Note to self- dont pack so damn much.
While my backpack could have probably held more, I realize that 1 dress shirt and 1 less pair of pants would have sufficed. I deliberately did not bring jeans since they are heavy and take forever to dry after a good rainstorm- and we hit a few of those.
Shoes are a pain in the ass, but there was an absolute need for everything I took. Rockports with corrective insoles covered me for much of the trip but while they were drying, cross trainers filled the void on parts of the road where Mephisto sandals would have shredded my feet. Flip flops for kayaking and really wet days on cobblestones rounded things out.
Toys- Olympus E510. with wide angle zoom and telephoto have been my "go to" cameras for 6 years. Viewfinder when its is too bright to use the backscreen and multiple settings for various light conditions. 2 small backups- a FujiFinepix for general use- easily straps to waist and shoots 1020 video as well as Olympus waterproof- great for heavy rain and dumping into water when least expected,
Everything backs up to an ASUS tablet with 64G of memory on board with a further backup to google's cloud storage.
Still fighting with cut and paste issues for blog updates when travelling on buses with no net services.Current word like programs seem to be missing cut and paste when transfering to other formats like blogger. And yes, while I do have some exacting standards for toys, there are other things I miss when being on the road.
My accomodations need to be big enough for me and my bag to fit in the room simultaneously. The bathroom sink should not bruise my knees when I sit on the toilet. The A/C should not be "it worked fine for the last guest" nor should the TV have 5 german channels and 1 english. And please can it be BBC World news rather than CNN.
In Dubrovnik one channel offered a fixed camera view of the main street in the old city, complete with bats trying to bomb the camera at 11:30 at night- yes I was bored!!The only other option was a Kurasawa Samarai film spoken in Japanese and subtitled in Croation or a US reality show dubbed into the same!
I miss brocolli- had it once the entire trip. I did see a carrot on more than one occasion as well as several grilled peppers. I do even recall- or maybe it was a dream- a couple of sticks of asparagus in Budapest. Sadly I also recall daily doses of egg-plant. Eggplant has the texture of zuchini that has been left in the bottom of the vegetable compartment of the fridge for a month. like an old cucumber that explodes as it hits the side of the compost container!
Potatoes are fine, but mixed with chard every effing night? You have to be kidding.
And yes, like most North Americans, I am an internet junkie, so it pisses me off that hotels promote "free" WiFi but dont actually make the effort to provide a service that is faster than "dial-up" Travel companions can be an asset or sometimes just an ass. The current group was sort of middle of the road with some really great people, and some not so great.For the sake of peace and quite, that is as much as I will say on the subject.
A rough count tells me I have hit some 55 countries and a couple of hundred major cities in the course of my travels. I know people who have rarely left the province of Ontario and who consider a trip to Toronto an epic adventure.
I think my philosophy on travel hangs somewhere between the lines attributed to Ghandi:" learn as thoughyou would live for ever, life as though you would die tomorrow." But I like the way Warren Zevon said it best " I'll sleep when I'm dead!"
Sunday, September 14, 2014
vienna- what else is there to say?
Serbian Airlines made the trip 2 Vienna in 2 stages, Split to Belgrade in just under an hour- during which time they served a decent sandwich, coffee and bottled water- (Air Canada and Westjet charge for that privilege!) The Belgrade to Vienna run was 2 hours long- turboprop-I didn't think anyone had those any more, again a sandwich, no coffee this time, but a choice of juices. Customs was a breeze and the trip to downtown was a 20 minute bus ride through, judging by the smell, a coal gas plant and industrial area- hard to tell since it was dark.
The hotel was a 15 minute walk from the bus stop- thank God for GPS. AllYouNeed Hotel Vienna2 looked like a student dorm and the room itself an Ikea display complete with Billi shelving and wardrobes.
A quick breakfast this morning and then touring St Stephen's Cathedral by 10am- perhaps the most magnificent building I have ever seen.
A walk through the downtown core brought me to the Museum area for a tour of the Kunst Historisches Museum. Featuring artworks from well known European painters from the 15th century on, this palatial building needed a full afternoon to see completely. As an extra the ticket also included the Neue Berg Museum too. Featuring a whole section devoted to Ephesus as well as Medieval armour and musical instruments, this again was a visit requiring several hours, although we settled for just one- all our tired feet would allow.
A slow walk through various parks and squares brought us back to the hotel for a quick rest before supper.
Clearly Vienna requires a good week to see properly-the two days I allowed will barely offer a taste of some of the key sights and the rest will have to wait for another visit.
Thursday,
Pissing down rain left any plans to see the world on hold. A trip by metro to the Schonbrunn Palace with its 1441 rooms allowed a brief glimpse of how the other half lived- from what the audio guide told us- rather miserably and obsessively!!
Lunch was back at the hotel- take out from a local diner- while my clothing dried a bit.
A stab at a final photo -op of various churches and the Parliament and Rathaus ( town hall) turned me into a semi drowned rat, leaving plans for Vienna a total washout!
A trip to Vienna could not be complete without a taste of local food so dinner at a small local beer hall/ restaurant was Wiener Scnitzel ( made with real veal) potato salad and red cabbage. Dessert was plum dumpling- a whole plum smothered in a light dough and covered with plum jam. Not neccessarily the perfect end, but a fitting end to the trip.
The hotel was a 15 minute walk from the bus stop- thank God for GPS. AllYouNeed Hotel Vienna2 looked like a student dorm and the room itself an Ikea display complete with Billi shelving and wardrobes.
A quick breakfast this morning and then touring St Stephen's Cathedral by 10am- perhaps the most magnificent building I have ever seen.
A walk through the downtown core brought me to the Museum area for a tour of the Kunst Historisches Museum. Featuring artworks from well known European painters from the 15th century on, this palatial building needed a full afternoon to see completely. As an extra the ticket also included the Neue Berg Museum too. Featuring a whole section devoted to Ephesus as well as Medieval armour and musical instruments, this again was a visit requiring several hours, although we settled for just one- all our tired feet would allow.
A slow walk through various parks and squares brought us back to the hotel for a quick rest before supper.
Clearly Vienna requires a good week to see properly-the two days I allowed will barely offer a taste of some of the key sights and the rest will have to wait for another visit.
Thursday,
Pissing down rain left any plans to see the world on hold. A trip by metro to the Schonbrunn Palace with its 1441 rooms allowed a brief glimpse of how the other half lived- from what the audio guide told us- rather miserably and obsessively!!
Lunch was back at the hotel- take out from a local diner- while my clothing dried a bit.
A stab at a final photo -op of various churches and the Parliament and Rathaus ( town hall) turned me into a semi drowned rat, leaving plans for Vienna a total washout!
A trip to Vienna could not be complete without a taste of local food so dinner at a small local beer hall/ restaurant was Wiener Scnitzel ( made with real veal) potato salad and red cabbage. Dessert was plum dumpling- a whole plum smothered in a light dough and covered with plum jam. Not neccessarily the perfect end, but a fitting end to the trip.
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| View from Cathedral tower- Vienna |
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| Memorial to Jewish people of Vienna who died during WWII |
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| Parliament Building- Vienna |
Monday, September 8, 2014
Split- Croatia
Monday September 8th,
The last full day before we return to Vienna. We arrived in Split Saturday afternoon and had a brief tour of the main old city accompanied by a local guide. The key structure is the Palace of Dioclecian, a Roman Emperor from late 3rd-early 4th centuryA.D. Originally located with its main wall running along the ocean, it is now several yards inland due to reclamation. Occupying 190 X 160 meters it was the emperor's private residence containing private living quarters, a large forum, temple to Jupiter and various other structures. A large mausoleum housing his remains was later converted to a Church ( he had a great dislike of Christianity and often punished it's converts) Much of the palace has been converted over the years into private residences, restaurants and hotels.A large bell tower, adjacent to the mausoleum provides a very impressive panorama of the city, if one dares ascend the many steep stone stairs and later on a set of steel steps to the top.
While the palace is reasonably preserved, the city that the Romans built, some 4 miles away is largely reduced to building foundations only. Salona was once the principal Roman city in the area, with the Palace, simply a summer residence. While much remains of the palace, the city has been left mostly untouched since it was destroyed by warring tribes in the 5th century.
An ampitheatre is the largest structure remaining at the far west of this extensive site.Other structures of interest are the foundations of various churches and a basilica. In one area several well preserved stone sarcophagi seem to have been randomly arranged around the foundations of what is described as an "Episcopal Centre" from the 4th and 5th centuries.
Perhaps as interesting as the ruins was the ride there by city bus. By the time we paid our fare there ws little room to squeeze through the crowded bus. Three stops later the driver appeared to be attempting a Guiness world record. A small woman of perhaps 80's vintage was yelling and pushing her way onto the bus, presumably cussing in Croatian for people to let her through. Voices were raised in response but ultimately she found herself some space in the middle of the bus where she ranted for a minute or two longer. Interestingly no-one seemed willing to offer up their seats for her or anyone else. The bus remained packed until we reached the modern day town of Solin, where 90% of the passengers piled out, finally leaving us some elbow room for the remaining half mile to the ruins.
Returning to town we stopped at a place claiming to be Billi's Fast Food where we waited over an hour for a small pizza and a small meat plate!
With the temperature in the mid twenties, the humidy seems rather oppressive today,so this afternoon a beer and a siesta, before heading out for the evening with the remaining members of our group who are lingering in Spalato ( Split's original Roman name) for a few more days.
Photos will be posted from Belgium, where, presumably internet will not be as slow as dial-up!!!
The last full day before we return to Vienna. We arrived in Split Saturday afternoon and had a brief tour of the main old city accompanied by a local guide. The key structure is the Palace of Dioclecian, a Roman Emperor from late 3rd-early 4th centuryA.D. Originally located with its main wall running along the ocean, it is now several yards inland due to reclamation. Occupying 190 X 160 meters it was the emperor's private residence containing private living quarters, a large forum, temple to Jupiter and various other structures. A large mausoleum housing his remains was later converted to a Church ( he had a great dislike of Christianity and often punished it's converts) Much of the palace has been converted over the years into private residences, restaurants and hotels.A large bell tower, adjacent to the mausoleum provides a very impressive panorama of the city, if one dares ascend the many steep stone stairs and later on a set of steel steps to the top.
While the palace is reasonably preserved, the city that the Romans built, some 4 miles away is largely reduced to building foundations only. Salona was once the principal Roman city in the area, with the Palace, simply a summer residence. While much remains of the palace, the city has been left mostly untouched since it was destroyed by warring tribes in the 5th century.
An ampitheatre is the largest structure remaining at the far west of this extensive site.Other structures of interest are the foundations of various churches and a basilica. In one area several well preserved stone sarcophagi seem to have been randomly arranged around the foundations of what is described as an "Episcopal Centre" from the 4th and 5th centuries.
Perhaps as interesting as the ruins was the ride there by city bus. By the time we paid our fare there ws little room to squeeze through the crowded bus. Three stops later the driver appeared to be attempting a Guiness world record. A small woman of perhaps 80's vintage was yelling and pushing her way onto the bus, presumably cussing in Croatian for people to let her through. Voices were raised in response but ultimately she found herself some space in the middle of the bus where she ranted for a minute or two longer. Interestingly no-one seemed willing to offer up their seats for her or anyone else. The bus remained packed until we reached the modern day town of Solin, where 90% of the passengers piled out, finally leaving us some elbow room for the remaining half mile to the ruins.
Returning to town we stopped at a place claiming to be Billi's Fast Food where we waited over an hour for a small pizza and a small meat plate!
With the temperature in the mid twenties, the humidy seems rather oppressive today,so this afternoon a beer and a siesta, before heading out for the evening with the remaining members of our group who are lingering in Spalato ( Split's original Roman name) for a few more days.
Photos will be posted from Belgium, where, presumably internet will not be as slow as dial-up!!!
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Hvar the hell are we????
Friday ( I think?) night in Croatia and we are spending our second night in Hvar, an island due south from Split ( an hour by ferry)
As if being on an island in the Adriatic isn't enough, we took a 4 hour boat ride so we could travel to other islands in the adriatic where we swam, sheltered from a 2 hour pissing down rain storm and ate a reasonable lunch in the shelter of a bay on the island of Palmizana (almost like the cheese with a funny accent like a v over the z!)
The main town of Hvar is has roots going back several thousand years. A fortress overlooking the town dates back to< I'm guessing here- 15th century. Architecture in town is a mix of Venitian and Moorish with ornate arched windows and doorways. The fortress walls in the lower part of town are barely visible as they have been blended into the walls of homes and commercial buildings. A main street is reminiscent of Dubrovnik , though somewhat narrower and shorter.
The harbour is home to small wooden fishing boats as well as a temorary shelter for million dollar ( and much more) yachts and multi decked cruisers. 80% of the real estate near the water seems to be occupied by restaurants that are offering the same cookie cutter menu as everyone else. Prices are quite steep too with the average dish topping out at 25-30 Euro.
Luckily our guide steered us to a place a little distance from the town centre offering great food at more reasonable prices. Going by the name of Alviz, it isn't owned by a Croatian Elvis impersonator but by a family who all work in the joint. Boasting of food grilled over charcoal and some amazing looking pizza, it was packed, with about half the people locals. I am reluctant to rate it on tripadvisor in case I spoil a good thing. Entire meal including drinks came to 171k. which is less than the price of a single appetizer at some of the waterfront places.
A slow, relaxing walk back to the hotel then the stress of dealing with the joy of packing wet clothing and towels for our return to Split in the morning.
An early start tomorrow will bring us to Split, where the G Adventures part of the trip ends. Two more days in town on our own before we begin our slow return to Canada.
As if being on an island in the Adriatic isn't enough, we took a 4 hour boat ride so we could travel to other islands in the adriatic where we swam, sheltered from a 2 hour pissing down rain storm and ate a reasonable lunch in the shelter of a bay on the island of Palmizana (almost like the cheese with a funny accent like a v over the z!)
The main town of Hvar is has roots going back several thousand years. A fortress overlooking the town dates back to< I'm guessing here- 15th century. Architecture in town is a mix of Venitian and Moorish with ornate arched windows and doorways. The fortress walls in the lower part of town are barely visible as they have been blended into the walls of homes and commercial buildings. A main street is reminiscent of Dubrovnik , though somewhat narrower and shorter.
The harbour is home to small wooden fishing boats as well as a temorary shelter for million dollar ( and much more) yachts and multi decked cruisers. 80% of the real estate near the water seems to be occupied by restaurants that are offering the same cookie cutter menu as everyone else. Prices are quite steep too with the average dish topping out at 25-30 Euro.
Luckily our guide steered us to a place a little distance from the town centre offering great food at more reasonable prices. Going by the name of Alviz, it isn't owned by a Croatian Elvis impersonator but by a family who all work in the joint. Boasting of food grilled over charcoal and some amazing looking pizza, it was packed, with about half the people locals. I am reluctant to rate it on tripadvisor in case I spoil a good thing. Entire meal including drinks came to 171k. which is less than the price of a single appetizer at some of the waterfront places.
A slow, relaxing walk back to the hotel then the stress of dealing with the joy of packing wet clothing and towels for our return to Split in the morning.
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| Abandoned church near fortress overlooking Hvar harbour |
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| Boats at sunset- Hvar harbour |
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| Main square and cathedral- Hvar |
Friday, September 5, 2014
Dubrovnik- Day 2
Never take shelter in a tunnel when it is raining!!!!
This morning we set off with the best of inyentions- to see all the sites in Dubrovnik that we had missed yesterday. Things started off fine- a walk over and up to Fort Lovrjenac- a stone fortress outside of the old city walls which is, apparently used in the filming of Game of Thrones. Then a trip by cablecar brought us to the top of Srj mountain and the old napoleonic fortress. Inside the fortress, a display of photos and memorabilia from the 1991/2 seige of the city by Serbian and Montenegran military proved a sad and moving history lesson.
Wanting to get some photos of the city from different viewpoints, we chose to walk down the mountain rather than returning via the cablecar. This proved to be a rather strenuous zig zag over broken rock, pebbles and sand which took much longer than planned due to the rain damage from the massive storm on Monday.
Thunder cracked loudly overhead and a storm could be seen rolling in from the south before we reached ground level. The rain began just as we reached the edge of the trail, turning quickly into a major downpour forcing us to take shelter under some evergreens for several minutes.
A mad dash across the road allowed us to seek shelter in and follow the path of a road tunnel leading towards the old town. Approaching the end of the tunnel where another couple was also sheltering, we heard a squeeling of brakes and looked back to see a mini-van slide out of control before jumping the kerb and smashing into the tunnel wall. We checked that the driver was OK then made a further series of dashes towards the old town, ducking into shelter where we could. Arriving on the mainstreet almost totally soaked, we purchased an umbrella (for next time!) then a quick meal before hopping a bus back to the hotel.
With any plans to see the rest of the city totally kaiboched by the continuing rain, Dubrovnik is clearly on the radar for another visit in a year or two.
A 7:15 departure this morning left us, little time to dry our clothing before catching a public bus to Split for our boat ride to the island of Hvar.
This morning we set off with the best of inyentions- to see all the sites in Dubrovnik that we had missed yesterday. Things started off fine- a walk over and up to Fort Lovrjenac- a stone fortress outside of the old city walls which is, apparently used in the filming of Game of Thrones. Then a trip by cablecar brought us to the top of Srj mountain and the old napoleonic fortress. Inside the fortress, a display of photos and memorabilia from the 1991/2 seige of the city by Serbian and Montenegran military proved a sad and moving history lesson.
Wanting to get some photos of the city from different viewpoints, we chose to walk down the mountain rather than returning via the cablecar. This proved to be a rather strenuous zig zag over broken rock, pebbles and sand which took much longer than planned due to the rain damage from the massive storm on Monday.
Thunder cracked loudly overhead and a storm could be seen rolling in from the south before we reached ground level. The rain began just as we reached the edge of the trail, turning quickly into a major downpour forcing us to take shelter under some evergreens for several minutes.
A mad dash across the road allowed us to seek shelter in and follow the path of a road tunnel leading towards the old town. Approaching the end of the tunnel where another couple was also sheltering, we heard a squeeling of brakes and looked back to see a mini-van slide out of control before jumping the kerb and smashing into the tunnel wall. We checked that the driver was OK then made a further series of dashes towards the old town, ducking into shelter where we could. Arriving on the mainstreet almost totally soaked, we purchased an umbrella (for next time!) then a quick meal before hopping a bus back to the hotel.
With any plans to see the rest of the city totally kaiboched by the continuing rain, Dubrovnik is clearly on the radar for another visit in a year or two.
A 7:15 departure this morning left us, little time to dry our clothing before catching a public bus to Split for our boat ride to the island of Hvar.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Dubrovnik- Day 1
Tonight we are in the Hotel Moskow in Dubrovnik. It's actually the Hotel Adriatic, but it was clearly built during the Soviet era- cement walls, very basic furniture and rather steire in appearance. Rated a 2 star, which is probably a stretch, it is home for the next 2 days. Across the road is a "beach" consisting of pebbles rather tha sand.
After extremely heavy rain yesterday, the water is mirky and the water coming out of the tap is brown.
The trip from Kotortook almost 3 hours due to a lengthy stop at the border. Apparently one of the major routes for drug trafficking and smuggling in general, customs officers were giving several vehicles a total search unlike anything I have seen elsewhere. They didn't rip out the seats but they clearly didn't plan on missing anything. Luckily our vehicle wasn't pulled over for inspection.
Afte checking in and grabbing a quick lunch our tour leader took us to the old walled city where we met a local guide for a tour of the main buildings.
Following that we took the obligatory walk around the walls of the city. Roughly 2km in length the walk provided an incredible view across the old city with its red tiled roofs and various churches and towers.
The sun was setting as we completed the walk and descended several dozen steps to the ground.
We almost managed to make it to our chosen restaurant before the skies opened up and the rain began to pour, so our planned dinner on a balcony overlooking the Adriatic turned into a dinner inside, overlooking the kitchen.
Intermitent rain is forcast for tomorrow and for the balance of the week. Let's hope the forecast is wrong on that one.
After extremely heavy rain yesterday, the water is mirky and the water coming out of the tap is brown.
The trip from Kotortook almost 3 hours due to a lengthy stop at the border. Apparently one of the major routes for drug trafficking and smuggling in general, customs officers were giving several vehicles a total search unlike anything I have seen elsewhere. They didn't rip out the seats but they clearly didn't plan on missing anything. Luckily our vehicle wasn't pulled over for inspection.
Afte checking in and grabbing a quick lunch our tour leader took us to the old walled city where we met a local guide for a tour of the main buildings.
Following that we took the obligatory walk around the walls of the city. Roughly 2km in length the walk provided an incredible view across the old city with its red tiled roofs and various churches and towers.
The sun was setting as we completed the walk and descended several dozen steps to the ground.
We almost managed to make it to our chosen restaurant before the skies opened up and the rain began to pour, so our planned dinner on a balcony overlooking the Adriatic turned into a dinner inside, overlooking the kitchen.
Intermitent rain is forcast for tomorrow and for the balance of the week. Let's hope the forecast is wrong on that one.
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| Dubrovnik , as seen from the walk down from the fortress |
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Washed out, but not wasted
The promised rain and thunderstorms failed to materialize on Sunday, allowing us to spend the morning enjoying a pleasant but tiring 3 hours kayaking in the Bay of Kotor.
The afternoon was spent having lunch and walking around the town of Budva, located directly on the Adriatic a half hour taxi ride south of Kotor. Apparently having a better night life than Kotor, it boasts of attracting movie and music stars from around the globe.
Like Kotor, the main attraction was the old city, similarly surrounded by old stone walls and consisting of a maze of streets filled with tourists. In restrospect, we could have saved the taxi fare and stayed in town, but it gave us a break from all the cruise ship passangers flooding the town.
In the evening a hike up to the castle ruins overlooking the town proved an exhausting but revearding challenge as it afforded a magnificent view of the town and the eastern part of the bay.
between the churchbells and the thunderstorm crashing around us there was no possibility of sleeping late. As we enjoyed a rather lazy breakfast we watched the streets fill with water as cruise ship tourists ran to shelter from the rainstorm.
The weather broke around 9:30am allowing us to escape the hotel and pick up wine, cheeseand snacks from the local supermarket.
The rain held off during an afternoon boatride to a couple of small islands near the mouth of the bay and we had a half hour to explore a small island on which is located the Church of Our Lady of the Rock ( Gospo od Skrpjela). First commenced in 1452 the island was built over the next 200 years by adding rocks to an existing reef, upon which the church was then built. Filled with a treasure trove of silver plate, stone carvings, various paintings and frescoes, the ! Euro admission was a real bargain.
A further stop at the adjacent town of Perast provided some interesting photo ops. before we returned to Kotor.
The return trip brought us smack into the middle of a major thunderstorm so the ride was rather bumpy with waves breaking over the boat and water pouring in from the sides. By the time we completed the 30 minute trip back to Kotor the storm had broken and the sun was trying to break through. The Cunard cruise ship, the Queen Elizabeth was just preparing to set sail,its 2000+ passengers probably happy to get back on board and change out of their wet clothing.
At 7pm we are debating the our dining options for the evening. As 80% of the restaurants are mostly outside seating, our choices may be limited by the weather.
An 8am start is planned for tomorrow. If everything goes according to plan, we will be in Dubrovnik in plenty of time for lunch.
The afternoon was spent having lunch and walking around the town of Budva, located directly on the Adriatic a half hour taxi ride south of Kotor. Apparently having a better night life than Kotor, it boasts of attracting movie and music stars from around the globe.
Like Kotor, the main attraction was the old city, similarly surrounded by old stone walls and consisting of a maze of streets filled with tourists. In restrospect, we could have saved the taxi fare and stayed in town, but it gave us a break from all the cruise ship passangers flooding the town.
In the evening a hike up to the castle ruins overlooking the town proved an exhausting but revearding challenge as it afforded a magnificent view of the town and the eastern part of the bay.
between the churchbells and the thunderstorm crashing around us there was no possibility of sleeping late. As we enjoyed a rather lazy breakfast we watched the streets fill with water as cruise ship tourists ran to shelter from the rainstorm.
The weather broke around 9:30am allowing us to escape the hotel and pick up wine, cheeseand snacks from the local supermarket.
The rain held off during an afternoon boatride to a couple of small islands near the mouth of the bay and we had a half hour to explore a small island on which is located the Church of Our Lady of the Rock ( Gospo od Skrpjela). First commenced in 1452 the island was built over the next 200 years by adding rocks to an existing reef, upon which the church was then built. Filled with a treasure trove of silver plate, stone carvings, various paintings and frescoes, the ! Euro admission was a real bargain.
A further stop at the adjacent town of Perast provided some interesting photo ops. before we returned to Kotor.
The return trip brought us smack into the middle of a major thunderstorm so the ride was rather bumpy with waves breaking over the boat and water pouring in from the sides. By the time we completed the 30 minute trip back to Kotor the storm had broken and the sun was trying to break through. The Cunard cruise ship, the Queen Elizabeth was just preparing to set sail,its 2000+ passengers probably happy to get back on board and change out of their wet clothing.
At 7pm we are debating the our dining options for the evening. As 80% of the restaurants are mostly outside seating, our choices may be limited by the weather.
An 8am start is planned for tomorrow. If everything goes according to plan, we will be in Dubrovnik in plenty of time for lunch.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Sarajevo to Kotar
Leaving the old city of Sarajevo by private bus, we quickly passed through the western side of the modern city, drab apartment blocks and elaborate commercial buildings, before heading south west towards Montenegro.
With three possible routes available to us, I wasn't sure why the driver selected the chosen path, shortest? most scenic? or scariest - perhaps all 3.
The road followed a meandering path along the sides of some rugged and rather steep hills that were mostly covered in evergreens. Reaching a town called Foca, about an hour from the border, the road began to narrow considerably as it wound higher up the slopes of a rather rugged mountain range. Severl hundred feet below. a river rushed in roughly the same direction. Occasionally we would pass small homesteads bordered by low stone walls and fences, the owners working the small plots of land. Cows wandered freely, causing the driver to take evasive action on more than one occcasion.
At bends the road narrowed to the point that vehicles had to pull over for opposing traffic.
We reached the border around noon. Several border guards sipped tea and read newspapers in the shade of their "portables" After about 10 minutes we entered Montenegro via a somewhat rusted Bailey bridge. Beside it two cement arches marked the remains of the former bridge- destroyed by flood or force of man??
After a similar stop on the Montenegro side we continued our journey.
The road widened and the hills and mountains around us grew taller as we proceeded towards the Piva River Canyon. The road gradually rose higher as we continued along the canyon, the river far below a bright blue snake, winding its way southwest. Eventually the canyon was traversed by a large cement dam. Behind it the river rose several hundred feet as it widened a similar amount. We followed this manmade waterway for several miles before the road broke away from the rivers edge and climbed again higher.
It wasn't till almost 4pm that we finally saw the sea, or more precisely
A quick exploratory walk found us almost, but not quite lost in the maze of old stone buildings and squares.
Dinner tonight was grilled squid at a very small seafood restaurant hidden down one of the side streets. Considerably more expensive than Bosnia and Serbia, the meal still worked out at $26 Euro for the two of us- still cheap by Canadian standards
(approx $40.00 including wine and tip)
Heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow or Monday- hopefully it will break the rather uncomfortable humidity that is present.
The plan is to be here for 3 nights before heading to Dubrovnik, a place that is (according to people at an adjacent table at the restaurant) wall to wall tourists. Our tour guide assured us that there wont be any cruise ships visiting while we are there so that is a comforting thought to sign off with.
With three possible routes available to us, I wasn't sure why the driver selected the chosen path, shortest? most scenic? or scariest - perhaps all 3.
The road followed a meandering path along the sides of some rugged and rather steep hills that were mostly covered in evergreens. Reaching a town called Foca, about an hour from the border, the road began to narrow considerably as it wound higher up the slopes of a rather rugged mountain range. Severl hundred feet below. a river rushed in roughly the same direction. Occasionally we would pass small homesteads bordered by low stone walls and fences, the owners working the small plots of land. Cows wandered freely, causing the driver to take evasive action on more than one occcasion.
At bends the road narrowed to the point that vehicles had to pull over for opposing traffic.
We reached the border around noon. Several border guards sipped tea and read newspapers in the shade of their "portables" After about 10 minutes we entered Montenegro via a somewhat rusted Bailey bridge. Beside it two cement arches marked the remains of the former bridge- destroyed by flood or force of man??
After a similar stop on the Montenegro side we continued our journey.
The road widened and the hills and mountains around us grew taller as we proceeded towards the Piva River Canyon. The road gradually rose higher as we continued along the canyon, the river far below a bright blue snake, winding its way southwest. Eventually the canyon was traversed by a large cement dam. Behind it the river rose several hundred feet as it widened a similar amount. We followed this manmade waterway for several miles before the road broke away from the rivers edge and climbed again higher.
It wasn't till almost 4pm that we finally saw the sea, or more precisely
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| Piva River Canyon from bridge |
the Bay of Kotor some 4 miles distant and several hundred feet below. A slow and winding decent brought us to the waters edge and we followed the road along the entire bay, eventually arriving at the ancient town of Kotor around 4.45pm.
Our accomodations, the Hotel Marija is located within the old city walls. Less than half a km across, the old city is roughly a triangle with dozens of narrow streets scattered in all directions.A quick exploratory walk found us almost, but not quite lost in the maze of old stone buildings and squares.
Dinner tonight was grilled squid at a very small seafood restaurant hidden down one of the side streets. Considerably more expensive than Bosnia and Serbia, the meal still worked out at $26 Euro for the two of us- still cheap by Canadian standards
(approx $40.00 including wine and tip)
Heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow or Monday- hopefully it will break the rather uncomfortable humidity that is present.
The plan is to be here for 3 nights before heading to Dubrovnik, a place that is (according to people at an adjacent table at the restaurant) wall to wall tourists. Our tour guide assured us that there wont be any cruise ships visiting while we are there so that is a comforting thought to sign off with.
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