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adventuresineurope2017 · 7 years

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The English Lakes - from 2 perspectives

Tony

It's been 37 years between visits to the Lake District. It's wonderful that almost nothing has changed.

This visit was different though. When you have 10 days to connect with a place you have time to slow down, dig a little deeper, get off the road and into the mesmerising forests and fells, walk in the footsteps of Beatrix Potter, William Wordsworth and others whose writings were inspired by this place. Time allows you to escape the crowds, gathering in hordes at all the major attractions. You dodge the selfie-sticks, skirt around the wobbly and confused and their numerous tethered pets (it seems no family holiday is complete without Spot, Socks and Fido. People dutifully pick up their dogs' droppings in little black plastic bags, then drop them conveniently behind the nearest bush), and gradually, just gradually, the crown thins out the further you get from the car park, until you have the fell to yourself and can drink in the mountains and sky.

We were glad of our gradually growing fitness, thanks to our explorations in Europe and Scotland- this was to be tested in our daily ramblings. We realised that "easy" when applied to descriptions of walks, is a relative term. 'Moderate", we learned, implies the use of knees, toes and fingernails. Paths, whether created by sheep, deer or humans, are there to be discovered, and frequent checking against maps and terrain is needed. Paths are rough too, not the gravelled, railed, stepped and board-walked imitations our litigation-terrified institutions provide us with back home. The furrowed paths I remember from my Outward Bound days in the Chimanimani mountains of Rhodesia made a delightful return to consciousness and I sloshed along, carefully selecting a way between rocks and exposed tree roots. I seemed to regain long forgotten strength on this giddy diet of heather and bracken, wild blossom perfume, trickling water unseen, and horizons expanding into a mountain wilderness.

There are more people for sure, but it's still the same Lake District, and because it is now a World Heritage Site, it's likely to remain the same place of mesmerising reflections, water and sky, trees, and brooding, cloud-enshrouded mountains. I'm taking away new memories of spreading, ancient oaks, emerald meadows, stone walls, more stone walls, gates and stiles, river crossings of arched stone, no parking please! Hawthorn hedges pressing in, walls of green, passing place, waved thanks. Fresh baked scones, craft brewed ale, country cheese, chocolate, fudge, Kendall mint.

It seemed to matter not that the weather was typically northern-English. We bought a brolly but scarcely used it, relying on our wind-cheaters to keep us reasonably dry. Rain gave us an excuse to shop, and clouds, shafting light, drizzle, rain, black clouds gathering all added drama to many photographs.

Will I wait another 37 years to return? I think not.

Nicky

My idea of the Lakes District before arriving was largely influenced by novels I had read and movies watched - like Pride and Prejudice and Downton Abbey (both of which were probably not filmed there anyway). I imagined rolling green hills as far as the eye could see. While this was certainly a feature, there is much more! The patchwork of fields enclosed by stone walls, some with sheep or cows, were stunning, the grass a vivid green with yellow undertones. These were often bordered by forests of oak and elm, lending hues of light to dark to olive green. The emergence of the sun created a dappled effect through the canopy. Then there were ferns higher up the slopes (called "fells"), interspersed with rocky patches and swathes of heather glowing pink and purple.

I was surprised by the size of the mountains surrounding the many lakes, with water evident everywhere. The lakes villages have managed to retain their historical look and character, and although there are some modern additions, one never feels that this is the 21st century. The houses are constructed mainly of grey stone, giving them a dark, broody character especially on cloudy, misty and rainy days.

Most roads are narrow, with those off the main highway only allowing a single car to travel, so there are many challenging moments as you try to hug the stone walls,lining the road to squeeze past oncoming traffic. Overtaking is quite out of the question!

The area is littered with castles and historic houses (mansions), many of which have long since crumbled, but we did make a point of visiting several, including Beatrix Potter's home, in which all her furniture and belongings had been arranged exactly as it was in her time. Many of her illustrations are based on her house and garden, and you can see the original pieces of furniture used in these. You could really imagine her working away there. It was very authentic for me probably aided by my having seen the movie and having read the Peter Rabbit stories.

Another house we visited was a national trust property called "Allan Bank", once rented by Wordsworth and owned by the man who's vision led to the formation of the original Lake District national park. The house was grand if a little worse for wear. We sat on a verandah on rocking chairs, sipping English tea and imagining being the lord and lady of the house. We definitely felt the role suited us!

Shopping has become part of our holiday since entering the UK. All the pies, confectionery and sweets tempt us at every turn, and of course Sainsburys has emerged as a favourite due to their cheap and delicious cooked meals. Specs are a prerequisite for successful shopping and my efforts without them has resulted in us eating soya yoghurt, chicory instead of tea, drinking yoghurt instead of milk and others I have tried to forget. I mean, who makes plant-based yoghurt anyhow? No success with clothes shopping due to a lack of inspiration but this could change!

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adventuresineurope2017 · 7 years

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The land of bonnie wee Charles

On touching down in Edinburgh we were greeted by gray skies and temperatures in the mid teens. This was the weather for the next few days interspersed with showers and the occasional wee break in the clouds as the sun popped through. However it never ever felt cold and a jacket was only needed to keep you dry.

For the first time in ages we encountered friendly officials at immigration where a lady conversed with us asked us about our forthcoming trip and welcomed us with a smile. At the car rental place we were served by a young African from Zimbabwe. Of course we had to tell him we were also from there and the connection was made. He upgraded our car to include a GPS for a minimal amount and went out of his way to supply us with information and maps. When we mentioned our first stop was Uphall, the chap serving in the next cubicle told us he was also from there and was sure that my dad must have attended the same school as him. He even invited us to visit him. We both felt that we had arrived home.

We were soon on our way, and reveling in the act of driving on the left-hand side of the road, reading traffic signs in English, and enjoying the wide green spaces. Since our recent blogs have featured our accommodation conditions, we have to report a most favorable change in circumstances. After settling in we had time to explore the local area which happened to include the Forth bridge, the site of a visit to Scotland by Nicky with her father when she was 14. We just had to buy fish and chips from the local shop and ate this in our car, overlooking the sea with rain dripping on our roof and on a bunch of locals who seemed oblivious to the wet while also watching the view and eating their fish and chips.

While at our first stop on the west coast - the peaceful fishing port of Oban, we spent a day driving to Glencoe. This is arguably one of Scotland's most beautiful scenic drives. The weather for the most part of the day was pretty heavy rain but we managed to get a short forest walk in for the time that the sun made a brief appearance. This was a rain forest and so of course was full of moss, so much so that most of the trees had "green trunk socks". Despite the weather we were lucky to view many great sights. The mountains here certainly give those in Montenegro some competition, they are massive. Some of them are lined with forests of pine trees with wispy clouds suspended on the tree tops. Other mountains had a green smooth carpet appearance with white lines of varying width (waterfalls) interspersed in the crevices and flowing down the full face. All along our route were rushing streams cascading over rocks and precipices. We were taken by the peacefulness and quiet wherever we were with few tourists and the constant sound of rushing water. It was a revelation to discover the extent of water in Scotland. A photographer's paradise -big brooding mountains with shafts of light between dark clouds and mist.

Oban

Although our route had a general plan, none of our journeys would be complete without numerous side trips down interesting byways. In Scotland these comprise single-track lanes, usually lined with hedges, stone walls or steep precipices. Sometimes they are green tunnels of fir, oak, elm or birch. To ease the problem of oncoming traffic they construct passing zones every 100 meters or so, so you can make way. On these side trips we were treated to expanses of water backlit with rolling green mountains blanketed with dark fluffy clouds hovering over the top, an isolated haunting view of a castle on a tiny island, and even a group of red deer which have furry antlers much like a reindeer.

Moving further north to a place called Dingwall revealed more waterways and mountains which were reflected in the water. We stopped off in two places where there were locks, and watched the movement of boats through them. It always fascinates me watching this process. At one of the spots we had tea using our newly purchased flask and cooler box 😎. And we finally made some purchases of real clotted cream fudge.

We spent the next two days touring the north west highlands in the car. In amongst rolling hills, lochs and streams, we felt like we were on top of the world yet within minutes we found ourselves in a deep valley surrounded by towering mountains. Unlike further south most mountains here are devoid of vegetation and one can imagine that the conditions in mid winter must be incredibly harsh and only the hardiest of scots would ever survive here. How on earth they managed to develop a little tartan skirt for wearing outdoors is beyond us - I guess it helps that they are made of wool.

We visited a gorgeous coastal town at the end of a loch, called Ullapool. Our quest to find warm scones and cream for tea was fruitless and we left empty handed. Tony was wishing he had his fishing rod as he was positive a large fish was lurking in the deep waters waiting to grace our dinner plate. Our quest for scones found us at a morning market at the side of the road. Although we found an assortment of hand knitted beanies, some pewter jewelry and a collection of wartime magazines written by Churchill, there was not a single baked item on display. This was to form a pattern for the day: on our 150 mile journey through numerous villages and hamlets we did not encounter a single freshly baked scone. Next day our solution was to buy scones at Tesco's, plus a tub of Cornish clotted cream, and had a grand tea overlooking a stunning view down a glacial valley toward a distant loch.

Back in Dingwall at the end of the day, we stumbled on something we rarely see at home these days - a large and comprehensively stocked second hand bookshop, full of fascinating volumes and managed by an amusing man who we were sure would know every one of the thousands of titles in his store. An old world place of magic and fascination!

We exited Scotland today via Gretna Green - pretty much a commercialised wedding venue without any sense of what the original was like in days gone by, and are overnighting near Hadrian’s Wall on our way to the Lake District.

Scotland has probably been our favourite place, and we will be back soon! It's one of those places that seem to defy adequate description and words fail us. Next time, join us to experience the wonder and explore more of this part of the world with us! Start saving!

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adventuresineurope2017 · 7 years

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A day in Austria..

My review of our Vienna airbnb accomodation reads:

"If you are a 20-something travelling Europe on a budget and don't mind bathroom grime, piled up dishes in various states of decay, laundry all over the place, and the absence of housekeeping, then I have found just the place for you!" I left out my conviction that there was more than a faint scent of something I once smoked at a hippy festival years ago...

We sensed similarities between Budapest and Vienna in terms of architecture and scale and mused that this was due to the domination of the whole region centuries ago by the Austrian-Hungarian Hapsburg dynasty. But Vienna somehow seems to wear the grandeur more comfortably, like a pair of old shoes.

We certainly felt more relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed our single day here. We first trammed it to Schonbronn Castle and explored the French style gardens.

Oh my word, talk about massive. We walked kilometres! Complete with zoo and roman temple on a hill! It was great. Then we went to the old city (read Gucci style shopping heaven) and wondered around just looking. But we managed an iced coffee and (half glass) of fresh orange juice for 11.60 euro.

We had dinner there and then went to a concert in a 15 th century church. Mozart and Beethoven string quartet. Brilliant. Finally wondered our way home through the streets.

The next day saw us up early, happy to leave our pig sty behind us as we boarded our train to Prague.

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adventuresineurope2017 · 7 years

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RECOLLECTIONS of HUNGARY

Our bus trip to Zagreb from Plitvice was definitely the 'local ' experience Tony had been hanging out for. Not only did we stop frequently to pick up local scout groups, wandering minstrels etc, but the driver engaged in a full on conversation with a man sitting in the 1st seat behind him. This entailed turning his head to conduct his conversation which resulted in our bus meandering all over the road regardless of oncoming traffic. The bus schedule had allocated 2 1/2 hours for a 135km distance but we were feeling seriously doubtful that we would arrive on time or at all.

At one of the villages a old man boarded the bus and he was 89 years old, had been an Olympian pentathlon athlete and had participated in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. He spoke 7 languages and his English, while rusty, was adequate for us. He displayed such pride in his country and we got a run down of all the major landmarks en route to Zagreb-better than any booked tour.

Miraculously we arrived on time and after discovering where to catch our next bus we continued on to Hungary and Budapest. Our introduction to Hungary was less than welcoming: we stopped for a break shortly after our border crossing and after a couple of hours we needed it. The asking price to use the loo was 400 kuna- about $2. Unprepared, we had no local currency, and no euro note small enough for their change machine. Big queues at checkout too so we just had to cross our legs and wait to get back on the bus. The closed door lost its handle in the pitch dark. But (wee) overcame 🤣.

Public transport in a foreign country can be very daunting, especially with no internet and few English instructions. First we tried Uber-none in Budapest. Then we thought of a tram but couldn't but couldn't work our where to catch one, let alone which. In the end we decided on a train. We bought a ticket and got some garbled instructions on where to go and with little confidence boarded our first train. We found generally that people gave very vague instructions, leaving us frustrated and confused, but we gradually found our bearings.

Budapest is a city guaranteed to dwarf you. Every building towers over you and all the statues are massive. It is very ostentatious and almost oppressive, however there are many places of beauty and magnificence. Our first treat was the national gallery, where paintings of 5 x 3 metres were displayed. (Nicky) I'm not usually an art fan but these paintings, dated back centuries were amazing.

We also visited the Jewish synagogue and holocaust memorial. There were 600000 Hungarian Jews killed at Auschwitz during the Second World War and many were later exhumed and returned to Budapest, where they were placed to rest in a cemetery at the synagogue. It was a sobering experience. We managed to tick off most of the "10 best things to do in Budapest" - visiting parliament, the chain bridge, St. Stephens basilica (where we even went to mass), and a trip on the Danube. The first day we walked everywhere and were exhausted so next day we purchased a "hop-on, hop-off bus" ticket. This experience was not as easy as it seemed. Red buses, pink buses, blue buses, yellow buses and variations with and without giraffe heads, all ply their trade around the city forming a spaghetti like tangle of intermingled routes, some of which were included in our "package" and some not. Tony had a sense of humour failure of epic proportions and Nicky floated on and off buses with gay abandon, trying to placate the grumblebum. All this in 35 degree heat might I add. We did however, manage an included night tour of the city and a bowl of free goulash soup.

Hundreds of young people gather here every day, drinking, smoking and hanging out with their feet in the water.

This is a replica of the parliament building made from marzipan!

We "I'm making a gourmet breakfast" said Nicky. My anticipation grew as she piled muesli, yoghurt, banana, cream (bought from a Hungarian shop owner as "full cream milk"), topped off with a liberal sprinkling of sugar. It was only when we started tucking in that we discovered to our dismay that the white granules in the green packet were actually salt! Thanks Nicky!

Our breakfast provided a metaphor for our "charming, newly renovated flat...in the most gorgeous part of Budapest...with a terrace for a lovely breakfast or for smoking." More aptly phrased "derelict building still under reconstruction with rudimentary facilities overlooking decaying brick walls in a seedy Budapest back street". I can report that the breakfast was better than the terrace! The latter being a 4x4m patch of dirty, weed infested concrete surrounded by high stone/cement walls you couldn't possibly see over. Oh... and a rusty pipe that might have served as a washing line a couple of centuries ago. The bedroom, fitted with heavy burglar bars, looked out on the "terrace". Late on our second day there Nicky discovered that were unsecured to the wall, and easily swung out to provide easy access to our worldly possessions, not to mention us!

The night we arrived we piled a few days of dirty laundry into the provided washing machine, sans soap dispenser, which sprayed water as the cycle started. McGyver-style, I managed to stem the flow with a cover made from a plastic egg tray and sat back contented as the machine churned away. It was Nicky again who discovered a while later that the kitchen floor was inches deep in water, courtesy of a leaking inlet tap in the sink cupboard! It was at this point that we began to feel a little disgruntled, and duly passed our thoughts on to our charming host, holidaying as he was in far-off Sardinia.

We bore the incident stoically. However, our Airbnb review of the place did not mince words!

On our last evening there we attended a concert in St Stephens basilica - a string quartet playing pieces by Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, etc. It was a wonderful experience in this huge, centuries old cathedral.

It must be mentioned that while waiting for the performance in the nearby piazza, we happened across a fair dunkum italian restaurant, where Tony was persuaded to try an affegato- basically a shot of espresso topped with vanilla ice cream and served with a spoon. The rich aroma filled coffee oozes up around the ice cream and provides an ice coffee second to none. He had two in succession.

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adventuresineurope2017 · 7 years

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#europe europetravel paidtoilets toilets

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adventuresineurope2017 · 7 years

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Recollections of Croatia

First stop Dubrovnik. We encountered insane traffic! Thank goodness for our taxi driver, who found us our accommodation, then dropped us off a short way from the old city. We were assaulted by heat, tourists, extortionist prices, and general mayhem. So in short, we were over the place pretty quickly. We found the old city similar to Kotor, but with a completely different feel, the place is very commercialised, and basically, ruined by the hordes of tourists, who mainly come from the many cruise ships that visit there daily. And they rip you off-you get charged for everything. To walk around the walls-one of the main attractions, you have to pay about $45 each! Yeah, right. Anyhow, we did the best we could, and left after a few hours, catching a bus back to our BnB to recover. They also don't accept euro in Croatia either, so we are back to changing money again. I thought eu stood for "common" market? And if you so find somewhere that accepts euro, you pay 1.5 times the going exchange rate. So for the next couple of weeks we are using kuna :(

We rose early to catch our 3 hour ferry to Hvar, and really like it here-much more chilled. We moseyed round the city, and climbed up to the old fort, which was well worth the visit. It includes its own macabre dungeon, deep into the rock. You can see from the below pic how tiny the cells were. We had a picnic lunch overlooking the old town before winding our way down to do some more exploring. Next task was to find our accomodation, which unfortunately is located on the top of a hill! Laden with backpack we started the ascent, only to get briefly lost. We eventually found the place and its pretty nice. Back into the city for a glass of wine and a delicious meal of sea bass and grilled vegetables. Our starter was a “Kapitan's Platter"- bread and a sampling of tuna pate, grilled octopus, cured salmon, pickled onion under anchovies and sardines, some delicately prepared soft shrimps which were amazing. It was a lovely start to the meal. We chose a restaurant overlooking the harbour, with boats coming and going nineteen to the dozen.

Today, Sunday, we did adventure sport - hired a scooter and went buzzing over the rugged mountain interior of the island to Stari Grad-home to Tvrdalj castle - built by a poet, Petar Hektorovic, in the 16th century. During the that century, the island of Hvar came under attack from the ottoman Turks. Hektorović, one of the local nobles, undertook to fortify his house so that it could act as shelter for the local citizens.

Tvrdalj is a well-preserved Renaissance building, with a long closed facade on the seaward side, to protect it from attack. The interior courtyard contains a sea-water fishpool, enclosed by a vaulted and arcaded terrace. Next to it is a tower with a dovecote. The living quarters, together with the servant quarters, and several wells, are arranged around the pool. Behind the main buildings is a walled garden where Hektorović cultivated herbs and medicinal plants. A series of inscriptions are set into walls of the mansion in Latin and Croatian. Those in Croatian are considered to be some of the oldest extant. The castle boasted one of the first indoor toilets in the whole of Europe..

We had a picnic lunch in the garden.

The island is a massive rocky outcrop, really. Over the centuries the locals have cleared patches of land, some just the size of a large room. They pile the cleared rocks to form walls. Big walls, you have never seen so many rocks. They form a loosely formed patchwork up and down the steep hillsides in between the cleared plots. In these, they grow olives, lavender, vines and probably other crops in the meagre soil. The views on our drive consisted of horizon hugging sea, steep mountains and seaside hamlets far below. And of course, ship traffic, with various sized craft doing their summer holiday thing.

On our way back to Hvar we stopped for a swim at a small beach village of Milia. Water colder than we are used to, but very refreshing. The place was far less crowded too, quite a relief!

Nicky proved to be a brilliant pillion rider - far better bike passenger than car passenger, probably cos she couldn't see what I was doing 🤣🙄😳🛵

The next morning we trundled down the hill with our backpacks, found a comfy and shady spot to wait out the time before we caught the ferry. It was a great chilled time watching the tourists pass by and drinking the inevitable iced coffee. The ferry trip was uneventful if a little rough and there was a very dark cloud hovering which later turned out to be a result of bad fires in the forest in Split, our destination. We have been rather bemused by the inability of people in this part of the world to understand the mechanics of a queue.... it clearly is not part of their upbringing and is every man for himself so to speak. We had several queue jumpers in Hvar, one of which Nicky approached to point out the etiquette required, but it was like water off a ducks back. However in disembarking they were at the very back of the queue and were helpless in advancing forward... we smiled inwardly.

Split was another cobblestoned smorgasbord of palaces, churches, alleyways and ruins but in this case the centre of it all was a palace built by the Roman emperor, Diacletian, at the turn of the 4th century AD. It's a massive structure occupying a couple of modern city blocks. Within the palace Diacletian built himself a mausoleum, fitting to someone deified as a son of the god Jupiter. He even had a sphinx brought in from Egypt as part of the decoration. Later, around the 7th century AD, the Catholic Church got its own back for all the Christians that Diacletian had killed and converted his mausoleum into a cathedral complete with a magnificent bell tower which we just had to climb. There were 9 bells in there and Tony was waiting patiently for them to ring, which of course they did not, as I pointed out if they rang they would either deafen the people climbing up or cause them to go to an early grave. The view of the old city and harbour from the top was worth every steep step. Split had a lot more character/soul than Debrovnik and not as vastly and we were more drawn to it, possibly due to the old world aura created by some wonderful Dalmatian singers in the Vestibule of the palace. Maps are not their strong point and we spent a fruitless hour looking for a speciality coffee shop, D16, which we did eventually discover thanks to google maps - and the iced coffee was duly consumed ... feedback - needed a double shot of coffee. As you can see this is a theme throughout our trip 😋. This was the first time we cooked for ourselves as our B&B was fully equipped, just like at home.

The next morning was an early start as we had to catch the bus to Plitvice. By now we were savvy to the ways of non queuing and while Tony put our bags in the undercarriage I was champing at the bit to give our tickets and secure a front seat on our gleaming red bus ...mission accomplished. The bus driver managed to spend at least 60% of the journey talking on his cell phone and while he had a hands free set his conversation was intrusive and he had several calls whereby he needed to handle his phone. My word if you thought woman could talk, you were mistaken.

Plitvice was a complete change to the dry stony places we have visited and is a green lush, forested (beech, spruce and fir trees) lake system. It is a 295 square km forest reserve and comprises a chain of 16 terraced lakes joined by waterfalls that extend into a limestone canyon. Walkways and hiking trails wind around and across the water and an electric boat transports trippers between the 12 upper and 4 lower lakes. You can also catch a bus within the national park to help you cover the major distances and all is included in your entrance ticket. Each year 1 million visitors are recorded and we reckon 75000 of those were here. We had the afternoon to explore amidst these 75000 others and saw what was recorded as the largest waterfall.....well clearly they have not seen Victoria falls.... and I must confess to feeling rather let down. However the next day we set off early to avoid the crowds and had a wonderful walk with many special sights. The colours of the lakes ranged from azure to green grey and blue. Apparently the colours change constantly depending on the quantity of minerals or organisms in the water and the angle of sunlight. One thing we noticed was the lack of bird life despite there being 157 species identified. There are also apparently brown bears that live here but we did not see them, fortunately. When we had finished we noticed the crowds escalating - they were back- but we had done what we wanted to do so all was good.

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adventuresineurope2017 · 7 years

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Montenegro - land of mountains and sea (Part 2)

We spent the rest of the day exploring the maze of cobblestoned alleys that make up the old town. Wonderful! It's pretty commercialised and flooded with tourists, but it has a unique charm. My Fuji overheated and had to have a cup of tea and a lie down...

The old town is home to innumerable cats! There is even a museum dedicated to cats. Clearly revered here as much as cows in India..

Next day we hired bikes and took the shore-hugging road to the latest, greatest show of opulence in Montenegro - Porto Montenegro in Tivat. Where super mega maxi yachts moor, and the rich and famous strut their stuff and shop at designer shops, all part of a brand new marina. We felt we would be asked to pay to just breathe the same air. We saw a rolls Royce, complete with twin escort cars, heading in the direction of one of the glittering super yachts, and could only wonder at who the occupant was..

We just ate ice cream. Well deserved I might add, since the ride was 36 kms!

After 2 energetic days we hired a car to head off to the Lake Skadar which was about 1 1/2 hours drive. Driving here is an experience that one could well do without according to Nicky who was an extremely over efficient back seat driver pointing out all the potential hazards, watch the right hand side curbs, pedestrians milling all over oblivious to the fact that any minute they may be wiped out, etc etc. We learned that pedestrian crossing stops are obligatory and that it is every man for himself - narrowness of the roads are immaterial. When we arrived at Virpezar we had to turn right over a railroad crossing to enter the village. We duly stopped to make the turn only to have a train stop right across the road so we had much hooting as we held up the line of traffic behind us. Finally we got in and met Anna, our tour guide for a boat trip on the Lake. The lake is the largest lake in the Balkan peninsular and has been named as a national park. The lake is home to many species of birds of which we got to see a few, parts of the lake are covered with lily pads with small white and in parts yellow lilies and the mountains surround the 600 odd km waters which are shared with Albania in a ratio of 2:1. As with all water tours we had a chance to dive off the boat to swim in waters of 29 degrees. Perfect. We were treated to traditional cheese and bread/doughnut which was very similar to vetkoek.

On the way back we stopped at Sveti Stefan, an old island city/modern day resort. We did not cross the bridge to the island as it would have set us back 40 euros. Even the beach had rows of beach loungers and umbrellas which ranged from 20 to 50 euro depending on which row you chose, the closest to the sea being the most expensive. You did get 2 towels and 2 bottles of water included in this price, and a patch of gravel !!! All the beaches here are gravel stones which I am sure they transport in, and if you do not have a chair, you lie on the stones - I guess a sure way of getting a daily massage.

Apologies for the fuzzy images - the only way we could get them into the blog was to make them very low res. Hopefully though, you can get an idea of the places we have been.

That's all we have for you now - over and out - we are off for an iced coffee.

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adventuresineurope2017 · 7 years

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Montenegro - land of mountains and sea (Part 1)

We arrived from Athens at about 10am and were met as arranged by a driver, who took us on the 2.5 hour journey to Dubrota. Hot, so ac welcome! The border crossing (the "easier" of the two) took about 90 mins, very painful and slow, but the views over the bay were spectacular.

The route took us along a fairly narrow road, hugging the shore, and the coast here features many wide bays backing onto high mountains, so it was a fascinating ride through picturesque villages on the one side, and beaches, boats and swimmers and sparkling blue sea on the other. Montenegro is steeped in history, and you see and feel it everywhere. Countless centuries have seen occupation here by one marauding people after the other, from Greeks and Romans, to Muslims, just to mention a few. There are churches everywhere! In nearby Perast, a village about the size of Nar Nar Goon, sports 15 Catholic Churches! Not to mention a monastery, and several Venetian palaces. Nicky and I went to mass in St Tryphon's Cathedral.

This is in Kotor Old Town and is its most impressive building. The Catholic cathedral was consecrated in the 12th century but reconstructed after several earthquakes. When the entire frontage was destroyed in 1667, the baroque bell towers were added; the left one remains unfinished. We did a head count: 26 people, including the priest and his assistant. We couldn't understand a word, but being there was an experience. Fortunately the sermon was only 5 minutes long, and the entire mass 29. The bored priest arrived and left without a greeting to a single soul.

Prior to attending Mass, we woke early and headed up to the fortress overlooking Kotor. Kotor is a medieval town and a UNESCO world heritage site. It has a wall and a moat! The wall extends all the way up the mountain and the fort was used to garrison defending troops. There are around 1350 steps to the top, with the wall zig-zagging the mountain ridges. Half way up the Church of our Lady of Health. Built in response to a number of plagues in the mid-15th century, this building provides a welcome place to stop and take in the fantastic views.

We breakfasted at St John's fort, at the very top. And we beat most of the tourists :). (History: armies have been fighting for this area as far back as the Illyrium era in the 4th century. Today’s look begins to take shape in the latter 1400’s with the Venetians and Ottoman Turks taking turns defending the opposite sides a few times. The Austrians were the last to man the fortress as a defense position after their defeat in World War 1. Other world stage events here include the Axis Forces taking control of the area during World War 2.)