Time to go home, and so from Dubrovnik we drove back north. We passed the fertile valley along the Neretva river, also called the bread basket of Croatia. There are huge fields interlaced with narrow waterways to keep the soil watered.

right: The fertile valley next to the Neretva river, the breadbasket of Croatia. Behind the mountains is the Adriatic Sea.

       We took a shortcut through the Pyoko mountains to get to the highway leading to Zagreb. There we stayed one day and then went further north to Lake Bled. I have described our visits to Zagreb earlier in the chapter called: “Glimpse of Croatia” and will therefore skip Zagreb in this section.

    From there we drove into Slovenia. Technically speaking, Slovenia is not exactly the Dalmatian Coast anymore, but I thought I would add this section here, because it was interesting to us. Maybe to you?

   (a) Lake Bled.

    Lake Bled is a beautiful lake in the north of Slovenia, fairly close the Austrian border. If you drive a car not registered in Slovenia, you do need to buy a sticker at the border. Slovenia is very mountainous with 28 peaks above 9,000 feet and is hence host to a lot of Alpine climbing enthusiasts. There is a lot of vegetation, with 52 % of the country covered with forests. It is also Karst country with some 6,000 known caves, the most well-known of which is the Postoyna cave, which attracts thousands of visitors worldwide. An electric tram takes the visitor several miles into the caves to observe the many unusual stalactite and stalagmite formations.  Slovenia was the first country to join the European Union, so the local currency is the euro.

    The coast with the Adriatic Sea is unfortunately fairly narrow, about 28 miles long. But they have thermal waters and spas which claim to being able to treat any disease known to man. The mineral waters contain manganese, which is especially good to treat digestive problems, because it is a cofactor with the many enzymes responsible for the breakdown and digestion of food. On the technological front, they build ultra-light planes exported worldwide.

    Nuclear power plants supply some 35% of the country’s need for energy. On the other hand, some 470 persons committed suicide last year. Slovenians are usually disciplined, showing little emotions outwards.

    Slovenia was the first country of the erstwhile Yugoslav republic to join the European Union. It is also the most prosperous, with a GDP of around US$27,000/person. Croatia is next with a GDP of US$18,000/person.  As we drove to Lake Bled, the well-tended houses indicate a prosperous country.

above: Lake Bled from the Park Hotel.  At the opposite shore you can see a castle on the top of a huge rock overlooking the lake. There is a walking path, which runs around the lake, offering a nice walk of about 3 miles in length. In the lake in the foreground are rowing skulls moored at various signposts with numbers. This is the start of rowing competitions. Or maybe this was just practice. Note the persons lying on their stomachs on platforms on the lake at the numbered signs. They hold the end of the boat before release when the starting gun sounds.

  Lake Bled is a popular vacation destination with gorgeous lake, a sweeping alpine panorama, a castle on the top of a cliff. At Lake Bled we stayed at the Park Hotel, a large 3-star establishment directed to fulfilling the needs of tour groups. If you are just with your family or friends, it is probably wise to avoid the place. The inevitable surge of visitors will stream in the doors just as you want to check in or check out. But with the Lake just outside the hotel, the location is stunning.

    Our room was 30’ long and 11’ wide, with a balcony sticking out for around 3 feet. Except that the view from our balcony was of the parking lot opposite the lakeside view, so we could only see and hear the buses parking right below your window. The walls of the hotel were quite thin and you could hear noises from everywhere, which could include intimate grunts from the adjacent rooms.  So, if you are on the 1st floor, ask for a room as far as possible from the reception area.

    There were some unusual features in the hotel. The coat rack bar was 7’ off the ground, which was useful if you were a tall Croat, but rather inconvenient if you are only a 5’ midget. A note in the bathroom informs you that the hotel carries supplies to make your stay more pleasant, e.g., : eye mask/ear plugs €4; tampons/pads €5; condoms €4.  Yes the staff knows what the needs are.

    It is a nice walk around the lake, but at around 3 miles maybe a bit too far for comfort for the stamina-challenged group. There is a little island in the middle of the lake, with the Church of the Assumption in the middle. This is a popular place to get married, and tradition requires the bridegroom to carry his prospective bride up the 98 steps from the dock of the island to the entrance of the Church. Some 1 in 5 prospective bridegrooms declined to take this test of manhood or failed in their efforts to accomplish this feat. Well, you know who will be the boss in the marriage.

     We also visited the Castle high up on a narrow mountain just adjacent to the lake, from where you can see sweeping views of the lake and the surroundings.

left: The inner courtyard of the castle on the top of the cliff, with a newly wedded couple walking to the restaurant.

     There was a wedding in progress with a beautifully made-up Asian looking Russian woman as the bride. They were probably married earlier on the island in the Church of the Assumption and were having their wedding dinner here. The guests looked like they were almost all members of the Russian Mafia. But then, I am probably wrong.

right: The specialty of the region, the Bled Cream Cake.

  Another incentive to visit Lake Bled is their specialty cake, the kremšnita or Bleyska Kremna Rezina,  a rich vanilla-custard-cream layered cake, selling like hot cakes, but these are of course not hot when served. It is a very famous cake, and people travel from all over the place to taste it. In the afternoons, the terraces of the hotels lining the lake were filled with patrons, and almost all of them orders a cake and a drink.

    They also served these at the farewell dinner in the hotel, but the tray was empty when we got there, as patrons with bulging, greedy, eyes took three to four cakes each to take to their tables. We did get a taste, because somebody actually realized it was too much for them and offered one of these cakes to us.

    This cream cake was created right here at the big red Park Hotel, where we stayed, on the shores of the lake.

left: There is a rather grim painting on the wall of the restaurant showing the fleetness of life. Our guide told us it was a rather very old and very famous painting.

    (b) Ljubljana

    The old town of Ljubljana, the capital of Serbia, was only about 56 km away from Lake Bled, and so we made a day tour to scope out the city. Outside the old town is the usual ugly. indiscriminate and unprepossessing sprawl of the city, the same as you may encounter all over the world. But the old town is cute.

right: The rather forlornly looking Kržanske Summer Theatre, but I am showing it here because of the Slovenian flag in the foreground. This place is just a 5 minutes walk from the center.

    The center was busy, and being there on a weekend helped, because it was abustle with tourists and hucksters. And as befitting a well-organized tourist venue, there were clean public toilets almost everywhere. I liked it. The Ljubljanica River river meanders through the town as well as through the old city with some interesting bridges spanning the water.

left: the entrance to the “Cobbler’s Bridge” is festooned with fairly new shoes. I wonder whether they replace these shoes every few years”

There was a huge market going on in the center of town and on a number of locations these gold-covered “statues” were plying their trade getting passersby to part with their euros.

right: This is the center of Ljubljana, which is Prešernov trgu named after the composer of the national anthem. You can see him as a copper-colored statue standing on that raised monument on the left. A little bit to the right, above the lady in the red pants, on the other side of the river, are stalls selling souvenirs and stuff, the Pogacarjev trgu.

    A statue of Mr. Presernov, the composer of the national anthem, stands modestly to one side, as you can see from the picture above. But his was also a tale of unrequited love as the parents of his beloved opposed his suit. And so there he now stands, staring at the other side of the square, where on one wall is a bust of Julia, the love he would never have. The two now stare at each other forlornly for all eternity. On weekends, the square is also a place where people would display their older automobiles. Older cars, not antiques. Maybe salvaged from a car graveyard and spruced up a bit.

left: The Pogacarjev trgu, with stalls selling cheeses, sausages and other delectable processed food.

    Most of the sellers are Italians and if your Croatian is not quite up-to-date, just speak Italian with them.

right: An italian stall selling Pasta di Mandarola, baked marzipan cookies originally from Sicily in various shapes and flavors.

left: What I found interesting was this automatic milk dispenser. Apparently, people drink a lot of milk here. You can see Angela Merkel here getting her bottle of milk replenished to keep up her energy fighting the Social Democrats.

right: Open-air lunch at the Valentin a la Carte.

    I had lunch in an open air cafe, cutely named Valentin a la Carte, a calamari dish and potato salad for €5 plus a fruit juice for €3

left: And in a window downtown was this neon-lit sign. Was this a piece of art, or was this a message from a contrite person wanting reconciliation with his erstwhile soulmate. I don’t know.

   For €3.50 I took the elephant train to the castle on the top of the mountain adjacent to the square. There was not much to see in the castle except for the nice view of the city. Well, not really spectacular, but OK. But then, what do you expect for €3.50

right: View of the center of Ljubljana from the castle on the adjacent hill.