Bled 🇸🇮

Bled is know for Lake Bled, Bled Castle, and a vanilla and cream pastry, kremna rezina. After a month on the road and rainy english weather we headed straight for the cream filled pastry and photographed the lake and castle on the way.

The pastry was brought to the local Hotel Park in 1953 by Ištvan Lukačević. As of October 2009, 10 million cream cakes had been baked at the hotel and we were more than happy to add to the count. The highlight for the kids was the robotic cat that brought the food out to the tables.

Lake Bled dates back to the Ice Age after the recession of the Bohinj glacier. At the middle of the lake is an island with the Church of the Assumption. There are numerous local traditions associated with the church such as ringing the bell in the church will fulfill one of your wishes and if a husband can carry his newly married bride up the 99 stairs from the dock into the church they will be ensured a happy marriage.

Velika Planina 🇸🇮

After exploring the Postojna Cave and their resident olms, we headed to Velika Planina (The Big Pasture Plateau). The Plateau is reached by cable car and double chair ski lift taking us up to the peak of Mount Gradišče (1,666 m). The peak overlooks the Slovenia Julian Alps and the largest herdsman’s village in Europe.

It was late in the season (and late in the day), so there wasn’t much activity in the herdsman village. Nonetheless it was a beautiful village with traditional wooden huts that are used by the herdsman’s in the summer months to tend to their herds. Had we made it to the village earlier in the day we might have been invited into one of the huts to experience the homemade dairy delicacies. However, we got to try a cheese dumpling desert thing (kobariški štruklji?) which was very tasty!

We ventured around the village to the chapel of Snow Mary where some curious cows checked us out.

We wish we had more time to explore the beautiful scenery of the plateau and spend a night in one of the huts, but we had to hurry along to catch the lifts down the mountain side.  We're off to Bled to explore the Triglav National Park.

Postojna 🇸🇮

We arrived in Postojna just in time to make the last entry into the Predjama Castle, the largest cave castle in the world. Nestled into a 123 meter cliff the fortress has endured for more than 800 years in various forms. One of its most legendary residents was the rebellious knight Erazem who has been likened to the Slovenian Robin Hood.

Slovenia was in the cross fire for conquest by the Holy Roman Empire, Frederick III and the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus. Ezeram was son to the captain of the Emperor's bodyguard, however, during a heated argument over a deceased friend's honor, Erazem killed a relative of the Emperor. He fled back to his castle, swore allegiance to King Matthias Corvinus and barricaded himself in his impenetrable cave fortress. When the Emperor's men arrived at Predjama they were unable to capture Erazem and decided to starve him out. However, Erazem survived by smuggling food though secret passage ways in the cave system beneath the castle. Stories say Erazem and his men even taunted their enemies by pelting them with cherries.

Unfortunately Erazem was killed during the siege. Legends say one of his servants was bribed by the Emperor's men, told them of a weak spot, and agreed to light a candle in a window as a signal to attack. The weak spot was supposedly the toilet and while historians believe it was actually his bedroom the story is thought to have been spread by the Emperor's men in order to destroy Erazem's admirable reputation and leave him as the knight who died perilously on the loo.

Next day we visited Postojna Caves and boarded the subterranean train to explore the cave system that is home to the most curious aquatic cave salamanders, the olm, which has adapted to life in complete darkness. While essentially blind its other senses are highly developed and it can survive up to 10 years without food. They were first documented in 1689 and during heavy rains olms would wash up to the surface leading to local folklore of baby dragons growing beneath the Earth's crust. The kids were very excited to see the olms in the tank at the end of the cave tour as they look very similar to another creature found in one of their favourite video games, an axolotl.

Zadar: Sea Organ 🇭🇷

We headed to Zadar for the night as a pit stop between Krka NP and Slovenia once we found out about the Sea Organ in the harbour.  Consisting of 35 pipes underneath marble slabs, the organ works with the waves to create a musical melody.  It was built in 2005 by Nikola Bašić as a part of the waterfront redesign to hide the unsightly concrete wall built during the construction after the Second World War. 

It is accompanied by the Monument to the Sun light display.  The light display consists of 300 multi layer glass panels including a 22-meter diameter circle.  The solar panels gather energy during the day that power the show at night.  

The Old Town was small enough to explore on foot.  We strolled around the Roman Forum, St. Donat's and St. Mary's churches grabbing a bite to eat and souvenir shopping.

Let there be light: Nikola Tesla 🇭🇷

How could we resist a highway sign pointing the way to the birthplace of Nikola Tesla?  Not to be confused with the Tesla car company, Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor most famous for his work on developing alternating-current (AC) electricity supply systems (i.e. the power in household wall sockets).  He was born in the present day Croatian town of Smiljan; previously part of the Austrian Empire.  Tesla’s life has been a roller coaster that brought him to work at Edison's company, Machine Works, only to be screwed out of bonuses that caused him to leave after 6 months.  Afterwards he started his company Tesla Electric Light & Manufacturing; however, this ended poorly when his business partners left him penniless and digging ditches for $2 per day. 

Eventually Tesla developed an induction motor that ran on AC power that made him financially independent allowing him to pursue his own interests including the Tesla Coil.  Tesla Coils make high voltage, low current, high-frequency AC electricity and we got to experience one producing 1-million Volts.  The kids got to hold a fluorescent bulb in the  electric field and experience them light up as electrons flow through the air.   

The kids (and Jason) couldn't resist the playground fun!

Krka National Park 🇭🇷

We arrived at Krka National Park in the afternoon and decided on the yellow trail with the iconic waterfall, Skradinski buk as we would be limited on time.  While Plitvice is the largest of the two, Krka is also full of cascading waterfalls spilling into pools of gem toned waters and woodlands carpeted in light purple cyclamen. Krka also has a ethno village and monastery (the later we didn’t make it to).  

Brač Island: ‘a three hour tour…’ 🇭🇷

We’ve reached our halfway point in the trip and are making our way back to the US over the next 3 weeks. We’ve covered about 2/3 of all our driving so things will be a bit more relaxed for this last half as we head off to enjoy some beach time on the gorgeous island of Brač.  

We signed up for a Dalmatia Island and Cave tour which unfortunately did not go to plan.  Due to the weather we weren’t able to enter the Blue Cave or the Green Cave and then our boat’s motor over heated and we had to be towed to shore for 2 hours, with several people sea sick, while Jason made Gilligan’s Island references.  We did get to see dolphins, a military tunnel that hid submarines, made quick visits to Hvar and Vis Islands, and take a dip in the sea. 

Next day was a bit more laid back as we hung out at Zlatni Rat (Golden Cape) Beach.  

Dubrovnik 🇭🇷

Dubrovnik has become a city of worldwide notoriety due to it's iconic burnt orange roof tops, medieval walled city, and mesmerising blue waters which have attracted many TV shows and movies as a captivating filming location; most notably as King's Landing in Game of Thrones. While on the surface you feel as if you are stepping foot into a GOT scene, there is a much deeper history to Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic, has experienced multiple changes in tide and fortune. Set in an ideal location for trade routes between the Balkens and the Ottoman Empire it served as a major hub for maritime merchants. However, in 1667 a massive earthquake destroyed much of the city. While the city was rebuilt, trade along the Croatian coast steadily declined. Following WWI, Croatian lands were melded into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and later supported the Axis powers after German invasion in WWII. The fall of the Third Reich lead Croatia to join the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The city once again grew in popularity and in 1979 Dubrovnik was listed as a UNESCO heritage site. As such it was one of the few demilitarised areas in the former Yugoslavia. Intensifying conflict between Croats and Serbs resulted in Croatia declaring its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. The Serb dominated Yugoslavian army occupied Croatia in an attempt to prevent their independence and war ensued. The war ended with Croatian victory, however, there was an estimated $37 billion in damage to infrastructure and economy as well as international war crime reviews.

 

Only 20 years later the tourism industry in Dubrovnik would be changed forever as it transformed into the capital of Westeros. 1.5 million tourists pour into the city each year which has been very evident on our visit. Our first morning we walked the City Walls, one of the largest in Europe at 1.2 miles long and up to 82 feet high offering the best views of Old Town.

Later that evening we were supposed to board the ship Daenerys sailed in GOT for panoramic views and walking tour, unfortunately the weather had other plans. We found the Game of Thrones Experience which included various themed games and puzzles you had to work together to solve which the kids loved too. We then nerded out and got to dress up as our favourite characters from the show. The kids begrudgingly agreed until they realised they got to ride a smoke breathing dragon!!

Next day we visited Lovrijenac Fortress, built in only three months in an attempt to prevent Venetians from building a fort in the same location and severing their hold on Dubrovnik. When the Venetian ships arrived with materials for the fort they told (very politely I’m sure) to go home. The fortress also served as the Red Keep as well as the location of King Joffrey’s Nameday Tournament in GOT.

We also scouted out various GOT filming sights such as the ‘Shame Stairs,’ Pile Gate, and ‘Black Water Bay’ to name a few.

Korčula 🇭🇷

We decided to take the ferry to Korčula Island for a quick day trip.  The island is full of history over various occupations however it’s most famous for its claim as Marco Polo’s birth place, the renowned world explorer.  Little is known about Marco Polo’s early life and Venetian historians dispute Croatia’s declaration however it is documented that during the naval battle of Venice he was captured by the Genovese and held prisoner in Korčula.  

We spent some time just wandering around the steps of alley ways, shopping, and sampling desserts before getting on our way to Dubrovnik.  As a word of travel advice, never rely on the internet for ferry times!  We arrived at the port to watch the ferry pull away, so we ended up grabbing a drink and desserts until the next ferry came along.

Drače 🇭🇷

Drače was one of the major highlights we were looking forward to and it did not disappoint! What is so exciting about a small village in Croatia you've probably never heard of?  Well, an underwater winery!  Jason and I have a 'deep' love for SCUBA diving and EDivo Vina Winery offers underwater tours of their wine bottles and amphoras that are stored in the Adriatic Sea on a shipwreck which was used during the Game of Thrones filming, as if this could't get any cooler!!  

We spent a lazy morning soaking up some sun at the beach while the kids splashed around and found fish, hermit crabs, and sea urchins.  In the afternoon we made our way to the boat and headed out to the secret location for our dive.  Ben even drove us there!  While we took turns diving Ben enjoyed snorkeling around the dock and Emma even had a little swim in the water.  

Once in the water, we followed the line down to about 50ft seeing various fish and sea cucumbers along the way.   After a short swim the shadowy silhouette of a shipwreck emerges from the murky blue.  Feathery tube worms and algae cover the boat that contains the sunken treasure, bottles of Navis Mysterium, the sea mystery.   The bottles are left underwater for over 700 days to develop their novel flavour and aquatic decor.  The constant and cool temperatures of the sea floor are perfect conditions for the wine to age.  

After the dive we went back to the shop and sampled their various wines.   It was intriguing to hear about their journey that may have involved salty wines and lost bottles but all the wines were delicious and varied in flavour from their different above and underwater storage.

It was one of the most unique dives we've ever done and one that we will remember forever!

Eye of the Earth 🇭🇷

We decided to take a detour on our way to Drače to check out the The Eye of the Earth! It gets it name from the varied shades of blue and turquoise that give it the resemblance of an eye when viewed from above.  

It is the source for the Cetina River, the longest river in Dalmatia, flowing 65 miles to the Adriatic Sea.  To date nobody has reached the bottom of the lake.  Divers explored to a depth of 115m before having to abort their expedition.  Who knows, this could lead to the centre of the Earth!

Plitvice 🇭🇷

On the way to Plitvice we stopped at a petting zoo which was a bit wild, literally, as camels roamed the grounds, farm dogs herded us to our table and supervised our eating lunch, and a hoard of fuzzy alpacas ran around on the loose.  We also meet Nudli, the friendliest donkey who reminded us of Eeyore when we had to say good bye.  

That evening we got to our room and explored the beautiful blue hues of Plitvice National Park the next day. The park is tucked away in the deep woodlands of Northern Croatia.  It’s main attractions are the 16 lakes connected together by waterfalls that pour over mossy tufa limestone formations.  There are miles of weathered boardwalk that takes you over the crystal clear turquoise lakes, waterfalls and caves.  

Budapest 🇭🇺

It was a bit of a whirlwind tour with little bits of down time during our 2 nights in Budapest.  After a 6+ hour drive (including an insane hour border crossing) from Romania we checked in and hit the sightseeing road to see Matthias Church, Fisherman's Bastion, and the Labyrinth.  Unfortunately the church was closed but still impressive from the outside.  

Right next door is the Fisherman’s Bastion, a white turreted monument built to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of the Hungarian state that offers incredible panoramic views of Budapest.  The peculiar name comes from the guild of fishermen who protected that portion of the Buda castle wall during the middle ages.  

We wandered over to the underground Labyrinth which has served as a 16th century harem, bomb shelter, and a hospital during WWII.  Legends even say Vlad Dracula was captured and imprisoned here after marrying King Matthias’s niece in secret and running away.  However other historical facts believe he was kept 25 miles away.   It was a curious hodge podge of spooky tunnels, Dracula prison, historic statues, opera mannequins, and cave photography.  The kids had a great time running around the tunnels and caves trying to scare their parents.  

We decided to let the kids out of the cage and go grab some traditional Hungarian dinner including Chicken Paprikash.  Afterwards we walked past the Hungarian parliament building.  Budapest formed in 1873 when three cities merged: Buda, Obuda, and Pest and became to seat of government.  The house of parliament has almost 700 rooms!  

Next day we spent the morning shopping around the Central market and after lunch strolled over to Gerbeaud cafe for Dobos Torte, a Hungarian sponge cake layered with chocolate buttercream and topped with caramel.  Full of sugar we took the kids to the Main Playground in Városliget, highly regarded as the ‘best playground in the world’ according to one of Ben’s friends, for them to run and stretch their legs.  

After last minute decision Jason took a scooter to grab our swimsuits and we had a dip in the Szechenyi thermal baths to enjoy the warm medicinal waters.  Ben and Emma especially enjoyed the circular whirlpool that pushed you around like an aquatic carousel.  

Transfăgărășan Highway: Video 🇷🇴

Here's a video from our Transfăgărășan Highway trip!

Turda Salt Mine 🇷🇴

Our last day in Romania was spent exploring Salina Turda, a salt mine that has been converted to an amusement park.  Millions of years ago a sea covered the entire region but after evaporating, the salt deposited into the earth.  The first mention of the salt mine dates back to 1075.  Dug into a conical chamber the mine is 367ft deep and contains enough salt that it could supply the entire world for 60 years.  There are 2 levels each 13 floors down into the earth, Jason and I both climbed them.  You can see the striations of salt and stone on the cut out walls and salt crystals and stalactites growing from the ceilings.  

We were a bit disappointed to find that despite the price of the admission ticket it did not include any of the activities available.  However, the kids quickly made friends despite the language barrier and had a wonderful time running around the playground and playing table tennis.