Split

Game of Thrones. Is anyone a fan? Today I got to visit a location where scenes from Game of Thrones Series 5 were filmed.  

But first, it was a rainy old day for site seeing so the umbrella went up and the shoes got saturated while checking out Trogir.  Trogir is another town in the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) World Cultural Heritage List built on site of the ancient Greek settlement Tragurion.  Even that sounds a bit 'Games of Throne'y but it's not here where some scenes from Game of Thrones was filmed. 

Trogir is another harbour on the Adriatic coast where pictures don't quite cut it.

Trogir

Trogir

Split is the biggest city and port in Dalmatia and was built around 1700 years ago.  It is also home to Diocletian's Palace which is from the 4th century.  This palace is basically Diocletian's retirement home and he abdicated the throne of the Roman empire to live here in 305 AD.  The palace included is private apartment but also included housing for the military garrison.  HIs apartment was at the water end so he could make a quick exit by ship if needed.

The palace also had 3 sets built within it's structures for filming of Game of Thrones Series 5.  One of which is the home of Khaleesi and her dragons.

Diocletian's Palace - Under the apartment section

Diocletian's Palace 

Plitvice

Pltivice Lakes National Park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage register in 1979 and is one of the oldest in Southeast Europe. Pltivice Lakes is the largest national park in Croatia with 16 waterfalls and is the nations pride and joy.

But first, the road to Pltivice Lakes took us through Medak village. The Medak Pocket was the site of a military operation in September 1993 by the Croatian Army against the Serbians who had self-proclaimed control of the area. I'm no war historian so I won't go into detail but the remnants of the attack can still be seen in Medac with many of the houses being left with pock marks from the bullets.

You can see from the photo below, the yellow building has been restored but the building to the left still remains pockmarked as evidence of the fighting. I can’t even imagine how frightening it would be to have this occurring on your doorstep.

After lunch we arrived in Pltivice Lakes National Park and spent three hours exploring the park including a couple of boat trips on the lakes and about 6 km of walking. The sun gods were shining down on us yesterday. We were told that only 1 in 10 trips were in in good weather so we were extremely lucky to have a sunny day for the lakes. We were told that only 1 in 10 days provided this kind of weather and to prove it I woke up to rain this morning.  (I would have loved to have spent another hour or so in bed dozing to the sound of the rain but being on a tour you get up when you're told.  Most days the wake up call is between 6 and 7 am.)

The falls were not at their heaviest as Spring has long been and gone.  But the lakes were lovely with their blue / green waters so crystal clear that you could see to the very bottom.  I love being in nature but again one of the cons of a tour is that the pace is reasonably fast. Photo stops needed to be very quick and there was no time for quietly appreciating the beauty of the lakes.  The timber footbridges were narrow in places making single file a necessity for the throngs of visitors - I would hate to see how busy it would be in the Summer peak season!  

Timber footbridges in Plitvice Lakes National Park

Caves in Plitvice Lakes National Park

It was a great day and would definitely like to come back on my own time to fully appreciate the national park and lakes.   

One of the 16 waterfalls

Istria

A sensational day exploring the Istria Peninsula in Croatia. Called the Istrian Riviera, the coastline is spectacular and reminds me of European movies set in the 50's (think Talented Mr Ripley).  It has the highest real estate costs in Croatia and the same climate, landscape and products as Tuscany, e.g. wine, olive oil.  Who knew?  Before this trip, my knowledge of Croatia included Dubrovnik and Plitvice National Park.  What a gem Croatia is turning out to be.

I will leave it to the pictures to tell the story of Istria as my simple words would not do it justice. They say a picture tells a thousand words but I think a visit is truly required. (I suspect this may be the case for the remainder of my time in beautiful Croatia.)  

While I am based in Opatija I haven't spent much time here. Today I headed first for Pula, then Rovinj.  Pula is the largest city in Istria and is said to be older than Rome. Pula is best known for its ancient Roman buildings, best of all is the 1st century amphitheatre which is one of the six largest arenas in the world. I wasn't expecting to see anything like this in Croatia.   

Pula Amphitheatre

Pula Amphitheatre

Rovinj (or Rovigno in Italian) is a popular tourist resort and fishing port and is officially bilingual, Croatian and Italian.  Enchanting Rovinj rises out of the water with a distinctive Italian feel and screams to have photos taken around every corner and alleyway. Basilica of St. Euphemia is located at the top of the cobblestone streets and provides excellent views.  But beware of the cobblestones as they can be very slippery underfoot.     

Rovinj

Rovinj

Rovinj

Rovinj

Tonight is my last night in Opatija and I haven't really scratched the surface on this place. I paddled in its waters late this afternoon on a walk and realised how warm the water was. I was expecting it to be really cold. I'm now kicking myself that I chose a 1/2 hour break in the hotel room instead of racing down for a swim. Istria, I will have to come back one day to lounge on your daybeds and dip in your sea.

Opatija

Postojna

Although the tour is called Country Roads of Croatia, we jumped our neighbours fence into Slovenia today. The main border crossing from Croatia to Slovenia was closed due to the refugee status so we took a detour and crossed at a place called Metlika - a much lesser used border crossing. With a bus load of passports checked, we made it across the border without any issues.  Let's just hope we can make it back again!

A bonus of using the alternate border crossing was the requirement to travel through back-road Slovenia rather than the main highway to reach our first destination. Slovenian countryside is green rolling hills dotted with villages of shingle-roof cottages, geraniums on every windowsill, corn crops used for fodder and apple trees ready for harvest.  These are broken with the darkest of thick woods. We also noticed police checking the fields and backs of trucks along the way, presumably for refugees. Thank heavens for the droll highway escape as it was a long 4 hours to Postojna.  (Although I have to admit the hum of the motor and movement of the bus rocked me to sleep a few times.)

The main destination for the day was the Postojna Caves. Limestone caves of stalactites, stalagmites, columns and curtains. The caves are over 24 km long and the 'concert hall' section can house an audience of 10,000.   

5 metre stalagmite known as the 'brilliant' because it's so white & shiny.

Postojna Caves

From the caves it was another 2 hour bus trip, safely back through the border into Croatia, to our final destination of Opatija. It was very late afternoon by the time we got to the seaside resort but I squeezed in a quick seaside beer and stroll along the Lungomare (Italian for esplanade) before dinner. There were only a couple of late swimmers by this time and the sun was all but gone but I could imagine the holiday makers in peak summer vying for poll position on the sun lounges. I can't wait to walk the Lungomare in the sunshine tomorrow. 

Opatija

Zagreb & Kumrovec

Zagreb: capital and largest city of Croatia, population approximately 1.2 million for the wider metropolitan area and located along the Sava river which flows through 4 countries and into the Black Sea.

I got to know Zagreb a little better this morning with a walking tour. Zagreb also has a funicular which we rode to the top for city views and from there we visited churches, cathedrals, the Stone Gate where people also go to pray and the Dolac food market open every day until 1pm. I also met some of the locals in traditional Croatian dress.

Speaking of cities; public restrooms.  We all secretly pass judgement on a city by the state of them, right?  Zagreb had one of the most unique I have come across so far.  On waving your hand to flush, an automated arm comes out from the back which has some sort of cleaning/sanitising pad on it.  The plastic toilet seat then rotates, essentially wiping the seat down for the next person.  Nifty, hey?  And, it was free of charge unlike many European cities.  I'm impressed!

St Mark's Church

Traditional Croatian dress

Did you know that the kravata (neck tie) was invented in Croatia? The story goes that wives and girlfriends of soldiers would tie a piece of cloth with their scent on it around the soldiers necks so that they would be reminded of home. Apparently the French soldiers fancied the kravata over their own lace collars and the Croatian scarf was soon copied and accepted in France. And now fellas, you know who to blame for having to wear the neck tie.   

Kravata shop (you will also see these being sold in souvenir shops)

City Walls, Zagreb

Kumrovec: This village only has a population of approx. 300 but was the birth place of marshal Josip Broz Tito, born 1892.  

The tour visited the peasant house of Tito and the surrounding properties have been restored to reflect village life of 100 years ago. Tito played an important role in Croatian history but there are mixed feelings about him in this country. While Tito was the leader of the Partisan's, Europe's most effective anti-Nazi resistance movement, and a Yugoslav revolutionary he was also seen to be a benevolent dictator due to his economic and diplomatic policies.

History aside, Kumrovec is a charming old village where people still live, children go to school and chooks roam free.  (I'm a sucker for chooks and village life.)

After the village, an alfresco dinner was presented under the grape vines with distant views of the Veliki Tabor Castle. We were spoilt with cured meats, cheeses, pickled vegetables, duck and veal with apple strudel for dessert.  Did I mention the unlimited wine? Happy days.

Kumrovec

Dinner under the grape vines

Moving On

Time to move on.  Auf wiedersehen to Zurich and dobar dahn to Zagreb. A good portion of the day was spent in transit and checking in to our hotel for the next two nights.

Tonight saw the start of our Insight tour of Croatia. I have experienced both tour group travel and independent travel and can see the pros and cons of both. While I prefer the freedom of independent travel, I certainly appreciate the benefits of having accommodation, transportation and sightseeing (no waiting in cues) pre-arranged. This tour seems to have a decent amount of free time so perhaps I'll enjoy the best of both worlds.

Time to see what Zagreb has to offer. For starters, she turned on the weather: 25 degrees, sunshine and a light breeze. Tick! The first few blocks showed most buildings to be quite dilapidated and I have to admit the seeds of doubt about the city crept in.  Continuing on, though she turned on the charm with handsome buildings and lots of lush parks.   

City of Zagreb

City of Zagreb

We stumbled across the Film Foodie Festival in Zrinjevac Park and couldn't resist the smells of the food stalls.  One pulled pork sandwich later, we moved on to the beautiful King Tomislav Square to take a load off before heading back to the hotel for the tour induction and meet and greet.

Late lunch in Zrinjevac Park

King Tomislav Square

So far Zagreb, you're doing pretty good. 

Black Forest

Today was my last day in Switzerland and it turned out to be a 'foodie' day. I'm now back in the hotel room writing this post feeling as full as a butcher's dog and dreaming about hitting the pillow.  

The morning started with a stroll down Bahnhofstrasse. This is the main downtown street of Zurich and one of the most expensive!  Think of a fancy-pants shop and whether or not you could afford to buy anything.  If the answer is no, then you'll find it in the Bahnhofstrasse.  Chanel, Dior, Hemes, H&M, Giorgio Armani, IWC, Mont Blanc, the list goes on.

Eventually I found a shop on Bahnhofstrasse that completed two criteria - I could afford it and it involved chocolate. How could I stay in Switzerland and not sample the chocolate?  Food item #1.

Chocolates in Laderach, Bahnhofstrasse

Scoffing my Laderach chocolates

We had booked a 1/2 day Black Forest and Rhine Falls tour so a quickie lunch was required.  Food item #2 coming up.  Pretzels.

Feeding my face again

Pretzels

The Black Forest and Rhine Falls tour border hops over to Germany to Titisee and then back to Switzerland for the Rhine Falls.  I had been really looking forward to this tour.  

The first stop was Titisee on the shores of Lake Schluchsee where we were entertained with an introduction to the art of making cuckoo clocks and then given plenty of free time of our own.  Titisee, it appeared to be, was nothing but a village made for tourists to lighten the load in their wallets.  All buildings (while cute on the outside) were either restaurants, cafes or souvenir shops. We sampled the black forest cake (food item #3) and had some fun trying on hats, but I was disappointed in the obvious tourist trap.  My tip for Titisee?  Don't bother.    

Cuckoo Clocks, Titisee, Black Forest

Black Forest Cake

Next stop on the tour was the Rhine Falls.  We elected not to pay extra for the boat trip to the foot of the falls (much to the tour directors shock and dismay) and instead used the time to take a walk around the falls on our own.  The escape from the tour group and the sun finally coming out was enough to lift my spirit and I did enjoy this part of the trip.  Rhine Falls is Europe's largest waterfall at 150 meters wide and 23 meters high.  (In comparison, Niagara Falls is 50 meters high.)

Rhine Falls, with a rainbow from the spray

Tonight's dinner was at Pulcino where we met a couple from Finland (table sharing must be the norm here). Great dinner, a good bottle of red and conversation with strangers finished the night off perfectly.   

Zurich

I awoke to a dreary day threatening rain but there was plenty of sightseeing to do so grabbed the brolly and got on with the job.  

First up was a Polybahn (funicular railway) ride up to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology which promised views of the old town (Alstadt).  Altstadt, and Zurich, is so chocolate box that I have to keep reminding myself that this is a real city and not some recreated 'medieval' village for tourists.  Everywhere you look is a photo opportunity.

Polybahn

Views of Altstadt

Playing the fool with my medieval turret headwear.

Wandering the cobbled backstreets, we made our way to Grossmunster Protestant church where you can climb the 187 steps to a take in the view from one of its two spires.  Grossmunster is said to be constructed on the site of a Carolingian church, originally commissioned by by Charlemagne.  Construction of the present structure commenced around 1100.

Views from the top

Views of the Old Town (Altstadt)

Grossmunster

In the afternoon we crossed the Limmat River to take in the views from Lindenhof, an historical site of the Roman castle.      

View from Lindenhof.  You can see one of the many trams making its way along the Limmat.

With purposeful sightseeing over for the day, we meandered our way back to the old town for some pre-dinner drinks at the Piadina Bar and dinner at Rheinfelder Bierhaus for some traditional Swiss food.  

Dinner was an experience worth a giggle - the place was quite busy, table sharing was required and the waiter was an old character, quite abrupt (but amusing).  Unfortunately, the meal I received was not what I ordered.  Have you ever tried to argue with a German speaking waiter over a wrong meal???

Another thing I love about Zurich - it doesn't feel like a tourist town.  No-one hassling you in the street to buy souvenirs, no restaurant touters and no long queues.  I like it, I like it a lot.   

(If you want to leave a comment or ask me any questions, please feel free to use the comments section below.)

The Journey Begins

And so the day finally arrived to start my holiday, so too the long journey to Zurich.  From leaving home to checking in to the Wellenberg Hotel, 37 hours have passed and I have finally had a long awaited shower to freshen up.  

It's not really as bad as it sounds.  My 'fairy godmother' upgraded me to business class so while the flights are still long and exhausting I did manage a few hours sleep.  Flatbeds, where have you been my whole life!  We arrived in Zurich at 6.30 am and as we couldn't get in to the room until 2pm, headed back out for breakfast and a wander.

I'm staying in the old town, one street back from Limmat River which runs into Lake Zurich.  Cobbled streets, old architecture, beautiful. 

Zurich's not quite what I expected.  Although the largest city in Switzerland the population is only 380,000.  I'm not a big city girl so the lack of crowds and ridiculously busy streets has been a nice surprise.  Although you do need to watch for the trams.

We filled in the morning with a classic trolley ride, a great way to familiarise yourself with the city and work out what you want to see more of.  

Followed by a cruise and lunch on Lake Zurich. They love their meats and cheese here and so do I.  You know what else I love about Zurich?  I don't need to spell my last name for anyone!

First day and first impression is that I really like this place.  Old buildings with history and architecture but plenty of modern bars, restaurants and shops.

My Bags are Packed

In the words of John Denver, 'All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go.......Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane'. 

Ok, so my bags aren't literally packed, I'm not flying out until Tuesday but my 'to pack' list is forming.  If you don't know me very well yet, I'm a list girl and it's how I cope with a busy life.  So to that end, my 'to pack' list is growing fast and my 'things to do before my holiday' list is slowly being whittled down.

This trip, I'm off to Zurich, Croatia and Italy and, for the first time, I'm attempting a travel diary.  If you want to check out where I've been, what I've done, etc, why don't you come along for the ride through my posts?  You can check it out directly through this website, through Facebook or through my "Colour My World" Pinterest page.

Only one more day of work and I'm officially on leave - woohoo!