Tuesday, November 6, 2012

A drive through Former Yugoslavia - Part 1: Plitvice Lakes National Park

A couple of action packed days in Zagreb, one of former Yugoslavia's more modern cities, provided us with a great starting point for comparing and contrasting what the rest of the region would entail over the next week or so.

After being dropped off at the Zagreb airport, we picked up our rental car and were on our way, until we noticed we had no GPS despite requesting one. A quick dash back to the rental car counter, and the saleswoman advised me that she had assumed we had our own GPS due to a conversation about smart-phones, and then advised us that if we were going to Bosnia, it was highly likely that the GPS would offer any real assistance with directions, and that a paper map would be much more beneficial. Had this advice come from someone else, it would have been easy to thank them for their advice, and proceed to rent a GPS anyway, but given it was the saleswoman herself telling me, I took her advice.

Our first day of driving was hassle-free, however (although I did instinctively go to change gears with my left hand as opposed to my right a couple of times), as we made our way to Plitvice Lakes National Park. By now many of the adjectives I'd use to describe the scenery have surely lost any meaning, but the combination of sprawling lakes, waterfalls and forest of many different hues combining gave an insight into why the park is one of the most beautiful and renowned in the world.

In trying to see more of the park than what was recommended in the time we had available to us, we missed the last bus back to the car-park, which resulted in a slightly creepy, yet tranquil, walk through an almost dead-silent park after nightfall, but we were both in agreeance that if you had to miss a bus and get stuck walking somewhere after dark, it was probably the most picturesque place to do so.

Plitvice Lakes National Park

Plitvice Lakes National Park

Plitvice Lakes National Park

plitvicPlitvice Lakes National Park

Zagreb, Croatia

We arrived in Zagreb to be greated by the enthusiastic, and very friendly Helena and Davor, a recently wed couple who had agreed to host us for our time in Croatia's capital. Helena informed us she had a big night planned, so after a splendid spread of Croatian cuisine (ajvar, kulen, young cheese etc), we picked up Helena's sister and were in the Zagreb old-town with a group of friends, drinking beer and being entertained by the Croatian folk trio playing traditional folk songs. Another table got into the spirit of things, as people were jumping up and dancing on tables, clinking beers.

Zagreb, Croatia

The next morning we experienced possibly some of the best cuisine yet (I'm not sure how many times I've said that, but its the leader so far), in burek. A kind of stuffed pastry, its a Yugoslavian dish, though now some of the best Burek is said to come from Bosnia... or Macedonia, depending on whom you ask.  Luckily for us, upon hearing of our enthusiasm to eat some good burek, Helena had organised for her parents neighbour to cook up a batch for us to try. And try we did. We kept eating until we were full, and then kept eating more, it was that good.

Zagreb, Croatia

Zagreb, Croatia

Zagreb, Croatia
Bosnian burek, in Croatia, with Helena's family

It was a massive struggle to try and stay awake with so much food in my system, as we headed up into the mountains of Zagreb and enjoyed an afternoon drink with panoramic views over the city, before heading back into the city. St Mark's Church was a highlight given its different and unusual appearance seperating it from the million other churches we'd seen previously. A quick trip inside the potentially heart-string pulling 'Museum of Broken Relationships' topped off with some cheap eats at a restaurant nearby topped off a super busy couple of days prior to our journey throughout the rest of Croatia via Bosnia started the following day.

Medvegrad, Zagreb, Croatia
Medvegrad

St Marks, Zagreb, Croatia
St Mark's Cathedral

Broken Hearts Museum, Zagreb, Croatia
Museum of Broken Relationships

Zagreb, Croatia
Zagreb by night

Slovenia, small in size but not in awesomeness

I hadn't been to Slovenia before, so didn't really know what to expect. As soon as we crossed the border from Austria, the train line weaved in and out of mountain valleys and over rivers; not a bad start. Arriving in Ljubljana for our connection to Skofja Loka, we stopped off for some food, and on our way to a little takeaway store I was waved down by a man standing outside a shop. It turned out a couple of bits of paper had fallen out of my jacket pocket. As unimportant as they were, it was nice to find some genuine kindness from a stranger in a strange country.

Skofja Loka is a small city, or town, outside of Ljubjlana. The general layout is semi rural, in a spaced out 'in the hills' kind of vibe, albeit in a former Yugoslavian way. We were picked up by Jure, as we would spend the next few days with him and his family. He'd travelled to Australia a few years back and was more than happy to have us stay.

Skofja Loka, Slovenia

Skofja Loka, Slovenia

Skofja Loka, Slovenia

We were given a small tour of Jure's home and the town, including a trip to the outskirts of town to his own family cottage, complete with a wooden fireplace. It was to be our sleeping quarters for the night, but some re-arranging of beds in his home meant it was not to be. We also had our first rakija experience, pre-dinner no less. The home-made schnapps like drink is very popular and customary throughout the region (and all of the former Yugoslav countries as we would find out), and was accompanied by some sliced horse sausage (think salami, but ridiculously strongly flavoured).

Skofja Loka, Slovenia

Skofja Loka, Slovenia

Skofja Loka, Slovenia

Skofja Loka, Slovenia
Skofja Loka

Luckily for us, Jure had a bit of free time, and was more than happy to show us around Slovenia for the next couple of days. Our whirlwind sojourn started off at Bohinj lake, an arguably more aestheticly pleasing and vastly less touristy version of Lake Bled, which we would end up at later in the day? Personally, I think the jury's still out.

Lake Bled, Slovenia
Lake Bled

Lake Bled, Slovenia
Lake Bled

Lake Bled, Slovenia
Bled Castle


Bohinj Lake, Slovenia

Bohinj Lake

Bohinj Lake, Slovenia
Bohinj Lake

Bohinj Lake, Slovenia
Bohinj Lake

We headed back into Ljubljana to catch our oncoming train to Zagreb in Croatia, but not before spending a night in the city itself.  Perhaps more influenced by its western neighbours, and also lucky to avoid much of the conflict shared by its eastern former Yugoslav counterparts, Ljubljana could have been any city in Austria. Dubbed as the 'new Prague' for  while now, I'm positive this city will become the 'next big thing' in years to come. 

Architecturally stunning, a mountain with a castle, cafe culture, shopping, and that tourist friendly combination of modern conveniences and old world charm, it ticks all the boxes. We even had an interesting entcounter in Metelkova, as a shirtless middle aged man persisting we take photos of his dog (how he expected us to give them to him, I have no idea), but given the liberal arts/hippie/squatting nature of the district, I'm not too sure he was in the right state of mind to think that through either.  Ljubljana - much like Slovenia as a whole, it'll definitely be a place I'll be singing the praises of for a while yet. 

Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ljubljana

Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ljubljana


Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ljubljana


Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ljubljana



Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ljubljana

Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ljubljana


Slovenia Panorama
Ljubljana

(More photos on Flickr here)

Graz, Austria... I'll be back

The trip from Bern to Graz was another one of those long haul journeys, a good time to sit back and watch the countryside pass by while reading, writing, listening to music and all those other relaxing things. After the last couple of long trips on the bus, it was nice to have a bit of room to move around on a train.

We'd opted to spend more time in Bern and Graz as opposed to Zurich, and much like we did with Geneva, we arrived half a day prior to our connecting overnight train, checked our luggage, and had a walk around. The overnight train departed Zurich a touch past half eight, and at this stage the train was 90% empty, so we managed to find a couple of double-seats to spread ourselves out on. 

After arriving in Graz at an obscenely early hour (7:00am) - we headed to our Austrian host Chris' city centre apartment, waking him up (Sorry Chris). A couple of hours later and we were out checking the sights. A cone full of roasted chesnuts from a street side vendor provided some sustinance, before heading out for a few drinks and sampling a variety of Austrian beers.

All in all, Graz was great, it had the perfect mix of a wonderful architecture, wonderful landscapes in the surrounds, yet a nice relaxed, almost 'small town' vibe to it (though this may have been due to it being in Autumn...).

Graz, Austria

Graz, Austria

Graz, Austria

Graz, Austria

Graz, Austria


Following another day spent exploring the city of Graz, we headed out the next day on the road with Chris, driving around the Austrian countryside. We ventured to Thal, a small village outside of Graz, and the birthplace of none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger.  His old house has been turned into museum, which provided a mix of genuinely cool stuff with some more tacky stuff.


Graz, Austria

Graz, Austria

Graz, Austria
Graz

Schwarzenegger Museum, Thal

Schwarzenegger Museum, Thal

Schwarzenegger Museum, Thal

Schwarzenegger Museum, Thal
Schwarzenegger Museum, Thal 

(More photos on Flickr here)

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Bern, Switzerland

Having stayed an extra night in Lyon as opposed to spending it in Geneva, we were up early to try and make it to Geneva in the morning to have a quick look around before heading further on to Bern in the afternoon. As nice as Geneva was, we got the feeling pretty quickly that we'd made the right decision, as we passed by government buildings, headquarters, plenty of 'suits'. Lake Geneva was stunning, and whilst I'm sure we could have found a lot more amazing things to do had we scratched the surface, we were quite eager to get back on the train and onto Bern.

Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva

Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva

Bern is a small city, but even still, our location on the outskirts of the old town was ideal. Not only did it work out to be a perfect starting point for a couple of introductory pints with our host Nik, but we didn't have far to walk on the way home after feeling a bit lightheaded... after noticing how expensive meals in Switzerland are these days.

We were, very lucky, for the culinary experience side of things in itself to have not one, but two, Swiss Fondue experiences during our time in Bern. The 'standard' cheese fondue was as expected (amazing), but as enjoyable as it was, the meat fondue the following night was nothing less than a feast. Neither Abby or I had encountered a meat fondue before, and we were in for a treat as copious amounts of different cuts of meat (uncooked) were cooked in a fondue set filled with broth, and accompanied with a plethora of sauces and salads. A condiment lovers heaven.

Moving on from food for a change - the old town, with its cobbled streets, large plazas, fountains, and bomb-shelters turned retail spaces were nice to walk through, but the real jewel in the crown from Bern, much like lots of Switzerland I feel, is its natural beauty, and the way the landscape and the towns, cities and villages combine for some amazing scenery.

Street Chess, Bern
Bern

Bern
Bern

Bern
Bern

The river Aarte winds through Bern, with a steep rise and eventually mountains on one side, and the old town on the other. In summer, many locals will swim, drift or raft along the turquoise river. From the Nydeggbrucke bridge, there are splendid views of the old town and river, and also of the  Barenpark (Bear Park). The bear, is the symbol of Bern, and for many years, until very recently I found out (only 3 years ago!) bears have been kept in a small circular, depressing enclosure (Barengraben, or bear pit), but have since moved to a more a natural, larger, and less depressing enclosure, right on the edge of the river, not too far from their previous home.

Bear Park, Bern
Bear Park

Bear Park, Bern
Bear Park

Bear Pit, Bern
Old Bear Pit

Bear Park, Bern
Bear Park

Bear Park, Bern
Bear Park

The river, which in summer is host to many local swimmers (despite the strength of its current) borders many other attractions and sights, including the Tierpark (zoo), historical bridges, as well as the aforementioned bear park and old town. A plethora of wet eaves of many hues littered the path from the zoo to back to the old town, providing a sight as slippery underfoot as it was scenic.

Tierpark (Zoo), Bern
Tierpark (Zoo)

Aare River
Aare River

Once reaching the junction of the bear park, river, old town - at the end of the Nydeggbrucke, a short walk up an incredibly steep cobbled path leads to a rose garden, but more importantly, an amazing panoramic view over the city, and a great place to sit and relax while you wait for the aching in your legs to subside.

Bern
Bern