Early morning walk in Mostar.Watched the city wake up and people bustle off to work. Just like any place. After walking across the famous bridge, we had a cappucino in a sidewalk cafe. A dog had barked at us as we sat down. There were a lot of stray dogs around town. He seemed scared and nervous, wouldn't quiet down. A woman walking by went over to the opposite side of the little stone "shelf" he was sitting on, and just started talked soothingly to him. He quieted and after a while, went over and curled up behind her. A safe place maybe. I held up my camera and said "OK?" and she gave me her permission to take her picture. A very sweet memory.

After leaving Mostar, we visited a very small town called Stolac. A place you would probably never stop in on your own, and certainlly most tours don't. There were huge limestone gravestones from ancient people, loving cared for. (The grass is mowed by sheep!) Our local guide there works with an NGO to try and teach children that the prejudices the Bosnian government is encouraging should not stand. Currently, the schools have 2 shifts, one for Serbian Orthodox and one for Muslims. They have separate entrances and never mingle. Well, when you grow up never knowing anyone personally from the "other" group, it is easier to foster prejudice and fear. He has some amazing programs to try and alter that. Very moving and troubling. Still lots of damage from the war here. The physical damage is the most easily fixed.

We stopped at a Serbian Orthodox monastery way out in the rural area of Bosnia. A young man guideed us through speaking excellent English and showed us the icons and other parts of the church. When someone asked him where he was from - he said SEATTLE!! What?! He graduated from Shorecrest high school! He is a guest of the monastery for a year, planning to go to seminary. Small world!

On the way to Dubrovnik, Marijan urged us to use the restrooms before boarding the bus. He said there would be no stopping along the road to elieve oneself (as we had to do once before) because the area was still mined!



Dubrovnik was also bombed during the war. It was especially disturbing because it escaped damOge during World War II. Many historic buildings had stood here for centuries. The major difference is, Dubrovnik worked hard to restore what was lost. The Old Town retained its sense of history, even if some of it is newer construction.

 Montage of memories:
Dinner of grilled shrimp - might be the best I've ever had.
Baklava - OMG
Walking the stone wall around the entire old town of Dubrovnik.
Prediction of pouring rain all day turning to sunny and breezy.

Tonight is our farewell dinner for the tour. It doesn't seem possible! We had a really great group and everyone got along well. 



 

Did I say it was stormy?

I didn't know stormy. After a lazy day (a vacation from our vacation) there was a tremendous thunder and lightning storm in the night. Loud and bright! The power went off twice. What's next, a plague of frogs?! Luckily, we have actually been fortunate. It may be raining when we start a walking tour, but it always seems to stop and turn nice along the way.

Tuesday evening, we had a potluck cocktail party on board a boat which toured around Korcula. It was cloudy and sprinkled a bit, but the water was smooth saling. During the day, we had each bought a bottle of wine or something we thought might make a nice appetizer and we shared it all on board. As most potlucks do, it all worked out, and none of us wanted any dinner afterward.

Earlier that day, I had had battered sardines for lunch (little fish, Cheron!!) and they didn't really agree with me. Too greasy, I think. My only bout thus far requiring a little medicinal encouragement. But it helped, and by the cocktail party, I was fine.

That night was the storm, and once again, by morning, there were patches of blue and beautiful birdsong. However, on our way to the ferry to get off the island, the sheets of rain came down so hard I was astonished.

Lunch today gave a new meaning to the word carnivorous. We were told that they serve salad for foreigners, but it never really occurs to the natives to eat such things. This is one of those times we are grateful to no longer be vegetarians!! We would have starved!

Today we are in a new country, Bosnia Herzegovina. Mostar is the home of the famous bridge that was bombed during the war here after uniting the city since 1557. We had a guide today who lived through that war and she said as hard as their life was, as long as the bridge stood, they felt like they had a city. When it went down, their hearts went with it. So it was hugely important and symbolic to rebuild it. The stories she told of the war and trying to survive it with her husband and 5 year old child were heartbreaking. Many of us were in tears by the time she finished,. She told us it is her life's mssion now to talk to people from all over the world so they willl understand and not let it happen again. She says "It does not matter what religion we are or what country we live inside, we are all the same. We are all the same."  She was so inspiring. After listening to her, I was ashamed I had groused about our communist era hotel and it's lack of amenities. How much we take for granted!!

Today, we also heard our first Muslim call to prayer coming from the many minarets around town. I'm not sure I've ever heard that in person before. It was really quite beautiful. The streets of old town are paved with huge cobblestones. It's like a reflexology treatment walking on them. Some are in beautiful patterns. You just never know what you're going to find nextI 

 I've heard that the comment function doesn't seem to be working. Nuts! I'd love to hear from you. Send me an email. Those seem to get through to me just fine.

Planes, trains and automobiles

Well, not exactly, but transportation and weather were the themes of the day. Big time!

We left Split on a ferry to the island of Hvar. It was one of those ferries where the end flips completely open to let the cars in. Not quite as stable as a Washington state ferry that we're used to. And we noticed it. The weather has been very stormy and there were white caps and small rollers on the open water. The ship smashed it's way through them, giving us a bit of a thrill for a couple of hours. We were happy to land safely in Stari grad on Hvar island. At that point, rain was coming down in buckets and we got soaked just walking to a little bus to take us to the main town. It quit by the time we got there, though, and we had a fine time wandering the picturesque (is there any other kind here?!) old town.

We had lunch at a place recommended in RS's book. Delicious, if challenging, fish stew. Everything was in there, except, thankfully, the head -meat, skin, and bones - lots of bones! Luckily, they were huge and easily found before swallowing!!

Our next mode of transportation was a catamaran to the island where we would spend the next night. We all met at the dock - no boat. Hmmm... Remember those stormy seas? After a wait of about half an hour, they announced the boat had been cancelled. This is where things really started to get interesting. Our guide, Marijan, got on the phone and after some time, announced he thought, maybe, he had a plan. We walked to the bus station and got on the last bus for hire available on the island. 29 seats - 29 of us. We drove the entire length of the island, close to 2 hours. Twisty road, steep sides, I am sensing a theme here!

I will spare you the exact details of the rest of the evening, but by the time we reached our hotel on Korcula island, we had taken 4 ferries and ridden on 4 buses!! Some we made by the skin of our teeth. Some had only outdoor seating in the rain. Marijan was not sure until a vehicle actaually showed up that everything would work. Then, as the bus was about to pull off the last ferry, the car right in front of us stalled! We couldn't leave until our driver and guide helped push the car until it started!

This is a prime example of the beauty of traveling with a guide. Marijan eearned his pay today!! And so did our driver, Peter, who had to drive our big bus way out of the way to pick us up from the unanticipated ferry stop.

PS:  Dad, don't worry! We are all still smiling and obviously are in very good hands!

Splitting Our Time

Split is a beautiful coastal city on the Adriatic. Broad white promenade along the water, the remains of Roman emperor Diocletian's retirement palace, crooked narrow lanes to get lost in - charm, charm, CHARM!

We began with a walking tour with an amazing guide. She made 2,000 years of history come alive. She sparkled with the excitement of her stories.

 The underground chambers of the Roman palace are in remarkably good condition, and not at all musty as you might expect. Especially since refugees took over the place in 645, built their own houses on top and threw all their garbage down there. Became a real gold mine for future archaeologists though. You pay to pee here, so when our walking group made a WC stop, the lady inside came out and thanked us all profusely.

Great pasta lunch at a little hidden place (not so hidden that 4 others from our tour didn't beat us there!). Walked the waterfront. Ate yet more gelato.

 Heard klapa singers performing inside the walls of the palace. The accoustics were spine tingling. Just beautiful.

Had dinner at the No Stress cafe and it proved to be as advertised. We wondered why no one else was in the place, even though it was perfectly situated on an ourdoor plaza, perfect for people watching. Then we noticed every other table had a "Reserved" sign on it. Several others from our group saw us there but were turned away! Seems the Mediterranean custom of eating late extends here, too. It was Sunday night, and yet the restaurant was empty at 7:30. As we walked home, we passed a church where mass was just letting out. Young people streamed out of the doors and we figured they were all heading out to dinner. Here 8 pm dinner is considered early.

Tomorrow we head for the islands of Hvar and Korcula.

Waterfalls and Split

Thought it was time to post the map again so you can follow our progress down the Dalmattian Coast.

Plitvice Lakes National Park is known for its waterfalls, and it delivered big time. You not only see the waterfalls, you walk beside, around and right over the top of them. Boardwalks connect the trails over still lakes, marshy areas and right over waterfalls. Spactacular! The color of water varies in the different lakes from deep emerald green to turquoise bue. The water absolutely clear showing off the fish and the bottom, sometimes sandy, sometimes water plants, sometimes travertine.

 At our lunch break, there was a group of folk dancers in the park, and they were demonstrating other folk arts like knitting.

 Walking out of the park, we learned why we started the hike early in the morning. HORDES of people began walking up the trails and boardwalks into the lakes area. It was actually a little scary, since the boardwalks were right over the water, had no hand rails, and were about 2 people wide. Not wanting to try our swimming skills, we were very careful about how we walked.
Tonight we are in Split, near the coast. Began raining right after our hike today, but cleared off so we could walk to dinner, and then our guide bought us all gelato! I LOVE HIM! Eating our cones, we walked through an old Roman
palace, now being used as a gathering place for music and people watching. Magical!

Catching up

Well, it's been a couple of days since I've been in touch. The wireless connection where we were staying was so weak, it was taking minutes to download anything, so I had to wait. So, catching up a little... Horrors and Hedonism After checking out of our hotel on Wednesday, we toured a World War I museum. When that was announced, I was not thrilled, but it turned out to have quite an impact. I really hadn't learned much about WWI in school, as I think is true of most people. The focus was on WWII, in school and on television, etc. The most I knew about it was from watching movies like War Horse. But our really excellent guide kept out attention for almost 2 hours. This war resulted in unimaginable bloodshed to trade inches of territory back and forth. And on this front, those inches were on the cold, windswept ridges of the Julian Alps. It was sobering and an eye opener. It made me want to know more, a good hallmark of any history lesson. We are also getting an overview of more modern history from our guide, who has had 5 passports in his lifetime without ever moving! And after learning of the horrors of war, we moved on to hedonism - wine tasting. We visited a winery and had a "light"  lunch with 4 different wines, all made on the premises. The light lunch enabled most of us to go without dinner! One of the courses was sauerkraut soup - sounds horrible, but it was delicious. Going without dinner gave us time to do some laundry - in the sink - clothes hanging all over the room. Should have taken a picture of that! Sleeping in a castle Our castle, or kastl, is on top of a hill so steep that the bus could only come up 1/3 of the way, a smaller shuttle bus took us another third, and we had to walk the last third. Gorgeous views from the top, and at least on the outside, it's pretty much what you are thinking when I say castle. A village has spread around it, homes and shops carved into the hillside, streets paved with shiny, oblong cobblestones, and little intriguing alleys leading off the main pathway. Not being quite quaint enough for us, this morning we went to the seaside town of Pula and visited the Amfitheater - a smaller version of the Coliseum in Rome. Couldn't throw a stick without hitting a Roman ruin, and with the Adriatic in the background, well, this is everybody's idea of charming. We ate crepes and gelato and wandered. On to Rovinj. OK, we thought we'd seen charming. Ratchet it up another level. A working waterfront with fishermen mending their nets, the narrowest streets I have ever seen in Europe, including one dedicated to artists and their shops. Refreshments were kept light because we had been promised a big dinner of regional specialties. Oh, yes! Everything served in this restaurant is cooked on an open fire. Some things, like whole fish, are grilled on a grate, and others, like our dinner, are put in a large oval pan with a lid, set on the coals, with more coals heaped on top. Everything was fantastic. Meat was fork tender, sauces memorable, and the apfel strudel! Oh, my. As a special treat, they brought out 3 different kinds of grappa afterward. Having never had it, we had to try. I had mistletoe flavor. It was sweet, but not cloying, with quite a kick. Woke up to a dazzling sunrise this morning, and we're off to Plitvice National Park.

We're in the Alps!

The Julian Alps to be precise, named after Julius Caesar. We are in the area where Slovenia, Italy and Austria all come together. Now that they're all in the European Union, there's some speculation that all these borders will be erased. The concept of nationalism is a relatively new idea in the course of history, according to our guide. There are much stronger loyalties between ethnic and cultural groups no matter where the political borders fall. We'll see.
We started the day by bidding farewell to Ljubljana, a city we came to know and really like. Picturesque, walkable, friendly and clean, we had a great time exploring.
But we proceeded on to Lake Bled (blayd). Beautiful, picture postcard views. Unfortunately, fog obscured the mountains on every side, but we visited the castle and walked all the way around the lake, watching both the swans and the swan boats. Two of our fellow travelers are newlyweds, and they tried to follow the tradition of him carrying her up the 99 steps to the church on the island. (They almost made it, and provided great photo fodder for the Japanese touirists!)

 These are the steps!

Leaving Bled, our bus went up and over Vrsic Pass which consisted of 50 hairpin turns up an extremely steep ascent and descent on a narrow little road. Several times, one vehicle or the other had to back up to make room. Montana frriends - this made Going to the Sun look like chid's play. Our guide served us blackberry brandy at the top - to celebrate our survival, I think! We applauded our driver, Peter. Man, that took some skill!

We are now in the village of Kobarid for our last night in Slovenia. Tomorrow, we will enter Croatia. As we move south, and lower in elevation, the weather should get warmer and sunnier.