June 7
An easy drive today to get to our next
stop, Opatija. Our coffee stop on the way was in a town called Turanj where
there is an outdoor museum in remembrance of the terrible homeland war which
tore the region apart in between 1991 and 1994. Things seem to be settled but
there are still some nationalistic fervour between the nations of the former
Yugoslavia.
A quick walk around the resort town of
Opatija before settling in to our hotel.
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| This girl with a seagull stands at one end of the promenade |
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| This sculpture by a famous Croatian is housed in the church |
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| A small but beautifully presented garden in front of an old hotel |
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A graffiti wall of visitors to Opatija - many famous names
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| View from our hotel |
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| Take the steps through the buildings and here we are looking across the Adriatic Sea. A lovely town |
June 8
An early start today as we were driving to
take in the major towns on the Istrian peninsula. Pula is the main town and
boasts many Roman ruins including an arena. A very interesting town.
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These pots were found when an old parking lot was excavated for development
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| Outside the amphitheatre |
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| Part of the old city walls |
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| Roman triumphal arch |
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| A beautiful mosaic |
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| The town's administrative centre |
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| Right next door to this ancient temple |
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| Quaint paved streets |
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| And lots of little alleyways |
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| On the waterfront |
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| Another view of the arena |
A little way up the coast we stopped in a
quaint old town, Rovinj. Once an island, several centuries ago a town mayor
decided to fill in the small channel and it was joined to the mainland. A
lovely place to while away some time over lunch.
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| Looking towards the old town, once an island |
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| Markets |
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| Not much of a beach |
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| Local boys enjoying some risky behaviour |
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| Again, pedestrianised and old Roman ruins |
Porec was only a short drive further up the
coast but it had a fine basilica.
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| These small work huts were dotted along our route to Porec |
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| Beautiful gardens in every town |
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Red geraniums were in abundance in window boxes
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Lots of yummy desserts on offer as well as great ice cream
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| More quaint streets to explore |
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| Some Venetian masks. Cheaper here than in Venice |
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| Inside the basilica |
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Church dates back to the first half of the 6th century. Now under UNESCO protection
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| wonderful mosaics |
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| Inside the church was richly decorated |
June 9
We left Opatija promptly because we had to
arrive at Postojna Caves in time for a tour at 10. Then we found out we would
be on a 10:30 tour as an extra one had been added because of the numbers
visiting. Even so it was a tight schedule.
These caves are huge. Not magnificent, but simply
massive and very ancient, some 300 million years ancient.
We took an electric train deep in to the
cave system then walked through with a guide highlighting different parts of
the caves. Then we boarded the train again which took us to the gift shop (of
course) and the only underground post office in the world.
No photographs of course. I did not see anything really spectacular to photograph anyway. It was quite an experience though travelling through the vast caverns.
We went through some beautiful countryside
which took us to the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana. As our tour director is
from this city she was very enthusiastic and proud to take us around this small
but historic city. We really enjoyed our free time after our tour to wander around. There was not enough time to do justice to the castle so we chose to wander the streets.
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| A University building |
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| Views up to the castle |
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| The river where full use is made of the waterfront, lots of cafes and restaurants |
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| Originally put up to indicate there was a shoe vendor in the street, this has now become a challenge |
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Our Tour Director Ana Marija excitedly showing us the location of the chocolate shop
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| The cathedral had some beautiful bronze doors made to commemorate the visit of Pope JPII |
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| The Dragon Bridge |
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| Another bridge across the river is now the site for lovers' padlocks |
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| Another view of the castle up on the hill |
We made Bled by mid afternoon where we are
staying for two nights.
June 10
Bled is a beautiful Slovenian alpine village situated
on the shores of a lovely lake with mountains all around. The border with
Austria is only a short distance to the north. This area is known as the Julian
alps.
We headed out this morning to a nearby
national park and Lake Bohinj. Morning weather in the mountains was the usual
mix of sunshine in the valleys and clouds shrouding the mountains.
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| Monument to the four courageous men to first climb the highest peak in Slovenia |
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| Typical church tower |
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| Beautiful clear water - you can just see the mass of fish near the shore - looks like pebbles |
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| The highest peak is somewhere behind the clouds |
A drive back through some traditional
villages finished our morning. Yet another challenge for our excellent coach driver who negotiated the narrow streets with ease.
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| Alpine meadows full of flowers |
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| Hay is draped over the rails to dry, the upper levels are used for storage and below is shelter during winter for farm animals |
Our afternoon was at leisure and we had
hoped to take the boat across to the island but it was too windy.
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| Lake Bled through the trees. It's lovely to walk along the shores |
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| The clouds look ominous but we had no rain |
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| Up at the castle overlooking the lake |
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| Looking down on the church on the island in Lake Bled |
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| Blacksmith forging coins for tourists |
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| After a very recent Medieval Day the man in the printing works was still busy |
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Putting together our souvenir
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| All the years I lived in England I never saw an adder and here's a baby slithering along the gutter near our hotel |
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| Traditional horse and buggy rides |
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| The castle from the lake shore of the town of Bled |
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| The weather was not kind enough to allow us to get across to the island, but we thought we'd try for a competition photo |
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| Clearing skies as the afternoon draws in |
A traditional Slovenian folkloric dinner
rounded off our stay.
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| Dancers outside in the street |
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| Front of the restaurant |
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Traditional gingerbread is made here
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| View from the restaurant |
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| Our tour group |
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Lots of fun with the musicians
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Very entertaining even with 'traditional' musical instruments like this hammer and saw
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Some of our group were invited to join in the fun
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Tomorrow, Venice.
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