48. Bled and surroundings

Blog entries

frescoed outer wall of a house in Skofja Loka, near Bled

We end our trip where we were supposed to have started it, in Bled, in the NW of Slovenia. Where we fled for the rain from Kranjska Gora almost seven weeks ago. It isn’t so bad now, but it is once again raining. We skip the walks through two of the gorges near Bled, the very touristic Vintgar Gorge and the more remote 2km-long Pokljuka Gorge (or georges, as our landlady keeps on calling them). We skip the trip across the 1611m high Vršič Pass, not only because in the clouds the views are by far not as spectacular as described in the many guide books, but also because the road is closed, simple as it is.

further painted walls in Skofja Loka, only the windows are real

and its decoration fresco in more detail

a restored house in Skofja Loka

Skofja Loka

On the one day that we have sunshine, sort of, we get to Skofja Loka, a small town with a lovely Medieval square, Mestni trg; except that much of the square is being repaired. But there is enough to admire, from a stone bridge and frescoed houses to an old church, re-decorated with modern stained glass.

the old bridge in Skofja Loka

and a narrow cobbled alley

the church and in the distance, the castle of Skofja Loka

and even a snow-capped peak

mountain scenery and autumn colours

Lake Bohinj

From there a small road takes us along the valleys, with Austrian-like villages and churches and yet another set of fabulous autumn colours, across the mountains, with distant snowy peaks, back down to Lake Bohinj. There is hardly any wind, and much of the lake is an almost perfect mirror for the mountain slopes on the other side, where, once again, colourful trees are bathing in the late sunlight.

Lake Bohinj mirrored in the water

fisherman on Lake Bohinj

another view of the lake

and the lake shore, with more mountains in the back

At one end of the lake is the cable car to Vogel, from the village of Ukanc at 569m to the upper station at 1535m. The views must be beautiful, from above, but we have too little time left for the run upwards, and back down again.

the little 14th C church in Studor

ceiling decorated and frescoes on the sides

which are, seemingly, just daily scenes

and an image of the notables of the village?

this is a more religious scene

At the other end is the tiny village of Studor, with the 14th C Church of St John the Baptist, next to the water, and next to yet another stone bridge. The frescos in the church are highly recommended by our guide book, but compared to the ones we have seen in the many Orthodox churches earlier during the trip these are fairly simple, naïve perhaps, and from the looks of it either extremely well preserved, or tastefully restored.

Bled

We make it to Bled in the late afternoon. Bled is famous for its lake, which indeed was a very nice sight, in the low sunlight, with its small island and church in the middle, and overlooked by its castle. But to go and visit the castle? Or the church? Hmm, how many castle and churches can you see? Perhaps we are getting a little saturated, and not only from the rain that comes down the next morning again.

You know, we decide to head home, instead. It was a great trip, but even the Balkans can be too much, after a while.

Lake Bled, its island and its church

another church on the shores of the lake

and a castle, higher up the mountain

47. Another intermezzo

Blog entries

My last reflections were on the people of the countries we have passed through so far. But in the last week or two, we have moved from Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Hercegovina, into Croatia, and now Slovenia. And without even talking to anybody, the difference is striking. I already mentioned somewhere that the Croatian part of Bosnia looked so much more prosperous than the rest of the country, but moving into Croatia proper, this is even clearer. I referred to the comfortable motorway to Split – actually, the last few kilometres in Croatian-dominated Bosnia were already on the same motorway -, but more relevant is what you see around you. As it is, not much: the motorway passes largely through sparsely populated areas, and not many people are using it, the toll may be too expensive. But whenever there are villages or farms, they are well kept, they look modern, or shall I say, ‘Western European’? The contrast with the more southern/eastern countries is striking, if only because most of the war damage has been repaired – there are some destroyed places, but these are not necessarily war-related, could also have collapsed from old age. In the towns we do spot the traces of bullet holes in walls, but nothing compared to Bosnia, nothing compared to Kosovo. At least on the surface it looks like Croatia is moving on, although from talking to friends here, under that surface the nationalist fervour still smoulders, and if necessary will be called upon…

The more we experience Croatia, the more we experience the contrast. There is actually a little less rubbish on the streets, along the roads were people stop. All over the Balkans, everybody dumps whatever they don’t need – tins and bottles, or paper or plastic bags, from a car window, or whole settees and other bulky stuff, with more effort involved – on the side of the road. We got used to it, but it remains appalling. In Croatia it is less (in Slovenia, where we go next, it is largely absent). Everywhere in the Balkans, people smoke, in cars, in bars and cafes, in restaurants. It is one of the most unpleasant habits we have to put up with if we want to travel here. But in Croatia there are non-smoking areas in restaurants, some are entirely non-smoking (and in Slovenia, many more restaurants are non-smoking).

In fact, moving from Croatia to Slovenia is another contrast. Roads are better still, towns are neater, mountain scenery with lovely villages with their part-wooden houses, their small, proud churches, Alpines scenery: this is not different from Austria or Switzerland. With prices, for food and drinks, and in supermarkets, to match. We don’t pay our accommodation in dubious cash anymore, everything is card payment. We are back in the Europe familiar to us. Which wasn’t so clear when we started this trip, but having been all around, the difference is striking. And you know, the boundary is not so different from the one roughly between the old Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire – one of the prejudices I have held for years, for about 30 years to be precise.

to the last blog entry, Bled and suroundings

46. the Postojna Cave

Blog entries, Locations

the Predjama Castle, near the Postojna Cave

One of the things we have not yet done during our Balkans trip is visiting a cave. It is not that there are no caves: the Western Balkans is  dominated by a karst landscape that contains many caves, derived from dissolving carbonate rock through underground rivers, or just water seeping through.  In fact, the name karst has been derived from here: the Kars Plateau is the NW part of the Dinaric Alps.

entrance to the Postojna Cave, line up for the English language train, one of nine trains per tour

tourists in the packed train, with another train next to it

entering the cave by rail

The Cave

But the biggest cave, the Postojna Cave, happened to be on the way home, so to speak. And turned out to be a good place to visit on a rainy day.

entering the cave by rail

and another one, note the depth

The cave system is almost 25 km long, according to our guide the second largest cave system in Europe, and the largest that can be visited (apparently, the largest system is also in Slovenia, but not open to the public). A visit starts with a 3.7 km train ride into the mountain, followed by a walk of an hour, or so, and then the train back. Our guide tells us that there are 120 seats in the train, and they have nine trains. That is roughly a thousand people per tour, and there are six tours a day; even at the end of October this place is packed, half of the tourist being Chinese. At 30 Euros per ticket, that’s almost 200,000 a day. And they advertise that they are open every day, 365 days a year!

well-formed pillar

Yet, the cave can easily handle this amount of people, even if our group quickly spreads, to allow for the multiple selfies everybody feels compelled to take in front of yet another stalactite or stalagmite. No, I am cynical here, it is indeed a fabulous experience. I have never been in a cave this size – it easily fits a concert hall -, and there are several ones, the next even more beautiful, and tastefully lit, than the other. Really nice.

attractive structures of stalactites and stalagmites

and another structure, tastefully lit

stacactites forming from the roof

another example of stalactites

the Predjama Castle is built half inside a cave

the outside wall of the castle

and somebody put flowers in the window

castle wall built against the rock of the cave

and the cave itself is also part of the castle

The Castle

To stay with the cave theme of today, nearby is the Predjama Castle. The four-storey castle has been built partly inside a cave, and looks truly impregnable. Inside, stairs lead up to rooms and balconies, but also to a cave room, from where there is a secret passage to the other side of the mountain – which, of course, is out-of-bounds for casual visitors. The most famous resident of the castle was Erasmus Luegger, a kind of a 15th C Slovenian Robin Hood whole stole from the rich to give to the poor. Luegger’s castle was ultimately destroyed by the Austrians; the current one was rebuilt in 1570, but is no doubt equally impressive and unconquerable.

next: Another retrospective intermezzo, or move on to the last blog entry, Bled and surroundings

exhibition inside the castle

45. the last of Croatia

Blog entries

one of the bears in the sanctuary in Kuterevo

We have lots of plans for the rest of Croatia, on our way home. But we are running out of time, because in the end we spent quite a few more days than planned in several of the towns we have been to, not in the least because of our newly-discovered fascination with brutalist architecture. We also have some unfinished business left in the NW of Slovenia, where we fled from the rain at the start of our trip. So we decide to skip the Istria peninsula, with its picturesque towns, more churches and Roman remains. And head back to Slovenia, instead.

early morning scene in the Adriatic hinterland

one of the holding pens for the bears at Kuterevo

another bear, huggable

this one searching for something to eat

the details of each bear are written down, together with an often original name

The Bear Sanctuary

On the way, we pass through the Kuterevo bear sanctuary, a lovely place full of volunteers, who look after bears rescued from captivity – you know, people who held a bear for fun, or for commercial gains. Or young bears whose mothers got shot as part of the annual quota of 120 bears that Croatia allows to be shot, no doubt for good money (that is unlikely to make its way to the sanctuary, I suspect). It is a wonderful place, with a number of extensive holding pens where a total of eight bears roam around, relatively freely. And those bears, such cuddly animals, you would almost hug them, if there hadn’t been a serious fence between them and us!

and this one just contemplating

more countryside, on the way to the coast

The Coast

From Kuterovo we drive to the coast, which provides spectacular views of the islands in front, the biggest one being Krk. Along the coast there is still substantial vegetation, but the coast-facing side of the islands is entirely barren, starkly contrasting with the azure blue waters of the Adriatic here. The Nehaj Castle, in the small coastal town of Senj, is not more than a solid stone cube, tastefully restored, but its ramparts offer another great view of the islands, as well as over the roofs of the town.

next: to Slovenia, to the Postojna Cave

the view of Krk island

with not a lot of vegetation on the island

and the peaceful, azure Adriatic

the Nehaj Castle at the town of Senj

which essentially is a stone cubicle

inside, the castle has a collection of heads

some in excellent condition

others a little more worn

and from the ramparts another view of Krk

and in the other directions, the roofs of Senj

44. Plitvice National Park

Blog entries, Locations

boardwalk along one of the sixteen lakes in the Plitvice National Park

After the several ancient Venetian towns of the last few days, with narrow streets and impressive churches, we have temporarily seen enough of those, for a while. So we decide to move inland and aim for the Plitvice National Park, marketed as ‘Croatia’s top natural attraction and the absolute highlight of the Adriatic hinterland’. It is. A series of sixteen lakes drop down a total of 133 meters, from one into the next, through waterfalls and cascades, over a distance of eight kilometres. In itself already a fabulous natural phenomenon, but in mid-October further enhanced by the autumn colours of the forests at the various lake sides.

a viewing platform looking out over some of the lakes, early morning

a geological cross section showing the substratum of the different lake, and the drop-down mechanism

Now we are not the only once that came to visit this place, which is obviously well prepared for visitors. Apparently, about a million per year come to the park; I hate to think how it looks here in July and August, as even on a late October Sunday it is crowded along the board walks and the paths that form the various well-marked routes. The electric boats that ferry people from one side of the lake to another and the ‘panoramic train’ that connects various points are packed with passengers. But even though we were not alone, it was well worth the effort coming here, and enjoying the spectacular scenery.

Some pictures to prove it.

and then, the last of Croatia

early morning lake view

one of the trails in between the lakes

one of the many waterfalls, just about visible

the red autumn colours provide a special effect to the park

also in a little more close-up

some of the lake surfaces provide the perfect mirror

another waterfall, or part thereof

and a bit of a broader view of the same

not every waterfall is very high

here we are further downstream

and we are not the only ones in the park!

the last waterfall, and the biggest, coming from the side

43. Sibenik

Blog entries, Locations

Sibenik is a labyrint of narrow streets, stairs and arches

Sibenik, too, was long a Venetian town, but unlike the others we have seen so far, it was only established in the 11th C, by Slavs. Yet, the main characteristics of the town are, again, its narrow streets and alleys, many in the form of stairs. Walking through the old town is entertaining, finding various sculptures innocuously positioned on walls of past palaces, or just some inscriptions.

mostly grey, some colour is added by refurbished houses serving as hotels

and one of the main streets – no mechanised traffic, obviously

another narrow alley

discovering quaint decorations is a sport

that yields the occasional, for me unintelligeble, treasure

and what about this one, dimensions all wrong

and a not too happy head on top

The Cathedral

Like Trogir, the cathedral, this one of Saint James, and dating from the 15th C, is the masterpiece, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Once again the portal, or rather, both of them, on the north and on the west side, are intricately carved, whilst inside the cathedral there are several seemingly unrelated side-altar pieces. Interestingly, on the side is a small, once again beautifully decorated, baptistry. But the unique feature of this church are the 71 heads on the outside, apparently individual donors at the time of construction. Their faces range from serious to caricatural, and the story goes that the stingier the donor, the sillier his face. They make for an entertaining walk around the church.

Sibenik has a lot of fortresses around, but having seen too many of those already, we call it a day, and head for our next destination.

next: Plitvice National Park

the Saint James cathedral, with an unusual roof and lacking a bell tower

some of the 71 heads of donors at the time of construction, 15th C

some more serious

others more of a caricature

but each of them very expressive, indeed

and Eve, flanking one of the entrances

like in Trogdir, we have Adam

and this is the other entrance, delicately decorated again

impressive inside of the cathedral

and the baptistery in the rear of the cathedral

with the baptismal font

and elaborately carved and stuccoed roof

42. Trogir

Blog entries, Locations

the clock toser of Trogir

Trogir, just half an hour drive from Split, is another town that was part of the Venetian Republic – after the Greeks and the Romans, the early Croat Kingdom and Byzantium, amongst some of the past rulers. It is situated on a small island that easily could be, and has been, fortified. The town has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, because of the architecture dating from its Venetian period, and indeed it is full of palaces, that are being reached through narrow streets.

narrow streets in the old town of Trogir

Venetian palaces dominate Trogir’s squares

often with high, arched windows and balconies incorporated

the city gates decorated

with a variety of faces

The Cathedral

But the absolute stunner in Trogir is the Cathedral of Saint Lawrence, which was started in 1213 and finished well into the 17th Century, thus representing a range of architectural styles. The most impressive parts are the carved portal, in fabulous detail – with a nude Adam on one, and Eve on the other side -, and the intricately decorated Chapel of Blessed Ivan Orsini, Trogir’s first bishop, inside. The carved wooden choir in the main church is also a master piece.

Since you can climb the bell tower, we climbed the bell tower, for views over the town. Which, without bright sun light, aren’t that spectacular, but never mind.

next: Sibenik

the imposing Saint Lawrence cathedral

with its delicately decorated 13th C portal

which includes marble reliefs

and a nude Adam standing on a lion

as well as Eve, equaly nude on the other side of the door

inside the cathedral, fabulous woodwork of the choir

as well as intricatelu carved statues

and very expressive stone saints

also part of the cathedral, the 15th-century Chapel of Blessed Ivan Orsini

and the bells all the way up in the tower

from where we have a great view over the rest of the old town

Ivan Mestrovic Gallery

Blog entries, Gallery

‘Vestal Virgin’, a bronze sculpture from 1917 in the Ivan Mestrovic Gallery in Split

The gallery, just outside Split, is housed in a villa originally designed by Mestrovic himself. It was built in 1931, and the artist lived and worked here until 1941. Ten years later he donated the property, together with 132 works of art, to the state, which now, through the Ivan Mestrovic Foundation, manages the gallery, together with several other properties.

a collection of bronzes in one of the rooms of the gallery

The gallery exhibits mostly sculptures, and some paintings and drawings. The largest part is inside, distributed over two floors, but many of my favourites are outside in the sculpture garden, where the rainy weather helps bringing out the best of the bronzes.

A little further down the road is the restored chapel Kaštelet-Crikvine, that houses a set of wooden wall panels carved by Ivan Mestrovic. Equally impressive.

Just a small selection.

then: Trogir

‘Head of the Virgin’ (1946, bronze)

‘Head of Mary Magdalena’ (1946, bronze)

one of my absolute favourites, ‘Girl Dancer’ (1927, bronze)

same sculpture, the head and buste in detail

‘Mother Pledging her Child’ (1927, marble)

same sculpture, the face in detail

outside in the garden, ‘Woman with Lute’ (bronze)

and this one, a reclining nude (bronze)

and yet another reclining woman (bronze)

and a detail of the face, like so many others very peaceful

a wooden cross in the chapel (1916, walnut wood)

and another one, familiar scene

a detail of one of the wooden panels

another detail of a panel

and this one, showing great detail

41. Split

Blog entries, Locations

the tower of the Cathedral of Saint Domnius, inside the Diocletian palace of Split

We have reached Croatia again, after a comfortable ride along a comfortable motorway, something we haven’t had for a while.

the outside wall of the Diocletian palace, facing the sea

 

Roman structures still clearly present, in the form of arches

and imagine sipping your morning coffee on this balcony, also part of the palace

Our first stop is Split, the largest city on the Dalmatian coast, originally settled by the Greeks in the 3rd or 2nd C BC. The most important building, however, is of Roman origin, the Palace of the emperor Diocletian, built at the beginning of the 4th C AD. Much of the palace still stands, although it may have been part-restored and -rebuilt several times through history, and it still forms about half of the old town of Split – and is a major tourist attraction, of course. The city’s subsequent history as a Byzantine town, and independent city state and ultimately as part of the Venetian Republic has all left its traces, but mostly ensured its continuous importance.

the Republican Palace in Split, a much younger addition to the city, next to the old town

well-kept windows of the palace

the clock tower at the central square

the square in the centre of the old town

windows and shutters, same square

Split also has its share of Art Nouveau decorations

inside the old town the palace structure is also ever-present

the laundry, but this looks more that of a hotel than of local people living in town

The Palace

The weather is not fabulous; it is just about dry, but overcast. Yet, wandering through the palace remains a delight, and doesn’t seem to be too different from 30 years ago, when we came to Croatia, and to Split, during our years in Albania. Much of the old town seems to have escaped the unrelenting tourist development that we have seen along the Montenegrin coast, for example. Except that the harbour is now filled with large, expensive yachts, and the occasional cruise ship, obscuring the skyline from the sea.

but most are much older, like this Adam and Eve relief

and you will always find a lion somewhere

roofs of the old town of Split

the impressive Ivan Mestrovic museum

and one of its sculptures in marble, called Reverie (1927)

detail of a nude woman, in the sculpture garden outside

The Museum

As it keeps raining, we decide on an indoors program, the museum of Ivan Mestrovic. Mestrovic is the most important sculptor, of Croatia – and of Yugoslavia at the time, he died in 1962. The collection in the museum is an excellent overview of his work, some in stone, some bronze, plaster and wood, from across his active life. His religious works include a fabulous Via Cruces, in the form of a series of wooden carved panels – forget frescoes! – in a small church near the museum. (quite) a few more photos here.

and one of the wood-carved panels from the life of Christ

bringing the olives to the press

quite a stack of olive bags it is, totalling 292 kg

from which, ultimately, the green gold appears

The Olives

We are staying with a friend, who lives just outside Split, in a fabulous house. Surrounded by olive trees. Instead of relaxing, after the long drive from Mostar, we are being put to work straight away. It is harvest time, and this is the day to pick olives. And the next day… too! But in the evening we make our way to a local olive press, with no less than 292 kg in large bags. We are not the only ones, it is a coming and going of cars and vans, some with far more than we have. The guys from the press are sorting out all of the piles, for processing later in the night, but we are lucky, we can wait for our turn and see our olives turned into liquid gold; well, a little greener, but with great potential.

next: Trogir

40. Intermezzo

Blog entries

Time to look back a little, before I forget. We have now been through seven countries, Slovenia and Croatia very briefly, the others  somewhat longer – but by far not long enough to have sufficient experience to make sweeping statements about differences.

Yet, a few things do stand out, from our limited interactions with people. Serbians – and also the Croatians, I see no difference there – are mostly really nice people. They are engaging, will talk to you, share their opinion. On trivialities, true, we have not really gotten involved in longer discussions, haven’t been here long enough to get to know people better than just on a superficial level. Perhaps because initially we are not perceived as being tourists. We are tall, like the Serbs, look white-Caucasian, like the Serbs, and in any case, there aren’t many tourists in Serbia to begin with, so we are usually addressed to in Serbian. Not only in restaurants, also on the streets. Yes, people address to strangers, here.

How different was that in Kosovo, where people don’t make eye contact anymore. And do not engage in conversations with people they don’t know – except for the waiters who try to get potential clients to their terraces  or restaurants, for whom we are clearly foreigners. Even though, in Kosovo there are not many tourists either. What has also disappeared is a certain trust, it is difficult to put your hand on it, but we have the feeling of being observed all the time, in the shops, by staff, just to make sure we don’t steal anything. In Albania that feeling becomes even stronger. And people are not helpful anymore; in Tirana two police women we wanted to ask something, just walked off, and every time – every time! – I ask somebody if I can peep inside to take a picture, of the football stadium, for instance, or to get a better view of a river valley at a construction side, the answer is ‘no’. For no obvious reason. We are not upfront going to be nice to somebody if we don’t have to, it seems. In that respect Albania indeed hasn’t changed a bit, in 30 years. Even though tourism has.

Mind you, there are exceptions, both in Kosovo and in Albania. The owner of a restaurant who, completely unnecessary but well-appreciated, shares a bottle of his special honey rakija with us. Our friends in Tirana, who go out of their way to make time for us, and are incredibly generous. But that was always the case: once you know them well, they will do everything for you, and they are the most loyal friends you can imagine. Something to do with a clan idea, I think. Perhaps it is getting a little better amongst the younger people, and especially those directly involved with – and dependent on – tourists.

Had we thought we had discovered a clear difference, between Slavs and ethnic-Albanians, we will have to think again. Montenegro was not very different, and although there are Albanians, here, too, the majority is of Slav – Serbian – origin. They are business-like, but not overtly friendly or helpful, although this got a little better in areas outside the tourist centres.

And in Bosnia things don’t seem to be much different. The bus driver sees us running to catch his bus, but is not going to wait, and with five meters to go, closes the door and drives off. In a sweet shop there are pieces of sweets lying around, but can we taste them? No. How different from the ice cream shop in Novi Sad, in Serbia, where we were encouraged to taste some of the individual ice creams before choosing. How different from the bus drivers is Belgrade that helped us find connections, and refused to charge us for the two or three stops we had to go. Once again, this got better outside the touristic areas, where we did manage a couple of interesting and engaging conversations. But don’t mention the war, a sensitive subject all along.

I am aware of the fact that lots of people, foreigners, have vastly different views of the Albanians – lovely people -, of the Bosnians – the most relaxed lot in the Balkans -, and especially the Serbians – the bad guys who are the instigators of all the trouble. Yet, our admittedly brief interactions in the past weeks gave us quite another impression.

(Which in no way tries to trivialise the fact that the Serbs, whilst remembering mass killings by Croat facists during the Second World War, did exactly the same to Bosnian Muslims in Srebernica. Or that Bosnian Muslims, and Kosovar Albanians, whilst by no means innocent bystanders during recent Balkan conflicts, tend to be more of a victim because of their smaller population numbers. Or that Albanians probably did suffer disproportionally under their own form of communist dictatorship, notwithstanding the fact that the Albanian secret service enjoyed some of the highest percentage informers as part of the population. It was, is, and will be for the foreseeable future, a region with complex relationships.)

next: back to Croatia, to Split