Adriatic Treasures: Croatia to Venice
Mike and Judy Henderson
September 13-29, 2019
I'm going to leave the map at the start of each page so you can see where we are.
9/21/2019 (Saturday) Here's a picture of the Esplanade Zagreb Hotel. It's a decent hotel, old and having a fine restaurant, but with a few issues.
This day started with a talk by the former Minister of Tourism for Croatia. She also happens to be the mother of the woman who welcomed us into her home and taught us all about silkworms and making silk thread. This woman shared her career path from being an employee in a small travel agency during the Yugoslavian Communist regime, being given increasingly more responsibility thanks to her business acumen, while dealing with a male-dominated society and workplace ethic. She vividly described being offered promotion, or being fired. She had to accept even knowing the problems she would face. At the outbreak of the war which ended with the dissolution of Yugoslavia, she had a narrow escape from Dubrovnik on the last night ferry, after the roads and airports were closed. It gave a very clear microcosm of life at that time.
Then we boarded the coach to go to the old town of Zagreb, where we met met our guide for the day.
A local event brought crowds to the main square this day, with lots of people, and stands selling different things.
This model of the Old Town helped the guide explain where things are.
We went to the Zagreb Cathedral.
A view towards the altar.
And a close up of the altar.
Behind the altar is the burial place of Archbishop Aloysius Stepinac.
When we came out of the church there were some young people in costume, ready to demonstrate local dances and music. They were happy and friendly.
I thought this young girl was very cute so I took her picture.
Then we went to an underground "Farmer's Market".
We tasted cottage cheese and cheese by a local maker who has a small number of cows.
Some of our group sampling the cheese.
Then we went to another stall and were offered a variety of cheeses: sheep, cow, and goat.
The cheese was presented with a small flag that indicated what kind of cheese it was.
When we left the market, we went to the "World's shortest funicular." It is supposedly about a meter shorter than Angel's Flight in our area of Los Angeles.
A view of the city from the top of the funicular.
We walked to St. Mark's Church but didn't go in. The church's claim to fame is its roof. The coat of arms with the castle is the symbol of Zagreb while the other is that of Croatia.
What was so amazing - and which doesn't show in the picture - is how the tiles on the roof glisten. It was as if they were glass, and they sparkled.
From the church we walked to a restaurant. The young woman in costume offered each of us a heart, which is a symbol of this area.
The people at the restaurant were very nice to us, but the food was not extraordinary.
After lunch we were on our own and Judy and I walked back to the hotel. On the way, I took this picture of one of the trams that provide public transportation in Zagreb. Much of the architecture dates from the Hapsburg period, and parts of the city resemble Vienna.
After working on the blog in the afternoon we had a light dinner in the hotel bistro with other tour members.
9/22/2019 (Sunday) We depart Zagreb today, heading for Ljubljana. But first, we're going to visit the Trakošćan Castle.
Here's our first view of the castle, built high on a hill.
They took us up to the castle in a couple of SUVs.
Even then, there's was a long way to walk.
We were rewarded with a beautiful view of the countryside.
We met our guide, Lana.
Tauck presented a group of people who demonstrate the fashion of the castle era. The woman on the left is the organizer. She makes most of the costumes, and gives a very animated presentation of the costumes and how they represent societal norms of the times.
A closer look at them and the costumes.
The later era of the castle.
The earliest era. Note the shoes worn by the man.
Next we went into the castle. We were invited to help demonstrate, and Laura tried on medieval "high heels". Their purpose was to elevate the woman so her long gown would be above any "dirt" on the pavement.
And Doug tried on the long, pointed shoes.
Then we were led in a "round dance".
Which had everyone laughing soon.
Then she led the group into a "spiral dance".
After this event we toured the castle.
And had lunch in the castle restaurant.
After leaving the castle we headed to Ljubljana and encountered the first serious rain of the tour. There was more rain to come.
We checked into the InterContinental Ljubljana, a really super hotel - very modern and nice. We were on the 17th floor and had a great view of the city.
We had a walking tour of the city scheduled, and even though it was raining, we went. The hotel provided umbrellas.
Here's our guide who will be with us for the next couple of days.
We headed out as an umbrella parade.
And walked to the main square next to the River Ljubljanica.
Rich wanted to be sure he was protected from the rain.
From the square we could see the Ljubljana Castle which we will visit tomorrow.
Right next to the square is the Triple Bridge. We didn't cross it initially but did on our return.
We walked down to, and crossed, Butcher's Bridge. This is a modern foot bridge and has become the place for young people to place "love locks".
On the other side of the Butcher's Bridge is the Dragon Bridge, named for the dragon sculptures on each end of the bridge. The dragon is the symbol of the city, relating to the near-slaying of the dragon by Saint George in local myth.
Here's one of the dragons. I took this picture the next day as we were driving by. I was very lucky to get this shot.
Then we walked to Ljubljana Cathedral. We didn't go in but did stop to look at one of the doors. The door is modern and celebrates the visit of a pope (the figure at the top of the door).
Then we entered the old town.
We had a short visit inside this municipal building.
Where they had a map of the city on one wall.
Not far from the municipal building was the restaurant where we were heading to have dinner.
A view of some of our tour members in the restaurant. The dishes were "local". We had the local version of Hungarian goulash. It was very good.
There were some recipes on the walls and I was asked to take a picture of one of them.
Then it was back to the hotel to prepare for another day.
Our adventure continues here.