Cassill picking up some great potatoes for the drive
Our first stop was the caves of Postojna but we decided for the price and the chance we would see scorpions we were going to pass. We got into Ljubljana in the afternoon, checked into our hotel and headed out to explore the capital. We walked around the city center and stopped for a bite to eat at none other than an Italian restaurant! I know it sounds crazy to be in a new country and have Italian food but it is my favorite and Cassill had a craving too! After dinner we headed up to the castle which sits a top the city. The castle was built in the 16th century and has amazing views of the city and the surrounding mountains and hillsides. There was a film playing in the courtyard of the castle so we had a glass of wine and watched the locals gather for a night out. The film was created by people from Bosnia and Becky and I decided there was no way we could bluff our way through understanding it so we gave our prime seats to a couple on their way in for the evening.
Our first stop in Croatia was the capital, Zagreb. We had printed out directions from both the hotel and google to get us to the hotel but we had a hard time finding street signs. When we got near the city center Cassill found our location on the map in her Lonely Planet book and since she had marked our hotel we were in business…the only problem was that the map did not detail where the “tram only” streets were. Since our Croatian is a bit rusty to say the least we toured around the Starcevicevk Trg in the tram only lane and only got a few strange looks from the locals...OK more than a few! As we were only going to be spending about 24 hours in Zagreb Cassill had mapped out what we should see on Monday PM and Tuesday AM. First stop, Strossmayerov Trg, which was a beautiful park on our way to Zagreb’s main square, Trg Josipa Jelacica.
Strossmayerov Trg
We went into a little café and grabbed a pretzel and a slice of pizza and sat in the square (on very hot marble) watching the people of the city. We walked through the city streets and alleys, climbed some stairs and walked some more.
View of the Cathedral from our walk
We had beautiful views of the city as we headed to St. Mark’s Church with its beautifully tiled roof.
St. Mark's
Just as we finished snapping our photos the rain began to come down. We headed for the nearest bar and were lucky enough to pass through Stone Gate. This is the last of the five gates, which was built in the 13th century, that were built around the Kaptol district. Legend has it that a fire in 1731 destroyed much of the area but a painting of Mary and Jesus remained unharmed. The painting is now contained in a little shrine, which was an interesting site.
The elusive Stone Gate
After we passed through the crook that held the shrine we found a little pub and popped in. We quickly made friends with the owner, a manager, a judge and a student and waited out the rain as we listened to stories of Croatia past, present and future. The history of the country is truly amazing. We headed to dinner and sat next to a couple on vacation from San Francisco. It was a fun night and nice to swap travel stories…plus they bought the “kids” a bottle of wine!
We made our way into Split just after sunset and headed up to the deck for dinner. Great food! We woke up the next morning and went to the gym for a little run before breakfast and a morning at the pool. The gym looked out over the Adriatic and I’m not sure when I will see such a beautiful view while running on a treadmill! We went into “old Split” and toured Diocletian’s Palace. The Roman emperor Diocletian built his palace in Split in the late third century, as he wanted to retire in his homeland of Dalmatia (the costal region of Croatia). It was amazing to walk through the small streets that wound around the palace area. I wondered if Diocletian ever imagined all the cafes and shops that would occupy the area where he once held court for all of the adoring citizens of Split!
Diocletian's Palace
Friday morning we left bright and early to head to Montenegro. As we were looking at the map the night before we realized that we had to travel through Bosnia. We asked the concierge if we would need any visas or other documentation and he assured us that we wouldn’t. He informed us that Bosnia was awarded about 20 kilometers of coastline decades ago and that “changing borders causes wars” so traveling from Split to Dubrovnik requires a trip through Bosnia. We passed swiftly through the border crossing and headed towards the Dubrovnik airport. The drive was beautiful as we passed up and down the hillsides…perhaps the most breathtaking view was looking back on Dubrovnik.
First view of Dubrovnik
Our car rental agency in Venice would not allow us to take our car to Montenegro. We arrived at the rental agency and were informed by Avis our car was given away as we were an hour late. After an unpleasant exchange, Cassill and I walked up the strip of car rental agencies until we found a very pleasant woman who had an available car…sure it had a few dents in it and crumbs all over the place but who cares it had all the paperwork we needed. We successfully navigated our way through another border crossing (although the prospect of reentry didn’t look pretty as we saw cars being taken apart at the customs/immigration check point) and made our way into Herceg Novi for lunch. We walked around the town until we found a little café with outdoor seating and a great view of Kotor Bay. We even got to see kids playing a game of water polo.
Lunch view
After Herceg Novi the next town we wanted to stop and explore was Perast. This little town is known for its two islands, the man made Our-Lady-Of-The-Rock Island and the natural St. George’s Island. We found a boat that would take us out to the island (St. George’s Island is closed) that was begun in the 15th century by the townspeople throwing rocks into the water to create the island. To this day the males of the town take their boats out on the 22nd of July to throw rocks in to keep the island intact.
Our-Lady-Of-The-Rock
St. George's Island in the background
Streets of Perast
Streets of Perast
After our tour of the islands we walked back to the car in the sweltering heat and headed for our hotel in Prcanj, just past the town of Kotor. Our book warned us that although the road is a two-lane road it feels more like a one way…that really is an understatement as I am pretty sure Cassill spent most of her time inches away from the water! We checked into our little bed and breakfast and after finding out our patio door was in fact not broken (it opens as a door and a window) we headed out to Kotor for the evening. We had an amazing dinner in a cute little out door patio covered with vines overhead. We filled ourselves with good food and good wine and walked the streets of Kotor for the rest of the evening. We stumbled upon Kotor Carnival and watched as the town celebrated with music and dancing.
Tuesday morning we left for Venice where I dropped Cassill off at the airport. Thanks so much for being such a great traveling companion and navigator Beck!
It was sad to see Cassill go and sad to think that night would be last in Italy. I took the train back to Torino and headed to my friend Gianluca’s house to drop of my stuff and get ready for my last night out with friends. I had a great dinner with Natalia, Enrico, Paola, Massimo, Gianluca and even better company! I can’t thank everyone enough for a great six months!
The trip home wouldn't be complete with out a traveling story! Gianluca was nice enough to drive me to the airport so at about 5:15 AM we headed out. Gianluca got a cart and we loaded all my stuff on it and got in line. After obtaining my boarding pass from the kiosk we got in line to check my luggage. The woman informed me in rapid Italian that my bags were too heavy. I understand I said, I will pay the overage fee. More rapid Italian and this time not even my best Cork head tilt could make me understand. I looked at Gianluca and he informed me that due to company restrictions and the safety of baggage handlers bags can only be 32 kilos. I would have to get another bag and split my things up. Good thing I had my ski boot duffle with me so we stepped out of line, threw open my suitcase and began picking things to put in the new bag. Luckily we got it right on the first try! Thanks for your help Gianluca! We had a coffee and Gianluca headed to pick up Massimo for their trip to Berlin. My flight was delayed due to a leaky tube. The German captain came out and spoke in German of the problem. I could see the look of confusion on almost everyone's face...I think they know how I felt the past six months now! We were told that if they could find the part in the warehouse they would have it fixed in an hour if not we would have to wait for another plane. Good thing one of the partners and his wife were on my flight so of course we had more coffee! And a free pastry for our troubles! I really do love the Italian attitude...no one pitched a fit and almost everyone had to change their connecting flights!
Finally I arrived home and was so happy to see my parents and crazy Cork! Thanks to the Chapman family for such a great homecoming!
Cork and I get welcome home greetings!
