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Croatia – September 2008
On September 10, 2008 Bebe and Howie flew to Zagreb, Croatia to begin a 15 day trip through Slovenia and Croatia along the East side of the Adriatic Sea. The route we followed is marked in white on the map above with large asterisks where we spent our nights.
After a drive from Zagreb to Samobor we spent a day and night visiting and resetting our bio-clocks for the six hour time zone change before proceeding to Lljubiana, Slovenia. The Lljubianca river that flows through the old town is crossed by many bridges and is lined on both sides with cafes. The city can be seen from a castle on a hilltop above the old city.
That evening we continued north to a very Austrian looking hotel in Crngrob, Slovenia where we spent two nights. The following morning we traveled to the most northern point of the trip, Lake Bled, visiting the walled town of Radovljica and the beekeeping museum on our way back to Crngrob.
We headed south the next day on twisting mountain roads to the town of Idrija. There we visited an excellent museum which explained the history of the town’s mercury mines, second world war Partisans activity and development of a lace industry.
By afternoon we had arrived in Lipica, Slovenia where the Lipizzan horses were originally (and continue to be) bred. After a night in Lipica we made our last stop in Slovenia at the Skocjan limestone caves where we traveled “to the center of the earth“.
Continuing to the coast of Croatia we spent a night at the Hotel Kvarner in Opatija which included a seven mile waterfront walkway past bars, restaurants and yacht basins.
The following day we traveled a long way south to the island city of Trogir. We spent three days at the Hotel Concordia on the waterfront esplanade. One of those days was spent exploring the Diocletian’s Palace in Split just a few miles further south. I’ve included a photo of a pretty Gothic belfry with its renaissance clock.
From Trogir we continued south along the Adriatic coast crossing a short section of Bosnia before turning north-west on a long peninsula to the village of Orebic, Croatia. There we stayed at the Hotel Villa Castello Antonio. The views from our room and from our breakfast table were spectacular. The breakfast bar and living areas were filled with antiques.
The following day included a ferry ride to the island of Korcula and exploration of the narrow streets of the Old Town including a visit to the restored home of Marco Polo.
Our departure after two nights in Orebic took us past the “Great Wall of Croatia” in Ston. We then continued south to our final destination, Dubrovnik. This aerial view was displayed in a museum photograph. Activities inside this walled city centered on the main street, Stradun Placa.
Many staircased alleys climb the hillside inside the walls. On one of these we located Apartment Belan, our home for the next three days. A very special treat is a long hike on top of the walls which encircle the city and provide hundreds of photo opportunities.
Here is one many pictures of Dubrovnik’s port from which we traveled by boat around the outside of the walls.
We had an all day drive from Dubrovnik back to Zagreb where we spent the night and flew home the following day via Praque, Paris and JFK.