This time I am writing atop the beautiful fort on Hvar island, Croatia. I have a cold beer and a view of the harbour below us with the gorgeous clear blue water. It's a great spot to write the next blog.
Once Jen arrived, we got the bus straight up to Lake Bled in Slovenia. I had seen many pictures of the famous lake with the teardrop island in the middle and it didn't disappoint in real life. We got to the hostel and headed straight up to the castle to get a breathtaking view of the lake and its little island. The water looked very tempting so we hired a little rowing boat to get out to the island. Yonna was up first for rowing duty and he was really good........once he'd figured out which direction to point the boat in! The island was very sweet with a small church on top. To the surprise of the surrounding and plentiful Japanese tourists, Yonna dive bombed into the lake around the island. It was a little too cold for Jen and I. The return journey was much faster and smoother as Jen and I rowed and we took a walk around the lake- about 6km.
The next day we set out from our hostel with a packed lunch in tow, for a full day of hiking. We walked through the beautiful Slovenian countryside up to Vintgar Gorge. Once in the gorge, the wooden boardwalk snaked all the way through the cliffs beside the beautifully clear, blue-green water, culminating in a big man-made waterfall. We at our lunch on top of a hill overlooking the farms and villages in the area. Pretty exhausted we headed out for a un-Slovenian (but cheapest option) pizza that night.
We'd heard that Bohinj lake was just as beautiful as Bled but less touristy so the next day, we took a bus out there. The lake was gorgeous and a lot bigger than Bled- about 10km around. We hiked up to a waterfall in the surrounding mountains and after a 10km walk and 500 steps up to it, we were rewarded with a huge waterfall through the cracks in the rocks. Unfortunately we couldn't have a much needed swim in it! After another exhausting walk back to the bus we headed back to our hostel in Bled.
The next day was a mega travelling day! We took a 6.25am bus back to Ljubljana to get a connecting train to Split, Croatia. We had to change in Zagreb and finally arrived in Split after a 12 hour journey. We found our hostel and headed out for some dinner. Our hostel was right next to the old, walled town which we wandered into for dinner. I have never seen anything like it- white rock, marble steps, ancient buildings, still inhabited...it is really beautiful. All lit up I did actually feel I was in Game of Thrones (apart from all the tourists and lack of dragons!). As expected Croatia is really expensive on our budget so we found some cheap-ish dinner and went back for a much needed sleep.
We'd been told about some secluded beaches at the other end of Split so set off to find them in the morning. We walked up (more stairs) through the gardens and after about an hour and a half of walking could see the promised beach at the bottom of the hill. We wound our way down to it and took a dip in the cool, lovely clear water. After a few hours there, we headed back to the center and had some sushi for dinner, being so close the sea!
We took a catamaran out to Hvar island a few days ago and arrived on the lovely, busy island. I can see why tourism is growing so rapidly here! When we arrived we hit the beach again for a couple of hours but it was a little cloudy so we headed back to the hostel which had its own pool area. After chilling there we headed out for our first proper seafood feast. Again prices are high so we were happy to be recommended this cheaper little place by our hostel. I had more fish than I could possibly eat- we shared a huge grilled fish platter with squid, tuna and prawns.
We also took a boat taxi to a nearby island and a little bay within it. I have never spent so long in the sea but the colour is so beautiful that you can't help but want to jump in. It was a great day of swimming and reading and really good weather. The fish seemed to have taken its toll on Yonna so him and I had a chilled out day walking round the fort (more steps) while Jen topped up her tan more around the pool.
A few days later.............After Hvar, we set off for Dubrovnik on another boat, the home of Game of Thrones. Yesterday we walked around the old city walls which were spectacular but more interesting than the ancient history was the fact they were filming the aforementioned series as we were there! We could see the extras eating their lunch and a street set up for a later shot. Despite Yonna's best efforts in particular, we didn't find Khaleesi! (sorry to non-viewers for all that). We took a cable car up for some aerial shots that evening and today took a boat out to Lokrum island which wasn't really worth it as there wasn't much to do there. My overall impression of Dubrovnik is that the old town is very beautiful but there are just too many tourists here to make it 100% enjoyable.
So tomorrow we say goodbye to a newly tanned Jen and there ends the beachy section of our trip for now. Next we head deep into the dark modern history that awaits us in Bosnia & Herzegovina!
Once Jen arrived, we got the bus straight up to Lake Bled in Slovenia. I had seen many pictures of the famous lake with the teardrop island in the middle and it didn't disappoint in real life. We got to the hostel and headed straight up to the castle to get a breathtaking view of the lake and its little island. The water looked very tempting so we hired a little rowing boat to get out to the island. Yonna was up first for rowing duty and he was really good........once he'd figured out which direction to point the boat in! The island was very sweet with a small church on top. To the surprise of the surrounding and plentiful Japanese tourists, Yonna dive bombed into the lake around the island. It was a little too cold for Jen and I. The return journey was much faster and smoother as Jen and I rowed and we took a walk around the lake- about 6km.
The next day we set out from our hostel with a packed lunch in tow, for a full day of hiking. We walked through the beautiful Slovenian countryside up to Vintgar Gorge. Once in the gorge, the wooden boardwalk snaked all the way through the cliffs beside the beautifully clear, blue-green water, culminating in a big man-made waterfall. We at our lunch on top of a hill overlooking the farms and villages in the area. Pretty exhausted we headed out for a un-Slovenian (but cheapest option) pizza that night.
We'd heard that Bohinj lake was just as beautiful as Bled but less touristy so the next day, we took a bus out there. The lake was gorgeous and a lot bigger than Bled- about 10km around. We hiked up to a waterfall in the surrounding mountains and after a 10km walk and 500 steps up to it, we were rewarded with a huge waterfall through the cracks in the rocks. Unfortunately we couldn't have a much needed swim in it! After another exhausting walk back to the bus we headed back to our hostel in Bled.
The next day was a mega travelling day! We took a 6.25am bus back to Ljubljana to get a connecting train to Split, Croatia. We had to change in Zagreb and finally arrived in Split after a 12 hour journey. We found our hostel and headed out for some dinner. Our hostel was right next to the old, walled town which we wandered into for dinner. I have never seen anything like it- white rock, marble steps, ancient buildings, still inhabited...it is really beautiful. All lit up I did actually feel I was in Game of Thrones (apart from all the tourists and lack of dragons!). As expected Croatia is really expensive on our budget so we found some cheap-ish dinner and went back for a much needed sleep.
We'd been told about some secluded beaches at the other end of Split so set off to find them in the morning. We walked up (more stairs) through the gardens and after about an hour and a half of walking could see the promised beach at the bottom of the hill. We wound our way down to it and took a dip in the cool, lovely clear water. After a few hours there, we headed back to the center and had some sushi for dinner, being so close the sea!
We took a catamaran out to Hvar island a few days ago and arrived on the lovely, busy island. I can see why tourism is growing so rapidly here! When we arrived we hit the beach again for a couple of hours but it was a little cloudy so we headed back to the hostel which had its own pool area. After chilling there we headed out for our first proper seafood feast. Again prices are high so we were happy to be recommended this cheaper little place by our hostel. I had more fish than I could possibly eat- we shared a huge grilled fish platter with squid, tuna and prawns.
We also took a boat taxi to a nearby island and a little bay within it. I have never spent so long in the sea but the colour is so beautiful that you can't help but want to jump in. It was a great day of swimming and reading and really good weather. The fish seemed to have taken its toll on Yonna so him and I had a chilled out day walking round the fort (more steps) while Jen topped up her tan more around the pool.
A few days later.............After Hvar, we set off for Dubrovnik on another boat, the home of Game of Thrones. Yesterday we walked around the old city walls which were spectacular but more interesting than the ancient history was the fact they were filming the aforementioned series as we were there! We could see the extras eating their lunch and a street set up for a later shot. Despite Yonna's best efforts in particular, we didn't find Khaleesi! (sorry to non-viewers for all that). We took a cable car up for some aerial shots that evening and today took a boat out to Lokrum island which wasn't really worth it as there wasn't much to do there. My overall impression of Dubrovnik is that the old town is very beautiful but there are just too many tourists here to make it 100% enjoyable.
So tomorrow we say goodbye to a newly tanned Jen and there ends the beachy section of our trip for now. Next we head deep into the dark modern history that awaits us in Bosnia & Herzegovina!
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