Sabbatical2010

Thurs 22. ferry from Dubrovnik to Korcula. Takes 5 hours. The seaway is brilliant blue & the land rises fjord-like on continental side, & is softer hills of green on seaside. Korcula has small walled city, and newer town hugging coastline around it. V picturesque in clear sky blue day. Only 67 steps up to the attic for this close to old city accom. Moreska sword dance at night. V lucky as is only on a Thurs & Monday evenings. It is great as the town band provides the music & is comprised of young and old. A good number of young and old men. There was a seven young woman chorale which did a number of traditional songs in harmony. Then twenty men came and did this traditional sword dance fighting over a princess. The ... read more

Fri 16 Sept. Travel day. Return rental car without scratch from me from 18 days on RHS of road. Coast road from Split to Dubrovink is spectacular coastal drive. You are on cliffside overlooking the Adriatic and it's islands most of the way. I did it in the local bus, so it was slow (took 5 hours) & wasn't able to get out and explore some of the more interesting coastal towns. Another curiosity si that you pass thru Bosnia-hertgovna on the way. Many centuries ago the country of Dubrovnik pledged affiliation to the Turks in agreement for their protection. Anyway that sliver of land now belongs to Bosnia-H for some reason. So Croatia in fact has a small incision of Bosnia in it. Accom is up on the hill overlooking old town of Dubrovnik. Fantastic ... read more

Friday 9 Sept: caught ferry to Ugljan Is land which is v close to Zadar. Visited town of Preko. Is nothing flash, though pleasant diversion for foray. Plenty of great places to sit & have a drink. Anyway, found restaurant with a view & had seafood feast. Made it a great day. Sat- Mon 10 - 12 Zagreb, a fascinating old city. Bigger than Ljubljana. Has tram network for easy accessibility around the town. Began at equestrian statue, then up to impressive Cathedral of Assumption. More fine Gothic architecture. Found a street, Tkalciceva, which is simply full of bars on the sidewalk lining the lenght of it. Went up to the stone gate which is a curious Marian Shrine; the thing is that it is housed in the "gate" complex, & is effectively a bend in ... read more

Fri 2 Sept: Head north to Kransjka Gora & then Vrsic Pass 1611m is AWESOME! Mountain lovers would be v close to heaven. & drivers would enjoy the 50 hairpin turns. Incline at times 18 degrees. Second gear v useful. Mountain views absolutely stunning. No wonder Slovenians enjoy hiking these mountains. The drive was so good I did it again from the other direction for the fun of it. Those who get car sick avoid this drive. For others, the view is close to God. Then onto Bled. Accommodation not where it was supposed to be. Receptionist said "we have been getting some complaints. " - is in countryside rather than on the lake, and road in is one lane variety, of narrowest version. And you be glad to know the large 4wheel drive tractor ... read more

1 Sept 2011. In Ljubljana the capital of Slovenia. Plane flights all fine & no hassles. Arrived in Split early Tue afternoon local time, weary & ready to go. First hiccough was that the hire car, a small Fiat, won't power the Navman GPS. Navman died a couple of hours out of Split. So I had to rely on old fashioned map reading and praying hard to St Joseph. And Navman actually didn't have any street names of Ogulin anyway. I found the town off the highway easy enough. Drove around it four times before parking car & walking to find hotel. Then all was good. Bels, bells, bells all thru the night. In the small country town was fine, and is the way of the city as well. The countryside is v green & forested, ... read more

Hello, setting up my blog for travel notes for the trip to Slovenia and Croatia. Stay tuned.... read more

Fri 2 Sept: Head north to Kransjka Gora & then Vrsic Pass 1611m is AWESOME! Mountain lovers would be v close to heaven. & drivers would enjoy the 50 hairpin turns. Incline at times 18 degrees. Second gear v useful. Mountain views absolutely stunning. No wonder Slovenians enjoy hiking these mountains. The drive was so good I did it again from the other direction for the fun of it. Those who get car sick avoid this drive. For others, the view is close to God. Then onto Bled. Accommodation not where it was supposed to be. Receptionist said "we have been getting some complaints. " - is in countryside rather than on the lake, and road in is one lane variety, of narrowest version. And you be glad to know the large 4wheel drive tractor with ... read more