1. Czech Republic
We had a relatively short driving day when we departed Prague for Český Krumlov, so we took advantage of the booming Czech disc golf scene and finally used the 3 discs I have been packing around with me. The first course in Tábor was not very interesting and not well taken care off, so we weren't that upset when a thunderstorm chased us off after the 8th hole. The second course we played was in a nice city park in the town of České Budějovice. The holes were long but grassy and well designed around trees. I have missed playing.
We arrived in the late afternoon to our hotel a few kilometers west of Krumlov. Nestled in the hills at elevation with a slight drizzle, it was nice to be out of the heat of the big cities. We strolled the castle grounds and found it a little odd that they decided to paint all of the walls to make it look more ornate, like adding brick outlines and 3-D visuals to a flat surface. Apparently this was ordered by one of the rulers back in the 16th century, trying to make his residence resemble those castles in Austria, Poland, and Italy. We had just seen legit fancy castles so this one was a quick walk through, but the town itself is delightful. The narrow streets are touristy but still feel real. The meandering river is very picturesque, and our dinner along said river was enjoyable. Overall a good stop.
2. Austria
On Saturday, we said goodbye to the Czech Republic and its easy to drink beer. Our next destination was the mountains of northwest Slovenia, which lead us straight south through Austria. We briefly considered stops in Vienna or Salzburg, but knew we couldn't do them justice with our current budget. We will return to this area after we make more money and I relearn my German. For now, we just booked a stopover in the southern Austrian hills to breakup the long drive. We bought our $12 toll vignette (a sticker for your windshield that grants access to fast roads in some European countries) and cruised down the Autobahn for most of the day. The engineering and tunnels through the Alps were impressive but we paid for it with an unexpected extra $13 toll just 7kms before our exit. We also paid extra for our choice of scenic mountain drive through the Nockberge Pass with an unknown $22 entrance fee. The weather was less than ideal for a $22 mountain pass drive, but the curves were fun and the museum of fossils was impressive. The highlight was wondering if cows were going to ram our car.
Around 6pm, our map took us up the side of a hill to our hotel in a sparse mountain settlement. The reception lady spoke very little English but her greeting and tone told us something wasn't right. We eventually figured out that the actual price for our lodgings was twice what we had booked using Booking.com. She said it was a problem with the website and so we retreated back to our car to come up with a new plan (we later learned that emails had been sent to us during the day about the mixup, but we can't check it without wifi). The new plan was to drive back down the hill to bigger towns and look for "zimmer frei" signs. We drove around somewhat aimlessly and almost walked in to a retirement center, but eventually inquired at the Holiday Inn. While I half-heartedly asked about price, Julia discovered they had an open wifi signal and quickly booked us a place close by. As we drove off, we thanked the American company for their help and were relieved we wouldn't be sleeping in the car.
The last minute accommodations were a little pricey but came with free breakfast, and I can eat a lot. The reception lady greeted us with a smile and expressed concerns about our President. She is a teacher with a diverse class due to proximity to the border and reminded us that Melania is Slovenian. She said they are good, hard working people and that she thinks Melania doesn't even like Trump. For dinner that night, we ate schnitzel and roast pork, then watched a lightning storm from our room.
3. Slovenia
We spent a lot of money in Austria but also learned some lessons about planning. For example, I learned there is a tunnel on the autobahn to enter Slovenia but it requires a $9 toll to use it. I also learned that you need to purchase an expensive toll vignette to use the expressways in Slovenia but those fast roads could be easily avoided where we would be visiting. A little research saved us money as we opted to take the free Wurzenpass road across the border and once there, avoided the green expressway signs. The weather was still drizzly that day, so we drove down to Lake Bled, the top tourist site in the country, and got a little taste of its splendor.
Our lodgings were in the basement apartment of a local family we found on Airbnb and the host kindly gifted us a bottle of champagne and a decorated heart shaped gingerbread cookie in honor of our honeymoon. Julia broke open the cookie and tried a little bite. It tasted a little stale. Further inspection of the packaging stated that the "product is not food" but that it was also "not harmful". Julia began doing some research online. I tried a bite and decided it was safe to eat until Julia told me otherwise. She learned that the decorative cookies were a specialty of the area and so I quit eating it to salvage what was left. It was a very nice gesture by our host even though I feel the concept of gifting someone a cookie they are not supposed to eat is rather sadistic. Dinner that night was pizza which felt appropriate due to our proximity to Italy. The food in Slovenia seems to just take from what is all around, with pizza, schnitzel, and bureks (Bosnian). The one local specialty we did indulge in was the cream cake, or kremšnita.
Finally the clouds parted and the next day was a beautiful sunny 75 degrees, and we spent it all on and around the lake. The setting is stunning; clear teal blue water, a church on an island in the middle, a castle on a cliff, and surrounded by mountains. We walked the shoreline path, briefly rented a rowboat, and hiked up a hill for the view. We cooked ourselves grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner that night, something Julia had been craving for a few days since the weather turned cooler.
We had just 2 nights in Slovenia, so we had to use our time wisely. Besides the lake, the other big tourist draw is Triglav National Park which contains the Julian Alps. There is a dramatic bisecting mountain road called Vršič Pass and luckily for us it travels south, and with a little imagination, could be considered on our way to Croatia. I also convinced Julia that we had time for a short hike at the top of the pass if we got up early. It was another beautiful day as we wound up to the top of the pass and hiked for 1.5 hours to the top of Slemenova Špica. The hike was fantastic, one of the best low effort/high reward hikes I have ever done. You are surrounded by sheer cliffs and rocky points the whole time, and have amazing views down the valleys. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend it. (FYI: there was a kid on a bike charging for parking at the top of the pass if you were staying for more than a few minutes. He had a vest and a small receipt printer, so seemed legit, plus it was only 3€.)
4. Italy
After descending down the southern slope of the Vršič Pass, we veered west toward Italy to utilize their fast expressways. Traveling through the Friuli-Venezia Giulia wine region, I had to keep the doors locked so Julia didn't jump out. Wine tasting would have been fun, but we had just hiked up a mountain and had a good amount of driving still to do. We paid a small toll for the Italian expressway and made our way south towards the Adriatic Sea, briefly passing back through 22kms of Slovenia before crossing into Croatia. (Side note: we have enjoyed the E.U. unregulated border crossings. Entering Croatia was the first time in over 2 weeks we have had to go through immigration formalities.)
5. Croatia
Our destination was the town of Pula on the Istrian Peninsula, and a joyous return to the sea. We stayed 2 nights just outside of the town center in an apartment attached to a nice older couples house. Dinner the first night was at a popular local restaurant just a block away in a converted house in the middle of a neighborhood. They make their own pasta and grilled our pork just a few feet away from us.
When I picked this area, I was mostly thinking about the beaches, but we discovered they also have some spectacular ruins. Specifically the large Pula Arena, built between 27 BC – 68 AD, which is one of the best preserved Roman amphitheatres in the world. We also really enjoyed walking around the city center and finding other ruins like the Temple of Augustus. It was fun to stroll around a town somewhat blind and be pleasantly surprised around each corner.
After checking out the city sites in the morning, we headed toward the beach for the afternoon. About 15 minutes south of Pula is the Kamenjak Peninsula, a wild stretch of land that has many hidden coves and swimming spots. They have turned the area into a park to preserve it, so it costs a little over $12 to drive in, but they do allow you to walk or bike in for free. We chose the free route, and walked to the closest swimming area for a quick dip and some snorkeling. Our chosen entry point for the water was not ideal, as there were many sea urchins in the rocks. We just went in once, both of us wearing footwear, and managed to remain unharmed. It would have been cool to spend a whole day exploring the different beaches by car, but we didn't have the time or the energy.
We departed Pula and headed east to Plitvice Lake National Park, one of the places we have been most looking forward to. It was a fairly long travel day, so we just relaxed upon arrival to our lodgings about 15 minutes south of the park, and formulated a plan of attack for the next day. Dinner that night fulfilled one of my cravings, Chinese food that didn't make either of us sick.
Friday, August 31st, was the day we walked around Plitvice. I make note of the date primarily to talk about the cost later on. But first, we woke up early to beat the crowds and were walking in just before 8 AM. The park consists of a series of teal lakes, waterfalls, and limestone pools that fill up a tree lined canyon. It is beautiful, even while it is raining. The waterfalls flow out of the trees and the moss. We walked most of it, occasionally using the free bus and boat transportation. The paths are primarily wooden walkways, allowing you to stroll over the pools and really get into the heart of what makes this place special. We really enjoyed our 4 hrs of exploring, exiting just as the tour groups arrived and the lines were getting long.
Now back to the cost; Croatia has skyrocketed in popularity over the past few years and we have noticed a healthy spike in their prices. Entry fees for various attractions are 2 - 3 times higher than they were 3 years ago, which makes sense for a country trying to deal with overtourism, but provides some sticker shock to those of us with outdated guide books. During the peak summer months, entry to Plitvice is 250 Croatian Kuna per person. With an exchange rate of 6.4 Kuna/$, entry fee is $39.09, and $78.18 for our party of 2, not to mention the $6.50 we had to pay for parking. That is a lot of money when you consider entry to one of the top sites in the U.S., the Grand Canyon, is just $30 per car and a yearly pass to all National Parks in the U.S. is just $80. Unfortunately our schedule forced us to do this on the last day of peak season; the price dropped to 150 Kuna the very next day, which would have been more acceptable. Our advice to you would be to visit Plitvice in the off-season; the waterfalls would be fuller in the Spring, you get some great tree color in the Fall, and apparently things freeze over in the Winter and the price drops to a steal at just 55 Kuna.
The afternoon after Plitvice took us back into Bosnia and I will let Julia fill you in from there. The pace of travel has worn us out a little and we have already decided to slow things down a bit when we swap rental cars. There are not as many "must sees" on the southern loop and thus our schedule is flexible. We are also looking forward to being out of peak season and the reduction in prices and tourist. Dober pocitek je pol dela.
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