Day 87 (June 1, 2013): Ljubljana, Slovenia

The Quick Facts:

* Made the quick trip from Zagreb into Slovenia
* Spent one day touring around Slovenia, including the hilltop castle, wonderful Tivoli Park, endless cute streets and plazas, and even a street festival replete with live music in lederhosen-wearing musicians!
* Stayed at the Most Hostel – a good location but it was still under construction and therefore should not really have been opened.  We were disappointed to be charged the full rate for staying in a construction zone.  I would look elsewhere if you are ever there (the management of the place is not that great even if it were completed).

The Good:

* Ljubljana is wonderful!  Such a charming city filled with friendly, warm, energetic people.  The architecture is beautiful, there is lots of green space, and the town is set amongst hills to add to the scenery
* Ljubljana Castle is especially nice – built on the highest hilltop in the city, it offers very modern amenities within its ancient structure….not to mention spectacular vistas of the city and surrounding area

The Bad:

* Other than our terrible hostile, I would note that it is not a cheap city so don’t think you’ll be getting a bargain just because you’re not in Italy or Germany!

Ljubljana might as well be Slovenian for surprising.  I’m not sure what I expected, but it certainly wasn’t the immensely friendly, classically quaint, and green city that I encountered.  This is a classic European city – countless cafes dot quaint narrow street after quaint narrow street, with locals interspersed among the tourists as everyone sips a coffee, beer, or juice. In the background are beautiful churches and buildings that are hundreds of years old and bear witness to the city’s tumultuous past.

 

Our day started with a walk to the main square, which was immediately interrupted by a wonderful market and street fair.  Check out the musicians up on stage providing music that people were dancing to all day:

 

 And here is a family selling goulash, making it by the vat (we had this for lunch, delicious!):

 

We eventually broke away from this festive atmosphere to take a funicular up the hill to Ljubljana Castle.  Once used as a castle and a prison, it is now a museum, concert venue, and protector of some great views of the city.  Here are some pics of the funicular, the courtyard in the castle, and of course the views:

 

 

After lunch Carrie and I rented bikes to ride into the very large Tivoli Park and around the city.  Here are some pics from our ride.  The pink church you see is the Church of the Annunciation, located at the foot of the city’s triple bridge (the bridge across the river fans out over three distinct paths).

 

And that was our quick trip to Ljubljana.  We wish we could have stayed a little longer, but we thoroughly enjoyed our time there and would recommend to anyone traveling in the area.

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Days 85-86 (May 30 - 31, 2013): Zagreb, Croatia

The Quick Facts:

* Traveled up the coast from Split to Zagreb, a magnificent train ride full of beautiful vistas of the Croatian countryside
* Spent one day in Zagreb, the surprisingly scenic and cosmopolitan capital of Croatia
* Stayed at the Chillout Hostel – a nice place but better suited for people in their mid-20s rather than mid-30s…we were having a tough time finding a place so had to stay here.  There are probably better options but it was in a great location, clean, and the wifi worked.

The Good:

* Zagreb is surprising, due partly to the low expectations I had going in but also to the beauty (both architectural and natural) of the city and the friendliness of its inhabitants
* The church of St. Mark is unique, and the Zagreb Cathedral is a dominant, forceful fixture within the town

The Bad:

* We encountered a particularly surly ticket officer at the train station, but hey, isn’t that part of the job description?!? 

Our day in Zagreb began with a ride on the funicular that takes you to the top of the hill in the Gradec section of the city.  Up here, there are beautiful views of the city as well as the unique Church of St Mark:

 

Down the hill and toward the center of town is the Zagreb Cathedral, which is massive and quite a sight!

We then went to the Mimara Museum, which is a decent art collection but perhaps the most beautiful part is its building:

 

Toward the train station (first picture below), there are a series of three parks that are quite lovely to walk through:

 

And that was our day in Zagreb.  A nice city, a nice stopover from Split before a few days in Slovenia.

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Days 83-84 (May 28 - 29, 2013): Bol, Croatia

The Quick Facts:

* Made the ~1 hour catamaran journey from Split to Bol (on the far side of the island of Brac) which is another city set on the banks of the sea with a wonderful mountain backdrop
* Hiked up the 778m mountain of Vidova Gore for some amazing views of the city and surrounding country
* Rented bikes from Big Blue Sports to ride along the coastline (they are located right by the famous Zlatini Rat (“Finger”) beach in Bol, and we highly recommend  them – the bikes are new every season, are well maintained, and come with top-of-the-line gear systems and shocks; the terrain can get rough along the coastline so it’s important to have good equipment)
* Stayed at Villa Giardino, a wonderful B&B set at the top of the hill very close to the main part of town – the breakfast they serve is delicious, the rooms are fabulous, and the staff is so incredibly nice.  Stay here if you’re ever in the area!

The Good:

* Bol is just an absolutely charming beach town with stunning mountains in the background; we were lucky enough to be there before the busy season, which meant the water was still a little cold but also meant it wasn’t as crowded as the town apparently gets in the summer months
* Our hotel was particularly remarkable (keeping in mind we’ve spent the past ~3 months living in hotels)
* Everything really, we loved it so much we decided to stay an extra day!

 

The Bad:

* Nothing, although I’m sure it’s different experience when it’s at its busiest in the peak summer months


As mentioned in my last post, our trip to Bol began the day before on a catamaran from Split.

 

 

This was the view from our hotel room when we arrived...

The purpose of going to Bol was to celebrate Carrie’s birthday.  Here she is, freshly woken up with a birthday doughnut:

 

After breakfast we set out to hike Vidova Gore, which takes you 778m up into the mountains.

The path is well-marked with signs starring the Dad from Family Circus and a woman wearing 80s-style "Mom jeans"…

And even chaperoned by some goats!

 

Here is the scene about halfway up.  The beach that juts out there is the Zlatini Rat (“finger”) beach

 

Here is Carrie on the trail…

…eventually getting to just one more obstacle before reaching the top.

 

And we made it!  Note the finger beach from all the way on the top...

 

In the afternoon we set out on some bikes to ride along the coast, but it sort of got rained out.  We did make it to the famous Zlatini Rat beach where Carrie showed off her abdominal muscles.

Whoo, tired!

 

With a forecast of perfect weather and our love for the town and hotel, we decided to stay another day in Bol, which allowed for us to go on another bike ride along the coastline.

 

After all that riding, we stopped for a beer at a place that looks out onto the water.

 

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Days 81-82 (May 26 - 27, 2013): Split, Croatia

The Quick Facts:

* Spent all day on May 25 traveling from Venice to Split
* Once in Split, we took in the sites (well, the town square which is centered around the ruins of Diocletian’s palace), as well as the town’s beautiful natural surroundings including a large hill that provides spectacular views of the city
* Stayed at Apinelo Hostel, a newly renovated and modern hostel with a great location – convenient to the train station, the main town square, and the beaches

The Good:

* Set on the coast of the Adriatic Sea and protected by mountains, Split is simply a beautiful city perfect for enjoying the sun, the water, and the city’s (mostly) friendly people

The Bad:

* There aren’t a whole lot of sites in Split, but you’re there more for the beaches, mountains, and as a launching point for trips to the numerous surrounding islands that the Croatian coastline has to offer

Our trip to Split was a whole day affair, which included a bus ride out of Venice and an overnight train into Split.  The bus from Venice to Austria (where we caught our train) did provide some nice views:

 

Once into Split, the town’s beauty is readily apparent as you walk from the train station:

 

As always, we decided to hit the sites first, which in this case meant going to see the ruins of Diocletian’s Palace.  Diocletian was a Roman emperor from 285-305, and was the only Roman emperor to voluntarily abdicate the throne.  He was also the last Roman emperor to persecute Christianity. Most of the palace is either gone or has been subsumed into the town square where people still live, but there are some remains including the church where Diocletian is buried:

 

 

 

And the citadel:

 

The entire foundation of the palace still exists, which provides an insight into what the full palace looked like, and is pretty neat to walk around:

 

The rains hit in the afternoon so we took shelter, but managed to make it out for dinner and some wonderful sunset views of the city and its surrounding mountains.

Our second day started with a run up into Marjan Park, which is a very big hill that provides some great views of the city.

 

In the afternoon we walked along the beaches, where some people actually made it into the water despite it being pretty darn cold out.  We opted instead to have a drink at a water-side café.

 

 

Our day ended with a ferry ride to Bol, a city on the far side of the nearby island of Brac, where we went to celebrate Carrie’s birthday (see next post).

Follow me on Twitter at @adonaldson1214