Angie Wallace I just spent some time in Croatia and Slovenia, two countries with amazing scenery and which offer great hiking, boating, and beach experiences, but are cheaper than their Western European counterparts.  Elias and I took an overnight train from Zurich Switzerland to Ljubljana Slovenia to see another Olmsteder, Grant Goodrich and spent a few days with him there and at beautiful Lake Bled. The food in Slovenia was incredible, especially their breads! You can row to a small island in the middle of Lake Bled where there is a small church. Many newly married couples go there just to ring the bells of the church which bring good luck! Then we took the train from Ljubljana to Zagreb Croatia and then flew the same day down south to Dubrovnik Croatia - the flight was only 45 minutes. We traveled the same distance on the way back by boat and train and it took over 24 hours – 22 hours by ferry from Dubrovnik to Rijeka along the Dalmation coast and then we took a 5 hour local train to the capital of Zagreb! Flying is definitely the way to go if you don't have the time, but we enjoyed the ferry ride back in order to see all the beautiful forested Croatian islands of Hvar and Krk to name a few. Eli’s mother is from Croatia so I was lucky enough to have a built in travel buddy who speaks a little Croatian. The last time he was in Croatia 5 years ago, Eli could only speak a few words, but now that he speaks Russian he finds that he can understand about 25% or so. We also found that we could get by just fine on our German –you’d be able to get by just fine on Italian as well. We spent 4 nights in beautiful Dubrovnik - they call it the Pearl of the Adriatic. Stari Grad – the Old Town there is indescribable - really like nothing we've ever seen - the way the marble streets (no not cobblestone, but marble) in the medieval town are so worn down from a thousand years of foot traffic that they are smooth and shimmering! There are many islands to be explored off the coast, and we were able to see one called the Island of Mljet yesterday which was mentioned in the Bible by Paul and by Homer in the Odyssey! According to a legend, Odysseus was cast by the sea onto the island of Mljet, ending up in the arms of Calypso. One of the meanings of Mljet is “honey” and has been known by many similar names – Melita and Malta to name a few. Due to the similarity of names, there is confusion between it and the island of Malta, and therefore, no one knows for sure which island St Paul and Homer were really writing about!  I so wanted to go to Medjugorje in Bosnia, but didn't since we don't have country clearance to go there! It would only have been a 2 or 3 hour drive from Dubrovnik, but I'll have to save that for another time. We finished our last night in Dubrovnik listening to Dalmatian music and sampling local plum brandy. Then we spent a few days in Zagreb and were treated to delicious local food and excellent hospitality from Eli's relatives! Well, this internet cafe is going to close, so I need to send this! Hope all is well! God bless, Angie

 

[ Update your Info ] [ Class Lore ] [ Directory ] [ Checkpoints ] [ Fallen Comrades ] [ Photo Album ]