CROATIA – Northern Dalmatian Coast
We were heading to a part of Europe that changed hands several times in the first and second world wars and recently endured a brutal civil war. Actually, Croatia more than Slovenia – the bad guy Milosevic who went on trial for crimes against humanity among other things - gave Slovenia a pass after what is called the 10 day war. Croatia, suffered a large amount of fighting, but did not face the destruction and ethnic infighting and outright murder as Sarajevo. The reality of what they endured was brought to a stark reality in the churches and town squares where like in most European towns they had a list of names of the men who died in WWI and WWII. In Croatia they also had a monument with names and photographs of the men and women who died in that battle for their country.
Anyway enough of the history lesson, it’s just that when we set off on this trip I realized how little I knew about this place in the world. Somehow, I allowed myself to ignore the reality of war in what the newspapers referred to as the “former Yugoslavia”. Alas, I did not connect all of the dots until well into our trip, so when we crossed from Italy – at Trieste – into Slovenia – for only about 10 miles – then into Croatia.
The town of Zadar has beautiful white stone pavement and beautiful views. A lovely village, but we wanted to cover more territory, so we decided to push on and just before we started thinking about dinner we found a place to stay on a picturesque and private beach cove right outside of the town of Primosten
The property we stayed in had several terraces for private lounging, or all out sunbathing next to the water. Technically we were facing Italy, but this part of Croatia is covered with small islands that make for beautiful scenery. We happily ate fresh fish, swam in the sea and enjoyed small town summer evenings with traditional folk songs being sung in the town center of Primosten. On day trips we explored the towns of Split and Trogir.
An interesting piece of history about Split is that it is the city that was originally built by Diocletian. He was in charge during one of the more mundane chapters of the Roman Empire (284). He chose to divide the Roman empire into two parts with an Augustus at the head of one half and a Caesar at the head of the other, I mean there is only so much one man can manage after your family is done conquering the world. After about 20 years of administering this process, he built what is the old town of Split for his retirement home. Let me say that he made a very nice choice and if at any point I am in the same position, I would not hesitate to construct for myself a similar safe compound in a warm climate. The hike up to the bell tower was a claustrophobics nightmare of narrow passages with steep stone stairs and many tourists, but magnificent views of the sea was marred only by the humungous cruise ships lining the port. The cruise ships are a welcome arrival for the economy as they bring hundreds of visitors to the shops and restaurants for the day but I doubt the Emperor would have allowed it.
After several days of exploring the northern part of the Dalmatian Coast, we decided to leave the southern part for a future trip and head to Zagreb, the capitol.
CROATIA – ZAGREB
If you enjoy traveling to places where tourism is low and restaurants and shops exist primarily for the people who live there then Zagreb is worth visiting. It has a beautiful center city with grand architecture lovely parks and a good tram system for public transportation. English is spoken by many people, especially those under 30. The city is safe and pedestrian friendly and lively with people coming and going and lots of café’s. There is not a lot to say about their cuisine other than it is honest and simple with grilled meats and soups both of high quality and delicious, but simple. Overall prices were quite affordable.
When we were leaving the coast we met a couple who suggested a stop in the capital city of Slovenia – Ljubljana. Since Zagreb is very close to the Croatia/Slovenia border and Ljubljana only an hours drive, we decided to stop bye to check it out.
SLOVENIA – LJUBJIANA (pronounced -loobeyana)
Nothing could have prepared me for the beauty, the activity and the happening quality of this city. I guess when we started out on this trip not knowing what to expect, I envisioned impoverished and downtrodden cities from the “former Soviet Bloc” – boy I was wrong! Slovenia is an economically and politically stable country. The capital city has a river running through the center and is bustling with restaurants, bars and shops. There are a couple of small stages provided by the city for music in the city center so after a day of John photographing and city walking we were entertained by a local band that was pretty impressive. Slovenia has a very young and impressive wine growing region and everyone we met proudly talked about their country and it’s bounty.
We decided to explore more of the countryside and headed in the direction of Lake Bled, a beautiful quiet retreat in the summer.
John and I have an agreement on travel days; we can eat at the roadside restaurants on the Autostrada, called Autogrills in Italy, and I promise not to complain. As we ended up getting a late start leaving the city, we stopped at what looked to be a quaint Slovenian roadside restaurant. There appeared to be two people running the entire operation with a woman in the kitchen and a man running the floor. I honestly don’t remember what I ordered, but John ordered trout before he went off to explore the surroundings. I watched as the man came out with a net and headed towards a huge tank of water. Realizing that this trout was really going to be fresh – I start calling for John so he could witness the ….. capture of his lunch. After photographing the demise of his entree, John came back to the table all smiles, “Now THIS is what I call fast food!!!”
We continued in the direction of Lake Bled and almost left as soon as we arrived until we stumbled upon an incredible hotel called Vila Bled. We didn't know at the time it was General Tito’s summer villa. Since he died it has been turned into a very nice hotel. Bled has also been host to a number of international conferences with lots of bigwigs staying in their most elegant hotels overlooking the lake and surrounding mountains.
HISTORICAL/POLITICAL ASIDE: For the record Tito is the guy who held Yugoslavia together since WWII (albeit with an iron fist), but was one of the only countries to hold the Soviet Union at arms length and remained independent.
And what a lovely house he had! They say that the entire property has not changed since he lived there, long hallways with sitting rooms peppered throughout.
The assistant manager of the hotel was generous with his time and gave us the run of the villa. It is amazing to consider that a man in his 40’s, he, his children and his mother were each born under a different government.
We could go swimming on the lake. John rowed us to the small island in the middle of the lake. The island had a church where you could ring the bell and the sign promised if you could get the bell to ring, your wish would come true. Both John and I tried unsuccessfully to ring it separately and together until finally brains won out over braun when I figured it had more to do with momentum than force. All I will say is that I wished well.
...Croatia, Zagreb, slovenia, LJUBJIANA , lake Bled, Diocletian