Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Slovenia, Ljubljana

Wednesday October 12 - our last day in Slovenia. Tomorrow morning back to Chicago over Zurich.
Another perfect day exploring the city - but no more to see. Lucky we did not get hit by a bicycle.


Arrived today by bus from Bled in Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia. A few cold days but now it is sunny and in the high 60s or low 70s. Happy to spent a few days alone (without guides) and roam around the city. Slovenia is a small country 2 million, Ljubljana has around 200,000 and 50,00 of them students.
A beautiful, clean city with a lot of bicycles and young people moving around. Smoking is a problem - not allowed inside restaurants so all restaurants have plenty of outside seats and tables. Prices just like in Germany not very high but you need Euros!



Saturday, October 8, 2011

Slovenia Lake Bled Vitnar Gorge

Arrived on Friday afternoon (in rain) in Lake Bled, Slovenia

In the morning we stopped at the Postonja Caves in Slovenia. 20 km of the cave are accessible by a small train and walking.

Saturday we went for a walk around Lake Bled (7km) and walked the Vintnar Gorge, Slovenia (another 7 km). Weather changed, mid 60's and no rain now.


Thursday, October 6, 2011

Opatija, Moscenicka Draga

Thursday, today was a rest day for us, we did not take the optional tour.
Since our arrival in Croatia we had sun shine and temperatures in the low 80's not a drop of rain.
Spent morning in the Hotel, swimming pool and on a boat trip (3 hours) along the coastline from Opatija to Mosceicka Draga.




 Friday we are leaving Opatija for Bled Slovania. A stop will be made at the largest cave of Europe
Postojna Cave
The caves were created by the Pivka River.
The cave was first described in the 17th century by Johann Weichard Valvasor[2] (Slovene: Janez Vajkard Valvasor), and a new area of the cave was discovered accidentally in 1818 by local Luka Čeč, when he was preparing the hitherto known parts of the cave for a visit by Francis I, the first Emperor of Austria. In 1819, the caves were opened to the public, and Čeč went on to become the first official tourist guide for the caves. Electric lighting was added in 1884, preceding even Ljubljana, the capital of Carniola, the Austro-Hungarian province the cave was part of at the time, and further enhancing the cave system's popularity. In 1872 rails were laid in the cave along with first cave train for tourists. At first, these were pushed along by the guides themselves, later at the beginning of the 20th century a gas locomotive was introduced. After 1945, the gas locomotive was replaced by an electric one. 5.3 km of the caves are open to the public, the longest publicly accessible depth of any cave system in the world.
Natural environment
The caves are also home to the endemic olm, the largest trogloditic amphibian in the world. The tour through the caves includes an aquarium with some olms in it.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Istrian Pininsula Rovinj, Pula



Wednesday - Day trip with Tour group to the Istrian Pininsula 
Istrian Pininsula
Formerly part of the Venetian Empire, this region has seen many empires such as Byzantine, Roman, Austro-Hungarian, and Yugoslavian (Communist). The cultural legacy of Istria is thus very rich and diverse.

After defeating the Illyrian Histri tribe, the Romans settled in the peninsula and left a large heritage, turning Pula into an important administrative centre and building villas, amphiteatres and temples. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the inner land remained a feudal territory occupied by Slavs, Frankish, Byzantines and finally Austrian Habsburgs, while the coast fell under control of the Republic of Venice in the 13th century. Intermittent combats were held between both powers until the fall of Venice in 1797. Since that date, the Croatian population of Istria struggled for autonomy and were severely repressed both by Austrians and Fascist Italy (after World War I), eventually ending with a revenge from Yugoslav partisans after the World War II, forcing most autochtonous ethnic Italians to leave. A small ethnic Italian community still lives in the coastal towns. Relatively spared from the Yugoslav Wars, Istria is now a prosperous region. Latter years have seen a growing regional sentiment and a reconciliation with its previously conflictive Italian identity.
The peninsula offers stark contrasts: the interior is very unspoiled and mountainous with ancient walled cities atop hills with surrounding fertile fields, whilst the coast has numerous beaches -do not expect any sand in them, though- and stunning scenery of rocky walls plummeting into the sea. The Istrian coast is arguably the most developed tourist destination in Croatia. Hordes of Italian, German and French tourists enjoy package tourism during the crowded high season.
Although Pula is the main town, according to population and culture, relatively rural Pazin is the administrative centre of the peninsula.

Rovinj (Italian: Rovigno) is a city in Istria. The city is officially bilingual (Croatian and Italian).

Pula (Italian Pola, Slovene Pulj) is a nice town at the tip of the Istrian peninsula, Croatia. Its history started about 3000 years ago when it was built by Illyrians. Romans occupied Istria in 177 B.C. After destruction of Western Roman empire, Istrian peninsula was devastated by Ostrogoths. Slavs came in Istria during migration period in 7th century but mostly lived on countryside. At that time Pula was still inhabited mostly by Italians. Landlords in Pula changed quite frequently in middle ages from republic of Venice to Genoa to Illyrian Provinces to Austria–Hungary and many others. After second world war it has been part of Croatia. In that time Italians fled to mother Italy and Pula was inhabited by Croats. Although most of the population still consists of Croats there are lots of quite big minorities in Pula such as Serbs, Italians, Bosniaks and Slovenes.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Split, Opatija

Sunday  we spent traveling by land from Dubrovnik to Split along the coast.
One night in Split after arriving around noon and a city tour which included a tour of the Palace of Diocletian.

Monday from Split to Opatija along the coast and then inland through the mountains and back to the coast to our hotel, for 4 nights.


Opatija is a city in the Istrian Peninsula in western Croatia. It is situated a few kilometres southwest of Rijeka, one of Croatia's largest cities. It has a population of 7,850.

The foundations of this city lie with St. Jacob's abbey, which soon evolved into Opatija (Opatija means 'abbey'). St Jacob, the patron saint of travellers, tanners and fruit-growers, is celebrated every year on July 25th, which is also celebrated in the town as the Day of the City of Opatija. In recent history, however, the city of Opatija (Italian: Abbazia) remained in the clutch of the wealthy Austro-Hungarian families who built their exclusive resort-city with opulence in mind. Their stunning mansions line Opatija's coast and fine examples of architecture from the time fill the town with a certain atmosphere of grandeur. Beautiful parks, postcard-promenades and luxurious hotels are all a result of the 'high society' that occupied this town for over a hundred years.
Notably, this city is built upon a hill which stretches right back from the coast. While this does offer breathtaking views from houses, hotels and apartments, the walk back will prove tiring at the least!


Saturday, October 1, 2011

Montenegro - Budva, Kotor

Spent today (Saturday) in Montenegro. A 90 minute drive from Dubrovnik by bus. Visited two towns and made some sightseeing stops in between. Both towns had old, walled, town centers. Montenegro is one of the latest free, independent, countries. Population about 600,000, very mountainous so only the coastal areas are touristy and very populated, again much of the property has been bought by Russians who have a good relationship with this country.

Budva is a coastal tourist resort in Montenegro. It is often called "Montenegrin Miami", because it is the most crowded and most popular tourist resort in Montenegro, with beaches and vibrant nightlife.
Budva [1] is on the central part of Montenegrin coast, called "Budvanska Rivijera". It has developed around a small peninsula, on which the old town is situated. It is by far most visited destination in Montenegro, attracting mostly domestic, Russian, Serbian and other Eastern European tourists with an old town, bars and nightclubs, and beaches mostly consisting of small rocks. It is base for mass tourism, while in it's near vicinity there are luxury resorts such as Sveti Stefan orMiločer.
There are as many as 35 beaches in the greater area, mostly rock and a little sand (8 beaches are marked with blue flags).
During the summer in particular, the day and night-life offers opportunities to enjoy theatre plays and performances, music events and entertainment programs.
Many nightclubs use go-go dancers to attract customers, and families might be offended by the open display of almost naked girls in the street. There is mainly one street, the main promenade, where all the action happens.
Budva appears to be undergoing poorly planned, unchecked growth with towering unattractive apartment buildings and hotels being built wherever there is open space - which unfortunately includes building directly on the seaside. As of the summer of 2009, the most notable of such developments includes a multi-storey building under construction directly outside the walls of old town that blocks what was once a stunning view of the beach, sea and sky from the stone paved area around old town, and greatly detracts from the beauty of the old town area.
Some tourists may find Budva disappointing and cheesy because of the over-crowded beaches filled with chairs, umbrellas and constantly thumping house music, the carnival atmosphere, the litter on the streets, beaches and inside of old town, and the excessively high prices in relation to quality for accommodation, drinks, food and taxi service.


Kotor Bay

Kotor is a coastal town in Montenegro with a population of 23,500. It is well-known for its stunning architecture and amazing natural setting.   Kotor is situated in a most secluded part of Boka Kotorska bay, in the northern part of the Montenegro coast. It has developed around Stari Grad(Montenegrian for "old town"), the city's old town and best known landmark, which is listed with UNESCO World heritage sites. The bay is the deepest natural fjord in the Mediterranean Sea, and the scenery around it (including the steep mountains which come almost to the waterfront) is spectacular.