CROATIA - FINAL THOUGHTS

  Croatia is a beautiful country, with a huge variety of terrain, mountains, woodland, forests, stunning waterfalls, azure seas, crystal clear Adriatic waters, a haven for sailing. It is also overrun with tourists in July and August, but now it seems also in the so-called off season. There is no way now to avoid crowds, but driving and being able to get off the beaten path really helped.
  We have found the trip to Croatia more expensive than a month in Japan this time last year.  This was surprising.
  With northern Europeans now avoiding Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia, Greece, Armenia, Morocco and the immigrant situation on many borders in the Balkans, tourists are flocking here. Mark tell us when he traveled this coast in 1974, it was cheap as borsht. Those days are long gone, like Yugoslavia.
  We saw few Canadian and US travellers. They are probably all on the cruise boats and travel in groups in the cities. We saw many, many Asian travellers, also in shoals and droves - although individual travellers from Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, Japan seem to venture out alone now.
  The mayor of Dubrovnik has declared their intention of somehow limiting tourists in the city and this would be good. I could not recommend tourists to go there now, but we know people who have enjoyed it this year. It is a jewel of a city no doubt, with interesting historical buildings and rich cultural heritage. It is nice to sit on the boulevard for a coffee but at $10 a pop, we can live without it. The hand is out for every little thing, and what seems a good deal turns out to be really rather shoddy and sub standard.
  We found the smaller historic walled cities much more attractive and welcoming, with restauranteurs bending over backwards to bring you in, offer free liqueurs after dinner, etc. without a cover charge. And I believe the northern and southern Dalmation islands have a lot to offer, even though we only experienced one of them for 3 days.
  There are no sandy beaches, beaches are all pebbles. But crystal clear water even where many boats are parked, is the norm.
  Even small towns charge to park.
  The coastal area and islands definitely look to close down mid October until May. Services are slim to non existent then.
  We are told Croatians tend to take holiday after the other tourists have left in October.
  Twenty years later, signs and memories of the 'homeland war' are still apparent. Although we saw very few veiled women anywhere in Croatia, the Bosnian presence is there, but resented in places. There are a few shells lodged in historic building walls, left as a memory of what transpired. Croatia and Hungary are still being castigated by the EU for non-aceptance of their share of immigrants, so this may change.
  The people we met everywhere were gracious, hospitable, welcoming and friendly. There were absolutely no security or safety issues anywhere, day or night.

RETURN TO ZAGREB - AND MORE RAIN! - THEN LONDON

October 5 dawns sunny then a few clouds and hint of a shower through the hills. It is time to say farewell to the beautiful Croatian coast, so we drag out the experience by taking the slow coast route up past gorgeous islands, hidden villages in bays, red roofed walled towns. We follow the inland toll road  through flat rich agricultural market gardening type land, into the mountains with trees starting to turn cooler. Its an easy drive and into Zagreb back to the Accor hotel. And the big repack for flying again!
  It's still warm, 23 ad windy and a change of weather is on the way. A return to the nice Boban restaurant for Fall favourites, pumpkin soup, duck confit and some good local white and red wines.
  Next morning dawns grey, dull and pouring rain. It's a couple of blocks to our car so we schlep tow small  bags through the puddles and bring the car back to load our main suitcase.
   First we arrive at the Cargo airport, fortunately only 2km down the road from the new terminal. They have not yet figured out how to deal with passengers so our thought of having breakfast is scuppered as we take most of the 2 hours there in lines. We finally grab a coffee and croissant (yogurt for the plane) at noon and are almost last to board - we think. It is not a full plane and we have a set between us for the 2.5 hour flight. Not so. Just before we are supposed to take off, some connecting passengers run on and - yup, one is between us.
  Unfortunately, of a Beirut tour group of about 50, some of them don't make it through security in time. So we are delayed 1.5 hours as we find and remove their luggage. WE could have waited for them after all! The pilot makes up an hour of the time and we land at Heathrow and are through immigration in a mere half hour, not like the 1.5 hours when we arrived from Canada. Terminal 2 is a nice newish affair. Surprise! Anne & Graeme have come to meet us, but so have Dave and Shelagh so we have a merry homecoming over coffee before being driven back to Chiswick to stay at Mary's for 6 days. Mary & Ivan are both away but we are happy to have our home-from-home in Chiswick.

RETURN OF THE PRODIGALS TO TROGIR

  We are welcomed back to the Villa Tudor in Trogir like long-lost friends. Everyone who stays here is given the same warm welcome and farewell, the family look after us all like family. WE head out for home made pasta and beers at the famous Kristian resto and back for desert and coffee at Davon, our favourite dessert spot. A beautiful sunset finishes our day.
  Next day dawns sunny and hot. Off we go up the coast north with beautiful views of small uninhabited, undeveloped islands, up over scenic karst limestone formations and into the water wonderland that is Krka National Park. It is a lovely 2m walk over grassy walkways and boardwalks past multiple stunning falls and beautiful pools. A few brave bikinied women pose for photos and improve the view!
  Our last night there, we find the HOtel Korsal for seafood salad, grilled bream and more lovely wines and liqueurs.  Then of course, stroll to our favourite dessert shop for ale, coffee and. A cleansing ale for Ted! It is so nice to be able to walk to restaurants at all these places and not drive anywhere.
  We are sad to leave our newe friends in Trogir and can’t say enough about the amazing hospitality we have received here in Trogir and especially at Villa Tudor.

POOR KID GOAT

Our lst day in Korcula, we book into the nearby village restaurant for their famed kid goat cooked under peka (metal dome over the BBQ.) We are told arrive promptly at 1:30 or the goat will be overcooked. It’ a lovely drive up through the pine forest to a village, surrounded by small market gardens. The family who run the restaurant don’t speak English it their staff do. WE while away a pleasant hour or two, but Td is still feeling sorry for the kid goat! So it’s not a resounding success. Its still busy everywhere but we’re told it will all shut down Oct 21 til the beginning of May.
  It takes 2 ferries to leave our beautiful home on Korcula, 15 minuets to the Pelejsac peninsula and then an hour back to the mainland, skirting north and so avoiding entering Bosnia again.
  WE squeezed in a winery visit crossing the peninsula and still get into a long ferry lineup, wondering if we will make it and hoping not to have to wait another 4 hours if we don’t.
  The ferry staff shoehorn an amazing amount of traffic onto the ferry and it’s a lovely sail across the peninsula, but no oysters this time!

HEAVENLY KORCULA

  Having heard and read about the southern Dalmatian island of Korcula, we rethink the rest o four trip to spend 3 days at a boutique hotel there on the seafront. It is everything we need at this point, walking distance into the old walled town, spectacular views every direction and warm, friendly hotel staff, catering to our every need.  

  We are in the little capital walled city of the island of Korcula north of Dubrovnik, south of Split. It is supposedly the birthplace of Marco Polo so we are Marco Polo-ed everywhere we look. The little eponymous resto in town is good for a seafood feed, but we have to rap up warm to get there, it is really cooling off in the evenings now here on the last.

  They are had 3 months of summer of record-breaking heat, 30-40 degrees every day, and the bushes, trees, even palms have died. Everyone is craving rain, we are not.

  First day here, took a drive to top of island and back, looking for a nice place to lunch and wineries to taste wine. No on both counts. Closing down for the season everywhere - but lively in town. 

  Gorgeous views at the top of the ridges of islands all around in clear blue sea, lovely little villagers scattered in the hills and vineyards everywhere, on the steepest slopes so all hand picked. Zig zag roads so Ted is happy with hairpins and hardly anyone else on roads. A few brave cyclists.  No rain today, clouds rolled over but that's OK.

  We visit a few wineries but they are really quite small-town compared with other wine regions we have visited. At one we have to be ‘expected” but when we get there, it is full of one boisterous large group of young people and a German couple sitting 2 tables away chain smoking! Hardly the ideal for a wine tasting, $15 and a meager hint of 3 wines, which is all they produce. Roll on Chile and Argentina next spring...  

  We have dinner back in Korcula on the roof of a building jus under the bell tower. Ted finally tries the black squid risotto, and declares it a big success. I send my fish back and then tackle a replacement plate of spiny scampi. We are wrapped up well for the night damp air now and I return for a nice soak in my bathtub at this lovely little hotel.

  

DUBROVNIK DAY 4 THEN PELIJSAC PENINSULA

We had a nice afternoon, in sun, clouds threatened but didn’t spatter on us. Did the rest of the museums first then a boat trip to nearby Lokrum island, pine clad with an 11C monastery. Nice jaunt. 

  Now black overhead, what do you think is coming...Will go to the recommended resto below our apt and don't have far to run if the heavens open again. What did we do to deserve all this bad weather??? We need a Buddhist monk to bless us again...Ted should never have lost that bracelet...

 Since we are leaving, next day dawned sunny and totally blue sky. A lovely day for a drive up the peninsula to the island.

  Ted picks up his usual bagful at bakery and an hour into the trip up the peninsula, we come across Croatia’s oyster heaven. We will stuff ourselves with them and as much of the local good white wine as we can bearing in mind somebody is driving...

  Memories of Arcachon...

  Yesterday a seafood platter for dinner, a whole sea bream (Dorado), langoustine, shrimp, prawn (yes one each, huge) mussels tons of garlic and oil. And finally fresh veggies, green beans and boiled potatoes. The oil here is really lovely - famous but Ted says we can't haul any back...or the white truffles which are in season here now but ridiculously expensive. 

  There is a small veggie and flower market here every day. I bought flowers first day so our apt has smelled lovely the whole time. Yesterday a lovely native market, ladies and men in their trad gear and lots of lovely food and wine and liquor products. I bought a nice piece of traditional embroidery from one lady here. In Slovakia I bought some beautiful lace, a bell for my Xmas tree and a bird for bird-sitter Nicole. 

  Ted got a note from Mark today. He traveled down this coast in 1971 and it was all dirt cheap. He commented on how Europe has become vey popular and as a result really expensive now. 

  Talked to people at the bar yesterday (bar hanging off the cliff over the water with views out over the sea and the two big cruise ships that came in yesterday!!!) They commented it is all Toronto prices, no bargains here. He was a lawyer from Toronto so I guess not too worried about prices.

MORE DUBROVNIK

Yeah, if this weather wasn't so horrid it would be hilarious. We holed up in our apt for an hour or two after the storm then ventured out for an excellent dinner. (Whole grilled sea bass and grilled baby squids.) Rain stopped but wind was roaring along these narrow alleys. We found a table indoors, resto at the recommendation of Brian & Gail who were here a couple of weeks back. Good food, good wine, good service and more free slivovich! We must be doing something right when the waiters keep taking us under their wings. Hope for sun tomorrow. 

  Only Fox and Al Jezeera news here, (no BBC) -  time to read our books.

 We are enjoying the change of culture here. The Croatians are lovely people, can't believe how tall many of them are - I feel like a midget. 

  Off to have a long hot shower and my book in bed....we are getting old...we had planned to watch sunset from a bar on the outside wall of the old city but rain stopped play!! 

  We did have hot sunny weather this morning and early afternoon, and did the city wall walk, which was spectacular. Took loads of photos and will have to edit those soon. 

  Also ran into a very knowledgeable waiter tonight who gave us a list of wines to try as we drive up the wine peninsula and on to the island that is his home - and a big wine producer here. Interestingly one of the major Zinfandel producers in Napa valley was Mike Grgich, who was from Croatia originally. He went to US and produced better wines there - but there is a strong Grgich production here still. We will enjoy following that up. We met him many years ago and have always loved his now very expensive wines.

DUBROVNIK - A ZOO

  Dubrovnik is a total zoo. The only redeeming factor - we are right inside the city walls and can walk back and forth to everything. Sun at first yesterday then holed up in a cheapo resto at 4pm. Heavy rain ensued!

  Absolutely  no traffic in old town zone so lots of walking. Slippery shiny cobbles 

  Not bad daily special meal of salad, fish, dessert and two free glasses of their pear liquor ($20 food, and $16 for 2 beers).) Interesting even there they had cover charge of $2 each - apparently for bread basket (not touched!) oil and vinegar.
 Went to lovely little market yesterday so have flowers on my dining table now. Bit more like home.

  Ted just got back from walking to the fantastic bakery with various croissants (esp ham and cheese for brekkie.) I brought Nescafé decaf from Liz's - unheard of here! But Ted found coffee and milk at the small grocery store in the old town yesterday so he is brewing away. We have a small balcony so enjoy breakfast outside but no sun yet! Cloudy and breezy.

  He had to fight his way through the old ladies at the grocery store trying to decide what to buy...decided to give it a miss til later. The old town really is a living city,  the kids go to school, I hear them taking off in the morning. Although old, the apt is well set up, and  the plumbing and double windows very efficient and keep out noise.

  It is definitely party town here, music everywhere at night, jazz, pop, etc everyone out on the street strolling. We had lunch/dinner early, came home, then went back out for the stroll. Nice to be able to do that so easily.

FROM TROGIR TO DUBROVNIK

It’s a very scenic drive either up through the Dalmatian mountains or along the spectacular coastline from Trogir to Dubrovnik. Missing the turnoff at Split, we went up into the mountains at first, craggy, dry, mountains with the occasional village tucked away in a valley. A spectacular drop from the ridge to glistening Adriatic towns, some tucked into azure sandy bays, and towns hanging over steep cliffs down to the sea. 

  It’s a huge resort area with a short 7k stretch that is Bosnia, no customs or border problems there, but our passports stamped on re-entry to Croatia all the same.

  We drive down  through the touristy riviera area, past the very fertile Neretva Delta with orange groves and hoards of produce stalls along the road, and  increasing touristtour buses. 

  Into Dubrovnik, we can see where we are headed but there is an hour traffic jam to get there. Parking is chaotic. This is not looking to be such a good idea...

DUBROVNIK. AND PARKING NIGHTMARE

   A gorgeous day yesterday to drive the Dalmatian coast from Trogir to Dubrovnik. But oh what a zoo when we got here at 4pm. Traffic jams everywhere, no parking. Found out it will be $160 a day at the lot close to the gate where we had to enter. 

  We found out later it is  $20 a day out at the port so we paid for 1.5 hrs, found our apt, drove out to the port,and took a cab back ($16). All the clothes I brought for summer weather for our long stay in Dubrovnik are still in the suitcase in the car! We will manage here with one change of clothes for 4 days. 

  We are booked in here for 4 days plus 1 (have to move to another apartment) so we will be pulling the plug after the 4 days and cutting our losses. On top of that, rain forecast for tomorrow and Friday!! We had hoped to drive to Montenegro but will give that a miss if it's raining too! Sheesh. So much bad weather this trip.

  Thank goodness we repacked not to bring our suitcase, and only brought two carry-on bags to drag through the cobbles and up steps and steps to our apt, which is very big!

  We are rethinking the rest of our time in Croatia and will try to stay on one of the islands, probably Korcula, and I'll start looking for a place there. Vineyards, just up Ted's alley.

CHARMING WALLED OLD TOWN TROGIR

 Our friends have told us to stay at Trogir, rather than Split so after a harrowing day in rain, it finally eases off, we drop down, down down over the mountains to finally see the Dalmatian coast. Cloudy, then the sun appears! We have run up $70 in toll charges today.
  It’s busy with tourists, buses, large and small boats parked all along the malecon, died with palm trees, cafes and restaurants. We cross two bridges to find our hotel on the second island. Our hotel is on the busy, noisy waterfront but the old stone walls hide a modern hotel, beautifully run and set up by the warm, gracious hosts at Villa Tudor, aria and Buck (and son Tudor). Solid windows seal out the traffic noise, and when you open the window and shutters, the view is of a medieval town, all red roofs, bell towers, and white stone buildings.
  There is a wealth of restaurants tucked in every nook and cranny of the cobbled old town. Also gift shops, and the most amazing dessert/ice cream stores to rope you in on the way home from dinner. It’s a labyrinth and we need the Google maps app to find our way back to some of the places!
  We are plagued with showers but enjoy exploring all along the coastline, the little Kastelas, a sprig of small towns all the way into Split.  Fancy yachts are parked along the waterway and there are plenty of good restaurants to tempt the expensive looking clients in.
  We have booked to return to Trogir and find we can ow return here. And after OCtober the rates are half so we will stay at this lovely boutique hotel again for E50 a night, plus E8 each for a great breakfast, cooked to order.

THE ISTRIA PENINSULA - PULA - ALMOST ITALY

 Just east of Trieste is the border with Croatia and we have a pleasant drive through beautiful country with lovely red roofed towns and rolling farmland and hills to the Istria Peninsula, famous for Roman remains, ducal estates (Tito liked it near Ostrika?) and Malvasia wine. Not sweet, definitely a food wine. 

  We check into the funky Scarlata Hotel and off to the famous Roman Amphitheatre. Dining at the recommended Amphitheatre Hotel restaurant we are almost he only diners there. Amuse Boucher, fish soup, basss, salad, chocolate cake, the local Malvasia wine and free plum brandy sets us back $100. People start streaming past the window, later we have dessert on the patio and the crowd thickens. What is going on?

  One of the most famous 10k races in Croatia happens tonight, finishing in true Roman fashion at the Amphitheater. We are part of the buzz and its fun! Beer is being dispenses behind the gladiator pens, families, running clubs, teams ahve come from all over Croatia.

  There are lots of budget travelers here. We have a tiny balcony but our view is of seedy little streets and broken steps, but our car is fine and safe, parked on the street with bags and stuff visible in it. 

  We ever had any security or safety concerns the whole time in Croatia, or in fact, any of the places we visited. I had half expected Russian-mafia types stealing bags, etc. but everywhere we went, we were told, don’t worry about anything, nobody will touch it.

  Next morning we are set to drive half way down Croatia. First we see dark threatening clouds. Then th heavens open we have a YUGE (Trump-style) hail storm. The toll road is closed for about half an hour. Ted retreats down a private driveway, ignoring the signs, and gets as far under a tree as possible. Fortunately, the car doesn’t suffer any damage. 

  WE drive the 500km back up around the Istria Peninsula, miss all the views to the heavenly little northern Dalmatian islands, down very scenic country between two national parks in torrential rain. Didn’t see a thing.

  There are nice tourist travel stops on the motorways and toll highways. However, the cafes only have one or two washrooms for women. Dying for a pee, we stop at one just as a bus load of other tourists arrive. It takes half an hour to pee! Fortunately I have kept a pear and croissant from breakfast and polish off a package of cheese crackers from my store. Ted is not into lunch or stopping!

MORE ZAGREB..

  Zagreb, is a lovely capital, touristy city with many steps to the scenic historic top, but a funicular to get you there. Being the capital, it also has lovely historic government buildings and not so many tour groups either. A lovely fruit/veg market, I pick up fresh figs and lovely ripe pears. We find beautiful olive oils on our trip but sadly can’t haul it back. But the other market here also has huge hams (tastings everywhere), honeys and other tempting comestibles.

  The second night we go to the resto recommended in our guide owned by a famous Croatian soccer player. We book at 6pm and there is no one there. By the time we leave the place is jumping, full of happy diners. Excellent food, wine and service here. And large groups of sporty looking men..

   We have skipped hotel breakfasts, they are vast, and unfortunately for once we have no coffee maker in our room, unusual. But we have found the fanstastic bakery down the road for croissants and pastries and coffee, so Ted does his morning run.

  It is a nice day to leave, the sun is out, sort of, and it’s an easy 2 block walk to our car and on our way out of town on the big good roads.

THE RENTAL CAR..

  We have rented a car for our 2 weeks here from Europecar, whom we have used several times before and found to be very good.

  The 2nd night we are here, I get out my rental papers and - oops - we are due to pick up the car a day earlier and I forgot to change it when I decided to stay in Bratislava 2 days not one! We have half an hour to find the pickup spot, but magically, it’s the Sheraton which is at the top of the road our hotel is in! We puff up there, and the nice young agent Vedra tells us “that was for yesterday, I don’t have the car here now. Just wait here.”

  We cool our heels for about half an hour watching all the smart business types here for conferences - meeting and greeting, strutting their stuff, being very important on the cell phones. Vedra returns, he has a car for us, same as we booked, it has not been properly prepared (only half full of gas) but it’s parked only minutes away. Not only that, it is parked in a lot for free and we can leave it there.  Instead of returning it there to him, we can simply drive to airport (half an hour) and avoid any parking charges at all. We are up for that.

  It is a brand new car, and having refused the $10 a day GPS, we find it is in there and he says, I will just leave it working. It is a godsend, but also backed by my Google Maps (my UK SIM car and service have proved absolutely invaluable on this trip and I have not used the 1G a month either as we have great wifi everywhere.)

ZAGREB

.

Our hotel is a busy business/tourist hotel on the tram line into the lovely lively capital city centre. A buzz of young professionals, tourists, business types, and smart. The first night it is cold to walk into the city centre, not finding the resto they said was close by and then waiting half an hour for a table at one of the others listed in our Lonely Planet. Locals are all out in force, quaffing lots of wine, huge meals, sumptuous desserts (they are everywhere on this trip!)

  Quite a few tourists seem to be here too. We are definitely now in meat country and although we see lots of lovely fresh vegetables all over Croatia, few of them appear on dinner plates!

  Bad news, everyone smokes. It is a vibrant outdoor cafe society but everyone smokes outdoors so you are sucking it in even strolling around past all the busy cafes.

  I am soooo glad I have brought my (skiing!) merino wool hoodie and down vest. The air seems damp and evenings definitely cool. We learn to take the tram back and forth to our hotel instead of walking it. Although the first ight walking back, we saw many big noisy parties a huge gala event at the art gallery with many beautiful young people dressed to the nines with their Jimmy Choo shoes and designer label suits and dresses.

  These Croatians are all so TALL. I feel like a midget. They are tall and handsome people. And clearly there is $$$ here in the capital city, even though along the road from our hotel is what i obviously a drop in centre to feed needs/homeless which we pass on the way to our car

BRATISLAVA TO ZAGREB - 4 COUNTRIES, ONE DAY..

  I have again wisely booked on line before we left a car and driver to take us from Bratislava through Slovakia Austria, Slovenia and into Zagreb, capital of Croatia. 

daytrip@ondaytrip.com

Team Daytrip advise me that Filip F will meet us at the hotel and deliver us to the hotel in Zagreb. It all works Lockett split well. He is a most knowledgeable resident of Bratislava and knows a better way to get our bags from the hotel to his comfortable BMW!

  We have arranged two stopoffs on the way, one in Graz, Austria and one in Ptuj (sounds like a spit!) in Slovenia. It is a sunny day for our drive, yeah!

  Graz is a charming town, with a lively market and downtown area, we enjoy a stroll around for an hour or so then resume our journey. Filip is a sailor, gets work in Rotterdam when he fancies sailing and works for the tour company otherwise. He is a really affable young man, a mine of really interesting information, anecdotes and jokes.

  Did you hear the one about the American who phoned a Russian and said:

“I hear it is 40 below over there!” 

”Oh, no, it’s not nearly that cold, only about -25.”

“ I saw on the internet, -40”

“Oh you mean outside, not inside.”

  Ptuj has a lovely castle (more climbing, good for the legs and lungs all this touring) with folk displays. It has an important folk festival involving costumed dancers, some in bearlike skins. Famous for its lace, I buy two small beautiful pieces and we stop for, according to Filip the MOST expensive coffee…

  Billed as 7 hour journey, we actually take about 9 and arrive in Zagreb opposite the busy railway station in rush hour, and park a little way from the hotel, but Filip insists on bringing the bags for us.

BRATISLAVA - Capital of Slovakia

Next morning we open the drapes, and yes, pouring. We have waterproof jackets and umbrella but it’s hard manhandling them all with a suitcase and 33 rolling carry on bags too down through the cobbles. Fortunately the ferry to Bratislava runs practically at the bottom of our road on the canal and there is covered waiting. However, the boat is half an hour late.

  Ted was told to book as Tuesday is seniors day and half price. Less than a dozen bedraggled customers share the whole boat with us. We sail down the Blue Danube. Everything is grey, foggy and wet. Little fishing huts pass by occasionally but no splendid shlosses. 

  We grab a cab on landing in Bratislava only to find our hotel is down the bottom of another pedestrian cobbled street (very charming but hell pulling cases down it!) Our friends Liz & Rod have stayed at the Sklaritz hotel so we are heartened it will be good.

  It is a listed as a historic hotel and residence. In fact, we have an apartment about the size of our house. An enormous bathroom and, joy oh joy, a huge bathtub. I am in heaven! We are warmly welcomed and even though our stay is mostly in rain, we thoroughly enjoy this capital city of Slovakia.

  We find a lovely cosy little resto just round the corner from our hotel and enjoy two nights there with lovely food, wines and friendly service, and free chasers after dinner. I believe we had duck confit both nights as it was so good the first time.

  Venturing a bit further than the pedestrian way, we find the rest of the city dull and typical of post-communist architecture, I find a fantastic garlic soup at a modern brewery (Ted suffered from that for days…) and a handsome castle on the river’s edge worth a walk around.

RUBBER DUCKIE LAND

Austrtia seems to be taken with rubber duckies. We have one in our hotel bathroom - but no bath! He is a Mozart duckie so I think I’ll take him home with us, happy memories.
  Our extra da i Vienna we take the bus about an hour out of town up up up o the Vienna Woods, of orchestral fame. It’s a beautiful view of the city but it’s cloudy then - rain. So not much joy in taking photos. We’ve heard about a great restaurant up there but we take a look and decide it’s too cold for a modern smell and glass lace, and return to the cosy Gretchen Bells for dinner. I stand under the hot shower and wrap in the bathroom and socks to warm up enough to sleep! Storms and rain are forecast in Croatia! Oh joy!

MORE MOZART!

Salzburg is truly Mozart country. And is obviously a lovely tourist city when it's not passing with rain...we did see the sun a few times but it made for soggy sightseeing. And never saw the alps behind it at all.
We attend a concert with a 1770 replica harpsichord in a small room of the magnificent Alte Residence, housing a priceless Hapsburg collection (much of it ecclesiastical art.)  WE also visit the Dom (cathedral) walk along the river and take a bus to the famed Augustine Blau Brewery. Not to orumbuctious, we quaff a few beeers, BBQ ribs, roast potatoes, ham off the bone, strudel and hearty potato salad. Walking back along the river, we enjoy a sunset at last and return to a hot shower to warm up again.

TRAINS IN AUSTRIA

  Having purchased an umbrella in London (how did we forget one??) we had to purchase another in Austria. Granted the first one was from the pound store and died fairly soon into use. But the second will always be a sweet reminder of Vienna because it is white and covered in musical notes. I have not tried to sign it yet…Maybe its ’Singing in the rain”?

  Returning to Vienna by train, it is a 2. Hour comfortable journey in the. Exec class seats, two each, room to move. However, the car is almost empty most of the way anyway! The hostess brings us nibbles and water and we could order a glass of bubbly or another libation if we wish. We don’t.

  We are booked into another Mercure just steps (up!!) from the last one for a night and return to the lovely resto we found on previous visit for another lovely cosy dinner.

HOME OF THE WOOLY PIG

Tuesday dawned cold, wet and dull. We took our time over the huge breakfasts they do here overlooking the garden, watching the puddles accumulate.

  Some time after 11am we mustered courage to wrap up warmly (ah the down vest). Having consulted the internet on things to do on wet days in Salzburg, we set out on the bus and foot to Old Town. First to Mozart's Residence then Mozart's Birthplace. Both museums whiled away at least an hour each - very interesting, entertaining and warm! 

  We can see the fortress on the hill through the rain. I left both cameras in the hotel, shot off a few pix which will probably get dumped later. We can see this is a charming town, and in good weather nice to browse. But hard to enthuse in steady rain. Even the umbrella gave up!

   Once in the Old Town we went to check on the two restaurants for which I had made reservations  online. The first was so inviting, we sat down and had late lunch/early dinner there at 4pm. Impeccable food and service at the brasserie dining room in the Goldener Herschel Hotel. Roasted pike for me and wooly pig sausage for Ted. Turns out it's a huge wild boar, one of whose mammoth heads hung from the wall. Delicious. And maybe the best apple strudel I've had. 

  Strolling back through town, we found beautiful gardens, still in full bloom although temps are now dropping to 4C overnight, so it won't be for much longer I suspect. At least we had a dry trip back to the hotel after a day of solid rain.

SOGGY SALZBURG

Having seen the forecast, we decide to cut short our time in Salzburg to 3 nights, rebook at another Mercure hotel in Vienna (this one is full Monday) at about twice the price!! And buy ferry tickets to Bratislava for next Tuesday.

  I had booked with an agency OnDayTrip to send a car and driver to take us to Vienna. At 9am sharp the affable. Hugarian driver Peter L arrived at our hotel, stowed all our bags and we were on our way. First fast motorway toll road chewed up the miles, then we took a detour to Melk, famous for its abbey set on the Danube, with the most ornate Baroque church loaded with gilded everything and a 100,000 book ecclesiastic library in 12 rooms. Still an abbey with a school attached, it also had lovely gardens for a quiet stroll.

  Then back in the car first on highway, then along increasingly smaller and smaller roads through beautiful agricultural land to the Alps, and a brief sight of snowy peaks over the alpine lakes. Some of the terrain was reminiscent of Canmore, but the lush green meadows, happy cows and cropped land was altogether different. 

  We made a stop for an hour or so at World Heritage village Hallstatt, home of the salt mine tour straight up a steep mountain. We skipped that. But we enjoyed a stroll around the neat little town, preserved for centuries intact and now especially for the tour buses and many visitors.

  The trip billed as 7 hours took 9 and we were relieved to pull into another Mercure hotel, but sadly a bit far from the centre of Old Town and all the things to visit in Salzburg. E2.60 each for a 5 minute bus ride through dull suburbia, not a pleasant stroll back, or subways like in Vienna.

  Fortunately no rain fell on our journey and we were able to wrap up and walk down the road to a traditional Austrian eatery without an umbrella. Almost full, we were seated at the end of a table of 28 civil engineers, having a  loud and raucous 20 year reunion. Good pub grub and strudel and beers were the order of the day.

PALACES, PALACES, PALACES AND THE VIENNA STATE OPERA

Our time in Vienna is spent enjoying the magnificent edifices for which it is so famous. I had checked out opera, Figaro is on for E120 a ticket on line so we ruled that out. However, on the street there are touts everywhere and discover the booking agency is close by, and snag a couple of tickets at the reasonable cost of E45 each for next day. It's Il Trovatore, which Ted is much keener to attend.

  The weather is sunny and warm at first so we walk around the Imperial Palace grounds one day, The Belvedere the second day, and Schonbrunn the third day. We are surprised to learn that although we had never really heard of Klimt, we both enjoyed his exhibitions. Returning home to write up my travel log, I find my beautiful gold journal design is the Tree of Life by Klimt. Ted is taken by some of his erotic work and the whole exhibition is heavily marketed on "The Kiss"

   In between we find lovely local restaurants with Austrian specialties, but are fast finding they like overcooked meat and no veggies!! Prices are not outlandish til we sample the fruit eat de vie one evening at E7.50 a thimbleful.

  But by now we need to purchase a second umbrella, a good investment as two days later the original bought for a pound in UK falls apart! The white umbrella with Mozart's music all over is much more acceptable in the current environment. Hope it lasts longer.

  Anna Netrebko, the famed Russian soprano, has been singing the role of Leonora at the opera this season. But we hear she had other engagements Sep 8 and 10 and is not singing the night we attend! Sheesh. Her husband is! The opera house is spectacular, our seats not. 

  We are on two high stools at the back (3rd row) of a small box, stuffy and hot with poor sight lines. Two large Austrian women sit in front of us and bob around so Ted can only see about 1/4 of the stage. We fiddle with the seating so he can see more during the second half. We rush to the bar in intermission and grab two champagnes and smoked salmon which all go down well.

  We are above the orchestra so the sound is sublime, the singers are all good, some excellent and the chorus is outstanding. Makes for a fine evening of music and we stop by a cafe on the walk home for sumptuous dessert and wine//beer. A truly romantic evening that we will not soon forget.

VIENNA - CITY OF DREAMS

We are up at 7 Monday morning and Mary drives us in half an hour to Heathrow. There are no lineups either for checkin or much in security either. We grab a bite for breakfast, ham and cheese  and almond croissants and yogurt. And really good coffee. I have started drinking quite a bit of decaf coffee but wonder how available decaf will be on the continent...

  Our BA flight to Vienna is not full so we get 3 seats between us. It's a bumpy ride over Frankfurt and we sit on the tarmac for an hour before we get airborne. The driver sent by the hotel to fetch us did ot check the schedule so is a bit grumpy picking us up.

  We check into the nice Mercure hotel right in the centre of all the action in Vienna. We can walk to everything, I am really happy with the location and we have stayed at this chain before.

  However it is cool and rainy so I am glad packed my down vest and wool hoodie! We stroll down the road to a nice cosy restaurant overlooking a busy pedestrian way for typical Austrian fare, huge schnitzel, goulash and no sign of a vegetable except cabbage.

  One thing that strikes you here in Vienna, it is very smoky. Everyone smokes. All the lovely little outdoor tables are full of smokers, everywhere on the street it trails behind them. 

  The little cafes are probably lovely in good weather but it is depressing and damp so we pick up a creamy cake (Esterhazy torte) at one of the lovely bakeries and head home to our warm room to enjoy it. 

  I thaw out under a hot shower and fall into my cosy bed. Even in a double bed, you have two duvets, one each. We sleep like logs til late.

BIG MALCOLM FAMILY GET TOGETHER IN LONDON

  By Saturday we have managed to cram most of our stuff back into bags but with the case of wine, extra folding chairs and glasses for the party with Soofia and Nick, Liz and I make the one hour drive to. Southgate in 1.5 back seats of the car!
  It is a glorious day in Soffia's glorious garden and we take full advantage of visiting with each of the families who have come to join our celebration. Two of the three teenagers are off to university, Robert to study art in Bristol, Sarah leaving in October to study Bio Chemistry at Oxford. Nell has excelled in her first level of GCEs and still has two years to go at school.
  The little girls, 5 and 4, are stars and play well with their 12 year old cousin, the normally serious Frank. We get many lovely photos of each family with us and finally a photo of Ted and I together! And also finally one of all of us before Hannah drives us back through one traffic jam after another around London to Mary & Ivan's in Chiswick. They are away but we have the key and settle in for a couple of nights, first on our own, then with a house full of other guests too.
  Ted and I are happy to stroll down Strand on the Green for dinner at The City Barge, one of the three good pubs down there. It has been a river festival and kenners are tramping up through the Thames mud with all their gear. One did catch some fish but says they are pretty toxic from that water.
  Mary arrives hmoe Sunday and we all tuck into one of her great suppers washed down by lovely wines. At 10:30 I go off to bed as we have to finally repack and leave by 8:30am tomorrow.

Sep 7: THE BIG 5-0 ANNIVERSARY

The big day dawns and after rain the day before and after, the sun shines for us. Mary & Ivan drive up  from London, Elizabeth & Nigel drive in from nearby Steeple Morden to form the celebrants. Mary & Ivan celebrated their 5th in April so it's double happiness!
  Having found out what a good idea it is, we hire an 8 seater minibus for our lunch at the Black Horse in Ireland. We didn't have to fly there! It’s a village near Cambridge. The Malcolm sisters and their men plus bridesmaid Elizabeth and Nigel spend a happy afternoon reminiscing on what we can remember about the event itself, with great food, wine and camaraderie all round. A magnificent flower arrangement precedes us and we return to Stotfold with the intention of demolishing the beautiful cake and more champers, but can barely manage to put away any more food and drink. 
  To wind up our trip, and with rain forecast so not a good day to wander around Cambridge, we head out to find the local brewpub and enjoy a few pints, and some pub grub nibbles (sausage rolls from the oven, and do a few shopping chores.
  On the way back, Liz takes us on a tour of old old haunts, my first school, our house with Dad's privet hedge still looking good. Back home, we finish leftover chicken pie and gateau as we are all away the next week. We taste Elizabeth's damson gin, listen to the Proms and start repacking our stuff. We have sent a suitcase on with Mary and hope to leave it in London, thus whittling our travel gear down to one suitcase, two carry on bags and Ted's small backpack.

GOING UP TO CAMBRIDGE, WELL, SORT OF

Our brilliant weather abandons us and we get a taste of what England does a lot — rain. Anne & Graeme kindly drive us up from Staines and we all enjoy a hearty Sunday lunch together. Isn’t this what English Sunday dinner is all about?

  In Stotfold, we enjoy lots of RnR an I/we binge on The Crown on Netflix. I need to be able to talk about it - niece Hannah is art director and working on the next series. It’s a harrowing tale of the joys and sorrows of royalty. Poor Queenie, I gather she hasn’t watched it but the young Royals all watch apparently. We can understand why Margaret turned into such a sourpuss.

  We have good weather on the second day for a jaunt to a lovely 16th century pub near Ely, visit the cathedral and just miss a visit to Cromwell’s rustic little house there.With these trencher lunches, you don’t need dinner.

  Ted takes advantage of their membership in the local Wine Society (the largest seller of wines in the country!) to visit with Clive for selecting and tasting and return with a case or so of wine.

  Chris Richardson was my bus buddy at  Hitchin Gramar School for Girls from age 11-14 and the two us have a lovely catchup on the ensuing 50 years at Norton Gardens tea shop - huge slabs of carrot cake. 

INTO LONDON - ‘THE SMOKE’ - & STAINES

 In record breaking weather, we then had lovely 6 days with Anne & Graeme and their children, grandchildren. The two little girls Gracie 6 and Isla 3 were fun and easy to be with. 

  It was here we learned that our 50th anniversary lunch location booked since May had called to tell Liz they were under new management, unsure if they would still be open in a week, but would let us know by the Monday before our Thursday date. Liz got on it pronto, and rebooked us to another lovely location near Cambridge. Into every marriage a little rain must fall! Evenings are easy at Staines - first the ladies swamped the men at cards, later the men took revenge. Keeps the peace I guess.

  Next day rain began and followed us most of the reset of the time in England. The other three wrapped up and went walking in Windsor Great Park, I declined and got on with home housekeeping chores. Called Telus to unlock my phone. Visited EE phone store, bought a SIM card and converted my el cheapo UK phone to a UK number. Free roaming all over Europe so we are set for our visit this side of the Atlantic.

  An evening at the Kingfisher pub with Neil, Jo and the little girls was great. More local ales for Ted to try.

  The increasingly somber news from the US and Korea saber rattling has not affected our joy and pleasure being back here. The more sobering news here is all about Brexit, the pros and cons, both hotly contested!

  Friday we travel to Blenheim Palace for a tour of the house and interesting Churchill exhibit, and picnic in the sun in the gardens. There is a supercar auction this weekend and our boys are agoggle with all this shiny metal and engines. Glitterati in their Jimmy Choos are out in full force exhibiting their wealth, and designer labels. The dining room is set up for a banquet that night, all crystal and flowers. We happily munch our smoked salmon sandwiches!

  On Saturday the piece de resistance, Sarah has booked us into the chefs table at Pennyhill Park hotel and spa for lunch at the Latymer restaurant. It’s an impressive 7course affair and Ted is in his element with the sommelier choosing a different wine for each course! English rose champagne to start!  And ted’s great toasts and descriptions of the wines throughout.  We book an 8 seater van to get us there and back so everyone is happy to indulge. And Ted s given a tour of both the ordinary wine cellar and the special bottles too! We feel truly pampered!

FIRST TO SURREY IN ENGLAND

(Although my photos were in the blog, uploading from word processor to blog, they disappear! I need a 12-year-old....)

  The journey actually begins Aug 22 from Calgary to Heathrow, met by Ted’s brother/wife Dave and Shelagh, a visit to sister/husband  Anne/Graeme then to Dave’s home for 5 days in Bookham Surrey. 

  For 5 days we were entertained with fine dining at home and away, especially our Golden celebratory lunch - first of 6 special occasions! - at Kinghams. The latter a beautiful 15th century restaurant in nearby Shere. Seafood galore, scallops turbot, crab - outstanding desserts later in the garden.  

  Memory invoking as Freda and Jack Kingham and their big ugly bulldog Timber lived next door to us for my 14 years in Baldock. And later we find my sister knows someone who also knew this family 60 years ago. Small world.

  With glorious weather for the first two weeks of our stay, we thoroughly enjoyed many lovely jaunts. With Dave and Shelagh, high tea at House of Fraser and visit to guildhall and castle at Guildford, where Ted’s London office was located back in the Bow Valley days. 

  A day out on the Thames, parked at Houses of Parliament on the first day that Big Ben failed to strike. A sail downriver to Greenwich and the Meridian line where all time originates. Splendid views of London all round. 

  A walk through the Naval colleges and Queen’s house, all new to us. But parking in Central London for the day -L40 about $66!

  Next day niece Sarah picked us up for a leisurely lunch at the ‘it’ place, The Ivy, which has opened a brasserie in nearby Cobham. Tarte tatin with calvados, sublime!

  Jet lag kept raising its ugly head for the best part of a week so it was eagerly bed for us there. But RnR in the beautiful garden pergola solved the soul too. And a bit of Proms music in the evenings to wind the brain down.

  Eating at home, we feasted on veggies almost exclusively from their garden of Eden, fresh crab and skate from British waters. 

  Our last day there, we visit Paineshill Park, where we attended a friend’s daughter’s wedding some 9 years ago. A beautiful restful stroll with their own vineyard.