The drive to Zadar was pretty impressive.  We opted for the scenic route along the coast rather than the motorway and it was well worth the extra hour or two.  You could sense the change in atmosphere almost immediately as you headed south.  It appeared to be a little more affluent and certainly cleaner.  Lots of cars from Germany & Italy.  We arrived at our accommodations about 4 pm.  Nice place, on the ocean but again, not the sandy beach we are accustomed to.  I think we are going to find this in most of Croatia.  Everything looks good for a relaxing day on the beach.  Our apartment has free use of bikes and kayaks so we may explore the local village by boat and bike.


UPDATE!  I think we found our little piece of paradise for the next few days.  Apartment Nives has been a refreshing change for us with our own private little beach, swimming area, friendly folks tucked in a small community minutes from Zadar.  We have decided to extend our stay for a day or two and then continuing south.  More to follow...

We are about to head south to Zadar this morning.  We have ocean front studio booked for two days so we will report once we get there.  So far, our opinion remains the same on Pula...Not Great!  The history in the city is pretty amazing but you can sense the people are more than a little discontent with the state of the economy.  We are finding it a lot more expensive than the other parts of Europe we have visited on this trip.  Dollar for dollar, so far I would sooner spend our money elsewhere but as you know, I have eaten my words many times before.

Spent the day at another rocky beach.  Hard to walk on that schaznat!  The water was clear and beautiful, typical of the ocean water in this region.  The beach boy (Leonardo) charged us $12 a day for our beach chairs which is quite standard.  If you have your own chair and umbrella, beach days are free.  If your traveling from another part of the world, it's gonna cost ya!  Hard to sit on a rocky beach on a face cloth size towel!!

Leonardo was a very nice young man.  He was born in Switzerland and moved to Pula shortly after he was born.  We had quite the chat and he informed me that the country is essentially broke and a lot of his friends who have university degrees are losing their jobs because of the state of the economy.  Leonardo loves his country and is reluctant to leave.  I think that is the problem.  Most young people do not want to leave and there are no opportunities at this stage.  Croatia is part of the European Union but trade with their own currency (Kuna).  The Kuna currently trades at approximately 10K/1E.  There are a few other countries slow to get on the Euro band wagon and it is a real pain in the ass for us travelers.  I think the Union should insist that these countries adopt the Euro as soon as they become part of the Union.  We are headed to Zadar tomorrow and looking forward to it...I THINK!

Got an early start to the day because of the heat.  Found a free parking spot below the university and strolled through the old village of Pula.  My opinion has not changed much from yesterday and continue to be unimpressed.  The coliseum is quite amazing but other than that, lots of tagged walls, garbage strewn around and cigarette buts everywhere.  I am certain the Roman's wouldn't be impressed!  We have another full day here tomorrow and will hopefully spend it at a nice beach, if we come across one.  

At this point, I think we are both looking forward to leaving for Zadar and our studio apartment on the Adriatic.

The drive to Pula, Croatia was less than impressive.  Along the country road we were driving were vendors selling homemade liquor of various varieties.  We ended up stopping to take a look and before we knew it, this elderly lady was filling shot glasses and insisting that I try some (go ahead, twist my rubber arm!!).  It was a family affair with Grandma, her 30'sh daughter, and 7 yr old grand daughter.  The high pressure sales tactics worked and suckered us into buying two tiny bottles of liquere for $20 Euro that probably would cost us less than $10 in the store.  Oh well, have to support the local economy.  

I found the country to be a little dirty and our first day in Pula was disappointing to put it politely.  The beaches are mainly rock and not the beautiful sand we were expecting.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day as we plan to tour the Ancient Roman ruins in the village of Pula and then maybe try our luck at another beach.  

Drive to Trieste was the best part of the day.  Just another big city with shitty drivers and lots of people buzzing around.  I cannot think of one place we would have regretted not seeing and have never seen so much graffiti in my life.  I would say 95% of the buildings new and ancient were tagged.  BRING BACK THE CAIN!!  There was a vehicle that had it's rear window smashed in the remote parking lot where we parked our car.  That also made me a little uneasy!

Navi Biach took us on a road out of town that had to be the steepest, narrowest road I have ever seen.  Near misses with 3 cars on the way up as we had to dodge in small indents on the road where we barely missed brushing mirrors and sideswiping cars.  The beaches enroute were pretty cool and the Castle Miramare stop was the highlight of the trip.  Stopped at McDonalds on our way back for some fine dining and back to the room to rest our feet and happy hour.  Day was good but I would not return to Trieste anytime soon.  Too bad because the B&B we are staying at is probably one of the best we have ever visited.

Once again, we made some great friends in Slovenia.  Francka and her family were wonderful hosts for our 2 day stay.  The country is beautiful with an abundance of spectacular natural resources.  We left about 10 am for the 2.5 hour drive to Trieste, Italy.  The narrow, winding roads take you through some breathtaking vistas of the villages below.  Cascading waterfalls are part of the landscape and most of the homes look like post cards, they are so immaculate, in spite of their age.  Another country we would definitely visit again.

You would be hard pressed to find a more beautiful location in the world than Lake Bled.  Bled Castle in perched on the cliffs over looking the lake and Assumption of Mary Church has it's own island in the middle of the lake.  It truly is something out of a storybook tale!  Bled has a paved trail that circles the lake an take about 2.5 hours to walk if you decide to walk up the the castle and stopped to take the 100's of postcard snapshots.  We could see 3 homes that were built on the shores of the lake but the rest of the shoreline is left to the public to enjoy and use.  The aqua blue water is crystal clear and warm this time of year.  I wonder what Okanagan Lake would look like if they did not allow homes along the lake and no powerboats.  I hope I don't get shot for just bringing up the idea!!  There is a lot of things that Europeans do right and I think this is one of them.  
We made another stop at Lake Bohinj, about a 20 minute drive from our apartment.  We hiked to the falls above the lake which took about 20 minutes.  They would good but nothing spectacular.  $5 for parking and $5 for an opportunity to hike up to the falls is pretty reasonable but if your not into steep climbs, this may not be for you.  We loved Lake Bled and would definitely recommend a trip if your in the area.  



We thoroughly enjoyed this stop but I think 2-3 days is plenty of time for us.  On our way to Trieste, Italy first thing tomorrow morning for a couple of days.

We are leaving Lake Konstanz with mixed emotions.  We had a great for days with our friends and they treated us royally...going to miss them!

We arrived at St.Johann, Austria at about 5:30.  The drive was great, traffic a little busy but not bad.  I love Austria.  You can almost tell when you cross the German/Austrian border.  The place is so green with rolling hills that suddenly meet the Alps.  We spent a week at Johann on our 2007 trip and loved it.  We are just here overnight and then on to Croatia.  Booked into a quaint little B&B that looks up at the ski hill.  It is operated by an older Austrian couple that don't speak any English.  She is very pleasant but hubby is a bit of an Archie Bunker...MR. FRIENDLY!  Oh well, you can't make new buddies at every stop!