Summary of Slovenia and Croatia Tour

Our wonderful guide Amanda Baker.

Urska our excellent driver.

Group photo at Lake Bled... 

and at Opatija.

I love photos of faces and people... couldn't resist his eyebrows.

A very interesting take on a beard.

Unhappy musician or sad song?

Three musicians entertaining us in Lake Bled.

Another in Dubrovnik.

A Franciscan monk.

Catholicism reigns supreme in both Slovenia and Croatia.

We saw a larger Muslim community in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The Sony camera got me a photo of the only unique bird I saw... 

a grey crow. 

And lastly, where am I? and what am I doing here?

A fitting end, at our last dinner.

Summary of the Slovenia and Croatia Adventures Abroad Tour

This is an area of the world I’ve always been interested in seeing, but when I traveled Europe back in the ‘70’s it was behind the Iron Curtain and going there was difficult. Now it is readily accessible and in fact with the success of The Game of Thrones series (which I have not seen) that was shot in Dubrovnik, the country is high on the bucket list of travel destinations for all fans of the show. In fact the city is actually having problems with accommodating the people and dealing with the crowds.

Adventures Abroad is a Canadian company based in Vancouver and offers a wide range of tours worldwide. First off I have to give a huge shout out to our excellent guide Amanda, from Ontario and our amazing coach driver Urska who navigated the highways, cities and narrow mountain roads with skill and grace. Thanks to both!

Adventures Abroad only offers this tour twice a year, spring and fall. We opted for the fall and I am exceedingly glad that it was not offered in the summer as the temperatures have been in the high 30’s and low 40’s (celcius) for the whole summer. That would have been unbearable. We also lucked out with the weather. We had suitable temperatures for touring and most of the promised or threatened rain didn’t materialize or if it did it didn’t dampen our plans. We only had to walk in a light rain once, from our restaurant in Mostar back to the bus and that only added to the atmosphere of the place.

The tour we took was more upscale than I usually take and was a senior’s tour, as sadly that is what I am now. The hotels were mostly very nice, with pleasant rooms and wonderful breakfast buffets. I found most of the hotels sterile and not particularly notable except for Ethno Houses Plitvica Selo after our visit to the Plitvice Lakes, which was unique, quaint and woodsy. It was situated high up a hill in the woods and had a couple of wooden two storey buildings, a small animal zoo and a playground for kids.

The tour included breakfast and dinner everyday. As mentioned, the breakfast buffets at the restaurants were excellent and provided lots of options. The dinners were all at well selected restaurants and offered a variety of meals. Occasionally there were special local recipes that some of us tried such as octopus or the little local sausages; but often the menu consisted of the usual: a pasta, chicken, or fish or seafood meal. Most were quite good. 

We had a very interesting group of fellow passengers on this trip. It was a small tour group of only 18 people, six solo travelers and 6 couples; 12 Canadians and 6 Americans; average age about 70 and most very well traveled. As a group we bonded quite well and there were no personal issues or disagreements that dampened the spirit of the trip. Most of us had some aches and pains because of our age but we were able to undertake all of the hikes and walks included in the itinerary. A couple of people opted out of a few activities but there were no complaints, or people who held us up or slowed us down.

I noticed that most of the 18 passengers had selected to fly economy plus or business class unlike us, so that type of comfort is desired and affordable to people selecting this type of tour.

I talked to different people in the group about their preferences for travel and most of us agreed that as we get older organized tours are easier in that they provide a guide, accommodation and safety. Renting a car in a foreign country is sometimes problematic what with different driving rules, or parking and ticket problems or just trying to see the locales as you are focused, hopefully, on the road. Then there is the issue of doing all the research about what to see and where to stay as opposed to picking a travel company that has done that research already and you benefit from their experience. I also think that way there is an element of surprise when you arrive at a beautiful, or interesting place that you have never heard of before. We had many experiences like that on this trip thanks to Adventures Abroad. The beautiful city of Ljubljana, the Predjama Cave Castle and Mostar immediately come to mind.

I chose to visit this area of the world at this time after seeing a video on YouTube of ‘the highlights of Croatia’. Plus it was an area of the world that Shayna was interested in seeing. After investigating a few other travel companies we chose this one based on the research two friends of Shayna did. It covered most of the spots we wanted to see, mainly Lake Bled, Plitvice Lakes, Split and Dubrovnik, and none of them disappointed. The weather cooperated with us as we had sunshine in all four, and most importantly at the two lake locations as the sun enhanced the natural beauty of the areas and created excellent opportunities for photography. Several other places we visited were additional highlights, particularly Hvar and Split. We had the opportunity to see several smaller towns and other spots. The itinerary was packed with locales and sites to see and explore. Although we drove on the coach most days none of the journeys were more than a couple of hours.

I brought my new iPhone 15 Pro Max and my Sony DSLR RX10 markIV camera on this trip. I found that the phone was much more useful in the narrow confines of the cities and towns we visited and took amazing photos. I had purchased the Sony for my Antarctic trip and found it excellent for the wide open vistas of both the north and southern parts of our planet and was excellent for nature photography there and in Kruger National Park, but I found it cumbersome on this tour and didn’t use it very much. Also, because of the narrow tight spots in the towns and streets we visited I found myself taking vertically (or portrait) orientated photos rather than horizontal (or landscape) ones. I much prefer the latter for viewing on the large screen Smart TV I have but the former is much better for framing shots and capturing the beauty in tight spots.

An interesting thing we noted was that the plastic water bottles in these countries have the cap attached to them. They do not come off. I think this is to prevent losing it or making more litter or garbage.

As I’ve alluded to in places on this trip, the history of this area of the world is really complicated. With so many diverse ethnic and religious groups living within the confines of Europe there has been a never ending series of conflicts as one group tries to dominate another. To name but a few there have been the Romans, the Ottomans, the Venetians, the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austria-Hungarian Empire, the Italians, the communists, the fascists, the Nazis, the Serbians… Then after the First World War the countries of the region were combined to make the ‘Land of the South Slavs’ or Yugoslavia. One of our local guides explained how her grandmother, mother and herself have lived under three different regimes. It really makes me realize how simple our Canadian history has been and how unbelievably lucky we are to have not had our country invaded or conquered. Although Canadians have been involved in fighting in the two World Wars there have not been battles in our country and my generation has been lucky enough to have lived during peaceful times.

About the photos in this summary: I chose not to show a best of the trip, as they are already posted on individual days. Instead, as I like to try to capture unique or interesting faces or people that may represent the peoples of the area I have included some here. I also love to take nature photos and pictures of birds. The only unique bird I saw on this trip was the gray bodied black winged member of the corvid family, the hooded crow or corvus cornix.

Until next time thanks for following along and reading the posts, comments are always welcome.

Dubrovnik! and the trip home

Dubrovnik Cathedral

St Blasise's Church, Serbian Orthodox

The Placa, the main street through the city.

Climbing the wall.

Some of the the marvelous views from it.

Onofrio's Fountain

Lovrijenac Fortress

Part of the massive wall.

Cloisters of the Dominican Church and Monastery.

We climbed up this tower, the highest point on the wall.

The view from the high point on the wall.

The fortress from the little boat.

Our last dinner location.

Storm was coming and arrived after we got back to the hotel.

Saturday, October 5th.

First thing this morning we boarded the coach and were driven to the old city of Dubrovnik. Here  we bid a very sad and fond farewell to our amazing driver Urska who is heading north to pick up another group in her seemingly endless journeys across Europe.

The history of Dubrovnik, or ancient Ragusa, begins in the 7th century, when it was under the protection of the Byzantine Empire. In the 12th century Ragusa, formerly an island, merged with mainland settlements and the channel between was filled in with carted-in material. Today this area is the main street of the old city named the Placa or Stradun. After shaking off the yoke of Venice in 1385, Ragusa became an independent republic. It remained one of the most powerful maritime powers in the Mediterranean for over four centuries (until 1808). Ragusa was the link between the Mediterranean and the Balkans and hence developed into an important centre of trade and shipping. Dairy products, wax, honey, timber, coals, salt, silver, lead, copper, wine, oil, fish and slaves were all traded. During the "Golden Age" of Ragusa in the 16th century, she had the 3rd largest merchant fleet in the world and consulates in over 50 countries. After changing hands a number of times, the city was finally ceded to Croatia (former Yugoslavia) and in 1918 the Slavic name of Dubrovnik was officially adopted.

This morning we had a walking tour of Dubrovnik's historic center. Dubrovnik has been called "Croatian Athens" and the "Pearl of the Mediterranean" for its astounding beauty, sophisticated history and culture, and prosperity. Again we had a local tour guide who was obviously very proud of her city and country, but unfortunately she gave us way more information than any of us could retain. Like much of the country it has changed hands numerous times. These are the highlights I want remember: Over the course of its tumultuous history, the city had to be extensively reconstructed; the earthquake of 1667 destroyed much of the city; and in recent memory, the town was bombarded by over 2,000 shells in 1991-2 during the Bosnian War. After great international efforts, the city has been restored to its former glory, with its towering fortifications, magnificent medieval architecture, red tiled roofs, winding paved streets and picturesque harbours. Today we visited the Cathedral and Sponza Palace; en route we saw many famous landmarks including Onofrio's fountain, the Clock Tower, Roland's Column and the Church of St. Blaise, the patron saint of Dubrovnik. 

After the walking tour we had the afternoon to explore on our own. Shayna and I walked the walls of Dubrovnik, considered by many visitors (including us!) to be a highlight of our visit. The price of the walk is 35 Euros, thankfully paid for by Adventues Abroad and the money goes towards the continual rebuilding of the walls and fortifications. The total circuit is nearly 2km and from the bastions we had magnificent views of the city's monuments, including the Minceta Tower, Revelin Tower, and the mighty fortress of St. Lawrence, with walls 12m / 40 feet thick! Over the course of history the walls of the fort were made thicker as the weaponry became more and more accurate and deadly.

Shayna wanted to visit the city synagogue and Jewish gift shop on ‘Jew’ street, so after the wall trek we headed there. I was interested in a small boat tour to see the city and fortress from the sea as the traders and invaders would see it, so I went to check the price and length of the ride. When I went back for Shayna she had finished her visit. She enjoyed the visit to the synagogue in Split more but she bought a small beautiful menorah in the gift shop. 

Then we took a 50 minute small boat ride around the small harbour and the coastline to a small island that today is a national park. The ride was a bit rough but the views were excellent and we were both glad we took advantage of my FOMO. When we got back we visited a couple of shops and then walked back along the old city’s main street where we met Terry and Lorraine who were sitting at a little bar on the street. We joined them for a drink and people watching. Then the four of us left the city and took a taxi paid for by Adventures Abroad (because we no longer had a coach) back to our hotel.

After a change of clothes we met up in the lobby again for our last dinner together. We walked for about 20 minutes along the coastline on a beautiful path passing a beach and several restaurants and bars until we got to the restaurant that Amanda had booked for us. It was beautifully situated with a great view of the Adriatic and an island which the sun sank behind as we ate. It was bittersweet as we are a group that jelled quite well and we will miss many of the other travellers. We will stay in touch and hope to see Reg and Brenda who live in Waterloo and Gary who lives in Florida. Amanda celebrated birthdays for three members including two who are turning 80 very shortly. Then we walked back to the hotel and Amanda and five of us had one last drink in the hotel bar before going to bed. It began raining just after we got back to the hotel… we have been amazingly lucky with the weather throughout the trip!!

Sunday, October 6th.

We were up early and had breakfast with Gary, David and Caroline (who are traveling on another leg going to Macedonia and Albania), before catching a cab to the airport for the first of our three flights on route to Toronto. All went well with both the British Airways flight from Dubrovnik to London Gatwick, and from there JFK New York, but although we boarded the 90 minute to Toronto in time we sat on the tarmac in the dark and very cold plane for an hour without explanation before we finally departed… frustrating, but at least we got home with our luggage.

Mostar Walking Tour, Ston and on to Dubrovnik

Jasmina, our local guide, telling us about the Ottoman house.

The captive audience.

The courtyard of said house.

The long low building in the foreground was where we ate last night.

Walking over  Stari Most (bridge)

The damage to the bridge during the Bosnian War.

The reconstructed bridge.

Beautiful pattern of stones on the street.

Shayna climbing the wall in Ston, Croatia.

The view from the top.

The Fort from the wall.

St Nicholas Church in Ston.

A railcar full of salt.

Thursday, October 4th.

We drove back to the Mostar Bridge area and had a wonderful two hour walking tour of the area. It sprinkled a bit, but was mostly a beautiful, warm sunny day. Our guide, Jasmina, was the best yet. She was seven when the Bosnian War started and her family were lucky enough to escape to Norway, where they lived for eleven years before coming back to Bosnia to claim their house. It took years in court to actually get it back. Many refugees from the war never returned, including many of her family and friends and are now scattered around the world. 

She took us to a traditional Ottoman house, dating back to the 16th/17th centuries. It is one of only three such houses left in Mostar and the family who own it have set it up as a museum. It was quite beautiful and unique with its Turkish flavour and furnishings. 

With our free time, we visited the Wartime and Genocide Museum, which outlines the history of the war and the atrocities committed when the Croates attacked the Bosnians. The pictures and videos were horrendous and reminded me of other human atrocities committed during the Holocaust and in Rwanda to name but two.

Until June 25th, 1991 the former Yugoslavia was known as the Social Federal Republic Of Yugoslavia ( SFRY) and was composed of the 6 republics of: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. It all changed when the dictator Tito died and other men scrambled to take control. It resulted in an ugly war between Serbians and Croatians in which the Bosniacs were caught in the middle. The UN, much like in Rwanda, were powerless observers who couldn’t be seen to take sides. It wasn’t until the western world media
became aware of the horrors being committed that the UN finally did intervene and end the  conflict. According to Jamina, thirty years on, all is well with the people and religious leaders of the countries but the politicians are still talking about issues between the countries.

We had some lunch and gelato and headed back to the bus and recrossed the border back into Croatia. We stopped at a very pretty little town called Ston. It has obviously been rebuilt and has become a touristy little town with lots of restaurants and cafes. The town is protected by a wall built up and over the hills behind it and a medieval castle or fort. Both have been rebuilt and were here to protect the first industry in the area which was harvesting salt. We climbed part of the wall to get the beautiful view over the town and then went to the rebuilt fortress which was impressive from the outside but had nothing inside. 

Then we went to see the salt pans. It is late in the season, which is April to October, and the pools are all full of water, so we watched a video of the process. A large area of shallow sea water is separated into five pools, each is used for a different part of the salt process. The salt is produced by the evaporation of the seawater, which then leaves the salt behind. Back in the day salt was as valuable as gold, and was often used for payment and for salaries, which explains the fortifications here. It is used for table salt and for wellness/spa type products. Ston and Dubrovnik were on the main trade routes of the day and salt was one of the major commodities traded. We finally got to our hotel in Dubrovnik at 6:15 and went to dinner in a local restaurant where we had a room just for our group. It was built to resemble a storage room reminiscent of the palace in Split. 

Long wonderful day, as every one has been. Tomorrow, our last day, we finally get to explore  Dubrovnik.

From Croatia to Bosnia Herzegovina

The ferry from Otok Hvar back to the mainland.

The harbour of the tiny port town of Sucuraj where we caught the ferry.

The scenery from the bus.

The obvious influence of the Ottoman Turks.

The fort in Pocitelj, the first town in Bosnia Herzegovina.

River Neretva

The restored Stari Most or Old Bridge.

The pattern in the pebble road.

Working hard.

The Old Bridge from our restaurant.

Wednesday, October 3rd.

Today we drove for two hours from the west end of the island of Hvar to the east end to catch another smaller ferry. The road was narrow and winding over the many hills of the island. It is amazing how many pieces of rock cover the island and how people over the years have moved it to build walls and buildings in order to clear small plots of land to plant olive trees and sage bushes. Urska had to use all of her driving skills to navigate the road and avoid approaching cars. The ferry took us back to the mainland at Drvenik from where we drove along the coast to Opuzen before turning inland to the border crossing from Croatia into Bosnia Herzegovina at Metkovic. After crossing into Herzegovina we drove to Pocitelj where we stopped for an opportunity to hike up a hill on ancient stairs to a fortress built by King Tvrtko of Bosnia in 1383 to control a merchant trade route inland through the River Neretva valley. The predicted rainy weather held off, and although the skies were grey and ledden it was warm and the hike and views were excellent.

From Pocitelj we continued our drive to Mostar arriving late afternoon. Despite great damage suffered in the last war (1991-1995), the city on the emerald green River Neretva has been rebuilt and preserved a great part of its authentic Oriental architecture and the way of life conceived on the boundaries of different civilizations. The Ottoman Turks ruled here for centuries and it is evident in the flavour of the city, the Muslim dress of some of the women, the mosques and minarets mixed in with the Orthodox and Catholic churches. We walked along a cobblestone road lined with shops selling many Turkish and eastern items, including clothing and souvenirs reminiscent of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Then we came to Stari Most (litterly ‘old bridge’) now known as Mostar Bridge. It is a 16th century high arched bridge built by the Ottomans. It is very beautiful with multi-hewed medieval buildings on either end and the line of shops. We had time to explore the shops for a while before assembling at a restaurant right on the river where we had another excellent meal and a good time. While there the promised rain arrived with a vengeance and it poured while we ate. Luckily it let up and became a light rain as we walked back through the market area and across the bridge back to the bus. It was actually very pleasant walking in the rain through this historic and beautiful area. We checked into our hotel by 8:30 and I had a chance to catch up on blog posts for the last couple of days before bed. The rain has returned and is predicted to rain a lot overnight.