Day 1 - Dubrovnik
I arrived in Dubrovnik in the early afternoon. I’ve been travelling solo for 4 weeks now, but today I will join some fellow travellers on an organised tour from Croatia to Italy. The full itinerary includes Dubrovnik, Split, Zagreb, Plitvice Lakes, Ljubljana (Slovenia), Bled (Slovenia) and Venice. It will take around 9 days, so if everything goes to plan I will be in Venice next Saturday. It is my first experience of a group tour and I am quite looking forward to it. At the very least it will break up my solo travel and it will be nice to hand over the planning and logistics to an organised tour guide!
We are staying in a decent hotel in Dubrovnik so it is a good start :)
When I arrived, I found out that my roommate was already here - I will be sharing a room with him for the entirety of this tour.
He is another Londoner and despite having the journey from hell, he was keen to get out and see Dubrovnik. I on the other hand wanted a bit of time to organise my gear and settle in. Our hotel is near the port which would come handy later, but it also means a 35 minute walk into the old town.
We do have a nice view though:
I did a bit of unpacking before venturing out into the old town. It wasn't the easiest walk given the weather and the hills were an unwelcome surprise, but it's definitely worth persevering as the old town is incredible. There are "old towns” and then there is Dubrovnik's old town! It's pretty special. Everywhere you look is a photo opportunity. There are narrow cobbled streets which wind in and out of the labyrinth-esque town, a beautiful harbour which allows you to admire the picturesque Dalmatian coast, and at the edge of the town you can follow the city walls and peek at the medieval Forts which have been strengthened since the middle ages. Somehow this European city has preserved its medieval look, I think the 13th century city walls are probably the most impressive feature of the old town. There can not be a walled city like this anywhere else in the world.
I explored as much of the town as I could before it was time to head back to the hotel for the group meeting. Tomorrow is a “free day” so we can choose what activities to do. At the moment I am leaning towards a walking tour if possible.
Our first evening we went to traditional Croatian restaurant near the hotel. I started to get to know my fellow travellers and there is quite a mix of characters. We have 3 Americans and 4 Brits (including myself) so 7 in total which is actually a modest sized group - I am sure we are going to have a lot of fun together!
Day 2 - Dubrovnik
Today is Good Friday. Normally I would be at home with my family but this year I am in sunny Dubrovnik :)
It is the only full day we have here, so I wanted to maximise the whole day by starting early. Fortunately my roommate was of the same disposition so we both got ready early. We had a rough plan, which was to set out for the old town first thing to find a free Game of Thrones walking tour - all the tours start at 10am. However this proved more challenging that one would assume as the meeting point for walking tours is in a small exceptionally busy square. It was impossible to tell which tour guides were offering what tours or whether they were free or paid. We just about managed to join a tour before it began which was lucky because we were 10 minutes late!
I was in two minds about which walking tour to do but in the end opted for a fictional history tour rather than a historical one. This may seem strange for a casual GoT fan, but I really felt it was something that needed to be done whilst I was here in Dubrovnik. I also learnt that R.R Martin was at least partly inspired by Dubrovnik's medieval history when writing his books. For example, he incorporated the city’s reputation of being a spy hub in Europe. There is a scene filmed on the city walls with Vaeris and Tyrion discussing his little birds (child spy network), which mirrors Dubrovnik’s real network of spies in the middle ages. Apart from these little titbits, the tour was mostly enjoyable fluff. It was an opportunity to visit the famous locations with a tour guide who held up the still pictures from the TV show in order for everyone to recognise which scenes were filmed where and he also pointed out which bits were CGI vs real. I could not understand why CGI was used, the Forts are amazing already. Our tour guide was good though, very knowledgeable and he offered to take pictures for people if they wanted to recreate the scenes.
After the tour it was pretty much lunchtime so we went to the Harbour to grab lunch. I chose the vegetarian pasta dish so that I could fuel up for the city walls walk later (I had been warned about the number of steps). The food did the job, I wouldn’t say it was anything special.
As my roommate had already completed the city walls the previous evening, I would be on my own this afternoon. I started at the edge of the old town and walked my way around to find a starting point. It turns out there were many places from where you can climb the city walls, but I started from the entrance into the old town. For anyone attempting the city walls I have some cautionary advice. Make sure you wear comfy shoes! There are a ton of steps, more than you think…
However, for me, I found that the views were a perfect distraction from constant ups and downs, in fact, I would recommend taking your time and stopping for a breather every now then to enjoy the view.
The walls are part of a large outer perimeter for the old town, in length they stretch almost 2000 metres, so it is a nearly 2km walk non-stop. One of my highlights was finding this excellent vantage point at the top of an old Fort, where you can see the whole town:
This type of view is what you normally see in the tourism brochures. It is a marvel to see the level of uniformity on show here, every house has red painted brick slated roof, with slight variations in shade, but it is quintessential Dubrovnik.
For the evening I made plans to meet up with the group to go for dinner. We were going to get the cable car at around 18:30 to a restaurant that provides a 360 degree view of Dubrovnik and sunset dinners. We arrived it a little later than but were extremely lucky to get a table for 4 with this view:
The food was particularly good and we were even allowed to leave the table to get a closer view of the sunset before our mains arrived :)
Our first proper evening in Dubrovnik ended with a trip to one of the Irish bars in the old town which had live music and a chilled out vibe. This was a pleasant end to a long, but productive day.
Day 3 - Dubrovnik/Split
It was our final day in Dubrovnik and our guide had told us the plan for morning. We are to get a public bus to Split which may take 4-6 hours, including crossing through Bosnia border en route. My roommate and I had discussed with the tour guide the option of getting a ferry to Split to provide us more time in Dubrovnik, and once we had signed some papers we were allowed to diverge from the group to get an evening ferry to Split. The advantage of this plan was that we could go kayaking in the morning and then have a more relaxed day in Dubrovnik, catching the ferry which got us into Split around 9pm. The only downside was less time in Split as we would arrive late in the evening and the next day we were planning to visit the Krka waterfalls. In hindsight, it was the right call because I really enjoyed the kayaking and ferry trip was pretty pleasant.
For kayaking we had a small group (just 3 of us and the guide) and we managed to kayak around the coast of Dubrovnik and near Lokrum island. It was my first time kayaking and I quite enjoyed it once I got the hang of it. It did get rather windy so I can assure it did not feel quite as tranquil in the boat. However the views of the city walls and island were really good and it was a clear day. We only had one stop at a cave to relax and fuel up before completing our round trip back to the bay.
After the kayaking we had some time to chill out at the hotel before making our way to the port which was opposite the hotel. The ferry itself was modest sized and pretty quick, and reminded me of the Seajets ferries in Greece. I spent the time catching up on writing and the time really flew by.
We arrived at Split in the evening, just in time for dinner and a quick night tour of the old town. It is very different from Dubrovnik, but there are some characteristics which are the same, such as the way the old and new architecture is integrated in an usual manner. One such example is the Diocletian's Palace which is the facade of the old town. The walls of this palace have been extensively reworked or extended for the shops and restaurants on the promenade, but at the same time original decaying stone architecture is preserved.
Day 4 - Krka National Park
It is Easter Sunday so our options for activities in Split are close to nothing. There was a tentative plan made to visit the Krka National Park and Waterfalls, but this was crystallised over dinner when no alternatives presented themselves. We are going to the Plitvice Lakes tomorrow, so it could be a bit samey, but I don't mind though. You can't have too much of nature!
We had a private minibus to take us to Krka in the morning and return back to Split by the afternoon. It was extremely windy in Split so we were a bit apprehensive about Krka, but we needn’t have been concerned.
We arrived at the park and it was not too busy. It did not take long before the first sight of a waterfall and I remember being awestruck, only for us to venture further on the trail to see an even more spectacular view. I felt sorry for our tour guide who was trying to keep us on schedule and taking us around the park, but we were obsessed with taking photos of the waterfalls every few minutes or trying to find the best spot for a selfie :D
It wasn't just the waterfalls which were beautiful, the surrounding ecology was also really pleasant - it's really nice to see so much green, which makes such a change to the city touring I've been doing before this trip. We took our time completing the circular walking trail before coming back to Split for lunch, which was entertaining. I really enjoyed being involved in-depth discussion about European history, politics and global events.
The last activity in Split was to go up Marjam hill for the views of Split and its Harbour. We took a slightly longer and meandering route but it was a nice view once we got to the top and it’s just a really peaceful trail. The route we had stumbled upon did make it feel like we were still in Krka:
The evening was a quiet one as we have an early start tomorrow to travel to Plitvice and then Zagreb
Day 5 - Plitvice Lakes / Zagreb
Day 5 and we are halfway through the tour already. It was an early start as we left Split in the morning to take a private transfer to Zagreb, stopping over for a few hours at the Plitvice Lakes. The Lakes are a big tourist attraction for Croatia and a protected site due to their UNESCO world heritage status. As soon as you arrive you can clearly see how this complex is different from Krka National Park, they have tried to keep it as natural as possible, nothing has been moved or changed unless for safety reasons. The only man-made elements are the walkways which are maintained regularly due to the water damage and usage. They use wood from the trees in the park to keep everything within the park’s ecosystem, and wood is the only option as it does not impact the lake's pH levels so it protects the wildlife. It's refreshing to see this level of attention and care for the environment. I also learnt that Nicola Tesla was born not that far from the lakes and used to visit regularly. I like the quote about nature which is visible when you first enter.
After reading that, I did wonder if Tesla was inspired by the waterfalls here when he made his plan to build the first hydro-electric dam in Niagara Falls.
I enjoyed the walk around the upper and lower lakes, even if it was a bit cold at times. The waterfalls were also impressive, much larger than Krka, but I think they would have been even more impressive if there was more water - the lakes and the water are always changing so it depends when you visit.
The tour now completed, we carried on our journey into Zagreb and arrived there in the early evening.
We were all very hungry and tired, so it was burgers for dinner!
I had the Avocado Vegan burger and we shared cheese on chips and truffle fries - this well earned after all the walking!
Day 6 - Zagreb
Today marks 4 weeks of travelling for me. We are on Day 6 for the Dubrovnik to Venice tour and there are no planned activities today - it’s another “free” day. I went down to breakfast to meet the others and see if there was a plan. The weather forecast did not look good, so the consensus was to make this a museum day. Zagreb has more museums per capita than any other city in the world, and some of them are very quirky.
There were a two which stood out for me immediately; the broken relationships museum and the torture museum. Unfortunately the torture museum was closed but there were plenty of other museums to visit. A few of us got the tram into the city centre and completed a short walking tour (led by our guide).
We decided to do the chocolate museum together before everyone went their separate ways. The museum was very novel, for starters, the entrance ticket was interactive. It included samples based on the different exhibits and a "savouring" spoon. As you walk through the museum you get an opportunity to learn about the history of cacao (or cocoa) whilst sampling chocolate through the ages.
The museum covered the history of chocolate from its discovery, to modern day consumption and insight into the future. I found the early samples quite bitter with only a hint of chocolate, but it is worth noting that we totally messed up the method for eating the first sample! There were also some interesting factoids to look out for, such as M&Ms being invented for the US Army and Nutella not containing any cocoa.
The second museum on the hit list was the 80s museum and this was a lot of fun, even if it wasn’t a museum and there were quite a few items from the 70s…
I liked the concept, but clearly somebody had just decided to collect the most random selection of 70s/80s paraphernalia and spread them out into a few rooms. There was not much by way of history and it was quite small - it's basically a small apartment in which you get to peer into the different rooms. However you were allowed to touch the items and play with stuff so we got some funny pictures. The old school arcade machines with Pacman, etc were also a lot of fun.
Finally we went to the museum of Broken Relationships. It was really quirky and surprisingly engaging. I spent a lot of time reading the stories behind the items in there. I’ve always believed human stories are the most interesting and this museum is the perfect example of this. We asked the staff if anyone had broken up in the museum and it turns out even that has happened once!
This museum definitely surprised me and was probably my favourite.
The rest of the day was pretty chilled with a few of us venturing out in the rain to get dinner in town. We went to this amazing Sri Lankan restaurant which made a change from the local food (it's always good to have a break!).
Day 7 - Ljubljana
On the move again! The tour is definitely picking up pace. Today we are planning to travel from Zagreb to Ljubljana (in Slovenia) on the train. As the train is not till later (after 12pm), I was keen that we squeeze one more museum in. The consensus was the Tesla Technical Museum which is near our hostel. I was particularly excited about this museum, being a fan of Nikola Tesla. We only had maybe 2 hours or so before we had to get to the station, but in the end that was more than enough time to see the exhibits. If I am being honest, I was slightly disappointed with this museum. There was not enough Tesla on show (either the exhibits or his history). There was one small section which covered his life, family and inventions and the rest of the museum was more science-focused with all sorts of strange items including 18th century firefighting equipment, locomotives, computers, planes and mars rovers.
I did however learn that Tesla studied in Zagreb (high school), but this connection is weaker than his Serbian connection which is of course where his family are from and where he grew up. There is in fact another Nikola Tesla museum in Belgrade so I assume that one must be more Tesla-focused.
We were short on time so we did a very quick tour of the sciency stuff and then I bought a cool Tesla T-shirt from the gift shop (it glows in the dark, which is super geeky but I don’t care!).
We then made our way to the train station to join the rest of the group. The train journey was only 3 hours, but we did have to cross the Croatian/Slovenian border on the way which was an interesting experience. It required checks for tickets and passports (with new stamps added for entry/exit accordingly) - I am not sure I’ve crossed a country via train with border checks like this. Finally we arrived in Ljubljana and our guide led us through the customary orientation tour. Fortunately for us, the hotel is very close to the centre and so we were able to walk across the Tromostovje bridge (Three Bridges) and see most of the tourist attractions on the other side of Ljubljanica river pretty easily. The bridges were of particular interest, first up was Butcher’s Bridge. It's name is a misnomer as it has nothing whatsoever to do with meat or butchers. You are more likely to find a pair of lovers adding an initial-engraved padlock to the bridge than seeing a leg of lamb or steak fillets.
The other bridge we visited was called Zmajksi Most (the dragon bridge), this bridge proudly exhibits the emblem of Ljubljana which is a dragon. It appears on the flag of Ljubljana and there is a statue of a dragon on each corner of the bridge. These dragons are quite impressive and it's hard to believe they were originally a copper colour, because now they are now a very distinctive green (due to oxidation) which makes them even more striking.
Dinner was not until later, so a few of us decided to walk up to Ljubljana Castle to check out the panoramic views. It takes about 15 or so minutes of moderate hiking to get to the top and there are few different routes along the way. Unfortunately the views were not as good as one would expect, but you can get a 360 degree panoramic view of the Ljubljana from there. The problem is the fact there is no specific viewpoint and most of the view is either obstructed by overgrown trees, the car park or illumination lighting.
There is also a vineyard up here, but at this time of the season there was not much to see, so that was pretty much that!
Dinner was a jovial affair, we went to a traditional croatian restaurant. It was busy but the staff were very friendly and amusing. I think we all ended up eating way too much and sleep was calling!
Day 8 - Bled
It was our first full day in Ljubljana and we had taken up the optional activity for a day trip to the historic town of Bled. We used the public bus service which takes around 1 hour and 20 minutes.
A few of us hired mountain bikes for the day so we could cover more ground and perhaps even visit nearby villages. Bled is a beautiful place and is famous for the Castle, the Lake Island (with Church), Bled cream cake and of course the Lake itself.
We thought it would be good to start with a quick lap around the Lake which is only 6km.
That was the plan, but like most plans they tend to change or get thrown out completely :)
As soon as we got moving on our bikes, we had a problem. The views were just too good. We of course had to stop cycling to take pictures, but just as we thought we had got the best shot, around the bend was an even better view… So much for the quick lap! Eventually we found the “money shot”, a view of the Lake with the island in the foreground and mountains in the background.
Fortunately the lake and surrounding area was mainly flat so we enjoyed a straightforward cycle. We took a boat (Pletna) out to the island but there was not much to do there so eventually we met up with our tour guide and the rest of the group for lunch.
Our guide then took us to Kavarna Park, which is the hotel where the original Bled cake was invented and is still served in traditional fashion. To make the cake they have used the same recipe from 1953 with fresh eggs to ensure the cake keeps its fluffy and light texture and today they still prepare it using age-old methods, that is to say by hand with no industrial processes involved.
The cake is 4 layers, the top is a puff pastry crust, followed by whipped cream sandwiched between egg custard layers. It is extremely light though, the only challenge really is how to eat it, as it crumbles into a mess when you attack the first layer!
As we still had the bikes, we cycled around the lake again to find some interesting trails or vantage points to view the Lake and the castle from above. In the end we didn't go up the castle as it didn't seem like there was much to do there and we only had a couple of hours.
We found a hill on the other side of the lake called Mala Osojnica, which promised a good view so we dropped our bikes off at the bottom and started the hiking trail. It was quite a tricky ascent but the views were worth it, from around 700m high you have a full panoramic view of Lake Bled, the Castle and the island.
Finally it was time to return to Ljubljana so it was back on the bus again. For dinner, we went to a pretty cool burger place and had the "best onion rings in the world" :D
Day 9 - Venice
On the move again, but this is the final time for the tour at least. We had an early start to travel from Ljubljana to Venice in Italy. It was a private transfer so we were in a similar minibus to the Krka and Plitvice Lakes one. There were no border checks for crossing between Slovenia and Italy which is due to Slovenia being in the Schengen area and the journey was pretty smooth, only taking 3 hours or so. The only thing which dampened our spirits was the weather. It was raining in Slovenia when we left and still raining quite heavily when we arrived in Italy.
Venice was without doubt the busiest city I had visited on this tour. We were greeted by queues on the narrow streets and it was not even in the high season yet. We had to drag our luggage over to the Hotel in the rain which was far from ideal but once we were unloaded I think everyone felt a bit better and some of the group joined the customary orientation walk (even though it was raining).
It was a very short walk as the weather was getting worse, so we ducked into a restaurant for lunch and I got to try my first Pizza in Italy. The food was ok, but not spectacular and we took some Pizza back to the hotel for the others. It's not surprising the food was average, as we were in a bit of a bind, needing shelter from the rain so options were limited. Later, when the weather had cleared, my roommate and I went to complete the walk and checked out a few of the sights. We did a circuit of the island taking the main road which goes from Cannargio to San Marco, passing St Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge on the way. We also visited the Aqua Alta Bookshop which is a quant second hand bookstore which has far too many books to be practical and uses gondolas and kayaks as shelves. Did I mention the resident cats? Yes its pretty crazy. After a few pictures we were ready for the final supper with the group.
It was a pleasant night and a good opportunity to thank our guide for her efforts and enthusiasm throughout. We were also able to review the tour, re-visiting some of the highlights and funny moments. We also discussed the mystery of the pizza which went missing today in the hotel with suspicion firmly planted at the hotel receptionist who was caught eating pizza earlier :D
The food was not the best quality, but I don’t think anyone minded. I personally have really enjoyed the organised tour. I feel fortunate to have met some really cool people and we’ve had a lot of fun together over the 9 days.
It was an early night for some who had early flights and transfers, but I stayed out slightly longer for a quick drink to laugh about pizza-gate. I have two more days in Venice and then I move on.
Day 10 - Venice
It is the day after the group tour finished and my roommate who is staying in Venice for another day was happy to join me on the 3 islands tour. The tour takes you around Murana, Torchello and Burana islands which are near Venice and the round trip is around 4.5 hours. However this means you only get to spend around 45 minutes on each island.
We went to San Marco port which is near St Mark’s Square at 09:15 for our 09:30 departure, this was to give us time to sort out the tickets and board. I would like to say it was smooth, but there was a bit of confusion at the ticket office as they struggled to print our tickets. To make matters worse, with minutes to go they threw another curveball - the requirement to wear FFP2 masks onboard. I have this type mask of course, but it was back in my luggage in the hotel. Our only choice was to buy another FFP2 mask from a shop nearby. This little inconvenience aside it was actually quite a good tour, I think Burana was the best island followed by Murana. The unique appeal of Burana has to be the colourful houses - they are so pleasant to look at and convey a sense of fun and playfulness. This island is also known for its shops selling hand-made lace goods. I think if I went again I would do a separate trip here so I could spend more time on the island and try out the restaurants.
The next most interesting island ws Murana, as we went to visit a glass blowing factory and witness a live demonstration. This was very impressive and when you are in Venice you can see in the souvenir shops the Murana brand on the glasswork so this is where the pieces are made. However, I found the time a bit limited and there is more to the island than glass blowing but we didn’t get time to see the other side.
Torchello was a bit disappointing with not much to offer, other than a canal walk and the old Byzantine church. It does have some interesting history as supposedly the original inhabitants of Venice (previously called Rialto) lived on this island before migrating to Venice and it only has about a dozen families living there now. I looked this up on my phone, as the history part of this tour was difficult to follow on the boat, with the tour guide alternating her speech in 3 different languages.
After the boat tour we found this cool, “fast-food” Pizza place and got a couple of slices of Pizza to go. This kept us going for the rest of the afternoon as we did a bit more sightseeing and souvenir shopping.
For dinner, we went to a traditional italian/venetian restaurant near the canal which served pasta. The food was really good and had decent portions - read more about it in my Food Blog. Finally we had Gelato before my roommate and I went our separate ways, it was the perfect way to cap off the last 10 days or so. I am sure I will look back on this trip with fond memories!
Comments