Blog 6 - from the mountain peaks to the basement

BLOG 6 - FROM THE MOUNTAIN PEAKS TO THE BASEMENT...

Hi everyone. Greetings from the capital of Croatia, Zagreb. As I write, Gary Ablett has just won the Brownlow Medal (oops, spoiler alert...) and various family members are either flying in to Melbourne, or pleading for tickets on line, to get to the Grand Final...where Hawthorn will unfortunately lose to Freo (I actually predicted Freo would win three weeks ago...).

We've just started our third month on our "journey" (not the X-factor type the real thing), but I'm casting my mind back to week 7 and driving into a place called Heiligenblut, Austria. It was a place chosen on a whim, and an amazing on line view of Grossglöckner, the highest mountain in Austria. When we got there, we were rewarded with that amazing view...and a ghost town of a hostel with about three other inhabitants, no wifi, no cooking facilities, and a surly, unhappy hostel manager who acted as though we had interrupted her down-season by being there (granted last night there we were the only ones there!!).

 

Heiligenblut and surrounds were beautiful, and we had a great time exploring the countryside, going for walks, hikes and runs, looking at windflowers and marmots (weird badger things...I think that's the Wikipedia definition) and generally being all at one with nature. It was nice. The glacier, part of the Grossglöckner park, had basically dwindled to a fraction of its former size. One of the rangers told us that only 20years ago there was a walking track through the tunnel in the glacier. Now there's a half hour climb down to see a bit of blue ice. It is a tragedy. Luckily climate change is crap...or so sayeth our new PM at one time (don't blame me, I didn't vote!)

(Marmots!)

 

(Glacier...what's left of it...)

 

(View from our room)

***OBSCENE BEAUTY ALERT*** Our next stop was Slovenia and Lake Bled. One of the luxurious and downright bizarre things about this trip is that I saw this place in a book and thought that it looked amazing...so we went, and it was!

We stayed in a Hostel/family room and it was okay. We had the choice of either sleeping with the windows open and listening to drunk Slovenians drinking, singing and generally carrying on. No indoor voices those people! Or sleeping with the windows shut and slowly sautéing in our own sweat (nice visual?)

We spent almost all our time at or near the lake: swimming in it, eating ice cream beside it, photographing it, running round it (a good 6km flat run, was great!), riding round it (which we as a family are NEVER SPEAKING OF AGAIN), rowing in it (wow nothing like rowing to make you realise a) that you have a strong arm and a weak arm and b) how amazingly uncoordinated you can be). Oh, here's a million photos!!

 

(BledGrad - castle)

(Vintgar gorge)

 

 

 

 

Our one trip away from Bled while there was to Vintgar gorge, which was sehr schön (sorry I'm lapsing into occasional German as I've spoken it more than English it feels recently!) - very beautiful! Renae and I, as old Australians spurred on by a young Welsh couple, jumped into ten degree water at the foot of a waterfall. Less romantic than it sounds!

(Yes, it's freeeeezing!)

 

We left Bled, and decided to spoil ourselves with a stay in a really impressive hoel in Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia. Eurobasket finals, the European basketball championships (I'm sure you worked that out!) we're being held there, and all the countries were staying in the hotel. We were often in the lifts with unnaturally tall people...and next to Billie, it was pretty weird. We felt a bit Ma and Pa Kettle as we took a car lift to the car park...wow we don't have thinks like that in Orstraya! Didn't do the place justice, as kids and I just hung out in a water park while Renae shopped, then gorged on buffet dinner and lunch...or maybe we did do it justice. We may never know!

Then Dobre došli, we're in Croatia!!!!!!

Our first stop, through the tunnels, the tolls and the outrageously narrow, scrape-inducing streets, was Zadar. We stayed at an Air-BNB house, apartment in the front (us) and family at the back. Thought that may be awkward, but they were lovely...even helped me get a fire going for a barbecue. (I know, I'm ashamed...it's unAustralian!)

Zadar was charming, a bit rough around the edges, but we generally have been getting very good weather, and we bought the kids mask and snorkels so they rarely left the water! We sat and drank beer and wine and looked out over the islands and watched the sunset.

(Zadar from the church tower)

 

(Hitchcock was right...)

 

(They do worship me here...)

 

The old town had a strong Roman influence and we enjoyed looking round, climbing the church tower, buying produce (and probably being ripped off) at the local market. Alfred Hitchcock stayed here and remarked that the Zadar sunset was the best he'd ever seen! We caught a ferry to Preko on the island of Ulgjan (I think) and swam and ate a massive seafood meal. A lady on a ferry befriended the kids and invited us to her house for coffee in Zagreb. I lost her email address...

 

On we went to Istria, which markets itself as the Land of Good Wine. We had great expectations about this region, and where we were staying, and we weren't disappointed on either level.

We stopped at Plitviče lakes, which everyone said (including Trip Advisor) was one of the must see things...in the world really. It was..um...nice, pretty...crowded.

(Plitviče lakes)

We stayed in a town called Baderna, near a bigger town called Poreč (Poretch if you're wondering what the weird accent means). Our hosts were Sonja and Rade, and along with their daughter Jelena, have been one of the highlights of our trip. They welcomed us warmly, their accommodation was amazing. Great beds and facilities, trees to climb (Billie has so many war wounds but would not change a thing), bocce to play, and a beautiful dog Buba that the kids doted on.

We had many day trips, including Poreč, Grosnjan (my favourite - full of art shops and streets you could just wander around and lose yourself in!), Rovinj (the Venice of Istria) and Motovun (beautiful town, perched literally on the top of a hill...a bugger to climb). The Italian influence is very apparent in Istria, being once a part of Italy, and Italy just being over the water a bit. But there is a very relaxed and comfortable mentality to Istrians generally that we identified with and appreciated.

(Poreč at night)

We had a meal with our hosts, as well as drinks at the first and last night. We had a chance to get to know them, their lives, how they met, and their philosophy on life (I know that sounds twee, but it has given us pause to think about why we do what we do). Interestingly, their English is poor, our Croatian is poor so we communicated through German! Wasn't too bad!!

(Awww, Buba the dog!)

There was truffle-infused...everything! There was Teran and Malvazija the local wines, there was čevapčiči, there was honey schnapps (actually there still is as they gave us some as a parting gift)!

There was also a stone that decided to crack our windscreen and we spent the last week of having the car watching it spread slowly across the glass! Best 20€ spent to get glass and tyre insurance!

But our time in Istria, when we look back from our respective institutions in ten months time, will be a highlight I have no doubt. We will be back in ten years for singing and dancing! Živjeli!!

Nb more photos from Instria in the next blog....

And finallllllly, Zagreb. More on that next time other that to say that with a $70 AirBNB room, you get what you pay for. We were taken down underground to an apartment that was arty/bohemian if you are being polite, dodgy if you wanted to call it as it is. One night there of no sleep and we have changed to a bright open, comfortable apartment on the main square. We're here till Friday...try the veal.

Renae is looking up ways to get to Dubrovnik, Jessie is reading Harry Potter to Billie in the other room (Jess is about to start number 6...she has discovered reading in a massive, almost antisocial way!)

Ahh, there are moments when you feel you may not be doing permanent damage to your or your family's emotional well being. This may be one of them.

Hope all is well with family and friends. Hugs for Scouty and Carly. Go Hawks. Dovidenja from the EuropeanCaravans!!!

 

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