Croatia

15 January 2011

We had to be up quite early (eek!) for our journey to Zagreb - just a couple of hours by train. As Croatia is not in the EU, our journey also involved passport control at the border. This is always interesting on a train. In this case, the Slovakian police boarded the train at the last station before we crossed the border. The train did not leave the station until they had been through and checked everyone’s passports. They then left the train and the Croatian police got on. The train started up again and continued on its way while further checks were made and stamps were stamped.

After arriving and finding our hotel, we had a full afternoon to commence exploring Zagreb. First stop was the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art – a fantastic little gallery in the ‘upper town’ (the oldest part of Zagreb). Naïve art is characterized by its simplicity and its often significant departure from the conventions of more formal art. We really enjoyed the paintings and sculptures on display.

We then walked through the area immediately around St Mark’s Square which is dominated by the beautiful St Mark’s church and flanked by parliamentary and government buildings. There were many locals standing around the door of the church, spilling out into the square waving flags and singing. Phil asked a policeman what was happening (as you do!) – apparently the celebrations were related to Croatian independence.

Continued our exploration of the upper town, through Dolac – the amazing fruit and vegetable market and onto the cathedral. Zagreb is a beautiful city.

Part of the old town wall near the cathedral

Finished the day with a walk through the lower town. Enjoyed the nightlife before calling it a day.

16 January 2011

Walked via the beautiful Croatian National Theatre (unfortunately no opera or ballet on while we’re here so no opportunity to see the building from the inside!) to the Sunday morning antique market. Had a ball here looking at all the interesting objects. The stallholders were really lovely – one even gave us a memento when she found out we were visiting from Australia!

Next stop was a second visit to St Mark’s square. As it was very busy yesterday we wanted to return when things were a little quieter and we could see more. We were really glad we did because there was hardly anyone around so we could really have a leisurely wander. 

           
One of the fascinating parts of this area is the Kamenita vrata (or stone gate) – the last remaining gate of the five that were once part of the wall around the upper town. In 1731, there was a fire around the stone gate destroying all the surrounding houses. A painting of the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus survived, though. This painting has now become quite an icon and people stop and pray on their way through the gate. There are pews and candle stands for the faithful – and it’s always busy. 

Stone gate in the background

There are a couple of art galleries in this area also and we were interested in visiting the Mestrovic Studio which houses a collection of works by Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic.  When we got there, however, it was closed! Never mind – there was a lovely little bar across the lane that looked very inviting and it was definitely time for a cup of tea.

This was a local bar indeed. Just us at one table and a group of four men at the other. They were lovely and spoke perfect English so helped us with our order. Eventually we joined them and so began a truly wonderful afternoon. 

We talked about anything and everything and had a fantastic time. They all should have been somewhere else and we had planned to visit a couple of other sights but all plans went out the window as we shared a few drinks and enjoyed each other’s company. It’s experiences like this that can’t be found in a museum or read about in a guidebook and we loved every minute.

Spent the evening having a final wander through Zagreb – eating at little market stalls and taking in new sights.

Dusk on our final night - the view from our hotel window

On arriving back at our hotel (which was really quite a large one – not the sort we usually go for but chosen for its proximity to the train station) we rounded the corner of our floor heading towards our door and bumped into… our Brazilian friends!! We couldn’t believe it – we were following each other across countries! We exchanged stories and talked about other travels we’ve done. It seems as though we are kindred spirits as we have a lot of past journeys and future plans in common. The world really is a small place. And yes… they were very glad they took our advice and went to the castle at Bled!

New beer: Ozujsko 

Zagreb train station - our last morning

Slovenia

11 January 2011

Woke up this morning to the bad news from home and so it was with mixed emotions that we made our way to the train station for our scheduled journey to Ljubljana.

First, we had to travel by the inter-city train from Bratislava to Vienna, which takes just over an hour. Then we had about 15 minutes to cross Vienna via the s-bahn (the suburban train) so we could get to another station to board the long distance train to Villach in the south of Austria. Somehow managed to get there in time and settled in for a day of train travel – through some of the most beautiful countryside in Austria.

Changed trains in Villach and boarded another train bound for Ljubljana in Slovenia – more beautiful countryside. This had been quite a long but very relaxing journey and it was dark by the time we arrived at our destination – also our home for the next four nights.

Changing trains in Villach

12 January 2011 

As it was very important to us to maintain contact with home and stay up-to-date with the situation in Brisbane, the next few days saw us spending some time at the hotel close to the internet and the television and some time out and about exploring Ljubljana and its surrounds. Ljubljana was the perfect place for us to do this. It’s a very small town and so the major sights (and there are so many!) are all within easy reach. Added to that, the Slovenian people are truly wonderful – gentle and very caring. Once people knew where we were from they expressed genuine concern about the events at home.

We spent today enjoying some of what Ljubljana itself had to offer – beautiful buildings, interesting laneways, inviting cafés. We particularly enjoyed our visit to the castle perched on top of a hill right above the old town. While visiting a temporary art exhibition at the castle, we met two lovely people from Brazil. To meet and chat with fellow travellers would not usually be anything to ‘write home about’ but as you’ll see later, this was a chance meeting with a difference.

You can see the funicular going up to the castle in the background

Spent the evening at the Slovenian National Ballet – a performance of Bajedera. First performed at the Mariinsky in St Petersburg in 1877, this ballet wasn’t performed outside of Russia until 1961. We really enjoyed the whole experience – a wonderful night.

13 January 2011

Today was spent visiting Bled – a beautiful lakeside town about an hour and a half by bus from Ljubljana. Bled has been a destination for tourists since the 1800s – and it’s easy to understand why. In the middle of a beautiful, small lake is a tiny island (the only island in Slovenia!) and on that island is a gorgeous old church. Looming above the lake on a rocky crag is a magnificent ancient castle. The whole scene is postcard perfect.

To get to the castle there is a road for vehicles (quite long and windy) or for those without their own transport there are three walking tracks. One is steeper and less travelled than the other two – straight up the mountain through the scrub – but it’s the quickest way up – so guess which one we took…! It was well worth the climb – absolutely amazing views of the surrounding mountains, a great museum and a beautiful café on a terrace overlooking the lake.

Nearly there...!

A gorgeous chapel inside the castle

Made our way back down the mountain (much easier going down!) to explore the shores of the lake. Bled is just a lovely place to be.

And back down the goat track...

We walked all the way up there!

As we were waiting for our bus back to Ljubljana we recognized two familiar faces at the little bus stop – our Brazilian friends from Ljubljana castle! We exchanged stories about our day and how we’d spent our time in Bled. They hadn’t made the climb up to the castle so we thoroughly recommended they do so and take a later bus back. They decided to make the most of the little remaining daylight and do just that. As we journeyed back to Ljubljana we wondered whether they would be glad they’d taken our advice. We resigned ourselves to the fact that we’d never know.

As we said earlier, there are many wonderful cafés, bars and restaurants in Ljubljana. We spent a wonderful evening sampling the nightlife.

14 January 2011

Slovenia is a beautiful country with many natural wonders – not the least of which is Postojna Cave, the largest cave in Europe. A short bus ride from Ljubljana (just over an hour), the cave is another spot which has been visited by tourists since the early 1800s.

The only way to visit the cave is by guided tour. On arrival at the main entrance, everyone gets on board a little train (just like a ghost train!). This train travels at quite a pace during the ten minute journey. It’s amazing – you spend most of your time ducking because in many places the tunnel is very low and narrow. Then the train stops and the larger group breaks into smaller groups according to language. As we were not visiting in peak tourist season, the groups were refreshingly small. Our guide was wonderful. As we continued our 1.5km journey through the caves on foot, she clearly explained how the stalactites and stalagmites were formed and why there are so many varying shapes, sizes and colours. When you’re standing and looking at a huge pillar (the result of a stalactite and stalagmite meeting and joining to become one) that is meters tall, it’s incredible to think that it actually takes 7 years for each part to grow 1mm. Every now and again we caught glimpses of the subterranean river that runs through the caves. A highlight at the end of our walk was seeing the ‘proteus anguinus’ – a blind amphibian about 30cm long and very like a white lizard in appearance – that lives in the cave’s river. They keep a few in a huge tank so that visitors can see these amazing, rare creatures.

On the little train

It’s not surprising that people have been coming here for years to marvel at this beautiful place. It’s also really interesting to see old photographs from the 1800s – ladies in long dresses and gents in top hats exploring the caves. Instead of the ‘ghost train’ being powered by electricity, though, these visitors were pushed along the rails in little cars by the guides!

Caught the bus back to Ljubljana and spent the evening having a final walk through this beautiful little city.

Cafe life

Immediately behind our hotel (which was at the foot of the hill on which the castle sits) were some little lanes and houses almost carved into the hillside - we decided to go exploring just as the sun was setting. This was a really interesting walk, affording great views of the city itself. We’ve really enjoyed our visit here – this is one place we’d like to visit again.

New beers: Lasko

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