool breeze. I can see 25 other sailing boats of various types in the distance. Where is our sheltered little swimming bay?

Steve has just come up from the bar with a beer. He was also given some homemade grappa to sample. It is made from sour cherries. We have had this in many places on our Slovenian / Croatian travels.

It is now 10.30 am and the boat appears to be slowing down perhaps we are nearing our ‘swimming spot’.

Yes, another picturesque bay!

After our swim we had lunch which consisted of vegetable soup, shredded cabbage, onion and paprika side salad, veal goulash with gnocchi and veges and finished with a cherry strudel. Yum!

We arrived at Trstnik about 4pm. This is a very small island. The tiny port only had a few places open. One was the bar / restaurant, a very small general store, wine tasting in a type of grotto and another wine tasting at a winery a short walk away. We met the elderly wine maker who happens to be quite famous in California and here. There were numerous certificates and framed newspaper clippings proudly on display in the tasting room. We only tried one white and one red wine and didn’t feel ‘we just had to buy one’.

The captain’s dinner was a very nice meal - I’m sure you don’t want a ‘blow by blow’ description of everything we have eaten so I will leave it there. We are on the Katalina Lines boat called the ‘Papa Privi’. Another of their boats was moored next to us last night enabling a shared disco / dance after dinner. Everyone had a great time. Due to John’s ‘Flu’and the fact he has shared it with me, we didn’t party for long.

Setting Sail

In the words of the Johnny Cash song: Woke up Sunday morning with no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt - no I wasn’t hung over - I had picked up the ‘Flu! It must have been the chill from the freezing boat ride on the Plitvice Lakes earlier in the week. Anyway, there I was - no voice, rasping cough, heavy head and feeling lousy. What a great way to start the cruise!
The transfer from the hotel in Dubrovnik was done via mini-bus and with about 14 people and their luggage on board, it was oh-so-squeezy. We made it to the port and proceeded to board the boat. It is the custom here (and elsewhere, too, I suspect) to moor one boat beside another rather than at the dock side itself (probably saves mooring costs). Imagine our surprise when we were told our boat was not the first, not the second, but the third one out. This meant that we had to drag our multiple bags across 3 boats, leap from one to the other and finally climb the narrow stairs to our cabin level. After much huffing and puffing, we finally made it. To our surprise, the cabins were relatively roomy with excellent en-suite facilities.

Once settled in, the only thing remaining was to while away the hours until departure next morning. The clouds threatened and loud claps of thunder were echoing across the hills - our cruise didn’t look too promising. We managed to fill in time until the official meeting, where we were told the ship’s rules and what to expect over the next few days. Dinner was served in the dining room - soup, followed by fish with chocolate ice cream as a dessert. The ship provides breakfast and lunch each day and we have to eat the evening meal at the restaurants that abound on the islands we are to visit.

The next morning dawned bright and sunny. Gert had been zenning for fine weather and it looked like she had been successful. We set sail after a false alarm - our boat had to move to make way for one of the boats moored closer in, so we did a big loop and ended up back where we started. However, during breakfast, we were under way in earnest.

The first thing that struck each of us was the colour and clarity of the water. A bright royal blue, the water was calm and the boat glided smoothly along. At about 10:30, we pulled into a sheltered bay on one of the 1000+ islands that dot the Dalmatian coast (the spots on the dog breed of the same name represent the islands - true story!) It was swim time. After dipping my big toe into the water and watching it ice up and threaten to fall off, I decided that a swim right there, right then was not a wise choice, Jill, however, brave little soul that she is, took the plunge. All together, about 6 of our total passengers braved the water - for a brief time at least. After a half hour stop, we set sail again. Lunch was served and after much lounging, reading and sun baking, we again pulled up at a sheltered cove. Feeling a little braver (or maybe stupid) I took the plunge this time and swam about for about twenty minutes, as did Jill. The initial shock when hitting the water takes the breath away, but once the numbness sets in, you can’t feel a thing - really! The water is also much more buoyant here - you can almost float vertically!

After the swim, we set off again - this time a short journey to the other side of the island and realised that we were approaching Korcula, our destination for the day. The town and the island take the same name, but the locals have given this place the nickname of Little Dubrovnik because of its fortified walls which give the appearance of a mini version of the much bigger fortifications in Dubrovnik itself.

The plan was to walk a bit and find a restaurant for dinner. After the solid breakfast and large lunch, no-one was really hungry so we found a fish reataurant and made a booking for 7 pm. We wandered the old town for a while, taking advantage of many Kodak moments. I found a pharmacy and bought some cough medicine - hoping that I could clear the fuzziness out of my head and throat. Eventually, my ‘Flu got the better of me so I went back to the boat for a warm shower and warmer clothes. A little before 7 pm, we all met up at the restaurant and a nice meal was enjoyed by all.

On the way back to the boat, Jill, trying to be adventurous and get the best angle for a Kodak moment, climbed a rock wall, slipped and scraped her shins - an expletive or two later, she got the shot she wanted and moved on. We passed a bar where a duo was singing country music - yes, even here in Croatia, good ol’country music lives on! I would have liked to have stayed to listen for a while but Jill’s leg was hurting so we continued back to the boat where the captain gave her personal treatment with an antiseptic wash. After an exhausting day, none of the troops partied on - let’s see what tomorrow brings.

Destination Dubrovnik

The new hotel had a minor breakfast malfunction this morning - the coffee machine ran out of water! I guess even 4 star hotels need time to iron out any bugs. Breakfast choice was one of the better so far on our trip and, as I mentioned in the previous blog, the room was one of the best I’ve seen anywhere!

The journey to Dubrovnik was over 150 km and for the most part, followed the coast road. This meant that what could have been a journey of less than 2 hours took almost five, The first stop was at a gas station where we had to pay for the privilege of using the restrooms. This part of the Dalmatian Coast is known as the Croatian Riviera. While I wouldn’t go so far as to compare it to the beaches we enjoy on the mid north coast back home, the little bays and sheltered boat harbours brought forth many "oohs" and "ahhs" as we rounded each bend.

 The second stop came as a surprise to all of us. There is a small section of the Croatian coast, some 25 km that was ceded to Bosnia many centuries ago (done as a deal with the Ottoman empire to buy protection from the invading Venetians). Complete with border check points at each end of the strip, we crossed and found ourselves in another country. After a short drive, we stopped at the little town of Nuem for a drink break. Underneath the restaurant was a super market at which our tour guide advised us, we could purchase duty free items - bottles of wine, souvenirs, CDs (we bought 2) and any thing else a super market provides. I bought an umbrella for less then A$4 - only as a guarantee that it would not rain, of course!

We crossed the border check again and re-entered Croatia and soon arrived at the Neretva River delta which has been extensively farmed for over 150 years. This part of the world is known as the California of Croatia because of all the tangerine orchards. Directly after crossing the flat delta, we climbed into the coastal ranges, stopping for a Kodak moment at the local lookout. The panorama was truly spectacular, with the cultivated fields spread out like a carpet below.

We arrived in Dubrovnik just after 1 pm and after stopping for the obligatory Kodak moment just outside the city, we headed straight for the old town. Our walking tour of the old town was scheduled for 3:30, so we had almost 2 hours to amuse ourselves. Liz expressed a desire to walk the top of the city walls - a distance of 2 km even before we had anything to eat! Dave and Marie, Gert and Steve decided that they would tackle the wall walk when we came back to Dubrovnik after our cruise. So, Liz compromised about starting immediately - Jill and I shared a ham, cheese and tomato roll and a cup of tea while Liz and Ron had a cold drink. We purchased our tickets for the wall and set off. The very first part of the walk - climbing the first staircase proved to be the most challenging part of all. While not overly high, the stairmakers of the 11 th century didn’t bother about even height stair risers or equal depth stair treads. We were obliged to rest for a moment to regain our breath before we set off along the top of the wall. On one side is an almost sheer drop of 40-50 metres to the sea; on the other, we gazed down into privately owned back yards, complete with washing drying on lines and freshly dug vege gardens. Like the Great Wall of China, the wall around the old town of Dubrovnik rises and falls according to the shape of the rocky outcrop on which it was built. There are many look out towers, each with their own set of stairs and many vantage points for Kodak moments - thank goodness Jill has a 4 gb card in her camera!

The wall itself is thickest on the mainland side - up to 6 metres thick in places. That part of the wall facing the sea is somewhat thinner - maybe 2 metres at the thickest point. Our tour guide had explained that the builders had believed that the most ferocious form of attack would be coming from the mainland, the ship mounted cannons couldn’t provide the penetrating power of land based weapons - very efficient use of resources!

After the walk on the wall, we still had about 45 minutes to wait until our walk through the old town spread out below. So, Liz and Ron decided to have their ham, cheese and tomato roll while I - you guessed it - enjoyed a large ice cream! Jill invited a local stray dog to join us - after staring at us, demanding something to eat, the mutt shook itself and deposited a fine mist of assorted crap over Liz’s jacket! That, of course, was in addition to the deposit that a passing pigeon had made on Liz’s head earlier!

The city walk was interesting, but by this time, I was walked out! The history of Dubrovnik is extremely interesting. The city walls had never been breached until the Serbian-Croatian war of 1991. The old town suffered terrible damage during several intense missile attacks and credit must go to the people living here that they have rebuilt and restored the old town to its former glory.

After the walk had finished, Tatjana, our lovely guide in Slovenia met us and escorted us to a tucked away bar built into the wall. We had spotted it earlier on our tour and thought that it would be a great place to relax, looking out over the sea. She gave us a box of chocolates to share - such is the nature of the person she is. Unfortunately, Tom, our guide in Croatia had told us quite sternly that we had to be back at the bus pick up point by 6 pm. So, it was skates on and Tatjana guided us back just in time.

The final surprise of the day came when we arrived at our hotel. The view from our room and from the restaurant was post-card material. Not only that, the buffet for the evening meal far surpassed anything we had encountered on our trip so far. We can hardly wait to see what breakfast brings.

Tatjana joined us after dinner and showed us a nearby arcade where we can purchase a few basic essentials ready for our cruise which starts tomorrow. This may be the last blog I can post for a week. I doubt that internet access will be available on the boat. Never fear, we will keep writing and will post a batch when we get back to civilisation. The weather looks like it’s improving - so bring it on!

From the Mountains to the Sea

We had few regrets leaving the hotel at which we stayed for 2 nights. My alarm wasn’t needed for the early morning wake-up call - the garbage trucks just below our window did the job all too well. At least we got to breakfast early - before all the hard boiled eggs had disappeared!

Today was a travelling day - even though the distance from the Plitvice Lakes to Split is about 150 km, we took most of the day to complete the journey. Once we left the mountains and crossed the range that separates the inland from the Dalmatian Coast, we could see a remarkable change in the vegetation and landscape - from alpine forests to low level vegetation known as karst. As we moved closer to the coast, the weather improved - from cold and showery grey clouds to bright sunny blue skies.

Our first stop was at a roadside service centre where we had various refreshments - some with coffee, others with tea or hot chocolate - of course I had an ice cream (what’s new? I hear you ask). After more driving, we came to the town of Trogir. At first, it looked to be nothing special, but once we entered the old, once fortified mediaeval part, things became a little more interesting. Part Roman Forum, part Venice, this little place had a charm of its own. Again, the obligatory cathedral awaited us, but this time, even I could see that this one was a little different - first built in the more simplistic Roman style, this building had several additions over the years and the finished product became an amalgam of at least four achitectural period styles.

Trogir provided us with a place for lunch. The old town is built on an island only metres from the mainland. Two bridges have been built to link the island to the mainland and sitting by the channel that separates the two parts of the town while munching on a pizza with Liz and Ron, is not a bad way to enjoy lunch. Several Kodak moments presented themselves during this time. As well, several boats, similar to the one we will be boarding for our cruise along the Dalmatian coast from Dubrovnik, were moored nearby. The conversation as to which type of vessel we might be getting was a hot topic during lunch.

Back on the coach, we continued to Split - the 2nd largest city in Croatia and a mecca for tourists, with its international airport and shipping terminals. The highlight of the city tour was the time spent inside the original core of the city - a fortified castle/fortress built by a 3rd century Roman Emperor. The walk through the foundations and the stories of the uncovering of these relics by archaeologists was fascinating. Speaking of relics, we fell about laughing when our local guide, Deanna, while referring to an ancient sarcophagus as a precious relic, inadvertently pointed at Ron. Liz came to Ron’s rescue by saying that even though he may not be a real relic, he’s still precious. Over the years, the castle/fortress has been recycled into the core of the old town and it is odd to see modern coffee bars and boutique shops where the ancient Roman Forum columns still stand. As we entered one of the rooms, there was a quartet performing traditional Croatian songs. We stopped and listened for a while and, yes, you guessed it, we bought their CD!

At the end of the city tour, we were given an hour’s free time - again several Kodak moments. However, some serious shopping was required -  beach towels for our cruise (the brochure says to only bring a towel, bathers, T shirt and a good mood!) and a hat with a chin strap for me. The breeze on the open sea can be treacherous!

When we finally arrived at out hotel, a most pleasant surprise greeted us. The rooms rival the famous Regent Hotel we had visited in Zagreb several days ago. Only 6 months old, this hotel is indeed luxurious and, by far, the best one we have stayed in yet. What a pity it’s only for one night!

A swim and spa before tea in the wellness centre was the order of the day and tea itself was a buffet. I can’t believe the amount of food everyone is putting away. We might as well leave most of our clothes behind when we head for home - I don’t think much of our wardrobe will fit us by then!

Water, Water Everywhere!

Again we slept well - some even slept in! This room definitely reminds us more of rec camp accommodation excluding the bunks. A basic breakfast this morning - not a real surprise - but definitely fuelled us up for the days activity.
At 9am we departed for Plitvice Lakes National Park.We had been told we would spend the day there. The grey clouds overhead threatened to open up and make the day a challenge. Fortunately, we only experienced a few patches of light drizzle throughout the day but even this could not mar the experience and the beauty the lakes have to offer. Jill had her $2 disposable poncho at the ready in her recently purchased smaller bag just in case. It was, however, quite chilly at various sections of the lakes - good for hot chocolate and snuggling close!

Plitvice lakes has a surface area of 294.82 square km. It is the largest of Croatia’s eight national parks. In 1979, it was included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites. The lakes are known for their cascades: 92 waterfalls in total - we saw about half of these.

We started off with a gentle descending stroll down to a small wharf. Our boat took us across to the other side of the lake. From there we walked for 2 hours along a path, often consisting of timber walkways across the expanses of both still and rushing water - no OHS requirements here! Almost all of our group of 35 people did this with ease. One elderly lady did find it difficult and ended up having to take a different path back to the bus.

Our first stop of 20 minutes was for refreshment and/or comfort. Jill had her first hot chocolate here. We continued walking for another hour or so - of course, this included pausing for Kodak moments. Around every corner, the terrain looked different. Different flowers, different butterflies, different birds and different ponds, rivulets and waterfalls.

At one stage, we boarded the panorama bus which returned us to the wharf where we had boarded the first electric boat. From here we boarded a second boat and sailed to the far end of the lake to a different spot, rather like a picnic ground, where we purchased and consumed lunch and more hot chocolate. Jill felt right at home, as there were 2 school groups on excursions. The first a Croatian group of Yr 5 and 6 students, the second a group of German high school students who sang loudly and had a fair share of couples - doing the usual - holding hands, kissing and cuddling. Glad I wasn’t supervising that group especially at night!

After lunch we continued with the final leg of the walk meeting up with our coach at 4pm. In total we walked just under 8 kms and the number of photos taken will remain undisclosed. It was a wonderful experience.

We were still chilled when we arrived back at the hotel. Jill lay down on the bed under a soft blanket. Within a few minutes the two of us were under the blanket and we woke up an hour later.

The evening meal was an entree of a cold platter of local produce - cheeses, meats, olives. The main was trout with vegetables and potatoes. The dessert was fruit salad. John finally found a white wine on the sweet side that he could almost enjoy. Croatia doesn’t have many sweet wines. John wants to start a SWAG - Sweet Wine Action Group as he feels sweet wine drinkers are discriminated against!

After blogging we will retire at a reasonable hour ready to be up early for an 8.15 am departure. Tomorrow we head to Split on the Croatian Coast - hopefully the weather will be warmer!

From a City to a National Park

Our guide for the Croatian tour is a very knowledgable Croatian man named Tomas (Tom) whose approach borders on pomposity - disappointing after having had the lovely Tatjana for the Slovenian tour. The guide and bus driver (Bozo - pronounced Borszow) certainly don’t seem to be the best of buddies.

At first, Zagreb seems to disappoint when compared to Ljubliana. However, the International Hotel is the best we have stayed in so far, so there are some benefits. After another smorgasboard of choice for breakfast, we boarded the coach for a tour of Zagreb city. The city can be divided into two main parts - the upper or old city and the lower or newer section. The upper is a contradiction - there are so many vacant residences, which have been left to deteriorate simply because real estate costs so much in this part of the city.

Our first real stop for Kodak moments caused me grave concern - we had arrived at the largest and oldest cemetry in Zagreb. Over 120 years old and with 260,000 grave sites, it is the largest in Croatia. Of course, all the important people are buried there!

The most photographed building in Zagreb is in the old part of town - the huge cathedral with its multi coloured roof. As we passed St Mark’s Square (no, we were not back in Venice), we came across a demonstration of sorts, complete with police presence, within the square itself. Our local guide informed us that the young people were demonstrating about the lack of golf courses in Croatia - apparently there are only 3! This, he added, is doing nothing to attract tourists to the country, as visitors to Dubrovnik in the south have to travel 300 km to find a golf course!

After leaving the old town, we spent some time in the newer, lower section of town. We wandered the markets with its huge range of local produce, bought a few gifts for folks back home, Jill had the Croatian version of a German Bratwurst and I enjoyed a hot dog for lunch. I’m pleased to say that a local optometrist managed to repair Jill’s glasses. He only dropped the tiny, tiny screw twice! Makes me feel a little better that even the right man, with the right tools, still had trouble finishing the job!

After we left this rather untidy and graffiti ridden city, we headed south west for the Plitvice Lakes National Park, some 140 km away. On the way, we passed through Karlovac, a village that was the scene of occupation by Serbian forces during the Serbian-Croatian war during the 90’s. The evidence of fierce gun battles and damaged buildings was plain to see and feelings still run strong whenever this conflict is mentioned.

The highlight of the journey to the national park was a brief stop at Slunj, a small village which still has several working water mills where flour is ground to make a local bread. The ingenuity in developing these water mills was amazing - machines designed several hundred years ago were still doing the job as well as the day they were made. We were offered a sample of the bread made from the flour ground out in the water mill - very grainy and heavy, but quite tasty. The village had been built at a spot where two fast flowing rivers join together. The number of waterfalls and the sound of falling water create a dazzling spectacle - many Kodak moments here!

We finally made it to our hotel - all the single travellers and one couple were dropped off at another hotel. Apparently the hotel at which we had all been due to stay had been overbooked because of the huge number of tourists that this place receives every day. From reports, it would seem that we who came here received the short end of the straw - we didn’t even have a plug for our bathroom sink! After much effort, Jill managed to convince the hotel maintenance man that we really needed that plug and eventually, he fixed it. This hotel is very basic and would not receive recommendations from us. Our room reminded Jill of an upmarket sport and rec type facility. The bar, lobby and restaurant were of a satisfactory standard  -  just a lower standard than we have been experiencing.

I retired to bed early, but Jill seems to be hooked on Rummikub and sat up much later playing with the ladies.

Tomorrow, we spend all day in the national park walking the trails. Please let there be no rain!

Destination Zagreb

An early breakfast so that we were able to make the 8:15am train from Ljubljana was the first objective of the day.What a sight - the 8 of us with our large suitcases, and several of the group with smaller suitcases as well, walking single file from the hotel to the railway station - a distance of about a kilometre. Fortunately, Ljubljana railway station had a lift to take us down to the lower level so we could get to the appropriate platform. We then had to climb back up the stairs to the correct platform as there was no lift there to transport us. Fortunately, a conveyer belt was running beside the steps so we walked up the steps with one hand on our suitcases as they glided up beside us.

There was some confusion when the train finally arrived. We found carriage 306 and went to board the train. However, everyone was told to wait on the platform. Eventually, we saw maintenance men coming along with a selection of serious looking tools. They climbed under the train and started bashing away. Was our carriage undergoing major repairs before our very eyes? Finally, after much banging and clanging, the engine pulled away taking our allocated carriage with it and leaving the rest of the train behind. A few minutes later, the same engine returned with another carriage marked 306 and we were able to board. The steps up into the carriage were a considerable distance above the level of the platform creating quite a challenge to get all of the suitcases up onto the train. Thank heavens Ron (Liz’s wonderful husband) is tall and strong (and good looking too!) and helped us all get our luggage on board. We should have ‘tipped’ Ron for his assistance, so we told him what he keeps reminding us - ‘be kind to your mother’.

When the train finally departed - some 20 minutes late - all was going well until we came to a stop at the Slovenian/Croatian border. First, the Slovenian police came on board and checked our passports. Dave’s passport created some concern to the officials. One of the officials spoke into his 2-way radio holding Dave’s passport in his hand. Not being able to speak fluent Slovenian, we were unable to decipher what the problem was. Dave was perspiring profusely at this stage - as was Dave’s wife, Marie. A good 10 minutes later, they finally stamped his passport and we all shared Dave’s relief. We have since wondered whether one of the police found him suspicious or attractive! The Croatian police boarded the train at that stage and then went through the same procedure of checking and stamping passports again. No problems with Dave this time!

We have met an interesting, mature lady from New Zealand who will be touring with us. She has attached herself to our happy and lovable group. I think she was unsure of how to take some of our humour.

On disembarking at Zagreb, we negotiated with taxis to drive us to our hotel - 30 euro for the 9 of us - good value! We were glad we chose to do this as we soon came across thousands of students from many different schools marching the streets, blowing whistles, singing, shouting, some with tambourines, some with ratchets, many with large beer bottles, wine bladders and bottles, and various other alcoholic beverages. Dressed in the various colours of their schools, we think they were celebrating the end of their high school education. The police, in large numbers were scattered around various posts. There were also many security guards posted along the streets. Police, security vehicles and ambulances were a common sight. Cars were unable to move and were at a stand still with students completely surrounding them like a sea of humanity. Some drivers had their vehicles rocked by the students. It certainly makes our ‘Muck up’ days mild. Hope this trend never catches on back home!

After checking in to our modern and well provisioned hotel, we headed off for a walk in search of the Regent Hotel. This is a very posh hotel that has just celebrated it’s 85th Anniversary. We were all ‘gobsmacked’ as we entered the foyer! This hotel has had many of the ‘Rich and Famous’ as guests. The hotel was one of the hotels used by guests travelling on the Orient Express. Liz used her ‘I’m a travel agent from Australia and I am wondering if I would be able to inspect one of your rooms’ line. She then asked if her friends would be able to join the inspection. We hit the jackpot with the gentleman - and I mean GENTLEMAN - who kindly agreed to Liz’s request. He was in a senior position in the hotel - either the manager or head concierge - and has worked at the hotel for 35 years. He proudly took us for a tour of not only a standard room but also of the suites used by the well heeled gentry (including Sophia Loren, Satchmo, Princess Anne, Grace Kelly and Cliff Richard), as well as the fitness centre, restaurants etc. After this wonderful tour we chose to stay for a coffee and snack. Expensive, but worth every cent!

Now, we head down to the foyer to meet our travel guide for our Croatian Tour, which starts tomorrow, and to have our first dinner in Croatia.

Laundry & the Markets

Today was different. Nowhere to rush to; no castles or churches to visit; no mountains to climb!

So, after breakfast the hunt was on for a laundromat - the washing needed to be done. We sought advice from the hotel receptionist who suggested we either catch a bus out to a large shopping centre on the outskirts of the city, some 15 minutes away, or we walk to a nearby backpacker hostel where washing facilities could be found. We decided on the shopping centre and duly found the bus depot. Liz purchased enough tickets to cater for the 7 of us on this adventure and we headed off bravely into the unknown (no tour guide with us this time!). Eventually, we arrived at the large shopping centre and sought directions to the laundromat. After deciding that the multi story carpark was not likely to yield any results, we found the entrance to City Park, one of the many shopping malls in this huge complex. We entered with trepidation - there seemed to be too many clothing and shoe shops - the ladies were drooling! Jill went into a pet shop and found hairless guinea pigs! Finally, we found our target but, to our dismay, the “laundromat” turned out to be a dry cleaning shop - I guess there was a translation malfunction. As we had come this far, we spent about 1 hour wandering around the huge shopping centre with each of the ladies purchasing a garment or two. I bought a ‘man bag’ - very becoming!.

We still needed a laundromat, so, not to be beaten, we headed back to the bus stop, keen to return and try the hostel facilities. The bus driver almost didn’t let us on the bus! The tickets that Liz had bought were not quite enough to get us back to the city. The driver must have taken pity on we poor lost Aussies so he allowed us to board and we headed sheepishly back from whence we had come earlier.

When we arrived back at the depot, three of the party, whose washing had already been done, decided to leave us and return to the city centre. The 4 remaining stalwarts headed for the youth hostel and after several minutes of walking, we had to ask directions. Jill sought advice from a parking cop who after looking at her as if to say, “Aren’t you too old for a Youth hostel?” directed us straight to the place and soon, after handing over a passport to secure keys to the laundry, we headed upstairs and loaded up the machine.

At that point, Jill decided that her glasses needed some minor repair work- one arm of her glasses was wobbly. Have you ever tried to replace the tiny, tiny, really tiny, screw that holds the arm to the lens frame while using a Swiss Army knife as the only available tool? Yes, you guessed it - I dropped the damn thing on the floor and the 4 of us went on a tiny screw finding mission. Eventually we found the beast and I tried my darndest to screw it in. Under such difficult conditions the screw was dropped again and, again was found after quite a long search. Sadly I had to admit defeat - Jill was left with a pair of one arm glasses! We have looked this afternoon for an optometrist without success. Jill had made a wise move by bringing a second pair of glasses with her.

We were very impressed with the youth hostel. We asked to view rooms - quite spacious and very reasonably priced. The cafe on the ground floor had delicious looking and smelling food at very cheap prices- not that we needed MORE food! The hostel was however in an area that we decided we would not want to walk around there alone at night - maybe because the building had once been a prison!

After making our way back to the hotel to deposit the clean washing we went for a stroll down to the markets. These are located just below the castle. The fruit and vegetables stalls were mouth watering. We sampled quite a bit of the produce and purchased some delicious cherries. Both us of managed to make a purchase or two - I made the most this time - a pair of sandals, a shirt and a hat! From there we went to a pastry shop and purchased bureks - a Slovenian cheese pastry and found a nearby outdoor bar (again with the palace just behind us) where we purchased a glass of Refosk (red wine) each to accompany our bureks. The sparrows were just about dive bombing us to get flakes of pastry! The sun was shining - a most pleasant 1/2 hour.

After once again arriving back at the hotel we relaxed. Jill played Rummikub with Marie and Gert whilst I again worked on Jill’s glasses - I like a challenge. Again the challenge proved too much without the right tools.

The evening ended with a stroll down to the Republic Square to purchase a light meal and the obligatory drink.

With an early start in the morning, we needed to retire reasonably early - an 8:15am train to Zagreb awaits us in the morning!

A Pool and a Castle

Our last morning in Bled started off with a swim in the hotel pool. I have never seen a pool like it before. Slippery dips, 2 spa pools each with a different temperature, an inside pool from which you can swim to the outside pool, and 3 different waterfalls. Then of course there is the children's pool. To top it off, we had the most amazing view of the famous castle, church and the alps in the background. The snow was falling on the Alps. John chose not to swim because of the chance of aggravating the now-healing sun-spot on his head.

After a short breakfast, we said farewell to Tatjana our exceptional tour guide, and boarded a smaller transfer coach (there were 2 for our party of 8 travellers) to Ljubljana. We arrived just before midday, checked into the City Hotel with its tiny rooms and Salvadore Dali furniture in the lobby.

We then set off for Ljubliana Castle. A short ride on a steep funicular brought us to the new entrance to the castle courtyard where we purchased tickets for the virtual museum - a 3D film presentation giving a brief history of Ljubliana. I got a special pair of big 3D glasses to cover my normal specs and Jill wanted to take a photo of my bug-eyed look, but cameras weren’t allowed - thank goodness for small mercies!

We climbed the narrow spiral staircase to the viewing tower which provided a 360 degree panorama of the city and surrounding countryside - a definite Kodak moment. The snow capped Alps provided a spectacular background to this pleasant city spread out below. Other photo ops included the pentagonal entrance tower, complete with its 2 drawbridge entrances (now just a hole in the wall) and the chapel of St George, the patron saint of the city. The castle as it now stands was completed in the 16th century and is still undergoing restoration after the last residents moved out during the 1960s. Instead of catching the funicular back down, we chose to walk. The path proved to be somewhat of a challenge but we made it safely to ground level without any mishaps.

We meandered back to the hotel via an English pub where we spent happy hour, hoping to see the Aussies vs England 20-20 cricket final but no luck. Doesn’t matter anyway - the Aussies lost!

We enjoyed the tourist special - a tasty meal in the hotel and retired for a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, the search is on for a laundromat - Jill has been keeping up with her laundry - not so for me!