Back in Switzerland

Our final drive yesterday towards Winterthur was through rain and cloud. This meant of course, that the St Gottard Pass was closed and we had to travel through the 19 km tunnel. The tunnel is only 1 lane in each direction...which means the 3 lanes in each direction have to go down to one. Beats me why the Swiss don't want to build another tunnel there...they are building the base tunnel that will go 50 something km through the base of the Alps for trains that will load up trucks. Somehow the huge traffic jams of Swiss and Italians trying to get to each others countries on holidays have no cachet for the ones who control the tunnel building. We were lucky and there wasn't too much of a traffic jam.
We stopped in Canton Schwyz where the heart of Swiss history is located...the federal archives. Jurg felt, now that I have a passport as a real citizen, that I should learn a little more of the Swiss history. So, as it was William Tell on the way down, now I had to see the original Swiss constitution on the way back. So it is spoken, so it is done. Don't think they said that in 1291 when the original 3 cantons got together to make some agreements on how the cows would graze in the fields. I haven't read the English translation yet...so I guess it covers more than that. The museum was actually quite interesting and they provided me with an English translation so it was actually fun.
Today we took the wonderful Swiss train system into Basel to meet Karin a sort of step sister for Jurg. Trains were amazing...all on time..or almost. One was a minute late. There were 3 connections and all worked perfectly with the tracks clearly identified on our itinerary. Then in beautiful Basel we took the trams...wonderful Bombardier trains that somehow haven't made it to Canada yet. We visited the old central city, took the little ferry across the Rhine and ate lunch by the river. Had a great day!
One thing I noticed is how different countries solve common human problems with different solutions. For example...the myth of the dirty toilet seat. Humans somehow believe that the most germs reside on the seat. This is not so, but difficult to counter. So in Greece, in many public toilets they have just done away with the seat. Women have to do the helicopter hover manouver there. In Switzerland, they invent a machine of course. Push the flush button and the seat wobbles around its elliptical circle getting cleaned by this gadget attached to the tank.
Tomorrow is a day off...then family on Sunday.
Chus!

Bellinzona...back in the Heimatland

At a small swiss hotel in Bellinzona in the Italian part of Switzerland. We left the ferry and battled the Italian traffic through Ancona and then on the autostrada. Apparently the Italians are all on the road today heading home after the Easter holiday. Constant steady traffic everywhere and then traffic jams as we came through Milan. Our plan was to stay overnight in Mendresio...a smaller town near Lugano..but very few hotels there. Next plan to stay in Lugano...surely it is still off season. The Best Western Bellevue that overlooked the Lake quoted 335 F with breakfast. Has to be one of the most expensive BW 's on the world. We checked out a few backstreet places and decided Lugano was not for us and headed down the road to Bellinzona. Basic hotel, with nice people who put the soccer game on for Jurg while we ate a pasta dinner...still 150F with breakfast. But, all the necessities. So it is good to be back in Switzerland...but...
I forgot to mention in the last blog the scene at the ferry terminal in Patra. (or is it Patras? or Patris?) There was a huge number of young men handing around...all quite dark skinned. Apparently they are from Pakistan, India, Iran etc. All come towards Europe through Turkey and then hang around Greece hoping to get into a truck or get smuggled somehow onto the ferry and get to Italy and the rest of Europe. They had a tent city made with plastic and barrels that we could see from the ferry and they had bent a number of the metal fence posts so that they could squeeze through at will. Security made no effort to stop or even notice them...they just went in and out often over the fence. It seemed so sad...young men, willing to work, hopeless. I just read that food prices and shortages will affect Asia significantly...so I wonder how many more of these young aimless men will be trapped in such hopelessness. Surely this will foment into something terrible in the future unless the world gets involved. Greece has little capacity to cope with anyone outside it's own number of unemployed.
Tomorrow we will drive over the St Gottard Pass and hopefully do the drive over rather than the tunnel through. The snow will decide that. Then home again in Winterthur with more family get togethers and a chance to see friends.
Tonight Barcelona is winning the game against Madrid...all with Italian commentary. A flat screen TV in our basic room. How Swiss!

Sailing the Adriatic for the third time

We are two hours away from landing in Ancona Italy for the last leg of the journey home. The 21 hour ferry ride on Superfast Ferry VI has been quiet and comfortable. Our 4 bed cabin was cramped but servicable...quiet except for the quartet snoring. Jurg even got to watch his soccer game on TV- but his preferred team didn't win. There are lots of trucks on board but not so many people with cars. A few campers are on the top car deck sleeping in their vehicles and there is a tent on the top deck where a few hardy souls are camping. The only problem we have with this ferry is the smoking. It is all outside...but everywhere outside. And some of the nicest outside shaded bar areas are full of smoke. It seems every Greek man of any substance smokes and would never consider asking before lighting up. Except in the family where we stayed. They never smoke inside...just on the balcony.
The Greek hospitality was wonderful. We slept in the bed of our hosts..Katharina and Agapitos..while they split up and one slept in a small bed in their top floor abode and the other slept 2 floors down in the grandson's bed. The parents and 2 daughters all share one house with each having a floor. The daughter with two children (13 and 18) plus husband were away visiting the other grandparents for Easter, so their beds were available for Rosmarie and Sozon. The eldest daughter and husband, Adriana and Sam, were home and joined us for all the meals and conversation. Adriana did some of the cooking in her kitchen. Quite a close family arrangement. They were so good to us! Hope they can come to Canada!
On Monday we went back on the bus and subway to the centre of Athens. This time we walked around the Placa...the area under the Acropolis and saw some of the amazing ruins that litter the landscape. Children walk and run on the bases of 2000 year old buildings and play among the fallen columns. Tourists take pictures sitting on marble benches from the old Greeks and wander among the standing columns. Quite amazing to me. So many pieces of antiquity that are taken for granted...yet the Greeks are so proud of their ancient history and it's impact on the world. Most had seen that movie...My Big Fat Greek Wedding..and thought it funny.
The current political situation is so difficult and they expect things to get worse as more people lose their jobs. The bureaucracy and corruption are endemic and make it difficult to solve the problems. People don't pay taxes and won't if they think their money is wasted. Apparently the big shipping magnate Onassis offered in lieu of paying taxes to build a rail and highway system around the area south of Athens..Government didn't take him up on it. So, he probably didn't pay the taxes either.
We drove from Athens to Patra on the new autobahn which goes most of the way. The remainder to be finished is quite complicated with lots of tunnels through the mountainous hills and roads that go by the sea. All German money from the EU...I think of it as reparation for the WW2 crimes the Germans committed against the Greeks. Massacres and such occurred here.
We stopped off for a quick visit at a friend of Sozon's who has a holiday place right on the edge of the sea...and I mean the edge. He used to have 30 metres of beach but now he has a wall just off the kitchen with the sea up against the edge. The waves wash right over the patio and once even carried off some of the kitchen pots. Apparently, in typical Greek fashion, he built there without a permit many years ago. So someday, maybe it will disappear into the sea. Squatter's rights are strong here in Greece and one has to watch property, because if someone else comes and builds on it are you aren't watching, they have a claim.
Italy awaits us...my phone doesn't work there. So no texts. We should be home in a day or so..one more overnight. And I hope some good Italian food. Their pasta can't be beat

Easter in Athens.

The Good Friday event consisted of a procession following the "coffin" of Jesus with the symbolism of going to place him in the tomb. There were hundreds of people with candles and lanterns that joined in the procession with the bells of the church tolling a sombre two note dirge heard all over the area. We circled round the streets and back to the church and then home.
Saturday morning we took the bus and the new Metro to the Acropolis to see the new museum. It is spectacular in its simplicity and concept. The statues and artifacts are displayed openly and it felt quite intimate. The top floor has the statues and pieces of frieze displayed in the exact way they would have been on the Parthenon. The Parthenon is seen out the glass wall high above us on the top of the rock Acropolis. Magnificent!
Saturday we all have a sleep in the afternoon...we have to be up to go to midnight church service. All, except Katerina who is cooking and carrying on in the kitchen all day. We head out at 11:45 and join the crowds outside the church. The priest and entourage stand on the steps above us and chant and swing the incense censor at an icon. When he pronounces something about Christ is risen the bells start ringing, and the fireworks start banging. Great noise and joy in the crowd...none of whom had been paying much attention before. Lots of families and children. We walk back home and can see the fireworks all around Athens way down below wherever there is a church.
Lots of food...soup, a hot dish with entrails and greens, meat and salads. Katarina has been fasting all day and avoiding meat all week, so this is a treat for her. We head to bed at 2 a.m. The men will get up around 7 or so to start the fire for the BBQ for the Easter mid day meal.
The meat on the BBQ is goat and entrails (liver, heart and lung) and we have a big feast around 3 pm. There are Sam and Andriana who live one floor below, and Panos and Maria with their new baby girl. They have not announced her name yet as this will only happen at the baptism...and their seems to be a superstition about using the name before this happens. We eat Goat, chicken souvlaki, salads, cheese pie, spinach, wine and some sweets for dessert. I must add that the oranges here in Greece are spectacular this time of year...sweet and juicy and large.
We have a little sleep afterwards and arise to lots of political discussion..none of which I understand except for the heat and the word Gadhaffi. Sam is from Ghana and has some very interesting views on the politics of Africa.
So it is evening now, Easter is finished...tomorrow is still a holiday and Andriana and Katarina are fussing in the kitchen. It could be more food...we will see.

The Route to Athens

The island we spent the night on was wonderful to explore. We drove around in the morning through the back roads which were through the agricultural areas. Grape vines were little more than stumps in the ground with green shoots just starting to head upwards. Market gardens were full of broccoli that had already gone to seed, cabbages round and ready for harvesting and cauliflower. Obviously these were winter crops. Areas were being planted with summer greens and other tender plants. A young shepherd with a big grin and a whole herd of goats with a number of small white ones blocked the road as we went by. These goats have escaped the Easter fate of many.
From here we travelled inland towards a holiday house in the mountainous area north of Athens were Sozon and Rosmarie's friends, Stamatis and Litsa, spend their holidays and weekends. On the way we passed the monument to a battle the Greeks had with the Persians hundreds..make that thousands..of years ago. Seems about 300 Greeks held off a million Persians according to the sign. The statues were the usual gorgeous marble of naked men. Even in the cold they strut their stuff.
The road went through pastoral land and across rocky forested areas before we arrived in Prisano. The town was so tiny it didn't even have a store..just a church and a square. Soon after we and they arrived, Litsa produced a wonderful meal...vegetables stuffed with rice, peppers, tomatoes and eggplants and small panfried fish, head and all. She had lots of sweets for us and homemade wine. We went on a drive after this late lunch to Porto Germano a seaside resort to the west about 45 minutes away. It had the remains of a mediaval castle crumbling on the hill and lots of restaurants with few patrons at 6 pm. Still off season-not beach weather yet.
We drove home and once again Litsa produced this huge meal...using the wood stove. Roasted goat with potatoes, sliced tomatoes and cucumber and broccoli. We will not starve here.
Next afternoon we headed off for Athens. With the new autobahn it is a quick drive..about 45 minutes to Pireas where Litsa and Stomatis live. For us we go to the other east side of Athens to Heliopolis. This suburb is high in the hills overlooking the city. There was hardly any traffic and we made it in about and an hour and 15 minutes. The drive was magnificent at the beginning...winding up the treed mountains to a low pass. We again passed a huge herd of goats and sheep..looked like hundreds..following a shepherd home. They blocked the whole road for a while.
We are greeted enthusiastically by Katarina who prepares food for us. We will eat before we go to the Good Friday event at the local church. She will eat after this event with husband Agapitos who is still at work.

Magnificent Pilion Peninsula

April 20, 2011
Yesterday we travelled from Larissa to Volos which is about 4-5 hours northeast of Athens. Volos is a town right on the edge of the sea that is at the start of the Pilion Peninsula. This peninsula curves like a conch shell with its inner edge a delightful drive along the edge of the sea through olive groves and small tourist villages with seaside coffee spots. The road twists and turns at sea level for most of the drive until it finally rises towards the centre of the final point where we stopped at Trikeri. We had a coffee in the beautiful little square in the centre with lots of old men smoking and drinking either outside or in the tavernas watching TV. The spine of this peninsula reaches up to 1500 metres where snowcapped mountains tower over the sea and even have a ski resort about an hour from Volos. We travelled back up the peninsula and went up the highway that branches up the outside of the curl along the Aegean Sea. Here the highway no longer grips the edge as the cliffs rise up to 1000 metres above the sea and we travelled along the edges of the high canyons...probably about 10 kilometres for every 1 kilometre as the crow flies. We spent the night in Tsangarada in a converted house from which we could see the Aegean Sea off in the distance way down below. It was magical. The quiet and the birdsong was soothing. So beautiful! This area is mostly a holiday place for Greeks, so the signs had very little English on them. The road through this mountainous area had a number of places where the winter rains and snow had washed down mud and boulders onto the road. Construction crews were getting ready for the coming tourist season.
We continued the drive this morning through the mountainous area and then descended very quickly from 1200 metres to sea level at Volos...hundreds (it seemed!) of switchbacks down the side of the mountains to come down. Chauffer Jurg did a great job in getting us safely to the bottom.
We are now on an island...one of the largest in Greece where the city of Chalkida is connected by a bridge to the mainland. Tomorrow more exploring!

April 18, 2011
I am sure we were the only guests at the Olympic Hotel in Metsovo. Wonderful views over the hills and the red tile roofs of the town..both of which were white with the overnight snow. It was cold! The temperature about 3 deg C. But we walked around the town this morning marvelling at the quaintness of it all and the well developed tourist information and souvenirs. Apparently all of this was developed by a foundation started by a swiss guy with Greek Roots who died before he got to see how well this town has done. Their traditional crafts and farming morphed into goods and wonderful cheeses, honey and meats. A delightful place to visit and spend a night.
Off on the new autobahn heading for Meteora. The road was great, the vistas sublime across the hills and into the mountains. Lots of tunnels that made it a quick trip. A joint project of the EU and Greece...we know which one put in all the money.
Meteora..magnificent...monasteries perched on top of high limestone columns graced with moss. The weather was low and foggy and softened the edges of the rock. A handful of monks..very few of whom we saw, keep 6 out of the original 23 monasteries going. Bus loads of tourists were walking up the challenging steps to tour the areas that were open. In the chapels..no photos allowed of course...a few young men were polishing the silver and cleaning up for Easter. Every single square metre of the chapels were painted with icons, and the carved wood chairs around the edges looked most uncomfortable. All of us women had to put on a wrap skirt as no slacks, pantaloons or pants were allowed in. Couldn't see how the monks could get excited about that...but rules is rules I guess.
We are staying the night in Larissa one of the largest cities in Greece, where Sozon and Rosmarie with Jurg chaperoning had a visit in 1965. Sozon was in the Greek military at the time in this area. The city is alive with young people drinking coffee and socializing in the outdoor coffee places that line the pedestrian streets of the city. Our hotel overlooks the area..so we hope they aren't up all night. It seems like all the young that we didn't see in the mountains are here. It sure would be hard to leave this and go back to isolated Bitsa where we didn't see a soul on a Saturday night!
Lots of roman ruins around and tons of grafitti cover everything..some of it quite good. A 10,000 seat amphitheater is a real draw..

The Vikos Gorge

April 17, 2011

Breakfast was sheep cheese and bread with an instant type coffee. The sweet cake we tucked away for later in the day. We spent today exploring.the area. The roads are excellent and wind around the canyons and mountains to each small town. The towns come from the 17^th and 18^th century and were built to offer protection from intruders- namely the Turks. Towns were made dDifficult to access, within view of each other, hard to spot on the mountain sides..all of this kept the area inaccessible until the 20^th century and protected the natural heritage. So this is one of the most wonderful national parks of Greece and a Unesco World Heritage Site. The Gorge is the deepest in the world according to the Guiness Book of World Records. We explored an old monastery perched on the side of a rocky cliff, viewed the canyon from several lookouts- all spectacular. We traveled a road with 20 hairpins turns to reach Mikro Papago...and marvelled at the beauty of the place. The lower hills were covered in the beautiful soft green of spring, punctuated by the magenta of redbud trees and the white blossoms of another tree. This place is a jewel...both the natural beauty and the amazing small towns whose only lifeline is tourism.

We moved on along the autobahn to Metsovo. The Olympic hotel is our home for tonight and it is snowing and cold...why did I leave the mitts in Canada? We hope the weather is better tomorrow..

Greece!

April 16

We headed out from Igoumenitsa looking for a breakfast place. There is a fairly new autobahn now but no service centres. So when we finally saw a sign for eating we turned off. The taverna was closed. So we tried to get back on the Autobahn...no signs. We watched as a big German truck was trying to back up a narrow road...obviously he had done the same thing as us. We were only saved by a local who said follow my vehicle and took us to where we could get back on...we would have spent half a day otherwise!

We drove all the way to Ioannina before we found a place for “breakfast”...at least some food by the side of Lake Ioannina and its big fortress. Sozon had a list of things for us to see and we headed from there to the first big thing-The cave at Perama.

The cave was fascinating...but we weren't allowed to take pictures. We walked for about 1100 metres through a marvellous array of stalactites and stalagmites and caverns. It was only discovered in the 1940's when the villagers were trying to find a place to hide from the Germans and now has become their main tourist attraction.

Next we headed for the famous Vikos Gorge. After a false start with the GPS where we ended up in field with a bunch of startled sheep, we finally got on the main road and off to the Pindos Mountains. The scenery was astounding. High limestone cliffs, forested mountains backed by snowcapped peaks. We stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch...and what a wonderful introduction to Greek food. Big thick slices of warm bread, heated Feta, freshly picked cooked dandelion greens with lemon and grilled lamb ribs. We washed it down ( all except poor Jurg the driver!) with wonderful red Greek wine. A crème caramel was the final touch.

We spent the night at Vitsa, in an absolutely lovely mountain hotel with about 5 rooms run by a family. The old town clung to the side of the mountain with all the houses made of stone and topped by slate roofs. The streets were made of pieces of slate on their sides, narrow and steep. Everything is close together with high walls and doors to keep the privacy. Yet, most of the houses are uninhabited and perhaps have become family holiday homes. The odd smoke from a chimney indicated an inhabitant, usually elderly. Tourist season is winter and summer...and most are Greek. The other tourists like us come off season and are just a handful. English is spoken by the young...of which there were few. Sozon is in his element with his countrymen! Around the area are herds of sheep and goats...attended by shepherds-old men with moustaches- and dogs. We could hear the bells around their necks when they moved about.

Superfast Ferry to Igoumenitsa Greece

April 15, 2011

That really is the name of one of the ferry lines to Greece, and about the only one running at this time of year. A different experience from the Croatian ferry line...a newer ferry on which we took an overnight cabin for 4 for the 9 hour journey. Dinner we ate before we even pulled out of the port as they loaded hundreds of trucks bound for Greece. There had been almost none on the Croatian ferry. It was fun watching them back these huge trailers into spaces with about a foot on each side. Again the journey was easy...quiet and uneventful. We had to get up shortly after 5 am for docking at 6:30. In usual Greek fashion, there was no one to direct traffic from the garage and everyone started their motors and sat. Carbon monoxide poisoning spared us...but only just. We exited to rain and coolness...a big change in the weather.

Bari, Italy-A port City

April 15, 2011

The day started with ¾ of a bottle of contact lens solution in my suitcase. Then I stepped in doggie dodo immediately after exiting the car while gazing at the fortress of Bari. Luckily there was no strike 3. Bari is not a tourist town, though it could be. The old city is a busy ordinary place full of the evidence of everyday living. Laundry fluttering from the windows, cafe bars on every corner, lots of young men hanging around...obviously lots of unemployment. But a jewel in so many ways...old buildings, narrow alleys, cobble streets, churches in various states of disrepair scattered around the area. We toured the fortress/castle that is just being fixed to bring it up to standard, so not a lot of it open. Then we just walked the streets of Bari and found a place to have lunch of Italian pasta. After we cruised the waterfront in the car to see a little of the newer Bari before we headed for the ferry at 5 pm.

Croatia to Italy

There is no easy way to make this journey, or should I say fast way. The overland roads across Montenegro and Albania are small and windy. This is complicated by the fact that Albania is the wild west of the European continent. Bad roads, even worse drivers, no signs and no services. Not one person recommended we drive there. So we gave up the idea and decided to travel by ferry. Of course there is no direct ferry, even though Greece is just down the coast from Dubrovnik. One must cross the Adriatic to Italy and then catch a second ferry back to Greece. And to make it more complicated there is no conversation between the different ferry lines. Information was only available on the internet and even that was somewhat sketchy and hard to interpret. Sozon reassured us that there would no problems in the off season which was quite true. .There was almost no one on the ferry...and hardly any trucks.

First we took the Croatian ferry leaving in the afternoon from Dubrovnik, a journey of 7 hours. Even though it was an international ferry, they barely accepted Euros. We had diligently spent all our Kuna's and had only euros. Luckily the dinner in the restaurant was enough that we could use big euro bills. But there would be no after dinner coffee in the bar...bartender only took small euros or kunas. Croatian nationalism! Silly... Maybe when the autobahn is finished to Dubrovnik, there will be more trucks and maybe even that ferry directly to Greece!

We arrived in Bari after a calm easy trip and headed for our pre booked hotel. There was no tourist info at this international ferry dock... the only indication of info were few signs at the entrance pointing to 5 hotels in the city centre. But, we had booked the Best Western outside the centre. So we fired up the GPS..not listed. Best Western was a newly converted hotel. We had an address on a numbered highway and the name of the suburb so we tried that. In the dark, it was very difficult and we were in an industrial area with no one to ask. Finally an hour later we arrived. The next day when we travelled back to the dock to book our ferry to Igoumenitsa, it took us about 15 minutes to drive.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

One arrives in Dubrovnik across a magnificent suspension bridge from which one can look at the new part of the city and the harbour. The old city is hidden behind hills on the far side of the peninsula. The city is so hilly, that the entrance is through a tunnel that snakes down the side underneath the homes and buildings. We arrive in the Gruz or harbour area and investigate accommodation. There are a zillion tourist offices around town selling excursions and linking travellers with private rooms, about 1100 rooms available. The hotels are expensive apparently especially near the old city. We pick two studio apartments where we can get parking and they are about 50E each per night. Nearby is a bus stop that takes us in 10 minutes to the gate of the old city and there is a restaurant 2 min down from our place. We have a beautiful garden with an orange tree that wafts sweet scents around the place. As long as we take short showers we have hot water.
The old town is amazing..the shiny marble main street, the warren of alleys heading up from there on both sides and the walls that surround the whole area. The walls were never breeched and the city state of Dubrovnik only fell to Napolean by trickery in the early 1800's and eventually was taken over by the monster AHE. We walk the walls ..quite a cardio workout. We take the cable car to the top of Mt Srd for the amazing view and we take a boat ride to see the city from the water. There is only one cruise ship here today...so things are not too crowded and we can enjoy everything. We visit the War Museum at the top of the mountain..and see the 1991-2 shelling of Dubrovnik by the Serbs and Montenegrians. One can feel the hatred in the language on the signs..it is too soon to have any dedication to peace. I wonder how these small countries work things out today as they share such long borders...Serbia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Montenegro. So much is religion and ethnically based. Even in WW2 Croatia was with the Germans and Italians, Serbia and the others were with Russia and the allies. But most of the city is restored now very skillfully...so the surface looks good.
We spend a few days here and travel down to Montenegro for a day..have to show all the passports and the vehicle registration. Probably because of Albania and all the car thefts, they are more careful. Montenegro is so beautiful...but in the rain we don't see much. Maybe another trip?

Croatia from top to tip

It is our last night in Dubrovnik and I am sad to leave this part of Europe. It is absolutely beautiful and in many places unspoiled by tourists...though war has taken a toll for sure.
Our first stop was Rijeka. Not a tourist town, but could be. Beautiful AHE (Austro Hungarian Empire) buildings and a wonderful pedestrian walk covering a lot of the old area. As well, there was a marvellous lookout with an old castle above the city. Apparently hotels are not the greatest yet so that keeps tourists away.

Gave the GPS one more try and headed for the Plitvicka Jezera..a national park that is a Unesco World Heritage Site. Again we seemed to meander up the mountain sides on small treacherous curving roads..wonderful little villages and views..but not necessarily how we wanted to make the trip. Finally the GPS ended up in the glove box and the map plus brain became the way to navigate. We headed back to the edge of the Adriatic and followed the curves along the water...the land is almost desert like in its sparse vegetation and rock that defines the huge hills, but the blue of the sea is magnificent. Lots of development of resorts and upscale places happening.

We then headed cross country toward Plitvicka and travelled through areas where the aftermath of the war was evident. Lots of ruins with new houses..quite simple in design...springing up in the midst. In the towns we could see buildings still with bullet holes in their walls. Over lunch in a roadside restaurant, we talked with a Slovenian man who said the whole area was “ethnically cleansed” and all the Serbs had been driven out. People who had lived together in peace for centuries...killed each other and then many fled to find safety somewhere else. This tragedy that seemed so far away seems to come to life for me and I feel so sad for such hatred and bitterness that has defined this place.

Tonight we are staying in a room outside the park entrance. All accommodation in this area is in private rooms and gives income to the locals. The familia Luketice seems to have about 4 houses on their property with 3 of them just with rooms for tourists. No breakfast...will have to travel down the road to a local restaurant. But, clean and spartan with our own bathrooms. The owners speak some German so we can converse somewhat.

The Plitvicka Lakes are a Unesco World Heritage Site and they sure deserve the designation. A whole series of beautiful blue green lakes with waterfalls between them cascading down through forests. There are a lot of walkways made of tree branches with hard to see small steps up...makes for a few trips on this magnificent trip. To do the whole thing by foot would be 18 km, but there is a boat trip and a "bustrain" that shorten the connections. Jurg and I took the chance to have a good walk and of course I took a zillion pictures. The final bustrain was not running yet so early in the season, so we didn't go round the last lake..But, it was wonderful!
In the afternoon we drove through more of the countryside with its small farms and windy hilly roads and headed back to the coast again. This time we stopped at Zadar to see the sea organ. One sits on these steps at the side of the sea and listens to an "organ" that is played by the waves as they move the air up through holes in the concrete. It was quite wonderful! This city also has lots of Roman ruins that are interesting.
The night was spent at the Best Western in Split. It was such a long drive on the windy roads along the coast that it was 8 pm before we arrived. And there was an autobahn...
In the morning we toured the most amazing Diocletian Palace...roman ruins intermingled with middle ages and AHE buildings. It is another Unesco site.
And then on towards Dubrovnik...on the newly opened portion of the autobahn. Wow...sailing along at 130 km with huge sweeping bridges across the valleys and above the towns. Then 80 km later it all ended. Back to the small roads and the little villages that provide the services for the travellers. I do wonder what will happen to this small local economy when the A1 is finished all the way to Dubrovnik. For the cities it will be a win as more tourists will be able to come...but it will be death to the people who rent rooms and sell food along the way. This road is financed by EU money and will mean that perhaps there will be a ferry from Dubrovnik to Greece and more hotels in Dubrovnik. It all reminds me of Rome coming...the bridge towers look like aqueducts marching across the valleys.

Cavallino-Treporti, Italy to Opatje Croatia

April 8, 2011

Cavallino-Treporti to Upatje

Our day started with a castle drive. A visit to the Castle Duono where the “royal family” from the Austrian Hungarian Empire times had opened up the castle to the public...supposedly for sharing purposes. We guess it was more to help finance the upkeep of the place. It was a beautiful setting on the shores of the Adriatic with sweeping views over the coastline and its rugged cliffs. Beautiful gardens went down to the water's edge hidden way below. A family that supported the arts, they had all sorts of instruments on display that seemed to be very valuable. And then we followed the coastline to another castle...Miramar. This was set in a large garden of many hectares owned by the state now. The Important personage who built the place was appointed Emperor of Mexico before all the furniture was finished for his very elaborately decorated castle and he died over in Mexico. The Austro Hungarian Empire Home is now owned by the people..and I am sure is very expensive to maintain. The furniture looks like it was hardly used(probably cuz the guy died) and most of the castle is maintained as it was.

From here we went into Trieste, a beautiful city with one of the largest squares in Europe...It is graced by a fountain that is a tribute to the 4 continents..seemed a few weren't discovered yet! Australia and one of the Americas. This was the main port of the Austrian Hungarian Empire up to WWI and is graced by beautiful buildings and a cafe culture. We had coffee in one that has existed since the 1830's and the prices were reasonable- thought not quite at the cost of the original.

We let the GPS be our guide as we tried to cross from Italy to Slovenia and onto Croatia. Seemed simple enough- but what looked like an hours drive to Rijeka turned into at least 2 hours travelling these back roads that snaked back and forth across the sides of the hills, through small villages and countryside and every once in a while provided magnificent vistas. Of course the mood in the car was not great...GPS vs the human brain aided by maps. Lots of strife and stress..must have been leftover bad feelings from the Balkan War. We finally pulled into Opatja and decided to find a hotel.

Opatja is a beautiful seaside resort and was quite soothing to the soul...once we found a hotel as many were still not open for the season. But our rooms overlooked the Adriatic Sea and beautiful mansions from the AHE graced the roads of the town. Lots of German tourists shopped and walked the streets and filled our hotel. Along the edge of the sea was the most beautiful flagstone walk, through the town and along the stone walls of the old villas. In the town, we had wonderful gelato and watched the night descend over the sea with a beverage. Renewed our spirits!

Venice

April 7, 2011

Venice

The perfect way to arrive in Venice...by boat. A very crowded boat from Punta Sabionni filled with young people on a school trip, that took 20 minutes or so to cross the bay and arrive in San Marco. We disembarked on a beautiful sunny day in the midst of lots of other tourists and the usual souvenir stands. As we only had one day to explore Venice we stayed in the San Marco section and did a lot of walking. The city is straight out of the past with very few modern additions other than stuff to buy. Beautiful buildings with the ornateness of the 18th and 19th centuries, narrow streets, exquisite things for sale in the shops and no cars. It has a vibrancy that is everywhere. We splurged on a 25 minute gondola ride...everyone who goes to Venice has to do that! Our gondolier took us under the Rialto bridge on the Grand Canal and around some of the back canals in a big circle...but he didn't sing any Italian opera.

We did the grand tour on the cheap...took the city “bus”...another boat...the went round the outside of the city and across to several other islands and then down the Grand Canal back to San Marco. Other than no commentary it was great.

Then we had a coffee at Cafe Florian in the big piazza with live classical music from a trio. Little did we know until we got the bill that 6 E's each would be charged on top of the expensive coffee prices for the music. We could have had that for free just by sitting somewhere else.

We waited until after sunset to catch our boat- again filled with youngsters- back across the bay. Had a bit of a look at the lights of Venice as we pulled out to the water. An hour later we were back in our hotel in Cavallino-Treporti. Dinner was the final meat and cheese brought from home in our hotel.

Pictures at https://picasaweb.google.com/jsriet/Venice2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCK7sj_6Us62DcA&feat=directlink

European Road Trip Day 1

When the alarm went at 5 am this morning in Winterthur Switzerland, it was dark and quiet. We crawled out of bed hoping that such a wakeup would mean we would miss the traffic that crawls along the autobahn around Zurich. By 6 am we were leaving just as the bells in the local church called us to prayer..not a chance that we would show up.
It doesn't take long in Switzerland to reach the mountains and by 7:30 we were sitting in a small roadside restaurant along the edge of the Vierwaldstettersee gazing at the snow covered peaks, and the sparkling waters. Beautiful..and the very centre of Swiss democracy. On the edge of the lake is the Rutli Meadow where the first 4 cantons in 1291 swore allegiance to the Swiss Republic. It was on this lake as well that the whole story of Wilhelm Tell took place. How do I know?? because I got the whole history lesson from Jurg today as we walked from the restaurant down to the William Tell chapel. Now that I have a Swiss passport, he feels I should know all this stuff.
Anyhow, we travelled on from there through the St Goddhard tunnel. The pass itself was geschlossen due to snow...so we travelled through the 19 km tunnel and arrived in the warmth and sunshine of Ticino-the italian part of Switzerland.
We were in Italy by 11:30 on the Autostrada and its tolls and heavy traffic and then on to Lago Garda where we had lunch.
We are now staying in Cavallino-Treporti on a spit of land opposite Venice. We will take a ferry over tomorrow and spend the day exploring the city.
Arrivaderci!