When I went to Italy for two weeks in 2009, I spent most of the time seeing places with rich historical and cultural significance (i.e. sightseeing), but I spent the last few days in the Cinque Terre just enjoying spectacular scenery, wonderful and challenging hikes, and quiet relaxation. My Nordic adventure two years ago had…
After Mostar I return to Croatia, where I spend the last 8 nights of my vacation. My first stop is Trogir, a town of about 10,000 people just 27 kilometers west of Split. Most everyone says Split is a must-see destination, but my agent at JayWay Travel urged me to stay in Trogir instead. I…
My little history lesson has given me a new sense of context that I think will make visiting Sarajevo very memorable. Of all the places I’m going on this trip, I think it is the one where knowing the history will make the most difference in terms of how I experience it. It’s a cruel…
Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going. Paul Theroux I started this post writing about my enthusiasm for seeing Sarajevo because of the extraordinary history that city has experienced. This is the centennial year of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, the touchstone for…
At 347 km, the drive from Plitvice to Sarajevo is the longest of my trip, about 5 hours. That would still allow plenty of time in the morning to visit the national park before the drive (if weather or timing the day before makes that advisable). But there are two stops that have been recommended,…
Imagine Niagara Falls sliced and diced and sprinkled over a vast and heavily forested canyon. It’s a lush and unforgettable valley of 16 terraced lakes, laced together by waterfalls and miles of pleasant plank walks. That’s what Rick Steves says about Plitvice Lakes National Park on his 2010 show, “Croatia: Adriatic Delights.” I can’t wait to…
The drive from Kobarid to Rovinj is less than 3 hours, so that gives us a lot of time along the way to see some of this stuff before we cross the border into Croatia.
You go to the mountains for scenery, right? And I’m guessing the Julian Alps won’t disappoint. One of the reasons for going to Kobarid is the drive there. We’ll had north out of Ljubljana on A2 (with stops around Bled if we haven’t had the chance to get there already). We’ll turn off A2 before…
It will probably be late afternoon or early evening before we arrive in Ljubljana on May 4, so I’m figuring just two full days before we move on to the west. Those two days may end up being perfect for seeing the sites in Ljubljana and having some time to relax, or we might find…
Ljubljana wasn’t even on my radar before I started seriously planning my trip. But the more I read about it, the more excited I am to spend some time there. It seems to be both a great city to see and a great base to explore from. With three nights, that’s really just two days, so I’m figuring…