Ljubiljana was a lunch stop en route from Rijecka and the Postonja Caves to Zagreb. What I knew most about Ljubljana was that it had been the home of my French language professor at university. He told us of his experiences there during World War II, his detention by the Germans, and how he had escaped to France with the coming of the Tito regime. Upon arriving in Zagreb, we checked in at the hostel Esplanade InterContiental. The Esplanade was an old continental style hotel that had been recently renovated by the InterContinental chain. Zagreb marked the end of the tour through Eastern Europe. Most sightseeing was spent in Gradec, the old town. Here were the interesting Palace of the Ban and the 14th century St. Mark's Church. The unique roof tiles on St. Mark's represent ... read more

Trogir exhibits strong architectural evidence of its association with the Venetian Republic through the Cathedral of St. Lawrence, the Camerlengo Castle overlooking the harbor and an interesting Italian-style loggia in the cathedral square. Despite Greek and Roman beginnings, Trogir was destroyed in the 12th century. Most of the historic old city dates from the 13th century forward. The Historic City of Trogir was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997. Zadar was a Roman town, though its origins date further back than that. Its history since Medieval times has largely been influenced by Italy, especially by the Venetian Republic. Despite being a heavily contested site throughout history, Roman ruins remain standing in Zadar as do pre-Romanesque and Romanesque churches. From Zadar, we turned inland, crossing the rough-hewn Dinaric Alps on the way to Plitvice Lakes ... read more

Now we would travel north along the Dalamatian coast from Dubrovnik to Split. The journey was via an ocean-going ferry, Liburnija, operated by Jadrolinija. A clamshell bow opened to admit cars and trucks. A long queue of cars awaited loading at Gruž, the Durbrovnik port. The upper deck of the ship was packed with sunseekers all in, shall we say brief, swimsuits, like the Lido Deck on a contemporary cruise ship, except there was no swimming pool. Wearing street clothes, one felt overdressed here! The first stop on the coastal ferry was at Korcula island. The walled town was known as Corcyra Nigra in Roman times and as Curzola in the Venetian and Austrian periods. It was an interesting Medieval looking town, with a cathedral in the center and fortified wall overlooking the harbor entrance. Marco ... read more

Dubrovnik, the "Pearl of the Adriatic" is, of course, attractive for its walls and the medieval city they contain. I spent much time up on the ramparts, circumnavigating the entire wall around Dubrovnik. One one side of the ramparts, one views the Adriatic, on the other, the streets and alleys of the old town. At each turn was glimpse into a scene out of the past. Our hotel, the Hotel Excelsior, had a lovely terrace right on the Adriatic with a view north to Dubrovnik. We also rode the Dubrovnik Cable Car (aerial tramway) up to the top of Mount Srd above Dubrovnik. The walled city clearly stood out here. There were also scenic views up and down the Adriatic coast. The Old City of Dubrovnik was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.... read more

I knew of Sarajevo as the place where World War I was touched off by Gavrilo's Princip's assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914. Princip was a Serb desiring the unification of the Balkan states. (Bosnia and Herzegovinga, where Sarajevo is located, wanted independence from Austria-Hungary, but not union with Serbia and the other Balkan states.) The assassination was considered by Yugoslavia in the Communist era to have been a protest against the occupation of Bosnia by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A commemorative plaque was installed in 1953 by Communist Yugoslavia (pictured). The plaque stood at the street corner where Princip took his shot. Previous Austrian commemorative plaques had existed since 1914. Also on the corner were bronze shoeprints to show where Princip stood. It amazed me how narrow the street was. He must have shot Franz ... read more