Month: October 2018

Friday, October 12

And now for something completely different – the first thing we did today was to get coffee.  This time we went to Cafe Uliks.  What’s special about this place?  Well, the building where the cafe is located is where the well known Irish writer James Joyce taught English between 1904 and 1905.  There is a commemorative plaque on the wall and a bronze sculpture of Mr. Joyce (Jim to his friends 😉) sitting at one of the tables.  This morning we joined Jim for our morning cup of joe.

(Coffee with James Joyce)

After coffee we walked over to the market and bought even more shrimp.  This time we tried another variety from a different vendor.  We also went over to the deli side of the market and bought some salami, cheese and fish pate.  Back in  our apartment we had boiled shrimp and salad for lunch.  These shrimp were even better that the first batch that we’d had.  Do you think we’re going to get tired of fresh seafood?  Probably not!

(Seafood For Lunch Before Visiting the Aquarium)

Next on our agenda was a trip to the Pula Aquarium.  It’s located about 2.5 miles from our apartment at the end of an isthmus that juts into the sea.  Along the way we waked through a residential neighborhood and passed by one of the many marinas until we got to a large park.  At the end of the park we found signs for summertime actives like scuba diving, boat rentals, bike rentals and much more.  Nearby there were several communities of low-rise condos that were obviously used during the season.  None of them seemed to be occupied any longer.

The Pula Aquarium was actually built in an abandoned fort that used to protect the harbor.  It was constructed in 1886 by the Austro-Hungarian Empire as part of a series of 55 defensive structures all along the coast.  After the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire Italy ruled the area until 1943.  During that time the fort was unused and all of the cannon were transported to Italy where they were melted down for other uses.  From 1943 to 1945 it was used as a military base by German forces.  In the 1950s, when Croatia was part of Yugoslavia, the Veruda company turned the facility into several commercial establishments including a gift shop, hair salon and market.  They also opened up a popular nightclub named “Club 33” because it was popular with Swedish tourists below the age of 33.  In the 1980s the fort was abandoned and used as a landfill.  The aquarium took over the space in 2002.  Today the fort is named Verudela after the company that developed it in the 1950s.

The internal structure of the fort is just as it was when it was constructed.  Visitors get to see the fort and the aquarium at the same time.  It was a lot of fun to walk through the labyrinth of halls and discover what animals were on display in each room.

(Tunnel to Lower Level)

There is an extensive collection of sea life from the northern Adriatic, the Mediterranean and tropical waters.  One of the most entertaining things we saw was a diver in a large shark tank cleaning the windows and hamming it up for the children.  There was a great deal of information throughout on sustainability and conservation.  We were also able to visit the marine turtle rescue center where loggerhead turtles are rehabilitated and returned to the wild.

In one room we saw the caretakers dump food into a tank containing a large number of huge hermit crabs.  It was fascinating to watch the crabs scramble for the food and battle each other while the fish hung around and picked up pieces that had been ripped off.  They went on and on for over 15 minutes and probably continued long after we left the room to see the rooms filled with jellyfish.

(Mediterranean “Fried Egg” Jellyfish)

This aquarium didn’t have the typical dolphin, whale, mammal displays but the exhibits they had were quite interesting and we really enjoyed our visit.

(Inhabitant of the New Tropical Freshwater Exhibit)

When we got to the top level of the fort we were able to go outside and stroll along the parapets where we had a great view of the Adriatic and the coastline.  There were quite a few sailboats practicing maneuvers.

After leaving the aquarium we walked past the condos over to one of the beaches where we found a number of people sunning themselves on the rocky shore and swimming.  We tested the waters and thought that it was still a suitable temperature for swimming.  We’ll probably try that when we get further down south.

(Kanjon Verudela Beach)

Back at home we made a meal of the salami, cheese and apples that we’d purchased at the market.  Hopefully the other cities along the coast will have similar markets because we’re really enjoying eating at home for a change.

Distance walked: 10.3 miles

Wednesday, October 10

Another day, another city. We’re going to be in Croatia for a while and plan to hop all the way down the Dalmatian Coast.  Along the way we expect to make some short excursions into some of the other former Yugoslavian republics.

We were advised that, although there is train service in many parts of Croatia (and the Balkans), we would be much better off using bus service so we  booked a ticket from Zagreb to Pula and, as usual, arrived at the bus station almost an hour early.  This time there were no real surprises.  There was no fee to get into the bus area.  It wasn’t a surprise that we had to pay 8 KN / $1.25 for each bag.  Since we weren’t going to a new country we had lots of the local currency on hand.  There was, however, one surprise but this time it was a happy surprise.  The bus we would be taking was a real Greyhound style bus.  For once we wouldn’t be crammed into some sort of mini-bus with bad suspension.  For the next four hours we would be riding in style.

Our trip took us through a mountainous region where we had views of rolling hills, high mountain peaks and little villages nestled in the valleys.  As we got closer to the sea we could see towns scattered along the coast.  The water looked very blue and inviting.  We wondered if it would still be warm enough for us to swim in.

Our bus arrived on time and we took a taxi for the one mile trip to our new apartment.  Our host met us in the lobby of the building and told us that she was Italian and didn’t speak English.  Italian would suit us just fine.  For some reason, instead of speaking to us in Italian, she used a mix of German and broken English.  We responded in broken Italian and English.  It would have made for a funny video.

We did a quick inventory and headed out to get the lay of the land.  We would be on our own in Pula as there were no free tours and we were disinclined to pay for one.  It’s a fairly small town and we’d come prepared with a list of things to see and do.  We figured we could see everything in the week that we would be here.

Distance walked: 4.7 miles

Thursday, October 11

Our first order of business was to visit the market we’d seen the day before.  We would have investigated it yesterday but by the time we got there, sometime in the late afternoon, it had already closed for the day.  The funny thing was that we’d been walking around town for well over an hour before we discovered it.  That gave us the impression that it was a good distance away.  This morning we discovered, much to our delight, that it was literally just around the corner.

The market was actually a lot larger than we expected.  Outside there was a large square chocked full of vendors selling all sorts of local produce.  There’s the things that you would expect to find like fruits, vegetables, nuts and eggs but also things that were grown/produced in the region like olives/olive oil, wine and truffles.  One of the vendors told us about a truffle festival that would be occurring this weekend.  She informed us that the season for black truffles was over and that the festival would be featuring the more exotic/more expensive white truffles.  She gave us a pamphlet indicating a small town just 30 km away.  We were going to have to investigate.

After checking out all of the stalls we went back to a select few and walked away with two different kinds of apples (Idared and Jonagold), some mixed greens, red onion, fresh ricotta, some local cheese and some figs for a total of 82 KN / $13.00.  Next we headed into the building to see what surprises were in store for us there.

The building had two halves.  On one side there were butchers and deli counters.  The other side hosted a fresh fish market .  We were delighted.  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of pork we were going to get some fresh, local fish.  We’d been looking forward to this for a long time.  After circumnavigating the market twice we settled on a stall that had fillets of a “white fish” and some shrimp.  We saw many different varieties of shrimp at the market and this time we decided to try something that more closely resembled the ones we typically got back in the States.  One fillet and a half pound of shrimp cost us 49 KN / $7.80.

Istria, the part of Croatia that Pula is in, has a history that is different from many parts of the Balkans.  Because it’s on the seacoast the area was part of the Venetian Republic for several hundred years and, consequently, many people here are of Italian heritage.  Venice is a mere 80 miles away directly across the sea and can be reached by commercial ferry.  Based on our interaction with our host we figured that most of the people here would speak Italian as a second language but we were surprised when, in spite of the fact that we addressed the vendors in English, that they usually replied to us in German.  Depending on our mood we replied in English, German, Italian and sometimes even Croatian.  We always seemed to be understood and got exactly what we wanted.

Back in our apartment it was time for a meal of fresh fish.  We cooked the fillets and the shrimp and had a feast.  For dessert we had a plate of apples, cheese and figs.

(A Feast of White Fish and Shrimp)

After lunch we headed out to see the sights.  We took in a good part of the city…

• Trumphal Arch of the Sergii.  This is an old city gate that was built shortly after 27 BC to commemorate three high ranking brothers who fought as part of the 29th Legion in the Battle of Actium.

(Trumphal Arch of the Sergii)

• Chapel of Saint Maria Formose.  One of the chapels from the 6th century Abbey that remains standing.  The remains of the Basilica are currently being excavated.  It appears that the chapel is not open to the public.
• Temple of Augustus.  Built to honor Emperor Augustus it’s the only one of the three original temples in the forum to survive.  Inside we found a number of artifacts from ancient Roman times.

(Temple of Augustus)

• Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  During Roman times this was a temple dedicate to Jupiter.  It became a Roman Catholic Church in the 5th century and has been added on to several times since.  The church was not open to visitors when we were there.
• Tito’s Park.  A green space near the waterfront with statues commemorating Croatian heros of World War II.
• Pula Amphitheater.  One of the six largest surviving Roman amphitheaters in the world.  The current version, made of stone, was built in the first century during the reign of Emperor Vespasian.

(Pula’s Roman Amphitheater)

• The amphitheater was so inviting that we sat at one of the many coffee shops surrounding its exterior and marveled at it over cappuccinos.  We’ll visit the interior on another day.
• Church of Saint Anthony.  It was constructed in the 1930s and is named after Saint Anthony of Padua.  We just had a quick peek inside because there was a funeral in progress.  The interior is rather plain and modern looking.
• Porta Gemina, often referred to as the twin gates because of the two arches.  One of the city gates from ancient times.
• Gate of Hercules.  Hercules was the symbol of the city in ancient times when the full name of the city was Colonia Iulia Pollentia Herculanea.  Near the apex of the arch you can see a small carving of a bearded man with a club.  The original inscription can no longer be seen.

There are a few more things on our list to see and do and, of course, we have to go back and revisit some of these attractions but it looks like we made a good dent in our list.

Distance walked: 4.9 miles

Saturday, October 6

We planned a “down” day.  We went over to the market and bought some of those wonderful looking shrimp that we’d seen and had them for lunch.  We’re not sure what variety they were but they were certainly different from what we’re used to.  First of all they were huge.  Three of them weighed almost half a pound.  Second, they had tails and claws like lobsters.  No, they weren’t langoustinos – they were shrimp.  We boiled them up in their shells, peeled them and ate them with some garlic flavored butter.  They were kind of firm, sweet and mild.  They were a lot of work.

(Local Shrimp)

Most of the day was taken up watching a five hour documentary entitled, “The Death of Yugoslavia”.  It is a BBC production that was first broadcast in 1995.  We were out of college when the Iron Curtain came down and the Balkan Wars took place but we’re sorry to say that we really don’t remember many of the details.  Every country we’ve visited in the former Yugoslavia has filled in pieces of the puzzle but, of course, their perspectives are very different.  In spite of our research we still hadn’t been able to piece together a full, impartial accounting so we figured that this documentary would fill in some of the gaps. It was well done and had a lot of useful information but it doesn’t include any of the events that subsequently took place in Kosovo.  We’re probably not going to be able to visit Kosovo (regional instability and traveling through the mountains in the winter time) but we’re going to continue to learn as much about these events as possible.

Distance walked: 1.5 miles

Sunday, October 7

Our first order of business was coffee.  We had just one more coffee place to try and try it we did.  We went to Kava Tava.  We noticed it the first day we were in Town.  It has large windows displaying cute sayings.

Their menu had some interesting food choices but since we had just eaten breakfast we only ordered coffee.  The menu listed cappuccinos in small and large.  We ordered the large sizes.  The small must have been the size of an espresso because the larges were not much more than a couple of ounces.  The good news is that the coffee was very good.  It had a nice flavor with very little bitterness.  It had a unique flavor so we figured it must have been their own roast.  As we sat drinking our coffees we saw an amazing looking variety of foods being delivered to other tables.  We determined to come back at some point and have a meal there.

After coffee we headed over to the Archaeological Museum.  It’s free on the first Sunday of every month.  We didn’t know much about the museum except that they were supposed to have the oldest Etruscan mummy known to exist.

The museum is on three floors but, for anyone who finds that daunting, there is an elevator.  The museum starts out with artifacts from prehistoric times and moves through the stone, copper and bronze ages.

The second floor starts with the ancient Greeks.  There was a large display of pottery and coins.  We particularly liked the display of bronze helmets.

(Greek Helmet, Bronze, 5-6th Century BC)

The section on ancient Rome was particular interesting.  There were many panels that told of the split into Eastern and Western Roman Empires followed by excellent narratives about The Huns, The Goths, The Pannonians and the Avars.  It was fascinating to learn about some of these peoples that we hadn’t heard about before.

Just as we got to the top floor we were informed that the museum would be closing in just a few minutes.  We literally ran through the Egyptian rooms to where the mummy was, took a quick picture and headed back down to the ground floor.  The Egyptian room seemed to have some nice artifacts.  It’s a shame that we didn’t get a chance to see them.

(The Oldest Etruscan Mummy)

By now it was time for lunch.  We decided to head back to Kava Tava.  We split a bacon, ham and cheese sandwich (you can never have too much pork) and an order of the blueberry pancakes with white chocolate sauce.  The pancakes were firm and chewy, just the way Deborah likes them, and each of the five layers were separated by jam or white chocolate.  The entire thing was covered with enough white chocolate sauce to take a bath in.  It was very sweet and quite delicious.  Total cost was about $12.00.  Maybe we’ll go back for dinner too 😉.

(Blueberry Pancakes with White Chocolate Sauce)

Distance walked: 5.0 miles

Monday, October 8

Today is Independence Day.  It’s a national holiday that celebrates, “The day when the Croatian Parliament cut all relations with the former Yugoslavia”.  Most shops are closed but naturally many businesses in the tourist district are open.

We started the day by hunting for a tennis club.  Deborah was thinking of having an easy day on Tuesday so I thought that I might play some tennis.  We visited a few nearby clubs but, even though they were open, no one was around to arrange some court time.

It had been drizzling on and off for most of the day but by the time it was close to lunch the rain started coming down rather steadily so we walked over to the town square to try another restaurant that had been on our radar.  It was a place where we’d seen a lot of locals eating.  It was called Food City.

The restaurant sits in an indoor mall and extends along a long wall.  The service is cafeteria style.  We picked up a couple of trays and choose a couple of interesting looking entrees from the many choices.  Deborah got chicken rolled with spinach in a white sauce with mashed potatoes.  I got the eggplant parmigiana and sliced, roasted potatoes.  The portions were huge.  We could easily have shared a single dish.  It was all surprisingly tasty.  Altogether, with a bottle of water, the bill came to just over $15.00.

On the way home we stopped by a pastry shop that was highly rated called Vincek.  We bought a slice of something that resembled a creme snit, a piece of plum cake and a piece of Greek style Baklava (they had Turkish style as well).  We took them home for later consumption.

The Baklava was absolutely disgusting.  The pastry was like a bread dough, there was almost no filling, the syrup was sugar water and the entire thing was soggy.  We just threw it out.  The plum cake was good but lacked sweetness.  We liked the snit best of all but it didn’t compare to what we’d had in Bled.  It was all pretty disappointing.  Yes Annette, we’re eating cake again! 😀

Distance walked: 5.4 miles

Tuesday, October 9

Our last full day in Zagreb.  We went back to Elis Cafe for coffee.  For our money this place has the best coffee in Town.  They roast their own beans and have an award winning barista.

After that we ran a few errands.  First we hit a drugstore for a few supplies and then found a place to print our bus tickets.  Afterward we explored a few galleries; we were still on the lookout for some Naive Art.

As usual the main square was packed full of stalls selling all sorts of local foods  We were going to pass them by when we heard several of the clerks speaking Italian.  When we got closer we realized that it was an Italian Food fair and all of the vendors were from Italy.  We just had to investigate further.

Every stall we passed offered us something interesting to sample.  Finally we stopped by one stall that was selling cookies.  The shopkeeper handed us a few pieces and explained that they were made from almond and/or marzipan.  The sample was flavored with orange and was absolutely amazing.  We bought some orange, some cherry, some plum and some almond horns.  We had a similar experience with a nearby cheese monger from whom we purchased a large hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano.  The total damage was about $45.00 but it was worth it.  We really miss Italy.

In one of the galleries we found a lovely piece by Mijo Kovačić.  It was an original pastel that was signed but not dated.  The owner was asking about $1,400.00 for it.  Unfortunately he didn’t know when it had been done and had no further information on it (they didn’t seem to understand when we asked for the Provenance).  We could almost certainly have struck a better deal but, without a Provenance, it was no longer a viable candidate.

By now it was almost noon and since we were in the upper town near the tower we went over to witness the daily firing of the cannon.  It was much louder than we remembered.  Since the square wasn’t crowded and we were standing close to the tower, we got showered with wadding from the explosion.  It was almost as if someone had dropped a confetti bomb.

For lunch we got a quick bite at a hamburger place and picked up some apple/cinnamon Strukli from La Struk for dinner.  We didn’t want to leave town without having tried all of their varieties.

Distance walked: 7.2 miles

Thursday, October 4

Go back and read the title again.  If you read it as “native” art then you read it wrong – it really is “naive” art.  You never heard of naive art?  Well, neither had we.

Our day started off with a visit to one of Zagreb’s favorite sons: Johann Franck.  It’s a coffee house famous for it making it’s own blend of coffee since the early 1960s.  Their coffee is served all over town but we opted to go to their cafe near the main square.  We found a nice little sofa on the covered patio overlooking the square and ordered two cappuccinos.

The coffees were very good and were the second best that we’ve had since we landed in Zagreb.  They had a rich, dark flavor without much bitterness.  Because they have so much milk cappuccinos are usually warm but these were served hot.  We liked that.

When it came time to pay the bill the waiter refused to take my credit card and asked for cash.  I insisted that I wanted to pay by card.  He mumbled something about having to see the manager and said it would be at least five minutes.  I guess I was supposed to give in.  I didn’t.  While waiting we saw several other people paying by card and noticed a sign on the door indicating that credit cards were accepted.  Why is this interesting?  It’s a bit of a scam.  Waiters often feel that they get better tips when customers pay by cash.  Another version you’ll often hear is, “oh, our credit card machine is down right now”.  It’s just something to be aware of.  After a long wait the credit card machine appeared and we were able to pay.  “There goes his tip!”

Naive Art is defined as works produced by a person who lacks formal training.  Typical themes include nature, everyday life and agriculture.  It’s often referred to as primitive art.  The movement has strong roots in Croatia.  It’s interesting to note that although it’s not a requirement many of the works are painted “in reverse” on the back side of glass panels giving them a very distinctive look.  There are shops and galleries all over town dedicated to these works.  Today we went to visit the Croatian Museum of Naive Art in order see what this was all about.

The museum costs about $3.75 per person.  Cash only.  No backpacks or baggage of any kind are permitted in the museum but they kindly provide free lockers for you to store your things during your visit.

Most of the works we saw were painted on glass using bright colors and clearly defined lines.  As a whole they are unlike most works we’d seen before.  The heyday of the movement seems to range from the 1960s – 1980s.  (The owner of one of the galleries we went to the next day said something to the effect of, “there are many people doing naive art today but they are just in it for the tourist dollars”.)

We quickly honed in on two well represented artists: Mijo Kovačić and Ivan Lacković Croata.  We liked their work very well.  The museum was on the small side and we were able to see all of the rooms in less than 30 minutes.  Still, it was a very enjoyable experience.  It was fun to discover an entirely new school of art that we never knew existed.

(Swineherd by Mijo Kovačić, 1967)

For lunch we went to Batak Grill, a restaurant that one of our guides had recommended.  The restaurant is known for its traditional Croatian dishes.  We ordered a plate of Cevapcici with Kajmak Sauce, a bowl of pepper relish, a side salad and a basket of bread.  Cevapcici are small skinless sausages made primarily from beef.  Our order contained ten of them.  The sauce was a thick, rich topping made from Kajmak Cheese and the bread was toasted on the grill.  One order was more than enough for the two of us.  It was all quite delicious.  Total cost was just over $15.00.

(Cevapcici for Lunch)

Distance walked: 6.8 miles

Friday, October 5

Today we hunted for some galleries that were selling Naive Art.  We wanted to see some additional examples and wanted to know what pieces were being sold for.  We looked up some recent sales on the Internet and found that even some of the most famous Croatian Naive Artists works were available at reasonable prices.

We found a gallery on the other side of town that had several nice pieces but the dealer was asking prices that were way out of line with our expectations.  Truth be told, we have no walls to hang them on anyway.  Still, if you wanted to start a collection, smaller scale works by some well known artists can be had for less than $1,000.00.

Having worked up an appetite we decided to try another coffee shop.  This one was called, “In the Yard” or “U Dvoritsu”; sometimes it’s hard to tell.  It was also hard to find.  We found it by going through a passage and walking all the way to the end of the courtyard.  It took us two tries but we were determined.

The cafe has a large seating area outside in the tree-lined courtyard.  We thought that they had their own special blend but it turned out that they served another brand that’s popular in the city: Cogito.  We’d had it before and, although it’s perfectly drinkable, it’s not one of our favorites.  We sat and talked about the art we’d seen for almost an hour before heading off to another gallery.

This gallery was near the main square close to the Cathedral.  We’d passed it many times before.  From the outside it looked like a typical souvenir (read junk) store.  It looked like that on the inside too but there were several rooms in the back with a number of high quality pieces.  Their prices weren’t merely out of line – they were absolutely absurd.  I’m sure we could have done a deal but art really isn’t in our budget these days.

We admit it, we’re Americans and, as such, every now and then we just have to have a burger so for lunch we headed over to a place in the main square called Big 5.  It was a McDonalds clone.  Even the color of the containers was the same.  We ordered a couple of burgers and some onion rings.  We’re not going to apologize – we really enjoyed it.

For dessert we decided to try a highly recommended ice cream shop named Amelie.  They specialize in non-standard flavors.  I had a scoop of milk chocolate and a scoop of a flavor made of forest fruits and cookies.  Deborah had two scoops as well.  She tried dark chocolate and blueberry ginger.  Her’s were really awesome.  At $7.00 it was pretty expensive but the scoops were very large.

(Ice Cream for Dessert)

Distance walked: 7.8 miles

Wednesday, October 3

We’ve decided that we’re going to try to hit all of the former Yugoslavian countries before we leave the area so that meant a trip to a country that wasn’t on our radar: Slovenia.  Why wasn’t it on our radar?  Well, Slovenia is a Schengen country and we had already used up most of our Schengen time but then we hit upon a happy idea: we could just do a day trip from Zagreb.  If we counted right we still had two Schengen days left so we booked a tour that would take us to Ljubljana and Bled in a single day.

We met our tour near Zagreb city center at 8:30 am.  The tour was supposed to last nine hours.  Our group consisted of a couple from Argentina, a mother/daughter from the UK, a tour guide and the two of us.  We settled into a large mini-van type vehicle and, in less than an hour, we were at the border and had collected two new stamps in our passports.  The Slovenia border crossing agents had scanned our passports and allowed us in.  We must have counted our days correctly.

Slovenia is perhaps the least Balkan of the former Yugoslavian countries.  It is the most affluent,  a member of the EU, is a signatory to the Schengen Treaty and uses the EURO for its currency.  It’s economy is very stable and its per capita income is about twice that of Croatia.  Even the difference in the quality of its infrastructure was apparent as soon as we crossed the border.  It declared its independence from Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991, the same day as Croatia.  Slovenia’s war of independence only lasted for ten days and had few casualties.

Our first stop was in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.  It’s a fairly small city that lies about 1.5 hours by car from Zagreb.  We walked around the city for over an hour and our guide showed us many of the most interesting sights before giving us another hour of free time.  Ljubljana Castle is perched on a cliff on the other side of the river but time did not permit us to visit.

(Ljubljana Castle on the Hill)

The heart of the city is closed to cars which makes it a nice place to walk about.  We visited several churches, the town hall, a market and several large squares.  The city is built along the Sava River.  The city is bisected near Prešeren Square where you can find several picturesque footbridges giving the city a very Venice-like character.

(The Sava River Flows Through Town)

Our guide had recommended a place to have some traditional sausages called Klobasa.  He said they were only found in this part of the country so naturally we had to try them.  The sausages were sliced and placed on a tray with grainy mustard, horseradish sauce and bread.  The condiments were a perfect match for the mild sausages.

Back in the van we headed north to the resort area of Bled.  The area resembled a scene from the Sound of Music.  There were high peaked, snow covered mountains, lush green valleys and beautiful lakes.  Bled is just eight miles from the Austrian border.  Slovenia also borders Italy and Hungary putting it right in the heart of Europe.

We drove around Bled Lake before taking an old fashioned, gondola-like boat over to Bled Island where we found The Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Maria.  The original church on this site dated from 1142 but what you can see today is what was reconstructed in the 17th century after an earthquake.  There is a legend that says if you carry your bride up the 99 steps to the top of the hill where the church rests you will have a good marriage (or was that a broken back).  There is also a famous 15th century bell tower.  If you climb the tower, make a wish and ring the bell three times your wish is supposed to come true.  Uncharacteristically, we opted to get some coffee and enjoy the magnificent views instead.

(The Church on the Island)

Our last stop of the day was to the fortress that overlooks the lake and has protected the area for many centuries.  It’s known simply as Bled Castle.  Bled, with its ski resorts, lake, castle, etc. is a popular tourist area and the most visited place in the entire country.  The lake, fed by pure mountain springs, is clean and quiet; no motorboats are allowed.  Our guide told us that virtually every house you can see was available for rent during the summer.  Given the narrow winding roads the traffic must be a nightmare.

Bled Castle was built in 1011 and sits high on a cliff overlooking Bled Lake.  It’s the oldest castle in Slovenia.  The complex includes a museum and a restaurant but the main attraction is simply the unbelievably wonderful view.  While we were there we saw a demonstration of a Gutenberg style printing press and we tasted local honey at one of the stores.  The castle produces honey with many different added flavorings and all were available to be sampled.  We bought an overpriced jar flavored with Bourbon Vanilla.

Fun Fact:  When using old style printing presses it was common practice to store the capital letters in the top wooden box (upper case) and the small letters in the bottom wooden box (lower case).

(Bled Castle Above Bled Lake)

Behind the castle you can see the Julian Alps.  The highest peak, Triglav, is the highest mountain in Slovenia and was the highest mountain in all of Yugoslavia.

There is a pastry that can be found throughout the Balkans called a Kremsnita.  We’ve tried it before and never really cared for it.  The pastry originated in this part of Slovenia and the version served at the castle is  reputed to be quite good.  We had low expeditions but bought a piece and sat down at one of the tables on the terrace overlooking the lake.  At the very least the view would be to our liking.  The pastry surprised us.  It was very good.  It had a light flaky crust like a napoleon, a layer of pastry cream and a layer of thick, sweetened whipped cream.  We decided right then and there that we really liked Slovenia.

(Kremsnita)

Distance walked: 9.3 miles

Tuesday, October 2

We hung out in the apartment for most of the day until 6:45 pm when we left to visit the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb.  We had tickets to see Turandot by Giacomo Puccini.  While the opera/ballet company started around 1835 the present building dates from the mid-1850s and was designed by two famed Viennese architects.  The opening was attended by Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1895.

The theater sits majestically in a large square and takes up an entire city block.  The inside is decorated with appliqués and the gorgeous lighting fixtures seem to foreshadow the Art Nouveau movement but the real treat was inside the theater itself.  With a capacity of only 750 people it’s a relatively small theater but it is absolutely stunning.  There is orchestra seating, two sets of boxes with free standing chairs and a balcony.  The woodwork is all trimmed in gold, the rounded ceiling is decorated with murals and right in the middle is a large chandelier.

(The Croatian National Theater in Zagreb)

When we entered the theater we saw a bizarre sight.  On stage there were several large white framed translucent boxes, a large inanimate polar bear and a half dozen people in workers uniforms and goggles who were wriggling about.  Soon a women in a formal dress came out and silently interacted with the workers.  We didn’t know what to think.  Surely this was just a performance piece to entertain us before the opera started.  Surely we were wrong!

(WTF?)

When Puccini died in 1924 his Turandot was still incomplete.  It was finished by Franco Alfano.  The premier, which included only the music that Puccini had written, was performed at La Scala in 1926 and was conducted by Arturo Toscanini.  The opera is based on an amalgamation of several different stories and plays.

A few minutes after the appointed hour the orchestra tuned, the shabbily attired conductor (no jacket, no tie, wearing Dockers) arrived and the opera began.  All during this time the performers were still on stage acting their pantomime.  This was not only going to be a modern reinterpretation of the staging it was also trying to project a social message.  During the first act strings of workers would attach themselves to the singers and, while writhing as a group, would direct the singer’s motions almost as if they were marionettes.  It was strange and very distracting.  It was actually painful to watch.  During the scene where the cast is waiting for the moon to rise the workers gathered near a light panel that represented the moon and seemed to have epileptic fits.  After that we just focused our attention on the screen where the real-time translations appeared.  It was agonizing to watch the stage.  When the first act ended almost no one applauded.

We thought that when we’d attended Aida at the Opera Bastille in Paris in 2016 that it was going to stand as the worst production we’d ever see but, ladies and gentlemen, we have a new winner. Try as we might we were just unable to make any sense of the production.  After the first act we bought a program to see if it could shed any light on things but it didn’t have any useful information.  When we got home we did a Google search and found only that the production seemed to have won some awards (!!!) but could find nothing about what it was trying to convey.

(A Beautiful Theater)

The singers, who seemed to be members of the local company, did an adequate job.  The tenor had a strong voice but there was no art to his singing.  The lead soprano had a nice upper range but could not project in the lower ranges at all.  The other main characters were of decidedly uneven quality.  The best performance was given by the soprano playing the part of Liu.  She had a lyrical voice that was well suited to the highly sentimental part.

The conductor made some odd choices for tempi and was unable to keep the orchestra and the chorus together for much of the production.  He decided to use the concert ending to the famous “Nessun Dorma” aria and waited for the audience to applaud before continuing on; we’ve never seen that before in a live production.  In retrospect, the less said about the conductor the better.

All in all we really loved seeing the theater.  If the production had never started it would have been a great evening.

Distance walked: 3.0 miles

Monday, October 1

At one time the famed Orient Express, which traveled from Paris to Istanbul, stopped regularly in Zagreb.  During their stopover the passengers often strolled over to the Hotel Esplanade for coffee, pastries and cigars.  We headed over to see the hotel, have coffee and see what things were like in the “good old days”.  Sadly, in 2009, The Orient Express permanently ceased operations.  It’s demise was attributed to the advent of high speed trains and budget airlines.

Our first stop of the day was at the Zagreb National Theater where we purchased tickets to see Puccini’s, “Turandot” for the following evening.  No, we hadn’t procrastinated.  Tickets for this opera were only available to regular subscription holders.  The first chance that the general public had to purchase tickets was the day before the performance.  We got to the opera house just a few minutes after it opened and scored two slightly off-center orchestra tickets for a total of about $45.00.  We’re really looking forward to it.  On stage we’ll be seeing two kings, a prince and a princess.  We’re running into a lot of royalty lately 😉.

Continuing on we walked down a beautiful tree-lined street filled with large, impressive looking buildings.  Some were private but we also saw a State owned museum and the school of architecture which had a very eclectic looking building from the 19th century.  As we walked on we passed the botanical gardens.  We thought about visiting but suspected that the season had already passed.

Soon we came to the Hotel Esplanade.  It’s a very nice looking Art Deco style building that still clings to the idea of service.  We found the Cafe Esplanade 1925 and ordered two cappuccinos.  The waiter told us that twice a year, on National Poem Day and National Coffee Day, that their coffee company ran a promotion.  If a customer would write a poem then one of their coffees would be free.  We joked about whether it should be a haiku or in iambic pentameter before setting our pencils to paper.

(The Hotel Esplanade)

Deborah was first to come up with something.  It was a short poem extolling the virtues of coffee.  Mine celebrated Zagreb.  Using her strongest teacher voice Deborah scolded me.  I was told that I hadn’t completed the assignment correctly.  I was told that the poem had to be about coffee.  When the waiter delivered our coffees we handed him the assignment that had been properly done and inquired about the rules once again.  We were told that the poem could be on ANY subject.  After that the coffee tasted even better.  Deborah got crap about that for the rest of the day 😉.

After our coffees we peeked inside the train station.  It was a typical, modern train station that didn’t come close to what we expected passengers on the Orient Express would have experienced.

Across the street from the train station we found a lovely park named for Croatia’s first king: King Tomislav.  He reigned in the 10th century for just three years.  While walking in the park we heard some traditional sounding music coming from a nearby street so we went over to investigate.

(King Tomislav)

We found a celebration of National Day of Older Persons.  We fit right in.  There was a stage where people were dancing in traditional costumes to traditional music.  All around the perimeter of the square were booths with handmade crafts and services tailored to senior citizens.  Apparently in 1990 the United Nations declared October 1 to be a celebration for people over the age of 60.  Who knew?  Sadly, events like this will shortly become part of our lives.

On the way to get lunch we walked back through the old town main square.  It seems like there’s an event of sort some there just about every day.  This one also featured a lot of traditional foods.  We couldn’t resist trying a piece of soparnik.  It’s a traditional Croatian food found primarily on the Dalmation Coast.  It looks like a large pizza stuffed with Swiss chard.  Ours was topped with garlic and olive oil.  It cost about $2.00 for a small slice but it was really very tasty.

 

(Soparnik)

For lunch we went back to La Struk for strukli.  This time we ordered the Roasted Pepper and Walnut and Honey versions.  We really like this place.

Distance walked: 6.7 miles