GORGEOUS OPATIJA & ISTRIAN PENINSULA Nov. 21-22, 2017

This beautiful morning began our longest travel day with a change in landscapes, weather and elevations, with an all day drive from Split to Opatija. As was our norm we left at the civilized time of 9am with our first rest stop at this lovely overlook along the Skradin River and the entrance to the Krka National Park of Croatia. Hard to see in this photo, but there is an ancient 2000 year old village of Scardona at the top of this inlet. Visiting the village wasn't on our itinerary, sadly.  Once again, a cappuccino to enjoy with the view then on across this beautiful bridge as we made our way from the coast.  

We next arrived in Zadar, the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city, just around lunch time. Though we didn't sense its size it is also the fifth-largest city in the country and traces its origin to the 9th century. So amazing to be here in these beautiful ancient cities!

Not only is Zadar, old and large and lovely, it also is a destination just to hear the Sea Organ. Duka kept mentioning it as we were nearing the town but until we sat along the river's edge to hear the sounds I couldn't quite understand or picture it. The organ looks like just broad steps leading down to the river but there's some very clever engineering under the steps. The lower steps let the water and air flow in then that water and air is funneled into resonating chambers under the steps. So, the music is made according to the waves and tides, never sounding the same twice. It was amazing.

With an hour and a half for our "personal discoveries" as Duka called our time, we turned back towards the town, but not before I tripped over a very small step and fell flat onto gravel. Ouch! It happened so fast, but nothing badly hurt, just scrapes and gravely cuts to clean up. Later in our trip one of our younger travelers wasn't as lucky, with a bad fall on steps of our hotel that required 8 stitches. I think I fell because I had my eyes on this gorgeous mansion instead of my walking path.

So, with such a sunny day we sat at an outside cafe for coffee and croissant with the locals, then a little shopping before meeting back up and continuing our journey. It turned out that the winds along this part of the coast were too strong that day to cross a bridge farther north, so we turned to the inland route, definitely different! We climbed across the mountains with snow still lingering from a few days before. The temperature dropped and the winds sure kicked up!  

But still in time for a beautiful sunset once we returned to the coast for the last hour's drive.

Our two night stay was at the lovely Bristol Hotel in the seaside town of Opatija. Arriving in the dark (as sunset happens about 4:15 this time of year) we got settled, went for a walk down the street for delicious Italian dinner.  One thing I really liked about this tour is that we made most of our own dining choices rather than eating with the whole group each night. And,  as usually happened we ended up joining another couple that evening at the restaurant with others stopping by later to share a beer or glass of wine. Nice.

The next morning the skies were dark and cloudy and we were so glad we'd planned on seeing the surrounding area with a day trip to Pula on the southern tip of the Istrian Peninsula. There was a park right across the street from our hotel, so we were up early that morning to walk along the water and see a bit of the city before our day trip south;  the area was filled with sculptures in the park and along the waterfront walk.

Since the traffic was light, the driver  took the very scenic coast route with tons of hairpin turns and stunning views, about a two hour drive.

Once we arrived in the seafront city Pula, the biggest surprise for me was this incredible Roman Amphitheater. As we learned, this city has been occupied, destroyed and rebuilt numerous times; from the Romans, Venetians, Hungarians, French, Austrians, Yugoslavia and finally now as the independent Croatia. This 1st century amphitheater is among the six largest surviving Roman arenas in the world. There were even attempts during the WWII Italian regime to dismantle it and move it to mainland Italy. But turned out to be too costly and so it remains in place. Again as off season travelers, we were only a group fo 20 visiting that morning.

Tried for a panorama

Walking below the arena we saw these ancient water vessels and even an early Roman map of commerce routes.

I just couldn't get enough photos of this beautiful architecture.

Continuing on our city tour we entered the old town through the Arch of Sergii with a view to the right of various dwellings from different periods of occupation.

Of course, there was time in a cafe for a light lunch and these quips.

The Temple of Augustus

Then our trip continued up the west coast of the peninsula to another charming seaside city, Rovinj. As we left our bus I noticed this one nearby, not quite my maiden name of Fuhrman, but close enough.

and into the quiet town center for walks always enjoying the bright colorful buildings.

and historic city gates,

marinas,

plazas,

and hidden finds.

Though it was only three in the afternoon, the sun was low in the sky as we walked the city sea path.

Had to have an afternoon coffee/wine time, of course.

Then the narrow streets opened to views such as these. Perhaps a little Venetian influence here dating back centuries.

And...sunset photos at 4:30 with a relaxing drive back in the dark.

Our day ended with the most wonderful find for dinner, at the small off-the-main-street restaurant of Ruźmarin, for the BEST dinner ever!

Wow, what a day... and we still had two more ahead! There's no way we could ever see as much in such a brief time traveling on our own and yet not feel rushed or hurried. Thank you, Gate 1!

SPLIT, CROATIA November 20, 2017

One thing I really liked about our tour guide, Duka, was his approach to our time schedule. As he called it, we were going the be leaving each day at a "civilized" time. Not getting up and rushing first thing in the morning; we usually didn't leave a hotel until 9am and sometimes with shorter destinations it was even an hour later. Yes, civilized, for sure. The route this Tuesday morning was a long drive and the beautiful coastal route once again. We stopped often for breaks, and always time for a a cappuccino, that's rare on most guided tours. Lunch that day was at this darling fishing village, though I don't remember its name. With at least an hour, we picked up a sandwich in a bakery and then just walked the water front ending with a coffee and sweet before departing and arriving in  Split about 3PM.

 The main attraction in Split was to visit the Diocletian's Palace, an ancient palace built for the Roma Emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century. It forms about half of the old town of Split. Though most palaces are large, this palace more resembles a fortress in size. It was enormous!  This is a drawing of the layout of the original palace.

 We had an interior tour for about 30 minutes trying to understand the relationship of the construction and the nearness of the sea. As we walked through the vaulted rooms we even came upon an art exhibit in one area, Celestial Architecture.

 And of course a sculpture of the emperor himself. Not a handsome man, and one with enormous cruelty.

 But the most amazing part of the walking tour was in the upper portions of the palace which in time has been taken over by squatters. Homes, well, more like dwellings than homes, have been built with little or no design or hygienic facilities. It's really neither a palace nor a museum but a living city atop the foundation-home to about 3,000 people and a jumble of streets packed with bars, shops and even a hotel. Narrow passage ways hide courtyards and hanging laundry. Quite a visit! Evidently many of the houses are even available for vacation rentals.
Portions of the palace today have been used as the set for the fourth season of the Game of Thrones.

 The hotel within the palace walls.

 Some of the original Roman column are still standing though they're slowly tilting and decaying.

 The upper portion of this temple is "stapled" together to keep it from crumbling.

 Bell tower as we exited the palace.

 Once we left the palace we wandered through the beautiful old town and found a wonderful cafe for dinner and sunset. Our timing was perfect to watch this lovely light fall into darkness, suddenly dropping the temperature along with it.

Just one night in this city, before moving on to the lovely Croatian resort area of the Istrian Peninsula. 

MOSTAR, BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA NOV. 19, 2017

Sunday was an open day on our itinerary and we opted to join the optional tour to Mostar, Bosnia. So glad we did! The trip north from Dubrovnik was beautifully scenic, again always following a body of water with islands all around; there are over a thousand islands along the Dalmatian Coastline. 

It was a two hour drive to reach the inland city of Mostar, but the two hours grew as we were required to stop at several border checks. There is a small strip of the coastline belonging to Bosnia and divides Croatia, meaning we needed to exit Croatia, enter Bosnia, drive 20 miles north then exit Bosnia and again enter Croatia. That small stretch of land took over an hour as our passports were collected and stamped at each crossing.  And we still weren't finished... once we turned inland we exited Croatia and entered the main territory of Bosnia Herzegovina. Confusing? Yes, time consuming? Definitely. And our guide was totally surprised that we were stopped and passports reviewed, he said he's never seen that in his ten years of guiding this region.

 The good news is there will be a new bridge in the next few years that will bypass this 20 miles stretch.  And, of course, we also had to redo all those stops on our return to Dubrovnik. Thank goodness, the passport check was simple without individually checking and stamping.  

Now with about 6 new stamps in our passports we were on our way to Mostar with a short stop to see  a tiny ancient walled town. The entrance to the city were these steps with houses and buildings along the sides. Paul stayed below at a cafe for a cappuccino while I climbed and visited the little shops set along the way. Just lovely. Again, all buildings were constructed of the local limestone blocks but in this region the rooftops were gray slate, not the red tiles we'd been seeing.  

 

 I never made it to the top of the hill, my 20 minutes had disappeared too quickly but I did bring two beautiful scarves back with me.

 By 1:00 we had reached and walked into the old town of Mostar. This region was one of the most devastated during the war in the former Yugoslavia and there remains evidence of destroyed buildings still waiting reconstruction.

Today the small cobbled streets remain and shops welcome tourists while residents put the war behind them and move on as an independent country.

 The views of the city and the river Neretva were beautiful with the Stari Most (literally "Old Bridge") a 16th century Ottoman bridge, connecting the two parts of the city..

 Cafes and shops all along the street were busy but again, "off season" style of busy. No major crowds, just lots of room to explore and enjoy.

 I loved this view looking west.

 This is the old bridge which has an steep arch with steps helping you walk over it.  The city of Mostar was named after the bridge keepers (mostari) who guarded the Old Bridge in medieval times.

 The continuing walk down the other side of the bridge to ancient shops and restaurants.

 The Turkish influence is strong in this area and this selection of Turkish coffee sets was amazing!

And lots of colorful walls along the shops

 Another view looking back at the beautiful bridge where divers will dive from the top of the bridge to the river below.  Even on our chilly gray day there were two divers offering to take the plunge if they could get the crowd to raise the $50. I don't think anyone wanted to see them in that freezing water, so the diving never happened. Each year a competition of divers from around the world happens in Mostar.

 Steps leading up to our restaurant and fantastic local menu of skewered meatballs and fries.

I'm always drawn to the unusual and often intricate work of old doors, knowing that behind these iron doors is perhaps a lovely courtyard or a small shop kept hidden from view.

By 5:00 we were leaving the city and returning to Dubrovnik.  A lovely afternoon with a long drive back.