Category Archives: croatia
Slovenia
Omg We decided to leave Istria early and spend a night in Ljubljana. On our way we stop at the Postojna caves and the Prejnama Castle. What a treat!!
First the caves. We had no idea of the magnitude of these. They are huuuge!! And so ovez caves. Just spectacular. 
Then on to the nearby Prejnama castle built in the 1200s right out of c a rock for protection. Fascinating history and visit inside. Damp and dark castle but so ingenious!!
We then make our way to the capital Ljubjiana. What a quaint and lovely town of 320,000 people. We are told that close to a million people come into the town everyday.
Lovely hosts and staff in our hotel!! We visit the local castle which hosts an exhibition on the history of Slovenia. Chuck is enthralled and finally gets his questions answered!
The climb up to the bell tower is fantastic with a red staircase! View at the top is spectacular.
The next day we are off to Lake Bled stopping first at the Vintgat gorge. A local networks of small waterfalls with a very neat passeway built along the side of the rocks.
At Lake Bled, our hotel is waterfront facing the beautiful lake. What a treat!! We walk the 6km trail around the beautiful scenic lake and climb the hill to the castle located atop the rock cliff. Ouf!! But what a view again!!
The next day we are off toe Lake Bohinj and take a walk around that lake as well. Much quieter little town and beautiful lake surrounded by mountains. Reminiscent of back home!! Back to the hotel we finally treat ourselves to our first ice cream. Those cones vendors are everywhere and everyone seems to be eating one!! Yum!!
Back to Zagreb the next day we sit at a patio in the heart of the city and marvel at how busy the place is as everyone seem to be taking advantage of a beautiful Saturday!!
we checked into the Royal airport hotel for our final night, 5 minutes from the airport. Great big rooms and good restaurant and free breakfast included. We fly back home on Sunday at 10:15. Another epic trip!!
Istria, Croatia
This was our first rainy day with strong wind. Good timing since it was mainly a driving day. We took the most winding and narrow road driving up to our airbandb in Oprtalj from the coast. We arrive to an almost abandoned town with one taverna that is closed and one restaurant only opened till 7PM and a small market opened till 3PM. Thankfully we are there at 2:45 and can purchase a few items to make dinner.
The house itself is the best example of an old house renovation I have seen but is lacking in a lot of small amenities and fairly dark as all the windows open to a wall nearby. The house was found on airbandb and is called Case Sterna. It is recommended NOT to book.
We take a nice lunch at the restaurant overlooking a beautiful valley of olive groves and vines of grapes as well as the nearby famous Panzerana biking and hiking trail.
We arrived at Prodan Tartufi and are impressed right away by the installation, the pretty gardens and the warm welcome by Vishna our host.
This was an absolutely awesome experience in all respect. The wonderful 4 cuddly and energetic dogs made me miss my pups and added to the experience. They love to be handled and pet and were running around like crazy.
We walked in the wood while our host described their lives, how truffles grow, are traded and her family’s 3 generations tradition. We (the dogs) find 2 white truffles and 1 black! We are treated to an exquisite lunch including truffle salami, butter, cheese, pate and eggs. It is all so flavourful and fragrant…I am now addicted to the smell of white truffle!!!
We learned that black truffles can be cultivated by infecting the roots of some trees but white ones are still a mistery. White truffles can only be found in Croatia and Italy whereas black ones are not found in many places around the world including Oregon and New Zealand. Truffles grow from animal eating some and pooing near the roots of trees who lend themselves to growth such as beech, ashes and walnut trees. The selling fee of white truffles can range from 2500 to 4000 euros a kilo!
In the afternoon we drive to 2 nearby medieval towns, the town of Motovun and Grosjnam. The latter has been taken over by artists and we stroll the cobble street while shopping. Both towns are built on a hilltop and are surrounded by a medieval walls and are mostly pedestrians. I buy a neat ring and we decide to have a meal there since our town will not be offering much in terms of food.
Both town are on the same favours biking and hiking trail and we meet several people going on it. We see the trail outside the walls of Grosnam and the view is breathtaking and can understand the attraction.
We decide to leave a day early from there as our airband is very disappointing and we keep getting power outage. Upon the recommandation of a couple from India we met at the truffle hunt who had been travelling from Austria and then Slovenia and now Croatia, we decide to go spend a day in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital.
Sibenik
We leave Dubrovnik early for Sibenik as we plan on making a few stops.
Our first stop is in the town of Ston. What a great decision!
We are amazed with the wall complex built in 1313 to protect their salt factory. We are told that at the time 1 kg of salt was worth the same as 1kg of gold!! We visit the small factory and see the ingenuity to harvest that salt with the same process as years gone by. Very little automation. They use evaporation….It can be harvested 3 times a year and takes 10 days each time.
We hike the walls surrounding the city but will not have time to walk the more than one hour to the next town. The walls are very narrow and steep! What a feat!! Hard to believe their are holding a marathon tomorrow on the walls. Yikes!
We have a meal at Bakus on the recommandation of our host in Dubrovnik. The town of Ston is renowned for its crustaceans fishing.
A beautiful meal of oysters, marinated anchovies and salted sardines. Chuck finally gets his sardines!! All fresh, local and very good. We get a starter of fish pate. Love it!
Great view of the bay and all the traps for mussels, oysters etc..
The walls from the road leaving the area.
Our next planned stop was the town of Split but after driving to the main area of the city along the beach and seeing the invasion of cruise boats, tourists and commercialism, we decide to not even stop and keep driving. What a difference from Ston!
We arrive at our Hotel Bellevue, very well located on the water besides the old town and after dropping our bags, go for a walk in the old town to check it out a bit before our reservation at the 1 Michelin star restaurant Pelligrini.
Located right besides the Basicilica in the old town, the service at that restaurant is absolutely next level. Waiters coordinate depositing your dishes so that everyone at the table gets it at the same time! The sommelier is very friendly and knowledgeable and our waiter tells us a bit about the history of the restaurant and the town.
This restaurant was opened, is owned and operated by the chef and is only opened for 11 years. Most of the staff are in their 20s. 
Flavours are well matched and the food is inventive but what will stay with us is the number of personnel on the floor constantly looking after their guests and their attention to details. Whenever a guest goes to the washroom, one of the staff will come re-fold the napkin on the table, one of them even using only a spoon!
The next day we decide to forgo the boat ride and drive ourselves to Krka which is very close. We first go to the main area nearest the bottom of the national park and again are overwhelmed by the number of buses and tourists. Although the falls are beautiful, The 2 km trail to see the main waterfalls is packed and we move at a very slow pace.
After a chat with one of the staff at the information desk, we decide to get in our car and drive the 45 minutes in the hills to the top of the park where the biggest waterfall are as well as some archeological site of Roman ruins.
We arrive to nearly no-one there and follow the signs to where Emperor Frantz Joseph and his wife Elizabeth had come to see the falls.
Upon continuing down we come to a belvédère where we have a great view of the falls.
We noticed some other trails further to the left and decide to go explore.
The trail is exceptionally steep and made entirely of gravel which can be slippery. But we continue on. Thoughts of having to climb it back start creeping in!!
We arrive at the end where the path simply stops at a cliff with a view to the side of the fall.
We begin the climb back at a good pace. Our hiking legs are now kicking in but we are completely out of breath at the top and have to sit for a moment! The heat of more than 30C does not help!
We then drive the very short distance to Burnum and the site of the recently discovered 1st century Roman legion training centre and barracks. It was built under emperor Augusta to quell a coup by one of his general.
Back home exhausted, sweaty and just in time for our 2 hours guided walking tour of Sibenik.
We meet Dario at the fortress of Baronne way above the city, driven there by our friendly driver ( thank god)…his knowledge of the area is spectacular as is the view from there. We have a particularly privileged view of the St-John castle that is currently under re-construction. Both of the castles were built in the 16th century under the Venetian regime to prepare for the ottoman attacks.
We can also see the whole city, the coast as well as the third castle, St-Michael which was the first one built.
That is where the king of Croatia wrote from in 1066 confirming the existence of Sibenik back to that year.
We are then driven back to the centre of city for a hugely informative walk around the city, Dario pointing out some of the 27 churches of the cities and their different architectural type.
We begin with the fortress of St-Michael where Brian Ferry just held an outdoor concert, and where some of the outdoor walls were used for the Games of Throne background scenes.
Again the view to the river Krka is beautiful. It is the river that separate Croatia in 2.
We see the bridge where the Serbs located their tanks to bomb the city in the 90s war.
We are treated to a visit to the Basilica of St-James where we are told it was the first time the “montage” technique was used to built the coupole, similar to LEGO, the structure is assembled ahead of time and then numbered to be re-assembled up at the top. It took 150 years to build this basilica using men and horse power to hoist stones weighing several tonnes.
We get behind the scene views because our guide’s wife is the conductor of the choir here.
The stairs to upstairs are built to enable the light to filter down below.
First time ordinary people were depicted in a basilica.
We finish with the monastery where one of the 3 most important libraries is located, holding some of the most ancient books of Croatia’s history as well as the only functioning organ built in the 1700s.
Along the way, Dario points out how much the medieval people loved their cats and dogs, building into their walls drinking receptacles. 😀
As well as a medieval water cistern used to hold 27,000 litres that is now turned into a cafe-bar. Interestingly, the restaurant we went to last night is built on its roof!
We finish a perfect day where my Iphone health app tells me we climbed 67 floors, with the town’s specialty: mussels. We learned also today that mussels love a mixture of fresh and salt water which they find in the mouth of the Krka river in the bay of Sibenik!!
Time for bed!!
Dubrovnik/Montenegro: day 4-5-6
We arrive in Dubrovnik after a 5 1/2hour drive with a few stops. Several sections are maximum 60km and we followed large trucks often.
Because we made last minute changes, our airbandb was not available for the first night so we had booked a hotel room. We found our hotel for the first night without problems but we arrived and they were out of parking spots despite the fact that we had called and reserve a spot. Drag!!! They had to drive it 30 minutes walk away so we decided to trust them and leave the key 😬……figured we would have no car, no bags and no room when we got back from our day trip! But all good! Phew!
It is exceptionally well located, almost across from the entrance to the old city. We decide to go walk the walls today and see what the food is like. Of course more steps to get to the entrance of the walls where we climb more steps but the view is excellent!!
After we were done, we end up at the cliff bar, very easy to get confused in the many alleyways of the old town, not easy to find but fun to have a drink there and watch the youngsters jump off the cliff into the sea. 😬
There are so many kayaks making their way to the Lokrum island!
Of course we come across some of the Game of Throne set. This is the stairs where Cersie and chuck begin their walk of shame! So cool!
We have dinner at one of the restaurant and enjoy the best fish pâté ever!! Flashback to France where people light up a cigarettes on the patio right besides other people eating. This is everywhere 😭😭
The Main Street in the old city is jam packed at the night!!
The next day is our day trip to Montenegro, we are ready at our nearby stop waiting for the bus at 6:10…but the pick up is at 7:10. Chuck misread his watch!!🤦♀️buuurrp! 🍷
We visit 3 cities and begin by crossing both borders. Not sure why but at that border we have to show our passport at the Croatian border to exit as well as the Montenegro border to enter. 🤔
First stop is Pevast where the only artificial island of the Adriatic is located. We take a boat across to visit the small church and look at the scenery.
The view on the way is really beautiful.
We leave for Kotor, where we discover that the city and its residents have adopted cats… not a dog, a rat or a mouse to be seen!! There was a Black Plague a long time ago and they brought in cats to get rid of the rats and they stayed. They are everywhere!
17 churches in this tiny villages, 14 of which are catholic despite the fact that most of the population is orthodox…we’ll leave that one alone!!
The only church that was not affected at all by the earthquake of the 1970s
This is a wall city as well and the walls extend all the way up a mountain behind the town with a church on the way. We are told that we do not have time to climb all the way but have time to go to the old church. What a hike!! Steep and hot.
We are happy to be there and sample the beautiful view. This is the bay of Kotor which is named one of the 25 most beautiful bays in the world!! We are surprised by the mountainous horizon.
Back on the bus we now make our way to Budva where we have lunch by the sea. Mainly a small city along the sea. We had a lunch at the restaurant recommended by the tour guide and had very excellent mussels served in a fantastic bowl. We also dip our feet in the Adriatic for the first time. Mainly rocky beaches here but water is nice if a little cool. And FAR too many Speedo’s, thot we we were in Quebec for a moment!
After a 2 hours stop at the border we are finally back in Dubrovnik and move to our airbandb. If you take this tour, plan to be back a few hours later than expected. Tour guide and driver were excellent!
Our first day at the apartment, we wake up to a beautiful view of Dubrovnik and the sea from our balcony. Spectacular! Added bonus, it is a 10 minutes walk to the old town. The owner helps us park the car and tells us to forget it. He is right!
On the advice of our excellent airbandb host, we discovered a small beach very close, used mostly by locals. No signs to point to it anywhere. We had to climb down 277 steps to reach it and of course 277 steps to go back home!!
Absolutely gorgeous, with water so clear and salty! You can basically float with very little efforts. Very refreshing!!
In the afternoon we take the 5 minutes ferry to Lokrum island. We hike to “the rocks” which are reminiscent of Peggy’s Cove except not round rocks. Really neat….nearby is the dead pool.
We then decide to hike up to the church. Very steep ascent but fantastic view!
Tonight is the night we have reservation at the 1 Michelin star restaurant 360. I am not feeling well but it can not be missed. The view is beautiful, staff extra attentive and the menu is creative and interesting.
We are treated to “amuse-bouche” followed by our first course of mackerel for chuck and the chef’s signature dish of carrot for me. For our main, Chuck has ordered a dish of pigeon with foie gras and I choose the turbot with clams.
We try a nice Cabernet from Istria with a label like Chuck wants for his wine. Where you can’t read what is on it! Martine threw up, but not from the food! 😛
All is excellent!! The manager stops by for a chat where he tells us that the head chef Mario Cucic is Croatian and started with them in 2007, growing with the restaurant and traveling to work at Michelin restaurant elsewhere in the world during the 6 months when the restaurant is closed. The restaurant is owned by the town but with the high taxes, they barely make it profitable despite the fact that it is always fully booked. We are told that Croatian here all have to take English from the beginning of school and a third language in grade 4. Smart!
Dubrovnik was beautiful, a city built on a cliff basically, where walking to places really means hiking. Gorgeous sceneries and beautiful water.
Just a week prior to leaving we decided to change our plans to leave a day early from Zagreb to have an extra day in Dubrovnik and go to Montenegro. Best decision!
Croatia: day 2 and 3: Plitvike Lakes
Day 2 and 3: Sept 17-18, 2018
We arrive midday in Plitvike Lakes, a famous national parc and check in our villa. We drive back to have lunch towards a small town but come across the Baca Caves and decide that we should explore them. We have lunch at a nearby local restaurant…vegetarian options are few and far between here but we make do…Chuck really likes the local beer 🙂
Back at the cave, we are joined by a group of Germans and some Brits. The guide takes us up to the higher cave opened to the public. Temperature inside the caves is always 9C no matter the season and humidity 100%. Two types of bats live in the cave and we spot some right away shortly after entering.
She explains that archeologists have found mementoes proving life in the medieval times as well as animal remains from 20,000 years ago…yes no typo, back in the ice age. They have unearthed the squeleton of a cave bear that would have been more than 3 metres high and weighing over 700 tonnes. Bigger than the grizzlies and the polar bears. The have also found cave lions and a cousins to rhinoceros in those caves.
The scenery is spectacular and she turns the lights off at some point to show what complete darkness actually means….the perfect representation of pitch dark….
Chuck and i LOVE our helmets! Especially since I hit my head….
Back at the villa for a dinner onsite and off to bed for the big hiking day tomorrow.
The next day begins earlyish at 8:30 and we get to the park ready to board bus at 9:30AM. We decide tp start with the lower lakes loop per the recommandation of Ivy at the villa. We are swamped by large groups of tourist, mostly from Asia….it is a selfy party!!!
This park is mainly about the waterfall and the turquoise water. The lower lakes do not disappoint although we find a striking ressemblance to lakes in the Ontario and Quebec cottage country.
At the end of the hike, we get to the boat pick up that will bring us back to mid point.
We then begin the hike up the hill and the highlight of the day…what I called the ’circular waterfalls’. For many minutes, we walk and are able to see this combination of falls from several different angles.
We continue upwards to the top and after a short break, we decide to forgo the bus ride down and instead, we walk back to the bottom. All in all, my app is indicating 18,000 steps, 12 km and most importantly, 47 floors!!! That is some elevation. Feet and knee survive very well which is great!
We make it back to the hotel for a well deserved shower and beer. A great day.
I feel that the recommandation we found online to take a 2-day pass for the park is completely unnecessary. A brisk walk for 4-5 hours will do the trick. Glad we chose to only stay one day.
Off to the coast tomorrow…can’t wait!
Croatia: day 1 – Zagreb
Day 1: Zagreb: September 16th. 2018
Landed in Zagreb 7:30 after an overnight flight. Managed to get 1 to 2 hours sleep only. I bought a local SIM card for my phone for 80 kunas ($16) with unlimited internet for 7days. Why can’t we get that back home?!? Can’t beat that for navigating!!
Got our small Skoda rental car and drove to the centre of Zagreb and left the car in a parking garage to walk around the lower and upper town. From the garage we decided to walk up to the upper town in the hope to cut through.
We ended up near the famous museum of broken relationships and decided to take a look. Some funny, sarcastic, tragic stories all connected to one artifact on display. There was even one from Toronto with a stuffed loon as the artifact. Stories from all over the world.
We came to the church of Saint-Marc which is a historic building.
A little further up the road, we discovered the stairs to the lower town giving us a very clear indication of the elevation….packed!!
We came across lovely markets and some traditional singers along the way and finally had a caffe and croissant for breakfast on an outdoor patio.
Our airbandb was located right in the centre between the lower and upper so great location. Lots of stairs reminiscing of Edinburg.
We then decided to go on a historic war walking tour of the city which lasted almost 3 hours and was excellent. The majority of that tour was in the lower town. The 26 year old guide referred a lot of the history back to the story of his family which helped connect the events to the impact on every day life. We walked through great small alleyways where cafes were hidden at each turn.
Highlights included walking through the tunnels that were built to serve as bomb shelters for passerby during both WW2 and the recent war-1990-1995. Hidden from the sky, entrances to the tunnel are located in peoplés backyards. They were built under the natural hills and elevation of the town as the upper town is actually that….up the hill, therefore impossible to detect from the air. We are told that every house had a basement serving as a bomb shelter, stocked with necessities and mattress to survive while they were being bombed.
He gave us a very objective description of the role of Croatia during the WWII (aligned with the Nazis, those tunnels were restricted to Jews, Gipsies and Serbs) we are told that the Serbs had to wear a large embroidered S on their clothes to identify them similar to the Star of David for thé Jews. He explained the period under Tito and how the Yugoslavians were able to travel to the west AND the east countries as Tito navigated quite successfully the diplomatic relations with both sides. They still to this day have free health care and free university. We discussed the impact of the economic downturn following the death of Tito in 1980 which led to the political debacle which lead to the atrocious war of the 1990s
This tour is provided by the local tourist information centre located right at the edge of the main square. They meet at 11am at the statue and is 130 kuna per person. So well worth it.
After going back to the parking garage to grab our things, and walk back to the airbandb. I realized that I left my phone with the Croatian SIM card on the roof of the car. Back at the parking garage, we are told that someone found it and left their phone number to give it back. We begin starting calling her with no success. A nice Serbian server at a local bar across the street helped us place the call properly but still no answer. We gave him our email after his shift as he was trying to reach her for us. We walked to a main square in the lower town and had a meal. Lots of pizzas and burgers on all the menus!! I ordered a Gin martini which ended up being sweet martini and Rossi mixed with a shot of gin. He had no idea what a martini is!!!
We finally received a call back from the lady who found my phone and she drove back to us to return it. She would not accept money, just « some positive vibrations ». Great introduction to the kind Croatian people.
We walked to a bar where they played NFL games and as luck would have it, a group of Minnesotans on a tour walked in to watch the Minnesota game with Chuck. What are the chances.
And then on the TV next to the football, a handball game comes on…Youpi!
A day well spent, and early to bed, we leave tomorrow.
Martine's food and places 