Zadar to Trogir, Croatia

Posted on September 30, 2017 by Trudy

Day 26, Saturday, September 30, 2017

Today is a travel day from Zadar to Trogir. Here are a couple photos from the car of the drive here. We take the freeway and pay the toll as it is quite a bit faster than the non-toll roads.Driving through a huge flat valley on the way to Trogir there isn’t much to see, no farming and very few houses or towns. It seems kind of strange.We will be in Trogir for a week and there is a lot to see in this area so I think we will be busy. We are also only about a half hour from Split which we want to visit as well. Our apartment here is lovely and it has the biggest kitchen yet this trip. It is so nice to have a bit more room to prepare meals, and the TV has lots of English channels so Bob is enjoying that. We relax after arriving early afternoon and then go get our groceries for the week. Kind of a lazy day.

Here’s a couple photos that you might find interesting. I love peeking into doorways and openings. This is what I saw when I looked into an opening into an abandoned basement while we were in Jablanac last Wednesday.I know duct tape can be used for a lot of things. I always bring a bit with me when we travel and it often comes in handy but we have never seen it used to hold down road stones! We found this strange sight in a parking lot in Senj.

Zadar, Croatia

Posted on September 29, 2017 by Trudy

Day 25, Friday, September 29, 2017

It was a beautiful day for our drive to Zadar. The sun was shining, and the sky was blue. The Adriatic Sea is amazing, it is so clear and has such incredible shades of blue, everything from aquamarine to indigo.I keep snapping photos from the car window and telling Bob about all the different colours of the water. There are little inlets all along the coast…

and many of them have beaches. This one was below a lookout where we stopped to have our lunch.

I took this to show how very clear the water is. I now understand why so many people come to the beaches in Croatia, and yes, the water really was that blue!

I also saw these and wonder if they are buoys maybe for lobster traps? Maybe someone reding this knows what they are and can let me know? I forgot to post a link to our apartment in Senj and here is our home in Zadar for those who are curious about Airbnb accommadations. We have had very good luck with all our Airbnb bookings on all of our trips. We decided to visit Zadar because I read about the Sea Organ and the Sun Salutation, two amazing art installations by local architect, Nikola Bašić. I recorded my own Sea organ music but I need to learn how to load videos to YouTube so I can include them in my blog. The link I have included was a video I found online. We sat at sunset and listened to some phenomenal music created by the ocean waves, It really was quite magical.

Next we checked out the Sun Salutation, and it was pretty unique as well.

We decide that we might as well climb the Radar Cathedral Bell Tower. The entrance fee is only 15 Kuna, which is $3.00. The tower is 56 meters, or 184 feet tall.

Only 209 steps later and we are at the top platform with the railing, right below the roof. which has great views of the city lights.

This is looking up at the angel on top of the roof…and here is Bob.It was a little bit scary climbing the narrow winding steps right near the top. We were above the bells, and there didn’t seem to be much holding up those metal stairs. This is looking down from the top of the stairs.

And here are some views of the bells, which are enormous. They also rang for 9:00pm just minutes after we left the tower!

The Church of St. Donatus is open until 9 pm so we visit there next. This is a 9th Century church which is built on the ruins of a Roman Forum.

Here are some interior views. This is very different from any of the other churches we have visited in Europe.

Some of the stones used to build this church were from temples that were built to Juno and Jupiter. It is hard to wrap my head around just how old these stones and buildings are.

You may or may not know that I love trees, and that is a Roman Gate in the background.

We wander up and down a few of the streets and we are surprised at how many of the shops are still open.Restaurants often occupy very interesting buildings.This was such a pretty window I just had to take its picture… and then we walk back across the bridge to our car for the short drive home.

Crikvenica, Croatia

Posted on September 28, 2017 by Trudy

Day 24, Thursday, September 28, 2017

About 40 minutes north of Senj is the is the town of Crikvenica, which is one of the most popular tourist resorts in this area. It has a long pebble beach and we finally feel like we are at an ocean beach. It is a beautiful sunny day and 25 above.There aren’t a lot of people on the beach but we do see quite a few people in the water, which I think is still a bit cool. We walk south along the beach to the Kaštel Hotel which used to be a monastery in the 14th Century. It is pretty quiet down this end of the beach so we walk in the other direction…

looking for a spot to sit and have lunch. I find this old abandoned hotel, the Miramare, to draw, so we sit here for a while but sitting on a pebble beach isn’t the most comfortable.

We find softer seats and enjoy a drink gazing out at the ocean.

There seem to be a lot of portrait busts in Croatia and I particularly like the attitude of this one.These begonias and potato vines grow about ten times larger than they do in our back yard!On our way to Senj we drove on this elevated highway but we had no idea we were up so high. Today we parked right underneath it.

I snap these two pictures from the car window on the way home. The late afternoon sun was reflecting on the water and the Bura (wind) was picking the water up off the surface of the ocean in places.Too bad that isn’t visible in these photos.I tried to get a picture of this bell tower on the way to Crikvenica but was too late and missed it again coming home but I was able to snap this photo in the rear view mirror.

Here are a few more journal pages. I am behind but I have bits and pieces finished between these pages and today’s drawing. It was great to sit and sketch on location today. I have managed that a few times but definitely need to make more time for this during the rest of our holiday.

Coastal Towns South of Senj

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Trudy

Day 23, Wednesday September 27, 2017

Today we drove south of Senj to explore some of the little towns along the coast. This little fellow thinks that the middle of the road is the best place to take a nap, as do many of the cats that live around here.First stop is Sveti Juraz where we look for the ruins of a medieval church in a graveyard. We find it by accident when we were returning to our car. Seems that these attractions are not well marked in small towns.While we were looking for the cemetery we find a path up to the top of this hill and climb up there to see what the cross at the top is about. We get to the top but are still none the wiser about why this cross is here but We have great views of the town.
This little chapel has a little shrine with a statue and flowers inside.

There are lots of wild flowers here; these little pink ones are everywhere and there are several different aromatic herbs growing wild too, thyme, rosemary and some others I didn’t know the names of.

The next stop was a ‘lets get out of here’ visit. Lukovo supposedly has a pretty pebble beach and great views of the rocky islands off shore. The road to this town was the narrowest, windiest road we have ever driven on. It is really only wide enough for one car but it is a two way road and the corners are so tight that it is impossible to tell if there is another car approaching. It was pretty scary, and then when we get to the town, the roads are still very narrow, just barely wide enough for our car! We make our way down to the harbour but there are no street signs or any way to find the beach so we make our way back to the highway which is high above the town. We never made it to the beach that looks like a lake in this photo.

Starigrad was the next town but the road looks even narrower and has potholes so we decide not to even attempt it. We did make it to Jablanac, and headed to the beach for a late picnic lunch. The beach was cement! but the sun was shining and we enjoyed sitting and relaxing, watching people swim in the ocean and the boats going in and out. This photo is for my friend Pat. I told her I would dip my toe into the ocean for her today. The water was a bit cool but not too bad, and it was beautifully clear and clean.

We walked about looking for an alpine hut that is supposed to be the lowest altitude alpine hut in the world. After climbing 122 steps up to the hut we discover that it is no longer an alpine hut but that it is now a private home. The owner kindly let us come into her yard to take a couple photos. The hut is the white building with a red roof on the right hand side of the photo below. Seems nothing today is as we thought it was going to be!Here is the view from the ‘alpine hut’ and you can see the cement beach along the left side of the photo.While we were walking through the town I peered into an abandoned building and saw all this. There are so many buildings in Croatia that are abandoned and empty, often falling into ruin. I wonder why? Perhaps so many young people are leaving the smaller towns and heading to the cities to find work? Sometimes we are so busy looking at the big things that we miss the little ones. This plant growing by the steps down to the beach was covered with white snails.So, any guesses as to what this is?Our last stop for the day was the pretty little town of Stinica. The new ferry port to the neighbouring islands is located here. You can just make out many stone walls in this photo. These walls are all over the hillsides, sometimes on very steep mountain sides and I wonder who built them and why? Perhaps they are terraces for gardening but the ground is so very rocky everywhere it doesn’t seem likely. Sometimes they are on such steep hillsides that it would seem impossible to grow anything. I guess it remains a mystery for now.

In spite of everything not going exactly like we expected today we still enjoyed our drive and the scenery. Oh, and the funny little cubicles were changing rooms at the beach.

Plitvice Lakes National Park

Posted on September 26, 2017 by Trudy

Day 22, Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Plitvice Lakes were proclaimed a National Park in 1949 and they were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1979. There are sixteen lakes in the park and an incredible number of waterfalls. Over thousands of years the water has eroded and dissolved limestone rocks and the dissolved calcium carbonate reforms as tufa, a porous stone that makes barriers between the lakes. This results in new falls and cascades being constantly created.

The Plitvice Lakes Park are amazing. We soon ran out of words to describe the wonder of so many waterfalls and cascades, and the beauty the we saw all around us. The weather report said it was to be a cloudy day, but it forgot to mention the rain and mist! It was drizzling and misty most of the morning but the rain eventually stopped later in the afternoon. We only saw the sun for about three minutes! In spite of this we had a fantastic day. I think it is best is to post some of the many photos I took and let you wander through the park along with us. The reflections in the water were beautiful and I kept wondering what all this would look like on a calm sunny day?

There is water rushing everywhere!These steps, all 212 of them lead to a huge sinkhole and the Supljara Cave .
Notice there are no hand rails on the boardwalks! I saw two people trip and almost go over the edge so I am sure it must sometimes happen.Here we were walking right on top of a waterfall, and it is one of the few places that had a handrail. Yes, we wore ugly plastic rain ponchos as did many other hikers. and thankfully they helped keep us warmer and drier.These are called the Big Falls.The water runs everywhere and somehow trees manage to grow in waterfalls and shallow lakes. We turn the corner and see this.
and this! These falls are 28 meters tall.

There are boardwalks everywhere, even right over top of waterfalls,
but as I said, no handrails .The reflections were stunning…
and the colours of the lakes were amazing.Every lake was different colour.We walked through areas with interesting trees…
and I really liked the roots on this tree.
The water everywhere is absolutely crystal clear.
There are bears, wolves, deer, wild boar, and wild cats in the park but the only animal we see is this busy little squirrel.
We walked for more than six hours, about 22,000 steps which is almost nine miles and we climbed the equivalent of 84 flights of stairs. We figured it out and that is more than 1400 stairs up and as many back down. No wonder we were both tired tonight.

Senj, Croatia

Posted on September 25, 2017 by Trudy

Day 20, Sunday, September 24, 2017 Day 21, Monday, September 25, 2017

Sunday was a quiet day. We had planned a rest day Sunday anyways, so the fact that it rained most of the day didn’t really matter. I rested, l journaled a bit and worked on the blog. I was a day behind, so it was good to get caught up. Thanks to everyone who has either ‘liked’ a post or commented on one. It is really nice to know that there are people out there actually reading this. So thank you.

Monday afternoon we visit the Nehaj Senj which is a fortress that was built in 1558. It is high on the hill above Senj.

The main floor of the fortress is now a restaurant.We climbed stone steps up to the second, and third floors, which have historical exhibits, mostly weapons and soldiers uniforms.This is the uniform of the Uskoks, the Croatian soldier of the 1500’s. They sure carried a lot of weapons.

The top fourth floor was open to the wind. The Bora! We were nearly blown off the top of the fortress!

The Bora is a cold wind that blows from the continent through the mountain pass towards the sea. Senj is the windiest part of the Eastern Adriatic. Of course we didn’t know that when we booked our apartment here! It is terribly windy up here but the views are great.

This is an etching done in the 1600’s showing the town of Senj, with the walls that protected it and the fortress up on the hill.

There are still remnants of the old town wall visible today. We see the bell tower and use it to find the town church. I wonder what is behind the curtain on this side chapel …so I peek inside ( I know… I probably shouldn’t have) and find another mummified saint.

The sky isn’t looking too promising, weather wise…but when we return home we are treated to this view from our apartment window. At least we can see a bit of sun. We are planning on visiting the Plitvice Lakes tomorrow so we are hoping that the weather improves a bit.

Rabac, Labin and Senj, Croatia

Posted on September 24, 2017 by Trudy

Day 19, Saturday, September 23, 2017

Today we drive to Senj, about four hours south of Pula. We wanted an early start so we can visit a couple of towns along the way. First stop is Rabac, which is a popular seaside resort.Even if we could afford these five star hotels we both think we prefer our little Arbnb’s .We wandered along the beach and found place to sit and then remembered that we had left the cell phone in the car, sitting in plain view, so we cut short our beach visit. I was surprised at how warm the water was. Of course our car is parked way up at the top of the hill overlooking the beach!

Rabac is only 4 km from the town of Labin, pop. 12,000.

We wander the streets of Labin and end up at the Gothic Church of the Blessed Mary’s Birth. I liked the book stand that looks like a little dragon. Closer inspection revealed it was only a bull with wings, but I so liked the idea of it being a dragon.

We decide to climb the bell tower. The entrance fee is only 7 Kuna each, about $1.40, which is so reasonable. I am surprised at how inexpensive the entrance fees to museums, churches and monuments are in Croatia. I don’t suppose it will be that way in Italy though. We climb up 68 very old steps that are almost like ladders to get to the top of the tower. This is the view looking down the opening beside the stairs which has the two ropes for ringing the bells hanging here. It is a long way down!

There are two bells at the top…

and great views. This is looking towards Rabac.

The narrow streets are paved with stone which is rutted from centuries of passing wagon wheels. At the front of this photo you can see that these stones are placed on edge so that they will not shift easily, They are at least ten inches deep which surprised me.

Many of the streets are only wide enough for pedestrians, or perhaps a burro or two?

We have seen lots of cats in Croatia but this is the first kitten and it is so tiny.There are several artists displaying their work along the streets. I wonder who buys this kind of art?

This stone wall was growing plants and purple flowers, they are some sort of campanula I think. There are hills to climb…and lots and lots of steps…

and then more steps.

We both like exploring these little towns that are not so ‘touristy’ but soon it is time to make our way to Senj. We decide that we will avoid the toll highways, which we soon discover is a bit of a mistake. We have about two hours of driving on very hilly winding roads with quite a few hairpin turns.We are both rather relieved when we are back on a major highway. It is much easier driving and certainly a lot faster. Not all of Croatia is old, we just like the old parts the best. There are more modern areas around the old parts of towns, with new fancy buildings and quite a few of these generic sort of apartment blocks. They are not very attractive and many of them look quite neglected and in need of repair. These are some of the nicer ones that we have passed along the highway.
This is our first glimpse of Senj, our home for the next seven days, and yes, of course it has a church on a hill!

Vodnjan, Bale and Rovinj, Croatia

Posted on September 23, 2017 by Trudy

Day 18, Friday September 22, 2017,continued.

I am not sure what was going on last night, but nothing was working as it should have. I do love blogging about our trip. It is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family and it is a keepsake of our trip for ourselves. It does take quite a bit of time and effort to post every day, especially when I am not the most computer savvy person, so when things don’t work it can be quite frustrating. My hope is to one day turn these blog postings about our trips into books.

We walked by this interesting mural on the side of a building in Vodnjan as we returned to the car park. Finding parking in the old part of town is always a challenge, but we have been pretty lucky finding public car parks with reasonable rates, anywhere from 4 to 8 Kuna an hour ($.80 to $1.60 an hour)

I love the old towns, with their passage ways and doors leading into interesting little streets, courtyards and gardens. On our way to Bale, the next town on our itinerary today, we stop to visit this Kažun Theme Park, which has the four stages of building a kažun demonstrated and several other examples of different styles as well as dry stone walls. A kažun is a shelter for peasants and shepherds that was built in areas where it was necessary to clear the stone in order to farm the land.The next town we visit is Bale, pop. 900. It is a quiet rather sleepy little town with very old buildings and very narrow winding streets. There is a gate leading into the town through a tower in the old town wall. The Church of St. Elizabeth has wonderful paintings on the ceiling and walls. This narrow street seems to be serving as someone’s garden.

There is another tiny church here dedicated to the Holy Spirit and built in the 15th Century. It reminded me of the cave churches we visited in Cappadocia, Turkey.
We find a playground with a picnic table and have our lunch. I peek into a crack in a nearby fence and spot these crocus in bloom. Seems strange, crocus bloom in the spring at home but in the fall here.This abandoned building is just across the field from where have our lunch. We see these sort of buildings everywhere in Croatia. Old stone buildings in various stages of disrepair or collapse. They are not demolished but left just as they are. Perhaps some day someone will decide to renovate? In any case, it seems like nothing is ever torn down here. Everything is left just as it is, a reminder of times past.Just fifteen kilometres down the highway is Rovinj, pop.13,000. This was originally an island port that was joined to the coast in 1763 by filling in the channel separating it from the mainland, creating a peninsula. We walk up this street looking for the cathedral. Yes, another one! Every town, no matter how tiny has a church or cathedral and usually a tall bellower that is the highest point in the town. The streets here are lined with restaurants, cafes and shops catering to tourists who seem to be quite a younger crowd than we have seen elsewhere.We get sidetracked, (lost) and end up on the backside of the cathedral, so we sit to have little rest and a snack on a park bench, I draw this view while Bob amuses himself with a Games magazine.We finally find the road up to the Cathedral which is dedicated to Saint Euphemia, whose remains are preserved in a sarcophagus inside.Another beautiful Madonna…and we discover that the church is decorated for a wedding.Just a short time later we see the bride and groom arrive with the photographer to take their photos before the wedding. They are both wearing colourful running shoes. The bride’s were bright turquoise.We slowly make our way back down the streets towards the marina exploring as we go.Little shops are tucked into the tiniest of places, often displaying most of their wares right on the street.

There are lots of bright shutters and laundry high above us.

This street is entered through a low archway. I think Friday might be laundry day as we see laundry hanging from so many windows. Also notice the street pavers that are worn so smooth and shiny. I wonder how many feet have trod on these stones over the centuries?Soon we are back on the street by the water and we sit for a while in the sunshine, enjoying the warmth and the people watching.
There are also a lot of boats to watch as well! We walk back towards our car which is parked on the street past the very far right of this picture. It is a long walk back to the car and then about an hour to drive home to our cozy apartment. We both really enjoyed the day. It sure is nice to have sunshine after all the rainy windy weather of the first two weeks of our holiday.

Mummified Saints

Posted on September 22, 2017 by Trudy

Day 18, September 21, 2017

Vodnjan (pop. 4,000) was the first of three towns that we visited today. As we drove into the town the streets got narrower…and narrower….and narrower!We make our way to St. Blaise Church which is known for its mummified saints. We first view many skulls and bits of bones from Christians who were persecuted and killed by the Romans. These were displayed on the right hand side of the altar. They are in the cases which look red and yellow in the picture below. We are then shown into a room behind the altar to view the mummified remains of six Saints. No pictures were allowed but I found some on the internet.The bodies of these saints have survived without being embalmed in any way. This is Saint Nicolosa, who died in 1512. She was a nun who became an abbess. Saint Leonis Bembo died in 1188.These are the hands of another one of the Saints.

I am having computer problems tonight and I am getting rather frustrated, so I think I will finish this post tomorrow. It is late and we leave our Airbnb in Pula tomorrow morning. Next stop is Senj, a small town of 8,000 about a four hour drive south from here.

The Sun Is Shining In Poreč, Croatia!

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Trudy

Day 17, Thursday September 21, 2017

Finally, the sun is shining and it is a beautiful day! We drive to Poreč, which sounds like porridge, and spend most of the day exploring this Croatian Town. The town’s main feature is a 6th Century Byzantine church, The Euphrasian Basilica.We climb these stairs, all 118 of them up to the bell tower for some great views of Poreč.

I think Bob has really become a gardener. He started to weed the Bell Tower!The bells are very large and we are quite happy that they do not ring while we are up there.This is where we were standing in the last photo, in these archesThere are intricate floor mosaics from the 4th Century…and mosaics from the 6th Century cover the apse. They are incredibly detailed and very beautiful.There are nine Greek marble columns connected by arches on each side of the central nave.I really loved the way the light from the window shines on this Madonna.You might find this short video about the Basilicas interesting.Part of the Bishop’s Place in this complex has a little museum. The embroidery on these vestments was amazing…and I found this painting from the 15th Century very unusual. I will need to try to find out a bit more information about it.This depiction of the Crucifixion was from the 13th Century. I continue to be amazed that so many of these ancient works have survived all these years.This was a workroom off of one of the display rooms. I love peeking into these sorts of places. Here are some of Poreč’s streets. We really enjoyed our time in this town.We sat in the sun having tea and watching some of the big yachts come and go. Their owners must have a lot with a lot more money than we do!On the way home we drive through some other small towns. We stop for a walk about in Vrsar. Take a look the size of the boats docked here.This was something different to see. Along the main road of a town called Flengi we saw no fewer than twelve pigs being roasted in these big BBQ’s.