CROATIA with a detour into BOSNIA & HERZAGOVINA

That was a bumpy ride! Strong winds from the north blew all day, building up as the day progressed but they were strong enough at 9am to make it a really rough landing at the airport. It was fine & quite nice if you were out of the wind.

Bit hard to see but that is Dubrovnik in the distance

After we arrived at our accommodation in Cavtat (pronounced Tsahv-tat) & settled in a bit we went for a walk into the township, mainly to get a few groceries to keep us going but it was such a gorgeous spot we decided to walk firstly round the town promenade (stopping for a coffee & toasted bagette for lunch) round the peninsular past a Fransician Church & Monastery, this pathway went all the way round & back to the centre of town where we found the Tourist Information office & picked up some bus timetables etc that we will find most useful I am sure.

The promenade/harbour edge at Cavtat, lined with cafes & souvenier shops

We managed to get a few groceries just before the shop shut at 2pm, after all it was Sunday! We still had a bit of energy left & thought we should keep going as we may not have another opportunity to get down into the township. So off we headed to the second peninsular, this was a bit more rugged, gravel & limestone rock pathway but it was an achievable walk. We passed numerous tunnels/passageways which we thought must have been 'pillboxes' or gun battlements used during WW11 & walked round the cliff edge over the limestone rocks & Adriatic Sea which with the wind was a bit wild & woolly. The views were lovely, clear blue water with plenty of white-caps & rugged islands just offshore.



Looks like it must get windy here at times!

Bus to Dubrovnik! It's great that it leaves from just across the road!

Narrow laneways & steep staircases inside
Dubrovnik Fort

We had a lovely scenic 15 km trip along the coastal strip north to the city of Dubrovnik. Unfortunately we missed the best stop & had to hoof it back up hill to the entrance gate. Not to worry we survived. After a coffee heart-starter we went into the old city itself.



The main plaza

We had a fantastic walk through the narrow alleyways, down the main plaza, to the wharf area (which is behind that amazing curved wall you can see on just about every photo of the old city), even making it to the fortress which is on an adjoining headland. We had lunch of breadrolls & tomato with our feet dangling off a stone wall at a small rocky beach then walked round the 'narrow walkway' at the bottom of a stone wall just a foot or two above the ocean, to the next bay where we were able to go up the never-ending staircase to the fortress.

Our lunchtime view, one corner tower of the city walls & the hilltop fortress

The stores in the old city were just wonderful, lots of art galleries, jewellery & of course the regular souveniers but there was also a fruit & veg market in one of the plazas. 

View over the city & its massive exterior wall taken from the separate fortress,
that is the little beach where we had lunch



The outdoor market selling locally grown & made products inside the city walls



Public drinking fountain inside the city walls



Entrance bridge & Pile Gateway

We caught a ferry home, they travel every thirty minutes in the summer season & it took just under an hour but then we had the long walk back up the hill to our apartment. We have wonderful views & an uphill struggle is the price you pay, I guess.



The city harbour where we caught our boat home to Cavtat

Our next day was devoted to a bit of exercise! Don't faint! There was a footpath along the coast to Cilipi supposedly taking two & a half hours each way, it turned out to be quite an effort & yes it took two & a half hours. When we got there, exhausted, well I was anyway, we had missed the only bus back for the day so we had to walk back too. It didn't bother Grant but it just about killed me, mainly because of the heat but it was a long uphill & down dale journey. I bearly made it home & that staircase to our apartment was the last straw! The bed was a welcome sight I can tell you! Nice walk though, well signposted, we passed & chatted with loads of people most of whom spoke english.

A view from an early section of the walk looking back over offshore
islands, the township of Cavtat & in the far distance, Dubrovnik

Now for a bit more adventure...this time into the 'wilds' of Bosnia & Herzegovina. Not that adventurous really, the tour van picked us up at 7am for our small group tour. Except that 'we' were the small group, this late in the season we were the only participants so it was great to have the tour guide, Ivo, to ourselves.

First stop was the border crossing into Bosnia, no problem, Ivo sweet-talked the lady guard - I am sure he didn't but he was a flirt. Then on to Politelj where we were able to climb to the top of the Ottoman ruins dating back to the 1400's. Grant went all the way to the top of the stone tower but I couldn't face the claustrophobic spiral staircase so I waited on the top of the hill but at the base of the tower.



See that tower on the top of the hill?



Well, this is the view!!

Second stop for the trip was at Blagaj, wonderful spot, a river flowed out of a limestone cave in the cliff. Crystal clear, icy cold water flows all year round, although a little more during the spring thaw & that is the time to see the waterfalls/rapids at their best. It would be a hive of activity in the hot centre of this country during the summer months I am sure.  

A very pretty spot with a church built into the limestone wall

Then we moved on to the highlight of the day, the city of Mostar (which means bridgekeeper). This was a particularly moving experience - to see the bridge & its surrounding supports & buildings which have been rebuilt since the Bosnian War of the early 1990s & then to walk down some of the backstreets which still bear the scars of war. Bombed out & bullet riddled buildings will never be rebuilt but are just sitting as a permanent reminder of the battles.



The famous Stari Most bridge taken from down near water level



The turkish style markets surrounding the bridge - wonderful

The Stari Most Bridge is wonderful, the well-worn limestone deck is like glass so it is a very slow & steady walk over the top. Unfortunately we weren't lucky enough to see a young man dive from the bridge, which has of late become a big money spinner for the town. The western side of the bridge is occupied predominately by catholic Croats while the eastern side population are of Turkish decent & muslim. The two religions have lived in harmony for centuries & seem to be doing so again. The markets were wonderful, it was just like being in Istanbul....well at least what I think Istanbul would be like. Lots of brightly coloured beads, rugs, shawls, scarves, cushions, belly-dancing clothes & strangley, decorative items made from reused military shells.



Last stop before our trip home was the town of Medugorje which is a place of religious pilgrammage. Some of you may recall six children seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary here in 1981, well now it is a 'big business' with up to 100,000 visitors a day on the anniversary of the vision. It was 30 years ago this year & there are now amphitheatres & large LED screens for the broadcasting of the services etc. Considering we could hardly get across the road on an ordinary mid-week day, out of season, I shudder to think what is could be like on a busy day!!

All in all we went through four border gates but not one of them gave us a stamp in our passport so we only have photos to prove we were ever there! Ivo was a wonderful guide, giving us lots of historic information as well as topical stuff too.

A quiet day round the apartment before we head off to Split tomorrow. Bus first to Dubrovnik at 7am then another local bus to get us to the bus station, that would be route 1B, then four and a half hours to Split.

That was an amazing trip, through the mountains sometimes on winding mountain roads that the bus could barely negotiate & other times on the completed sections of the new motorway. The scenery was wonderful as we travelled along the coast, with views of the more than one thousand islands along the Croatian coastline, for a good part of the trip & then through the barren, grey limestone peaks of the mountains. 

Very pretty spot that is full of tourists enjoying the sunshine

An original section of the roman palace

Split is a great spot, we got here in the early afternoon, found our hostel then went for a stroll to get our bearings. The harbour is full of cruise ships & the Riva (harbourside promenade which is wide with palm trees, plenty of seating & the obiligatory gelati shops (yummy, tried the tuttifrutti but it was a bit sweet & bubblegummy so will go back to vanilla or coconut next time). The major tourist attraction would have to be the palace built by Dioclenian, the Roman Emporer, in the 2nd Century. Needless to say there isn't a lot of it left above ground other than the bulk of the exterior protective walls but below ground level the vaulted ceilings etc are amazing. You walk through one section, which used to lead to the ocean & was a boat access, which is now used for artisans' shops & we spent most of your time gawking at the roof. The palace was built on the ocean originally but then the area was reclaimed for the promenade & harbour.



Church bell tower & original columns of
the main square inside the palace

The next day we walked to the Archeological Museum which is a little out of the city centre but it was quite achievable in the cool of the morning. They had a huge collection of funerial headstones, tombs, etc all arranged along four covered walkways. Then we went into the actual museum, to see the wonderful collection of Roman glassware (supposedly one of the best in the world), coins, military hardware & assorted metal & ceramic items. 

A roman mosaic, individual tiles about 5mm square



An example showcase with amazing surviving glassware & pottery items

Then time to tackle the Marjan Hill & Parkland.....we walked from the Museum uphill 'til we got to the cafe, stopped for a rest & a cool drink as it was quite a hot day. Rested we headed off making sure we took a few good panorama photos of Split before we left the viewpoint. We certainly had not realised that we had many kilometres to go, skirting round & up the hill as we went. Then it was downhill, passed the people rockclimbing, dodging the mountainbikers & cyclists even a couple of people rollerblading on the road, until we got to the bottom & sea level again. Turning towards town we walked back firstly along the road then down to the actual water's edge and along the walkway & through the swimming areas. It turned out to be about a 20 kilometre trip with about the first 5-6 kilometres being uphill & it was a pretty warm day too so we were very relieved to get home for a cool drink followed by a lovely cuppa. 

Split & its harbour from Marjan Hillside cafe,
first stop on our walk round the headland



Grant watching the female rock-climbers



When you don't have any sand, just fill between the rocks with concrete &
call it a bathing area...works in Croatia!

We have met plenty of Australians on our trip but never have we been at a hostel that only had Aussies & Kiwis staying there. It is a bit strange really only to hear english spoken but it was a nice chance to exchange notes on our trips & places to go. All the others were in Split either getting off or getting on ferries to the islands.

We followed a map for a walking tour round the Palace the next day, it was great to find lots of little nooks & crannies with interesting history & to get some great shots of the original structures.

We had decided to move on to the capital city, Zagreb, next & thought the train might be a good alternative (a bit of leg room is always nice on a long trip). Great trip, plenty of wonderful scenery as we moved through the mountainous areas & eventually onto the flat plains of the inland areas. We saw for the first time in Croatia - cattle, sheep & goats grazing, broadacre farming, fruit trees etc as this is the food production heartland of the country. The coastal strip is too rugged for anything but olives, figs, pomegranets & home veggie patches with the primary industry being Tourism.



The very first building you see as you leave Zagreb Railway Station
gives you an idea of what's to come

Zagreb is a beautiful old city with magnificent buildings, a fabulous cathedral, parklands & many, many huge statues. The public transport system of trams & buses is great & very efficient, it is impossible to wait more than a few minutes for a tram to arrive. The only criticism might be the amount of grafitti, some of it is more like modern art but there are tags everywhere which do spoil the beauty a bit, we have found this to be the case in all of Croatia.



Fountains, tree-lined walkways & gaslamps which are hand lit every evening

We walked the lower city following a suggested walking tour that covers all the basic 'big buildings' & went to the Dolac markets (open air fruit & vegetables).



The ever reliable blue trams at one of two main stations, this one in
Bana Jelacic Square, the other is at the railway station



Dolac markets

We visited the magnificent Kaptol Cathedral which is under renovation but fortunately only one tower at a time so we were able to see one finished project, bussed it out to Mirogij Cemetary which must be the busiest place in the city & took a couple of tram trips to the end of the line to have a look round the suburbs. The day-pass for the trams & busses only cost 25 Kuna each which is $A5 so good value for a full day & night right through until 4 am the next morning.

Just the entrance to the magnificent Kaptol
Cathedral

One section of the Arcades for which Mirogij Cemetary is famous

One half of the Arcades showing the beautiful cupolas

The weather wasn't kind on our last day, pretty damp & cold but we did get out & about for a bit of fresh air & some exercise.  We had planned to go to see a medieval fortress up in the mountains but that had to be cancelled, shame I was looking forward to that 45 minute uphill hike!!

We have an early start tomorrow with our bus leaving Zagreb for Belgrade at 8:10 am ....